Story

[Faidor]

‘Honor’

A story based in the world of

(The way MMORPG’s were meant to be.)

The bear was easily over fifteen feet tall at the shoulder when standing on all fours. Ilthantir was amazed its size, and was beginning to second guess himself on the task he had chosen to undertake. How could a single man possibly survive against something like this?

He shook his head to clear his mind. The caravan was waiting for him back on the main road somewhere. For two days he had been gone, promising that he would return with enough food to feed them all. And so he had taken a heavy crossbow, thirty bolts, a pack horse and disappeared into the dark forest that covered the land.

It was the first night he was gone that he realized thirty bolts may have not been enough. He watched as large animals circled his small fire at night. At least he hoped they were animals—all he could see were yellow and green eyes reflecting the firelight in the darkness.

He had foolishly fired off several volleys that night. Never once did he hear the things cry out from pain…and when morning came his quiver was fourteen bolts lighter.

The second night the creatures returned, watching him. More bolts did he loose into the forest to no avail. Another night did he go without rest.
The giant brownish-red bear clawed at the roots of a small birch tree, causing small rodents and bugs to scurry away from their homes beneath the earth. The bear was fast though, his massive head diving multiple times to the ground and snatching up whatever it could in its mouth.

Ilthantir’s crossbow had already been loaded for some time, but every time he would pull the weapon up to aim, his hands would begin to shake, the red bear would move and he would have to lower the thing. He had followed the giant beast for the past hour from a safe distance, waiting for the right moment to shoot. He didn’t want to think about what would happen should he miss. He knew bears well enough that if he did miss, the creature would attack. There would be no outrunning it either. He had to make the first shot count.

He rubbed his bloodshot eyes; he knew he needed to act soon. This was his second day without sleep, and he only had five bolts left—he couldn’t make it another night without more sleep and ammunition.
Making up his mind, he raised the crossbow once more. He gripped the handle the best he could, his palms were slick with sweat.

There was a soft ‘click’ and the giant red bear looked up just as Ilthantir fired the crossbow. The bolt hissed through the air, a fraction of a second later the steel of the projectile cut cleanly through the bear’s ear, splitting it in two.

Ilthantir’s entire body shook when the furious roar split the air around him. He reached into the quiver, pulling out another large bolt. His hands shook violently as he stepped on the front of the weapon to pull the drawstring back. He looked up only briefly to see that the bear was thirty feet away from him.

Looking back down, he pulled violently on the string to reset the weapon.
There was a loud snap. Ilthantir cursed as the broken string whipped out and cut his forearm. He looked up, and his face drained of color. The bear was ten feet away, and he couldn’t even find the strength to call out help. Who would hear him?
Something buzzed passed his ear and in the next moment, a black fletched arrow was protruding from one of the giant red bear’s eyes.

The great beast slumped forward then, its head smashing into the ground. The bear took a few more steps, and then the rest of its body followed in suit. The animal slid to a stop in front of Ilthantir, motionless.
It was dead.

He whipped around, and standing only five feet behind him was a man with leathery greenish-brown skin. His black hair was cut short; the bow in his hand was almost as tall as he was. There was a sword and axe strapped to his side, and when he spoke there was a set of slightly pointed teeth jutting up just enough out of his mouth to be seen.
It was a half-orc.

“Your people need you back on the main road. You should go to them.” he said quietly, then turned and started walking away.
“Wait!” Ilthantir called out. “Has something happened to them? Are they alright?”
The half-orc ignored him and kept walking.

Ilthantir started to go after him then stopped. He looked back at the fallen bear then to the half-orc once more. “Thank you,” he said. “I do not know why you would spare me, but I appreciate it greatly.”
The half-orc paused in his silent stride, and spoke without looking back. “Our kind are not without honor, you know.”

Ilthantir stared at the man in wonder. “Is there anything I can do to repay you? My group has some money—,”
“I don’t want your money,” he said bitterly. He looked over his shoulder, his black eyes piercing those of Ilthantir’s green ones. “There is something you can do though.”

Ilthantir was silent as he waited to hear the request.
“Don’t make me regret saving your life.”
The half-orc did not wait for a response, and in the next moment he disappeared into the trees.

Ilthantir watched the half-orc leave, and did not move until he could no longer hear the soft footsteps of his rescuer. Then with renewed strength he ran to where he had left his packhorse.

As he ran he swore to himself that he would never forget this day, or the nameless half-orc who had saved his life.

[KroqGar]

Was good. I have a major gripe though, and that's font size. It's a little difficult to read at the size it's at. Same as it would be if it was all in italics (quotes, which I've seen done). Also, trying breaking it up into paragraphs. I see you tried, but these forums don't recognize indenting.

The hunting scenes were well written, but I think it started to come apart at the dialogue. Although it was well put together, I think it looks a little rushed and kind of cheesy. However, it's by no means story-breaking and still works, just a personal opinion.

You managed to get across the personality of a character in just a few lines, which was also a nice touch for a Short Story. Albeit, it wasn't the main character, but still, was a decent attempt.

[Siegfried]

Yar, for some reason, I can pick out a man in the bushes in a ghillie suit, but my eyes strain to read the small text.

I'll give it my opinion once its been read, which means as soon as I stop being lazy, and copy-pasta it into a word processor and size it up.

[Faidor]

I wrote it while I was at work. Didn't really re-arrange anything or go over it. Just wrote it up and put it out there. Sorry about the font size.