Shadows Of The Past Volume 1

Chapter 1: First Meetings

The wind of the cool autumn morning blew the leaves off the dirt road as Valencia, Perci, Chiara, and Kenn walked down the road back from the town's large lake. They had become a group two days earlier when Kenn and Chiara volunteered for the same job that Valencia and Perci volunteered for. Now walking together they were a group of four unique people.

At a glance anyone they past could recognize that they weren't a group of normal people. A green skinned orc, a half elf, a merman, and a human. They had been asked to hunt down a large Jormundandr a great water serpent that usually lives in the sea, it for some reason was living in the lake and attacking the fishermen so they volunteered to kill it.

As the group moved down the old dirt road to the inn where they were staying they noticed several men and women dressed in armour. They had the sigil of the Theolonious family on their breast plates. Which meant they'd been sent to guard the town of Orrinshire. A town known for its freshwater fishing, lumber, and ale.

Slowly Valencia the tallest of the group, moved past the others and picked up her pace. The others swiftly followed behind her until they reached the inn. "Eager to get back inside are we?" Chiara asked smirking. Valencia looked from the corners of her eyes at Chiara.

"Just want to get paid for what we did." Valencia said. "So we can move on from this town as soon as possible. We all have other places to be, remember?"

"Yes. I'm aware." Chiara smirked more before they each slowly entered the inn.

The inn itself was not that impressive. With about twelve different tables all scattered across the first floor, a small bar on the far southern, most side of the room with an arching staircase leading to the second floor where the rooms were. As they entered Valencia noticed that the only people in the room were them, the two bar keeps Vara and Orna, and two people she didn't recognize sitting at a table by the eastern most wall.

The first of the two was an athletic looking man with messy long unkempt reddish brown hair. He was wearing tattered leather clothing and a long brown coat that seemingly covered most of his body. His face was decorated with a short unkempt beard and mustache that was the same colour of his hair. Next to him was a gorgeous young woman with sapphire blue skin and a narrow face, her hair was an unnatural dark blue that was tucked behind her ears as she leaned over the table slightly. Valencia could see the horns protruding from her head that curved back and then forward. Around the left one was a light pale blue ribbon.

Before anyone else could pick a table Perci sat down at the table on the left side of the two people. He enjoyed watching those he called "land people" interact and probably expected the two groups to interact with one another. Valencia tentatively sat down next to him followed by Chiara and Kenn.

As they sat down Kenn watched Orna the barmaid walk towards them. "What can I get you four?" She asked in an airy voice sounding as if she had a Caumaric accent. She smiled kindly as they looked at her for a moment.

"Ale please. For all of us." Kenn said. He looked at them and the four of them nodded.

"Thanks." Chiara said kindly.

"So what do you think caused that Jormundandr to be living in that lake?" Kenn asked leaning back slightly. "I mean they are salt water creatures. They don't do freshwater...normally at least." He said. Perci nodded easily.

"That's true. I learned about them growing up. Just like most other aquatic ocean creatures they need to be in salt water to survive." Perci told the group. Valencia looked at him calmly. Perci and Kenn had both grown up learning about Jormundandr. Perci because he was a merman, and Kenn because he was an orc who was born in Vlando a large city that was built on the sea. It used underwater structures to keep them afloat and actually had a system of canals filled with sea water. They were both aware of sea life. Which a Jormundandr was.