"Finally, a town; my life's been pretty boring the past few days." Rejoiced Imogen as she watched the sun set over a human village.
"Apparently strong creatures don't like the swamp, I can see why." Mentioned Imogen.
"Maybe I can finally learn how to use a weapon properly, that's all I want at the moment." Admitted Imogen.
"Well, it's time to test my luck; sadly I just realized that I don't have any gods to pray to." Confessed Imogen.
As the sun set below the hill top view, Imogen shifted from a tick into a human.
"It looks like the guards are just heading in for the night, I need to pick up the pace." Thought Imogen as she started sprinting towards the minute town.
"Hey now, you can't just barge in here like that; you have to pay the entry fee first." Declared one the guards.
"Does this count?" Asked Imogen, tossing her old guild badge to the guard.
"Pff." "This thing, are you serious?" Laughed the guard as he waved the badge in the air.
"Yes?" Affirmed the confused tick.
"You really don't know how stupid you look right now, do you." Stated the muscular guard. "This is the guild badge of New Tokensville, the place where all the beginners go to get used to the world." Smirked the guard.
"That's impossible, the town had huge walls and strong people all over, how could it be a place for weaklings."
"Baron Hardish just took over the place, he used his riches to buy walls from High Construct; new people will be arriving there in a few days." Coughed the guard. "The original inhabitants are pathetically weak, the whole guild will be replaced in a few days!" Exclaimed the guard. "At the moment your guild badge means jack shit, so pay up." Snarled the guard.
"Could you let me in for free, just this once?" Pleaded Imogen.
"Nope, but I have something you could help me with; you resemble this picture quite a bit..." Said the guard as he shook a paper with Imogen's face planted on it in front of her.
"That's not me, it's just a coincidence!" Cried Imogen.
"And I'm willing to believe that it is, for a generous sum." Hinted the guard. "How about two golden peaks, with that I'll forget this conversation and let you in; while that happens all the wanted posters in town will magically disappear." Giggled the guard as he fake teared the wanted poster in his hands.
"I don't have any money! So just let me in already and forget about this whole ordeal." Snapped Imogen.
"That's not going to win you any favors and I'm pretty sure that I won't get anything for letting you in so... nice knowing you." Snickered the guard as he knocked out Imogen with just a single punch before she could even transform into tick form.
~~~
"Wakey wakey, get the fuck up." Crooned a blurry man while he held Imogen in the air.
"My head." "Who the hell are you?" Responded Imogen groggily
"I ask the questions here bitch! You're not my you're not my preferred type to torture, but I've been without a company for so long that I don't really care any more!" Grinned the man maniacally while reaching for a rusty spoon.
"Where the hell did that come from!? one moment you were talking abou-." Tried to say Imogen, but she was cut off by the man.
"Shhh, you're okay? Who hurt you?" Questioned the man, genuinely confused.
"You really are all over the place aren't you." Remarked Imogen.
"Shut the fuck up you bitch! I'll fuck you up! So don't fucking speak to me like that you fucking bitch." Thundered the man as he pushed Imogen onto the ground.
~~~
"Please stop!" I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Screeched Imogen.
"No chance, after you're dead I'll get to have my fun and that's important!"
~~~
After hours of endless screaming, the guards finally had to intervene.
"Hey, what the fuck are you doing; that's my money your killing right there!" Raged the guard as he kicked the man away from Imogen.
"Do you think she needs medical attention? If she does, I'm not taking her down."
"No she's a demi human, she'll be fine in a few days; those are only minor injuries after all." Scoffed the other guard as he looked at the mutilated body of Imogen.
"Wow! Look at how flexible her arm is; it even bends backwards." Marveled the guard as he twisted Imogen's arm all sorts of different ways.
"How will we explain this to the boss, he won't be too happy about this." Mumbled the guard.
"He'll understand that we did what we had to do for the sake of this poor, poor prisoner." Chucked the other guard.
~~~
As Imogen awoke once again, she did not awake to find prison walls, but instead to a lush forest."
"Oh, you're finally awake; that's great." Acknowledged a man as he sat down on a tree stump.
"Who are you, where am I; who am I?" Stammered Imogen.
"Relax, you're safe; for now." Responded the man. "My name's Clarence, what's your's?" Asked Clarence.
"Uhhh… Imogen, why did you bring me here?" Questioned Imogen.
"That's a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?" Gulped Clarence.
"I've got lots of patience, so humor me." Lied Imogen.
"Okay, so I'm the guard captain of West Wall and I couldn't stand the job any longer; so I ran away." Chattered Clarence.
"I happened to see your mutilated body as I escaped, you just looked so pitiful; I couldn't bear to leave you there." Explained Clarence.
"Pitiful… that pretty much sums up my life so far." Thought Imogen.
"I'm so goddarn weak, I thought that I was finally making progress; but I now realize that it's hopeless." Despaired Imogen.
"I don't have a good way to get stronger, I'm wanted by the humans and I'm not strong enough to even kill a random guard in a random town." Whimpered Imogen.
"Hey, Tanvene to Imogen; snap out of it." Command Clarence.
"We're all doomed, I'm too weak to even be of worth to this world; why am I even here." Whined Imogen as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hey, stop that; we're going to be just fine." Claimed Clarence, but even he didn't believe his own words.
"This is too slow, I'm going to die of old age before I make my mark on this world." Stammered Imogen, barely holding back the tears in her eyes.
"I know what'll make you feel better, we could spar." Suggested Clarence.
"I don't even know how to use a weapon." sniffled Imogen.
"Well you could learn, everyone can learn." Reasoned Clarence.
"You'd really teach me, a worthless stain on the world." Croaked Imogen.
"Yes, even though we're not friends; I'd like to get to know you." Admitted Clarence.
"We are going to travel together for quite a while after all, it would be awkward if we didn't get to know each other." Replied Clarence.
"You're so nice… I hope the world favors you; I also want to be friends with you." Responded Imogen not knowing that her feelings would change a multitude of times because of the system's spell.
"That's nice to hear, when do you want to start practicing?" Implored Clarence.
"Right now, if that's okay with you; I hope you know how to use a halberd."
"Of course I do, I was the captain of the guard; I had to train all sorts of people." Assured Clarence.
"Great, what do we do first?" Asked Imogen.
"I actually don't have any halberds on me, I didn't just grab every weapon type and run; all I have is swords." Said Clarence apologetically.
"I have one with me actually, don't freak out; okay." Requested Imogen as she morphed into a tick and then back into a human with a halberd in her hands.
"WHAT!" "what are you, get-, I'm sorry; it was on reflex." Cried Clarence.
"Just don't think much of it, maybe I'll explain it to you later." Grumbled Imogen.
"Okay, I don't like to pry into other people's business so... I don't even remember it happening." Muttered Clarence.
"So, are you going to teach me now?" Questioned Imogen.
"Indeed, so first you gotta put your arms like this and...
~~~
"You learn fast, much faster than any of the guards I've trained." Concluded Clarence.
"So does that mean that I'm a halberd master now?" Inquired Imogen.
"No, of course not; I only taught you a small portion of the basics." Snorted Clarence.
"Nothing in life is ever quick, I'm forever moving slowly; this sucks." Complained Imogen.
"This was only one training session, learning takes time; develop your patience." Instructed Clarence.
"What patience, I don't even have any to develop." Reputed Imogen.
*System Quest: Train with the being known as Clarence
*System Quest Rewards: Skill - Basic halberd mastery and two skill stones
"Imogen, hello?" Said Clarence questioningly.
"Oh, sorry; I was just thinking about something." Murmured Imogen.
"You seem to drift off a lot, it's strange; but I could get used to it." Compromised Clarence.
"So where are we going, or are we staying here?" Asked Imogen.
"See those mountains, we're going to cross them tomorrow; so let's get going.
"Okay!"
"System, put the skill stones into Basic Halberd Mastery." Thought Imogen.
"Pick up the pace Imogen, we need to get past the mountains by tomorrow; not next week." Shouted Clarence.
And then they were off, one running from life and the other running from death. Truly a mismatched team, but one that would last in the upcoming terrors of this new world.