Young Writers Society

Peter

The mines were a mess; shafts were collapsed and miners were in a frenzy. Peter looked around, wondering what he should do. He saw Tallow walk away from the official looking man he'd heard called Chairman Mills, one of the two top dogs at the mines.

"Tallow," Peter called, running towards him. "Why would you just take that as an explanation?" Yeah, Peter had been evesdropping. He hated having picked that up from Ana, but he wasn't about to get himself into something that would prevent him from returning home someday.

"I have to take it. Mr. Mills is a chairmen. It's my job to follow his orders," he said.

"Even when you know something is wrong? I saw your face when he was talking to you, something doesn't fit and you know it," Peter said.

Here it is, friends.

Name: Luke Elrabin (Robin)
Age: 15
Appearance: Dashing in a boyish sort of way. Straw-blond hair
with brown eyes and a light complexion. Has a scar on his
forearm that he never talks about.

Occupation: minstrel and healer. Robin can use magic
to cure minor injures like cuts and scrapes, but for anything
serious he'll have to rely on the old arts of herb-lore.

Personality: Rather young to be a minstrel, but his master
abandoned him a year and a half ago. He takes things
lightly, but has a caring soul.

Other: Luke is Elvish on his mother's side. Most of the time
his heritage doesn't show, earning him the trust of other humans.

Location: Born in Westhaven, but considers the world his home.

Roseanna

I though I had got away. I was wrong. As I walk along a long dirt path, a gaurd grabbs me, ties me up. Less than an hous later, I am in the castle dungeon.

I mean, I guess I knew I would end up here eventually. I ust didn't think it would be so soon. I try a bit of singing. Its an old prison song my mother taught me.

Its dark down here,
So long down here,
in this prison cell.
Death to those,
Who rest here,
In a prison cell.
Sing a tune,
The guard will sleep,
Escape the prison cell.
Slit his throat,
Then take his gold,
The guard of the prison cell.
Escape by morn,
Or you shall...

I was interupted by the guard. "Ah, sing something besides that. You know, I have heard that so so many a-times. Yet, here I stand. Sing something of joy."

"When you release me." I say.

"Go back to yourstupid song. I must admit though, you have the preittiestvoice of all the others I have watched.

Slit his throat,
Then take his gold,
The guard of the prison cell.
Escape by morn,
Or you shall die,
In the prison cell.
Hope that god
Will save your soul
From the prison cell.

Robin heard the strains of music and smiled.

He joined in with a will,

Take his gold,
In this prison cell.

Startled, the girl stopped abruptly.

"I call thee, oh little men,
Dance with me, and call me friend.
Stars shall fail and seas shall surge,
And I shall dance with you!"

She took the next verse, a smile in her voice.

The guard looked from one to the other.
Now there's a pretty harmony, he though.


"Good sir, kind sir, will you also sing with us?"
asked Robin. "Please. I'm sure you know the tune."

Charlene

As they were walking through the crowded market, the new about the gypsies had been spread out. It was new for Charlene to hear of such dreadful things in her little town Westhaven, but she knew well that those things did tend to happen in such quite places. It was weird to see Westhaven in that situation but they, and along the way they found Joseph. Nice kid, a little bit shy at times.
"Well hello Joseph" Charlene said eagerly, fighting the laughter she had due to his extreme formality. " And actually yes you can, if you accept an invitation to a ball Jane will be holding at her house, we will be very honored"

Joseph looked at them while a wide grin spread across his face.

"I will take that as a yes" Jane said, handing him an invitation. He smiled as he departed and assured them that he will go. It must be amusing to have such pleasant little fellow among them. So they started walking out of the market, Charlene with her bags in hands, trying to keep Jane to sneaking.

"This is absolutely insane" She whispered to Jane, with a wide smile

"I think we should go now" Jane said, pulling Charlene's shoulder as she did headed out. "I'm quite tired and we still have invitation to hand out"

"No, wait" Charlene said, staring past Jane's shoulder to a little person who was running to her, not running but mostly walking with a quick pace, with her head low. So Charlene walked to her in a hurry, dragging Jane with here.

"Ana!" She called, making Ana lift up her head, showing the angry tears in her eyes.

"What happened? why are you..." But Ana didn't let her finish when she broke into a sob and started talking.

"He left, he dared to leave and leave me alone. He's working in the mines, can you believe it? Is he suicidal?" But as she talked, Charlene just froze in her place, fighting back the tears too. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Brandon
He didn't know what to do or what to say in that situation, he knew that he could only comfort her.

"You can't always escape Gwen" He said, taking her hand on his but with the only intention to comfort her for he knew well that it wasn't proper to expect anything more.

"I know, but if that's the only way in which I can live, I'm up for it" She said, wiping away her tears angrily. "I can't let anything happen to him."

"He's looking for you everywhere Gwen, something will happen to him sooner or later if you don't tell him who you are" Brandon said to her, trying to make her reason even when he knew it was quite imposible.

Tallow

"Something doesn't fit, and you know it." Peter said, almost reprimanding him. On any other day, and certainly with an indebted worker rather than a paid one, Tallow would have had the man fired or even cut to half-rations for talking to an overseer that way. But today, he had more pressing concerns. He grabbed Peter by the shoulder and dragged him further down the path, out of the chairman's sight.

"Anyone else," Tallow growled, "Anyone aside from Mills, and I'd want a much better explanation than that. Don't even start to think that I don't want to know the truth." He glanced over his shoulder, as though certain that the chairman would be following them. "But he's not normal. Nothing about him is, you could see that." He leaned forward, "You've heard the stories about the mines, right? It was Mills who cleaned out the first one, before he and Gibson had the money to hire people like me. The chairman did exactly what I do off the record, except where I work with at least two others, he did it on his own."

He folded his arms, "I was under orders not to tell you anything about what happened before, why we were looking for new people, but we lost a small group of miners in the most dangerous sector of the mine. We, meaning myself and four of the other overseers, had to seal it off. The tunnel on the other side lead down into some kind of forgotten temple, and the things in there were only shades of the former worshippers, completely feral, cannibalistic, as the miners we lost had discovered. I don't know what made them that way, and I have no desire to. But the explosion may have given it a way out."

Peter seemed somewhat more uncertain about things now. "Would that be why he's here?"

Tallow could see the cogs turning behind the younger man's eyes. He was, evidently, calculating how much truth was in what he had been told, and the degree of the danger it posed to the town. "I suspect so." Tallow replied, "It might provide an interesting opportunity to find out what he is, though that would mean hanging around in exactly the wrong place."

It was probably foolish, though Tallow was sure of his own power, at least to remove himself from harm's way at a moment's notice. If need be, he could be most of the way to Aldlyn in an instant. But nowhere would be truly safe, not if the company really wanted to track him down. After all, there were valuable resources in many places across the world, and money to be made for whoever mined them.

Gwen:

I sighed and looked up at Brandon.

"I guess I should," I said and stood up, removing my hand from his. "But not today... I heard that Jane is throwing a party. Perhaps we could go and talk to my brother then? I'm sure he'll find his way to it somehow."

I made my way over to the door. Brandon just watched me.

"I better get back to the Kitchen. Cook will throttle me if I go missing again," I added and slipped out the door.

I sighed and headed back to the Kitchens.

Ana

She took a minute to gather herself, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Charlene, could you mayeb come stay with me at the farm until Peter comes back?" Ana asked, if he comes back her thoughts continued. "I'm going to try to hire some farmhands to help do the work until Peter comes back, but I don't want to stay alone."

Peter

Hanging around in exactly the wrong place

"So you don't mean to find out what exactly he is, and what exactly he is doing?" Peter asked.

Tallow shook his head. "Of course not! Doing anything the chairmen disagree with is certain death. I'm not willing to take that chance."

Peter didn't believe what he had gotten himself into. Though, maybe he could just pretend he didn't know anything. He could work hard, earn the money, and then go back to his farm. Something wouldn't let him act on this. A strange part of him held on to the notion of something going awry at the mines, and wouldn't let him leave without looking into it more.

"Tallow," Peter said. "What if no one takes that chance? What will happen to the mines, to Hollsworthy Hills, to the entire country if no one tries to figure out what Mills is up to and stop him?"

I've posted a map in the DT here

Stephan
As he heard someone called his name, Stephan turned to find Chris, a man he had crossed paths with on one of his father's business' trips. He had quite enjoyed the company of the cheerful Chris, though he had no clue of his past or what so ever. Or that he had met his sister, or he'd be eyeing the man by now.

"Chris! How are you, mate?" He asked, shaking his head. "It's been long." Yes, the time he had met Chris had been long months ago, and they had only exchange one or two letters. Mostly, business and things. "You're new around here, right? Well, my father is giving a ball and I invite you to come and dance with fine ladies," he offered, smirking.

Jane
They handed out one invitation already, and Charlene had stopped abruptly, looking at a sad looking girl. She was crying. Or at least had been, Jane verified. About... someone leaving? To the mines? Heavens, the mines! That wasn't good. And as she saw Charlene tear up too, she was worried. "What happened, dears? Who left?" She asked, hurrying closer to them and pulling a handkerchief.

Christophe:

I smirked at Stephan. "A ball?" I asked and Stephan nodded. "Some girl asked me if I could come to that... I'll go, as long as you keep Tallow away from me..." I had almost said 'and my sister'. I sighed and walked around to the end of my wagon.

"So, you're coming?" he asked. I nodded and rummaged around in the back for a moment.

"Yeah, sure," I told him and pulled one of the swords free. It was the best one there. "As ordered," I said as I handed it to him.

He grinned and turned it over in his hands. "It's marvelous," he murmured.

"What can I say? Elven swords are the finest." I tried to sound nonchalant but he caught on.

"Something troubling you?" he asked putting the sword down.

I kicked at the dirt and went back to sorting through my merchandise.

"Chris," he said and pulled me away from the wagon. "What's the matter? Did you find your sister?"

I sighed and walked over to the wagon, shuffling through the other merchandise.

"Yeah, "I finally said and turned back to him. "Or at least, I think I have. A girl here in town. Gwen Sable? I think it's my sister but I just can't seem to find her right now."

Stephan sighed and handed me back the Elven sword. "I'm sure she'll turn up," he told me and checked the pouch at his waist only to find it gone. He shook his head and looked up. "I'll pay for the sword later. Keep it for me until then, hmm?"

"Yeah," I muttered and pulled a strip of good clothe out of the back to wrap it up it. "So, my sister?" I prompted.

"Maybe you'll see her at the ball?" Stephan said and gave me a thump on the shoulder. "All the younger people are going."

"Yeah, maybe," I muttered and watched as Stephan said he'll see me later and walked off towards the kitchens.

Gwen:

I snuck back towards the kitchens while my brother was busy talking. He wouldn't notice. At least, not yet. I wasn't that lucky though. Stephan had noticed me when Christophe hadn't.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the shadows of a nearby alley.

"Are you Chris's sister?" he demanded in a low voice. I yelped and Stephan covered my mouth. "Just answer the question, girl."

I nodded and he took his hand away. "Alright, alright!" I exclaimed. "I'm Morwenna Sable, Chris's sister." I sighed defeated.

Stephan didn't say anything as he pushed me away and stalked off. Hmmph. Fine, he could be like that for all I care.

I shook out my skirt and left the alley, ignoring any looks that were directed towards me. I entered the kitchen and got back to work. The cook didn't even look towards me to day.

Tallow

Personally, Tallow did not give a whit about the mines, or Hollsworthy Hills. Everything there could rot in Mills' twisted plans, and he would never even lose sleep over it. It was, after all, just a job for him. One that carried a large sum of money, true, but one with a lot of risks. He was sure he would be able to find another job if he made it clear he was looking for one. Aldlyn was full of people interested in hiring someone with his particular set of skills.

But the whole country included that city, and Peter was even more right than he realised when he supposed the extent of the danger that the chairman could pose. Even if Tallow had grossly overestimated his power, there was still the political clout he held, and the almost absurd economic strength of the company.

Tallow's hand strayed to the small pouch hanging around his neck. We could... In fact, knowing what Mills is could be even more helpful than I realised. A sly smile crossed his face as he imagined what he could do with the power that man might hold. Catching himself, the smile vanished from his lips. There was more than that at stake, as well. His own interests, ones that went outside of his job and curiosities.

"Very well, Peter. We'll look into this. I don't think Mills will be threatening the entire country from here, but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry."

The Guard:

Well, blow me. It would be a crying shame,
to leave two such musicians in here with a ball coming up.

"Mr. Elrabin," I said when the two had wound down.
He seemed to be all ears now. "Sir, I know you've
insulted Lord Norwood, or so they say.

"However, I do believe you two could be the life
of his party. What say I let you out, if you'll sing
for me?"

Luke:
Had he heard right? The fellow wanted
him and- what was the girl's name?- to sing for him.
At a party, no less. He smelled an opportunity
to earn some gold.

"First, I must know the name of my singing partner."
He made the request sound like his just dues.

Peter

"So what do you suppose we do first?" Peter asked.

*...yeah...I have no idea. Lead the way, Billy xD*

Ana

Ana looked up at the girl who was with Charlene. She recognized her from somewhere. Ah, her name was Jane. She was the daughter of a wealthy man. Ana had once nearly risked her life trying to steal from them on the bidding of another, more powerful thief. She had never made that mistake again.

"My brother, Peter," Ana explained. She composed herself and wiped tears from her cheeks. "He's gone to work in the mines so he can support our farm. Charlene, won't you please stay with me? I don't want to leave the farm, but I can't stay alone."

**Apologies for taking so long to post. I've been crazy busy the last couple of days.**

Tallow

Having agreed to Peter's idea, Tallow started walking - walking away from the camp once again. Peter set off after him. "Hey, hang on, I thought you said we were going to do something about this!"

"We are." The troubleshooter replied casually. He took the turnoff at the next bend in the road. "This isn't a path anyone uses too often." He explained as they walked. "It leads a little way up to higher ground, which might be able to give us a view of what Mills is doing. If it is what I think, though, we'll just see him heading into the mine by some hole. But there's also a shaft being constructed up here. It's almost finished, just not yet safe to be used. The entrance was boarded up, so I doubt it was sabotaged like the others."

Shortly, the entrance came into view. Heavy wooden boards had been nailed into place across it, completely barring the tunnel from the outside world. Peter gave it a wary glance. "And those...things you mentioned before, they can't use this?"

"It's possible." Tallow replied, "We blocked off their temple, or whatever it was. But if the blasts cracked that open, then they might have used this. But they haven't yet, and that's the important thing." He retrieved a pickaxe from beside the tunnel, and set to work dismantling the barrier, soon having a hole large enough for the two of them to fit through.

"Grab that lantern, would you?" He said, indicating one hanging from a post. "We're going to need it. I know the tunnels by heart, and the area we're headed to is well-lit, but it would be nice to be able to see anyway." He paused, adding, "Also, anything living in there won't like to be near the light. They all have hyper-sensitive eyes."