One Wing

Was originally posted on my art blog. First short story for an assignment in class that I’ve done. Follows the mentor of my Dnd character and their first meeting. It’s not perfect but it’s a start.

Our story begins in a tavern off the coast of Shinklesberg, a small port village off in the shadows of tall ice capped mountains. The people here are of friendly sorts, warm people with kind hearts and full belly laughs. Walking down the snow covered port one could find a plethora of merchants shouting chants and sales pitches; making playful jibes at each other all throughout. The smell of hot soup, warm ale and sweet, sweet sugar chasing out most of the frigid temperature. It’s not often that a large ship will pull in, what with all the ice and slush around not many a sailor would chance pulling in; even if it was the only port for miles. Many a sailor would avoid such a place for withall the seemingly happy and pleasant company there was a dark sadness hanging in the air. This however, did not stop the merry band of merchants and sailors on the Vilkshen. The townsfolk of Shinklesberg gathered round as the big ship pulled in, chittering and chattering away. Many a gold endowed seller of this or that bustled off. Shifty looking peddlers of potions, poisons and other provisions - refined and haughty jewelry sellers, you name it and they appeared.  One such merchant was a small man, Dwarven it would seem. He wore fitted leather clothing, worn and slightly stained with oils and dust. His hands, calloused and dry were wrapped along the knuckles as if he needed extra protection. His heavy steel toed boots stomped across the wooden boards, muted brown beard swinging as he went. By the look in his eyes, a storm was brewing inside him, just waiting to be released. He made his way through the crowds toting a large satchel of wares, his short swept back hair frosting in the cold, wet air. His frown deepened, he hated the cold.

 The man continued down path after path, taking short cuts and little alleyways leading further and further into the deep crevices of Shinklesberg. Eventually he stopped, in a dank and musty alleyway, the smell of wet soil and ale in his nose. A single candle lit up a old decrepit door - iron bars along the look through window. He knocked once, twice and finally one third solid strike. The wooden peephole slid open, yellow eyes piercing blinking hazily into view.

“Whatsit want?” the nasally voice on the other side slithered out. Diamond eyes dilating slightly, darting back and forth. The Dwarven merchant snorted loudly through his nose, gruffly murmuring out, “same as it always is, business” The yellow eyes did one last slow slide before contracting abruptly, as if the owner had come to a sudden realization “ ah- ye the.. the Dwarven fella - making big money and all that. almost didn’t recognize ya with the short locks and such…” a loud clamoring was happening behind the door as he fumbled around getting the door open. “ I can't, remember ye name right now but I swear it's on the tip of me tongue!” The door widened to reveal a tall skinny reptile man - Dragonborn, standing in the way. Unlike others of his kind, this one was wiry and seemed to twitch like a rat waiting to run. He dressed similarly to the Dwarven man, all leather and worn, but the clothes didn't fit right and seemed almost to be put on as an afterthought. The man sighed, pushing past the reptile, “For the last time, Nadarr, my name is Yenfire.” Nadarr paused his closing of the door, head ticking back and forth, seeming to think it over “Yenfire… Yenfire… OH!” He slammed the door, rushing to lock it “Yenfire Giant Crippler!” Yenfire Frowned, “No! for the last time that's not my-” Nadarr brushed past him bustling down the hall, “Buisness been good, as usual for these parts. Got this n’ that to sell and this n’ that to fight!” Yenfire followed closely behind him, down stairs and passageways, keeping pace but growing irritated by the minute. “got a real good lot this time around, some real spitfires. Yer going to have a good go I’d say!” Pushing open the double doors before him, they entered what seemed to be an arena. Roughians and other shady folk lined the walls and the place stunk of blood and sweat. Yenfire dropped his satchel near the door, making his way around the ring. It had been awhile since he had been to this particular port, a port seemingly all soft bellies and happy laughter. No, he supposed it was those things, but underneath there was a more vicious and hard beast. The ring, the gambling and the black market and that is what he came here for. Yenfire Giantcrippler as he was known in this particular port - is a well seasoned fighter in the ring and a pusher of rather dangerous and rare goods. He got his name for the amount of times he's taken people quite literally 10 sizes bigger than him and won. It was not hard really, when everyone here has fought each other and has gained an inflated sense of pride. Today he would scope out the competition and rest up for the championship to in the next few weeks. He had no qualms about taking a day off to explore. He cracked a small smirk as he looked at the rough and tumble people around him, laughing, punching and getting riled up. Making his rounds however, he noticed a small group - teenagers it would seem corralled in the corner; laughing and jeering. This in fact was not unusual but something in his gut told him to go check, loud groups like that always lead to trouble. Now trouble, is not something Yenfire would normally go looking for, after all if it’s not profitable to him why bother? The amount of downtime he had that evening simply brought him to the conclusion that he could stand for some entertainment.

Popping his head in between the crowd, what he saw made his blood run cold. It was a child, a Tiefling child, probably no older than 13 being held down by an older human girl. Yenfire was aware of the wary feelings had about Tieflings, what with their demonic heritage and rather ruthless upbringings, this however was strange even in his mind. The tiefling child was snarling and sobbing at the same time, seemingly at war with themselves. They bucked wildly under the bigger child trying to get away. The older child was jeering at the tiefling making taunts and pulling at the child's wing. “One wing! Failure of a demon! your such a disgrace, ain’t nobody gunna be afraid O’ a freak like you!” She pulled harder on the small tiefling and the tiefling went still as the back of her shirt went ripped. There along the curve of their left shoulder was a scar, where their other wing should have been. The scar tissue was too clean and surgical for the removal to be an accident. The human girl stared for a moment longer before gesturing at the crowd of children, “well lookit here… One wing only got one wing because someone took it! HAH, a big bad tiefling, that couldn’t even stop someone from taking her wing? Ye know, me mom always said - this have to be even and equal…” the crowd Oooed and awwed as she brought out a knife. “Let me help you make it even” The knife made an ominous twinkle as the girl brought it down, before the strike could be made however, a large calloused hand had wrapped around hers. “Haven’t you done enough Marigold?” Yenfire stood over the two, hand around the girls, keeping it in place. She glared up for a moment before going pale, “m-mr. Yenfire sir! I didn’t do much I swear!” She scrambled off the Tiefling child who curled up and tried to be as small as possible. Yenfire wrapped his knuckles across the back of Marigold's head “Run along, I don’t want to see hide or tale of you for the rest of the evening” He turned to the crowd of other teenagers and children and shooed them away as well. When he went to check on the Tiefling child however he found them already gone, he snorted. Well, atleast it was less trouble than he thought it would be, he wouldn’t run into that child again anyway.

The morning haze brought a certain freshness to the town, little rays of light bouncing off the morning dew and frost. As Yenfire strolled along the alleyways he felt a gaze upon his back, it was slight but heavy. He sighed, if someone wanted to ambush him they might aswell get it over with. He continued on his way, ready for the pursuer to finally attack but they stayed at a distance - curious. The alleyway he was traversing abruptly opened up to the open market, the hustle and bustle of customers and sellers bringing life to the otherwise quiet town. Stopping at an empty stall in the middle of the marketplace Yenfire began unloading his more legit wares and organizing his stall. All the while the gaze never left him.

    About midday when the sun was high in the sky and the cold frost of the port was dulled by the rays he noticed a shift in the bushes adjacent to his stall. Whoever had been watching him seemed to be getting bored. He kept one eye on the bush as he called out to the marketplace goer’s pushing his wares. This continued on for days. Each day he would venture out to the marketplace to sell his stock, and each day he would be followed. When night hit and the town came alive with the nightlife the gaze would disappear and he would left alone until the next morning. Towards the end of the day, not even a week after his initial day here a rustle caught his eyes from the bush of his supposed stalker; a moment later and then a small head popped out of the side, blue as the night sky and full of leaves, skin the same light brown of clay and piercing green eyes turned towards him. It was the Tiefling child from the ring.

    Looking at them now they seemed to be less roughed up but no less distressed. The child, a girl, looked to and fro before scuttling up to his stall. He glanced around for a moment, they seemed to have been waiting for a lull in his patronage. Her tiny hands reached out to him and she produced one single gold coin. He laughed lightly, “Well then, what do you want to buy child?” She nervously glanced back and forth, whispering “ I would like you to…” He leaned over, as she seemed to get more quiet. “I’d like you to teach me to- to fight…” her eyes closed and her hands shaking she held that gold coin out. He stepped back from the stall counter, staring at her. Coughing lightly he brushed his beard “ Not sure what you're talking about child. I am but a simple merchant.” she looked up, acid eyes alight in confusion “but you were-” he reached across the counter shushing her “I wasn't anywhere, you didn’t see anything. now hurry along.” she frowned slowly, nodding her head and running into one of the alleyways; disappearing out of sight. Rocking back on his feet Yenfire scrubbed a hand down his face, fluffing out his beard. He had a bad feeling that this would not be the last he would see of her.

    And he would be right, over the next week she would brazenly follow him out in the open. Every downtime he had was full of her bringing him trinkets or stories to trade for “just one lesson!”. No matter how he cursed at her or shooed her away she would be back almost twice as determined. Quite frankly it was annoying. He knew he shouldn't have gone over there, trouble was never a good in the end, even if it was entertaining for a bit. Yenfire only likes 2 things in life, money and fighting; not children and not definitely not nosy children. Stomping down the alleyway to the ring he stopped abruptly, the small child smacking into his back. He turned around and although she was slightly taller than her in stature, he towered over her in presence.

“look kid, you need to stop. buzz off, scram, be literally anywhere but around me” She puffed up in retaliation, “no! y-you need to teach me!” he scowled poking her with on stern finger in the chest “I, don’t need to do anything. You are not my responsibility and if I had it my way, I never would have saved you in the first place!” He stood there huffing, waiting for a reaction from her; some sign that she understood that she couldn’t keep following him. For a moment she trembled as if she might cry there on the spot and he braced himself for her to become a sobbing mess. Swapping out with one small and angry fist she pounded wildly into his chest “Why! Why won’t you help me?!” Her voice scratching with emotion. With each hit he found himself getting pushed back farther and farther. He figured this strength was a Tiefling attribute. Grasping her hands he forced them to the side, “look. I don’t know what you want from me, but as far as I’m concerned, you don’t need me to teach you anything. You have enough strength already!” She reared her head back screaming at him “I don’t need strength I can’t control! I want you to teach me control - I saw you, you could have crushed her hand, broke it even! But you didn’t…I… can’t do that. If I fight back they won’t get back up...”. Letting her drop to the ground he watched her sob. Yenfire was not a man to be swayed by tears or sympathies, he should let her cry it out and be on his way. Honestly there was no reason to help her, no money in it and no entertainment. And yet…

    For the next month, Yenfire could be seen running through the streets, a small shadow at his back. He had agreed to train her, as long as she could keep up with him. So, day after day he would train; pushups, daggers, running, it was a new regimen every other day. For the most part his little trainee couldn’t keep up, not that he could blame her. She seemed to be okay strength wise, her control was getting better, agility was sufficient, but her confidence in her body and movements is what crippled her. He kept her busy most days playing with his smaller daggers, she seemed to like the quick movements; darting here and there. On one occasion while he lifted some sandbags she had come skidding into the training room with some strange contraption of a whip crudely wrapped around the dagger, he hadn’t been paying much attention to her babbling but she left him alone to workout for more than 20 minutes so he figured it was worth it. As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, the championship was finally on the horizon. Yenfire and the girl arrived at the ring quite early, grabbing good seats for both the spectating and involvement of the fights. The girl sat in the seats, swinging her legs as Yenfire went to sign himself up. A boot slammed down next to her, Marigold at the end of it. “well well well, if it isn't one wing. come here to get yer ass beat?” the girl flinched, glancing over at Yenfire, who seemed to be in a heated discussion with the register. “n-no, I’m just here to watch Teacher Yenfire compete.” Marigold rolled her eyes “well thats too bad, this years about teams you see, young n’ old. If you're not his partner I can't think of anyone else who would want to fight with him, no matter his reputation.” The girl looked over at Yenfire once more as Marigold continued, “but you wouldn’t stand the stage with ol Yenfire, would ya? after all you're just a worthless one winged freak. Me n’ My cousin would wipe the floor with you and him” with those parting words and a sneer in her direction, Marigold sauntered off. Not five minutes later, Yenfire returned, a frown on his face. “Bad news kid, they're doing some kind of tag team thing this year. A newbie and a seasoned fighter have to team up, and unfortunately for me, I don’t know many people around here besides you and other seasoned fighters.” He ruffled her hair a bit, her blue locks bouncing around, “guess you won’t get to see me in action then.” He stepped over the bench to start packing their gear when the girl tentatively murmured “I, I could be your teammate...” Yenfire paused, side eyeing her “oh? you could, could you?” She looked up at him, determination lighting her eyes. “Yeah, Yeah i could, we can beat everyone here. Including Marigold and her weird cousin.” Yenfire belted out a shocked laugh “If that isn’t the most confident thing I’ve ever heard you say!” His hand slammed down on her head one more time, bringing her into a headlock. “alright kid, let's give this a go” and so the two marched up to the register again, standing side by side. The registrar, a thin, severe looking elven woman stood unamused. “What is it this time Yenfire, I already told you, no partner, no fight.” Yenfire pushed the girl in front of him, gesturing “Well, my dear, here is my partner” The elven woman tipped her glasses, looking the girl over “Very well, and your partner’s name is?” Coughing lightly Yenfire came to the realization that he hadn’t ever actually called her name; just hey you, kid, runt and other things. The girl stood up straighter, throwing her shoulders back and her head held high. “ My name is Kithri Skywood, and I am the Giantcripplers apprentice!” The registrar looked unimpressed and simply ushered them to the side with the rest of the contestants.

    The rules were simple, each team has 5 minutes to incapacitate or ring out the other.  Weapons are allowed but no lethal force was permitted. Round after round commenced until they finally got to the second to last round. the previous round was won by Marigold and her cousin, they had dominated that round and quite literally thrown the competition out. Yenfire and Kithri finishing up their round with a knockout. The crowed went wild as the Marigold team and the Yenfire team stepped onto the ring once more. the Marigolds were a hometown favorite, but Yenfire was also well known to be quite the tankard. Although most rounds Kithri helped in ways she could, for the most part he didn't need her at all. It was both impressive and disheartening for Kithri. Once the bell rang to commence the match, the marigolds sprang into action, the older of the two, Joine Marigold went straight for Yenfire and started a grappling match. The younger of the two, Tammy took out her dagger and made a wild swing at Kithri. Dodging left and right Kithri danced her way around the ring, blocking and returning hit for hit.  She was almost too focused on her opponent that she missed out on Yenfire’s gasp of pain. Joine had stabbed a dagger in Yenfire’s foot, which although brutal did not count as illegal in the fight. Yenfire slowly was getting pushed down, his face scrunched up in pain. Kithri used the momentum from one of  tammy's wild swings to tip her over until tammy was face first on the mat. While she was down kithri vaulted over to Yenfire, securing her dagger to a whip. swinging the makeshift weapon the threw it at Joine and watched in quiet satisfaction as it wrapped around her. With a sharp tug, Kithri was able to disorient Joine long enough for Yenfire to remove the dagger from his foot and poise it at her neck. With little fanfare and a lot of cursing from tammy, the Yenfire team had won.

    Yenfire stood at the docks some days later. Watching the waves crash along the ship, They had won, and after that win Kithri seemed to find in her the confidence she lacked. He laughed to himself quietly, hopefully she would keep that confidence and be able to lead a good life here. Stepping onto the ship he breathed in the crisp winter air and stretched as Kithri shoved past him, a satchel on her back. Ah yes, of course she would follow him, because that is exactly what normal people would do. Yenfire paused in his internal ramble, he really needs to figure out a way to spot trouble when he finds it.