The Stick Ranger Chronicles

[BlueWinter]

Here's the start of the story of Stick Ranger. More on on the way soon. ;D

Prologue

A long time ago, a town stood on the coast of a large island. It was called Danballton. The town was not big, yet it had its own currency, customs and government. No one from it had ever had contact with the outside world, but stories and legends had been passed down through the generations of explorers venturing far out into the ocean. Some versions told of the explorers returning, and being hailed as heroes, while others whispered that these brave souls never reappeared. However, while I could recite the myths for hours, these dark tales are irrelevant to us. What really matters is now.

Chapter 1: First Morning

Satchu Phaidon woke with a start. He tried to remember what had woken him so suddenly, and the dream came back to him, flooding his mind.

Satchu had been walking down a long, twisting path. Tall fir trees had towered both sides of it, totally blocking out the sun’s calming rays. As he had proceeded further down the path, eyes appeared in the trees, staring out at him. Big red eyes. It was the same every night. The path got darker, the trees denser, and the eyes increased in number. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Sounds now penetrated through the darkness. Scratching. Scuttling. Howling. Satchu screamed at himself to stop, to turn back, but his body was seemingly unable to stop. Walking. Ever walking down the path.

Without warning, everything changed. The trees were gone, the eyes disappeared, and the ground fell away. Satchu was falling to his death, still listening to the sounds. A face appeared in front of him. It was round and glowing green, with hideous features etched into it…

And then he had woken up.

It was the same dream every night. What could it mean? he pondered. Satchu’s thoughts were interrupted by a crashing sound from below, followed by an angry shout from his mother.

“Damn it!”

Satchu pulled on some clothes and rushed down the stairs, to find his mother sweeping up bits of broken ceramics in the kitchen.

“What happened?” he asked, staring at the shards.

“I dropped one of my best plates,” his mother, Kami replied sadly.

“Would you like me to help?” he offered.

“No, love, I’ll be fine. Shouldn’t you be training?”

“Yeah – I’m going out now,” Satchu said, walking away. “ I just need to get my gloves, and I’ll be off.”

“See you later, sweetie!” Kami called after him.

Satchu paused in the doorway, sunlight pouring over him. “Please don’t call me that, Mum. I’m 27, after all.” He walked out into the street.

[shadowsrandom]

Apr 3, 2010 5:45:57 GMT -5 BlueWinter said:

Here's the start of the story of Stick Ranger. More on on the way soon. ;D

Prologue

A long time ago, a town stood on the coast of a large island. It was called Danballton. The town was not big, yet it had its own currency, customs and government. No one from it had ever had contact with the outside world, but stories and legends had been passed down through the generations of explorers venturing far out into the ocean. Some versions told of the explorers returning, and being hailed as heroes, while others whispered that these brave souls never reappeared. However, while I could recite the myths for hours, these dark tales are irrelevant to us. What really matters is now.

Chapter 1: First Morning

Satchu Phaidon woke with a start. He tried to remember what had woken him so suddenly, and the dream came back to him, flooding his mind.

Satchu had been walking down a long, twisting path. Tall fir trees had towered both sides of it, totally blocking out the sun’s calming rays. As he had proceeded further down the path, eyes appeared in the trees, staring out at him. Big red eyes. It was the same every night. The path got darker, the trees denser, and the eyes increased in number. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Sounds now penetrated through the darkness. Scratching. Scuttling. Howling. Satchu screamed at himself to stop, to turn back, but his body was seemingly unable to stop. Walking. Ever walking down the path.

Without warning, everything changed. The trees were gone, the eyes disappeared, and the ground fell away. Satchu was falling to his death, still listening to the sounds. A face appeared in front of him. It was round and glowing green, with hideous features etched into it…

And then he had woken up.

It was the same dream every night. What could it mean? he pondered. Satchu’s thoughts were interrupted by a crashing sound from below, followed by an angry shout from his mother.

“Damn it!”

Satchu pulled on some clothes and rushed down the stairs, to find his mother sweeping up bits of broken ceramics in the kitchen.

“What happened?” he asked, staring at the shards.

“I dropped one of my best plates,” his mother, Kami replied sadly.

“Would you like me to help?” he offered.

“No, love, I’ll be fine. Shouldn’t you be training?”

“Yeah – I’m going out now,” Satchu said, walking away. “ I just need to get my gloves, and I’ll be off.”

“See you later, sweetie!” Kami called after him.

Satchu paused in the doorway, sunlight pouring over him. “Please don’t call me that, Mum. I’m 27, after all.” He walked out into the street.

Should a 27 year old still be living with his mother?
I think not.

Good story, though.

[BlueWinter]

1. It's a fantasy.
2. The town's so small he doesn't have much choice.

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

That story is cool so far. You should make him meet the other 6 classes.

[BlueWinter]

Chapter 2: Training

Satchu ambled down the street, enjoying the view of the perfectly blue sea and the light brown mud houses arranged around him. He was going to the Combat Training Area, where he liked to hang out with his best friend Aridian Khisan, and, at the same time, practice his boxing skills. It was just a hobby really; Satchu doubted he would ever use them for anything. Except maybe self defence. Then again, he thought, Danballton was a peaceful place.

As he moved towards the training area, Satchu saw Aridian already there, proficiently swinging his sword into a wooden post. He looked up as he heard Satchu’s approaching feet crunching on the gravel, and let his gleaming blade fall to his side.

“You’re late, Sat.” he stated. “Lie-in?”

“Yeah,” Satchu replied. “I had that dream again.”

“Anything changed?”

“Nah. Same old path, same old face,” said Satchu, slipping on his blue gloves.

They spent the next thirty minutes punching and slicing their way through several more wooden posts and talking happily together. Satchu’s attack speed was fast already, but he wanted to make it even faster. Aridian was training himself to hit multiple targets with a single swing of his sword. After that they took a rest and sat down at the edge of the training area, sipping water from two bottles.

Aridian looked up and spotted a large group of people milling around the wall of a building directly across from them on the other side of the street.

“Look.” He pointed across the gravel.

Satchu also glanced at the crowd, and then stood up. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s check it out.”

When the pair reached the group, they saw that the people were gathering around a large sign of paper attached to the wall. Drawing closer, they were able to read it.

Danballton needs your help. We need at least five proficient combat specialists for a unique task. If you succeed, you shall be rich and famous. If you think you’re up to it, come to the Combat Training Area at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning.

The two best friends looked at each other.

“Let’s do it,” Satchu grinned.

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

That story is cool so far

[BlueWinter]

Thanks

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

I wonder whats going to happen when they meet the castle boss.

[BlueWinter]

Much more action in this one.

Chapter 3: Three Others

[/b][/u]

Satchu woke early the next morning, after, once again having the dream. He dressed, ate his breakfast and washed rapidly, even though he had plenty of time before the meeting in the Combat Training Area.

He looked at the sundial and set off at half past nine, not wanting to be late and making a fool of himself in front of strangers. As he walked, Aridian joined him.

“Hi,” he said. “You heard anything about this task thing?”

“Nope,” replied Satchu, swinging his gloves. “But whatever it is, I’m ready for it.”

It was a bright, warm, cloudless day today. The sea sparkled in the sun and the mist that eternally surround Shimpi Island was visible.

When they reached the training area, they found three people already there. All looked about the same age as Satchu. One man was twirling a long rope around himself and wrapping it round posts. Another was holding a strange metal contraption slightly larger than his hand. He seemed to be slotting something into it. Finally, a woman with long black hair was behind the two loading an arrow into a bow, which she fired at a board at the end of the Training Area.

“What’s that?” asked Aridian, pointing at the piece of metal the man was holding.

“It’s a gun,” he answered briskly. “Look.” He pointed the gun at one end of the enclosure and fired. Aridian jumped at the sudden bang, but quickly shook off the initial shock and said, “Wow! I had no idea we had that kind of technology!”

“Well, we do. And I think it’s the most powerful weapon that has ever been invented.”

“Nice string,” commented Aridian.

The man wielding the rope replied scathingly. “It’s called a whip, you moron.”

“You seriously use that for combat?” snickered Aridian.

“Razor edged,” the whipper explained icily. “I can slice off your legs if you want.”

“Not if I chop off yours first,” said Aridian menacingly, drawing his sword from the holder on his back.

“What, with that butter knife?” he scoffed.

Aridian charged.

“No!” Satchu shouted desperately. “Don’t, Aridian!”

Aridian ignored him. With his sword held above his head, he continued to run towards the whipper, who raised his own weapon in defence with a smirk on his face.

Suddenly, Aridian was encased in a mass of crackling purple light. He rose into the air, then the purple light crashed into the ground, taking Aridian with it. At the same moment, a glowing blue orb of light smashed into the whipper’s chest, knocking him flying several metres into a wall. He slipped down to the ground and stayed there, unmoving.

Through the cloud of dust thrown up by the double attack, two silhouettes appeared. Then one of them spoke.

“What the hell are you two playing at?”

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

Cool!

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

Can't wait for part 4

[Randomness]

Apr 4, 2010 7:27:22 GMT -5 shadowsrandom said:

Should a 27 year old still be living with his mother?
I think not.

Good story, though.

Back in the old days this was common. These are basically the choices you had.

Live with family til mom & dad die, if you was the first son then you own the house.
Live with family til 12 or 14 (forgot which) then move in to a knight home to do labor and learn...around age 16 you start doing knight stuff...
Same as above but becoming a crafter of some kind and work within a guild. You sleep with other members most of the time.
Become a monk and sleep in the church...You lose everything in the outside world to become holy and you can never get money again...So you basically stuck there as you work for free for the lord.

As you notice, there is a pattern. Back then there was less houses and more people within a household.

Good job S.I.V.A.R. of getting the medieval feel to it.

[shadowsrandom]

Apr 6, 2010 8:52:08 GMT -5 Randomness said:

Apr 4, 2010 7:27:22 GMT -5 shadowsrandom said:

Should a 27 year old still be living with his mother?
I think not.

Good story, though.

Back in the old days this was common. These are basically the choices you had.

Live with family til mom & dad die, if you was the first son then you own the house.
Live with family til 12 or 14 (forgot which) then move in to a knight home to do labor and learn...around age 16 you start doing knight stuff...
Same as above but becoming a crafter of some kind and work within a guild. You sleep with other members most of the time.
Become a monk and sleep in the church...You lose everything in the outside world to become holy and you can never get money again...So you basically stuck there as you work for free for the lord.

As you notice, there is a pattern. Back then there was less houses and more people within a household.

Good job S.I.V.A.R. of getting the medieval feel to it.

Hm, never thought of it that way.
Good point.

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

Whens part 4?

[BlueWinter]

Should be up tonight, I was doing graphics yesterday. (Like my new look?

Chapter 4: The Mission

The dust settled, and the figures stepped forward into the sun. They were male; one was slightly older than the rest of them, but the other looked very elderly. Nevertheless, he was holding a staff with a crackling orb of purple light at the end, and he looked livid. The other was carrying nothing, yet he still seemed to radiate power.

Satchu looked down at Aridian, who was getting up, groaning. He had now started searching for his sword, which he had dropped in the attack. The whipper, who had also lost his weapon, was on his hands and knees, coughing up blood. He seemed to have fared much worse. The archer ran over to help him.

“What was that for?!” shouted Aridian at them, holding his arm in pain and trying to brandish his sword at the same time.

“We cannot have you fighting and injuring other team members before the mission has even started,” replied the priest.

“What mission?” rasped the whipper in between grunts of
pain. “And what do you mean ‘injuring other team members’? Look at me!” he managed to yell before slumping to the ground again.

“Your injuries are superficial. Perhaps a broken bone or two, but what if we hadn’t intervened?” answered the man who had launched the blue orb. “You might have a sword sticking out of your chest by now. And do you mean to say that you know nothing about what you’ve let yourselves in for?”

The others, excluding the priest, shook their heads.

At that moment, another person walked into the Training Area. It was the Mayor of Danballton.

"What’s going on here?” he asked, bewildered to see someone lying on the floor coughing up blood, while a gladiator stood a few metres away from him, panting and holding a sword.

The whipper piped up first. “He attacked me,” he accused, pointing at Aridian.

“We broke up the fight before it could start, Sir,” commented the priest, talking over him.

“We shall sort this out later,” said the Mayor, firmly. “In the meantime, I expect most of you are wondering why you are here. Basically, Danballton is in crisis. We have used all of our land for farming and housing, but, as our population grows, we need even more space. And we just don’t have it any more.”

“So, we need to find new land,” continued the priest. “As you know, we are on a peninsular. We cannot move north or south because of the sea. We cannot spread west due to the impassable mountain range there. Our only option is east, to Shimpi Island.”

As if on cue, all heads turned to face the sea, and the mist that surrounded Shimpi Island. Shimpi, in the old Danballton language, meant mystery. And for good reason. No one who had gone to Shimpi Island had ever returned.

“And so, we need you seven to go there to explore and kill any hostile creatures that may threaten us when we move there,” finished the Mayor. “You are all the best of Danballton when it comes to combat, and it looks like a couple of you are eager to get started.” He cast his eye over Aridian and the whipper. “I think an introduction is necessary. What are your names?”

Satchu started off. “I’m Satchu, and I’m a boxer,” he said uncertainly, holding up his gloves.

“My name is Aridian, and I am a gladiator.”

“I’m Thei. I am a gunner,” said the man with the pistol.

The whipper spoke next. “I am called Kerhi, am this is my whip.” He picked up his whip off the ground.

“My name is Kaido,” commented the only woman quietly. “I am an archer, but I can also do medical operations if anyone needs them.”

“I am Father Masu,” said the old priest, looking imposingly over them. “This is my weapon,” he added, holding up his crackling staff.

Finally, the man who launched the orb spoke. “My name is Seiti, and this is what I can do.” He raised his arms to form a ‘C’ shape in front of his chest. A small sphere of blue light appeared in the centre. It rapidly expanded, and, when it was just about to touch his arms, Seiti pushed it away from him with his hands. The orb smashed into a wooden post, disintegrating it, and the light dissipated.

They stared in awe until the Mayor cleared his throat and addressed them.

“Very good. Continue training for today, then be at the docks at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. We leave for Shimpi Island then.” He turned and walked away.

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

Cool!!!!!!!!!!

[ownedbyglove]

Grea story! and in my stick ranger forum game, my guy's a boxer too! ^.^ Yay!

[Randomness]

So in the story orbs are not weapons which floats around the user or the mage have his hidden or yet to get one?

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

Hope its finished soon

[TheSeaweedDoctor]

I wonder what the island will be like