Some of you guys may remember a the beginning of a fanfiction I posted up on the Adventurers! board last December.
Well, off and on since then, I've been working at it, and it's now done - the total length? Nearly 150 pages in Microsoft Word.
Really.
However, since my work on it was so spread out and I know that the tone and style of the writing fluctuated somewhat during the writing, I've decided to go through the entire thing again and revise things for consistancy, grammar, and the like.
However, on the advice of Uncle Pervy, I will be posting up the revised version in semi-regular installments here for general review and suggestions. If you notice anything that doesn't seem to work very well, please tell me so that it can be discussed. If it's something you'd rather not post here, I can be contacted at exitjmouse@direcway.com or on the screenname E Mouse2000 on AOL Instant Messenger.
If, for some reason, you came here out of curiosity and haven't read the ADVENTURERS! comic strip, go to the start of the comic and read up. My fanfiction was created at and intended for the point around comic 700 or so, so you may want to read up to that point for background information. Granted, I think that the fic might be understandable enough even if you haven't read the comic it's based on, but if you haven't, you might miss out on some of the injokes and references mentioned.
For the curious or impatient, the original complete version 1.0 of the fanfic can be downloaded in .doc form here. Bonus material included is the original concept blurb I used when I first began the fic last year. And yes, it has EZCode scattered all over the place - the fic has long been intended for forum posting.
UPDATE
The practically-final version of the fic has been designed and I'll soon be uploading it, then linking it to Webrunner and from the Spam forum here.
Special thanks go to:
Uncle Pervy for freaking out upon hearing the page count total and inspiring the style for this thread
My dad for reading both ADV and the fic himself to try and help me with it
EvilKillerPoptarts for encouragement, help with first-draft editing and inspiration, and hosting ADVGaiden 1.0 on her webspace. Check out her website if you like for some laughs.
Recognition of injokes and references will be met with cookies.
And without further delay...
^---^
The Spotted Bulbear snored loudly. It was taking a nap (as its kind often did), its bulging round body inflating and deflating slightly as its lungs were filled and emptied. The sun shone off of its black hide, accented with large red spots. Suddenly, it sensed a disturbance and awoke. Annoyed at the interruption of its nap, the Bulbear rose to its feet and threw back its head, roaring irritably. It then lowered itself back to the ground and lunged at the intruder...
... only to get slashed in half by an oversized sword, held by a certain armored, clueless hero with spiky, bright green hair.
“Are we done yet, Karn?†a blue-robed mage nearby asked impatiently.
“Just three more, I promise!†Karn replied, dashing off to look for another Bulbear.
The mage sighed.
-----
ADVENTURERS! Gaiden: Taka no Ejiki
An ADVENTURERS! fanfiction by Jeremy Saunders (AKA E-mouse).
Ardam, Khrima, Eternion, Karn, Tesla, Kemmet, Meck, and all other ADVENTURERS! characters are copyright of Mark Shallow.
All other characters and references (stated or implied) are copyright of their individual owners. Or whatever the case.
-----
“Remind me why we decided to go to this town in the first place.†The mage grumbled as he, Karn, and several others walked through the main gates of Almiez.
“Sidequests!†the warrior replied, smiling ignorantly.
“Didn’t we already have three of them here?†a third person of the group added; a young man wearing a loose blue vest, white undershirt, and dark grey pants. A pair of large red earrings also hung from his ears.
“You can never have enough sidequests, Drecker!†Karn said, still smiling like an idiot.
The mage sighed. “And let me guess, this one requires that you’ve beaten enough of those Bulbear enemies?â€
“Nope, you do that to help out the aliens!†Karn replied.
The rest of the entering group stared.
“Did his brain finally snap, chook?†another member of the party wondered; a small creature with fluffy pink fur and long, bare limbs.
“You thought it was ever intact?†the blue-robed mage asked dryly. Several of the others in the group snickered, but Karn didn’t take notice.
“Let’s go to the weapon shop!†the hero cried, pointing at a nearby building that had a sign with a large sword on it over its door.
“Um, wasn’t the equipment in this place only an upgrade the first time we came here?†yet another member of the party asked; a girl in what seemed to be a dark blue ninja outfit, minus the facemask and hood, but including a katana, sheathed over her back.
“Karashi’s probably right… but do they have guns?†another girl of the group inquired, also clothed primarily in dark blue; a pistol holstered on her belt helped explain her interest in the weaponry in question.
“I don’t think so, Tesla,†the blue-clothed mage said, “The first time we came here was before you joined.â€
“I hope they have wands.†the third and final girl of the group said cheerfully, smiling in a style disturbingly similar to Karn’s.
“Er... Lumi, if they don’t have anything for Tesla, I doubt they’d have anything for you...†another of the group said uneasily; a frail-looking young man, clothed in yellow, orange, and pink. He wore a peculiar hat on his head, and clutched a harp in one hand.
The fluffy pink creature giggled. “For once Gildward is nearly being useful, chook!†it said.
“Not that you’re one to talk, Chookie.†The mage said coldly. The creature in question cowered away from him in response.
A series of mechanical beeps, clicks, and whirrs revealed the presence of the last member of the group.
“Now what, Spybot?†the blue-robed mage asked warily.
“DESTROY?†the robotic member of the group asked.
“Not here.†The mage replied again, as the group walked through the door of the weapon shop...
-----
As they entered the store, the group split up, most of them looking for (or examining) examples of their weapon of choice. Karn, however, seemed more businesslike, and immediately headed towards the grinning shopkeeper, pulling out a small sack with the letters ‘B-A-G’ written on it in black ink. The hero dug around inside the bag for a moment before pulling out an impressive, faintly glowing blade that should not have logically fit inside its container. No one seemed to recognize this, though, and Karn put the weapon down on the counter in front of the shopkeeper.
There was silence for a moment as the hero waited for the shopkeeper to notice this. Finally, he frowned and waved a hand in front of the man behind the counter. The shopkeeper made no response, continuing to stare straight ahead with a mindless grin on his face.
Karn scratched his head (or rather, the edge of his impenetrable hair), and tapped the counter with a finger. This seemed to wake up the man behind the counter, who blinked and finally focused his eyes on the hero.
“Hello!†he cried, “Welcome to the Almiez weapon store! Buy/Sell?â€
“Sell!†Karn exclaimed, looking more comfortable again.
The blue-robe mage glanced over at the exchange, sighed, and started walking over to the counter.
The shopkeeper remained silent for a moment, grinning stupidly once more. Karn did nothing at first, but soon his patience faded and he pointed down at the countertop, at the sword he had left there. The shopkeeper looked down, blinked in disbelief, and did a comical double-take, obviously amazed at what was being offered to him.
“This... this is the legendary, one-of-a-kind sword Dual Blade! I couldn’t possibly buy this!†the man behind the counter cried.
Karn blinked as well, but in confusion rather than disbelief. He frowned, apparently upset. “But if you COULD buy it, how much would you give for it?â€
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, and then said quickly, “10 GP.â€
The hero stared. The man behind the counter cringed, and said meekly, “International legendary weapon pricing agreement.â€
But the hero suddenly grinned again. He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped as the blue-robed mage (who had come up behind Karn to overhear what he was doing and try and halt any stupid exchanges) hit the hero over the head with his staff.
“Ow. What was that for, Ardam?†Karn asked sounding unhurt but slightly irritated.
“Do you remember what we had to go through to get that sword?†the mage asked angrily.
“We fought…†Karn replied, then hesitated as he thought for a long moment, slowly counting on his fingers. Finally, he said, “386 Sinistrals?â€
“YES.†Ardam said, exasperated. “Are you going to turn in that effort for 10 measly GP?!â€
“But we need it!†Karn replied.
Ardam stared. “Karn. We got twenty times that amount from a single enemy before Khrima even stole the Kildracks crystal. Why do we need to surrender something so rare for practically nothing?â€
“We can get another!†Karn said, smiling idiotically once more.
Ardam stared. He considered bringing up the point that a single random battle would get what Karn wanted and more, but knew that offering to do so would merely cause the hero to start on another ridiculously long series of random battles to level up.
“Isn’t this Dual Blade thing stronger than your current weapon anyway?†the mage asked, changing tactics.
“But it adds to my magic attack! It’s wasteful!†Karn replied, seeming offended.
Ardam sighed. “Okay, whatever. Why don’t you just keep it and sell off some other excess items?â€
Karn considered this for a moment, then turned, glanced around the room, and located the bard of the group (who was nursing an injured hand caused by his touching a rack of store merchandise on display).
“Hey, can I have the Miscalibur for a minute, Gildward?†the hero called over.
The mage slapped his forehead with a palm. “Try something that we aren’t USING.†He said, trying to keep his voice calm.
Karn stopped to ponder this again as the bard limped over to the store counter.
The hero suddenly grabbed the Dual Blade off of the table and swiftly tucked it back into the storage BAG he had.
“Anything else?†the storekeeper asked, smiling mindlessly.
Karn suddenly grabbed Gildward by the shoulders and tossed him up on top of the counter. “How much for this?†the hero asked over the bard’s wails of protest (and pain).
Ardam tilted to one side, then fell to the floor out of sheer exasperation.
“Are you okay, Ardy?†Tesla asked, abandoning her search for modern weaponry in the shop and coming over to the counter. She bent down next to the mage, concerned.
“Fine.†Ardam grumbled, standing up again.
“Ah… I REALLY can’t buy that one, sir…â€the shopkeeper said nervously, staring as Gildward wailed in physical pain at being held on the counter.
Karn frowned, and let go of the bard. Gildward took advantage of this and dove off the countertop towards the door of the shop, obviously trying to escape from the hero’s ridiculous scheme. The bard landed with a thud on the floor of the shop, then curled himself up tightly and started whimpering pitifully.
“Pathetic.†Drecker commented. Karashi chuckled in agreement. No one took note of Chookie hiding behind a shield near the wall, out of Karn’s sight.
“Why do we need some more gold anyway, Karn?†Ardam asked.
“To pay for the inn!†the hero replied.
“The inn costs 50 GP here, Karn. We had thirty thousand the last time I counted.†the blue-robed mage said.
“But it isn’t enough!†Karn insisted.
“Why?†Tesla cut in.
Karn hesitated for a moment, then turned to the shopkeeper again. “Can I have seventy sword bombs?â€
Both Tesla and Ardam fell to the floor.
-----
“I can’t believe it took half an hour to convince him to only buy sixty-five.†the gunslinger grumbled bitterly.
“We’re lucky we managed that much.†the mage replied wearily, “He usually ignores any protest.â€
The gunslinger nodded sympathetically at him as they entered the inn of Almiez, conveniently located back near the default entrance to the town. The party had ignored it when they had first entered – Karn liked to do equipment shopping first when the group was in good shape – but now they headed there with the intent to pay for a soothing 5-second sound clip and a full-party HP/MP refill.
What they got was slightly different.
Once again, Karn immediately headed for the front counter of the shop and stopped in front of the shopkeeper, this time a smiling young woman. The hero paused, again waiting for the counterperson to notice him, but soon sighed and rapped on the counter with a finger.
The woman blinked and finally noticed the hero. “Hello! Welcome to the Almiez Inn! A room is 50 GP! Would you like to stay the night?†she asked, cheerily.
“Yes!†the hero replied. He reached into the BAG again and pulled out a handful of glittering, golden coins which he then handed to the shopkeeper.
The innkeeper took the coins and glanced at them, counting, for a moment, before smiling again. “Thanks! I hope you enjoy your stay!â€
The woman reached under the counter, and there was a soft ‘click’ as she flicked a switch on the underside of it; the lights in the room and even the glow of the sun outside dimmed, and the party in the Inn’s lobby waited expectantly.
There was a pause, before Ardam broke the silence. “... well?â€
The counterwoman apparently flicked the switch she had twice more, because the lights momentarily brightened before dimming again.
There was another expectant pause.
The switch clicked again, and the lights came back once more. The counterwoman frowned, looking puzzled. “That’s funny, it was working earlier...â€
“Okay, let me get this straight.†the blue-robed mage asked suddenly, sounding slightly angry, “Not only do we not really spend the night, but you have a special heroes-spending-the-night sequence set up and you test it on a regular basis?!â€
The woman behind the counter stared at him in surprise. “Why yes, exactly, how did you know?â€
The mage sighed.
“But I guess you could stay the night if you wanted to, there should be enough room upstairs...†the innkeeper continued.
Ardam blinked at her, apparently surprised as well. “Wha...?â€
“Woo!†Karn interrupted, “Plot night!â€
The blue-robed mage looked disappointed and seemed to relax.
“Well... no, I don’t believe so, sir.†the woman behind the counter said, “We would have gotten a warning if something like that was going to happen...â€
Most of the members of the party frowned. Exceptions were Gildward, who was still grimacing in pain from the relatively light fall he had encountered in the weapon shop, and Spybot, who couldn’t express a frown in the first place.
“Well... since we’re here, we might as well stay! Still a refill, right?†Karn said.
The counterwoman shrugged. “Probably.†she replied, then frowned. “But...â€
“But...?†Drecker repeated, pressing for further information.
“Well... it’s all the space we have, so I’m going to have to charge you the usual rent for them...†the innkeeper continued.
Ardam shot an angry glare at the back of Karn’s head and said, “Okay. Which would be how much?â€
“900 GP.†the counterwoman said after a moment’s hesitation.
“I think that’s okay –†Karashi began, but a sudden outburst from Karn drowned her out.
“What?! 900 GP?! The inns aren’t supposed to start costing that much until Lokar after the Kildracks crystal!†he raged.
“But sir, I already said that I’m using the renting rate rather than –â€
“The inn here is supposed to cost 50 GP!†the hero continued.
“Sir...â€
“I haven’t been this ripped off since I bought that airship from Honest Cid’s dealership!â€
Ardam sighed.
-----
It felt like a long time later that Karn came up the stairs to the second floor of the inn, smiling triumphantly. The rest of the party, who had come up out of boredom or curiosity at various points during his debate with the innkeeper, looked over at him.
“What a deal!†the hero cried, suddenly.
Most of the party fell to the floor in exasperation.
“I’m guessing she gave in and let us have a discount...?†Drecker asked, rubbing the elbow he had landed on.
“Nope, but I did get this!†Karn replied cheerfully, and held up a small vial of liquid.
Ardam peered at it for a moment. “... that’s a potion, Karn.†he said, “We have ninety-nine of them kicking around.â€
Karn blinked in surprise. “We do?†he asked, and stared at the object in question. Then the hero shrugged, said “Oh well!†and tossed it over his shoulder, where it vanished from sight down the stairs. A moment later, there was a crash as it shattered on the floor below.
“Scratch one excess item.†Drecker muttered.
Ardam rolled his eyes. “Right. Next problem; how are we going to fit a nine-person...â€
Spybot and Chookie made soft sounds of dissent.
“.... character... party into three inn rooms designed for two people each?†he inquired, looking around the room.
Karn stared at him stupidly. “What’s the problem?â€
A vein on the mage’s temple throbbed. “That means there’s only space for six. We’ll have to split up and –â€
Karn suddenly clapped his hands together, looking overjoyed. “Party split-up!†he cried, and peered around the room. Then, he decided, and said, “Me, Ardam, and Drecker in the first group, Tesla, Spybot, and Karashi in the second, and Lumi, Chookie, and Gildward in the third!â€
“... Karn, we aren’t going to be fighting.†Ardam said. He smirked knowingly and asked, “And besides, you wanted to have Lumi around yourself more often, didn’t you?â€
The hero blinked. “I did?†he asked, looking up at the ceiling and adopting a ponderous expression. After a moment, he said “Oh yeah...†as if remembering something that hadn’t occurred to him at first.
(Surprisingly, Lumi failed to notice this exchange, and was instead still standing near the wall, smiling cheerfully.)
Karn hesitated for a long moment, and the blue-robed mage decided to add some reasonably logical reasoning to the considerations.
“It’d probably be best if we just had three people per room. Spybot can just power down in a corner, and Chookie’s small enough to sleep on a rug without problems, but at least two people are might have to share the same bed...†Ardam said, before pausing to think as well.
Tesla spoke up. “Why don’t I go with Ardy?â€
Karn grinned suddenly. Drecker and Karashi glanced at one another and started to say something as well, but the hero interrupted with his final decision. “Then how about...â€
-----
“Ooo! Look, Karn, there’s another star!â€
“And another! There must be almost a hundred of them up there!â€
“And the moon, too!â€
“You noticed it too, Lumi?â€
On the bed farther from the window in the same room, Drecker was franticly trying to stuff his ears with pillows.
-----
“I can’t BELIEVE I got stuck with these two.†Karashi mumbled.
“Want me to tell you a ninja bedtime story, chook?â€
“I touched the corner of the blanket! IT BURNS!â€
-----
The third room of the inn, though, was much calmer – in fact, practically sane. Ardam and Tesla entered, and looked around at the room and what its contents. The inn room was as generic as one might expect to find in Almiez A few empty cabinets, an open window showing the night sky, a pair of plain-looking beds, and a small rug in the middle of the room were the main traits of the room that were worth noting.
While the two were examining the room, the third occupant for the night walked in; Spybot. Ardam watched the robotic party member with suspicion as it looked around, apparently searching for something on the walls. After a quick scan around the room, the robot made a dissatisfied clicking sound, reached behind its back, and pulled out what looked like a large, red, K-shaped wall socket. The robot then walked over to one of the corners of the room and put the ‘outlet’ on the wall, where it stuck in place due to forces unknown. Spybot turned away from this outlet, slumped down to the ground, and moved its back up against the wall, at which point a small click seemed to signify that it was plugged in.
Spybot made a short series of noises, then seemed to close his eyes, as the red glow that usually shone from the robot’s ‘eyes’ dimmed and vanished. A few moments later, a twin pair of harmless pale blue lasers shot across the room, illuminating it slightly as if intended for use as a night-light.
Ardam shook his head and sighed. “And we’re still not supposed to suspect him for being a spy?â€
Tesla giggled. “True, but at least he’s giving us some light to go to bed by.â€
“Speaking of which, wasn’t it still light out when we –†Ardam began, before being interrupted as he yawned hugely, “... came into the inn? Oh well. Convenient how these time changes can make you tired, too...â€
He glanced at the gunslinger, then nodded slightly and said, “Good night.â€
With that, the mage walked over to one of the beds in the room and slipped under the covers, fully clothed.
Tesla hesitated for a moment, fighting over a decision, before quietly stepping over to the same bed and reaching for the blanket.
“You can use the other bed if you want to.†Ardam said suddenly, and the gunslinger jerked her hand back, startled.
Does he... not want me around? Or is he just being clueless again...? Tesla thought, watching him uncertainly.
Ardam shifted slightly under the blankets. “Something wrong?†he asked.
The gunslinger recovered and shook her head. “Oh, nothing,†she said, “Just... good night, Ardam.â€
“Yeah...†the mage replied, sounding tired, “G’night.†He shifted again and turned away from Tesla.
The tracker watched him in silence for a moment more, then suppressed a sigh and walked to the other bed in the room. She slipped under the covers as well, but lay awake for several minutes, silently watching Ardam’s bed in the moonlight, wondering whether she had said the right thing.
Ardam also stayed awake to think for a few minutes. Why was Tesla so intent on being with me, anyway? Is it just because she’d rather not put up with some of the rest of the party... or is she supposed to be my...?
Though the inn rooms were reasonably warm, Ardam shivered. A series of tired-sounding beeps issued from where Spybot was recharging, and the two others in the room drifted off to an uneasy slumber...
v---v
EDIT 1: Forgot to run this part through the spellchecker, fixed a few words.
EDIT 2: Fixed one discrepency (or however that's spelled) in the scene transition bar numbers, and removed my sig. Baka desu!
Edited by: E Mouse at: 12/24/03 5:03 pm