The Orphan Wars (Book One) (12 page)

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?"
asked a voice very loudly.

A clapping of hands and snapping of fingers caused all of the unlit
candles to once again light up all around the room.  Nemeth heard loud footsteps coming towards him.  Suddenly a pair of large sweaty hands clasped around Nemeth's hands and he was pulled up partially from the hole.  Half of Nemeth's body was still in the hole and he was dangling from the grasp of another person's hands.  Nemeth looked up and saw that it was Tioli the innkeeper who had pulled him up from the hole.

"YOU'RE TRYING TO ROB ME BOY!" shouted Tioli angrily.  "
You probably had something to do with the theft of our Ambrule supply too.  I knew I shouldn't have trusted you the moment I first saw you walk through the door.  I allowed you to stay for free in our nicest room and this is how you repay me?  I should just drop you down below into the darkness!  Your bones will shatter from the fall and the creatures below will finish you off."

"Allow me to explain!" shouted Nemeth nervously.  "Just lift me out of here and
I'll explain everything to you sir."

"Don't you try and weasel your way out of this you little thief!" shouted Tioli.  "Tell your lies to the creatures below and see if they have any mercy on you.  I won't feel any
guilt to see a thief die and there will be no blood on my hands."

Nemeth raised both of his knees
up his chest and forcefully kicked Tioli in the chest with both legs knocking Tioli backwards into the front desk.  This broke Nemeth free from his grasp and sent Nemeth backwards into the treasure chest.  Nemeth rolled to his left a couple of times and then made a dash at Tioli who was sitting down against the front desk.  Tioli made an attempt to stand up but was too heavy to make it to his feet on his own.  Nemeth took out his sword and pointed it at Tioli's throat.

"
Shhhhhhhhhhh… " said Nemeth in a soft voice.  "I'm only going to tell you this once more.  I didn't take your Ambrule and if you don't sit there and shut the hell up, I will hurt you, you fat, disgusting pig."

Tioli began to flail his arms wildly and started screaming for help.

Nemeth flipped his sword over so he was holding the handles with both of his hands.  He jammed the handle of his sword into the right side of Tioli's head knocking him unconscious.  Tioli fell face forward onto the ground.  Nemeth flipped his sword over once again and put it back in its sheath.  Nemeth grabbed Tioli by his head and dragged him over to the hole that the trapdoor was covering.  He forced Tioli head-first into the hole.  Tioli was so fat that he got stuck upside down inside the hole.  Nemeth removed Tioli's shoes and tossed them aside.  Nemeth covered his mouth with both hands trying not to laugh at the sight of the fat, shoeless innkeeper trapped upside down in the hole.  Nemeth looked around the lobby to see if anyone else was there but it didn't appear that anyone was around despite all of the noise that was made.  Nemeth climbed back onto the other side of the front desk and made his way back to the top floor.  He unlocked room 11, opened the door and then quickly shut it behind him and locked it again.

"Calling Jaida
," said Nemeth.  "Come on out Jaida!"

Jaida appeared before Nemeth
as he commanded.

"
What do you need now master?" asked Jaida.

"I had some trouble with Tioli the
innkeeper downstairs," answered Nemeth.  "I nearly fell into the hole that was underneath the trapdoor behind the front desk.  He wanted to drop me into the hole as punishment for searching through his treasure chest.  He even blamed me for stealing his Ambrule supply.  I couldn't see how far of a drop it was but according to Tioli it sounded like it was far enough that I would have broken a lot of bones.  He kept insisting that there were creatures below that would have finished me off if I went down there.  I had no choice other than to knock him out and stuff his fat ass into the opening himself.  But all of that trouble was worth it!  Take a look at what I found in the treasure chest!"

Nemeth grabbed the grappling hook from his backpack and showed it to Jaida.

"Do you like it?" asked Nemeth.  "I was going to use it to climb down and see what was underneath the trapdoor.  Now that's no longer an option.  But all I have to do now is use it to get on top of the roof!"

"
Yes, I like the grappling hook," replied Jaida.  "I predict that this plan will work.  Please proceed but be careful not to fall."

Nemeth ran over to the window and opened it.  He leaned backward and looked up towards the roof of the inn.  Using his left hand, he threw the grappling hook as
high as he could above the roof.  After hearing a loud clang, Nemeth tugged on the rope hard to make sure that the grappling hook was securely latched onto the roof.

"I guess I'm better at using a grappling hook than I thought," said Nemeth.  "I would have figured that it would have fallen off and hit me in the head.  Oh, but I still have to climb up.
  I hope I didn't jinx myself."

Nemeth gripped the middle of the rope tightly with both hands and hopped out of the window.  He planted his feet against the exterior of the inn and began to pull himself up while walking up
towards the roof.  In just under a minute, Nemeth reached the roof of the Norfall Inn.  He picked up his grappling hook and placed it into his backpack.  Nemeth took out his lantern and walked the entire length of the roof towards Numandu Weapon Shop making sure to inspect the floor for anything that may get in his way for his next risky task.  Numandu Weapon Shop was about one and a half stories lower than Norfall Inn.  The gap between the two buildings was about 13 feet total.  Nemeth felt confident that he could make the jump.

"Alright, let's do this!" said Nemeth
with much excitement.

"I'll float on over to the roof of the weapon shop," replied Jaida.  "If you're planning on jumping master, just aim
for where I'm floating.  If you crash into me, you'll pass completely through me unharmed since I'm completely transparent."

"That's a great idea actually," replied Nemeth.  "I'm surprised I didn't think of it
first."

Jaida floated over to the roof of the weapon shop.  Nemeth walked back to where he first climbed up to the roof of the inn.
  A warm breeze could be felt against his back.  He stretched his arms and legs and then made a mad dash towards the other side of the inn.  As he reached the end of the roof, he leapt up into the air aiming for Jaida.  He landed successfully on the roof of the weapon shop and did several forward somersaults to slow his momentum.  He rested on his back on the roof of the weapon shop momentarily.

"Ha, I knew I could do it!" exclaimed Nemeth while breathing heavily.

Nemeth put his hands behind his head and performed a nip up bringing him to a standing position.  He looked out at Norfall.  The town seemed to be quite affluent as a whole, not just the Norfall Inn.  There were quite a lot of lights on in the surrounding buildings but the town appeared to be completely deserted.  Everyone must have been asleep.

"Now all we have to do is get inside the weapon shop," said Nemeth.  "I wish Bastilone was here.  He would be able to smash a hole in the roof with his fists alone.
  It is quite the feat to see."

Nemeth began to pace back and forth on the roof of the weapon shop try
ing to think of a way to get into the weapon shop.

"
Master, I believe that potions are your best option," said Jaida.  "An Acid Potion would be the best thing to try first."

"Of course!" exclaimed Nemeth.
  "I've still got plenty of potions left in my backpack.  If an Acid Potion was able to cause that much damage to Madame Magica's leg, just imagine what it can do to the roof!"

Nemeth peered into his backpack and began searching frantically for a precious green colored Acid Potion.

"Yes, yes, here we are!" exclaimed Nemeth.  "It's time to dissolve the roof!  This had better work!"

Nemeth took out an Acid
Potion from his backpack and smashed it violently in the center of the roof of the weapon shop.  Nemeth watched with a big grin on his face as the acid began to create an opening in the roof of the weapon shop.  The plan had succeeded.  Now all Nemeth had to do was drop down below and gather whatever he needed.

"Hey Jaida, can you go down below and check and see if there's anybody guarding the place?" questioned Nemet
h.

"I will check for you now," replied Nemeth.
  "I'll be back shortly."

Jaida floated below into the weapon shop and moments later floated back up to Nemeth.

"The weapon shop is unguarded," said Jaida.  "I feel you will be pleased at the amount of equipment this shop has in stock too.  Good fortune is with us tonight."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Nemeth.  "I can't wait to see what this place has got for me to take."

Nemeth used his grappling hook and made his descent into the weapon shop below.  He put the grappling hook into his backpack.  The weapon shop was almost totally dark, so he used his small lantern to examine the items in the shop.

"Let's see here," said Nemeth.  "I'm going to need a sword, shield and armor that contain absolutely no wood in them.
  Metal, metal, metal, that's what I need.  I'm going to pick a sword first since that's the most important thing I need."

Nemeth looked around at the various swords.  The craftsmanship of the swords looked to be of very high quality.  However, most of the swords
seemed to be designed for adults, not kids.  Nemeth was particularly impressed by a sword called the Scimitar of The Desert.

"This sword right here!" exclaimed Nemeth.  "This one must be at least twice the size of t
he wooden sword I've got now.  Look at the curve in the blade!  I can't wait for the day I'll be able to use a sword like this one."

Nemeth continued to search around the weapon shop for a sword that would be a good fit for him.  He finally
found a sword called the Short Sword of Orius.  This sword was the perfect match for Nemeth.  It was about the same length as his wooden practice sword, only forged out of steel and slightly heavier.  Nemeth took a few practice swings with his new sword.  He placed his old wooden sword into his backpack and then placed his new sword into his sheath.

"
Time for some shield shopping now," said Nemeth.  "Let's see what they have in stock shall we?"

Nemeth made his way over to the shield section of the shop and began to examine
each shield carefully.  He saw a sign that said "Shields From All Regions Of Tyraneus."  If the sign were telling the truth, it meant that he would be able to obtain a worthy shield after all.  Once again, most of the shields were way too big for Nemeth to carry.  After a few minutes of frantically searching, Nemeth picked up the Buckler of Orius.  The Buckler of Orius was a small shield that appeared to be forged out of copper.  He placed his wooden shield into his backpack and then flung the Buckler of Orius over his back.

"This shield looks like it will work out just fine," said Nemeth.  "I wonder who this Orius fellow is.
  Any ideas Jaida?"

"
Orius is the town's best blacksmith," replied Jaida.  "Didn't you pay attention to the map of the town earlier?  Orius the Blacksmith was listed on the map!"

"
I didn't pay attention," said Nemeth.  "I was so exhausted and in a daze that I almost fell into the fountain outside the inn remember?  Anyhow, let's grab some armor and then we can finally head on over to The Great Temple of the Forest.  As for the temple, you still need to give me details on it Jaida."

Nemeth b
egan searching for armor in the shop.  He tried on various pieces of armor in the shop.  All of the suits of armor were so large and it made it look like he was hiding in a turtle shell.  He had barely any mobility while wearing any of the suits of armor he tried on.  After trying on over a dozen different pieces of armor, Nemeth finally tossed the last suit of armor over to the side and sighed.

"There's nothing that fits me," said Nemeth with great disappointment.  "I thought
I would have found another piece created by Orius.  What am I supposed to do now?"

"I can tell you much about the temple," replied Jaida.
  "The first of which is that there is a lot of treasure to be found inside.  Perhaps there is armor suitable for you inside of the temple."

"That's good news indeed," replied Nemeth.  "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Remember what we talked about earlier," said Jaida.  "You should pay for the sword and shield you took from here.  It would be nice if you threw in a little extra so the owner can repair the roof too."

Nemeth tossed a random amount of gold and silver coins on the floor of the shop as payment for what he took and damages to the roof. 
Nemeth walked over to the front door of the shop.  He opened the door easily and then exited to the outside.  He then shut the door behind him.  Nemeth took a few steps forward and began to think that something was a bit odd.

"Wait a minute," said Nemeth.
  "Hold on a second."

Nemeth turned around and walked back to the front door
of the weapon shop.  He put his hand on the knob of the door, slowly turned the handle and pushed the door forward.  Nemeth's jaw dropped.