Out of the Portal: a Strange Book - 20th June Write Up
Jun 23, 2017 8:51:41 GMT
Nowhere and Leocanto like this
Post by The Sergeant / Alisha on Jun 23, 2017 8:51:41 GMT
Fur. Thick white fur. Deep, and soft, and covered in dark crimson blood. Galen looked at the blood, not knowing if it was the monster’s or his own, as he gasped for breath. Shouts from his nearby companions were lost in the wind and the blizzard that surrounded them all. Galen was now alone in the snow with a beast. A Yeti. Tall and white and fighting for its life against these unknown intruders.
An arrow pierced through the blizzard, hitting the beast on the flank, who howled out in pain. A howl that seemed to rumble through the mountains. The sound of the howl slowly morphed into a beat. Was it the final beats of Galen’s heart fighting to keep the blood flowing in this bitter cold? The beats continued, harder and louder and more intense. The Yeti looked up as the blizzard was parted by the wings of a dragon. Its white scales catching the sunlight through the snow looked like the polished silver. Even the elements stopped in awe as all became silent, but the sound of those large white wings beating.
“A dragon!’ Wilhelm’s call echoed around the pillars that littered the mountain top, “A dragon…”
The beer tasted especially good tonight Nix thought as he sipped another mug. Surrounded by fellow adventures Gara, Galen, Grimes, Nix, Wilhelm and Leo, the table was struggling fit them all in. But it wouldn't have to for much longer,
“Sirs,” A nervous voice called out from the barmaid, “We have a gentleman upstairs who is looking for adventures like yourselves for a small errand...he’s promised good coin.”
With the promise of reward and adventure the mood changed, from relaxed to one of anticipation.
“Excitement at last.” Galen beamed towards the girl, “please continue.’
From across the tavern a hooded figure listened closely, eyes closed so he might hear more intently. For days he’s sat and listened and waited. For an opportunity. He rose from his chair and approached the six men, “Looks like you could use a hand.” He’d seen many before in this tavern, “You all look far too clean, reckon you could use some help if there’s coin involved.” His own clothes by comparison were dirty and stained from weeks of travel and drink.
The group laughed, “Where’s your wet nurse,” called out Wilhem, and they laughed again.
Val looked across the group and locked eyes with Nix who seemed to laugh the hardest, “You think you can take me?” Before the warlock had time to answer, Val threw coin on the table and called out for a round of drinks. The challenge had begun, a test of strength, or simply an induction for the stranger. The two met drink for drink for drink. The men laughed and called them on, and the drink flowed. That was until Nix burst with fatigue and beer across the floor. And the men laughed some more.
“I like this one.” Leo clapped Val on the back, almost knocking him off balance.
“Enough of this - we’ve a job to be had.” And Grimes lead the group upstairs and into the room of this gentleman the barmaid has spoken of. Bursting through the door they were greeted with a the smell of burning sticky herbs, and the eyes of a dragonborn sizing them up. They spoke at length of a book that belonged to this Silver Dragonborn, Vartek, that lay in a mountain the to northwest. For all the questions of what and why Grimes had, the Dragonborn had few answers for the Paladin. Nevertheless the promise of gold and hope of more riches and adventure is often enough to convince even a Paladin that a quest may be worth pursuing. For the mountain they set.
The smell of leaves that had filled Wilhelm with fond memories as the group walked up the mountain faded, as rocks and snow took the place of trees and vegetation. Looking behind him, the group continued to climb, Gara keeping pace despite his Dwarvish height. The cold joined the group, getting closer with each passing moment as they continued their climb.
Val looked around. He was born and bred in the city, surrounded by walls, stone and echoing threats. These leaves and wide open spaces offered something unknown, like a foreign fighter in the ring who offers a new challenge. Wilhelm motioned to the group, “A bridge.”
The cold had almost worked its way through Gara’s thick beard as he stepped onto the old rope bridge. The wide expanse of the mountain ranges were a picture even Leo would have noted for a future tale. Deep blues, pure whites and the softest of greys dotted the horizon. And then a hiss. First faint, then sharper so all could hear. Gara looked before him, “Ice Mephits,” the Dwarf growled. First one, then two, then five filled the bridge. Each one a cruel, spitful look in their eyes. As the bridge swayed under the momentum of an axe swing, mephit after mephit was shattered. Arrows pierced their frozen bodies, fire split and magic blasted shards to pieces. As the final creature disintegrated, its body shattering into a cloud of sharp icicles spraying Leo. Tensing then wiping away the ice and blood that spattered his face, he laughed to the group, trying to hide the pain these cruel beasts had caused even in death.
“Who keeps a book on the top of a mountain.” Grimes knocked the icicles from his shield and walked carefully across the swaying bridge.
How long this book lay at the top of this mountain was not known to these men. Who put it there, they too did not know. Yet all this way they had climbed, on the word of a stranger and the promise of gold.
The clearing was flat, almost sunken into the mountain. Snow covered the rock underneath. Great pillars rose from the snow, like rock stems, shooting up, wanting to match the height of the peaks that surrounded. At the base of the tallest pillar stood an altar, on which a sharp eye could spy a book.
But something more than the book was here. The snow had a life of its own, it seemed to move. It breathed, and walked and formed a shape. Galen tilted his head and smiled. This was not moving snow. But a Yeti.
Its body beautifully white, with horns of a goat, and deep black eyes. Those eyes looked back at Galen, at his blade that seemed to glow, and the armour clad men with him who looked so scornfully back. These were not friends. Snarling hot breath and bearing its teeth the men stayed their place for a moment and slowly moved in. This place that had been a quiet home to this beast for so many years, but was now full of these foul men. Snarling again, this time louder. Still they entered. Anger mixed with fear filled the beast, then dull pain as the first arrow sunk deep and the white snow was sprinkled with bright red droplets. The beast was surrounded, yet alone. No friends. Only enemies who wished him harm in his place of rest.
“A dragon.”
From the air the dragon watches these small men fight amongst the ruins like ants with the snow beast. It roared as its wings beat down. Once again the wind picked up, almost at the command of this ancient being. Grimes felt the wind batter against his shield like a dwarven warhammer. To his left Leo was sent flying down, the Bard’s body ploughing through the snow, leaving a streak of warm blood that quickly froze to the snow. Realising this was not wind, Grimes was too late to move, as he too was throw through the snow like a ragdoll.
Now was the turn for magic, as Gara focused his efforts on the Dragon, doing enough to push into high into air above them and away from his battered comrades.
A roar from the Yeti took Gara’s attention, as he saw Nix approach, his first alight with energy. The Yeti’s dark black eyes were no longer angry, simply afraid, looking for a way to escape. It blinded back the tears in its large eyes as the man ran at him, a fist of flame. Frightened and alone in his home, the Yeti screamed out for a final time as energy burst through him. The once white fur, was now clotted with the beasts remains.
As if bored of these small men and their small ambitions, the dragon left with the wind deeper into the mountains.
The group picked each other up, quickly fusing lacerations and patching wounds with magic or potion. The Yeti’s screams seemed to still echo around the mountains. On the altar lay the book, open to the wind, with pages blank. The echos became a roar. An avalanche, coming to bury the Yeti in its home. Seeing the wave of the avalanche build pace, Nix used magic to grasp the book. The men turned and ran. Ice and rock rushed like a broken damn, crashing through the pillars and creating a resting place for the white beast.
Back in the forest the men lay sleeping. But for Val and Leo. The fear of the Yeti reminded Val of the children he had seen in the slums of his past. Alone and frightened. He shock off the feeling, and looked to Leo, also deep in throught. The forest was peaceful and dark, and smelt of wet leaves. As Val looked deeper in he saw eyes blinking back at him. And movement of a man.
Grabbing Leo by the arm the two moved silently around to the figure. Val crept through the leaves, while Leo summoned his magic powers and vanished. Val shock his head, he had never been a fan of magic, but hell did it make things easier. Val readied his bow as he settled his aim on the spying figure in the dark.
“Who goes there?” Leo’s voice, angelic in the darkness breathed against the figure.
Startled, the man looked around, leaves rustled through his matted hair, “Who...What...”
“What are you doing in my forest?” Leo still invisible to the man.
Dumbfounded the man spoke out, “Oh spirit of the forest I mean you no harm.” And he told this magical spirit how he was spying on these men as he wished for the book they possessed.
Leo’s kind heart allowed the man to take his leave after a good scare, but Val had little trust at the best of times, and rose bow drawn, “You’re not going anywhere.”
The fire crackled and illuminated a small circle in amber and golden tones, as the group continued to interrogate the man. Wilhelm and Gara probing and finding cracks in the man’s story, Nix and Galen circling, and Val’s sword ready.
“I am Stredu.” He finally admitted. And with that the man’s form changed into a black Dragonborn dressed in modest robes. This was no mad man of the forest.
Now open and honest, Stredu spoke to the group of the stories that lay in this book, of his people’s deep rich history. A history his people were proud and protective of. A history he did not want this Silver Dragonborn to pillage through. On touching the book the pages that were once blank revealed the scrips Stredu had spoken of.
Tired and weary, the men showed pity and allowed a ritual to take place so that Stredu could destroy the contents of this book, to save his people from further oppression and keep their history sacred and secret. Bile came from the Dragonborn’s mouth as years of history were removed, replaced with blank pages.
And so it was that a book that lay on the top of a mountain was delivered to a Silver Dragonborn in an Inn. One Dragonborn had saves his history from another. A Yeti was laid to rest in the snow. And a criminal from the city saw his first glimpse of life in the expanse.
An arrow pierced through the blizzard, hitting the beast on the flank, who howled out in pain. A howl that seemed to rumble through the mountains. The sound of the howl slowly morphed into a beat. Was it the final beats of Galen’s heart fighting to keep the blood flowing in this bitter cold? The beats continued, harder and louder and more intense. The Yeti looked up as the blizzard was parted by the wings of a dragon. Its white scales catching the sunlight through the snow looked like the polished silver. Even the elements stopped in awe as all became silent, but the sound of those large white wings beating.
“A dragon!’ Wilhelm’s call echoed around the pillars that littered the mountain top, “A dragon…”
---
The beer tasted especially good tonight Nix thought as he sipped another mug. Surrounded by fellow adventures Gara, Galen, Grimes, Nix, Wilhelm and Leo, the table was struggling fit them all in. But it wouldn't have to for much longer,
“Sirs,” A nervous voice called out from the barmaid, “We have a gentleman upstairs who is looking for adventures like yourselves for a small errand...he’s promised good coin.”
With the promise of reward and adventure the mood changed, from relaxed to one of anticipation.
“Excitement at last.” Galen beamed towards the girl, “please continue.’
From across the tavern a hooded figure listened closely, eyes closed so he might hear more intently. For days he’s sat and listened and waited. For an opportunity. He rose from his chair and approached the six men, “Looks like you could use a hand.” He’d seen many before in this tavern, “You all look far too clean, reckon you could use some help if there’s coin involved.” His own clothes by comparison were dirty and stained from weeks of travel and drink.
The group laughed, “Where’s your wet nurse,” called out Wilhem, and they laughed again.
Val looked across the group and locked eyes with Nix who seemed to laugh the hardest, “You think you can take me?” Before the warlock had time to answer, Val threw coin on the table and called out for a round of drinks. The challenge had begun, a test of strength, or simply an induction for the stranger. The two met drink for drink for drink. The men laughed and called them on, and the drink flowed. That was until Nix burst with fatigue and beer across the floor. And the men laughed some more.
“I like this one.” Leo clapped Val on the back, almost knocking him off balance.
“Enough of this - we’ve a job to be had.” And Grimes lead the group upstairs and into the room of this gentleman the barmaid has spoken of. Bursting through the door they were greeted with a the smell of burning sticky herbs, and the eyes of a dragonborn sizing them up. They spoke at length of a book that belonged to this Silver Dragonborn, Vartek, that lay in a mountain the to northwest. For all the questions of what and why Grimes had, the Dragonborn had few answers for the Paladin. Nevertheless the promise of gold and hope of more riches and adventure is often enough to convince even a Paladin that a quest may be worth pursuing. For the mountain they set.
---
The smell of leaves that had filled Wilhelm with fond memories as the group walked up the mountain faded, as rocks and snow took the place of trees and vegetation. Looking behind him, the group continued to climb, Gara keeping pace despite his Dwarvish height. The cold joined the group, getting closer with each passing moment as they continued their climb.
Val looked around. He was born and bred in the city, surrounded by walls, stone and echoing threats. These leaves and wide open spaces offered something unknown, like a foreign fighter in the ring who offers a new challenge. Wilhelm motioned to the group, “A bridge.”
The cold had almost worked its way through Gara’s thick beard as he stepped onto the old rope bridge. The wide expanse of the mountain ranges were a picture even Leo would have noted for a future tale. Deep blues, pure whites and the softest of greys dotted the horizon. And then a hiss. First faint, then sharper so all could hear. Gara looked before him, “Ice Mephits,” the Dwarf growled. First one, then two, then five filled the bridge. Each one a cruel, spitful look in their eyes. As the bridge swayed under the momentum of an axe swing, mephit after mephit was shattered. Arrows pierced their frozen bodies, fire split and magic blasted shards to pieces. As the final creature disintegrated, its body shattering into a cloud of sharp icicles spraying Leo. Tensing then wiping away the ice and blood that spattered his face, he laughed to the group, trying to hide the pain these cruel beasts had caused even in death.
“Who keeps a book on the top of a mountain.” Grimes knocked the icicles from his shield and walked carefully across the swaying bridge.
---
How long this book lay at the top of this mountain was not known to these men. Who put it there, they too did not know. Yet all this way they had climbed, on the word of a stranger and the promise of gold.
The clearing was flat, almost sunken into the mountain. Snow covered the rock underneath. Great pillars rose from the snow, like rock stems, shooting up, wanting to match the height of the peaks that surrounded. At the base of the tallest pillar stood an altar, on which a sharp eye could spy a book.
But something more than the book was here. The snow had a life of its own, it seemed to move. It breathed, and walked and formed a shape. Galen tilted his head and smiled. This was not moving snow. But a Yeti.
Its body beautifully white, with horns of a goat, and deep black eyes. Those eyes looked back at Galen, at his blade that seemed to glow, and the armour clad men with him who looked so scornfully back. These were not friends. Snarling hot breath and bearing its teeth the men stayed their place for a moment and slowly moved in. This place that had been a quiet home to this beast for so many years, but was now full of these foul men. Snarling again, this time louder. Still they entered. Anger mixed with fear filled the beast, then dull pain as the first arrow sunk deep and the white snow was sprinkled with bright red droplets. The beast was surrounded, yet alone. No friends. Only enemies who wished him harm in his place of rest.
---
“A dragon.”
From the air the dragon watches these small men fight amongst the ruins like ants with the snow beast. It roared as its wings beat down. Once again the wind picked up, almost at the command of this ancient being. Grimes felt the wind batter against his shield like a dwarven warhammer. To his left Leo was sent flying down, the Bard’s body ploughing through the snow, leaving a streak of warm blood that quickly froze to the snow. Realising this was not wind, Grimes was too late to move, as he too was throw through the snow like a ragdoll.
Now was the turn for magic, as Gara focused his efforts on the Dragon, doing enough to push into high into air above them and away from his battered comrades.
A roar from the Yeti took Gara’s attention, as he saw Nix approach, his first alight with energy. The Yeti’s dark black eyes were no longer angry, simply afraid, looking for a way to escape. It blinded back the tears in its large eyes as the man ran at him, a fist of flame. Frightened and alone in his home, the Yeti screamed out for a final time as energy burst through him. The once white fur, was now clotted with the beasts remains.
As if bored of these small men and their small ambitions, the dragon left with the wind deeper into the mountains.
The group picked each other up, quickly fusing lacerations and patching wounds with magic or potion. The Yeti’s screams seemed to still echo around the mountains. On the altar lay the book, open to the wind, with pages blank. The echos became a roar. An avalanche, coming to bury the Yeti in its home. Seeing the wave of the avalanche build pace, Nix used magic to grasp the book. The men turned and ran. Ice and rock rushed like a broken damn, crashing through the pillars and creating a resting place for the white beast.
---
Back in the forest the men lay sleeping. But for Val and Leo. The fear of the Yeti reminded Val of the children he had seen in the slums of his past. Alone and frightened. He shock off the feeling, and looked to Leo, also deep in throught. The forest was peaceful and dark, and smelt of wet leaves. As Val looked deeper in he saw eyes blinking back at him. And movement of a man.
Grabbing Leo by the arm the two moved silently around to the figure. Val crept through the leaves, while Leo summoned his magic powers and vanished. Val shock his head, he had never been a fan of magic, but hell did it make things easier. Val readied his bow as he settled his aim on the spying figure in the dark.
“Who goes there?” Leo’s voice, angelic in the darkness breathed against the figure.
Startled, the man looked around, leaves rustled through his matted hair, “Who...What...”
“What are you doing in my forest?” Leo still invisible to the man.
Dumbfounded the man spoke out, “Oh spirit of the forest I mean you no harm.” And he told this magical spirit how he was spying on these men as he wished for the book they possessed.
Leo’s kind heart allowed the man to take his leave after a good scare, but Val had little trust at the best of times, and rose bow drawn, “You’re not going anywhere.”
---
The fire crackled and illuminated a small circle in amber and golden tones, as the group continued to interrogate the man. Wilhelm and Gara probing and finding cracks in the man’s story, Nix and Galen circling, and Val’s sword ready.
“I am Stredu.” He finally admitted. And with that the man’s form changed into a black Dragonborn dressed in modest robes. This was no mad man of the forest.
Now open and honest, Stredu spoke to the group of the stories that lay in this book, of his people’s deep rich history. A history his people were proud and protective of. A history he did not want this Silver Dragonborn to pillage through. On touching the book the pages that were once blank revealed the scrips Stredu had spoken of.
Tired and weary, the men showed pity and allowed a ritual to take place so that Stredu could destroy the contents of this book, to save his people from further oppression and keep their history sacred and secret. Bile came from the Dragonborn’s mouth as years of history were removed, replaced with blank pages.
---
And so it was that a book that lay on the top of a mountain was delivered to a Silver Dragonborn in an Inn. One Dragonborn had saves his history from another. A Yeti was laid to rest in the snow. And a criminal from the city saw his first glimpse of life in the expanse.
