The Tale of a Mercenary

Chapter 1: The Mercenaries

"Nele! Get up! They're here!"

A young lad, with brown hair and brown eyes, taller than average and stockily built, comes barging into the room yelling, disturbing the early morning peace. Nele instantly jumps up in shock, blonde hair still messy from his sleep and green eyes opened wide at the intruder. He's about the average height for a teenager and is quite skinny. The room that Nele is sleeping in is quite bare, containing a single bed against the back wall that is flanked by a wardrobe, a basket, and a chest just under the shuttered window. 

"By the power of Vedohr, what do you bloody think you're doing, Jack? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"There's no time to talk, quickly get up! Those mercenaries that my dad hired are here! Quick!"

Nele's mother comes into the room with an angry look on her face. She appears to be in her late thirties, with grey streaks already forming in her light blonde hair. A necklace with a blue pendant hangs from her neck, and her dark blue woolen gown is covered in dust at the rim. She's quite skinny and also quite a bit shorter than Jack. Her light blue eyes are looking up angrily at him.

"Jack Harrard, how many more times do I have to tell you not to come barging into my house every single morning? Stop running this place as if it's your own home!"

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Stilts, but today is a very special day; those mercenaries are finally here!

As Nele's mum was angrily talking to Jack, Nele was putting on his brown tunic and green stockings, not forgetting to put on his leather boots.

"You boys and your curiosity for swords and battles. It's going to be the death of both of you!"

"Yeah, yeah, mum! You worry too much!" Nele says before running out of the door.

"Um, see you later, Mrs. Stilts! Sorry again!" Jack says before rushing after his friend out of the door.

Mrs. Stilts grasps onto the blue pendant with one hand, "If only you were still here, Jacob. You could've taught him so much."

Nele and Jack hurry towards the village head's house. As they get closer, they notice that a small crowd has gathered around the front of the house. The building is larger than the rest of the village, with a stone foundation and roof, and oak walls. It's located on the edge of the village, on the top of the hill, overlooking everywhere else. Its surrounded by boulders of various sizes. The whole village is, in fact, surrounded by fields and plains, and multiple boulders.

Attempting to see over the heads of all the onlookers, all Nele can see is the village heads head poking above the crowd due to him standing on the steps in front of his house, with a very tall mercenary walking towards him. The mercenary is fully clad in dark grey armour, however, near his buttocks a dog's tail can be seen sticking out between the plates.

"Can you see anything, Jack?" Nele asks, standing on his tiptoes to see over the crowd.

"Only a little."

"Hey idiots, get on top of here." a feminine voice says.

Nele and Jack both turn to the third voice, coming from a girl sat cross-legged on top of a nearby boulder. She's wearing a light brown tunic, dark purple stockings, together with leather boots on her feet. Her dark brown hair reaches to her shoulders, and her brown eyes looking cheerfully at us. She's not a tall person, yet she's slim in contrast to her twin brother, Jack. Despite this, you can see the similar facial features. 

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get up here!" the girl says again.

"Right, coming, Mia." Jack replies, whispering to Nele, "At least try getting along with her today."