This is the beginning of a book that I submitted to a competition for… book beginnings of 1200 words.
When I was born my parents named me Mordrath. What else could I have grown up to be but an evil wizard? I’m sure there were other evil career paths I could have taken, politician, used cart salesman, but wizard seemed so glamorous. When you are an evil wizard you need to make a name for yourself, and not just Mordrath, but Mordrath the terrible, Mordrath the vile, Mordrath the hero slayer. That last one seemed to be causing me some trouble. Like any good evil wizard I started small. I bought a rundown tower and started to fix it up, a few traps here, a dungeon there. You have no idea how hard it is to dig a moat, instead I went with a nice big fence and painted it a spooky black. Soon, it was time for my first evil deed. There were many to choose from, but I’m a sucker for the classics so I thought I’d abduct a fair maiden. If trolls are doing it, how hard can it be?
I only had one minion at this point, a small green goblin named Furts, he was mostly useless. Together we snuck into the local village and found the first door we tried unlocked. We crept inside and looked around, it was a small two room shack. In the corner slept an old man and his wife. Well… this wasn’t going to do. I checked the other door and the smell nearly made me retch, taking either of these old farts away would be doing them a favor. The next few houses we tried were all locked. Then bad fortune smiled upon me, a youngish woman was leaving a pub down the road. We crept up behind her and on my signal Furts pounced. It didn’t go as we hoped. The woman screamed, punched him in his bulbous nose and ran. The scream woke the entire town which soon was opening their doors and windows to look out at the woman who was still screaming about imps. I shoved Furts under my cloak and we nonshalontly strolled out of town.
Back at my tower I had to rethink things. Okay, my first try was a bust, but I can always try again. Maybe I just need a few more minions.
The next day we held auditions for creatures of ill repute. We got a troll, a banshee, a cyclops, but they all wanted paying. None were interested in “working for experience.” In the end, the only thing that would work for me was Obidia. I’m not quite sure what he is. He looks like a big black rat but with much too long fur. Oh well, his teeth and claws look sharp, and he was eager for the job.
Since the town was on alert, I thought we’d have better luck out on the road. I picked out the perfect spot, it had high trees we could hide in and was secluded enough that no one would hear our victim scream. In fact, no one would hear anything, because no one ever came. We all sat in our trees waiting the entire day while our backs and butts got sore. When night fell we decided to go home, it had been a crappy day and we wanted it behind us. As it happens though, that was when we got lucky.
A duo of travelers was walking through the woods by torch light. They were leading some horses laden with heavy bags. Gold and jewels perhaps, or at least some food? I signaled for Furts and Obidia to hide. I pulled out my wand and cast a spell of mist, something to set the mood. I might have gone a bit overboard. The mist became so thick that you could hardly see an inch in front of you, but that was nomatter. Instead of destroying our prey, we simply stole from them. Furts darted out from behind a tree and bit one of the travelers on the ankle while Obidia made a truly terrible sound, like a hoarse bullfrog trying to growl. The men walked towards the sound and away from their horses, which gave me time to climb aboard and make a heist-y retreat.
I made it back to my tower in record time, Obidia and Furts took a little longer. I started to unload the small bags: some dried food, a sack of coins. This was turning out to be an alright day afterall! Then with my minions’ help I lifted down the large trunk strapped to the horse’s back. It had a lock in the shape of a heart. No problem for a man of my talents, I took a rock and smashed it off. It fell to the ground with a loud clunk. I lifted the lid, my heart filled with greed for the many treasures I imagined inside. I held my lantern high, inside lay a young girl asleep. I dropped the lantern and closed the lid quickly. It’s true that I had intended to steal a maiden, but I was thinking of a young and beautiful woman, not a child. Well… I couldn’t exactly put her back where I got her. I started to pace back and forth, I had to think. We carried the trunk to the top of the tallest tower, it was only three stories. My tower is still in the construction phase. I opened the trunk lid and crept outside, locking the door behind me. Then we waited, and waited, and then waited some more. When would this kid wake up? She wasn’t dead was she? Oh crap, was she? Did we steal a dead girl? I unlocked the door and went in to check. It was hard to tell, she was just lying there, perfectly still. I moved in closer, I leaned into the trunk and put my face next to hers to see if she was breathing. When I was inches from her face she opened her eyes and scared the crap out of me. “Owe”, I banged my head on the lid of the trunk. As I was hopping about cursing she sat up and stretched then looked over at me.
“Hello.” She said, I was still rubbing my head and didn’t immediately respond. “Did you rescue me?”
“I am the evil wizard Mordrath.” I said, “And you are my prisoner.” I struck a terrifying pose. Hands up in the air in a menacing fashion.
“What happened to the men my father sold me to?” My hands slumped to my sides.
“The guys that locked you in the trunk?” She nodded. “Those fools never saw us coming.”
“Then you did rescue me!” She climbed out of the trunk and made her way towards me.
“Stay back, I am an evil wizard.” I boomed. “I can turn you into a lizard.” The girl ignored me and continued to approach. I backed away but soon my back was against the stone wall and the kid was coming in quick. I looked around frantically,“Furts” I called, but it was too late, the girl was upon me, wrapping her thin arms around my waist and… hugging me.