The First Ruby Buyer

Elfangor

Book 1: The Power of Rubies

Terence was a miner. His father had been a miner, and his father's father had been a miner. Terence enjoyed being a miner of stone in the small village of Dominus, for it payed the taxes and fed his family. Terence went to the quarry day in and day out with his neighbors, but he did not complain nor was he lazy. Terence was actually working extra hard today, for the anniversary of his joining with his wife was but two days away! Terence smashed the stone as hard as he could, and whenever he uncovered a piece of iron or copper he would place it in the sack he brought with him. The strong man did this everyday, but he was looking especially hard so he could purchase a gift truly worthy of his beautiful wife, Macala. The workday was almost over, and just as the bell rung, signalling to everyone the end of the work week, Terence brought down his hammer on a boulder with great strength. The immense force behind the swing drove the tool through the rock and onto the wall behind it, but instead it bouncing off quite solid rock it went into the wall! When the rubble cleared, it was clear that there was a tunnel leading deeper into the earth, so Terence retrieved his sack, which was far too light in his mind, and cautiously walked in.

The tunnel was lit at random intervals with a red lichen that was growing on the walls, floor, and ceiling. At one point, there was a stretch of rocky ground where there was none of this strange type of plant growing, but he pressed on through the darkness. Soon enough, there was a soft red light ahead. The downward slope had grown increasingly hot as Terence moved deeper, and now the heat had gotten to such an extreme that he thought of taking off his shirt. That thought flew from his head when he reached the end of the tunnel though, for before him was an immense cavern. The whole of the place was like a giant mouth with teethlike spikes descending from the ceiling and climbing towards it from the ground. Every surface of the place was bathed in the light emnating from the red lichen, but at the far end of the cavern there was a pit. The red light only scratched the surface of its depth, and when Terence carefully made his way to it he felt small and weak. Leaning out over the edge, Terence was mindful enough to tie himself to a nearby stalagmite. Suddenly, there was a scream, and dozens of bats poured from the pit. These were large bats for the area, and two or three clung to Terence's clothes. Terence swung his hammer wildly feeling it connect several times, but still the bats attacked! Terence was blinded by the flapping wings and clawing feet, so he stumbled about, still swinging. He brought his foot down hard, but there was nothing but air beneath it! He had reached the pit's edge! Terence shouted out as he slipped over the edge and saw the darkness below him...

What do you guys think so far?

mathhead2

its cool and i like where its going

huzaifa memon (INT1)

not bad... keep writining:D:D

evets4

Pretty interesting, I like the story

Dun Gon (INT2)

Not bad bro
Maybe a few more descriptive words, lol

JJ5542

pretty good!! keep it going

Elfangor

I'm still working on the next part, and I have somewhere to be tonight. Expect Part 2 during the weekend!

Elfangor

(Moved to first post)

JJ5542

not to bad!! cant wait until part 3!!

Dun Gon (INT2)

Sense of anticipation? Check

King Avalon 2

Excellent story so far. Keep on going!

Luke Fierysword

Need to read more! This is GREAT!

Elfangor

If all goes well, Part 3 should be up tomorrow! Thanks for all the nice comments!

Elfangor

Two seconds. Terence experienced for two seconds the feeling of knowing you are about to die before the rope snapped taut ending his fall so suddenly he almost lost his grip on his hammer. That hammer had been passed down from generation to generation, and it meant a great deal to him. That hammer was all he had left of his father and grandfather, so to lose it would be to lose them. The bats swirled around the edge seeming reluctant to follow the battered man down even though he was but 10 feet from the lip. Terence was scratched in a dozen different places, and the side where he had hit the wall of the pit would probably hurt for days. He needed to get back up knowing the rope would not hold him long. Hand over hand, the miner made his way back to the lip of that dreadful hole in the ground. By that time the bats had moved on through the cavern and were most likely making their way through the stone quarry, so Terence brushed himself off and examined the bodies of those bats who had met his hammer. The fur of these strange beasts was red, but it was not from blood. Picking one up, Terence estimated that the strangely colored thing had a wingspan of almost four feet. This was huge in comparison to the bats normally found in this region, and the red fur separated it even further from those regular inhabitants. Terence dropped the corpse, and he started to move away before noticing he was missing something. The sack containing all the iron and copper he had collected that day was nowhere to be found. He remembered laying it down before going over to the edge, but it wasn't by the stalagmite he had tied the rope to. Then it hit him. During his desperate attempts to drive the bats off, Terence must have kicked the sack right over the edge and into the pit. Tears came to his eyes with this knowledge, for without the coins he would have gotten upon trading that ore Terence wouldn't be able to buy his wife a gift! Looking over the edge of the hole, he could see a piece of something shiny perched on a ledge in the wall, but it soon fell out of sight. With a spirit quite beaten, he searched the area around the pit to see if anything had fallen out of the sack before it went over, but there was nothing left. Fearing what was to come, he slowly collected his hammer and started to walk out of the cavern. The poor man could not leave the place though not without searching around for something of value. After what seemed like hours, Terence saw a seemingly half-finished spire in the center of the rocky grounds growing upwards. It had an almost flat surface, and sitting there were ten red, shiny gems...

JJ5542

More More!! I love it!!

SirFiddlesticks (AU1)

Awesome story, Elfangor! Well-prepared and carefully written! I can't wait for more!

Elfangor

Part 4 coming this week! Just to tease you guys, i'll say that there will be a couple of new characters introduced! A big thank you to everyone (a really big thank you to king matt lll for putting this on the ultimate story list!)!!

Elfangor

His heart skipped a couple beats when he saw the gems. Terence rushed over to scoop the precious items into his hand, and he marveled at their beauty and obvious rarity. He had never seen anything like these crystals. They seemed to glow in the dark just like the lichen that grew here, and up close it was obvious that the bats' fur was the same color as the items Terence now held. "Rubies!", Terence said, and the word spoken aloud gave him chills! Shoving the gems reverently into his pocket, Terence rushed out of the cavern, through the tunnel, and into the stone quarry. It was then that he realized just how long he had been gone, for the stars and moon were shining in the sky! Careful not to alert the town watchmen, Terence made his way through the dirt pathways of Dominus village. Dominus was neither a wealthy or poor community, but having lived there all his life made the Terence proud to be a resident there. Not wanting to wait until morning, the man meandered through the streets towards the local trader's house with a renewed skip in his step. Marcus was a coarse man, but his anger at being awakened flew when he saw that it was Terence who had woken him up! The two had been friends ever since they had met, and though Terence was the more adventurous of the two Marcus had always been willing to go along with whatever seemingly insane idea Terence could come up with! The sleepiness completely disappeared from the scrawny trader's eyes when his friend pulled out the ten items in his pocket, for few of the people in Dominus had ever seen a ruby before let alone hold one in their hands. "Where did you come upon such treasure?!", the amazement obvious in Marcus' voice. Terence then went on to tell his tale, but as he did the expression on his friend's face changed from one of wonder to one of fear. "Cursed these things are! Those bats and the mysterious place they come from are a clear warning of what these rubies will bring!", the stone-faced trader whispered. Terence began to reason with his friend, but Marcus cut him off. "Take them away, or find someone foolish enough to buy them from you! These things have a magic about them that cannot be good! Go! Now!!", shouted Marcus. Terence had never seen his long-time friend like this, and he had certainly never seen him pass up a trade! The deflated man rushed out of the house, and he continued on out of the village and into the forests surrounding it. Terence was close to rage at his friend's suggestion of getting rid of the gems, for if Marcus would not take them no one else in the village would! Without knowing it, the angry miner was making his way to his first gift idea for Macala. During his free time, Terence liked to sculpt, but he had abandoned the sculpture of his wife when he had started really collecting iron and copper from the quarry. Now, with but two days left before the anniversary of his wedding, Terence didn't have the time to complete the piece. A sound to the side alerted him to danger, so Terence turned, hammer ready, to face it. Instead, a voice sounded from the shadows. "Troubled you are Strong Man!", said an old, raspy voice. The family hammer dropped to his side as Terence said, "Bertha! You scared me!". The ancient woman shuffled into the light of the moon. Bertha Crandle had been a resident of Dominus for all of her 87 years, and everyone was convinced that she had been crazy from birth...

JJ5542

This is something I would buy at the store!!! keep it up!!

matmo32

yeh i dont read these much this is 1 of my favs

evets4

Very interesting, I wonder what will happen next!