《Into The Fray》9. Irkutsk, Siberia, 19 January 1919
Advertisement
We stand unbroken in our places,
Our shovels dare to take no rest,
For not in vain his golden treasure
God buried deep in earth's dark breast.
Then shovel on and do not falter,
Humble and hopeful, clear we see--
When our land has grown rich and mighty,
Our grandchildren will grateful be!
Nikolay Alekseyevich Nekrasov, The Songs of The Exiles.
To say that the white ginger is a gift from god himself to the cold lands is an understatement. While the only visual difference from it’s red and yellow counterparts is nothing but the white coloured flesh, it was superior in every single way compared to the other variants. It could grow in any environment, whether it was the warm summer or the deathly freezing winters while being plentiful and quick and easy to harvest. They taste better and have a stronger fragrance, along with having energy restoring qualities. And thus, the spice was added to every dish, every liquor, even eaten raw at times. It’s only catch was that it couldn’t live anywhere except part of the world it was found on, which strengthened the theory that it was a gift to the harsh, unforgiving land.
And so, the drinks, the stews, and everything with water in the winter ridden country were filled to the brim with it. Men, women, even children shorter than the average rifle length were eating, drinking, chatting, and resting inside the tavern, enjoying their warm, refreshing drink to fight off the bone chilling cold and wind down from a hard day of work.
Even through her dead, insensitive nose, she could still feel the almost painful smell of the drink. It stabs through her nose, as if piercing straight through her. She couldn’t stand it when she was alive, and her death doesn’t change anything about it. The only difference now was that here, rejecting the free boiled ginger water will at the very least turn a few heads around, with the worst case scenario being that she might have to fight a few drunkards in the nearest alleyway.
She sat in front of the bar, content on taking the tiniest sip of her drink and looking at the very busy staff. It wasn’t as if they weren’t suspicious of her, a brown hair in a sea of black, wearing rags as a coat and has stayed in the bar for a tad bit too much time. Not to mention, the huge object wrapped in cloth beside her that resembles a huge sword more than anything else added a good deal of intimidation to her. She has stayed for two hours, to be exact. It hasn’t been that long to her, but she’s been drawing attention from the servers for quite a while. She was lucky that they were too busy to ask her.
“You’ve been sitting for a while, lass. Who’re you waiting for?” Said a burly, bearded, greying old man in front of her. Maybe she shouldn’t have jinxed it. He talked in a perfect common tongue, despite his thick Siberian accent.
“Don’t you have a lot of customers to deal with?” Replied Alma, staring back at the old man under her hood.
“I’m not a waiter. I only deal with cooking stews and serving special drinks. We’re cutting down the stews in winter and there’s hardly anyone who prefers a good drink over a huge jug of mead. Speaking of which, you want some?”
“Do I look like the type of person who has more than thirty sens?”
“You look like a person who would stay in a tavern just to be warm and get a free ginger, but you’re not fooling me.”
Advertisement
“How so?”
“You’d think someone from Kazimierz would stop here of all places? Also, don’t even try lying about your drink. What you’re doing right now is blasphemy.” He gestured at her mug, his face filled with disgust towards the barely drank water.
Alma sighed. She’s starting to hate their designated meeting place. She could’ve been led straight to his lab or something alike, but no, he needed to send her to a tavern of all places.
“She’s waiting for me, old man. Gimme some stew.” Said a dark skinned man, taking a seat beside her, “Long time no see, Captain. You look like shit.”
“Oh, it’s you, you fucking kuritsa. Finally graduating from the virgin life?”
“Suck a dick, old man.” countered the man beside her, noticing Alma’s sharp glare at the both of them.
Alma got a good look at the black skinned man. A lanky, short haired man in his early thirties, wearing nothing but a scarf, a sweater and a lab coat. He looked as if he hadn’t taken a single wink of sleep in a year, eyebags as big as his eyes decorated his face.
The old man came with a bowl of warm stew with pieces of potatoes, gingers and beef floating in it. The black skinned man put down a few coins in front of him, which the cook swiftly took before leaving the two to their own devices.
“How’s life, Professor?” Started Alma, not bothering to look at her companion who was slurping his stew with vigor.
“Life is shit. You don’t need to ask.” replied the man, putting down his bowl, “how about you, Captain? Any explanations on having twenty five million Pieni on your head?”
Alma sighed, “I’ll explain once we get out of this place.”
“What’s wrong with this place?”
“You’re supposed to be the smart one.”
He let out a chuckle, “Everyone is a dumbass around these parts, Captain. Including me.”
“Stop calling me that. I’m out of the army.” Alma rubbed her nose, looking around for any suspicious figures around them, “ever heard of anonymity, professor? Or are you too busy shouting at the cook?”
“Fine, then stop calling me “professor”.” He took another sip of his stew, savoring it, “ Refuge in audacity. Everyone thinks I’m an alien around these parts. Me keeping this schtick lets my studies under the radar. Can’t blame them, these inbreds barely leave this country anyway. Not to mention only a dumbass like me would go to this shithole to do shit.”
“Coming to another country only to hate it? Real classy, Haytham.”
“Let me hate on shit. I’m tired enough.” he puts a few coins on the table, standing up, “Let’s go. The sooner we can get this over with, the faster I can get back into my research.”
Broken buildings, tents, rubbles, and open flames. More than a year after they left, this city is still in shambles. It’s not like there weren’t any repairs or progress of some sorts, proven by the tavern she was in. There was electricity, fully restored buildings and public facilities, with factories running and streets that were good enough for trucks to go through. She could think with optimism, maybe the people there are much stronger, much more patriotic than anyone in pangaea. If only the dying, starving men on the streets could say so themselves. Reality truly is better inside her head.
She followed the man in front of her, going through tight alleyways and cramped ruins. There was a layer of heat surrounding him, keeping himself warm without any need for thick clothing. She couldn’t see it directly, but she could still see a glimmer of light coming from his eyes, letting him see into the dim, unlit streets. The massive object behind her back was nudging the things around her, much to the chagrin of the people she passed.
Advertisement
The claustrophobic path they went through eventually led them to a huge, snow-filled clearing. It reflected moonlight in a way she had never seen before. Across them were a towering wall of leafless trees, a withered forest that is surviving against the cold. She thought that they were going to stop there. Instead, her companion walked towards the forest, seemingly unfazed by the otherworldly scenery in front of him.
They followed a snow path, marked by fresh footsteps and lanterns that burned with white fire and smelled an awful lot of the tavern. While the absence of thick foliage lets the bright moonlight dimly illuminate the forest, there wasn't a whole lot to see. After all, twigs and logs of fallen trees aren’t something that is particularly special to this place.
They arrived at what looked like a wooden cabin, surrounded by a variety of plants and guarded by a wooden fence that will make someone think that it was made by a beaver rather than a person. The place was brightly lit by torches, with the same white hue coming from the flames.
“Researching on gingers?” Asked Alma, gesturing at the plants.
“Starting conversations? The fuck happened to your head during the coma?”
“Shut up and answer the question.”
Haytham sighed, “Their set of qualities are special, but I can’t say that they’re not normal. We have seen these properties in all kinds of cacti back in the desert. The only reason that this shit is used everywhere is that those mouth breathers are just too stupid to realize that their attachment to this organism is nothing more than a cultural bullshit. However,” he took a piece of root from a storage box and channeled energy to it, letting it glow brightly. Then, it withered, slowly turning to white glimmers that floated on air. “There’s something more to them. Have you ever seen what a person looks when they overdose on them?”
“I don’t even know you could overdose on gingers.”
“My old man did. His body parts disappeared. Not destroyed, not decayed. Disappeared. Into thin air. Almost as if it bypasses the law of thermodynamics. But there’s no way it does, because shit doesn’t ignore physics just because. Of course, nobody believes me because an old man dying because he ate too much ginger doesn’t make any sense. Plus, doing research that could highlight the gingers in a bad light would cause trouble with The Siberian government. Therefore, here we are.”
“Make sense. Yet you still consume them like air itself.”
“Don’t care, it’s good. If I continue at this rate, I’ll die after finishing quite a bit of my research. My corpse will be studied, then someone will continue my work. I have planned it all the way.”
“What an awful way of thinking.”
Her response triggered him, but he kept his anger, opting to end the conversation. He sighed and opened the door to his cabin, letting the both of them enter. It was a spacious, albeit a little simplistic cabin. A bed, a few chairs, a working desk with piles of neatly stacked papers, and carpet lined floor. The fireplace was already burning a normal red flame, showing signs of normal human activity.
“Surprised you kept it tidy.”
“Shut the fuck up. If you need to shit on me some more, my lab is on the other side of the wall, looking as clean as ever.” He sat on his bed, gesturing at Alma to sit on the chair across the room. Instead of sitting down, Alma put down the object behind her, leaning it on the wall. A glimmer of light reflected from the uncovered parts, showing a rough metal surface. “What the fuck is that?”
“A sword.”
“A sword? Sword? How the fuck do you even lift that thing? Shit’s massive, thick, and far too rough. It looks like a shitload of raw iron more than anything else.”
“It’s a sword. Don’t worry too much about it.”
Haytham rolled his eyes before speaking once again, “Aight, enough chatting shit. What do you want?”
Alma pulled out an item from her robe, throwing it to Haytham before sitting down. Haytham caught it mid air, but almost dropped it once he felt a sharp, stinging shock on his hands. An expression of pain showed on his face as he got a closer look on the object. A small, golden cup with various inscriptions written engraved all over it. He could feel a massive flow of energy being crammed inside him, like a waterfall pouring into a measly bucket.
“Is this…?”
“Yes,” affirmed Alma, “The Knight’s Chalice. That’s one of the reasons for the twenty five.”
“And the others?” He asked, his voice filled with shock.
“Attempted murder on a high ranking general, desertion, and some other things I’m sure I’ve missed. You haven’t been listening to the broadcasts, haven’t you?”
“Can’t,” he said quietly, a look of stress visible on his face. “I don’t--Fuck! Don’t tell me it’s him.”
Alma’s grim expression answered his question. Haytham let out a huge groan.
“Alright, fuck. I trust you. Ten years, I know you trusted my shit, and I also trusted you for having a semblance of integrity. You know what? I trust you. Yeah,” he took a deep breath and stood up, trying to adjust his erratic breathing, “just- Why. Why. Why? Tell me.”
Alma looked away towards the window, almost as if she felt shame, “Because we haven’t won.”
“And so you think it’s good to attack the general responsible for protecting the world?”
“It was not an assassination attempt. We battled and I hurt him, yes, but I was not even close to killing him. All I wanted was the chalice.”
“Same shit, different toilet.” He exhaled roughly, letting his frustrations known, “Fine. I’ll bite. The fact that you did something that stupid tells me that you have a good plan. Scratch that, not a good plan. A plan. Something workable. Say it.”
Alma sighed. The man was cynical to his core, but she knows without a doubt that he’s a reasonable and trustworthy person. Besides that, he was the only person she knew that would be able to help her. If she can’t gain his help, then her plan would rely on a lot of uncertainties, something she’s not keen on having.
They both stared at each other, waiting for Alma to open his mouth. There was a storm of emotions in Haytham’s face, further shown by the signs of tiredness. He was afraid and terrified, but there was also determination in him. Deep down, they both already knew that he was ready to help her and deal with the consequences of his actions, regardless of what she’s going to say.
“We’ve had enough of defending ourselves, Haytham.” She paused herself, letting him process her words, “It’s time to fight them on our terms.”
Haytham closed his eyes, letting out a breath of air from his mouth. “And I trust that this thing has something to do with this?”
“That sword, too.”
“Of course it does. Alright, alright. You know what, fine. Fine! I’ll help. Just,” he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “leave me be for a bit. Hold your explanations tomorrow. I-I need time.”
“Very well,” Alma said, already opening the door and grabbing her sword. Somehow, the freezing winter air that entered the cabin didn’t feel as cold at that moment. “Just as an insurance, take the chalice. We’ll be needing it later but it’s you’re free to do whatever you want for the time being. See you in the morning.”
The door closed and Alma left him in his lonesome. He laid down on his bed, staring emptily at the wooden ceiling.
Maybe befriending that woman was a mistake.
Advertisement
A Sword Master's Travels (1)
The sword shapes the soul. The soul directs and gives the sword purpose. A traveling sword master goes between many worlds with great wanderlust.
8 153Psychotic Death Online
(Side Project for now)In a futuristic alternate reality, the creators of nanotech team up with the VR capsule company to create a capsule where one could stay it in for a year at a time before having to leave. These capsules could be use for rehab and even reconstruction! Eventually, Buzzard, the largest gaming company in the world, created a new VRMMO with 99% realism pending the new capsules, of course the rate dropped to 97% with normal capsules and 90% with the old fashioned visor systems. Unfortunately, the new capsules cost $100,000 and not many people can afford them, either way the new game World of Destiny was a hit with over 110 million subscriptions!Meet our tragic MC Feng Jun, an injured psychopath that simply wants to get his next kill. He has no MO, he doesn't even care if what he kills is an insect let alone a person. He just has to kill every once in awhile to scratch his itch. Up til an injury that left him without a leg, he was able to make do simply killing insects as no one cared and he didn't even have to visit any doctors about it. People just thought he hated bugs! But after his injury he has been suck at his home not being able to do anything! Fortunately he is rich and spends most of his time playing MMOs since normal VRMMOs don't work well with his injury as the realism setting always keeps him with only one leg! But what will he do with a new opportunity to rebuild his leg with nanotech? Knowing he has to spend a year in the game minimum for something like this, he sets a goal to insure he doesn't go crazy (er) without having stuff to kill.This is a VRMMO story where the game is closer to zhan long than royal road with a few twists here and there. The world outside of the game is sci fi and has very little impact at least for the first year due to obvious reasons. No gore or explicit sex in this story, if cursing requires a mature tag I will add it later, this story is at best PG-13. Tragedy is for his circumstances and previous life, the game itself isn't tragic at all as it's just a game more or less.(This story will be put out alongside my main story whenever I feel like it for now, no set schedule at this time)
8 150The Barracuda Street Adventurers' Guild
Darazzo, the famous City of Dreams with its iconic network of canals, is a crossroads for the world. Its close connection to the plane of magic fills the city with magical pools, leading into the Depths. Those who dive into these pools and explore the Depths can find hidden spells and powerful artifacts, if they can survive the dangers. It's said that any dream can be fulfilled, if only you can dive deep enough. Ruling the city's rough streets are the Diver Guilds, who owe their power to their control of the unique magic and treasures they extract from the Depths. Against this cutthroat backdrop, three down on their luck women will seek their fortune by founding their own guild. The ever expanding ranks of the Barracuda Street girls will face monsters, foreign agents, cultists, and rival guilds as they carve out a place for themselves in the City of Dreams.
8 375Devoid of Luck
When misfortune is a daily routine, death is just a loading screen and immortality is worse than a curse. Did you ever feel you're the unluckiest person in the universe? Well,then you haven't met this guy yet.Ever sat in a literature class and was thinking that """"There is no damn deeper meaning, the author said it a blue potato, because it was a damn blue potato!"""", well, my story actually has a deeper meaning, but not everything does. Lets see what explanations you guys can come up with.
8 157Destiny Monogatari: The Hidden Object S1
Season 1. Before 15 years, In Paradise kingdom which was ruled under the Nobility System. The last member of the Ruling family disappeared in a mysterious incident so the whole country nearly walked into a civil war. Ganzo and Seel , the two of them were in the royal army and the rule the Families of the East and West respectively, they controlled the country using their influence around the Kingdom. They agreed to continue ruling the Kingdom under the Nobility System which was not to be changed easily. In this Kingdom in which Magic (Gaibo) is everything, there are 4 main families, 1- The Eastern Family ( Ganzo Family ) 2- The Western Family ( Seel Family ) 3- The Northern Family ( Nabako Family ) 4- The Southern Family ( Kanti Family ) Each of these families rules their own land and under them there are smaller families that declared their loyalty to the ruler family of the land. Each Family has a single ruler called the Father. When the father is to be changed for any reason, the name of the family is also changed after the name of the new ruler. Since the Kingdom relays on Magic (Gaibo) – will be discussed later- each family has their own Magical Techniques and Skills that you will obtain if you have the blood of this family. These Skills are initially unlocked by saying specific words for each Skill. The public –not noble- are capable of doing the Gaibo Skills but only ordinary skills that worth nothing in wars. Along the Kingdom, Medical Guilds are scattered. These Guilds are usually used by the noble families that hire them to heal the injured warriors. Noble families also send their daughters to these Guilds to learn The Skills of Healing.
8 176The Empress Livestream (1-201)
Jiang Pengji mendapatkan sesuatu yang disebut Sistem Intrik Pengadilan Stream.Sistem: "Tujuan Anda adalah menjadi wanita paling bergengsi di kerajaan (Ratu)!"Jiang Pengji: "Oke, Sistem. Tidak masalah!"Bertahun-tahun kemudian, dia memenuhi target dengan menjadi wanita paling bergengsi (Permaisuri).Jiang Pengji: "Bagus, kan?"Sistem: "Mengapa retas kamu berkelahi dengan kuda? Aku ingin intrik pengadilan di antara para wanita Raja!"Bagaimana seorang jenderal masa depan memenangkan tahta kunoPria-nya menonton dalam diam, Sistem menonton dengan air mata
8 116