As I told you on Twitter will my entry for this weeks #LoveWritingChallenge be published on Thursday. It’s just easier for me to do it that way…
Instead I give you this post, as I want to talk about my newest read. 😉
You can obviously participate in these questions by either using my translated or the original German version.
What is Reading Together?
“Gemeinsam Lesen” as it is originally called, is a project by German book bloggers Schlunzenbuecher. Each Tuesday you have to answer four questions regarding your current read.
For more information and my old participations take a look at this page: Reading Together.
Without any further ado, let’s take a look at today’s, obviously translated, questions:
1. Which Book are you currently reading and which page are you on?
As I saw the package on Sunday I knew I had to put away Irving’s essay collection and start with this: PWNED by Matt Vancil.
PWNED is part of the Gamers universe by Dead Gentlemen Productions (DGP) and Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE) and Matt Vancil is one of the masterminds behind it and JourneyQuest (and more). It tells the story of a young man that tries to win back his girlfriend from the clutches of the MMORPG Fatherall Online by entering the world himself. But as one knows from The Gamers: Nothing is as it seems.
As it’s hard to put down and easy to read am I already on page: 105
2. What is the first sentence on your current page?
English:
TIP: Grouping with other players is a great way to earn experience points!
German:
TIP: Sich mit anderen Spielern zu verbinden, ist ein guter Weg Erfahrungspunkte zu sammeln!
3. What do you desperately need to tell about your current book? (Thoughts, Feelings, a Quote, whatever you want!)
For those that don’t want to read the Gamers post a short summary:
The respective stories [of the three Gamers movies] follow[s] a group of table top gamers (one in the first one, one for part two and three) and their campaigns, but instead of just talking the audience through what the characters are doing, the actors also take up the roles of their characters and show what is happening during the game, sometimes narrating or commenting it with gaming terms (Attack names, “Critical Hit”, etc.).
PWNED tells a Gamers story that never made it on screen. It takes place alongside the third movie, but before the upcoming series. The characters from the „2nd generation“ (Lodge, Cass and Leo) are the side characters in this one. When I saw it amongst the add-ons after the Orcish Dictionarycampaign I just thought it sounded interesting to read this story rather than seeing it.
The more you get into the Gamers universe, the larger it becomes and with the upcoming Hopjockey-novels (also by Vancil) it’ll be clear HOW MUCH, everything DGP and ZOE created over the years is connected. I’m quite excited for this, but for now I’m thoroughly enjoying this one.
It’s a bit strange to read the switch between gamer and character, but it’s well done and you still know when the perspective is no longer the one looking at it from the outside. As in all of his (their) work you really know that it’s done by a gamer who loves what he’s doing. It reflects in the chosen words, the descriptions, the little things added to the story (like tips for new gamers at the start of every chapter). It’s just great to have something like this, combined with great characters.
I’m really curious how this story will play into the overall story arc and if there will be a connection to The Shadow! The Shadow? The Shadow… 😉
4. Is it important for you to inspire other people (e.g. your children, friends, colleagues, family, etc.) to read?
Uhm….good question…I think it is. At least it always feels great when someone reads something I enjoyed and even better if they enjoy it as well. But I wouldn’t push others into reading. When I gush about something and they decide to check it out, well, that’s definitely a win. 😉
Well, I spontaneously decided that you’ll get another Special instead of the usual update, as I am a) too lazy to finish that one and b) have too much to say about one of the films which will also c) lead to a Lost in Translation post (potentially next week).
What is the WWW generally about?
Every other Wednesday evening I will publish a post in which I collected the thoughts I had throughout the week(s) while watching the latest or any episode of a series or maybe even a movie.
Depending on how my time allows it, the comment will also be for those that I watched that day.
You’re warned: There will be Spoilers.
Introduction
Last time I told you about The Gamers, this time I want to talk about some other projects Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE) is involved in – or created. The movies are connected through the cast and crew, but still have a different approach to the same topic. But read for yourself.
Dark Dungeons
This short movie tells the story of Debbie and Marcie who come from a Christian background but are drawn into the depths and evilness of the world of RPG. Though through their ordeals and the loss of Marcie, Debbie finds her way back to Jesus. Anyway. The movie is based on the tract Dark Dungeons by Jack T. Chick LLC (from 1984) that tells the same story in an abbreviated version and therefore has some really strange views on the whole matter of what RPGs are really about.
It has a lot of „WTF“ moment, where you’re not entirely sure what you should think, especially when Roleplayers are put on a pedestal that is usually occupied by the sports-teams, people are chanting „RPG“ and are so deeply engrossed in the game that they forget reality. At the same time – especially the latter – it is something that could be true. People could lose themselves in a fantastical world and it’s a bit frightening to see it escalate like that on the screen – even if you still can’t take it too seriously. Not uncommon, however, is the portrayed fear that playing RPGs and letting your imagination grow through it is a gateway to hell and even though I’ve never experienced that first hand, do I know the weird looks one gets when you try to explain what it is your doing (and of course all the media hysteria towards it whenever something goes wrong…). It’s usually frowned upon to participate in such things, because their childish and ridiculous, so seeing it be the „in“-thing on a campus is kind of incredible, yet still really weird, as it’s portrayed so over the top that it’s not believable any more. Though I do believe the latter stems from the tone of the original tract that portrayed it similarly.
It’s interesting to see the two main characters switch personalities throughout the movie and the gaming Mistress is positively frightening, just as some of the other characters were slightly psychotic, very strange and stuff (I guess, I still don’t really understand the part with the Chuthulu-cult… guess that was a bit too much for my taste)… Regardless of the characters involved do I believe that the most horrible scene of the whole thing was the book burning (which is especially weird, if you think about the fact that someone dies in this movie o.O). Everything hurt when I saw those beautiful (and expensive) things thrown into the fire…I guess I myself am too deeply involved to be unfazed by this. 😀
To sum this up: It’s a very weird and very strange movie and you should watch it yourself to make your own opinion – and to have a little more fun with:
Attacking the Darkness
Attacking the Darkness (AtD) is the first Mockumentary ZOE created that was filmed on the set of another feature film (guess which one ;)). It documents the trials and errors of a very Christian couple that is filming their own independent feature film to show the horrors and evils of gaming, especially RPGs. But they soon realise that film making is not really an easy business …
The movie was released for a week during the Kickstarter campaign (and is currently only available on private setting – so thanks to Producer Chris Ode for giving me the okay to include the link here) to help fund the DVD production and I took the chance to watch it. Later on a few poor souls that volunteered to help with the translation received a link again. Well, who am I to pass off the chance to add German subtitles to something that I’m sure some of my friends (with less English knowledge than myself) would certainly enjoy? 😉
Anyway, (and I’m basically rephrasing a comment I made on one of the Kickstarter-Updates) when I watched the film during the trial run, it was okay, but not more. Now that I’ve went through it minute by minute, I’ve seen way more stuff that makes it incredibly special. Things you don’t catch through casually watching it.
It was a lot of work, it was a bit annoying (especially the puns were hard to translate and this’ll be the topic of the Lost in Translation post I mentioned), but was totally worth it and I started to appreciate this film even more for all it’s hidden complexities.
As it is a Mockumentary the movie is told by either showing interviews with the different characters or their interactions as filmed through different cameras while „filming“ the movie. This also means that the following very confusing description applies: The actors from AtD play the actors hired to play the characters – who incidentally are the same people/characters in the other movie – in the movie „Attacking the Darkness“ whose filming is documented in AtD. I really hope I got that right. >_< Additionally, were most – if not all – of the interviews improvised, meaning that at least the actors who portrayed the main characters Harmony Hope and Brady made up everything they said in their interviews on the spot and the camera just kept rolling. The movie feels kind of similar to what you know from „Behind the Scenes“ stuff, but as the topic – and some of the characters – can be quite over the top, you never really forget that this is all make belief. The characters themselves range from totally adorable (Lucy and Pastor Doug) to absolutely frustrating (Harmony Hope) or questionable (Pastor Canon, Godrick), but all so very realistic and refreshingly human, with a lot of puns, jokes and very human reactions.
My highlight certainly was when „real Gamers“ were introduced to the set and one of them turned out to be Gary from The Gamers (From what I read during the campaign, was there also a scene with Lodge, but it was cut because it made things too complicated). 😀 Though it is weird to hear Christian Doyle’s voice in almost every interview – except the one with his character – but not really know if it is Gary asking those questions after realising how much fun he could have with the creators of this movie or just a random interviewer that just happens to sound like him – which Gary’s questions in the interview would suggest as he talks to Brian Lewis (Brady) and wouldn’t say those things to the Producer.
[Edit: I just found this Tweet again that I do not want keep from you:
All in all does the movie have several moments that are just really funny or absolutely adorable – the whole sub-plot with Doug and Lucy was adorable and provided quite a few funny moments and I do believe „Cheesus“ is still one of SaJaehwa and my favourites, even if it was tricky to translate – , but also some very questionable things (one word: credits).
One of the gaming unrelated things I appreciated most was that one of the pastors – Doug – was not portrayed as religious dimwit – which is most likely thanks to the fact that the actor is a real life pastor (Doug’s whole journey and story line was great and reminded me somewhat of Coelestin’s in Warlords – just with way less physical pain). 😉
Apart from the fact that the English „pastor“ is a very confusing term for me (it is the translation of both „Pfarrer“ – catholic pastor/priest, that’s not allowed to have a family AND „Pastor“ – evangelic pastor, that’s allowed to have a family), is the portrayal of clerics in modern media usually quite frustrating. When I was preparing for my confirmation (Yup, I’m actually Evangelic – or Protestant or Lutheran or however you translate „evangelisch“) we had two incredible pastors in our and the neighbouring parish: Funny, open minded, musical and not too stern and focused on teaching us the religious aspects of our belief. They didn’t tell us that we needed to do this-and-that to be good Christians, they simply gave us a good example of how to be a good person. I still occasionally remember the hiking trip to Norway with them and if it weren’t for the few prayers and some biblical stories and songs you wouldn’t have thought this to be a religious group trip (Incidentally was this also the trip that turned the son of one of the pastors into a Metalhead – thanks to me and Avantasia – as I learned years later from Lil‘ kat, when we discovered that I „knew“ her best friend :D). Anyway, what I want to say with this is: I get that it’s fun to ridicule religion/religious belief and that there actually are a lot of people in the profession that deal with things like Pastor Canon does, but in the end it’s people like Pastor Doug who actually help people through their difficulties, that show them that religion can be a good thing. And I think it’s incredible that they included him in the cast – even if in the beginning he seemed to follow Canon a bit too closely for my taste, but I do blame that on Harmony who wanted to hear such ridiculous prayer s…
Either way, he came into his own and to answer ZOE’s question from another of their Kickstarter-Updates again:
„(Also, for those of you who have seen the film, who would want to see a Gamers special episode with Pastor Doug and Lucy leading an RPG session for the youth group?)“ Do I want to see more of the characters that easily became my favourites? Hell – I mean – Oh, yeah! 😀
What were you watching?
What episodes (or movies) did you enjoy/dislike throughout the week/month? Anything you’d recommend checking out? Let me know in the comments below!
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed this little look into this special project and are at least a little curious about what I’m going to tell you about creating the German subtitles for Attacking the Darkness. 😉 I’ll probably share this post again, when I receive my copy of the movie (with „my“ translation on it 😀 ). 😉
Every fourth Wednesday evening I will publish a post in which I collected the thoughts I had throughout the week(s) while watching the latest or any episode of a series or maybe even a movie.
Depending on how my time allows it, the comment will also be for those that I watched that day.
You’re warned: There will be Spoilers.
Introduction
All the stuff listed below are „Fan supported“ and „Creator distributed“, which means they were financed through Kickstarter campaigns or continued support over their creators Patreon pages (ZOE, DGP). There is no TV channel/network or huge sponsors behind it and the fans‘ praises and complains are heard directly by the people involved – not that there is much to complain about… People can also be directly involved, depending on their pledge-levels in the campaigns. They can become extras, producer for a day, chat with the cast/crew and other stuff. During the productions people are also allowed to announce a „Red Card“ – that they acquired during the campaigns – that sends an actor or other part of the production into a 5-min time out when they said or did something offensive. 😉
Anyway, let’s take a look at
The Gamers Saga
When I first watched JourneyQuest I soon discovered The Gamers: Dorkness Rising and was easily taken into it, before I realized it’s part of a larger story, but let me start at the beginning…
In 2002 a group of independent film makers got together to create something very special, a story about gamers, with gamers, for gamers that turned into a whole saga consisting of so far three feature films (The Gamers, The Gamers: Dorkness Risingand The Gamers: Hands of Fate) and an in progress series. The respective stories follow a group of table top gamers (one in the first one, one for part two and three) and their campaigns, but instead of just talking the audience through what the characters are doing, the actors also take up the roles of their characters and show what is happening during the game, sometimes narrating or commenting it with gaming terms (Attack names, „Critical Hit“, etc.).
If you ever participated in a table top round, be it D&D, Pathfinder, DSA (Das Schwarze Auge)/TDE (The Dark Eye), Shadowrun or one of the many other RPGs, you’ll soon be engrossed in this universe. The characters act natural, the jokes are funny and the more you get involved, the more fascinating it gets. You can also see the increase in production value and lessons learned from previous endeavours. It’s great to follow the paths they took (this pun was not intended, but worth keeping, as the game they play is – based on? – Pathfinder) to create this saga and certainly worth many, many re-watches.
But let me tell you a bit about the stories of the different parts…
The Gamers
In the first part the group of gamers plays its way through a campaign with unusual methods, like thief Nimble sneak-attacking/backstabbing someone with a ballista, the Mage of the group being replaced by another one that is accepted on the spot and all the while annoying their poor dorm mate that just wants to study. In the course of their quest to defeat The Shadow! The Shadow? The Shadow… the gamers ultimately lead their characters through a portal into their own/our world, where the characters end up slaying them (their players).
It’s basic, it’s simply, it has quite a few stereotypes, but it’s still not over the top and quite enjoyable and of course the begin of something special. 😉
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising
Part two follows a new group of gamers lead by Lodge, who just wants his friends to finish a run for once, so he can turn it into a new module for the game. After some failed attempts they decide to add more players to the group, which are Joanna a newbie gamer and a NPC-character Lodge himself plays. With some difficulty (Gary wasting Level 4 spells on frying innocent NPCs and constantly forgetting that he’s actually playing a female; Leo’s bard that keeps dying, when he isn’t seducing random NPCs) they manage to beat the campaign that Lodge has designed. Though as the reward Joanna chooses for their quest enrages one of the gamers (Cass, Joanna’s Ex and the I-beat-every-game-there-is min/max wannabe-leader of the group) he storms off and leaves the group, while the rest remain dumbfounded. Alas the others do not share his view and quite like the decision and want to know how the story continues, supporting Joanna and her way of gaming. When Lodge finally releases his campaign Cass returns and reluctantly congratulates him and asks if he can return to the group, which the former accepts, but still leaves him standing, so Cass can apologize to Joanna.
This one went deeper than the first one, we learned more about the characters involved and got to like them. I really do enjoy Garys way of solving problems in-game, they are just absolutely hilarious at times and always totally chaotic. Even if I like all the gamers, he is kind of my favourite… I really enjoyed the resolution of the „gamer girl“ sub-plot. The way they supported Joanna was just incredible and I like the characters even more for it. This part basically made me fall in love with the saga – though JourneyQuest is still a tiny bit above it. 😉
The Gamers: Hands of Fate
Part three takes a different turn. As life gets in the way of their actual gaming the members of the party started other adventures (Joanna and Lodge became a couple, Gary and Leo are busy with work), but here especially Cass learns the hard way that some games aren’t as stupid as they look from afar. Leo hosts a Card Gaming competition in his shop and Cass mocks it, but wants to immediately hook up with the only female gamer, who flat out rejects him and tells him the only chance he has to get a date with her is, if he gets her queen on the throne. Naturally Cass accepts the challenge and lets Leo guide him into the game „Romance of the 9 Kingdoms„; a story line based, user influenced card game; and ends up hijacking Lodge and Joannas trip to GenCon to include their whole group so he can participate in the tournament that would decide the fate of the story line within the game. Throughout Casses games we learn that the characters within the nine kingdoms have a mind of their own and slowly but surely become aware of what is happening to them. With some funny side stories (Joanna over-reacting over a ring she found in Lodges pocket, Gary exacting revenge on a mascot of a TV show that caused the cancellation of one of his favourite shows and Leo just trying to keep his people in check – and stumbling across a murder that is told in a novel where I’m not entirely sure if it’s tie-in, but sounds amazing…) the story culminates into an interesting, but foreseeable ending – at least on the card game story line – that I don’t want to spoil here. 😉 Finally a year after the Con the group manages to game again and continue their quest in the dungeon of The Shadow! The Shadow? The Shadow… yes, the same one. In a cruel turn of events the gamers are transported into the realm of the game, while their characters appear in their world.
With the additional gaming world and the focus on the card game this part feels different than the previous one. It’s kind of strange for me to watch as well, as Cass is the most annoying character of the group, but I like how his ego gets a damper after the whole ordeal. I just really enjoyed the character development this Season – even if Joanna was the difficult one this time around. It’s also great to see that most of it was actually filmed at a con – even if I’m not entirely sure if it was the real GenCon and or the „fake“ ZOE Con, I lost track of what stuff was used from where [Edit thanks to Andi Dopieralski, see comments]- and it makes me want to attend an American con even more (we do have some Comic Con mock ups by now in Germany, but I don’t think they are anywhere close to the originals, I’ll find out in October).
Well, and this is where everything changes…
The Gamers: The Series – Season 0
It begins with a short that shows the old characters introducing themselves to the new ones which sets up the events of future Cross Over story lines (The Gamers was produced by DGP, the other two by ZOE). The series 0 (zero not O) itself shows what happened to the original characters that got stuck in our world (at least they will as soon as the last part is released).
It’s a nice change of pace as the characters are narrating their fates that are visually shown. I already liked Nimble in the original movie (hello, ballista?), but his short made me like him even more, elven archer New Moon just has the most ridiculous short and I’m not entirely sure if I completely understood the one for the mage Magellan… The one for warrior Rogar is yet to be released, so I can’t say anything about it.
I’m really looking forward to the continuation of the series, where both stories connect…
So if you liked what you read – and maybe watched – so far, make sure to check out the Kickstarter DGP is running right now to fund the first episode of The Gamers: The Series! It will be a 45 min long episode that starts setting up the path that leads to The Gamers 4 (another path joke, I’m sorry…kinda…): The Gamers: Episode 1.
Natural One/Humans & Households
These two are also part of the Gamers universe, but more like add-ons than necessary to understand the whole plot.
Natural One takes Gary and Leo to Canada so Garys (possible) future brother-in-law can face his „Trial of Initiation“ in order to be allowed to marry Gary’s sister Monica. This time the game they play is set in a Cyberrun universe, but the concept is the same.
It is possible that this story is a prequel to ZOEs show Rude Mechanical, but I haven’t gotten around to actually watch it to make sure.
Humans & Households goes the other way round and shows a group of fantasy-gamers play a mundane game set in our world, where they have to survive crossing a street full of cars and house guardians (a very cute dog) and the simple fact that everything sounds too good to be true („The key is in the letter box“ – „It’s a trap!“).
While they’re fun, they’re not as great as the other parts as they’re too focused on being stand alone, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking them out as well. 😉 H&H is especially funny considering that they basically show how weird gamers act in a given situation (see trap-dialogue) and their kill-first-ask-questions-later mentality.
What were you watching?
What episodes (or movies) did you enjoy/dislike throughout the week/month? Anything you’d recommend checking out? Let me know in the comments below!
Final Words
I hope you enjoyed this little look into the universe of The Gamers and maybe you find it in yourself to help them continue to make this incredible show. I certainly did. 😉
Now I’m off to translate a few more minutes of Attacking the Darkness between sneezing, coughing and trumpeting (aka loudly blowing my nose). Yay, for the Festival-flu…
Als Damian die nächste Stadt noch nicht ganz erreicht hatte fielen ihm bereits die Menschenströme auf, die sich ebenfalls dorthin begaben. Einige schoben oder zogen schwere und voll beladene Karren, andere trugen zahlreiche, prall gefüllte Körbe und wieder andere schlenderten einfach zwischen den Leuten hindurch. Damian grinste vor Freude, es musste Markttag sein. Hier würde er reiche Beute machen können.
Schon während er dem Ort immer näher kam beobachtete er die Menge und schlenderte schließlich über den Markt um sich die Waren, Käufer und Verkäufer genau anzusehen.
Bald hatte er sich einen guten Überblick verschafft und geeignete Opfer gefunden und begann seine Jagd.
Hier und da rempelte er einen wohl gekleideten Herren oder eine Dame an, um deren lose hängenden Geldbeute zu entwenden. Manchmal entnahm er nur etwas Geld daraus und rief dann nach seinem Opfer, um nicht als Dieb aufzufallen.
„Ihr habt etwas verloren!“, log er dann und zupfte an deren Gewändern.
Wenn sie sahen, was er gefunden hatte schaute sie erst erschrocken nach ihrem Geldbeutel und nahmen ihn dann von ihm entgegen. Gelegentlich, meistens bei Frauen, bekam er dann noch einen kleinen Finderlohn.
Die Reichen merkten fast nie, dass bereits etwas aus dem Beutel fehlte.
Mit dem so erworbenen Geld stockte er sofort seine Vorräte auf. Bei armen Marktleuten und Bauern etwas zu entwenden, war selbst ihm zuwider und das bisschen, was sie hatten, konnte er ihnen auch abkaufen.
Wenn man als Dieb unterwegs war, sah man mehr von den Leuten, als die meisten anderen.
Hier gab es hungrige Kinder, die nur darauf warteten, dass der Händler wegschaute, um etwas zu stehlen. Dort gab es ein heimliches Liebespaar, dass es sich nicht wagte sich mehr als nötig zu berühren, auch wenn das noch sehr häufig war. Manche gut gekleideten Leute gaben sich nur als solche aus und hatten eigentlich kaum Geld in der Tasche. Er selbst fiel in diese Kategorie, denn obwohl seine Kleidung schlicht und auch schon vom Reisen abgetragen war, wirkte sie doch elegant genug, um ihn als kleineren Adligen durchgehen zu lassen.
Und dann waren da die anderen Diebe.
Wenn man wusste, wonach man Ausschau halten musste, erkannte man sie schnell.
Dort spähte ein Mann die Bewegungen eines Adligen aus, da war ein Jungspund dabei die Taktik zu kopieren und dicht vor Damian war eine hübsche, junge Frau, die den Stoffladen begutachtete.
Es waren gute und dementsprechend teure Stoffe und der Händler sah wohlhabend genug aus, um etwas von seiner Ware zu entwenden. Damian entschied sich also der Frau zu helfen.
„Na, meine Liebe hast du schon etwas gefunden, dass dir gefällt?“, grüßte er sie unverhohlen und legte einen Arm um ihre Hüfte.
Sie erkannte ihn sofort, von dem Moment als ihre Blicke sich zuvor in Verständnis getroffen hatten.
„Ach weißt du Schatz, ich kann mich einfach nicht entscheiden.“, seufzte sie spielerisch und legte ihm eine Hand auf die Brust.
Dann nahm sie eine Stoffbahn und ein Tuch gleichzeitig auf und zeigte es ihm. Während sie die Vorzüge des Stoffes erklärte, stopfte Damian das Tuch in seinen Ärmel. Das Spiel wiederholte sich mehrmals bis sie resigniert sagte: „Nein. Hier ist doch nichts für mich dabei. Ich danke Euch für Eure Mühe“ und dem Händler ein paar Kupferstücke zuwarf.
Dieser grunzte nur, sammelte das Geld ein und kümmerte sich weiter um seine andere Kundschaft. Arm in Arm gingen die beiden Diebe an den Rand des Marktes zu einem Dachvorsprung unter dem die leeren Kisten der Händler gestapelt wurden, um ihre Beute zu teilen. Sie lachten und scherzten auf den Weg dorthin und als sie endlich ankamen, lies sie seinen Arm los, drehte sich zu ihm und streckte ihm die Hand entgegen: „Ich bin übrigens Chloe“
„Damian“, erwiderte er und schüttelte ihre Hand.
Er gab ihr die entwendeten Tücher und die beiden unterhielten sich über das Geschäft auf dem Markt. Sie beide hatten den Schmuckhändler ins Auge gefasst, der mindestens genauso ein hochnäsiger Genosse wie der Tuchhändler war, doch alleine war auch er ein Risiko. Also beschlossen sie kurzerhand auch ihm gemeinsam einen Besuch abzustatten und ihm ein paar Güter zu entwenden.
Wieder nutzten sie die gleiche Taktik. Chloe zeigte ihm etwas und erzählte laut darüber, während er seine Finger über die Auslage huschen ließ. Auf diese Weise wanderten diverse Ringe, Ketten und andere Schmuckstücke in seine Tasche, bis nichts mehr passte. Auch diesmal teilte Chloe dem Händler mit, dass sie nichts gefunden hatte und warf ihm hochnäsig ein paar Kupferstücke hin. Der Händler verscheuchte sie regelrecht mit seinem Blick, da er seine Waren lieber verkauft sah als schlecht geredet. Der Raubzug war wieder ein voller Erfolg und die beiden kehrten zum Lager zurück, um die Beute zu teilen.
Hinter den Kulissen
Mit Damian’s Geschichte geht es weiter hinter dem 9. Türchen.
When Damian hadn’t even reached the next town he already noticed the masses of people that were on their way as well. Some of them pushed or pulled heavy and fully loaded carts, others carried several baskets filled to the rim and there were those that just sauntered between all these people. Damian grinned in delight, it had to be market day. He’d score well today.
While he was getting closer to the town he already observed the crowd and eventually sauntered over the market to take a closer look at the goods, buyers and merchants.
Soon he had a good overview and had found his victims and started his hunt.
Here and there he bumped into a well-dressed lord or lady to pilfer their loosely hanging purses. Sometimes he just took some money out of it and called after his victim to not be recognized as a thief.
“You lost something!” He would lie and tug at their robes.
When they saw what he had found they first looked frightened for their purse and then took it from him. Occasionally, usually with women, he even got a little finders fee.
The rich ones rarely noticed that something was already missing from the purse.
With the newly acquired money he restocked his supplies right away. To pilfer something from poor merchants or farmers was repugnant even to him and the little they had, he could as well buy from them.
When you travel as a thief, you notice more about people than others do.
Here, there were hungry children, waiting for the merchant to look away so they could steal something. There, there were secret lovers that did not dare to touch each other more than necessary, even if that was still quite often. Some people dressed up well, but did not have any money in their pockets. He himself fell into that category, because even if his clothes were plain and travel worn, they still seemed elegant enough to make him look like a minor noble.
And then there were the other thieves.
If you knew what to look for, you noticed them fast.
There was a man who spied out the movements of a noble, there was a youngling mimicking the tactic and close to Damian there was a beautiful, young woman that examined cloths.
They were good and therefore expensive cloths and the merchant looked wealthy enough to pilfer some of his goods. Damian thus decided to help the woman.
“Well, dear, have you found anything you like?” He greeted her blatantly and put his arm across her hips.
She recognized him right away from the moment they had locked eyes in understanding earlier.
“Ah, you know, love, I just can’t decide”, she sighed theatrically and put her hand on his chest.
She took one of the panels and a shawl up at the same time and showed it to him. While she explained the advantages of the cloth, Damian stuffed the shawl into his sleeve. The play repeated itself several times until she said in resignation: “No. There is nothing for me here. I do thank you for your effort” and tossed the merchant a couple of copper coins.
He only grunted, collected the money and returned to his other customers. Arm in arm the two thieves made their way to the edge of the market to a roof overhang where the merchants stored empty boxes, to share their loot. They laughed and joked all the way to it and when they finally arrived she let go of his arm, turned around and held out her hand: “I’m Chloe by the way”
“Damian”, he returned and shook her hand.
He gave her the pilfered shawls and the two of them talked about the business on the market. Both of them had considered the jewellery merchant, who was at least as snobbish a fellow as the draper, but on their own the risk was too high. So they decided on a whim to pay him a visit together as well and pilfer some of his goods.
They used the same tactic as well. Chloe showed something to him and talked loudly about it, while he let his fingers wander over the display. This way several rings, necklaces and some pieces of jewellery went into his pockets until it was full. Again Chloe told the merchant that she hadn’t found anything and snobbishly tossed him a few copper coins. The merchant downright shooed them away with his stare, as he wanted to rather see his goods sold than talked down. The raid had been another full success and the two of them returned to the storage to share their loot.
As I saw the package on Sunday I knew I had to put away Irving’s essay collection and start with this: PWNED by Matt Vancil.
