What exactly is it that you need a map for, Dimbark?
I mostly want it so that the reader could know what the world and environment the characters are going through.
In books like The Hobbit, and Game of Thrones, they have a map at the beginning showing the world. I want a map like this so that my story has more of an image-able world.
Also, if you want, you can read Chapter II.
[i]Chapter II:
The Small Trip
“It is a dangerous way to Mihor,” shuddered Mistress Marlene. “But, why must you leave? The war should center only around Bantion, and I doubt they will hurt civilians.”
“Those in Mihor are cruel,” replied Johan. “They will kill anybody who is not in their kingdom. Nobody in Mekal could defeat the great Mihorian army! Not even the legendary dwarves of the south!”
I slightly nodded in agreement. “Come into my cabin,” whispered Mistress Marlene as she slowly stumbled to the cabin door. We entered the cabin, where Johan and I centered around the fire; Mistress Marlene’s basement was very cold. Silently, Mistress Marlene went into one of her cabinets and took out two loaves of bread and one container with water.
“I wish I could come with you,” said Mistress Marlene. “But all I can do is help you for the voyage.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Mistress Marlene. We will find any ship at the harbor south of Calla, hopefully there aren’t any ships from Mihor centering around that area.”
“That sounds like a smart route,” replied Mistress Marlene. “I hope you will be safe.”
Mistress Marlene escorted us out of the cabin and said one last thing: “If you want to enter Mihor you have to follow their tax laws and go through their rituals. Please, do whatever they say.”
I nodded and departed with Johan. After a bit of walking, we soon came across the Bantion canal. Luckily, the storm had softened, which allowed people to cross the canal on the ferry. The ferry ride was only one gold piece, but Johan had saved thirteen for any purposes he would need. We crossed the ferry very quickly, as we continued on our way to Calla.
The walk took a very long time, considering that neither of us talked. I eventually took out one of the loaves of bread Mistress Marlene gave us and ate half of it. I then passed it over to Johan, whom ate the rest of it. By noon, we reached Calla, where we rested a bit.
We waited for a while at the bottom of the tower, and soon noticed that the rain had stopped. From there, we went over to the stable to see if we could purchase a horse. Sadly, it was seventeen gold pieces, which was way too expensive for us. We began our walk south, which we knew would be a very long walk.
On our way, we passed through unrecognized plains and marshes, which we did not enjoy. In the marshes, our feet became covered in mud and dirt. Odd creatures passed through many of the areas, forcing us to go to drier areas. We also got irritated by several bugs that decided that we would be a delicious dinner.
It seemed that Johan suffered the most. He was constantly smacking himself in a large effort to kill the bugs around him. He repeatedly sighed throughout the swamp areas, and occasionally freaked out when he believed he spotted a crocodile. He would seem brave when he says something, but looks as if he was going to wet his pants when he actually does it.
We set up camp by a small tree, a few meters away from the actual marshland area. The bugs were still as annoying. However, since we managed to build a small shelter by the tree, a few ignored us. We ate the last of our bread that night, and had a few gulps of water from the container we had been given. We were slowly running out of resources, and we were yet to reach the halfway point of our journey.
Neither of us managed to sleep that night. With the sounds of the buzzing bugs, the crocodiles playing around, and the whimpers from Johan, we couldn’t manage a single snore. As morning rose, we slumped up with a various amount of circles under our eyes. We stumbled from our small camp site and pushed our legs to walk south.
We were both hungry, but we decided that we should save it until it seemed to be noon. Eventually, we came across a small cave. We saw several scratch marks all over the walls. As I looked around, I saw a bit of ash, a few arrows, and a dropped dagger. Johan took the dagger, since he had nothing to protect himself, and we continued on our way to the southern areas of Melak.
At one point, Johan fell down and instantly fell asleep. Rather than wake him up from his peaceful slumber, I decided to pick him up and carry him like a small child. During the walk, I too fell asleep.
As hours passed, a small group of knights and settlers from Bantion came across us on their journey to map out the entire region of Melak to use in the upcoming war. They were riding two wagons which were guided by medium-sized oxen. The knights were the first to drop down from the wagon, and after a bit of examination, they determined that we had fallen asleep.
“Look at there legs!” shouted one of the settlers from the wagon. “They’re scorched with sweat and soaked in clay!”
“One of them also has a very large sword!” shouted back one of the knights. “They are either thieves or traders!”
One of the knights grabbed a big stick from a nearby tree and poked me with a stick. I slowly awoke from my deep slumber with no idea what was going on. When I had seen that we were stumbled upon by knights, I became slightly worried and confused, not knowing wether or not they were from Bantion or Mihor.
“What are you doing?” asked the knight.
I’m yawned a bit before I answered. “We’re on our way to the southern shore to catch a boat ride.”
“A boat ride?” asked one of the knights. “Are you fleeing the continent?”
I then realized that if I said that I was headed to Mihor–the army that knight was oposing–he would most likely behead me. I thought a bit in my head and lied. “We missed the Bantion canal ferry and we’re hoping we could get a ride there. We fell asleep, for we could not sleep in the marshlands.”
The knight stared at me for a bit. There was a large amount of silence, other than the abnoctious snoring coming from Johan.
“Very well,” the knight said. “We are heading in the same direction as you, would you like to join us?”
“Allow me to talk over this with my colleague,” I said as I swiped the stick from the knight and vigorously poked Johan. He awoke with a slight scream, and said in a yawn, “What happened?”
“These knights and settlers are willing to take us to the southern shore,” I explained to Johan. “Good!” exclaimed Johan. “We need a ride to Mi–,” I covered Johan’s mouth before he
could finish the word Mihor.
“We can’t tell them we’re going to Mihor,” I whispered to Johan. “Remember? That’s who these people are fighting against.”
Johan slightly nodded with one eye still asleep. I escorted him to the wagon where he fell back into his slumber. I reached into Johan’s bag and took a mild spice, since we were out of fresh food. The wagon, since it had so many people in it, went by very slow. We also went past very odd odors as we became closer to the center of the main marshlands.
As hours passed by, I eventually was able to see the ocean in the horizon. I nudged Johan a bit to wake him up, which only caused his body to shift and lean onto one of the settlers. What I found was very odd was that the settler didn’t mind. In fact, he had a bit of a grin on his face.
Eventually, the wagon stopped at the shore. On the sand, the oxen had a bit of a hard time walking. It was hard for them to keep a firm stance. I lifted Johan over my shoulder and carried him out of the wagon. The knights and I said our farewells as I followed the shore until I found the Water-Cabin.
The Water-Cabin was a small store that run by one person: Kyle of Mihor. He wore the richest of clothing, for he made millions of gold pieces by working for no village, but for himself. He offered ship rides to anywhere in the world, which were very cheap. He was a very popular man, although he seemed very stubborn.
I came upon the water cabin where I saw his large ship: Saint Korgan, a ship Kyle’s father had made for him before he passed away. When I came upon the Water-Cabin, I gazed in astonishment at the large ship. Even though Kyle had no crew whatsoever, he was a very good captain.
I was greeted by Kyle soon after I spotted the ship. I dropped Johan to the ground, causing him to wake up. He stumbled around a bit in a small circle and looked for spices in his bag.
“What do you folk need?” asked Kyle. “A ride out of the continent? Over to Bantion?”
“We want to escape the war,” I answered. “Take us to Mihor where we will be safe.”
Kyle pointed over to a small sign he had carved out. I examined it closely and deciphered it aloud: “Rides out to Hyne are three gold pieces more than the regular price of two gold pieces.” I thought about this for a bit. “Five gold pieces!? That’s outrageous!”
“War’s coming any minute now,” said Kyle. “It’s my advantage to make a better profit. I’ve had more customers than ever before! Besides, don’t you know how hard it is to get people through Mihor’s defenses? I heard they’ve been starting up blockades.”
It seemed that Johan was a few seconds behind. “Five gold pieces?” he quietly muttered. “That’s . . . that’s not good . . .” I slapped Johan to wake him up a bit. It worked.
I reached into my bag and payed Kyle with the appropriate fare, leaving us with seven gold pieces. He led us over to Saint Korgan and guided us to the hollow inside of the ship. Around a small area, which was supposed to be our area, we found a small chest, a bunk bed, and a small window which allowed us to see what was underwater.
The inside of the ship was very dark, for the only light in the entire area was two torches. Several torches had been set up, but the flames were extinguished by water which seeped into the room. The water also caused the floor to be very wet and mucky. Thankfully, the bunk bed was clean.
Johan, who was still a bit tired, quickly raced onto the top bunk bed and covered himself in a blanket which had been slobily tossed by Kyle earlier. I decided a nap would feel good, so I slumped over to the bottom bed and fell asleep. It took a bit to toss and turn, but I eventually fell completely asleep.
During my slumber, the ship tossed and turned. It went through a few intense waves, and afternoon quickly turned to night. At one point, something large and metal scraped into the side of the ship.
Hearing the sound of metal scraping and wood falling apart, I awoke to think a second. I pondered what might be happening and decided that I should talk to Kyle.
When I listened closely, I heard several pounds at the top of the ship. Along with that, I heard very loud stomps, footsteps, and even a few blows. I slowly creeped from my bed, aghast. I tip-toed over to the stairway which connected the inside to the outside. From there, I climbed up the stairs like a spider and managed to see what was happening on the deck.
It was the first time I saw Mihorian armor. It was pure black, nothing but black. The armor formed a large barrier around the soldiers, covering their feet with a small curve and covering their head with a small opening for their eyes. They had a few symbols on their suits, which represented blood shed. They seemed to be interrogating Kyle, from what I saw and heard.
“Where are you headed!?” one of the knights shouted at Kyle. “You’re very close to Mihorian waters, now aren’t you?”
Kyle stuttered a bit before answering. “I . . . I want to live among those in Mihor.”
“Really?” asked the Mihorian knight as he shoved Kyle a bit. “Then why is this a cargo ship? I think you’re bringing people to overthrow the government. Too bad, we patrol these waters.”
I’m not sure if I saw it or not, but I think a tear came from the left eye of Kyle. “I assure you . . .” stuttered Kyle. “It’s just . . . me . . . and I have no harmful weapons.”
“Well, then,” the Mihorian knight said. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind if we burned the ship and sank it into the waters. We will keep you in our ‘guest room’ on our ship.”
I quickly ran back down to the bunk beds, not caring how much sound my footsteps made. I rapidly shook Johan awake, to see that he was awake. He started to talk to me, “I heard everything they said. We need to sneak onto that Mihorian ship.”
“That will be difficult,” I said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to do it, but we need to get off of this ship quickly.”
Johan managed himself out of his bed and ran up to the stairs with me. The Mihorian knights were preparing to burn the ship with their torches. We ran quickly to a mast, where we hid. When the ship began to catch fire and the large metal Mihorian ship began to depart, we ran over to close to the flames, hoping we weren’t seen.
From there, we took a leap of faith. The ship was a meter away, and I ended up dangling with one hand and holding Johan with the other. I lifted him up to the ship, and he soon began to lift me up. On the middle of the ship was a small wooden house, which was where the captain controlled the ship. We hid behind that wooden house at the end of the ship. We were happy to see that the ship was passing through Mihorian waters.
We knew that the back of the small house was too vulnerable, so we creeped over to the side and hid in a small hatch in which several loads of gold were hidden. I decided to grab a handful of gold, which I knew would help me with Mihor’s tax laws. Suddenly, somebody started to walk over the hatch. We hid deeper into the room behind a pile of gold. Two men entered the hatch and looked around.
“Look at all of this loot,” I heard somebody say in a smug voice. “In Chillgos, anybody can get a swipe of their treasury. Rumor says that’s where the Elite Two rested, right in the realm where King Basa lived.”
The two people walked deeper into the hatch and continued talking. “Don’t get cocky,” the second person said. “I heard that a group of thieves stole the king’s royal relics and sold them off to a couple of people. The kingdom will soon be on red alert. Trust me.”
I then realized something and whispered it to Johan. “I purchased that pot I gave you from a group of off people. I think that’s why those guards chased us from Chillgos.”
“It doesn’t matter,” whispered back Johan. “The walls of Chillgos are soon to fall, if you ask me.”
“I doubt our armies can make it through their walls,” we heard from the other side of the pile.
“Well, maybe not,” Johan whispered to me.
The two people who were in the room with us eventually left, giving Johan and I a sigh of relief. Eventually, we hear the captain shouting, “We’re now on the shore of Mihor! All knights are free to retire for tonight while the midnight patrol is boarding!”
That was our chance. We quickly came from the hatch and jumped into the water before anybody was able to see us. From there, we swam to the shore and rested for a bit. Since we had no identification to show that we were citizens, we had to go through their citizenship rituals. We walked up from the shore to see the large gate in which the city of Mihor was entered. We talked to a knight who was in a small booth.
“We would like to gain our citizenship,” I told the knight.
“How did you get here?” asked the knight.
“That is none of your business,” I answered the knight. “I will go through whatever rituals I need to.”
Meanwhile . . .
He shook as a wad of hair was ripped from his head. He covered the area of pain as he grunted, tightening his fists. Quickly, he drew out his sword to the hair dresser who had made such a mistake.
“For what has possessed you to dismantle my beautiful hair!?” he cried. He was Commander Isaac of the Mihorian army. His fleet of battleships where headed for Mekal, where they planned to first burn the village of Bantion.
“I'm sorry, commander,” apologized the hair dresser. “The waves must have shaken the ship.”
Commander Isaac rose to his feet and stormed away. His beautiful black hair had been ripped, causing it to look uneven. He looked down at his metal armor, giving the Mihorian symbol, which looked like a fire sliced in half. He always had his sword ready with him, in it's leather sheath as he held it's handle.
He took a spiral staircase to the top of the ship, where his troops where preparing for battle. The blazing sun showed that is was morning, and the ship was to make landfall at night. This gave the troops the perfect advantage, for the people of Bantion would not be expecting an attack and would be asleep.
Commander Isaac walked to the tip of the ship and looked out at the waves as he thought. These fools of Bantion. Their eventual downfall was certain from the very start. In fact, I should hang every Mihorian knight that does not kill at least twenty civilians. This will let the people of Mekal know of our terror.
Suddenly, a troop ran up to him, interrupting his thought. “Sir,” said the troop. “Our battleship has hit a group of small canoes. They seem to have been inbound from Mihor, but these people seem to be heading to a city in Mekal. Would you like to speak with them?”
“Certainly,” answered Commander Isaac.
Commander Isaac was led to the bottom of the ship, where he saw several people tied to wooden posts. The posts where made from their own canoes. One of the people tied up was Kyle. Commander Isaac was able to tell he was the leader of the operation, for he had encountered Kyle before.
“Well, well, well,” said Commander Isaac. “Who do we have here? If it isn't our old friend Kyle, moving the ridiculously helpless people of Mekal over to our grand city of Mihor. Please, do tell me why I have found you near my battleship?”
Kyle waited a few seconds before saying anything, “I had sent two people over to Mihor, but a ship had taken me. I don't know what happened to those two people, but I knew I had to leave you heathens when they had burned my ship. So, I was able to release a few prisoners after stealing a guard's keys, and we managed to escape in what seemed to be canoes.”
“Fascinating,” replied Commander Isaac. “Well, you understand that I cannot kill you. But can the same be said for your friends?”
Kyle gulped.
“Guards!” Commander Isaac shouted. “Tie up these good-for-nothings mouths, arms, legs, and throw them into the ocean to drown! But not Kyle . . . we have some catching up to do.”
The guards tied up their hands and mouths, and quickly carried the poles up the stairs to the top of the ship, where Kyle was able to hear them splashing against the ocean.
“So, my frie--” Commander Isaac stopped. The ship had shaken once more. Commander Isaac quickly stormed to the top of the ship.
“What is happening here!?” he shouted.
Commander Isaac looked around to see that not a single knight was on the ship. Suddenly, the ship made another large bump. This caused Commander Isaac to fall off the side of the ship, noticing something large and unexpected. One of the legendary sea-dragons which swam in the deepest of waters.
The sea-dragons had existed before humans did, they were believed to have shaped the oceans when the land was nothing but large hills. When the humans came into existence, the sea-dragons ran off into the seas they have made, and were believed to have all died.