Death Or Fortune
Authors: James Chesney,James Smith
Death or Fortune
Written by James Smith
Story by James Smith and James Chesney
Death or Fortune
©
2012 James Smith & James Chesney
All rights reserved.
All characters in this book
are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely
coincidental.
Originally published online
in blog format. The world of Majius and the land of Atalanxia and all
characters in this work are the property of James Smith and James Chesney and
cannot be used without permission.
All rights reserved.
Cover Photo by Candis Chin
and Jim Nymberg
Cover art by Matt
Golden
For my mother, who will not care
about anything past this first page.
J.G.S.
Es-cap-ism
: habitual
diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an
escape from reality or routine.
It could be said that living in a
world of your own creation is better than dealing with reality. For most
people, the first taste of ‘escapism’ comes from one of two things.
Sitting on your parents lap, looking at the colorful pictures in a book as your
parent reads. Then there is the idiot box, the boob tube, that god damned
TV or perhaps in your house it was just, television. Both books and that
TV are tools of escapism. Granted, one of them is much better than the
other. I had tons of both as a child. Most days I would wake up
early in the morning and sneak out into the living room to watch TV.
Sneaking is very important here, there is no reason why a three or four year
old should be up at six in the morning with his face six inches away from the
idiot box. At least that is what my mother or father would tell me when
they, on the rare occasion, caught me up that early.
When the limits of patients were
reached, I was most often told one of two things. “Go outside and play!”
or “You have a huge toy box full of shit, go play!” Did you know that the
crew of the U.S.S Enterprise traveled back in time to get Batman and Robin so
they could help fight the Klingons? The Bionic Man wanted to go as well
but Steve was just too tall for the transporters in the Enterprise. Every
day was an adventure of some kind. Most of it came from my own
mind. Sure, I had friends that I could have invited along but not
everyone wanted to go down such a deep hole with me. When the toys were
put away, it was the books. My mother is to this day an avid reader and
she made sure I had more than enough books to keep me busy. Now I am not
quite sure who gave me my first comic book. I have always had them in my
life. While I am sure both my parents will say that it was them who
taught me how to read, I am pretty sure it was really Stan Lee.
Then came the day something new
popped up. I can almost remember the first time I saw this new thing on
TV. It was a game that came in a red box and had all kinds of funny blue
dice inside. While I cannot remember just what was said on TV I knew two
things right away. First, you are going to be a hero! Second, you
are going to fight dragons! Any other thing I desired from that moment on
took a back seat to that red box. It took me several years of begging to
get my hands on that box but it was worth it. That is until I figured out
that, it isn’t a good game to play alone and a lot of people just don’t get
it. Role playing games are not for everyone. My parents still don’t
understand, in fact when I let it slip that I still play these games, I often
get that ‘dad head shake’.
My entire time in school, I knew
two people that knew anything about role playing games. It wasn’t until I
entered the military that I found people like me who understood what these
games are about. Even guys who had no clue what these games were before,
wanted to play. Why? Because when your everyday reality is that
harsh, escapism is most important. It is something easy to do that can
help take your mind off what is really going on in the world. So you
visit a world where you can be the hero and no one really needs to die.
With all that being said, for the
last fifteen years or so I have had the pleasure of being able to escape to
another world with some of my friends. I was invited to the world of
Majius by Mr. Chesney for the first time in 1997. The characters in
this little story first touched down on the world in a little place
called Eystlund on the continent of Atalanxia. While I am sure he has no
regrets about opening the door for me, I don’t think he understood what I would
do once I got inside. What started as a simple character history, turned
into something more. Something that grew beyond what either of us could
have imagined. This is the story of Darmot Kromwell, as told by him, in
his own words. Think of it as his personal diary. While at times
the story demanded that I take a look at the world through the eyes of another
character, for the most part, this is what you have. If you are reading
this, I would like to thank you for both myself and for Mr. Kromwell.
Yes, thank you and lastly, Welcome to Atalanxia! We all hope you enjoy
your stay.
JGS.
Time goes
by and memories fade. I've decided to write this journal so I do not lose
any more of the tale than I already have. I am not going to pretend that
I am destined for a long life. I picked up this sword long ago and I may
still die by it.
I will
start with my father. Keller Kromwell is a self-made merchant and a
swine. To say that he was a cruel man isn't quite right. I am sure
at one time he treated people with kindness but I never saw it during my first
eight-teen years. If he could not use you at best all he gave you was
indifference. My mother Lucinda said that she loved him but I still
do not know why. Never did he say a kind word to her. Never did I
see him embrace her with any kind of affection. I believe that he was
done with her once she gave him the one thing he wanted most, a son.
For as
long as I could remember Keller told me that one day, all that he has built
would be mine. Keller saw himself as the king of his very own imagined
empire. If he had to cheat and swindle everyone he dealt with in order to
achieve that, so be it. He opened his first shop in the town of Caraless,
a little more than a day’s ride from Eystlundtowne. It was a modest
trading post but it wasn’t enough for him. Keller’s desire was to have to
have the largest trade network in the kingdom. Not just Caraless but the
entire kingdom of Eystlund. I sometimes think Keller’s ambition drove him
to the point of obsession. A little more than a year after he first
opened his first shop, Keller was ready to expand. He invested in the
best wagons and horses to move his goods. He dreamed of a vast trading
empire that spread out to every coast with him at the center of it all, profit
coming from every turn of the wheel.
Sometime
between Caraless and Keller moving to Eystlundtowne, I came along. It
wasn’t easy for him that first year. When times were tough he would
employ thieves to bring him the goods he needed. He would pay them next
to nothing and kill them if they tried to protest. When the bodies began
to pile up any thought of protest stopped. Having the captain of the
watch in his pocket helped as well. By the time I was ten years of age he
had the largest shop within a hundred miles. Money is power he would tell
me, I think it is the only thing we both agree on.
The year I turned thirteen he told me it was time for
me to become a man. He wanted me to learn the trading routs and how to
move the cargo. At the time I wanted no part of it until he told me that
he would not be on the trip. He had other matters to attend to.
Keller told me, I was a man, I would be responsible. This is when I met
the man who would change my life.
It was
around that time that Keller had started to hire mercenary companies to protect
his goods. The captain of the company was chosen due to his blood, a
half-elf that only went by the name of Windfall. Today I know the man was
a bounty hunter and only worked for my father for one reason.
"The
best way to catch a thief is to have what he wants."
I am sure
if he ever found out that my father was the one responsible for the majority of
the theft in the region he would have just killed him to be done with it.
Windfall
himself was a father of two boys’. One, was two years older than I, the
other was just a runt. He looked after me on the road and taught me most
of what I know today. He gave me my first blade and taught me how to
fight. He tried to teach me other things but the sword was something I
understood. The blade was power, with it I could earn respect. Respect
no coin could buy. With the blade I could earn the coin to leave behind
all that my father wanted me to be. I wouldn't need him or his money.
With the blade I could become my own man and do something my father never
did; good.