Short Story

[Rhys13th]

Smoke billowed out of the furnace as the apprentice pumps the bellows. "Faster!" snapped the master. The apprentice pumped harder, feeling the all too familiar soreness in his arms. Suddenly, he felt a cool but rough hand on his shoulder. "Enough," the master said. "Finish cleaning, and we can go to the tavern for tonight's meal".

They walked down to the tavern in silence. As they were seated amongst the noise and chaos, the apprentice wondered what could have happened to make his normally stingy master order not one, but two steaks. Tender and juicy with a pepper sauce, they were delicious, but also cost more than most in the village made in a month. Mentally, he shrugged. Best not to question it, and just eat in peace .Afterwards, they walked along the beach, while the master puffed his pipe. They seated themselves alongside a log, while the surf licked their toes. The silence was only interrupted by the soft murmur of the waves, and the master's sudden question: "Have I ever told you the story of Corbye, my boy?†The apprentice thought for a moment, then shook his head. The master puffed pensively, then pulled out his telescope from his pouch, and handed it to the boy. "There," he gestured, "look up amongst the stars". Silently, he took the telescope and saw... nothing. Just the blue moon winking wordlessly amongst the stars down at the world. "Wh-what do I see?" the boy asked. "You see the city of Corbye" the master replied. "Best make yourself comfortable. This will be a long one".

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Once upon a time, out in the vast sea of Xantcha, lay the island of Corbye. It was a proud island, famous for its glassworks, but a miserable island. While outwards it projected splendor, the massive mountain of wealth it held in its vaults was built upon the backs of workers, workers who left their homelands to work in the mythical city, only to discover that once there, they could never leave. Corbye was split into two parts: The shining pillars that supported the palaces in which the glass-masters lived, and the barracks that held the people upon whose backs came the cruel whip every day.

It is in this world we find Meru. Like too many lost souls, he, too stole aboard a ship bound for Corbye, dreaming of wealth and fame, only to find misery. Every day, he wandered the docks, hoping to return home, but he could not. Eventually, hunger drove him to petition for work amongst the House of Workers, only to be turned away time and time again. When he finally found work, the work found him miserable. He would clean the soot chimneys every day after the glass had been melted; burning his hands and knees to reach the furthest corners to clean the murky ash off the furnace.

But the worst part of his job was not the work itself; it was his monstrously massive master, Master Petros. Fat, laggard, bastard son of a goat - Oh, he had many names for Petros. But hate him as much as he did, Meru wondered how such an ugly countenance could conjure such beautiful works out of the glass. With his all too ready cane and bellows, he would prise the glass from its mold while still cherry hot into his pig-like fingers, then quickly into the waiting hands of a worker so that it would not char his own fingers. But while many questioned his sanity and humanity, no one questioned his results: Many of the most refined pieces of glass came from his workshop of horrors.

 

One night, after the day's sweeping, Meru began to plan an escape. Who could he count on? Certainly not the other workers; no, they were too afraid of Petros, that swine. What about the dock workers? Nay, they too were paid off by the Glass Council to beat any workers that were too inquisitive into submission. For this journey, Meru could rely on only himself. That night, just before dawn, he glimpsed something odd: A sail on the horizon, but unlike any he had seen before. Not only was it a crystalline blue, it was moving fast, far faster than any sail should have. At the rate it was moving, it would be at the docks in less than an hour. Perfect, he thought to himself. If he could swim past the dock guards, he could slip onto the boat undetected, and be off to the golden isles. That was where all things magical came from; besides, what hell could be worse than this one?

With a soft splash, he slipped into the water, and began to swim towards the dock. Left, right, left, right, kick. Bubbles swirled around him as he dove downward to avoid the guard's torches, and into the slowly brightening murk. Once past the piers that sank deep into the mud on the bottom, he began to breathe easier: he was home free, at last. But where was-there. The anchor to the mysterious ship. Sopping wet, Meru clambered aboard, and glanced around him. A simple enough ship: About fifty feet of deck before and in front of him, with the wheel unmanned, and a cabin jutting out in front of him. A grate with a ladder beside it seemed to lead down to the hold... but the ladder was covered in dust. He began to wring out his shirt, only to hear a soft *woof* behind him. "What in the nine hells-" he began, only to be cut off by a vise-like pair of arms that came about him, slamming into his gut. He struggled, squirming back and forth like the caterpillars of Argoth, only to find that no matter how he struggled, its grip only strengthened around him. He heard the baying of hounds in the hold, and then a sharp *SNAP*.

Silence. Then, a tinkling laughter, like crystal shattering on soft grass. "So, we have an unexpected visitor. I expected the residents of Corbye to be more... glamorous and less moist". Out strode a woman, tall, taller than Meru, and enrobed in the most fantastic garb he had ever seen: Bright blues and yellows clashing on a field of red, while a headdress of fanciful green sat upon her head, with a simple black cape to complete the ridiculous ensemble. He began to laugh: Was this a ship, or an aviary?

She seemed rather peeved. Laughter? "Who dares laugh at Simoon, Wizard of the Thousandth Isle?" Meru struggled to control his face; wizards were notorious for laying hexes that could ruin cities. But it was too much for him. "Who ever heard of a parrot becoming a wizard?" he guffawed, "especially one who hires only men to govern their ship!†Simoon just smiled. "Look behind you" she said. Meru did so, and was greeted by a wet slurping tongue across his face. "Eugh! A man? With the head of a dog? What devilry is this?" he exclaimed. "I thought all ships were crewed by Sea Dogs" Simoon replied innocently. "Release him" she commanded "He seems to be no danger to anything except perhaps my nose".

[The G What ™]

[A Delicious Cashew]

can someone give a TL;DR

[Rhys13th]

It's still in progress... And you two dumbasses, no offense, can go shove it somewhere else. Post if you have something constructive to say, not if you're here to say "lol look at me I didn't read aren't I sooooo smart?"

[A Delicious Cashew]

It's still in progress... And you two dumbasses, no offense, can go shove it somewhere else. Post if you have something constructive to say, not if you're here to say "lol look at me I didn't read aren't I sooooo smart?"

are you implying that im not smart :C

[✔ P I X E L A T E D ✔]

Read it on on the way to school, was this for studies or

[HeavyLord]

My short story: Hi, the end

[♠Derpeh♤]

My short story: Hi, the end

That isnt called a short story thats called heavylord's 3 words and a comma

[The G What ™]

It's still in progress... And you two dumbasses, no offense, can go shove it somewhere else. Post if you have something constructive to say, not if you're here to say "lol look at me I didn't read aren't I sooooo smart?"

QQ http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16549

[HeavyLord]

That isnt called a short story thats called heavylord's 3 words and a comma

wait I'm not done here the full version:

Hi sir, can you publish my short story?

No

 

THE END

 

there we go

[Rhys13th]

Read it on on the way to school, was this for studies or

 

Was bored in class. That's all.

[The G What ™]

Being done with trolling and generally givin you a hard time, it's pretty good. There are some splices and run-ons, but for casual writing it's well constructed. 

Also was the first paragraph supposed to be a frame story? That was not entirely clear.

[Rhys13th]

Being done with trolling and generally givin you a hard time, it's pretty good. There are some splices and run-ons, but for casual writing it's well constructed. 

Also was the first paragraph supposed to be a frame story? That was not entirely clear.

 

The first paragraph was supposed to frame it; I tried to add a physical division there to make that clear. So I should probably do something there to make it more clear. I'll be revising it sometime tomorrow if I don't collapse from exhaustion.

[Chimera]

Very nice detail. I'd give it a thumbs up