Dear Readers,
This has been one wild adventure and I am blessed to have been able to share it with you.
This tale has now come to a conclusion and my contract for this book has run its 6-month course.
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Valkyrie Black Chapter 1: The Office
Dear Reader, This tale is told from the POV of Valkyrie Black. Many concepts are mentioned that maybe new concepts to you, might seem vague, or unique to her world. You will discover them as she discovers them. Please know that it is my intention to explore the world in detail but only as Valkyrie learns about it. Strap in, it's a wild ride. This is set in a fantasy world not too different from our own. Think 1900's and steampunk. Swords are still common place, daggers are a primary for most criminals, but pistols and other weapons are starting to become available. Horse and carriage is the standard mode of transport but here at the turn of the century, new travel such as cars and airships and novel concepts are becoming available but may not be exactly common place just yet. I promise you this, while there is some needed set up, once chapter 25 comes, and she sets off on her adventure, it is action-packed and edge of your seat the whole way through. Deadly adventure await you, shou
Valkyrie Black Chapter 2: Be the light
Val’s stomach growled. It had been nearly two weeks since Reginald had dropped them off. Her mother Celeana had tried to buy passage on one of the passenger ships leaving port but the attendant just laughed at her when she presented her meager coins. “That wouldn’t even buy you a stay in a broom closet, let alone a room. go beg somewhere else.” “I am trying to get somewhere else to start a new life,” Celeana muttered under her breath. Her mother was a proud woman who hated to take charity. Val remembered helping her mother hand out soup and hot drinks to the poor during the winter and they gave the worst of their old coats. Now, they were the ones in need, but so long as there was coin in the purse, her mother insisted they were better off than most. Each day they had walked as far as Val’s little legs would allow. “Come Val. If we can reach the mountains, my friends will guard us.” Val looked ahead to see the snow-capped peaks that never seemed any closer. “Do they come all the
Valkyrie Black Chapter 3: Barter
Valkyrie awoke with the early morning light streaming between two buildings. The salt air tickled her nose but the smell of rotting fish made her nearly gag. A hint of metallic tang filled the air around her and she looked down to find her hands still covered in red and the hem of her dress was also stained red. She lifted her tiny head and looked up at her mom. Celeana’s face was pale, and she looked to be deep asleep with her eyes closed. Small dried channels of red were caked onto her lips and nose. Val shook her mom and called to her, but there was no response. “Mama!!!” Runes scrolled across her vision and she did her best to puzzle out the meaning. Slowly the runes shifted from odd squiggles to something she recognized from the books her mom read her. “In suf fic ient Pow er” she sounded out slowly. Val had no idea what that was supposed to mean or why she was seeing it. Her stomach grumbled then and she looked down to see her mother’s blade still in her hand. Blue glow outli
Valkyrie Black Chapter 4: The Shadows
Valkyrie stretched her coins as long as she could but it wasn’t long before she had to start begging on the street corner. Her first day she managed to collect a full twelve drets. Val scampered back to her growing nest and added the coins to her leather pouch which she hid under a board pressed against one of the metal walls. She had fortified her little home after she had to move away from her mother’s body due to the smell. Now her nest was in the deepest shadows of the ally, still within sight of her mother. She had dragged over more pallets and made a full wall out of them laid on top of each other. Even if a strong wind came, she didn’t think it would be able to defeat her fortress. Valkyrie had managed to find a large canvas a painter had tossed in the garbage and happily brought it home, dropping it over her fort and then stacking more pallets on top. Every day, the local factories would toss out several pallets and she would gladly collect one at a time and drag it to her
Valkyrie Black Chapter 5: Survival
Valkyrie slipped down the street in search of a merchant selling lemons. She passed several spice shops, a textile selling thick carpets, and even several bakeries with fresh bread on display. As she neared the docks, the smell of fish began to overpower the other smells. Long stalls were set up and strong men tossed huge fish down the lines of iced containers, hollered prices, and haggled with men in aprons. Across the street, Val found her target. There were several stands set up with various fruits and vegetables. One had a heaping stack of bright yellow lemons. She strode up to the man and bluntly asked, “How much for fifteen lemons?” The thin man was meticulously stacking his wares and made sure every lemon had its place. He had short brown hair that brushed to the side, and wore a perfectly clean white apron around his neck. When he heard her voice he looked around without noticing her. “Down here!” Val said, tugging on his apron. “Hu? Oh, my dear. Did you ask for fifteen?
Valkyrie Black Chapter 6: Young Blood
When Valkyrie awoke, she was stiff and sore. Her ribs hurt immensely as a small yellow light blinked in her vision. [ Power Low. Shadow Plasma required. ] Val blinked and the message vanished, leaving just the small yellow warning in her mind. Val felt numb. She knew she had ended that boy’s life. But he had almost ended hers. Grown versions of that boy had been the ones who had killed her mother, perhaps even part of the same gang if this was their turf. She had not seen much in the way of gang members but she reasoned that as a small girl, she likely went under the notice of such criminals, thus they didn’t reveal themselves or trouble her. Only the kids who tried to use the same street corners to swindle people where an issue for her. Val looked out of her fort to her mother’s resting place and shed a small tear, seeing that her mother was no longer there. Someone had cleared the body and there was just a red stain remaining. Val was now truly alone. As she pulled herself out o
Valkyrie Black Chapter 7: Story Time
(Several months later) Val ran across the rooftops of dockside, watching the crowds below for likely targets. Today there was a good crowd to pickpocket from because a street performance group was passing through. It wasn’t often that the troupes performed here but when they did, they drew huge crowds. Today they were set up along the intersection of the two major roads through this part of town. It was really the only space large enough for their carts to park and still allow for the carriages to pass by without trampling anyone. Val stopped above their carts and was about to climb down and try her luck in the audience when an old man dressed in gray robes stepped out onto their makeshift stage. He had a flowing white beard that gave him the bearing of a wise sage. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Today I have a special treat for you. I am Story Master Alaster Montag, and I bring you the tale of the Valkyrie from far-off lands.” The crowd grew still and silent with anticipation. Val froze,
Valkyrie Black Chapter 8: Thrasher Scath
~ 4 years later. Age 10 ~ * * [ System Analysis update ] Coin: 5840 Dret (Denominations 116 Gold Zon’s, 3 silver, 10 copper Dret) Strength +4 Perception +5 Endurance +6 Charisma +6 Intelligence +7 Agility (Parkour +2, Rapid Stab +2, Speed +3, Reflexs+2) Luck +4 Sneak: Stealth +2, Light Foot +2, Backstab +1 Val had grown a lot since Emma first brought her in to see the den leader. The name he gave was Vex. Vex had been hesitant to admit a tiny six-year-old but once it was discovered that Val had basically single-handedly taken out two runners and two enforcers, he had reluctantly given her a shot. Val avoided the Dockside merchants when she learned about pickpocketing. They had been good to her when she had nothing, and in the last few years, she had developed working business relationships with many of them. Val didn’t want to fathom the disappointment on their faces if she was caught stealing from them. The Dock Jackals guild wanted 50 dret per day from each street kid
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