Timewaster's Guide Archive

Heh. Seems like this forum is getting a lot of new users from this dialogue exercise.
Here's mine. No title yet.
1133 words.

“Shh, be quiet! Don’t struggle. I’m going to let you go, just don’t scream!”
“Get off me! Who are you? How did you find me?”
“I am nobody important. And I’m not going to hurt you, so lower your voice. You don’t want to let the guards know you’re here, trust me.”
“There are no guards around here. And you didn’t answer my question!”
“For the love of…! If you don’t sit down and stop yelling I’m going to drop you off the wall.”
“Alright, alright, I’m calm.”
“Good. Now, how did you get up here? How did you avoid the guards?”
“Look, I already told you. There are no guards around here. I’ve been walking on this wall for days, and I haven’t seen a soul. Not until you showed up with that monkey at least.”
“You’ve been unbelievably lucky then. These people don’t treat trespassers with any mercy.”
“What people? Who are you? How did you find me?”
“I did not find you. I stumbled on you.”
“What? You mean you don’t know who I am?”
“No, and I don’t care. You’re going to have to come with me now. I can’t take the chance of you telling anyone about me.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“To the castle. Lord Desney has got something I need.”
“Oh, no. You cannot go there sir. Nobody has ever come out of the tower alive.”
“I know that. But I have to. There is no other way. If you’ve really been walking around here for days, then I could use you.”
“Use me? Use me for what? I’m not lifting a finger for you before I know who you are and what you intend to do to me.”
“Fine, but once I tell you, you’re either in, or I will have to throw you off the wall. I can’t afford to let you run around knowing about my intentions. You sure you want to know?”
“Do I have a choice? Sounds to me like I’m damned either way. Hey! Keep that monkey away from my pack!”
“Come here, Abu! You’re not damned if you come with me. It sounds like your luck is in good shape. Let’s hope it stays that way. I’m going to the castle to steal the Lord’s crown.”
“The crown? Are you completely insane? Lord Desney keeps it with him at all times. You don’t have a chance. His minions will kill you before you get within a hundred feet of him.”
“No they won’t. Because they’ll never even know I was there. Look up at the sky.”
“What? The stars?”
“Exactly.”
“What about them? I don’t…”
“Haven’t you heard the legends? The stars have power beyond anything you can imagine. You just have to wish upon the correct one.”
“But how do you find the correct one?”
“I already found mine. It all depends on which star you were born under. It’s going to grant me one wish. Only one, but it should be enough.”
“I see. So you’re going to wish for all his minions to disappear or something?”
“No, that will alert the Lord that something is up. And the wish cannot be something that harms other people. It has to be something innocent and childlike. The stars aren’t evil; they are just helping those who need it.”
“So what are you going to wish for, then?”
“I don’t know yet. I need to see the castle first. Learn my way around it. I might even be so lucky that I won’t have to use my wish tonight. Do you know what star you’re born under?”
“Can’t say that I do. But now that you mention it, my father was awfully obsessed with the stars. He’s a carpenter you see, and one time he told me that he made a puppet that turned to life because he wished for it. I never believed him before. I mean really? A puppet? He even went on about how it later turned halfway into a donkey for goodness sake.”
“I never heard about that. But it makes sense. Lord Desney has powers that you and I can only dream about. If he wanted to turn people into donkeys, then he would.”
“Are you serious? You really believe that?”
“Listen kid. You’re young. I have seen things that would give you nightmares if I told you about them. There are things in this world that would turn your hair white. And all of them are the work of Lord Desney. He must be stopped.”
“And you’re going to do that by stealing his crown?”
“Yes. His crown is the source of all his powers. A wizard made it for him a long time ago while he worked as the wizard’s apprentice.”
“I’ve heard the legends sir. But I still think it’s impossible to steal the crown. His castle is crowded with his minions. Guards at every corner, ravens circling the towers, thunder and lightning all around the area. I’ve been there once. Me and a friend of mine watched from a distance. We saw the Lord himself, looking out a window in the tallest spire. Simply looking at him gave me the shivers.”
“You’ve been there? How long ago?”
“A couple of years I should think. Why?”
“Darn. That’s too long. I know he has expanded his castle a lot since then. He had his slaves dig a moat around the walls and filled it with hungry alligators.”
“There’s just no way then. Sir, please. He surely has the main gate guarded more heavily than any fortress in the history of the universe. Why don’t we just walk away?”
“Because it’s what must be done! Too long have I stood by and watched this tyrant enslave the lands. Somebody has to do something!”
“But, what can we possibly do to stop him? He lives in the middle of the most impenetrable fortress ever made.”
“Don’t you see, kid? Right now, we have the chance to do something great. All we need is to get into that fortress, steal his crown, and rid the world of his tyranny once and for all. We have the power to make a difference. So it is our duty to try. I didn’t want to get anyone else involved, sorry. But here you are, so maybe you can do some good after all.”
“But I don’t…”
“Forget it. Either you come with me, or I’ll tie you up in a sack and leave you here. Which is it going to be?”
“You really think I can help?”
“Sure you can. You just have to believe in yourself.”
“I…I guess I’ll give it a try. But what if we fail?”
“What if we succeed? Don’t think about failing. Let’s just go for it!”
“Okay.”
“Good. Let’s go!”