Ok so here is my new story. I am sure I will actually finish this one. Don't post here. There is a feedback thread for all feedback. Here I go again! Prologue The boom of my blunderbuss would have been heard through all of Yisterfell. But that’s ok. My mission was complete. That corrupt mayor was dead and hopefully someone better would take his place soon. Yisterfell needed a new ruler. Too bad the next man in charge would be just as bad or worse. I reloaded my blunderbuss just in case any courageous guard decided to try his luck at turning in my head for a quick promotion. I raced through the halls of Yisterfell keep to make my getaway. After all, I just committed one of the many crimes that the nation of Ordon punishes with a death sentence. The keep was one of the bigger ones I have infiltrated but killing the mayor of Yisterfell went a lot easier than expected. That brute had grown careless, clouded by his hubris and he paid his guards to protect him a lot less than I paid them to fail that task. The mayor’s quarter was at the very top of the keep but fortunately for me, no one was around to stop my escape. I crossed the bridge from the keep to the rest of the city of Yisterfell. Ordon was a foul nation and didn’t give its cities enough money for any sort of infrastructure outside of the keep and therefore, Yisterfell was little more than a bunch of dwellings made of clay, a mine that keeps the city profitable for Ordon, and a massive castle. “Someone stop him!” I glanced over at the man who was so eager to sell out his savior. He was a middle-aged man who looked like he had just returned from a long shift at the Yisterfell mine. His cotton pants and fur jacket were covered in soot and his boots have long lost their black color and are now caked in years worth of dirt. I had to stop his blabbing before he met the same fate as the mayor. “Stop talking now or I’ll silence you for good,” I told him dryly. He immediately stopped yelling and he started to run away. I knew he would tell a guard but then again, due to the sound of my blunderbuss, they already knew what had happened. I sprinted through the dirt streets of outer Yisterfell, trying to make my way to the forest ahead, where they couldn’t pursue me due to the darkness and then to the shores of Lake Angus where my crew was ready to whisk me away to safety. The forest was in sight now. I saw pine trees towering over the city and I just passed the gate. It is a true shame that I would never make it to the forest. Suddenly, a shot from a blunderbuss ripped through my left leg. Searing pain rushed through my entire body and I crumpled to the ground. I turned my head to look and see the guards I had paid off standing over me. Their weapons pointed directly at me. “Good shot, Jeri,” I heard from one of them. The man who I presumed to be Jeri tipped his feathered hat and said, “Great shot, actually. But I thank you for the compliment.” “You’ve been a bad boy, Antep. I can’t wait to see you hang for your crimes,” said the one dressed as the captain. “Let’s load him on the wagon and bring him to the capitol and receive that hefty reward,” Jeri announced. The posse gave a few hearty laughs and then the captain took the butt of his blunderbuss and raised it over my head. Suddenly, it all went dark. I don’t know how long I was out. I can faintly remember a few short chats with the group who shot me but those didn’t last long before I was unconscious again. When I finally felt awake I noticed I was in a jail cell, presumably in the capitol city of Ordon, Underick. It was dark and damp in the cell. It felt quite dirty, like everywhere else in Ordon. “Ah, so the terrorist awakes.” I looked at the door to the cell and saw a very well dressed man standing there with a vicious smile on his face. This must be the King. “I’m not a terrorist, I’m a freedom fighter,” I spoke back. “Oh is that what they’re calling it these days? Killing the leaders of great cities and inciting riots in peaceful places. I can feel the freedom just emanating from your very being,” the King said sarcastically. “But all of them were corrupt!” “It doesn’t matter now though. You’ll never kill someone in Ordon again.” “Are you going to kill me?” “I won’t kill you. You’re not going to die in Ordon.” “You can’t keep me in here forever! I can get out and I will kill you one day!” The King merely laughed at my threats. “I am not going to keep you in here either.” That was confusing. I wasn’t going to be executed or imprisoned? What could he possibly want from me? “Then what is it that you will do with me?” I inquired. “You are going to work for me for the rest of your life. You will help with the battle against our enemy, Baranike.” That was even more confusing. Baranike was a prosperous country where people were happy and the politicians just. It was also my home. Why would he think I would ever help him destroy my homeland? “I would rather die a thousand deaths than help you take Baranike! I will never help you!” “Ha ha ha. Perhaps you will not help me, but Utho the poor merchant from Lacite will.” “I don’t understand then. What do I have to do with him?” “Because he is you!” The King could barely contain his glee. With that statement, the King motioned in one of his elite Bremen, a mage who dabbles in the magics of the mind. It suddenly dawned on me what the King planned. I was going to be wiped. My memories erased and replaced with something else. I was going to be, in all senses, Utho. Some merchant from another country, apparently. “Please, I am begging you. Just kill me instead,” I pleaded to no use. “No no no. You deserve a much greater punishment than death. You will carry out the rest of your days as Utho the merchant until you finish your task. Once you finish helping us take down Baranike you will remember who you are. You will know that you destroyed your home.” My life was over, I knew. There was no hope for freedom and no hope of going home with my mind intact. The King motioned the Mindmage to begin the Wipe and it all went dark again.
Chapter One I opened my eyes to a rather confusing scene. I was lying on a bed and there were some people standing around me. I felt like I knew them but I wasn’t quite sure. Where was I? I couldn’t really remember much. I had a huge headache but couldn’t really remember why. The room was filled with all sorts of liquids in vials and there were two people who looked familiar talking to someone I knew I didn’t know. Finally, one of them looked at me and looked relieved and started to speak. “Utho! You’re awake! I’m so happy you’re alright!” said a woman. I think she was my wife. I can remember some nights we spent together and the sweater I bought for her birthday. Odd that I didn’t instantly remember who she was. I mean we have been together for… years I think. “Dad!” a teenage kid yelled while running over to my bedside. This is my son. I can’t believe I didn’t remember my own son for a moment there. I was his father after all! How could I have forgotten? I hugged them both and then spoke to them. “Hey, guys. I’m sorry I scared you. I can’t really remember what happened, though. Why am I in here and on this bed? And why does my head hurt so much?” My wife, Sophia, said, “Oh, honey. You fell off your horse remember? You hit your head on the fence you were riding next to. I’m just thrilled that you’re still with us!” That makes sense, I suppose. The details of the accident were fuzzy but I could remember riding a horse with them. That fall really did mess up my head. That must be why my memory is so foggy. I tried to sit up but my head started aching so I laid back down. “Easy, Utho. You just woke up. It will take a while for you to be in tip-top shape,” said the man I assume is the doctor. “You should try to rest a little bit more. I am guessing that in about two days you’ll be ready to go back to your shop.” “My shop?” I inquired. “Well, your wife told me you were a merchant. Buying and selling goods to travelers.” Now I can remember it. It was a small store. It doubled as my house so me and my family lived there as well. I sold many things from the random blunderbuss I get traded to me to the food Sophia grows in the garden. A nice red carpet with a phoenix design on its face. I loved that carpet. Bought it at… I think I bought it back in Ophan. That is where I grew up. It was just a small town in the middle of Lacite. I met Sophia there I am pretty sure. My memory was still hazy, though so I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe I met her at the fair in Houran. It was one of those places I’m sure. How could I forget where I met my own wife? “Honey? We met in Ophan, right?” I asked her. “No. We met at that fair in Houran, remember? How could you forget? I was standing by that traveling magician and you came up and started talking with me. Remember?” Ok, so I remember that more clearly now. That magician was just awful. I started to feel a bit sleepy again so I shut my eyes and hoped I could just get back to my life again. Back to the shop and back to my family. That was all I wanted. And to get a new horse. One that wouldn’t thrust me from its back and cause me more head injury. My eyes fluttered open and I saw my son, Marodo, sitting on my bed with Sophia right next to him. I felt better than… how long ago did I wake up? Doesn’t matter. I felt much better now and ready to get back to the shop. “Sophia, I am feeling much better now. Are we able to leave now? I want to get back before I miss any more business.” I told her. She stood from her position at the end of my bed and walked over to me. “Yes we are. I have a carriage ready for our trip back. Whenever you’re ready we can head back home. I have already paid the doctor for his service, as well.” I swung my legs out from under the bed cover. My left leg hurt a little bit when I stepped on the floor but that was from the hunting accident a couple months back, not from the fall from the horse. I was just teaching my son how to shoot and he fumbled the gun in his hand and accidently shot me in the leg. I could still walk with relative ease but the slight discomfort whenever I walk gets annoying. “Let’s get going then. We’ve lost enough customers to that jerk, Zaln, next door.” Marodo aided my walk out of the building to the carriage and Sophia held the door open for me. I nodded to the man at the helm of the vehicle and he called to me. “We’re ready to go, sir. The ride home will take an hour or so. So feel free to get comfortable. Or as comfortable as you can get in her,” the driver said with a slight chuckle. I closed my eyes in hope to get a few minutes of sleep before I returned to normal life. After dozing off for what I thought was twenty minutes or so, I was awoken. BOOM! My eyes opened instantly and I hastily looked around. Marodo and Sophia were ducking below the windows of the carriage and I looked out side. There were people on horses with guns in their hands riding towards our slowing carriage. I saw the reason why almost instantly. They had just shot our driver from the helm of our carriage. The men surrounded the stationary vehicle and were walking towards us with guns in hand. “GET OUT OF THE CARRIAGE NOW OR WE WILL SHOOT!” All of us complied. We slowly stepped out of the carriage. We were standing on the dirt road with rifles pointed at us. I looked around. There was no one but us and the bandits. “Nice shot, Jeri,” one of the men told another. “A great shot actually,” Jeri replied while winking at me, “But I thank you for the compliment.” That sounded familiar but before I could recall why they threw a bag on my head and led us to their horses.