More Fiction

Yet another archive of exchanged lore:

Tue Jun 17 16:35:13 2003
Eloquent Wisewords

The beginning
From deep in the cold wastes of the ice clad ocean, a small hut stood alone. It was a paradoxical blend of the essence of small and large. With a massive door on the front, this hut could only be the home of some huge creature, but if that were true than it only contained one room. The construction was simple, sturdy and utilitarian, clearly intended for durability and not appearance. Made of the heavy stone torn from Norrath's soil and held fast with a mixture of muds and ice, even the harshests of weather had little hope of upsetting it. A thin trickle of smoke jetted out of the chimney, and a massive figure could be seen inside. In the hut, books were scattered about everywhere. No space could be seen that didn't have some scrolls or tomes lying in piles all about the place. A small fire place was at the far side of the hut, with a warm cozy fire crackling away. A small cauldron bubbled with some strange liquid that smelled of rat ears and spider legs. The only other furniture in the room was a large desk, again covered in notes and scrolls from all across the lands of Norrath. A large crystal set at the head of the desk, swirling with strange magics. Staring intently into the crystal was an ogre of prodigious size, He wore battle-scarred armors and a well worn spear sat within easy reach of his powerful hands. The ogre spoke words of power and the crystal sprang to life. "Lets us see what the goes on in the world, oh spirits... show me what is to come." The ogre looked deep into the crystal and saw images of the lands he called home "Ah, Oggok still faires well I see. That's promising, wouldn't you say?" With no one in the the hut, the casual viewer would wonder who the ogre spoke to, but those of who knew of him knew better than to ask. "Oh? And why should I look in on those two trouble makers, hrm?" the ogre chuckled "They've both gone off to greener pastures. Last I knew The fae-kin was resting in the depths of the green lands and that Rallos be blessed Dwarf was doing his best to pretend he could fish." The ogre smiled remembering how he had last saw his old companions. "I should leave them be. They have their lives and I shouldn't be interefering in them. I have my studies to keep my busy, You know that..." The ogre walked over to the door and stepped out into the cool air of the arctic tundra. "Besides how could i leave this place? Few places have ever welcomed me as freely as this wasteland has. Here there is no conflict, no war, no hate, no suffering... " he trailed off in memories of the past "... and no one for me to hurt. Why should I bother them? Here at least the blood on my hands stays cold..." a single tear trickled out of the ogre's eye and froze on his cheek. He sighed heavily and whistled into the wind. A howl responded, matching the sound, from the depths of the snowy lands. In short order a wolf, lean and strong trotted over to the ogre. "Greetings my friend." He patted the wolf on the back, smiling softly at him. " It appears that our time here is almost done. Are you ready to return to the world of men?" The wolf nuzzled the ogre's face and gently licked his cheek where the frozen tear still sat. "Heh, I thought so, my friend. It appears that you are in on this conspiracy too, eh? Very well, as it is commanded, SO SHALL IT BE!" The ogre screamed. The winds of magic answered the call. The fire in the hearth went out and ice slowly began to cover the hut until it resembled not but another snow drift. The Worn spear appeared in his hand and an aged tome of wisdom appeared in the other. "Now that I am ready for travel... " A second blast of magic, shook the ogres from. When the smoke cleared a huge bear stood in its stead. "We shall be on our way."

And with that, bear and wolf, walked from the frozen lands of Iceclad, and returned to the realms of man.

Tue Jun 17 16:35:45 2003
Eloquent Wisewords

Followup
In the plane of knowledge, people where busy with thier usual day to day buisness. Mechants where handing out their wares, Students where attending classes, and the gaurd was out in force to keep the peace. Under a tree in the heart of the demi-plane, The soulbinder rested easily. It had been a quiet day and she han no needed to preform the rite of binding at all. She casually reclined under her tree watching people pass by. Looking about she smiled at the adventurers going about their tasks, midly envious of them. She chuckled lightly at that thought. It would have been exciting to be an adventurer she thought, but she had made a vow. Her magics had saved lives and she would't have it any other way. She reached into her bag and pulled out a succulent red apple that she had saved for a mid-day snack. All was right with the world. She closed her eyes and bit deeply into the apple, savoring the flavor as a dark shadow fell over her. "Excuse me, Miss." A husky deep voice spoke out behind her "May i trouble you for a moment?" She turned and began to stand up "Of course. How may I..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the face of her visitor. A huge Ogre, full of knotty muscles, with layers of armor strapped wherever they could be across his powerful frame. A long, well-worn spear hung loosely from his right hand, and a young wolf trotted along at his left. Now the young soulbinder had seen ogres before and they always unsettled her. Growing up as she had amongst her people, she had heard stories of the terrible prowess of ogres. The tales of savagry, violence, depravity, and outright canabalism of such an evil race. She smiled weakly "How... may... I *gulp* help you sir" she stuttered out, looking about for one of the guards. The ogre stood up straight and bowed very low to her "Forgive me for interupting your repast, I ment no offense. If you like I would wait for you to finish your meal be for I bother you with my trivial needs." The young soulbinder stared at the brute like he had three heads. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a bottle. "This is some of my finest berry juice, made from wild berries hand picked and brewed carefully. I bid you take and enjoy as my apology for interupting you." She stared at the juice, than the ogre. She had met ogres before and they were nothing like this. She cast a quick spell of detection to see if he was some enchanter teasing her with his sorceries. The spell revealed that he was in fact, naught but ogre. She took the juice from his out stretched hands. "Thank you sir" she stuttered out "What can I do for you?" The ogre stood up and spoke "I have have been far from the realms of men and elves for much time. I would know if you have seen anyone gathering here as of late?" She worked the lid off the bottle of juice and took a quick swig. It was cool and delicious. As she let the rudy fluid roll across her tongue she could taste the sweet air of the faydark that the berries had grown in. A smile played, unconsiously, across her features. "What manner of gathering?" The ogre sighed deeply "Not to long ago a Great empire fell upon hard times. It truly was a great empire because it exemplerized all that is best and worst in out world. Like all things of greatness, its life was as the candle lit at both ends, doomed to a briliant yet short life. Many of this empire were friends of mine, many still are. I would like to contact some of these great souls if I could. Some laid claim to noble blood. Some have begun to re-assemble the tattered banner of the empire of old, and some have begun to tell tales so that some do not forget. I would tell the tale so that none forget what when right, and that none forget what went wrong. If you could direct me to these lore keepers, I would be greatly appreciated."

The Soulbinder shrugged "I am quite sorry. I've not seen anyone like that about here." The ogre gave the woman a tired smile. " I know. I came here because this is where i was needed. The tale needed to be told here so that they would know that I am out in the world. I will find them in time. Until then, May the blessing of Rallos Zek gaurd you and guide you." He snapped to attention and saluted her crisply, then began walking away. "Wait" she called "Why tell me of all this?" He stopped and without looking over his shoulder called back " Because it was needed." She looked at him again "and why me?" He turned around, bowed low, and with a mischevious smirk "Quite simple, You needed your juice." And with a flash of magic, he was gone. She smiled a little and looked at the juice. None of the stories had ever prepared her for that.

Tue Jun 17 16:36:42 2003
Jiilik Oiolosse

Response
Their three forms were stalking the plains of Karana through the rain. The bear's fur was getting soggy and was starting to stink quite seriously, much to the annoyance of the two wolves that accompanied him.



The wolf that was leading the three had his nose to the ground, trying to track down some very large bones, perfect for gnawing on. Still the rain came down, and the scent of the skeleton was barely in the air.



Getting a little too hungry to wait, they chomped on some thunderfoot mushrooms found growing amidst the tall prairie grasses. They, however, like everything else in the land, were quite soaked, and only offered mild reprise for their hunger.



Still they stalked. They pounced on an unsuspecting elephant, hoping that it would be mildly edible. To their dismay, the plaguebringer got to it first, and all that was left was a putrid mess of spoiled flesh, not suitable for even the three beasts to consume.



The bear sure did stink though. Over the pouring rain and howling wind, occasionally one would hear a prayer to Rallos launched skyward by a great bellow from the bear. The tracks of the quarry were still being washed away, and the lead wolf was having trouble following them. The bear was uttering prayers to assist, helpful or otherwise - Rallos would not seem to make it that easy.



They stumbled upon a village of centaurs, great half-breeds of horses and men. They attacked their intruders with lightweight bows, but the fur of the three wouldn't relent. The counterattack came swiftly and without mercy - and soon the village was caked with the blood of the centaurs. Perhaps this was enough to appease Rallos, for they soon picked up the scent of the giant skeleton.



The third among them, another wolf, engaged the skeleton first, drawing its anger away from the bear, while the third wolf went around to flank. A mage and a beast formed of fire looked on from behind a tree at the carnage. The bear uttered some ancient curse that is known only to those that practice the ancient magics, and soon the skeleton had fallen. They collected its skull as a trophy, gnawed on some bones, and set off heading North.



Having hunted down their prey successfully, they were now in good spirits. Stumbling upon the odd gnoll or aviak, they ravaged the unnatural incarnations. This was noted by the scouts of Qeynos, and word was passed along of the good beasts purging the lands of the vile gnolls.



They approached the great River Karana, looking for passage across. The bear all the while complaining about his soaking wet fur. They came upon some bandits, guarding the bridge, but the animals went to work and quickly condemned them to walking the lands as decaying skeletons. The scouts also noted this, and again word got to Qeynos of the good beasts of the land, fighting against their enemies.



The wolf howled once, and the three blended into their surrounding, confusing the Qeynos guards that were guarding the other half of the bridge. They slipped by unnoticed, summonned some arcane magics, and had left the lands of Norrath.



---



Later that night, on the wooden patio that is the hub of good beer in the Shadowhaven, there sat an Ogre, singing in Dwarvish with as much gusto as he could muster, "What can you do with a drunken Ogre, what can you do with a drunken Ogre, what can you do with a drunken Ogre early in the morning..." An elf grabbed him and started to dance. Drunk indeed these two were, having sipped a little too much Jum-Jum ale.



The wood elf tried to hit on the Barmaid, but she would have none of it. This reminded the Ogre of a Dwarf he knew that ended up naked in a bar once - claiming it was hot in there ... but the Ogre thought it was because of the pretty druid across the bar from them. This story made the Elf laugh heartily spilling his bear on an unsuspecing Halfling. He planting a big sloppy kiss on the Halfling, judgement cloudied by the ale to the point where he neglected to realise that he was kissing a male... Apologied briefly and stumbled back to the table was was sharing with the Ogre.



The Ogre wasn't there. Apparently he had fallen off the patio, to drunk to see straight.



A wolf, halfway existing in this world, and halfway on another plane watched silently over them from an adjacent rooftop. What adventures would follow, he wondered.



---



Later the next morning, after kicking his hangover, Jiilik was passing through the Plane of Knowledge. From under a tree across the courtyard, a human flagged him down. After brief introductions, he recognised her as Jera, the resident soulbinder. She explained that an unusually wordy Ogre was looking for those such as himself to join them on a quest to preserve stories and tales. Jiilik nodded and informed her that they had already met, and went on an adventure the previous night, of which he could only remember the first half. She chuckled softly to herself. They bowwed to each other and Jiilik went on his way to the Butcherblock Mountains, to visit some Dwarves...

Tue Jun 17 16:37:44 2003
Eloquent Wisewords

Letter From Eloquent
I appreciated your help Jiilik. The skull has proved very useful. The brew has a bit of a kick to it, but not as much as the odd list of ingredients would imply. I will brew up a batch for your tasting as a celebration of your official indoctrination as guild leader Alas, I'm still not quite welcomed in Qeynos... But it is a work in progress. And I still smell like wet bear... remind me to NEVER travel as an Ursine in the Karanas again.

May the Blessing of the Warlord guide you to glorious battle!

Eloquent Wisewords

Tue Jun 17 16:39:22 2003
Jiilik Oiolosse

Letter to Eloquent
*you here a sound whistle past you and slam into a nearby tree.*



*upon closer inspection, he see that is an arrow, with a note attached.*



"""

Dear Mr. Wisewords:



What follows is an update on the status of the formation of the Last

Guardians of Lore.



I am still waiting for official approval from the GMs, but it seems that the

original application has been lost and may take some time to sort out. This

is very saddenning to me, as the longer the delay, the more eagre I am to get

this thing off the ground.



Also, Grofrat has returned to his retirement cave for a short while (OOC some

account problems -- its rejecting his password). As well, I have been

journeying in lands far from home.



(OOC Grofrat and I started characters on Firiona Vie, since it is more

roleplaying centred. I hear rumours that Eloquent is also there - if so,

look up Joymaker on that server, it's me... I'm contemplating making the

guild on both servers - but I'm not sure...)



I'm awaiting response from GM regarding what the status is now. Cheers my

ugly friend.



Jiilik Oiolosse

"""

Tue Jun 17 16:40:05 2003
Eloquent Wisewords

Retort :)
Ugly!?! Now that's a little rude! We can't all be pretty as the Teir'dal.

Oh well, I suppose its good the hear something of what's going on.

*takes the arrow out of the tree*

And I'm sure the tree didn't appreciate that.

Some ranger ...