LIFE IN THE TRENCHES INTRODUCTION

Azanith was on the Ossyria ship heading towards Orbis. When the ship started moving, a flashing sign was turned on – “ENTER CABIN FOR ENSURED SAFETY. MUST HAVE PAID FOR SPECIAL CABIN TICKET.” Azanith has never taken the ship before. She was celebrating that she recently did the job advancement, become a Cleric. She had no idea what the sign meant. However, what she did know was that she didn’t buy a special cabin ticket.

“You should have bought the special ticket, you know,” said a loud, clear voice. Azanith turned to see who it was. It was a warrior, with a very noble armour. It was black, gilded with lines of gold.

“How come?” asked Azanith, taking out her Maple Scanner, and aimed it at the knight. (LOLOL YOU DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING, DID YOU?!?!)

The warrior looked up. “It’s pretty cloudy today. Pirates like to hide behind the clouds and ambush us.”

Azanith’s scanner had just finished. However, she was more curious about the pirates, not even glancing down at the scanner, which was furiously beeping. “Pirates?! What do you mean?”

“Crimson Balrogs. They ride in their ships, invading any sorry unsuspecting aircrafts coming their way.” He looked at Azanith’s scanner. “Well, now that you know my name, what’s yours?”

Azanith didn’t know what he was talking about until she realised that she had forgotten all about her Maple Scanner. She looked at it…

ARLADERUS
WHITE KNIGHT
LEVEL 120
FAME: 295

On the right, there was also a long list of equipment that the Arladerus was wearing; a Zakum Helm 1, a full set of Black Neos equipmen, a Dragon Carbella and a Gellerhead Shield. Azanith gasped. She was surprised that she was in the presence of a 4th job person, not to mention one that was extremely rich.

“Well, anyways, the Balrog are going to be here any time now. You better take this and get into the cabin.” Arladerus gave Azanith a special cabin ticket. “I always buy an extra, just in case.”

Azanith ran to the cabin, but before getting in, she turned and said, “Azanith, my name is Azanith.”

(As you’ve probably suspected now, the title has NOTHING to do with the story. AT ALL.)

An hour later, Arladerus entered the cabin himself. He looked around, only to see that the cabin was split into several groups – A group of Match Card plays, a group of Omok players, a group of sitting players, and the magician from before. He walked up to her and waved. “Hello.”

Azanith was sitting in a very emo-like position, sitting with her knees up like a hobo, with her head down into her lap. She looked up. “Arladerus! What’s wrong? Why is the ship ride taking so long?”

“It’s very simple, actually. The captain of the ship was killed by the Balrog, so instead of going to Orbis, like we should have half an hour ago, we’re tumbling down into the deep, dark ocean.” Arladerus chuckled.

“So wait, WE’RE GOING TO DIE?!! Nonono, this can’t be! I just became a Cleric… Oh wait! This is actually a flying ship, right? That means it should be able to float on water!” said Azanith with more confidence.

“Uhh, no. It’s basically a piece of wood with wings. There was no effort to make it waterproof in any way,” said Arladerus, still smiling, destroying any ounce of hope in Azanith. Suddenly, there was a large crashing sound outside. Water started rushing into the cabin, filling it completely with water in almost 10 seconds. Azanith struggled to keep herself up, reading books about how a person can drown in water in mere minutes. She was waving her arms, but them Arladerus grabbed her shoulder. “It’s fine. We’re in the Aquarium. You don’t need to breathe here.”

(This story is going to hopefully be a comedy. Right now, it’s not funny at all, but that’s because it’s not really possible. Hopefully I can think of ways to make it funny for the next chapter and later… I doubt that this story will reach 5 chapters, so that’s my new goal. 5 chapters for a story. Not 1, not 2, 5. And sorry it’s short.)