The Nonsensical Adventures of Xal, Jacob and company

[Samuel]

With my last attempt at tackling a story I tried to take on a concept that was too broad and wide. Therefore I think I will start simple and see where it takes me. This collection of tales follows two good but often at odds friends: Xal'therun, Xal for short, an elf whose poetic side shines when it is often unneccessary, and Jacob, a human who tries to take a practical approach towards life but has a soft spot for Xal's nonsense, though he is not very quick to admit it! I will be updating this often.
The Humans and the Elves have had their squabbles in the past, but the two races have known peace for a long while. The two nations exist back to back, occupying the north and south of the continent of Esun. The Frosthelm Mountains form their border, and are nigh un-traversable save for two passes from either side, which both lead into a valley. There are two fortress-cities at the opposing entrances to the valley, Aeroth and Vanguard. In the middle, is the very embodiment of the alliance between the Humans and the Elves, the market town of Aurel. 

Chapter 1: Hitchhiking gone wrong

The road between the cities of Aeroth, Citadel of the Elves and Vanguard, Stronghold of the Humans are well-traveled. The sound of hooves and turning wheels fills the air, and Xal and Jacob were on their way to Vanguard from Aurel. As they walked, the two discussed various things to pass the time.

"I wonder which it is more...an instrument of peace or an implement of war. One sees it on those going to defend their homelands or invade another's territory, and one also sees it on those who keep the law standing firm. One could note that it is often used more to make war than to keep peace, but only with war can one see peace, so technically by that cycle it is just as much--"

Jacob cut Xal off with a simple statement. "It's sharp. It's pointy. You kill people with it. It's simply a tool to spill blood with, nothing more."

"...if you say so." The elf said, hiding his disappointment in Jacob's apparent lack of interest in his rambling.

"I'm tired of walking. Let's hitch a ride." Jacob said, gesturing to the carts that were moving along the road beside them, passing them up.

"One must travel on foot to truly admire the world, but...my mind is at odds with you, but my body agrees--I tire as well. Ware the constable and let us stow away with haste!"

The two waited for a small window of opportunity in which the guards patrolling the road would not catch them; and climbed aboard a covered wagon, quickly hiding behind the stacks of crates. The two stayed silent, lest the driver of the wagon hear them and stop, then boot them out. Things were uneventful, save for the occasional jarring of the wagon as it made its way over bumpier road. The two quickly fell asleep...then were awakened when the wagon came to a halt.

"Alright, routine inspection, let's go." Came the gruff, bored voice that had the juxtaposition of being tired of inspecting wagons, but eager to take a look, on the off chance that they might find contraband to sate the hunger for promotion.

"Who's paying the fine this time?"

"Certainly not I. My coin-purse finds itself empty in these tiems."

It was a stupid law, in the opinions of ride-hitching pedestrians and adventurous types, a law meant to deter thieves from jumping on wagons and making away with goods. Of course, if one had consent, they could tag along freely--but rarely would the possessive and outraged driver let it slide--one could, instead of sneaking, hold up traffic and ask for a ride, but everyone knew that evoking road rage was not a wise choice. And so, many simply chose to sneak aboard, pay the fine, and go on their merry way. It was largely known as the 'taxi fee'--which was the only legal ramification Xal and Jacob expected today...but often times, what one expects of life and what actually happens are entirely different. The guards started the routine search of the crates, coming closer and closer to the duo's position. Upon spotting them, they rolled their eyes.

"You know the drill, out of the wagon. Fifty--" "Hey. There's a compartment where those two were lieing around. They were covering it." "...?" The hidden compartment had gone unnoticed to the duo--but the guards' sharp eyes had spotted it. Getting it open, they found several red crystals with orange light inside which glowed and were hot to the touch. Demonbind Gems, with infernal beings sealed within. "Ma'am, mind explaining these?"

"What? I...I uh...that is..."

Jacob paled upon recognizing the voice. Elyse, the very bane of his existence. "Of all the damned luck..." He muttered.

"You two had better start talking fast. Are you related to--

Elyse gave the duo a once-over, and recognized them. She was always out to spite Jacob...if he had not been lying over her compartment, the guards wouldn't have had their eyes there, they wouldn't have noticed it if not for Jacob. And so, a crafty lie and a bat of the eye at the guards...

"Yes. Those two are my cohorts, Xal and Jacob. They were supposed to help me deliver the crystals to their target location."

"Nonsense! Believe not this slanderous wench--"

"Let me do the talking. My buddy here and I just got tired of walking and decided to hitch a ride. We had no idea she was--"

"Tell it to the judge. Come along, all three of you are under arrest."

Chapter 2: Mold and Rats
And so it was that Xal, Jacob, and Elyse found themselves in a simple holding cell as they awaited their turn before the judge. Jacob and Elyse were seated against opposite walls as they glared daggers at each other. In hindsight, Elyse thought, it was not wise to falsely name Jacob as a cohort. But the imps...they would never run free now. Jacob was torn between making a false confession to land Elyse in even more trouble, along with himself, or letting it slide. Xal was simply sitting cross-legged with eyes closed in the middle of the cell, ears occasionally twitching as he picked up distant sounds.

"Elyse..." Jacob finally spoke up. "What, precisely, were you doing with Demonbind crystals?"

"I had a bunch of imps and--"

"Ookay, I've heard enough."

"And you wonder why I don't like you?"

"Bite me."

(Stopping here for now)

[Foster]

Sounds like a good beginning, keep going!  I liked your intro paragraph.  It was abnormally short and sweet.  Those who build worlds in their minds have an unfortunate tendency to describe in fine detail on the outset, and that can make potential readers disinclined to go on.  You've given us a good overview of the setting without it feeling too much like pure exposition.

I like the use of different colours to denote different characters speech, original and satisfying.  I'm not convinced about the purple though, doesn't quite have enough contrast with the background.  Maybe try it a little lighter?  I also like the way you've broken up your paragraphs for the forum format, makes it way easier to read.

I found that you used 'The two' at the beginning of sentences a little too often in one paragraph, you should try to change up your sentence structure a little more.