Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 1

       The beachside tavern was seldom crowded, especially on a Thursday afternoon. In the fishing village of Cresselbrooke, most people were working at this time. But today, four strangers were in the tavern. All of them looked equally strange and foreign.

       One was an older woman whose hand rested upon a massive, heavily scratched greatsword. She had dark skin and graying black hair. She had a big pint of ale in front of her, and she was humming some old folk tune to herself. 

       The next was a cloaked man, the cloak hiding his long elven ears. He had short brown hair that was brushed forward. He was fidgeting nervously, as if he was holding back from doing something. 

       The next was a younger woman with long, flowing blonde hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. She had vibrant blue eyes and a certain energy to her. 

       The fourth was another cloaked figure. Their skin was a dark green color and under the table they were twirling a dagger between their fingers. Like the older woman, they had a massive pint of liquor in front of them.

       Nothing was out of the ordinary beyond the number of people that were in the tavern. Most people were working at this time. But suddenly, a scream was heard faintly from beyond the door. All of the four figures perked up. The young blonde woman was the first to react. Then the others followed. As they all exited the tavern, it became clear the noise was coming from the building across the street, which looked like a series of rooms that served as houses in the small fishing village. A mother and child ran from the building with tears in their eyes.

       "Do you know what's happening?!" The blonde girl asked. The mother merely shook her head. The blonde woman's face became stern and she stepped forward.

       "I'm coming to help!" The older woman shouted. The blonde girl merely nodded. The two others followed, they knew they could be of use. The blonde girl stepped through the doorway, and quickly ran up the creaking stairs towards the sound of the screaming. As she neared the door, the screams suddenly cut off.

       "Uh, you two gonna help?" The blonde girl asked the two figures. They both nodded in reply, after which the blonde girl looked to the older woman.

       "Can you go first, you look like a warrior."

       "Sure can!" The older woman said with a smile. She raised her foot, and in one motion kicked the door down. She had incredible strength in spite of her age. The four rushed into the room. The older woman's face tensed, and her hands began shaking. What the four of them saw were two, withered corpses on the floor. From the corpses, figures of pure black had risen. Their faces were only distinguishable as vague, dark shapes.

       "Get behind me!" The older woman shouted.

       Then, the horrifying figures lunged towards her.