Before (Origins Shortstory)

0.1) Before

            The crimson sun hung above the lapping waves as dawn approached in the city of Hilt. Night had long set over the rest of the continent, and the rest of the First Shal’s domain. Hilt was the first to see the dawn of the new day, and the rest of civilization was to follow.

            Deep inside the sprawling coastal town lay a small bar, built far taller than it was wide. It stood on a series of thick, wooden stilts, elevating it away from the waves splashing beneath it. This was the Siren’s Doorstep Vena, a tiki bar of sorts with traditional thatched rooves, and dozens of floors above fit for sleeping patrons.

            A lone figure sat in the corner of the bottom floor, pouring over maps and charts, each sprawled out meticulously on the thick driftwood table.

            Like him, the rest of the bar was quiet. Only a few servers wandered around, catering to the few guests who had already risen for breakfast. This was a resort town, after all, you could hardly expect everyone to wake at such an early hour. Only the residence dared to set their schedules that early.

            The lone man was young, appearing only a few years over twenty. His hair was messy and his eyes featured deep, dark bags. He looked tired, yet pushed on anyway.

            “So,” a young woman sporting a pair of furry pointed ears, stepped up to the table, taking a peak at the documents before looking back at the boy. “Figure anything out?”

            “I’ll have a coffee!” He forced on a weak smile, meeting her eye-contact.

            “Yup, and…?” She stared expectantly, cocking her head.

            “Still got a little too many issues. I’ll need a bit more time,” he leaned back in the booth. It was built from the same hard-wood as the table, featuring clear, dark four-by-fours stacked together for the backrest. It only sat a few inches out from the back wall, placing the man in the corner of the quiet tropical inn.

            “I figured!” She smiled despite the news.

            “Just give me a bit more time. ‘Kay Tanya?”

            “Thanks, Liam!” Her smile had yet to waver.

            “I’ll piece it all together. I swear.”

            “What about Foea?” She leaned over, oblivious to how her uniform reacted around her chest. Though there was barely anything to peek for. She leaned over the table, drawing close to the boy and pointing to one of his maps. Her finger stopped over a small picture near the center of the picture. It seemed to be a city.

            “Could be nice, Feor’s said good things.”

            “Yeah!” Tanya pulled back. Her furry ears seemed to twitch with excitement.

            “But we’d have to pass through Tyr.” Liam focused on his documents. “It could be risky.”

            “You’re still worried about the Shil there?”

            “Just give me some time, I’ll get it worked out.” He started to pour back over his paper.

            “Oh, one last thing…” Her back seemed to tense as she reached into the slit along her dress. Her thighs were clearly visible up to a dangerous point. Thankfully the rest of the dress was tight enough to hold together. A thick belt wrapped around said thigh, seemingly holding something inside. She pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it out on the table, among the other documents.

            “You have a new task…” Her smile seemed to waver. Clearly she didn’t wish to continue but pushed through. Her hesitation was clear.

            “Oh…” He leaned back again.

            “Sorry.”

            “Mmm,” he nodded.

            “Can you handle it?”

            “Yup, just…”

            “Yeah…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but she understood anyway.

            “I’ll handle everything. Like I promised. Don’t worry!” It was his turn to wear the smile. He flashed it up her way.

            “Hmmm!” Her joy returned, the smile she wore was genuine once more. “I’ll go get your coffee.”

            Before he could respond, Tanya scurried off towards the bar. It sat a good dozen yards away, giving him plenty of time to focus on other matters.

            The new parchment drew his attention, his slid it over the table into his grasp and held it up to read.

            I was simple. Arguably, a waste of paper.

            But he couldn’t help but read it a few times over, his thoughts wavering each time as he tried to take it in.

            Eliminate. Tors.

            That was all it said. And it was all he needed. He had come to expect as much.

            But he couldn’t let Tanya see it.

            He stuffed it quickly into his pocket and returned to his maps; but his eyes flashed up towards Tanya. She now stood behind the bar, preparing Liam’s drink.

            This was bad news. Tors was just like her. A Reporter.

            Liam, Tanya, and Tors too, all worked for the same group. It simply went by the name Organization.

            It wasn’t Liam’s first choice for work, but he didn’t have much choice when he arrived in this world. It seemed Tanya was in a similar situation. He had known her for a few months now, and they had grown close in that time.

            See, Tanya was Liam’s boss. Her official title was Reporter. Just like Tors.

            Most cities under the Organization’s watch had a Reporter or two. They were highly trusted field agents who had spent enough time with the group to earn a promotion.

            While Liam didn’t know how long Tanya had been working with the Organization, it had always been clear they trusted her.

            But they shouldn’t have. And it seemed they were starting to catch on.

            “Crap…” Liam heaved, as he turned away from Tanya.

            He had no choice now. He would have to kill Tors. But it seemed likely this was all a test. If wouldn’t be the first time his work tested him. But typically, those challenges were much easier.

            Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Something had shifted in the room.

            Whuuu-whuuu, whuuu-whuuu

            The sound of the bar’s saloon doors caught Liam’s attention.

            His gaze moved towards the disturbance. By some luck, he could already sense something was off.

            But Tanya had yet to notice behind the bar. She was too distracted by Liam’s order.

            A group of two men had just stepped inside.

            Each wore a thick leather jacket and a pair of leather ankle boots. A pair of blue pants reach from the ham of their jackets to the top of the shoes.

            It almost looked like they were trying to match. In fact, apart from their hair, they two seemed almost identical. Both were as plain as their twin.

            But Liam recognized their clothes. He had fought men like this not too long ago. In fact, that was the last test from the Organization.

            It seemed had hadn’t killed all the bandits from back then. Or perhaps a copy cat group had sprung up.

            But Liam wasn’t the only one to notice the men.

            A group of strangers, sat near the front door, shot up from their table and made a beeline back towards the bar. Their escape naturally drew Tanya’s attention, but she was already at a disadvantage.

            The men near the front door had already drawn their blades.

            But Liam knew he could act faster. Good thing he had spotted them in time.

            He shot up out of his booth and rushed towards the nearest thief, the blonde one. He sported a nasty scar across his right eye, adding an extra bit of character.

            Not wasting anytime, Liam had already unsheathed his sword. For a moment, just as he closed in, he felt like he was having fun. But the feeling immediately disappeared as he made his attack.

            It hit, but just barely, fighting to cut through the bandits armor. In his mind’s eye he could almost spot a health bar above the enemy’s head. It dropped by only a sliver.

            The other bandit quickly stepped over to the rescue. Liam had successfully drawn the enemies’ attention at least. But he was still pulling back from his previous attack.

            The second bandit, with red hair, squeezed in between an empty table and the front door. The dining room floor wasn’t too big, making it hard to fight near the front door. But the bandit only had to reach so close.

            He swung his sword out wildly, but it was no use.

            Liam felt proud as he barely managed to dodge the incoming attack. The bandit whiffed such an easy attack.

            But it was his buddies turn to act.

            It didn’t even matter why they were here. The two of them fought without a word, only the occasional deep breath or grunt gave their consciousness away. Otherwise they were only one step from soulless fighters.

            The blonde didn’t have to move an inch, Liam was his target, and had already done him a service by closing the distance.

            He swung his sword out towards Liam…and…whiffed it as well!

            Now, it wasn’t a matter of pride but good luck that Liam managed to avoid both attacks.

            Tanya had finally started to move though. She hurried out from behind the bar top, which wasted some precious time, and started towards the battle near the front door.

            Liam was strong, but this would be a difficult fight if his luck took a turn. He would need Tanya’s support to make it out of this one for sure.

            But she wouldn’t be able to reach Liam before the thieves attacked next. She knew this as well as him. “Hang on Liam, we’ve got this!” She shouted as she moved. Somehow, even through the scene, she continued to smile.

            It stirred encouragement in Liam as she rushed into action. He wasn’t alone in this fight.

            There was something she could do at least. She quickly readied one of her dagger and tossed it towards the bandit between her and Liam.

            In the blink of an eye, it shot through the air and dug itself into the bandit’s skin.

            It should have been a normal attack. Maybe scraped by him, but out of sheer luck for the good guys, Tanya’s blade struck his head, right inside his temple. It dug deep inside, killing him instantly.

            Liam was surprised, but thankful all the same.

            But he still had one enemy to contend with. He had to remain focused. If he looked away for one moment, he could lose.

            After a moment, he felt it was his chance to attack once again. He’d need to act before the thief could. But it would be cutting it close.

            Pulling out of his previous attack, he swung his shortsword forward, reaching out towards the bandit. He could feel it, this attack was going to land as well. It arced forward and cut through the armor, but it wasn’t enough.

            A thin steam of blood started to drizzle from the man’s chest. But it wouldn’t kill him.

            Liam had missed his chance for the final blow.

            The unnamed thief felt the same thing. And he took his chance, this time he wasn’t going to make any mistakes. His sword swung out, mirroring Liam’s attack. It reached for Liam’s chest, hoping to copy Tanya and land a killing strike.

            The blade dug into Liam’s casuals, though they were thick enough to consider armor. The sword dug deep, deeper than Liam’s had. But just barley. Liam felt a heat spread from his chest as blood gushed forth. Now he twinned with the bandit. Leveling the playing field.

            Meanwhile, Tanya was closing in. She may have been a Fox-ling, but her speed was surprisingly slow. Perhaps she placed too much trust in Liam’s ability to hold out.

            But her actions weren’t for naught. She readied her other dagger, having closed even more distance. Would she managed to repeat her attack from before though, only time would tell.

            She tossed out her blade beautifully. It sang through the air, straight past Liam’s face. And flew out the doorway, just above the slowing saloon doors.

            “Huh?” But Liam knew he couldn’t take time to react.

            If Tanya couldn’t finish the job, it was back on him.

            Liam swung out his blade, this time in a vertical stroke.

            His blade struck gold. It managed to cut through the thief’s armor, almost like butter. Third time was the charm.

            But as the blade cut itself free, the bandit still managed to stand. Blood poured from his chest now. It was only a matter of time. But he still found the strength for revenge.

            It only did him so much good, however. He had grown unsteady on his feet. His blade sang out towards Liam’s chest, and almost hit.

            It was Tanya to the rescue then. She finally closed the distance and jumped on top her fallen prey.

            Though it would only take her a second to fish out her blade and finish the kill, she instead opted for a wrestling match.

            She dove onto the wounded bandit and wrestled him to the floor. Her size should have come as a disadvantage, but she didn’t pay it any mind. She wrapped the man in a tight hold on the floor and quickly snapped his neck.

            The sound rang through the bar, and only silence could follow.

            Liam had fought worse before and managed to live, Tanya could likely say the same. But any battle could spell unfortunate demise. That much was clear from Tanya’s luck today.

            As the silence filled Liam’s ears he suddenly snapped to.

            His eyes focused back on reality as found himself seated at the table once more.

            Had he dreamed all that?

            He glanced over the room.

            Tanya was still behind the bar but was close to finished. The group of three civilians had returned to their table, talking about something in hushed tones.

            And the bodies of the two bandits had all but disappeared. Liam could almost make out a slight stain on the hardwood where they once lay. But it may have just been his imagination.

            Perhaps it was just a dream.

            He hadn’t had one of those in a while.

            “You’re working yourself too hard…” Tanya let out a deep sigh, appearing beside the table.

            “Huh?” He shook my head, blinking up at her.

            “You’re working yourself too hard!” She repeated with a pout and a smile. She sat his coffee down on the table, but he didn’t look its way.

            Dream or not, Tanya fought beautifully. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her fight. Perhaps that was proof enough it was a dream.

            But there was only one way to find out.

            “I’m doing it all for you. You’re worth it!” He put on a brave smile, facing whatever reaction was to come.

            For a moment, he could see her negative reaction brewing. She was about to read the comment the wrong way and turn him down.

            But then her cheek flushed red. “Oh…” A sheepish sound escaped her lips. “Thanks!” Her hand slipped back into her hair, rubbing her hand embarrassingly.

            “Yeah!” He had succeeded with his compliment. Somehow. But he couldn’t get too proud, he couldn’t deny the feeling he had an extra hand in his attempt. Somehow.

            “So,” she cleared her throat. “What’s you’re next job?”

            “Hey!” Just then, Liam was saved by the bell. The table of strangers had called for Tanya’s service.

            “Coming!” She gave Liam an encourtaging smile before stepping off. She had a job to do.

            And so did he.

            It didn’t matter really if today was lucky or not, the world had turned against him. It had months ago. Tanya was perhaps the only bright light in all that. Perhaps she was his only piece of luck.

            Which meant, he had to get her out of Hilt. And he had to keep up appearances for now. He had to kill Tors.

            So that Tanya’s luck could continue to pay off.

            He slid out his booth and hurried for the door, forgetting all about his coffee. He had a target to eliminate.