[VOTE] What Was Found in Ardoris? YOU Decide the Round Table Contest Winner!

The following entries were posted for the Round Table's First Story Contest. We were amazed at what could be found in the streets of Ardoris!

First, a hearty thank you to all who posted their stories for the contest.

Second, as we mentioned, our contest will be community judged. Luckily, the number of entries allows us to do it through a poll. In the spirit of the Round Table, we want to give everyone a voice.

Third, if you are going to vote, please do a fair job to read all the stories and reflect on the criteria for what makes a good story. We are not including the authors' names here. This is so that the stories can be read without prejudice.

The voting will automatically close 14 days from the time this thread is posted.

The stories below are presented in order of submission.

Without further ado...

Here is what was found in Ardoris...

 

A Letter from Jay to Kazyn

A letter from Jay Sanless, Port Phoenix Ambassador, to Kazyn Phoenixfyre, Governor of Port Phoenix:

Dear Kazyn,

As planned, I journeyed to Ardoris with our mutual friend Evan the herbalist. He went off about his business and I went about mine, but we planned to meet at his friend’s house for dinner. I arrived later than we’d agreed, as I got lost in the poor quarter of Ardoris, the lights on the street had been extinguished. I was peering at the door plates trying to find the address when I tripped over something on the ground. By the light of Daedelus, I could tell it was something I’d seen many times before – Evan’s notebook. Thinking the situation rather odd, I grabbed the book and knocked firmly on the door, which opened at my touch. I was immediately on alert, for the latch had been broken.

As I moved inside, the dim glow of coals from the fireplace was not enough to see by, and I stumbled again in the darkness. I lit a lamp that was beside the hearth and took a good look around. The place had been trashed, and there was no sign of Evan’s friend. Across the other side of the room I found Evan, unconscious but breathing under the remains of a table. His eyelids fluttered open and he looked up at me and said one word, “Shadows,” before falling unconscious again. Needless to say, I got him out of there and to the nearest physician as quickly as possible.

Over the last few days while he’s been recovering, I’ve been looking through the last few pages of his notebook. It looks as though several pages have been torn out, and unfortunately Evan writes his private journal in some sort of code. A few phrases I can make out lead me to believe he had a secondary objective in coming to Ardoris – to locate the mysterious Shadow Guild. The parts I can understand indicate the friend he was to meet had information about them to share. As I’ve heard you and Evan discussing this subject over wine at the Alestorm tavern, I thought you might know more of his mission.

I get the feeling I’m being watched, but left alone, not just by the Watchers, which are plentiful in this area, but by people too. Sometimes I will catch a glimpse of someone’s shadow coming around a corner behind me, or a silhouette of a face looking down from the towering aqueducts that run through the city. Perhaps I’m being paranoid, or perhaps Evan has disturbed something he shouldn’t have. I will send another letter once he is conscious and able to tell me what happened that night.

Yours Faithfully,
Jay Sanless

P.S. They are definitely watching me. There was a note scrawled in charcoal on my wall when I got in tonight, “We know.” I hope to make it through the night and get Evan and myself back home with all haste.

 

The Illusive Passage

They came from the mountain pass.
The shadows they do keep.
Where no others are permitted to last.
They look down on you like sheep.
Of course it’s a must,
that their eyes are filled with lust.
Perhaps I'm mad, but it seems to me,
The greatest kindness I can grant,
Is a swift death you could never see,
Surviving, a simple task you shant,
Achieve, alive a state you cannot be.
Do not feel bad, it is not personal.
My hatred, you see, is universal.
I live only to see all in my way,
Tint the air a copper texture today,
Every day, only the same, so the shadows say.
They speak a tale, of where the corpses lay,
In the quiet, the darkness that still lures,
The bodies lay in the center, where the chaos stirs.

 

Finders Keepers

Tayla awoke with a start, instantly aware that the pink eastern sky meant one thing—she was in danger of missing today’s fish heads. Shooting from her warren of crates behind Zangoff’s Armory, she headed for the southeast quarter of Ardoris. Every morning a fishing boat docked there and cleaned the fish destined for the Palace of the Wind. The captain let her have the heads, which she delivered to the Peladjar Inn in exchange for whatever was left of the previous day’s fish stew. If she wasn’t at the dock before they finished, the heads went into the sea.

Her eight-year-old frame darted along the towering aqueduct columns, heading east between the row houses, then south. Crossing the canal, she was about to turn toward the dock when she spied an unguarded bundle in the empty alley ahead. She approached quietly, hearing nothing but a fountain across the street.

There sat an ancient book, bound in mottled purple leather, surrounded by thick brown straps. Its cover was scratched, its pages yellowed, one corner stained with what looked like dried blood.

Glancing up at the adjacent building, she noticed an open fourth-floor window. Rumors said an eccentric mage lived there. The book must have fallen from the window. She was certain anything owned by a wizard was valuable. She was also certain the law of scavenging was “finders keepers.”

As Tayla reached for the book, a pair of eyes opened on the top cover. The pages parted, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. The bottom straps resolved into two pairs of legs.
Frozen with shock, she watched as the book scuttled forward, launched itself towards her, and clamped onto her forearm.

Stifling a cry, she pried desperately at the book cover with her free hand, but the book bit down harder.

Her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground. She slammed the book against the cobblestones, to no effect.

Her vision blurred and her thinking grew foggy. Had she really woken up this morning? Was she dreaming? With her remaining strength, she scrambled to the fountain and thrust the book deep into the cold water. For a moment nothing happened, then the book began to quiver, finally releasing her arm and floundering in the water.

She was dimly aware of a robed figure, a hand on her damaged arm, and muffled words. The pain eased and the fog lifted. A wizened man in a blue robe stood over her smiling, holding the book, which struggled weakly.

“Thank you indeed, dear child, for recovering my young mimic,” he said. “I hadn’t even known that I’d lost it.”

She opened her mouth but didn’t speak.

He absently stroked his moustache, half of which was missing.

“It seems I’ve put you in a bit of inconvenience.” From his robe sleeve he withdrew a gold coin, which he placed in her hand.

“Buy some good meals.” He winked, adding, “But if you eat at Peladjar’s place, avoid the fish stew.”

 

Found and Lost

“Message received. Start mission: Identify found object. “

The watcher's clicking metallic feet echo in the alley as it crosses the street. It is one of many in the streets of Ardoris. None of the inhabitants notice nor pay particular attention. They will sometimes even unknowingly step on one. Thus, the watcher crawls in shadow close to the wall. It turns right into a narrow, unpopulated street. In the cloudy sky, another watcher flies circles over the street between the houses observing an object lying below. As the watcher on the ground reaches its destination, the flying watcher heads back to its normal observing route.

“Location reached. Start identification.”

With its fire-red blazing eye it starts analyzing the rectangular object, a book. It wasn’t lying here for a long time. There was no mud or dust on its surface. It is bigger than an average book and in use for generations as revealed by the worn cover.

At the same time, a red light starts blinking in a little basement deep under Ardoris. A gloved hand turns on a big screen in the center of an old and rusty control desk full of buttons and switches. On the stone wall over the desk hangs an enormous map of Ardoris studded with small lights flickering indifferent colors. Letters appear on the screen.

“Found object: Book. Title: Nothing. Cover: Damaged infinity symbol.”

“More detailed scan required.”

The other gloved hand hides the smirk on the face which observes the screen. “TheOracle wants a more detailed scan? Why is she that curious?” he mumbles in the hand. “Let’s see what the watcher will find.” This was the first time that one of the keywords was triggered by a watcher. Catching a watcher and hacking into his system without alarming the Oracle was really difficult. But if he can now prove that the Oracle is hiding information, it was worth the hard work. His fingers tap impatiently on the desk, his eyes still focusing on the dim luminous letters on the screen.

“Scan successful. Cover: Two symbols. Alpha and Omega.”

“Stay on hold.”

“Waiting for orders.”

He jumps from his chair. That is an unusual development. Normally the Oracle wouldgive the watcher the order to scan the content to retrieve the information. The object itself would be left where it was found. He learned this procedure of the Oracle from his first observations.

“Order: Secure book.”

A short time after the watcher got its order, a disguised person enters the narrow street where the watcher is sitting on the book. The noise of buzzing wings catches his attention of the person. He turns around and sees a swarm of flying watchers approaching. The swarm is big enough to pick up a book and make it disappear. The man accelerates his steps, snatches away the book lying under the watcher and vanishes around the corner at the end of the street.

“Mission failed.”

The watcher walks on.

 

Wishful Thinking

(A note scribbled on a piece of cloth using a coal lump).

I knew it was a mistake even before I picked it up. Nothing good ever happens to me and this was bound to be the same.

I was down by the docks in Ardoris trying to stay well clear of any dangers when I saw something glint behind a shrubbery. Thinking it must be a watcher and not a coin I peered around and found the most gorgeously engraved tome I have ever seen. I blame being dumbstruck but there I was picking it up regardless. It was really heavy and I felt all tingly holding it. I shouldn't have, but thinking I'd never see it's like again, I opened it just a bit.

Poof, this great cloud of sparkles hit me and I sneezed hard enough to drop the tome.

-Bless you, a voice next to me said.
-Thank you, but a blessing is wasted on me. I replied and looked him up and down. A street performer dyed all blue from head to toe and with some matching fake silk attire.
-Do you have three wishes master?
-No, no, no I have no coins for you, I replied showing my empty pockets.
-Do you wish to remedy that master?
-Sure wish yourself some riches, I joked. And while you're at it could you get me to a nice warm retreat somewhere far from here?

I don't know but I remember hearing a great jingling sound so I think he must have hit me over the head with a filled purse or something.

Then I don't know which sick scam he pulled on me but it was an elaborate one; because the next thing I knew I was in a hot bath in a place called Lux Sanctuary. They had robbed me of everything! My clothes even down to my small cloths were gone. All they had left me was a toga and a towel. The indignity.

So if you find this note then heed my warning and please don't let their cheery ways and too many comforts lull you into complacency, be vigilant!

I have now been here for two weeks trying to escape from their clutches. But every time I approach an exit someone pretty with a too sweet smile forces me into a bath, or subjects me to massages or makes me eat some delicasy. Now, of course I pretend like I enjoy all of this so that they won't know that I am onto their twisted game, but really I prepare myself for the worst. Whatever it is I just know it will not be a quick death for me.

I just wish it would happen now so it is over and done wi-

 

Lucky Find

Patrolling Ardoris on market day always left me with sore feet and a buzz in my head. Today several caravans had come through town, and I had to deal with brawls, picked pockets and general mayhem.

I found a bench and gratefully sat to rest my aching feet and have a sip of water. The square just outside the Oracle’s Temple was warmed by the late afternoon sun.

As I bent to put my canteen away I noticed something glinting at me. Tucked behind the bench was a book! Ahh, what a book! Lightweight for all its thickness, bound in some kind of material I had never seen before and richly decorated. The pages were made of the strangest paper I had ever seen, and most were covered in an unfamiliar, cramped script.

‘Well well well! This is a lucky find,’ I thought to myself. The designs were so bright and the pictures so lifelike. I knew right away that it was a powerful grimoire, probably dropped by some passing mage.

When I reached the guard barracks I saw many of my fellows limping and dragging from the day. I couldn’t hide the bounce in my step brought on by happy thoughts of future riches. Before long I was showing them my find. They all exclaimed over the strangeness of it and agreed with me, it must indeed be a powerful grimoire.

Carl said it was likely a book about moon magic because so many of the illustrations were of cats, and everyone knew that cats were sacred to the Temple of the Moon. I decided there and then to take the book to the temple and get a rich price for it. ‘I will get enough to retire and never have sore feet again!’ I crowed to myself.

The next day was a duty day, but it passed quickly in a haze of gold. I never even noticed my aching feet. Dawn the next morning found me standing on the temple doorstep, the book clutched in my hands. The young lady who answered my rapid knocking was half-awake and yawning.

After a lengthy delay I was ushered in to see the temple’s Procurer. I quickly explained what I had found, and handed her the book with trembling hands.

“Oh my!” She said happily, “what a lucky find!” She smiled at me in obvious delight.

Her smile was encouraging, so I said, “Lady this beautiful book is a mysterious and powerful grimoire of moon magic! See here the sacred cat. Great lady what would you pay for such a treasure?”

She arched her brows. “Moon magic? You think it is a grimoire of moon magic?” At my nod, she broke out in laughter. “Oh good sir! Do you not know that this great, mystical, powerful grimoire is in reality an Outlander book regarding the care and raising of cats? And since I have many cats I will be delighted to buy it for exactly one gold coin.”

 

This thread is bumpalicious!

 

I fear this poll is going to get lost in the flurry of R12 threads.

 

Bump early and often!

 

Those were all very creative and enjoyable stories! Great job to all!

 

Cast your vote New Britannians!

 

Turkey Day reminder: Vote!

 

Don't forget to vote, people (and other creatures).

 

Fantastic reads!

 

Last day to vote!

 

Before I say congratulations to the three winner of the contest, I want to thank all who joined us on this unique project, both in writing and in voting. What a great community of writers we have for SotA!

Now without further ado...

First Prize:

A Letter from Jay to Kazyn written by royalsexy!

He wins $25 store credit and the Lord British designed Magic the Gathering Cards, the Shield of the Avatar, graciously provided by Sir Stile Teckel!

Second Prize:

Found and Lost written by Sindariya!

She wins $10 store credit!

Third Prize:

The Illusive Passage written by Keira OFaolain!


She wins $5 store credit!


Congratulations again! Remember, if you would like help in writing in any way let us know at the Round Table.

 

Congratulations to all and especially the winners.

 

Congrats everyone!

 

Just wanted to say congratulations to Royal sexy! Also a thank you as he is being patient while his card travels for a few weeks before it will arrive in my possessions, having been signed by Lord British for him, before I send it to him.

Also to all authors who parrticipated in this, if you would allow The New Britannia Theater Troupe, cast of Echoes from the Cavers, record your work so that we can podcast it and air it on Avatars Radio we would appreciate it! contact me at Stile@thecaverns.net with permission and a copy of the piece. http://thecaverns.net/Podcasts/authors/