The Ironash Chronicles

Chapter 1

Sven sat up in his bed and looked out over the small valley he called home. Sven slowly scanned the valley dimly lit with the fake dawn the mountains made and smiled. He turned away from the window and got up to begin his day. He did not have much in the little shack. He had a fireplace, a few pots and pans, and a table with some chairs. He quickly made a fire and began to cook breakfast. As he was cooking, a small bleary-eyed man walked out of the adjacent nook that constituted as a room. Sven turned towards him and gave him a good look. He was, as stated, a small man, maybe 5 foot with red short cropped hair. His nose, though smashed by a rogue fist some time previously it still sat proudly on his face and his eyes were the color of new grass.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Sven said as he busied himself cutting a small handful of mushrooms. The man grunted and sniffed the air.

"I see that you have been preparing a mighty breakfast for us." he said, eyeing the pan that already held sizzling slabs of bacon. Sven shrugged and nodded towards the room that the man just came out of.

"Your partner gonna join us for breakfast, dwarf?"

The dwarf, for dwarf he was, looked behind him and nodded "Yes, I will go awake my fair maiden." Sven rolled his eyes and nodded. As the dwarf moved back towards the bedroom Sven's mind was doing some thinking.

"Maybe she's naked. Maybe you should go see." Sven recoiled at the thought.

"Hell no, I don't want to see her naked, she's almost like a sister to me damn it!"

The voice inside his head laughed "But you want to see her at least once don't you? You know you cannot hide from me. I am you." Sven shook his head.

"No, I am not. You are my subconscious trying to screw me over. I, however, am not trying to get myself killed by my brother. I am just trying to survive their encounters. It sounded like an elephant having sex last night." Sven grimaced at the thought.

"I know. I was there." Sven scowled and blocked out the voice again. As the dwarf moved into the room again a tall woman, even from Sven's 5' 10'' height he had to look slightly up when talking to her in close quarters, accompanied him. He could and yet could not understand his brother's fascination with her. However, he could see why he was attracted to her. She was exquisitely beautiful, as only elves can be.

"Rinnie, I see that you are up" Sven commented. "I am surprised you can walk after last night."

Rinnie smiled "Oh, so you heard the commotion did you?"

Sven smiled "As if I couldnt hear you and Oladric going at it last night. It wasn't easy to not hear, what with only that thin curtain to separate us."

"Oh, is Sven jealous of his younger brother?" Ollie said sitting down at the table

Sven leaned closer to the fire "I see no reason to be jealous. My brother has found a beautiful woman, whom he loves. I cannot blame him or be jealous of him.... Well, maybe a little jealous." He heard a small giggle from behind him. He cleared his throat. "I however, am content with my life, though a lady in it would make in infinitely better. Have no fear though, my brother, I would not try to take her from you. For any attempt to do so would be foolhardy, as she is as in love with you as you with her." Sven smiled as he turned around, with the skillet in his hands. "Now, who wants breakfast? Bacon, mushrooms and eggs are coming up!" He said as he slid them onto the two plates on the table.

The two occupants of the seats adjoining the two plates licked their lips and dug in. Sven nodded approvingly and then moved toward the small refrigerator, which ran on some sort of frost magic, and pulled out some eggs he had collected yesterday. He quickly mixed them with the remaining milk, which was quickly running out. He made a mental note to get some more when he was in town. He poured the liquid gold into the skillet already rich in grease and set to scrambling the eggs, as this is what the two people at the table liked the best. Sven preferred his eggs fried with the sunny side down and with toast under the egg. As the liquid soon turned to solid fluffy golden goodness, Sven chuckled softly at his cooking skills. He had acquired them when he had been alone on some of his contracts with the Thieves guild. He was not a part of them now, as he had quit that life, but the memories had not left him. He turned again towards the plates, which still had not been emptied by the two hungry people, and piled the eggs on them. They greedily ate all that was on their plate. Sven nodded again and set about making his own modest breakfast. Fried egg on toast with a small portion of mushrooms on the side. He loved this type of breakfast. It prepared him for the rest of the day. As he pulled up a spare stool from a corner of the room, he quickly ate his portion of food and was through before the other two had time to blink.

"How do you do that, Brother?" Ollie asked as he wiped his mouth with his hand.

"Stop doing that, have some manners" Rinnie said as she leaned over the table, reaching for his face with a napkin firmly in her grasp.

"Woman, stop trying to civilize me, you know it won't work." Ollie said as he tried to brush her hand away, but the napkin was relentless and he soon let her wipe his face, much to Sven's chagrin and laughter.

"What is it Master Dwarf? Has she made an elf out of you?" Sven said, nearly dying of laughter as Ollie gave him a foul look. "You know that you look like a scolded child when you do that right?" Sven barely said through the spasms of laughter that racked his body. Ollie brought up his fist and aimed for his brothers exposed head. Sven, even though he was almost dead from the lack of air, blocked the blow and aimed a halfhearted swing at the dwarfs head. The dwarf responded in kind by blocking the blow and leaping over the table, tackling Sven.

"You two stop this at once!" Rinnie cried out in a commanding voice. Ollie quickly disengaged from his brother and stood at attention. Sven felt compelled to do so as well, but resisted the urge to do so. He slowly got up, brushed himself off, and walked out of the front door, leaving hardly a trace of himself behind. Sven smiled as he stepped out into the warm morning sunshine.

"Today seems to be a good day" he thought to himself "But we shall see what it brings."

"Yes, we will." said the voice in his head "who knows, maybe we'll get to see her today."

Sven shrugged, "I'm sure with Rinnie here that we will see her shortly before noon, as she can't resist my cooking." Sven laughed to himself. The "she" he had been referring to was one of Rin's friends, and a very special one to him as well. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever met. He stopped walking, having made it to his destination. The old barn loomed over him, like an intimidating, but friendly, bulldog. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside. Soon smoke was billowing out of a little smoke stack that poked its knobby head out of the barn and the sound of hammer hitting glowing metal rung all over the small glade.

Sven was so focused on his work that he didnt notice when a young lady wearing a blue dress peeked into the barn and stood there, watching him. However, he didnt stay that way for long. He hadnt survived by not knowing if he was being watched. She quietly entered the barn, making barely a sound. As she tiptoed forward he purposefully turned his back to her. He closed his eyes and, in his minds eye, saw her walking towards him. When she had gotten about only steps away he quickly spun around and wrapped her in a big bear hug, picking her up off the ground. She squealed and tried to escape but his grip was like iron. She finally gave up, her feet dangling in the air. He smiled and looked into her green eyes.

"You should know better than to try and sneak up on me, Brissi." She smiled and shook her head.

"You should know better than to get me this close."

He nodded, "Yeah, and you know whats going to happen now?" She shook her head again and raised one eyebrow. Sven nodded slowly, and put her feet back on the ground. She looked at him quizically. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Bri, as Sven liked to call her, smiled and kissed him. He released her and made a shushing motion with his finger. He skirted around her and walked to the door of the barn. He quickly peeked out, making sure no one was there, and closed it again.

"Now, where were we?" Sven said as he turned around and began to walk towards Bri. She smiled slyly and began to walk towards Sven. They met in the center of the room and embraced each other. They stood there like that for what felt like a long time. Just reveling in their time together, alone with each other. This whole experience was short lived however, as Sven heard heavy Dwarven footsteps coming from the house towards the barn. Sven quickly disengaged from Bri's embrace and began working on a piece he had been saving for just this occasion. Bri jumped onto a stool set by the work table. The door opened and Ollie stuck his head through the opening.

"You two come on in for some lunch. Rinnie has prepared a feast for us!" He said smiling coyly at the couple. Sven smiled, as he knew his brother was not fooled by their appearances. As they all walked out of the barn, a horn blew. This startled them all. Sven, his hand on his dagger, walked to the head of the road, Ollie not far behind him. They both saw an armed escort of some kind. This puzzled them, until they saw the flag that the soldiers carried. It was the kings coat of arms. They quickly backed away and walked a bit towards the house. Sven gestured to Bri to go inside.

"Tell Rinnie to not come out and keep quiet." Sven said just loud enough for her to hear, not wanting to alert the party to their presence. Ollie and Sven stood side by side and waited for the party to appear.