My Time in Urowen

 My Time In Urowen...So Far



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The light danced and flitted against my eyelids breaking through the shutters of my window. I pulled myself up, letting my feet hang over my rented bed. I recalled words my father had left me with days before.
"Go, make your own way so that you're not chained to a piece of land for the rest of your life harvesting just enough to get you by. Go, find your fortune. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."
I intended to do just that, go back for him once I'd found the fortune he spoke of. I stood, allowing the full weight of my money pouch to bounce against my waist. I barely felt it. With nothing but a blunt knife and fifteen zaifas to my name, I had my work cut out for me. 
I stretched my arms and legs before heading downstairs to see the innkeeper. It was time to begin my journey to Verinfes. It was as good a place as any I supposed.
When I reached the base of the stairs I spotted the innkeeper. He was a heavyset man. He wasn't particularly well dressed, though his clothes were better than most. He spoke to a man I'd not seen before. They spoke in hushed tones that sparked my interest. I decided to approach, hoping to sate my curiosity. The innkeeper decided against it.e
"Hello! Can I interest you in some breakfast or provisions if you're looking to set off today?" The innkeeper asked shifting his focus from the stranger. I pondered the selection he'd offered.
"How far is it to Verinfes?" I asked. 
"The better part of a day if you stick to the path," the innkeeper said. He began to speak to the alternative but decided against it. I decided to purchase two days worth of provisions for 5 zaifas. I hoped the investment wouldn't bite me in the bum later. Parting with a third of my money before I even set out might not have been the brightest idea.
I looked to the stranger the innkeeper had been speaking to. He stood next to me, silently observing the transaction. I nodded to him. His face was stoic, unchanging. I decided it was time to make my departure. 
I tightened the straps of my leather bag around my back, checked that my knife was within reach, and opened the door of the inn. The light struck me in the face once more. I squinted as my eyes adjusted. I found the well-trodden path to Verifines and set off. 
After a few minutes, I found my rhythm. I managed to fall into a comfortable pace. My breath was steady. The heat had yet to take its toll. I felt confident I could maintain my pace for several hours. I didn't get the chance. The sound of rapid footsteps prompted me to turn around. 
A familiar face stood a mere ten feet away.
"Give me your money pouch!" The stranger from the inn snarled at me. His hands were bare. His clothes were dirtier than I'd seen them in the inn. I cocked my head, scanning his body for a weapon of some sort. I saw none.
"I don't have anything to offer you," I said attempting to avoid violence if able. 
"Liar," he spat. "I saw you at the inn, you're heavy with zaifas aren't you?!" The vagrant pointed to my lightened money pouch. 
I brought my left hand forward. My palm pointed outward facing the stranger. I hoped the motion would calm him. With my right hand, I reached for my knife...just in case.
"Give them to me!" The vagrant's hands turned to fists. He lunged, swinging hard at my head. My head snaps to the left. A rush of heat gathers just below my right eye. A deeper, primal heat gathers in my belly and rises to my chest. I unsheath my knife. The attacker's eyes meet my own. He stops mid-swing. He takes a step back. Whether it was a conscious decision I'm not sure. 
I bring my left arm to my side, silently inviting him within my reach. He recognizes the taunt. His slightly wary expression contorts. The creases between his eyes deepen. His lips pull back revealing chipped fanglike teeth. He takes my bait. 
A heavy right flys towards my nose. I wrap my fingers around his incoming wrist with my left hand and yank him forward. He stumbles toward me. I twirl the knife into a reverse grip and jab the blade into his exposed rib cage.
The attacker yelps. His right hand retracts with alarming strength, breaking free of my grip and shielding his now wounded side. He brings his left hand to his side and then holds his hand up to his face. His fingers are red with blood...though not as much as I would have expected.

With a proper knife that may have been a killing blow. As it was the knife's blunted edge seemed to barely break the skin. Bringing my left and right hands together in front of my face, I allow them to hover just below my line of sight. 
My palm flexes and extends outward towards the assailant while my knife pulls back slightly. I feel my muscles coiling, building energy waiting to strike. 
The man's eyes look from his bloodied fingers back to my narrowed eyes. His gaze freezes on mine, then dart to my knife. They widen for an instant. Before I can press my attack the man sprints into the brush to his left. 

I adjust my stance for a moment. 
Is he grabbing a stick? I wonder. But his dark head quickly disappears from view behind a pair of tall bushes. He's running?! 
I consider leaving him be, but the sting of my own bruised face and the injustice of the meeting lights the fire in my belly once more. I begin my pursuit of the vagrant, pushing myself hard in an attempt to catch up.
Several minutes go by and soon I've lost what little trail my attacker had left behind. I'm no hunter after all. Yet just as I decide to give up I hear a snap in the distance. I can't tell where the noise originated. I decide to cloak myself beneath the branches of a large bush and wait.
Every second feels like an hour. For thirty seconds there is nothing but silence. On the thirty-first second the silence is broken.

"Who are you?" an old but strong voice sounds at my back. My feet push me from the ground of their own accord, eliciting an embarrassing yelp from my throat. An old woman stands a few yards away. Her back sticks up in a pronounced arch as she leans heavily on an old wooden staff.
"I was attacked on the road. My attacker fled into these woods but I've lost his trail," I explained truthfully. I turn slowly to face to woman. Her wary eyes brighten for a moment.
"You've seen him then, you've seen my son. I'm sorry he attacked you. He's not right in the head you see and has gotten into the bad habit of attempting to rob strangers as they travel the road. 
That's a dangerous habit, I think. I remain quiet. 
"I fear my son is hurt," the old woman continues. "I'm sorry he attacked you, but I have to ask you, will you help me find him?" 
I look at the woman up and down and then at the surrounding forest. It's hard to guess her age. The heaviness with which she leaned upon her staff suggests ancient, yet her eyes are...sharp...piercing, and something else.
What harm could come of it? I thought. 
"I'll help you," I heard myself say. The woman smiled. Her eyes addressed the knife at my side. 
"Take this," she said. The hilt of a long sword suddenly faced me. My eyes widened. I hadn't seen her draw the sword, much less where she'd been hiding the weapon. I accepted the sword. 
Without another word, the old woman moved past me. She pushed further into the forest stopping now and again to observe various twigs, branches, and leaves. At one point she pulled at the leaves of a small bush. Her pace quickened. I mirrored her movements, looking at the same leaves. Flecks of blood I hadn't seen were staining them.
The old woman's pace seemed to gradually quicken. While I could tell she was moving faster, she showed no sign of fatigue, whereas I began to sweat from my efforts to keep up. The forest itself seemed to part for the woman. It did me no such favors. 
I found myself in an all-out sprint when suddenly the woman stopped. Her head turned just as a wolf's howl sounded to our right. A human cry followed from the same direction. The woman sprinted. I followed. I was quickly left behind. 
Just when I thought the old woman had left me completely, I pushed a branch away with a quick swat of my sword and saw the lady standing motionless before me. I nearly plowed into her but I managed to stop just short. 
We'd come to a ridge of sorts. Four figures stood before us. Taking the high ground was the old woman's son, the man who'd attacked me earlier. The other three figures were of the canine variety. The wolves were bigger than I would have expected. Two of the wolves appeared to stand above my waistline on all fours. The third was a mere head shorter than me when on all fours. 
"Go!" The woman yelled as she rushed into the fray. One of the smaller wolves snapped at her as she ran to her son. The woman avoided the attack with an effortless sidestep. 
She proceeded to toss the wolf out of her way with one hand as she made her way to her son. The son swung a large branch back and forth, managing to hold the largest wolf at bay...for the time being. The wolf the woman had casually discarded scrambled to its feet right in front of me.
It turned its head towards me. Its yellow eyes bore into mine. It bared its teeth. I took in the sight, comparing the wolf's fangs to the knife at my waist. I was infinitely grateful to be using a sword in this fight. 
I placed both hands on my sword and brought the blade between me and the wolf. We began circling each other. I dared not break the stalemate first. I didn't have to. On the first full rotation of the wolf and my circling of one another, it leaped forward aiming its fangs at my neck.
I sidestepped, attempting to mirror the old woman. It worked. The wolf overextended. Seizing the opportunity I brought my sword down with all my might in a heavy overhead strike. The wolf fell silently to the ground. I'd managed to sever its head. 
I didn't have long to revel in my victory. Upon his comrade's defeat, the largest of the wolves turned his attention from the son to me. Leaping down from the ridge, the largest of the wolves was quickly upon me. 
I placed my sword between me and the wolf again, hoping my tactics would be of use again. I attempted to circle the wolf. The wolf came straight at me. It bared its teeth and leaped for my neck...or so I thought. I sidestepped only to realize too late it had been a feint. 
The wolf's fangs buried into my right leg. I yelped and jumped back, pulling my punctured leg along with me. Blood began to glide down my leg, though I counted myself lucky. Another glance at the wolf's jaws told me a split second later the wolf may have snapped right through the bone. 
I placed my sword between my body and the wolf once more. This time I wouldn't fall for a feint. This time I was going on the attack. I kept my eyes locked with the wolf. When I saw its yellow eyes glance at my injured leg I pushed forward as hard as I could. 
The wolf wasn't expecting it. It scrambled back, though not before receiving a heavy gash above its right shoulder. The wolf let out a mix between a yelp and a roar. As chilling as the sound was, I positioned myself for another strike. I couldn't allow the wolf to recover.  This time I came low. As the wolf thrashed it's head back and forth in a display of rage and pain I swung. I swung my sword starting from my hips and pushed my follow through all the way up to my shoulders. My blade flashed in an arc followed by a spray of red as the chief wolf's head fell to the floor. 
I took a deep breath and readied myself for my next opponent. Fortunately, I didn't have any. As I shifted my focus, a ball of flaming arcane energy erupted from the old lady's wooden staff and engulfed the remaining wolf. 
It didn't make a sound. One moment I saw its shadow engulfed in flame, and the next it was gone. The woman stood turning towards her son. The man hopped down. The two turned to me. I looked at the woman and to her staff. The air around me became heavy, and I struggled against the urge to run.
"Thank you for your aid, alone those wolves might have been too much for me," the old woman said. I felt myself relax as she expressed her gratitude, though I doubted my presence had any bearing on the outcome of the fight. 
"Here, as you're not a magic wielder there isn't much I can give you in way of payment, but I have no doubt this will help you on your journey," the woman handed me a crystal vial filled with a deep red liquid. "Drink this should you fear that your wounds will overtake you," the woman instructed. I nodded and placed the vial gently in my pack.
The woman's son looked from his mother to me. He nodded before offering a slight bow. 

This is a very brief sneak peek into my first moments of playing the game Heroes of Urowen by David Velasco. This is paraphrased and reworded to fit the events as my imagination remembered it after reading. I have just recently reached the city of Verinfes and accepted one of the first quests available after purchasing some armor.
I've enjoyed the game thus far. I'll have a full review to follow after I get a considerable amount of playtime.
While this snippet only showcased my victories, I was actually really lucky with my roles. Not long after this, I suffered several failures back to back. Thankfully the penalties weren't too steep but it did add a nice sense of mortality to the game. 
Click here for a link to the game if you don't want to wait for my full review before buying. 
Also, if you've played this game before or after reading this, let me know in the comments what you thought. 
Till next time! Thanks for reading!