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AIMLESS HEROS

Aimless Heros
Cody Duvall
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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AIMLESS HEROS

Creative Challenge #5: Wizards

1. __X__ Do not use the word (or any derivative of the word) wizard anywhere in the paper.
2.

__X__ Primarily present tense narration

3.

_X___ Words results in change (WORD)

4.

_X___ A willful struggle (STRUGGLE)

5.

_X___ Someone absorbs something into themselves (ABSORBS)

6.

_X___ Something flies across a room (FLIES)

7.

_X___ A detailed description of an object of great power (POWER)

8.

_X___ A pointed finger (FINGER)

9.

_X___ Three sentences in a row about a single bird (BIRD 1-3)

10. X NO beards, pointy hats, robes or wands; no references to orphans, bastards, families
or blood of any kind
11. _X___ Someone sees the future (FUTURE)
12. _X___ candles (put in bold)
13. _X___ Someone follows instructions incorrectly (ERROR)
14. _X___ A description of a dwelling place (DWELLING)
15. _X___ Someone combines two things in order to make a third (COMBINE)
16. _X___ Something unlikely is used as a weapon (WEAPON)
17. _X___ A reference to the cosmos (COSMOS)
18. _X___ three references to plants (PLANT 1-3)
19. _X___ a dragon (DRAGON)
20. _X___ the elements (ELEMENTS)
21. _X___ a triangle, a square, or a circle (TRIANGLE/SQUARE/CIRCLE)

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22. _X___ an unexpected result (RESULT)

23. Details
24. _X__ 5 references to lighting or weather (L/W 1-5)
25. _X__ a detailed description of someones hands (HANDS)
26. _X__ 5 references to smell (SMELL 1-5)
27. _X__ 5 references to sound (SOUND 1-5)
28. _X__ 5 references to a texture (TEXT 1-5)

Niilo is a sell sword currently employed to dispatch a beast terrorizing a farmstead.

Jesper is his companion.
Jesper slams the house door and lands on it what was that thing? Try to get and eye on it
but dont let it is notice you.
Niilo looks out the window and sees the beast devouring a farmer harpy, ugly bitch too.
The harpy shrieks at the comment throwing its dinner through the window. (BIRD 1-3)
(ERROR) (SOUND 1) Rushing inside the harpy throws Niilo across the room, (FLYS) Jesper
rushs over grabbing the caldron cooking a pale mush. (TEXT 1) Throwing it into the face of the
beast it lets out a hellish scream, (WEAPON) (SOUND 2) clawing at its feathers and skin Jesper
draws his sword driving it though its chest. (TEXT 2)
Niilo returning to his feet, remind me why I chose to come with you
Jesper replies because you like it, why do any of us do this. (STRUGGLE) as the beast
laid covered in Porridge and peasants blood smelling like its bowels had released upon death.
(SMELL 1)

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Leaving the house they are met by a panicking maiden Have you seen my husband?
Niilo No sorry maam, have you seen any more of those big birds around here?
Yes, just now there was a flock of them heading that way Pointing with her finger to
the south-east. (FINGER) Her hands covered in dirt grime Niilo assumed from picking potatoes
or whatever else they farmed. (HANDS)
Jesper A flock you say, might be heading for their nest
Niilo your husbands dead, farewell brushing past his partner heading through a field of
wheat in the direction indicate. (PLANT 1)
The sun was setting making it nearly impossible to see their targets thought the branches
of the trees. (PLANT 2) (L/W 1) Loose rocks slid under their weight as they approached the
summit. (TEXT 3) The flock retreats into to mine shaft behind an old shack. Approaching the
shack it smells of death and is adorned in animal bones. (DWELLING) (SMELL 2) They open
the door and are invited in by a young woman sitting behind a table, the table formed a triangle
with a single candle sitting in the middle smelling like tallow but not of any animal they have
ever seen. (L/W 2) (SMELL 3) The walls of the shack were covered in pagan symbols, the
woman looks up at them with hazy white eyes I have for seen your coming. (FUTURE)
Niilo so whats the deal?
You will rid us of this torture
Niilo what do you mean torture your pets are eating people.
Only because they have to, the area where they used to hunt has been taken over by a
great dragon hunting everything and killing any who oppose it.

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Well out contract was to get rid of the harpys not a dragon. Why should we help you?
You do not understand the drake did not arrive here from any earthly realm. It is Skoll
devourer of worlds, it is written that every 500 years when the galaxy aligns Skoll returns to
swallow the planet. The woman takes hold of a mortar and pedestal quickly girding in
mushroom cap, bone fragments, and a bud that smelled of a skunk, forming a powder that she
packs in a pipe and lights. (COMBINE) (PLANT 3) (TEXT 4) (SMELL 4) taking a drag she
continued Hes born as a mere lizard that is usually killed upon arrival though this time when he
escaped and has grown to a dangerous size, he can still be slain but time is running out.
Jesper well I guess this does concern us
The woman reaches down grabbing a fist full of mud from the shack floor pouring water over it
she forms it into a ball, holding it into the flame of the candle the words Klaatu barada nikto
seem to emit from nowhere, she blows softly on the sphere. (WORD) (ELEMENTS) (TEXT 5)
(L/W 3) The mud hardens and peels away revealing a black amulet inscribed in runic text with a
clear orb in the middle. This will prevent the dragon from tunneling into the nether when you
are close to him if he gets away from you we may never find him again. (POWER)
Niilo takes the amulet placing it in his pack.
Jesper so where do you come into the story?
I was the one that was supposed to kill the hatchling, the spell is a very ancient but it is
not to be forgotten so I practice it, rehearsed it exactly to when the egg would hatch, but I had
forgotten to make the amulet this time and the drake got away.

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Sometime after departing the shack the two come across the drake feeding on a deer,
Niilo has carved the amulet to a point and fashioned it on a bolt. With his crossbow he fires the
amulet into the belly of the dragon. Shocked by the pain the dragon flings the carcass at Niilo
knocking him on his back, pinning him under the bloody deer. The dragon let out a roar that
echoing across the mountains, (SOUND 3) rushing over the dragon steps on the deer crushing
Niilo under his weight. Jesper rushes over swinging his sword wildly at the drake. The drake
wincing at every swing backs away in a devilish voice he whispers.
I am Skoll, I have Trans versed the cosmos since the beginning of time, I will not let the
two of you to stop me now. (COSMOS) The drake turns to leave jumping into the direction of a
tree, expecting to enter a portal he smashes into the trunk knocking himself out. (RESULT)
Jesper helping Niilo out from under the carcass Niilo mutters let not make a habit out of me
always being the bait. Jesper removes the heart to make sure it is dead and Niilo removes the
bolt finding the orb emits a black glow. (L/W 4)
Returning to the shack the harpys fly overhead heading in the opposite direction letting
out screeches of enjoyment, (SOUND 4) the woman is waiting in the shack, the two enter and
her face instantly lights up with excitement, do you have the amulet?
Yes its right here revealing it from his bag the woman snatches it and breaks the crystal
letting out a stench filled the room that inhaling the dark mist within. (ABSORBS) (SMELL 5)
Oh yeah thats the stuff groans the woman as she falls back on here bed roll. (SOUND 5)
Jesper grabbing leaning over her examining her asks how long have you been doing
this?

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She is barely conscious when she states this is my last time swear? and she drifts off into a
coma.
The two exit the shack setting it ablaze before they depart. (L/W 5)