Character History: Seebo the Child

Saragost was a bustling hub of activity with the news of the enemy army's progress. People crammed the streets and shops trying to prepare for the inevitable, woefully unaware of the true nightmare that was bearing down upon them.

A lone figure stood motionless among the throngs of people, staring intently at a cart of apples. The fruit had been piled too high and every once in a while a passerby would bump the cart and the apples would threaten to tumble. The vendor would deftly steady his cart before his stock fell to the ground.

A group of four city guards turned the corner and started pushing their way through the people. One of the guards shoved a frail man to the side towards the apple vendor, bumping his cart one last time. The vendor tried in vain to steady his cart but the pile of apples shuddered and collapsed, spilling to the ground below.

---

Greenfield was a small village on the lone island of Verda, the land the Halflings of Ashfar called home. Among the Halfling villages, Greenfield was one of the smaller farming communities, no more than twelve families made up the whole village.

A young Halfling sat on the bank of a small river at the edge of an apple orchard. At no more than 14 years old, he had a tuft of disheveled, light brown hair atop his head and bright, innocent eyes, filled with wonder and curiosity. He sat patiently looking deep in the water, motionless as if waiting for something. Without a word he shot his hand down into the water and grabbed for something. He pulled his hand up to take a look at his prize. The boy smiled in satisfaction as he examined the turtle, looking it from all sides, occasionally poking the hard shell in various places. The turtle flailed about in a desperate attempt to reach the ground. The boy slowly set the turtle down on the bank of the river and stepped back, watching it slowly make its way back to the relative safety of the water.

The boy turned and picked up a basket of apples that had been resting next to him. His break was over and it was time to get back to his chores. He hefted the basket up on his shoulder and started making his way back through the orchard towards the house.

The boy had just stepped out of the orchard when he heard a woman scream. Before he could react, a horse came plowing through the wheat field in front of him dragging a cart behind. The horse galloped forward at a frightening speed, its eyes wide with fear. It came to an abrupt stop and reared just a few feet ahead of the boy. The horse turned and broke the already loose harness that held it and galloped off.

Fear held the boy in place; he had not moved an inch since he heard the scream. He still held the basket of apples on his shoulders as he stared at the horrifying scene that lay before him. A man and a woman could be seen pinned beneath the cart the horse had been dragging, their limbs protruding from the sides. A pool of blood began to seep out from under the cart and slowly flowed towards the boy. Still shaking, tears formed in his now darkening eyes as he tried to comprehend what was happening. The man and the woman under the cart were his parents. His body suddenly lost all strength and he lost his grip on the basket of apples he held on his shoulder. The basket dropped to the ground and tore as the apples spilled on the ground below.

---

"You there! Come with us. You're wanted for questioning." The four guards moved towards the lone Halfling with purpose. The lead one called out for him to halt and come with them for questioning.

The Halfling didn't even bother to look in their direction before turning and moving away from the market. The guards drew swords and gave chase, obviously not happy with the Halfling's decision. The mass of people parted quickly at the sounds and sights of weapons drawn, leaving a clear path towards where the Halfling should have been. The guards ran forward but stopped short. They had lost sight of their intended target.

The Knife moved quickly and quietly down a side alley away from the market and the guards. He was not in any mood to get into a fight right now and most assuredly a fight would have ensued with those guards. The Knife jumped up on a trash can and bounded up onto the wall, grabbing hold of a window sill and slowly making his way to the roof. He pulled himself over the edge and walked to the front to look over into the market he just left. Sure enough the four guards stood dumbfounded searching the crowd for the evasive Halfling. The Knife chuckled quietly as he turned and left.

Next Post