"Brothers Quest 1(Macidermdale) Chapter 1" by Chris Michael Poole

Chapter 1

The Beginning

…It was morning. Most of the Pacermian people were asleep, tucked away in the hollows of their tree homes, not all. Brass and Sure, the Caldwin Brothers had already begun their day.

Sure, the younger of the two – at 60 – stood gazing up through the forest’s dense treetops searching, maybe, for a glimpse of sunlight. Catching it on his face he swore aloud,

"The mayors gonna kill me."

He was going to be late again. If there is a break in it would be my fault.

Luckily, when he reached the tower, the night gate was still down, and all in one piece. But you could never be sure in these times of war. The Low-world might attack the forest at any time, day, night, or morning. But usually no one arrived that early. Maybe that’s why Sure took morning guard.

He always liked the morning. He got up early most days even when he didn’t have duty. Most of the people at the academy hated morning shift so Sure got to have it the majority of the time. And since not many people ever ventured into the Forest that early he usually got it easy. Even in these times of world war.

Today started much the same as any. Sure clanked up the ladder in his plate armor, lowered the second gate, which was always stubborn, and sat down to have a daydream. One of his favorite daydreams. The one most knights have, the one where they kill the dragon save the beautiful princess and marry her. What he didn’t know was how close to a fairy tale he was.

At that moment grimy horse trod out of the forest onto the road. Followed by an even more grimy warrior. The warrior staring up into the guard tower yelled to Sure in a loud voice. The noise of the yell was loud enough to scare the hair off your back and Sure jumped out of his dream faster then a snakes tongue. Hitting his head on the undesirably low ceiling he called down.

" Who goes there?" he said stopping himself from swearing.

" I am Man-blek!" The knight began to say spitting sludge out of his mouth. "I am Maniku from the order of her ladyship, Queen Kabuki. I seek attendance with the mayor of Pacermia. I must be allowed see him at once."

Scratching his chin Sure asked, "How am I to be sure you are not a spy?"

"This should be proof enough." The warrior grunted as he placed an arrow on his bowstring. "Catch."

The arrow flew into the guard tower with precise aim. It missed Sure by a foot or so and was embedded into the wall. Sure leaned back to examine it.

Comparing its intricate designs to his arrow he realized there was a perfect match and he was speaking with an Honored Knight of Macidermdale.