《Spell Analyst》Fireside Stories 1

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The night was young as the group of friends gathered around the campfire in some unnamed forest far away. Travels had been long and the battles hard fought, now was the time to sit and relax.

The cracking fire burned bright and sheltered from the wind by large stones. Quiet chatter and soft laughter could be heard over the gentle wind.

It was an odd scene in this old forest. There was a reason it wasn’t named, for all who came here never returned. Yet this group of people traveled farther than most. Slaying their way to an ancient grove that looked more dead than alive.

Gnarled trees and pointed branches were everywhere, but this group did not fear. They were powerful, strong, and cunning. What they didn’t know was that the actual danger wasn’t in the forest but under it.

“Then out of the ground a dragon the size of a mountain burst forth. Its mouth swallowed the whole group in one bite!” Jude said with a flare.

“Booo! That’s not a scary story,” Wen said sarcastically.

“Maybe not to us,” Ellie commented, “but Nellie looks frightened.”

“B-b-b-but we are in the nameless forest,” Nellie stammered.

Krinn put an arm around Nellie and comforted her, “There are no dragons in these parts. And if one tried to come up from the ground, we would feel the earthquake of it moving long before it every could swallow us.”

POP!

Nellie slapped Krinn, “Y-y-y-you n-need to stay back, scoundrel.”

Wen laughed, “This is why I keep telling you to stay away from the brothels! No honest girl would want you otherwise.”

“I thought Jude’s story was very riveting,” Cairfray said. “I especially liked the part where he describes the forest that we are in.”

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The large willow tree that they camped under swayed in agreement.

“Of course you would say that you agree with everything he says!” Wen argued.

“Oh yeah, well-“

Cairfray’s shout was cut off by Jude, “-Enough! I’ll admit, it wasn’t the most original story. So why don’t we hear some of the stories from you guys? You know, your own personal story.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I know what I want to hear first.” Ellie chimed in. “I want to hear the story behind Jude’s last name!”

All the eyes turned to Jude, and he could see the curiosity in their stare. “Well… You know I don’t have a last name. So what story could there be?”

He remembered back to the time he was in the Digital Plane. He had been so excited when he found the character creation tool. He put in his real name as a placeholder name, so after he created the character, he would find a good name to match it. But he had been so excited after he created the character that he forgot to go back and do the name.

Now he was stuck with the name Jude. He had no idea if there was a way to add a last name, and it hadn’t been worried about it. Until now.

His last name was one of the pestering subjects Ellie would always bring up. That and—

“I bet if you told us where you come from, it would all make sense.” And there it was, the other topic that Ellie always asks about. Jude wasn’t sure how to respond to it.

If he said, ‘I come from a different universe, and I had to create a character to fully integrate with this one.’ He would probably be put into the funny farm. And if they didn’t have an insane asylum, they would probably make one just for him.

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Jude was an honest person, so up to this point he had ignored the question or avoided it. But now he had everyone staring at him. It looked like he wouldn’t get away without saying something.

“Well, you see…” How was he going to say this?

“It’s like…” he was created with a character creation tool.

“You know, I…” come from a different universe.

“Hmm, my last name…” actually, what was my last name?

Cairfray saved the day, “Ellie, how could you ask our esteemed leader about such sensitive things. Apparently, his past is mired in great difficulties. We shouldn’t pry into some things.”

“Oh come on,” Krinn said, “We are all good friend at this point. Knowing someone’s past isn’t so much as prying as it is caring for your friends. If we can’t share our burdens with each other, how deep is our friendship.”

“Krinn is right,” Jude agreed. “It’s not that I don’t want to share my past, it’s just I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“How hard can it cosh’ing be?” Wen asked. “Just blurt it out, and we will piece it together.”

Ellie added, “Yeah, it’s not like you’re a summoned Hero. I’ve heard where they come from is truly crazy.”

Jude chuckled, that was exactly where he came from. What, isn’t that how he could explain it?

“What if the Sender sent him here personally?” Cairfray said with stars in her eyes. Her devotion was noteworthy, but he wondered what she would think if she found out that Jude was the Sender.

Perhaps he should just tell them all the truth. They had basically guessed it.

Jude opened his mouth to say it when Nellie’s mousy voice spoke next, “Maybe his parents were bandits. His last name stricken so that he wouldn’t have to live with the shame of carrying on their name. Perhaps it is a blessing that we don’t know.”

This befuddled the whole group.

Ellie sighed, “Perhaps some things were better left unsaid. We should accept Jude for who he is now, not who he was in the past.”

Jude was shocked. He was about to say, ‘I’m the Sender and where I come from is the same place as those who get summoned.’

But now that he said it in his head, it really didn’t sound good. Thankfully he now had a way out.

“Let me tell you where my noble name comes from,” Krinn said. “A hundred years ago, beyond the Diamond Back Mountains and through the Elven woods—“

Wen cut him off, “Shut the cosh up! Our father was a popper and a drunk. Don’t go telling our friends your stories that you tell wenches at the local pub.”

Krinn seemed to be frozen with his mouth wide open and eye twitching at his sister. Everyone else, however, had a good laugh.

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