Unforeseen path, p.1
Unforeseen Path, page 1
UNFORESEEN PATH
BOOK 11
OF
THE WORLD
Copyright 2022 Jason Cheek
Published by Jason Cheek on Amazon
Cover Art by Leonardo Black
ISBN-13:
License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Amazon.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Preface
Map of the World
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Appendices and the Post Credit Scene
Character Sheet
Startum Ironwolf’s and Helgath’s Gear
Zeven Al'Zaric’s, Bright Claw’s, and Nahimana Tor’Narc’s Gear
Neristhana’s Gear
Phoenix’s Gear
Töten Feinde’s Gear
Character List
About the Author
Connect with Jason Cheek
Epilogue
Preface
(A note from the Author)
Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy the story and apologize in advance for any grammar and proofreading mistakes that are sure to be a part of this work. Being an ‘Indie Author’ typically means that you do not have the extra money to pay for a professional editor or proofreader and end up doing all of the work yourself and with helpful friends. While I do the best that I can to find mistakes, I know well my lack of ability in the proofreading, spell-checking, and editing arena. At the same time, I have done my best with the tools available to clean up the story for publishing. If you do find something as you’re enjoying this story, please let me know at jasonacheek@gmail.com so that I can make the necessary corrections needed to make this book as enjoyable to read as possible. I will gladly give you a shout-out for your contribution here in the book’s Author’s Notes.
I would like to give a shout-out to a number of fans and friends that have put a huge amount of effort into getting this story into as good of shape as it is in. Eric (Töten Fiend who offered his expertise for editing and proofing) along with friends and fans like Travis, Steven, Jonathan, and Tricia has helped greatly with beta reading and giving feedback. Additionally, I want to thank those fans who support me on Patreon: Aimee, Bilal, Brian, Bryan, CUI13, Jodi, Jonathan, Justin, Kirk, Kore, Michael, Mike, Nash, Patricia, Rob, S, Andrew, Dana, Evan, Jens, Keenan, Keith, Malik, Olaf, Rylon, Saap, SteveTina-Maria, Trey, Will, Carl, Charles, Daniel, James, John, Lukas Lenk, Manuel, Okeland, Peter, Simon, Aety9, Corry, Dylan, and Gorgarn. Along with an extra special thank you for going above and beyond for being House of Kayden members to: Braidborn, Dracul & Michelle, Jarl, Nick, Tenebris, Blackfalk, Miguel, and Travis. All of you’ve helped to make this series possible and your support is greatly appreciated. Lastly, I’d like to offer another thank you to Jordon, Jeff, Daniel, Lars, and Patricia for emailing in the mistakes they found. Thank you very much for making the series that much better.
If you like the story, please leave a good review on Amazon and Goodreads for the books. Not just mine, but any Indie Author you like, especially if you want to see new stories coming out that are not the cookie-cutter-copies that seem to be so rampant in the genre. The only way you will encourage this to happen is by leaving reviews for the authors you like. It lets everyone know that they’re telling a good story, besides being the only way to protect the authors you love from the established authors in the genre that do their best to block new stories from coming out. Your support in this truly makes a difference.
Lastly, I discuss this because I have personally experienced this type of harassment and trolling since releasing The World series. Every book, whether audible or eBook has been repeatedly attacked. Not just book one, but every proceeding book in the series. Even now, they continuously check my blog to know when my newest book is going to be released to leave bad reviews. It’s like battling an in real-life Syndicate guild. Your continued support has been all that has stopped their bullying from being able to cancel my stories.
Map of the World
Chapter One
(Sunday, May 11th / Day 21 of The World.)
(Solivann LET Guild in the Dark Elf port city of Londshos.)
“Yo … yo … yo, the Triple A guild is in the house,” Leerianne Rastleer, the stacked female Light Elf-Human of the trio, announced from atop the stage as Brent Cadenach, the large male Light Elf-Human standing next to her, began beatboxing a tune, “We’re here to deliver all of you a public service message. The word is going around that Starfairy Ironwolf will be heading towards our region, to cause us some havoc, little does that fool know how we are legion.”
“If you want to earn some gold,” Aven Taurig, the slim Light Elf-Human next to her cut in with the same sing-song rap, “you better listen up and do what you’re told!”
“Bbbeeessshhh bop be diddily bop,” Brent continued thumping his hands against his breastplate while huffing to a made-up beat, “Whizzly whizzly whizzly bbbeeessshhh bop.”
“This loser has destroyed both Telrain and Darom,” Leerianne continued rapping out in a high-pitched voice as she strutted from side to side on the stage, “if we don’t hunt him down, it’s sure we’ll all be slain-”
“We’ll spawn camp that Starfairy asshole if he dares to show his face anywhere around here,” a player somewhere in the crowd around them shouted out, as a blood-thirsty roar rang out from the audience around the stage. Another voice yelled out as the ruckus started dying down, “If you hear of Starfairy being in your area, drop whatever you’re doing and join in on the attack against him!” Another aggressive cheer drowned out the speaker. As the crowd calmed down again, Leerianne thrust her fist into the air and shouted, “That’s the only way we’ll let that loser know he’s not welcome in our part of The World!”
As the trio started doing the Ickey Shuffle, Solivann could only shake his head at the train wreck happening before his eyes. And he’d thought Leerianne’s crappy lyrics had been bad. Just when he thought the boomers couldn’t embarrass themselves more, the trio switched into doing the running man while the crowd unanimously booed as one. Not that he blamed them, it really was terrible dancing and rapping.
“I can’t believe the organizers haven’t pulled them off by now,” Alocer said in exasperation from beside him, “I swear a group of cats in heat would sound better than this.”
“Tell me about it,” Solivann agreed, cringing as Brent suddenly went into a beatbox solo while the two females cheered him on, “They really think they’re putting on a good show.”
“Taking Starfairy down is not a problem,” Adelya suddenly hollered out next to him, “but only if you hosers get your dumb asses off the stage and let some real musicians play!”
“Adelya!” Assen urgently hissed, “Don’t get us in trouble with those Triple A assholes again!”
To the rest of the Les Enfants Terribles guild’s amusement, it was as if Adelya’s shout had set off a spark. All around the plaza, the crowd began to angrily stir as more players began to loudly join in with Adelya’s jeering. As the animosity began to ratchet up, Solivann uncomfortably noted Leerianne’s angry gaze settling on their little group as if she remembered them from earlier.
Bring it on, Solivann privately thought, letting his animosity for the little hussy show in his eyes as they stared each other down. While he disliked Startum Ironwolf as much as the next player, having these chuckleheads speaking out against him was akin to the pot calling the kettle black. Seriously, did they really think anyone was going to believe that the Triple A assholes were suddenly looking out for other players’ best interests? What a joke. They were the biggest group of griefers on this side of the starting area. The bigger question Solivann had was who had these skeets blown to get a gig on the festival’s stage in the first place?
“Get off the stage, ye Squatch,” Alocer’s bellow cut over the crowd’s roar as the wannabe Paladin pointedly grabbed the inside of his elbow while meaningfully thrusting the other hand into the air in the international symbol to ram it up your ass, “and learn how to beatbox!”
“Hell, they need to learn how to dance,” Nikina humorously chimed in as everyone laughed but for Assen.
“I’m sure Leerianne marked us that time for sure,” Assen uneasily grumbled as the crowd began to chant as one, “Get off the stage … get off the stage!”
“And what of it?” Alocer cheerfully asked, noting his friend’s reaction, “It’s not like we can’t take on these sieves if they wanna make it into an issue again.” He confidentially shrugged, before continuing incre dulously. “I think these idiots actually think they’re putting on a good show.”
“I just don’t feel like being spawn camped every time we log in for the next half a week,” Assen irritably said as the crowd let out a loud cheer as the trio of Triple A assholes angrily stalked off the stage. Seeing Alocer take a breath to argue, he held up a hand to explain, “Look, beating them is not the problem,” he let out a frustrated sigh, “I just hate losing levels to a bunch of unskilled hosers that only get the win due to their overwhelming numbers.”
“I don’t know if I’d call that winning. Those losers only lasted for three days before giving up the last time they tried us,” Solivann said with an unconcerned shrug. While that whole deal had sucked major donkey dick, there was nothing like forcing an enemy to run away with their tail tucked between their legs. As Assen reluctantly nodded in ascent, he innocently added, “And it really didn’t take us all that long to level back up once all was said and done.”
“I think you’re right, Alocer,” Nikina said in stunned amazement, “they’re bowing to the boos.”
“You know,” PixelBomb said, speaking up for the first time as he analyzed the situation, “we’re probably the only group I know that would call those Triple A assholes unskilled hosers.”
“Still doesn’t change the fact of the matter any,” Adelya dismissively said as a new group began making their way onto the stage. At the distinct sound of clopping hooves, the Tiger-Kin female suddenly began jumping up and down in place excitedly, “Holy Schnikes, it’s that crazy Bard troupe we saw walking around the town earlier tonight?”
“Wait,” Solivann asked as his eyes whipped back to the stage, “you mean the Bard troupe with the Centaur and-”
“Yeah,” Nikina excitedly exclaimed, cutting him off, “the ones with the Gnomeling, Half-Orc, and all those Half-Elves?”
“Didn’t they also have that sexy Dwarf walking around with them too?” Adelya gushed.
“You mean that one with the open leather vest that looked like a band member from The Village People?” PixelBomb asked, perking up.
“Look, there he is,” Adelya squealed, “Oh my gawd, he’s showing off his hairy chest and only wearing those tight leather pants!”
“Is this an X-rated show or something?” Assen asked, taking in the leather and skin.
“I don’t know, but we’re about to find out,” Nikina said, impressed at the Gnomeling’s sexy outfit, “It takes some ovaries to wear something like that with a crowd like this but that girl sure knows how to strut it.”
“What’s with the metal-armed Half-Elf girl?” Assen curiously asked as he looked over the group.
“I don’t know,” Solivann said, tearing his eyes away from the bare-faced Centaur, “You usually only see prosthetics like that in the Kingdom of Cadarea.”
“Hmm, that’s odd,” Alocer agreed, focused on the goings on that the group was doing to prepare the stage, “What’s with those large smoking pots?”
“No clue,” Solivann said, cocking his head to the side as he curiously studied everyone’s instruments, “it’s not like they need lighting or anything.”
The Gnomeling female in the leather teddy had an odd-looking guitar. It was almost like something he’d have expected to see in the Gnome capital of Tulduroc. The male Dwarf had a surprising number of odd-looking drums around him. Lastly, to his surprise, the Half-Elf seemed to be rocking a violin of all things. This was either going to suck or completely rock, Solivann laughingly thought.
“This must be the medieval version of a smoke show,” Adelya said, loudly giggling at her own joke as everyone chuckled with her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce our newly minted Bard troupe,” the metal-armed girl announced as she came to a stop at the edge of the stage and looked out at the agitated crowd, “Dark Star Rising!”
There was a number of indifferent muttering and sporadic claps but obviously, the waiting crowd wanted to be entertained. Solivann had seen this before at comedy shows and other concerts. A bad act gets the crowd riled up and then the proceeding acts take the brunt of the audience’s bad attitude. This young woman was going to have to show more pizzazz than this or the group was going to get booed off the stage like those Triple A assholes had been, he thought, as the lead singer began announcing the rest of the troupe’s names.
“Hey Solivann,” Adelya suddenly asked, interrupting his internal contemplation, “did she just really say that the chick in the leather teddy is playing a mana-infused guitar?”
“Uh, I wasn’t really paying attention,” Solivann stuttered, caught by surprise.
“Dude, get off dreaming about that Centaur,” Nikina teasingly said, “If he got his hands on you, you’d be walking bowlegged for a week.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything like that,” Solivann denied as the rest of the guild laughed at his embarrassed reaction, “I was just-”
“Aye, tell it to someone who cares,” Nikina dismissively said, teasingly holding up a hand to stop his protests. Before anyone could add their two cents in, the lead singer’s voice rang out across the plaza as if it had been suddenly magnified like she was speaking into a mic.
“It seems like there’s a lot of discussion going on about the infamous Starfairy and the atrocities that he inflicted in the cities of Darom and Telrain in the Kingdom of Kader!” the lead singer named Alanah announced. The crowd began angrily muttering upon hearing the name of the player that everyone kept arguing about on the forums. As the shouts rose to an ugly crescendo, the Half-Elf held out her hands so that they’d quiet down enough for her to speak.
“I must say, your outrage at this tragedy speaks to my heart. It just so happens to be the case that our troupe just escaped the city of Darom as it was being burned to the ground.” Alanah’s words seemed to catch the crowd by surprise as individual players glanced at each other not quite believing what the girl was saying.
“Our song for tonight’s show tells the tale of the events that led up to Darom’s destruction at the hands of the most wanted criminals the Nordic Region has ever seen,” she paused as a sly smirk playfully flashed across her lips as the macho-looking Dwarf picked up a large round flat drum behind her and balanced it on his shoulder, “Though, I give all of you this one word of warning. The truth of what actually happened might not be as you newfar believe.”
“Is that girl using a microphone or something to project her words?” PixelBomb quietly asked as the Half-Elf named Ayda started playing her violin to the slow beat that started coming from the Dwarf’s drum. To everyone’s surprise, the scarred Half-Orc standing next to the beautiful Gnomeling also pulled out a cowbell and began joining in on the tune, while the Centaur began stomping his hooves on the stage to the throbbing beat.
“Seriously, he’s using a cowbell?” Assen sarcastically asked out loud, “Could this be any more cliché?”
Even as Solivann was thinking the same thing, he found himself wondering about what the Half-Elf had meant about things not being as they seemed, when the lead singer brought a shepherd’s flute to her lips and began playing a simple four-note tune. As the last fluttering notes died away, Alanah started to sing acapella.
“On a cold icy morning, a group of newfar called the Dread Pack approached the port city of Darom. With hate in their cold hearts, they asked to speak to the Lord of the city with an order from the king.”
There was something about Alanah’s haunting voice that seemed to draw Solivann into the music along with everyone else. Without conscious thought, he found himself leaning forward to listen to each heartfelt word when a throbbing rip of cords from what sounded like an electric guitar was struck to the beat of the drum. As the growling sound slowly died away leaving him wondering if he’d actually heard it correctly or not, the song took off as the two other female singers joined in with the vocals while the electric guitar began growling out with the increased beat of the drum.
“The Dread Pack murdered the lord of Darom and most of the Royal Guards were slaughtered. Before the townsfolk of Darom knew what was happening, they were being enslaved by the newfar and the remaining swordsmen were being gathered up to be slaughtered like vermin.”
