Less than two days to the end of Nanowrimo. Not an easy year, despite the excitement I felt. Shayanna was not a very cooperative heroine and Shou Lung seemed to be more excited about being the star than she was. So, I've had to struggle with the story. Right now I'm entering my stuff into the computer so I can get the words verified by the counting system. Hope to have it done in time.
Derek took until this week to get really excited about his story. Wrote over 1000 words in one day and decided it was time to write the story. So, I had to decrease his word count down to 2500 so he could have a more reasonable goal in such a short time. He's about 1000 words from that goal. Shouldn't be a problem.
Micaela lost total interest early on. She's agreed to once again do 1000 words, so I decreased her count down, but we're still about 500 words from the goal.
Not as good a month as I was hoping it would be. The kids were not the writing partners I expected and there was just a whole lot of stuff going on this month. There's always next year though.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
An Excerpt From The Nanowrimo Novel
The novel is still untitled, but here's something from the prologue.
Shayanna leaned against a tree in the courtyard of the royal keep and listened to King Crandel Redstar’s speech. She’d had to leave Silvermane outside the city after meeting Shou-Lung and now she stood in the courtyard, impatiently counting the minutes until she could return to her friends.
She had not realized when she accepted the king’s offer to train his would that it would mean she had to attend events as well. The two met when Crandel had gone hunting with his falcon, one of the few things the members of his court allowed him to do alone. They hunted together for the day, then he asked her to return with him and take over the duties of training his men in the ways of the forest. She agreed for reasons she still didn’t understand, but the offer sounded like it would give her and Silvermane a place to call home, if for a little while. They were not sure if they would stay for long, but the gold was plentiful and she was pretty much left alone when she was not training.
Crandel’s voice rang loudly in the area, probably magically enhanced by his mage, Mola. Shayanna’s attention began to wander as he continue to speak.
“As I was saying, this has been a most exciting month for my family and myself. Not only did I learn I had two children I did not know about, but my son and chosen heir to the throne has returned as well, Jarden Redstar.” Crandel turned and gestured toward someone standing where Shayanna could see them.
She waited, curious to see if this third child of the king’s looked like his father or even the other two that had been presented three weeks earlier. Crandel had not bestowed upon his first son the title of heir and she glanced over at the oldest son to gauge his reaction to the news. When a flash of red material moved through the edge of her vision, she turned her attention back to the king and his newly introduced son and felt her mouth fall open in surprise. The man she had met in the forest, while spending time with Silvermane was standing next to the king and had been named as the heir apparent to the Falconi throne.
Shou-Lung nodded stoically at the people who were clapping and cheering his arrival, then held his hand up to quiet everyone. “I no longer go by the name Jarden Redstar. While I was gone, I was given the name Shou-Lung, which means Receiver of the Dragon. I would prefer everyone call me by that name.”
Shayanna leaned against a tree in the courtyard of the royal keep and listened to King Crandel Redstar’s speech. She’d had to leave Silvermane outside the city after meeting Shou-Lung and now she stood in the courtyard, impatiently counting the minutes until she could return to her friends.
She had not realized when she accepted the king’s offer to train his would that it would mean she had to attend events as well. The two met when Crandel had gone hunting with his falcon, one of the few things the members of his court allowed him to do alone. They hunted together for the day, then he asked her to return with him and take over the duties of training his men in the ways of the forest. She agreed for reasons she still didn’t understand, but the offer sounded like it would give her and Silvermane a place to call home, if for a little while. They were not sure if they would stay for long, but the gold was plentiful and she was pretty much left alone when she was not training.
Crandel’s voice rang loudly in the area, probably magically enhanced by his mage, Mola. Shayanna’s attention began to wander as he continue to speak.
“As I was saying, this has been a most exciting month for my family and myself. Not only did I learn I had two children I did not know about, but my son and chosen heir to the throne has returned as well, Jarden Redstar.” Crandel turned and gestured toward someone standing where Shayanna could see them.
She waited, curious to see if this third child of the king’s looked like his father or even the other two that had been presented three weeks earlier. Crandel had not bestowed upon his first son the title of heir and she glanced over at the oldest son to gauge his reaction to the news. When a flash of red material moved through the edge of her vision, she turned her attention back to the king and his newly introduced son and felt her mouth fall open in surprise. The man she had met in the forest, while spending time with Silvermane was standing next to the king and had been named as the heir apparent to the Falconi throne.
Shou-Lung nodded stoically at the people who were clapping and cheering his arrival, then held his hand up to quiet everyone. “I no longer go by the name Jarden Redstar. While I was gone, I was given the name Shou-Lung, which means Receiver of the Dragon. I would prefer everyone call me by that name.”
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Nanowrimo -Word Count - Day Three
Micaela - 282/10,000
Derek - 50/10,000
Amber - 2261/50,000
Little frustrated right now. Working on the prologue for Shayanna's story, but the part I'm working on is not flowing very well. I know what I want to happen, the words just aren't coming. I am still waiting to get Derek's account setup for the Young Writer's Program. It's been more time than what I had to wait for Micaela's account to be setup and if it's not setup soon, I'm afraid he's going to become discouraged and give up. Man, I hope they fix it soon.
Derek - 50/10,000
Amber - 2261/50,000
Little frustrated right now. Working on the prologue for Shayanna's story, but the part I'm working on is not flowing very well. I know what I want to happen, the words just aren't coming. I am still waiting to get Derek's account setup for the Young Writer's Program. It's been more time than what I had to wait for Micaela's account to be setup and if it's not setup soon, I'm afraid he's going to become discouraged and give up. Man, I hope they fix it soon.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Word Count - 11/1/06
NANOWRIMO Word Count
Micaela - 66/10000
Derek - 0/10000
Amber - 945/50000
Not as many for myself as I should have, but at least it's something. Other writers in Las Vegas have posted up to 4300 words already. Either they have nothing else going on, or their ideas are flowing for them so easily, they can't get the words down fast enough. Either way, everyone seems to be off to a good start. Need to get Derek moving on his, but he has a big project due for English next Tuesday and school takes precedence over NANOWRIMO.
Micaela - 66/10000
Derek - 0/10000
Amber - 945/50000
Not as many for myself as I should have, but at least it's something. Other writers in Las Vegas have posted up to 4300 words already. Either they have nothing else going on, or their ideas are flowing for them so easily, they can't get the words down fast enough. Either way, everyone seems to be off to a good start. Need to get Derek moving on his, but he has a big project due for English next Tuesday and school takes precedence over NANOWRIMO.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Two Days Left
Two days left until November 1st. Micaela still has to work on her outline. I need to put the finishing touches on my own outline. Derek might participate as well. Time is ticking. And I am thoroughly excited. Unlike last year, I'm really looking forward to this year.
I think I'm going to do Shayanna's story.
I think I'm going to do Shayanna's story.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
And the winner is...
Micaela has decided to write a story about a sleuth like Nancy Drew. She has been very specific in that she does not want to follow the traditional Nancy Drew format of item lost, person kidnapped or hurt, item found. So, I'm eager to see what she has in mind.
I will be working on... ugh, I keep changing my mind. I can't decide between the second book for Cora, my amazon mage, or the story about Shayanna, my elven beast rider. Cora's is outlined already. Shayanna's has time travel and is still evolving so much, it hasn't been outlined.
So, 50,000 words in 30 days, while taking a writing class where I am rewriting Serpe's story. This should prove really interesting.
I will be working on... ugh, I keep changing my mind. I can't decide between the second book for Cora, my amazon mage, or the story about Shayanna, my elven beast rider. Cora's is outlined already. Shayanna's has time travel and is still evolving so much, it hasn't been outlined.
So, 50,000 words in 30 days, while taking a writing class where I am rewriting Serpe's story. This should prove really interesting.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Nanowrimo - Young Writer's Program
Micaela has agreed to write with me in November. Her word count goal is 1000 words, which I think is a tremendous goal for a 9-year-old. She keeps asking me if she can start, but I have to remind her of the rules, that she can't start until November 1. She also asks me what I think she should write. So, obviously, we're going to have to work on an idea for her, one of her own.
I'm really excited to have Micaela writing with me. I think it is good for her to do different kinds of things.
Derek has only shown interest in it if he gets extra credit for school. Of course, I can't force his teacher to give him that, but he's already written short stories, I think it would be good for him to finish something like this.
We'll see. I still have time to talk to him about it.
I'm really excited to have Micaela writing with me. I think it is good for her to do different kinds of things.
Derek has only shown interest in it if he gets extra credit for school. Of course, I can't force his teacher to give him that, but he's already written short stories, I think it would be good for him to finish something like this.
We'll see. I still have time to talk to him about it.
The Death of The Five Lions
The Five Lions went into the Vast, against the advice of their King and without anyone knowing where they had gone.
The lovers saw their relationship die, as each day they drifted further apart.
The largest saw his faith in his new deity tested and found himself strong in his beliefs.
The priest found his convictions and needs did not receive the support from the others.
They traveled to find the Dark Lord and his minions, to end the threat to their home.
What they found was the man who had betrayed their country, strengthened by the alliance he had made.
Though they had warned others about him, he had been allowed to go unquestioned and strengthened his hold within the Vast and against Theonalar.
Though their battle was valiant and their need to survive strong, one by one, each fell to the Dark Lord’s minions.
Angus died in battle, the first to leave this world.
Postuellyo died soon thereafter, crying out the name of his god as the killing blow fell upon him.
Tal met his fate at the hands of the man who tortured him.
Natani met her fate at those same hands, after watching the man she had loved slowly tortured to death and regretting that they would never be able to make their apologies to each other.
Of the Lions, only Kaz survived, though where he is now, no one knows.
The lovers saw their relationship die, as each day they drifted further apart.
The largest saw his faith in his new deity tested and found himself strong in his beliefs.
The priest found his convictions and needs did not receive the support from the others.
They traveled to find the Dark Lord and his minions, to end the threat to their home.
What they found was the man who had betrayed their country, strengthened by the alliance he had made.
Though they had warned others about him, he had been allowed to go unquestioned and strengthened his hold within the Vast and against Theonalar.
Though their battle was valiant and their need to survive strong, one by one, each fell to the Dark Lord’s minions.
Angus died in battle, the first to leave this world.
Postuellyo died soon thereafter, crying out the name of his god as the killing blow fell upon him.
Tal met his fate at the hands of the man who tortured him.
Natani met her fate at those same hands, after watching the man she had loved slowly tortured to death and regretting that they would never be able to make their apologies to each other.
Of the Lions, only Kaz survived, though where he is now, no one knows.
Monday, October 02, 2006
D&D Session 9.30.06
We left before anyone awoke for the day. Into the Vast again, and for the entire winter this time. Tal is insane. I can’t believe he really wants to do this. Either he’s desperate for us to be killed, or he’s got some information that will keep us alive and safe this season. It’ll be months before we’re able to come home again. Months before the snow clears from the saddleback and allow travel through again.
Before we completely left Theonalar, Pots met us. It’s good to have him back with us. We traveled for several weeks, going back to the plateau where we last saw Kre, until we saw a large group of orcs riding worgs, traveling in our direction. Being such a large group, it would be easy for us to outdistance them, which we did, until we found ourselves basically caught between them and another group of fifty or so orcs on worgs ahead of us, going to the plateau as well. The mountains were covered with snow. We had actually already spent five days holed up because of a snow storm. So, we decided to move up the mountain early and try to get a vantage point above the plateau.
It was easy to see that the area had already suffered one avalanche this season, and we hoped that we would be able to avoid another by being quiet. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.
The snow swept down on us quickly. I don’t really know what the others did, but I tied myself to a tree, after cutting my saddlebags from my horse. I saw Tal get swept away, but there was nothing I could do for him. Then the snow hit me.
I woke up some time later, not real sure how long I was out. Or the others. We were in a cave. Somehow we were rescued by one of our own people. Kaelix Thurgar, Angus’ cousin, who was exiled from Eisenhorn about sixteen months ago. I appreciate being rescued, but having to associate with a clanless man does not necessarily make me happy. Angus was very insistent that Kaelix was wrongly exiled and only because of Angus, and the help Kaelix could give us, I didn’t protest. Unfortunately, Ewane was not with us and no one knew where he went or if he even survived the avalanche.
Kaelix took us to a place where he has spent the winter months since he left Eisenhorn. As if it wasn’t stressing enough having to deal with Kaelix, he calls an ogre, orc, hobgoblin and bugbear friends. The ogre was nice enough. The bugbear and Gort took to each other pretty well. The hobgoblin didn’t say too much, unless we spoke to him first. The orc spent a lot of time those days we were with them, outside.
In an effort to pay them back for their hospitality, I repaired their armor and their weapons to the best of my ability without a proper forge or tools. The others did their part, I think. I didn’t really pay attention to that.
Tal and I had argued when we first arrived. I had been trying to tell Pots about his older sister, Nathaira, being pregnant, before her wedding night. Pots acted almost like he expected it, then pointed out it was no different than Tal and I. That may be true, but I have not come up pregnant. Tal made some comment and I reminded him it had been months since he and I had been together. Then, the comment about how, since my father hates him and doesn’t think he deserves my hand, and since he hasn’t made an effort to reconcile with Father, that it was some ‘pass’ to do whatever he wanted. Taking what he said personally, and to mean he could sleep around, I told him if he did, he would not wake up in the morning. He then said that I was a weak fighter, only able to kill someone in their sleep. That floored me. I can’t believe he made such a personal insult to my honor. I turned to Pots for retribution, demanding that he defend my honor and in the customer our group has developed with each other, though the challenge was made, Tal cut his hand and it was called good. I was proven right, but that didn’t help to improve my mood.
Soon we were moving again, Kaelix guiding us to the Dark Tower, so we could gather more information on Kre. It seems there is a group of orcs called the Dead Moon Clan, who is currently in control over the other humanoids. These are the same orcs we encountered in the dwarven keep. Kre is in control over those orcs and then the Dark Lord is over Kre. Also, the dark, storm-like clouds in the North, is actually an area that seems to run with liquid iron. Kaelix showed me a chunk he had brought back with him some time ago. The giants are there, but for some reason, everyone who had lived in the North were quickly making their way to the South, for reasons unknown and that includes the giants.
We came to one winter camp for a group of orcs Kaelix knows and while the men smoked some kind of... grass or something, I took a look around the camp. My peace didn’t last long, as the non-mated orc males took notice quickly. I ended up knocking many of them down, and when the others joined me, I had successfully shown the orcs that I was no female to mess with. We stayed there one night, then moved on the next day.
As we traveled to another winter camp, a little over a decate away, we saw smoke billowing up. By the time we arrived, it was dark, though we did hurry. We found the entire camp dead, burned. We camped a distance away, then in the morning found further information about the attackers. With Kaelix’s assistance, we were able to determine that the attackers seemed to be heading in the same path we had already taken, almost like they were killing any who would offer us assistance. Their next stop appeared to be the winter camp we had left a decate ago. There was nothing we could do to reach Kaelix’s friend before the attackers. They were on horseback and we had only our feet.
We continued on our way and when we were still miles away from the Dark Tower, we came across a two wagon train of orcs on horses and people locked within the wagons that were actually cages. Tal used his glass tube thingy and found that the first wagon actually held Braesil, who I had expected to find here, somehow.
Tal used his magic and made it look like a larger group of people were attacking the wagons. A smaller group broke off and headed toward us. I was able to swing onto one of the horses and kill the orc riding it, taking the animal as mine. I chased after the wagons, going for the first one. When I reached it, I killed the orc driving the wagon, then turned to deal with the guards surrounding it.
The battle seemed to last forever and eventually, my chain shirt had taken enough hits, protecting me, that it fell off. And one by one, I lopped off the heads of the orc guards as best I could. When there were only six left, I stopped, not even thinking about the mistake. Now I was surrounded and though I could hit with my full force, so could they. I was able to take out one more and injure others before I eventually fell.
I awoke bare moments later to find that the orcs had turned on Tal and Pots, who I had not realized had reached me finally. As I watched, one of the orcs sliced through Pots’ chest, knocking him to the ground. Tal was able to kill the rest as I tried to stand and move toward him. He came over to me and helped me to Pots’ side. He healed Pots some, then turned to heal me. I had returned to the ground, going to my knees and knowing how important it was that Pots be returned to consciousness, I pushed Tal’s offer away.
I don’t know where the others are.
Before we completely left Theonalar, Pots met us. It’s good to have him back with us. We traveled for several weeks, going back to the plateau where we last saw Kre, until we saw a large group of orcs riding worgs, traveling in our direction. Being such a large group, it would be easy for us to outdistance them, which we did, until we found ourselves basically caught between them and another group of fifty or so orcs on worgs ahead of us, going to the plateau as well. The mountains were covered with snow. We had actually already spent five days holed up because of a snow storm. So, we decided to move up the mountain early and try to get a vantage point above the plateau.
It was easy to see that the area had already suffered one avalanche this season, and we hoped that we would be able to avoid another by being quiet. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.
The snow swept down on us quickly. I don’t really know what the others did, but I tied myself to a tree, after cutting my saddlebags from my horse. I saw Tal get swept away, but there was nothing I could do for him. Then the snow hit me.
I woke up some time later, not real sure how long I was out. Or the others. We were in a cave. Somehow we were rescued by one of our own people. Kaelix Thurgar, Angus’ cousin, who was exiled from Eisenhorn about sixteen months ago. I appreciate being rescued, but having to associate with a clanless man does not necessarily make me happy. Angus was very insistent that Kaelix was wrongly exiled and only because of Angus, and the help Kaelix could give us, I didn’t protest. Unfortunately, Ewane was not with us and no one knew where he went or if he even survived the avalanche.
Kaelix took us to a place where he has spent the winter months since he left Eisenhorn. As if it wasn’t stressing enough having to deal with Kaelix, he calls an ogre, orc, hobgoblin and bugbear friends. The ogre was nice enough. The bugbear and Gort took to each other pretty well. The hobgoblin didn’t say too much, unless we spoke to him first. The orc spent a lot of time those days we were with them, outside.
In an effort to pay them back for their hospitality, I repaired their armor and their weapons to the best of my ability without a proper forge or tools. The others did their part, I think. I didn’t really pay attention to that.
Tal and I had argued when we first arrived. I had been trying to tell Pots about his older sister, Nathaira, being pregnant, before her wedding night. Pots acted almost like he expected it, then pointed out it was no different than Tal and I. That may be true, but I have not come up pregnant. Tal made some comment and I reminded him it had been months since he and I had been together. Then, the comment about how, since my father hates him and doesn’t think he deserves my hand, and since he hasn’t made an effort to reconcile with Father, that it was some ‘pass’ to do whatever he wanted. Taking what he said personally, and to mean he could sleep around, I told him if he did, he would not wake up in the morning. He then said that I was a weak fighter, only able to kill someone in their sleep. That floored me. I can’t believe he made such a personal insult to my honor. I turned to Pots for retribution, demanding that he defend my honor and in the customer our group has developed with each other, though the challenge was made, Tal cut his hand and it was called good. I was proven right, but that didn’t help to improve my mood.
Soon we were moving again, Kaelix guiding us to the Dark Tower, so we could gather more information on Kre. It seems there is a group of orcs called the Dead Moon Clan, who is currently in control over the other humanoids. These are the same orcs we encountered in the dwarven keep. Kre is in control over those orcs and then the Dark Lord is over Kre. Also, the dark, storm-like clouds in the North, is actually an area that seems to run with liquid iron. Kaelix showed me a chunk he had brought back with him some time ago. The giants are there, but for some reason, everyone who had lived in the North were quickly making their way to the South, for reasons unknown and that includes the giants.
We came to one winter camp for a group of orcs Kaelix knows and while the men smoked some kind of... grass or something, I took a look around the camp. My peace didn’t last long, as the non-mated orc males took notice quickly. I ended up knocking many of them down, and when the others joined me, I had successfully shown the orcs that I was no female to mess with. We stayed there one night, then moved on the next day.
As we traveled to another winter camp, a little over a decate away, we saw smoke billowing up. By the time we arrived, it was dark, though we did hurry. We found the entire camp dead, burned. We camped a distance away, then in the morning found further information about the attackers. With Kaelix’s assistance, we were able to determine that the attackers seemed to be heading in the same path we had already taken, almost like they were killing any who would offer us assistance. Their next stop appeared to be the winter camp we had left a decate ago. There was nothing we could do to reach Kaelix’s friend before the attackers. They were on horseback and we had only our feet.
We continued on our way and when we were still miles away from the Dark Tower, we came across a two wagon train of orcs on horses and people locked within the wagons that were actually cages. Tal used his glass tube thingy and found that the first wagon actually held Braesil, who I had expected to find here, somehow.
Tal used his magic and made it look like a larger group of people were attacking the wagons. A smaller group broke off and headed toward us. I was able to swing onto one of the horses and kill the orc riding it, taking the animal as mine. I chased after the wagons, going for the first one. When I reached it, I killed the orc driving the wagon, then turned to deal with the guards surrounding it.
The battle seemed to last forever and eventually, my chain shirt had taken enough hits, protecting me, that it fell off. And one by one, I lopped off the heads of the orc guards as best I could. When there were only six left, I stopped, not even thinking about the mistake. Now I was surrounded and though I could hit with my full force, so could they. I was able to take out one more and injure others before I eventually fell.
I awoke bare moments later to find that the orcs had turned on Tal and Pots, who I had not realized had reached me finally. As I watched, one of the orcs sliced through Pots’ chest, knocking him to the ground. Tal was able to kill the rest as I tried to stand and move toward him. He came over to me and helped me to Pots’ side. He healed Pots some, then turned to heal me. I had returned to the ground, going to my knees and knowing how important it was that Pots be returned to consciousness, I pushed Tal’s offer away.
I don’t know where the others are.
NANOWRIMO - 50,000 Words in November
It's that time of year again. Time to sign up for National Novel Writing Month, 50,000 words in 30 days. This takes place in November. Not a single word can be written before 12:00 a.m. November 1. Outlines can be done, notes can be created, but not a single word within the body of the novel. Works out to be about 1667 words per day. And, guess what? That also means on Thanksgiving.
If you are interested, the website is www.nanowrimo.org. I have cross-posted this on my personal blog as well and will be keeping track of my progress here. Also, if you go to the website, you can pull up the authors that are registered and follow their progress through their profiles. If you do decide to give it a try, let me know. I'd be happy to follow your progress as well and maybe we can exchange a little moral support in this very stressful 30 day period.
If you are interested, the website is www.nanowrimo.org. I have cross-posted this on my personal blog as well and will be keeping track of my progress here. Also, if you go to the website, you can pull up the authors that are registered and follow their progress through their profiles. If you do decide to give it a try, let me know. I'd be happy to follow your progress as well and maybe we can exchange a little moral support in this very stressful 30 day period.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Combined Journal for D&D Sessions 8.26.06 and 9.16.06
It’s been quite a long time since I’ve written in this and so much has happened, I’m not sure I’ll be able to remember it all.
After the men were able to convince the Southern houses to join the Northern at the border to the Vast, I rode ahead to advise Prince Amnor of their success. Because I arrived so much earlier than they did, I was able to join the other Shieldmaidens for battle. When the three houses finally arrived, the prince revealed a plan that he felt would lead to definite success. Two houses would stay out of the battle and the Shieldmaidens would split, each separate group protecting the prince of the house. These two houses would draw the humanoids into the valley after the rest of our army retreated. When the humanoids surrounded these two houses, the army would once again move onto the battle field and decimate the humanoids.
The plan seemed to be working, until another large group of humanoids came over the hills to the Vast and bore down on us. When the situation began to bleak, which didn’t take long. We were sorely outnumbered. At first, it was a small tremor that shook the ground under our feet. Gradually, it grew in strength, until many of us were knocked off our feet, both Theonalar and humanoid. Near our battlefield, the mountains overlooking our bloodshed began to split. As we struggled to maintain our footing and continue the protection of our country, the mountains opened completely, revealing beautifully crafted dwarven doors. From the newly revealed doors, an army of dwarves came to join us on the battlefield, lead by our friend, Cor.
The battle quickly ended, with the humanoids trapped in the valley being killed and very few escaping. But enough escaped to join what was left in the Vast. Our struggle to keep the humanoids away from our lands is not over.
The covenant between Theonalar and the dwarves was renewed. That was an amazing sight to see; Amnor, the large Corathin that he is, kneeling before the small dwarven king. In discussions, it was decided that a great wall would be built along the border of the Vast and Theonalar, to keep the orcs out of our country.
After the celebration and the funeral, Amnor came to our group and requested that we journey into the Vast and find the ones in charge of the humanoids, or the ones uniting them. We were told we had thirty days to complete our task, or we would be considered lost. Typical, no matter what task they send us on, we are only given so much time before we are considered lost. We’ve been late so many times, I’m surprised we have ever found our way home.
We journeyed into the Vast and found a large caravan moving deeper into the country. We decided to follow this caravan and was surprised to find it led us to a clearing we had visited once before. Tal’s cousin, Erbane, had been rescued by us from this clearing over a year earlier. As we watched the caravan, Kre exited from a wagon, dressed in a black robe and waited for a silver basin to be removed. The guards of the caravan did not appear to be from anywhere particular, however, they pulled slaves from the wagons that each wore the house colors of Kre’s house, Reinhardt. The man was using his own people as slaves and I believe sacrifices to someone he called The Dark Lord.
In the middle of this clearing strung up like Erbane had been, was Gort. There was a lot of drama and a lot of discussion and it was finally decided by Tal that he would use his magic, wretched stuff, and free Gort. Somehow Tal made a dagger move toward Gort and cut him free. Of course, the orcs noticed and gave chase. We ran for quite awhile with the unconscious form of Gort being carried by Angus. As we ran, we were overtaken by orcs on worgs and through the battle, Tal joined Gort in being unconscious. Angus, Pots and I were able to fight off the orcs and worgs and get the two into the trees, under cover and hide our trail. Angus and I stayed up until Tal woke again, then we both collapsed with exhaustion.
After we got some rest, we all made our way back to Theonalar. We had been gone longer than the time were given, again. The framework of the wall was coming along nicely and we were days late for meeting with Amnor. Pots disappeared sometime during the night, and as far as I know, he didn’t say a word to anyone. Amnor left instructions for us to meet him Guthoram if we returned, after we attended the rest of the funerals.
Once the funerals had been completed, we made our way to Guthoram, Gort in tow. The journey was easy and we arrived in the capital within two weeks. When we arrived, we were allowed into the castle without a problem and taken directly to the great hall where we were surprised to see Pots giving a speech about his loyalty and the house of Lyonsbane’s loyalty to Prince Amnor and his becoming the king of Theonalar. Then Belvar stepped forward with the Earth Crown. Before he could place it upon Amnor’s head, Amnor stood and said we would follow the traditions of our people and allow three days to pass, allow anyone else who felt they deserved to be king to step forward and lay their claim. With that, he left the great hall.
We waited for three days. During that time, Tal’s cousin, Ewane, tried to reacquaint himself with the three of us. I have no issue with the man wanting to know his cousin again, but I do not appreciate having to educate him on my position within the kingdom. He seems to have a difficult time understanding my position as a Shieldmaiden. For some reason, I feel like every time he’s at the forge, working beside me, or we walk through the training field, that he’s wanting to test his skills against mine.
Three days after Amnor was declared king, we all met once again, all the princes, thanes, elders, shieldmaidens, in the great hall. Again, Belvar stepped forward with the crown and placed it upon Amnor’s head. Amnor stood and called up two of those earth creatures we had seen the elf call up back in the Twisted Tower. After punching Angus in the arm, because he just had to mention that Amnor was the second king, I kneeled in fealty to Amnor and Belvar and I were soon followed by everyone in the great hall. Then the creatures were returned to the earth and Amnor declared a great celebation.
The first night, the entire great hall was filled again, with all the princes, thanes and elders, as well as the foreign delegates. The houses missing, of course, were Marek and Reinhardt. Instead of enjoying the night like I had wanted to, my mother ordered myself and another to protect the king. As she expected, there was an attack on Amnor from the curtains behind the dais. I knew I would be unable to stop the attack, so I did the only thing I could do and threw myself and my shield in the way of the attack.
Somehow the curtain came down and revealed Kaz. It felt like my heart fell to the floor. I couldn’t believe Kaz was the one who had tried to kill Amnor. The only way to get to him was up the stairs and Ewane joined from out of the crowd. He and I ran up the stairs and arrived in the hallway in time to see Tal jump out a window and Kaz left standing in the hall. I turned, determined to find out why Tal would follow someone other than Kaz, but we were too late. Tal and Kaz were taken before Amnor and once Kas explained what had happened, he was set free.
What Kaz and Tal told everyone was that they had seen a woman. Kaz had followed her and tried to hurt in a way she could not get away, but she was very skilled and she was able to remain free. Tal had gone after her through the window, but she had disappeared. The crossbow bolt that had been shot at Amnor remained in my shield, so I pulled it out and handed it to Kaz, stating that there was no way she could have expected a single bolt to kill a man of Amnor’s stature. He confirmed the bolt was poisoned, but before he could do further investigation into the type, Amnor had Belvar take the bolt and said they would handle it.
The rest of the celebration passed uneventfully and we were eventually told we could do what we wanted. The Queen had not been seen, but Tal did eventually advise us that she had departed to the Northern lands of our kingdom. He also told us that she was actually the person who had been helping us and following us so many months ago, with the stitched boots.
During the time we waited, I made a trip out to Anke’s house and found that it was empty. No one had been there for months at least. However, I did hear that a woman gave a good beating to the son of Stoki Ragnar for some offense committed against her and was last seen traveling South to Falconi. I’m pretty sure it was Anke. She was protected by the Queen and allowed a place within the capital, but with the Queen no longer in her position, Anke’s protection went with her.
We returned home, Tal, Angus, Ewane and myself. The houses are being rebuilt, with a wall around the town and keep. Some things are not quite the same. Mother’s wanting a change in her life and more children. Father’s unhappy with my relationship with Tal and the fact that I travel so much. I have a cousin who obviously did not take the necessary precautions before her marriage and this could cause her great problems if anyone found out. And no one’s seen Kaz or Pots for weeks.
And now Tal wants to return to the Vast. Maybe Father is right. Maybe I should find someone other than Tal.
After the men were able to convince the Southern houses to join the Northern at the border to the Vast, I rode ahead to advise Prince Amnor of their success. Because I arrived so much earlier than they did, I was able to join the other Shieldmaidens for battle. When the three houses finally arrived, the prince revealed a plan that he felt would lead to definite success. Two houses would stay out of the battle and the Shieldmaidens would split, each separate group protecting the prince of the house. These two houses would draw the humanoids into the valley after the rest of our army retreated. When the humanoids surrounded these two houses, the army would once again move onto the battle field and decimate the humanoids.
The plan seemed to be working, until another large group of humanoids came over the hills to the Vast and bore down on us. When the situation began to bleak, which didn’t take long. We were sorely outnumbered. At first, it was a small tremor that shook the ground under our feet. Gradually, it grew in strength, until many of us were knocked off our feet, both Theonalar and humanoid. Near our battlefield, the mountains overlooking our bloodshed began to split. As we struggled to maintain our footing and continue the protection of our country, the mountains opened completely, revealing beautifully crafted dwarven doors. From the newly revealed doors, an army of dwarves came to join us on the battlefield, lead by our friend, Cor.
The battle quickly ended, with the humanoids trapped in the valley being killed and very few escaping. But enough escaped to join what was left in the Vast. Our struggle to keep the humanoids away from our lands is not over.
The covenant between Theonalar and the dwarves was renewed. That was an amazing sight to see; Amnor, the large Corathin that he is, kneeling before the small dwarven king. In discussions, it was decided that a great wall would be built along the border of the Vast and Theonalar, to keep the orcs out of our country.
After the celebration and the funeral, Amnor came to our group and requested that we journey into the Vast and find the ones in charge of the humanoids, or the ones uniting them. We were told we had thirty days to complete our task, or we would be considered lost. Typical, no matter what task they send us on, we are only given so much time before we are considered lost. We’ve been late so many times, I’m surprised we have ever found our way home.
We journeyed into the Vast and found a large caravan moving deeper into the country. We decided to follow this caravan and was surprised to find it led us to a clearing we had visited once before. Tal’s cousin, Erbane, had been rescued by us from this clearing over a year earlier. As we watched the caravan, Kre exited from a wagon, dressed in a black robe and waited for a silver basin to be removed. The guards of the caravan did not appear to be from anywhere particular, however, they pulled slaves from the wagons that each wore the house colors of Kre’s house, Reinhardt. The man was using his own people as slaves and I believe sacrifices to someone he called The Dark Lord.
In the middle of this clearing strung up like Erbane had been, was Gort. There was a lot of drama and a lot of discussion and it was finally decided by Tal that he would use his magic, wretched stuff, and free Gort. Somehow Tal made a dagger move toward Gort and cut him free. Of course, the orcs noticed and gave chase. We ran for quite awhile with the unconscious form of Gort being carried by Angus. As we ran, we were overtaken by orcs on worgs and through the battle, Tal joined Gort in being unconscious. Angus, Pots and I were able to fight off the orcs and worgs and get the two into the trees, under cover and hide our trail. Angus and I stayed up until Tal woke again, then we both collapsed with exhaustion.
After we got some rest, we all made our way back to Theonalar. We had been gone longer than the time were given, again. The framework of the wall was coming along nicely and we were days late for meeting with Amnor. Pots disappeared sometime during the night, and as far as I know, he didn’t say a word to anyone. Amnor left instructions for us to meet him Guthoram if we returned, after we attended the rest of the funerals.
Once the funerals had been completed, we made our way to Guthoram, Gort in tow. The journey was easy and we arrived in the capital within two weeks. When we arrived, we were allowed into the castle without a problem and taken directly to the great hall where we were surprised to see Pots giving a speech about his loyalty and the house of Lyonsbane’s loyalty to Prince Amnor and his becoming the king of Theonalar. Then Belvar stepped forward with the Earth Crown. Before he could place it upon Amnor’s head, Amnor stood and said we would follow the traditions of our people and allow three days to pass, allow anyone else who felt they deserved to be king to step forward and lay their claim. With that, he left the great hall.
We waited for three days. During that time, Tal’s cousin, Ewane, tried to reacquaint himself with the three of us. I have no issue with the man wanting to know his cousin again, but I do not appreciate having to educate him on my position within the kingdom. He seems to have a difficult time understanding my position as a Shieldmaiden. For some reason, I feel like every time he’s at the forge, working beside me, or we walk through the training field, that he’s wanting to test his skills against mine.
Three days after Amnor was declared king, we all met once again, all the princes, thanes, elders, shieldmaidens, in the great hall. Again, Belvar stepped forward with the crown and placed it upon Amnor’s head. Amnor stood and called up two of those earth creatures we had seen the elf call up back in the Twisted Tower. After punching Angus in the arm, because he just had to mention that Amnor was the second king, I kneeled in fealty to Amnor and Belvar and I were soon followed by everyone in the great hall. Then the creatures were returned to the earth and Amnor declared a great celebation.
The first night, the entire great hall was filled again, with all the princes, thanes and elders, as well as the foreign delegates. The houses missing, of course, were Marek and Reinhardt. Instead of enjoying the night like I had wanted to, my mother ordered myself and another to protect the king. As she expected, there was an attack on Amnor from the curtains behind the dais. I knew I would be unable to stop the attack, so I did the only thing I could do and threw myself and my shield in the way of the attack.
Somehow the curtain came down and revealed Kaz. It felt like my heart fell to the floor. I couldn’t believe Kaz was the one who had tried to kill Amnor. The only way to get to him was up the stairs and Ewane joined from out of the crowd. He and I ran up the stairs and arrived in the hallway in time to see Tal jump out a window and Kaz left standing in the hall. I turned, determined to find out why Tal would follow someone other than Kaz, but we were too late. Tal and Kaz were taken before Amnor and once Kas explained what had happened, he was set free.
What Kaz and Tal told everyone was that they had seen a woman. Kaz had followed her and tried to hurt in a way she could not get away, but she was very skilled and she was able to remain free. Tal had gone after her through the window, but she had disappeared. The crossbow bolt that had been shot at Amnor remained in my shield, so I pulled it out and handed it to Kaz, stating that there was no way she could have expected a single bolt to kill a man of Amnor’s stature. He confirmed the bolt was poisoned, but before he could do further investigation into the type, Amnor had Belvar take the bolt and said they would handle it.
The rest of the celebration passed uneventfully and we were eventually told we could do what we wanted. The Queen had not been seen, but Tal did eventually advise us that she had departed to the Northern lands of our kingdom. He also told us that she was actually the person who had been helping us and following us so many months ago, with the stitched boots.
During the time we waited, I made a trip out to Anke’s house and found that it was empty. No one had been there for months at least. However, I did hear that a woman gave a good beating to the son of Stoki Ragnar for some offense committed against her and was last seen traveling South to Falconi. I’m pretty sure it was Anke. She was protected by the Queen and allowed a place within the capital, but with the Queen no longer in her position, Anke’s protection went with her.
We returned home, Tal, Angus, Ewane and myself. The houses are being rebuilt, with a wall around the town and keep. Some things are not quite the same. Mother’s wanting a change in her life and more children. Father’s unhappy with my relationship with Tal and the fact that I travel so much. I have a cousin who obviously did not take the necessary precautions before her marriage and this could cause her great problems if anyone found out. And no one’s seen Kaz or Pots for weeks.
And now Tal wants to return to the Vast. Maybe Father is right. Maybe I should find someone other than Tal.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Journal Based on D&D Session Aug. 12, 2006
After taking a few days to recover, we began our journey back to Theonalar. Before we reached the bridge that would take us from Cheval to Falconi, we met a woman in armor, on a horse also wearing armor. She gave her name as Dame Gwyneth of Shield and stated that she was sent to protect the Earth Crown and make sure it arrives at its destination.
Gwyneth led us to boats that would take us across the river, avoiding an increased number of Chevalians at the bridge. We journeyed through Falconi and into Theonalar without incident.
As we came closer to Gathorim, we began our discussion about whether or not we should take the crown to the queen or to Prince Abnor. It was decided to go to Abnor, after restocking supplies in Gathorim. We traveled to Gutar and found that the Southern houses had created a barrier of bonfires and men, right at the area where it is considered to be the distinguishing line between the north and south. Gutar is the northern most southern house.
We were able to make it through the line and continue to Eisenhorn and the saddleback. When we arrived, we found that the battles had been worse than we expected. Eisenhorn was destroyed, burned to the ground. I don't know about the others, but I felt my insides knot up with concern for my family and even a small bit of regret that the quilt I had made for mine and Tal's bed was destroyed. Even that small bit of regret, though, could be pushed aside in the concern for my parents and our people.
We met with Abnor and advised him we had retrieved the Earth Crown. He refused to put it on, because he was worried that if the crown did not choose him, it would cause dissension in the army. I don't know if it was the stress of the war, but Abnor seemed changed. We were advised by Angus, after we left the tent, that we had to attend the funeral banquet planned for that night.
We spent time with our families, and I gave my father the horn from the chimera that I had taken for myself from the dragon head. All the northern houses were mixed in together, with the few southern houses that had come to Eisenhorn. Even the houses from Eisenhorn had been separated and the group of us were quickly split, planning to meet together again for the banquet.
During the banquet, unexpectedly, the man seated at Abnor's left tried to attack him. As if it were natural to have men attacking him while he ate, Abnor stopped the man and killed him instead. My father told me that since arriving, the attempts on Abnor's life had been increasing.
After the banquet, Abnor came to us and told us he felt the crown was not safe with us. He siad he wanted the crown taken to the queen and Kaz would take it. Dame Gwyneth followed Kaz, after I personally made it very clear to him that if the crown did not make it and for some reason he turned against us and Theonalar, I would hunt him down and kill him. With his usual smirk at my threats, Kaz left in the middle of the night.
The next morning, Abnor told us that he wanted the men to go back to the southern houses and bring them to the battle. As usual, being a woman, I can't do anything to help. Follow Tal, show support for the others. Oh, let me pull out my sewing needle while the men discuss the nature of war and how talented they are with the blade and how many orcs they are going to kill in the fight the next day. Nevermind I can fight with the best of them and as a Shield Maiden, some of those same men would not be alive were it not for the protection my training offers them.
Tal and the others were to question the princes of the remaining Southern houses as to their honor in letting their country be overrun by orcs and other humanoids that only sought to destroy our homes. If this did not incite the houses to join the rest of the country, they were to challenge the princes and take their houses if possible. Pots was to speak to the prince of the house of Boar; Tal had Lyonsheart; Angus had Baira.
We made our way to Gutar again, after we spoke to one of the remaining four houses that had changed their minds and decided to join us at the battlefront. Angus boldly called out his prince and after exchanging words, the prince of Baira agreed to join the others. Tal was not so successful.
The prince of Lyonsheart and Tal fought the next day. Many well placed blows were exchanged. With deft and skillful movements, Tal was able to defeat the prince and gain control of the house of Lyonsheart. The deceased prince's son then challenged Tal, but he was stopped by a man named Wilhelm. It was clearly announced that by the prince's own words, Tal was now the leader of Lyonsheart and everyone would follow him or die the death of a traitor.
Pots was able to convince the prince of Boar without bloodshed and tomorrow we leave. Tal has paid for the prince's burial and all three houses will be ready to leave in the morning.
Gwyneth led us to boats that would take us across the river, avoiding an increased number of Chevalians at the bridge. We journeyed through Falconi and into Theonalar without incident.
As we came closer to Gathorim, we began our discussion about whether or not we should take the crown to the queen or to Prince Abnor. It was decided to go to Abnor, after restocking supplies in Gathorim. We traveled to Gutar and found that the Southern houses had created a barrier of bonfires and men, right at the area where it is considered to be the distinguishing line between the north and south. Gutar is the northern most southern house.
We were able to make it through the line and continue to Eisenhorn and the saddleback. When we arrived, we found that the battles had been worse than we expected. Eisenhorn was destroyed, burned to the ground. I don't know about the others, but I felt my insides knot up with concern for my family and even a small bit of regret that the quilt I had made for mine and Tal's bed was destroyed. Even that small bit of regret, though, could be pushed aside in the concern for my parents and our people.
We met with Abnor and advised him we had retrieved the Earth Crown. He refused to put it on, because he was worried that if the crown did not choose him, it would cause dissension in the army. I don't know if it was the stress of the war, but Abnor seemed changed. We were advised by Angus, after we left the tent, that we had to attend the funeral banquet planned for that night.
We spent time with our families, and I gave my father the horn from the chimera that I had taken for myself from the dragon head. All the northern houses were mixed in together, with the few southern houses that had come to Eisenhorn. Even the houses from Eisenhorn had been separated and the group of us were quickly split, planning to meet together again for the banquet.
During the banquet, unexpectedly, the man seated at Abnor's left tried to attack him. As if it were natural to have men attacking him while he ate, Abnor stopped the man and killed him instead. My father told me that since arriving, the attempts on Abnor's life had been increasing.
After the banquet, Abnor came to us and told us he felt the crown was not safe with us. He siad he wanted the crown taken to the queen and Kaz would take it. Dame Gwyneth followed Kaz, after I personally made it very clear to him that if the crown did not make it and for some reason he turned against us and Theonalar, I would hunt him down and kill him. With his usual smirk at my threats, Kaz left in the middle of the night.
The next morning, Abnor told us that he wanted the men to go back to the southern houses and bring them to the battle. As usual, being a woman, I can't do anything to help. Follow Tal, show support for the others. Oh, let me pull out my sewing needle while the men discuss the nature of war and how talented they are with the blade and how many orcs they are going to kill in the fight the next day. Nevermind I can fight with the best of them and as a Shield Maiden, some of those same men would not be alive were it not for the protection my training offers them.
Tal and the others were to question the princes of the remaining Southern houses as to their honor in letting their country be overrun by orcs and other humanoids that only sought to destroy our homes. If this did not incite the houses to join the rest of the country, they were to challenge the princes and take their houses if possible. Pots was to speak to the prince of the house of Boar; Tal had Lyonsheart; Angus had Baira.
We made our way to Gutar again, after we spoke to one of the remaining four houses that had changed their minds and decided to join us at the battlefront. Angus boldly called out his prince and after exchanging words, the prince of Baira agreed to join the others. Tal was not so successful.
The prince of Lyonsheart and Tal fought the next day. Many well placed blows were exchanged. With deft and skillful movements, Tal was able to defeat the prince and gain control of the house of Lyonsheart. The deceased prince's son then challenged Tal, but he was stopped by a man named Wilhelm. It was clearly announced that by the prince's own words, Tal was now the leader of Lyonsheart and everyone would follow him or die the death of a traitor.
Pots was able to convince the prince of Boar without bloodshed and tomorrow we leave. Tal has paid for the prince's burial and all three houses will be ready to leave in the morning.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
About that scar...
Natani closed the book at the sound of footsteps. She had gone to the edge of town in the hopes of having some privacy, but it was obviously not meant to be. She turned to her left to see who approached, a newly developed instinct to keep her scar hidden taking momentary control.
Tal stepped closer to her at the slight nod she gave him as an indication she wanted his company. She moved on the log, giving him room to sit.
“You’ve been quiet since your injury,” he said quietly.
“I spent most of that time healing, or waiting for you to wake up,” she said defensively, then winced at the harsh tone of her voice.
“We haven’t talked much since the dragon, really.” Tal ignored her tone.
“You didn’t seem very happy to see that I had survived. You were also intent on making it clear you thought the way I was searching for the crown was dumb.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Not in so many words.” They both stopped for a moment, for the first time seeing the argument beginning and realizing that wasn’t what they needed.
“How are you?” Tal asked finally, turning his head slightly to look at her. Natani lowered her gaze to the ground and tilted her head, hiding the scar more.
“I have survived. That is what matters,” she answered quietly.
“Not if your spirit has been killed.” He rested his hand on hers. “Everyone’s noticed how you try to hide the scar.”
“It will not affect how well I fight.”
“That is not what’s important. You’re letting this affect who you are. You received the wound honorably. You should not be ashamed of it.” He tried to turn her face toward him, but she resisted him.
“This is different than the others.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just feels different.” Natani finally looked at him.
Tal smiled at her, then gently touched her scarred cheek. “You’re still beautiful to me. You accepted me with the change in how I look. Why would you think I couldn’t accept you?”
Natani stared at the man she dreamed of sharing her life with. “You accept it because you love me, just like I accept you because I love you. No matter how much we fight and disagree, deep down we love each other.”
“Yes, we do. You are still allowing this to bother you too much.”
“Maybe.” She lowered her gaze again.
Tal watched her for a moment, then caressed her back before standing. Without another word, he left her to her thoughts.
Tal stepped closer to her at the slight nod she gave him as an indication she wanted his company. She moved on the log, giving him room to sit.
“You’ve been quiet since your injury,” he said quietly.
“I spent most of that time healing, or waiting for you to wake up,” she said defensively, then winced at the harsh tone of her voice.
“We haven’t talked much since the dragon, really.” Tal ignored her tone.
“You didn’t seem very happy to see that I had survived. You were also intent on making it clear you thought the way I was searching for the crown was dumb.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Not in so many words.” They both stopped for a moment, for the first time seeing the argument beginning and realizing that wasn’t what they needed.
“How are you?” Tal asked finally, turning his head slightly to look at her. Natani lowered her gaze to the ground and tilted her head, hiding the scar more.
“I have survived. That is what matters,” she answered quietly.
“Not if your spirit has been killed.” He rested his hand on hers. “Everyone’s noticed how you try to hide the scar.”
“It will not affect how well I fight.”
“That is not what’s important. You’re letting this affect who you are. You received the wound honorably. You should not be ashamed of it.” He tried to turn her face toward him, but she resisted him.
“This is different than the others.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just feels different.” Natani finally looked at him.
Tal smiled at her, then gently touched her scarred cheek. “You’re still beautiful to me. You accepted me with the change in how I look. Why would you think I couldn’t accept you?”
Natani stared at the man she dreamed of sharing her life with. “You accept it because you love me, just like I accept you because I love you. No matter how much we fight and disagree, deep down we love each other.”
“Yes, we do. You are still allowing this to bother you too much.”
“Maybe.” She lowered her gaze again.
Tal watched her for a moment, then caressed her back before standing. Without another word, he left her to her thoughts.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Journal Based on D&D Session July 29, 2006
Journal entry based on the D&D session of July 29, 2006 for my character, Natani Lyonsbane.
The journey to the Twisted Tower was uneventful, except for finding the remains of a group of orcs that had been burned. The dwarven scouts were able to determine they were killed by four giants. But that confused us, because we knew the orcs and giants were supposed to be working together.
From the direction we approached the tower this time, we were able to see a giant bear, with bone protruding over its eyes and jaw. We were also able to see a small number of orcs.
The group of us split in separate groups, with Pots and I going after the bear. Its claws were sharper than the sharpest blade I have ever held. Despite its strength and size, I was able to cut off one arm and then tear open its chest with my blade, killing it.
While I fought the bear, Angus fought one of the demons we encountered the first time we came to the tower. Tal fought some of the orcs, while the dwarves faced the other orcs. I joined Angus and a group of dwarves outside against the second demon. Angus was unconscious and the demon fell to the blades of the dwarves and my own.
We were checking on everyone, when a creature flew down on us. It had three heads; one lion, one goat and the third was like that of the red dragon, only it was black. From the dragon’s mouth came a liquid that burned like fire. Four dwarves fell to the creature’s wrath, before I killed it.
Angus was brought into the remains of the tower, as well as the rest of the injured. I took one of the swords from the demon brothers and I gave the other to Angus. I also cut off the horns from the dragon’s head and also gave one to Angus and kept the other.
So much happened in those days in the tower. We found the remains of four men from the house of Reinhardt, more specifically the lesser house Jathor. In the same room, an elf had been hiding, supposedly from the orcs. The elf had an interesting habit of searching dead bodies for ‘treasure’. Following his example, I found quite a bit of coins on one of the creatures, as well as two horns, which had been sounded at the beginning of the attack. The elf found gold coins on an orc that was Theonalaran, from the Southern Houses. Another false crown was also found and the dwarves finally told us how to tell if it was false.
The room we found the remains and elf in also had a trap door in the floor. When it was opened, somehow everyone in the room was first thrown to the ceiling, then dropped to the floor. I thought dwarves were sturdy people, but five more of them died in that room.
When we all recovered from our injuries completely, Tal made his way down the hole in the ground, toward the blue light I had seen earlier. Whatever it was attacked him and Angus and I quickly made our way down to join him. It appeared to be a large blue frog and Angus and Tal had it dead before I arrived. The others joined us, including the elf, but the dwarves stayed above, to ensure we were not attacked while we were in the rooms below.
The rooms appeared to be some sort of temple. A river of blood flowed in a rough circle over the floor of the rooms, into a pit. There were three intact blue pillars that had some sort of creature swimming within them. One pillar was broken and we could only assume the frog came from it, since it glowed blue like the pillars.
While we were walking through the rooms, we were attacked first by one, then a second large gorilla. The elf told us what they were after the first one. The second creature attacked Tal by surprise and raked his claws over him several times. Before we could stop the thing, Tal went unconscious from his wounds. Angus and I killed the creature, then he went to find out what the elf was doing while I stayed with Tal and Pots.
The elf, such a sly man, took his sword and ran it through the pool of blood. Angus and he exchanged a few words, and then he called Angus stupid. Before we realized what was happening, he had pulled a crown out of the pool of blood, which was the Earth Crown. The elf put it on his head after he tried to attack Angus. My large friend’s blows were not as successful as they should have been and I ran to help him. My blade, which we have found to be very capable against the oddest of creatures, was able to wound the elf and I killed him. Angus threw his body into the pool of blood after I took the crown off his head and he was stripped of his weapons and possessions.
We made our way back up the small tunnel with Tal’s unconscious form, but it was an old tunnel and Pots and I both fell because of the rings being so old within the deteriorating wall. Angus saved us though and the dwarves threw down some rope . We all made it back up to the top as we realized the elf was following us and he had been changed greatly.
His eyes were black, completely and he was covered with the blood. This time though, Angus’ attacks did nothing against him. We’ll have to do what we can to get him a blade such as mine. Despite my blade though, I did not see the end of the battle. The creature the elf had become attacked through my defenses and wounded me severely. I do not know what happened after that, other than what I was told by Angus and the others.
Somehow Angus was able to throw the elf back down the hole and closed the door, then ordered everyone to leave the tower. I awoke again when we had almost reached the small town outside of the dwarven keep. A scar mars my face, from the top of my ear, almost to my mouth, on the right side of my face. Scars are supposed to be the trophies of our battles, a reflection of the honor with which we fought each one. So, why does this one bother me so much?
Tal also recovered from his wounds during that time. The citizens of the town have once again welcomed us to their homes and will be helping us with supplies and other things we will need for our return journey.
But will we be able to make it with the crown? Or will our every step be dogged by those who wish to have it for themselves and keep our country in turmoil?
The journey to the Twisted Tower was uneventful, except for finding the remains of a group of orcs that had been burned. The dwarven scouts were able to determine they were killed by four giants. But that confused us, because we knew the orcs and giants were supposed to be working together.
From the direction we approached the tower this time, we were able to see a giant bear, with bone protruding over its eyes and jaw. We were also able to see a small number of orcs.
The group of us split in separate groups, with Pots and I going after the bear. Its claws were sharper than the sharpest blade I have ever held. Despite its strength and size, I was able to cut off one arm and then tear open its chest with my blade, killing it.
While I fought the bear, Angus fought one of the demons we encountered the first time we came to the tower. Tal fought some of the orcs, while the dwarves faced the other orcs. I joined Angus and a group of dwarves outside against the second demon. Angus was unconscious and the demon fell to the blades of the dwarves and my own.
We were checking on everyone, when a creature flew down on us. It had three heads; one lion, one goat and the third was like that of the red dragon, only it was black. From the dragon’s mouth came a liquid that burned like fire. Four dwarves fell to the creature’s wrath, before I killed it.
Angus was brought into the remains of the tower, as well as the rest of the injured. I took one of the swords from the demon brothers and I gave the other to Angus. I also cut off the horns from the dragon’s head and also gave one to Angus and kept the other.
So much happened in those days in the tower. We found the remains of four men from the house of Reinhardt, more specifically the lesser house Jathor. In the same room, an elf had been hiding, supposedly from the orcs. The elf had an interesting habit of searching dead bodies for ‘treasure’. Following his example, I found quite a bit of coins on one of the creatures, as well as two horns, which had been sounded at the beginning of the attack. The elf found gold coins on an orc that was Theonalaran, from the Southern Houses. Another false crown was also found and the dwarves finally told us how to tell if it was false.
The room we found the remains and elf in also had a trap door in the floor. When it was opened, somehow everyone in the room was first thrown to the ceiling, then dropped to the floor. I thought dwarves were sturdy people, but five more of them died in that room.
When we all recovered from our injuries completely, Tal made his way down the hole in the ground, toward the blue light I had seen earlier. Whatever it was attacked him and Angus and I quickly made our way down to join him. It appeared to be a large blue frog and Angus and Tal had it dead before I arrived. The others joined us, including the elf, but the dwarves stayed above, to ensure we were not attacked while we were in the rooms below.
The rooms appeared to be some sort of temple. A river of blood flowed in a rough circle over the floor of the rooms, into a pit. There were three intact blue pillars that had some sort of creature swimming within them. One pillar was broken and we could only assume the frog came from it, since it glowed blue like the pillars.
While we were walking through the rooms, we were attacked first by one, then a second large gorilla. The elf told us what they were after the first one. The second creature attacked Tal by surprise and raked his claws over him several times. Before we could stop the thing, Tal went unconscious from his wounds. Angus and I killed the creature, then he went to find out what the elf was doing while I stayed with Tal and Pots.
The elf, such a sly man, took his sword and ran it through the pool of blood. Angus and he exchanged a few words, and then he called Angus stupid. Before we realized what was happening, he had pulled a crown out of the pool of blood, which was the Earth Crown. The elf put it on his head after he tried to attack Angus. My large friend’s blows were not as successful as they should have been and I ran to help him. My blade, which we have found to be very capable against the oddest of creatures, was able to wound the elf and I killed him. Angus threw his body into the pool of blood after I took the crown off his head and he was stripped of his weapons and possessions.
We made our way back up the small tunnel with Tal’s unconscious form, but it was an old tunnel and Pots and I both fell because of the rings being so old within the deteriorating wall. Angus saved us though and the dwarves threw down some rope . We all made it back up to the top as we realized the elf was following us and he had been changed greatly.
His eyes were black, completely and he was covered with the blood. This time though, Angus’ attacks did nothing against him. We’ll have to do what we can to get him a blade such as mine. Despite my blade though, I did not see the end of the battle. The creature the elf had become attacked through my defenses and wounded me severely. I do not know what happened after that, other than what I was told by Angus and the others.
Somehow Angus was able to throw the elf back down the hole and closed the door, then ordered everyone to leave the tower. I awoke again when we had almost reached the small town outside of the dwarven keep. A scar mars my face, from the top of my ear, almost to my mouth, on the right side of my face. Scars are supposed to be the trophies of our battles, a reflection of the honor with which we fought each one. So, why does this one bother me so much?
Tal also recovered from his wounds during that time. The citizens of the town have once again welcomed us to their homes and will be helping us with supplies and other things we will need for our return journey.
But will we be able to make it with the crown? Or will our every step be dogged by those who wish to have it for themselves and keep our country in turmoil?
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Journal Based on D&D Session July 22, 2006
Journal entry from my character, Natani Lyonsbane, based on the events that took place in our gaming sesson of July 22, 2006. Vinnie, I'll do my best to keep you up to date after each session. I know you're interested in what happens.
The past month has been interesting to say the very least.
With Kaz’s death, our small band became even smaller. After sending his soul to Arkus, we took a finger bone from his funeral pyre to take to Leilwyn in the hope she could return him to us as she did Tal. Sadly, though, we were unable to spend three days mourning his death as is our tradition.
After restocking our supplies, we made our way to the entrance of the dwarven keep. To our surprise, a dwarf waited there. He was called Cor and he said he was waiting for his brethren. We talked with him for a bit and revealed that we were searching for the Earth Crown, the crown that would unite Theonalar under a king. We revealed to him where we were told the crown was and he agreed to help us, based on the covenant between his kingdom and ours.
While we were discussing the best route to take through the keep, we noticed a rider coming toward us at an incredible speed. Tal used a new toy he picked up to see long distances and saw that it was Angus. When our large friend finally joined us, his horse collapsed in an exhausted lump. Though we were happy to see our friend again, the news he had raced to give us placed a heavy weight upon our chests.
Angus told us of the orcs and other humanoids finally making their attack on our home. Abnor was leading all the Northern houses in a battle to protect our kingdom. Only Reinhart refused to join him. Of the Southern houses, only Malcolm had gone to the Northern border. In Abnor’s absence, Amos ruled the capital. Angus told us we needed to hurry with our task; the kingdom was in desperate need.
We went into the keep and had barely crossed into the main entrance when we were attacked by orcs. Only six, and they were dispatched quickly. We were even able to take a hostage, but with Angus dropping him on the ground and then “accidentally” banging his head a couple of times, the orc didn’t regain his wakefulness too quickly.
After checking the map again, we tried to go through the old market area of the keep, but we were spotted. Tal took a beating, but between the two of us, we were able to kill the orc quickly. But not before an alarm went up. Cor used some crampons and wedged them against the door and I set the dead orc’s body on fire, in the hope it would slow the others down. Then Cor led us through the old mines and into the lower levels.
We went through the mines as quickly as we could, until we came upon a large cavern. There were open crevasses filled with lava and on the other side of the cavern, a large, red dragon slept. Cor went running toward the large creature and was engulfed in flame. Tal tried to speak to the creature, but it wouldn’t listen to us. As we all ran toward the other side of the cavern, I noticed that the dragon suddenly changed into a human male and Cor stood behind him. He hadn’t been burned after all and the dragon was actually someone Cor called an illusionist. It took awhile, but we were able to get Tal, Angus and Pots to calm down.
Finally we made it through the mines and into the area of the keep called The Twisted Caverns. Again we came upon a large room and again, a red dragon waited for us. But this one was different. Somehow, the dragon took control of me, then it jumped on me, trying to kill me. I was able to get free while Tal, Angus and Cor tried to distract it and hurt it. We tried everything to hurt the much larger creature, we were unable to. Cor took on the attack and yelled at us to run, which we did. It was good, considering the dragon had thrown me across the cavern and Tal was barely standing. Angus had been knocked out by the dragon and Tal and Pots carried him into the next room.
The next room we went to was missing the tile floor and a fast river ran through it. Tal and Pots tried to reach the other side, after tying a rope to Angus, but they were pulled under the other side of the floor. I guess Pots had healed Angus some because he woke up when I came to the room. We were able to pull Pots and Tal out of the water and the four of us made it to the other side.
Despite the loss of Cor, we made it to the room we thought the crown was in. We searched the room for three weeks. It was huge!! And it was filled with gold, electrum, jewelry, gems, broken vials, equipment from past adventurers, anything you can think of was in that room.
Except the Crown.
Sometime during the third week, we heard the sound of combat from the room with the dragon. Angus returned to the room and after awhile, Tal and I also followed. We found a large group of dwarves fighting the dragon and thankfully watched it fall to their attacks.
The dwarves were the brethren Cor had been waiting for. We told them about the crown we searched for and for the next week we waited while they tried to find out where it had gone. Cor was found in their real vault and he helped us as well.
We were finally told by the dwarves that the crown was in a destroyed keep, the keep we had found after Kaz had died. Because we already knew it was occupied by creatures that outnumbered us, we asked Cor for some dwarves to go with us and he agreed to send 20 with us.
We returned to the town below the keep and found that they had been under the magical influence of the dragon. The dwarves had told them the dragon had been killed and that we had done it. So they had a celebration to honor us and the priest offered to return Kaz to us. We agreed and the next day, Kaz walked out of the temple.
Tomorrow we leave for the Twisted Keep with the dwarves and Kaz.
The past month has been interesting to say the very least.
With Kaz’s death, our small band became even smaller. After sending his soul to Arkus, we took a finger bone from his funeral pyre to take to Leilwyn in the hope she could return him to us as she did Tal. Sadly, though, we were unable to spend three days mourning his death as is our tradition.
After restocking our supplies, we made our way to the entrance of the dwarven keep. To our surprise, a dwarf waited there. He was called Cor and he said he was waiting for his brethren. We talked with him for a bit and revealed that we were searching for the Earth Crown, the crown that would unite Theonalar under a king. We revealed to him where we were told the crown was and he agreed to help us, based on the covenant between his kingdom and ours.
While we were discussing the best route to take through the keep, we noticed a rider coming toward us at an incredible speed. Tal used a new toy he picked up to see long distances and saw that it was Angus. When our large friend finally joined us, his horse collapsed in an exhausted lump. Though we were happy to see our friend again, the news he had raced to give us placed a heavy weight upon our chests.
Angus told us of the orcs and other humanoids finally making their attack on our home. Abnor was leading all the Northern houses in a battle to protect our kingdom. Only Reinhart refused to join him. Of the Southern houses, only Malcolm had gone to the Northern border. In Abnor’s absence, Amos ruled the capital. Angus told us we needed to hurry with our task; the kingdom was in desperate need.
We went into the keep and had barely crossed into the main entrance when we were attacked by orcs. Only six, and they were dispatched quickly. We were even able to take a hostage, but with Angus dropping him on the ground and then “accidentally” banging his head a couple of times, the orc didn’t regain his wakefulness too quickly.
After checking the map again, we tried to go through the old market area of the keep, but we were spotted. Tal took a beating, but between the two of us, we were able to kill the orc quickly. But not before an alarm went up. Cor used some crampons and wedged them against the door and I set the dead orc’s body on fire, in the hope it would slow the others down. Then Cor led us through the old mines and into the lower levels.
We went through the mines as quickly as we could, until we came upon a large cavern. There were open crevasses filled with lava and on the other side of the cavern, a large, red dragon slept. Cor went running toward the large creature and was engulfed in flame. Tal tried to speak to the creature, but it wouldn’t listen to us. As we all ran toward the other side of the cavern, I noticed that the dragon suddenly changed into a human male and Cor stood behind him. He hadn’t been burned after all and the dragon was actually someone Cor called an illusionist. It took awhile, but we were able to get Tal, Angus and Pots to calm down.
Finally we made it through the mines and into the area of the keep called The Twisted Caverns. Again we came upon a large room and again, a red dragon waited for us. But this one was different. Somehow, the dragon took control of me, then it jumped on me, trying to kill me. I was able to get free while Tal, Angus and Cor tried to distract it and hurt it. We tried everything to hurt the much larger creature, we were unable to. Cor took on the attack and yelled at us to run, which we did. It was good, considering the dragon had thrown me across the cavern and Tal was barely standing. Angus had been knocked out by the dragon and Tal and Pots carried him into the next room.
The next room we went to was missing the tile floor and a fast river ran through it. Tal and Pots tried to reach the other side, after tying a rope to Angus, but they were pulled under the other side of the floor. I guess Pots had healed Angus some because he woke up when I came to the room. We were able to pull Pots and Tal out of the water and the four of us made it to the other side.
Despite the loss of Cor, we made it to the room we thought the crown was in. We searched the room for three weeks. It was huge!! And it was filled with gold, electrum, jewelry, gems, broken vials, equipment from past adventurers, anything you can think of was in that room.
Except the Crown.
Sometime during the third week, we heard the sound of combat from the room with the dragon. Angus returned to the room and after awhile, Tal and I also followed. We found a large group of dwarves fighting the dragon and thankfully watched it fall to their attacks.
The dwarves were the brethren Cor had been waiting for. We told them about the crown we searched for and for the next week we waited while they tried to find out where it had gone. Cor was found in their real vault and he helped us as well.
We were finally told by the dwarves that the crown was in a destroyed keep, the keep we had found after Kaz had died. Because we already knew it was occupied by creatures that outnumbered us, we asked Cor for some dwarves to go with us and he agreed to send 20 with us.
We returned to the town below the keep and found that they had been under the magical influence of the dragon. The dwarves had told them the dragon had been killed and that we had done it. So they had a celebration to honor us and the priest offered to return Kaz to us. We agreed and the next day, Kaz walked out of the temple.
Tomorrow we leave for the Twisted Keep with the dwarves and Kaz.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Dealing With Tal's Death
This is very brief. In the current D&D campaign we are playing (which is sadly on hold because of personal problems for one player which is affecting us all), Terry's character died. My character was devastated. They had been friends since childhood and lovers since she was 15. Tal had made an accusation against someone we believed was trying to destroy our kingdom and as a result, the two fought. The fight went well. Tal lived through that. It was the attack afterward that he didn't survive. Tal was reincarnated, but at the time I wrote this, Natani didn't know he had been brought back. Natani had been injured in a battle of her own, by a wizard who had exploded when he died. Kaz was the group's assassin/thief. Pots is the group's cleric. Both are Natani's cousins.
Their last argument rang in her ears. Each labored breath Pots took increased the volume of the words until she covered her ears to try to drown them out. Nothing worked.
She hadn’t wished him good luck in his battle against Ansel, but then she had never wished him luck for any of his previous duels either. This one was different though, and they all knew it. She had doubted his abilities this time and he had won. And died to a lesser man in the combat that ensued after.
The pain had lessened enough for her to move and Natani rolled to her side away from Pots. She pulled the blankets over her head, but the words and his breathing could still be heard.
She had disgraced and dishonored Tal and now she could do nothing to rectify that. They had argued, she had yelled at him in front of servants who did not understand and she had doubted him. She had failed to do as Leilwyn had asked and Natani did not know if it would have brought Tal back, but it didn’t matter now. Would Kaz speak for Tal, and if he did, would the elf allow it, since Natani spoke first?
She had said it would be better for her to find someone from Skyhorse than to stay with Tal. Why did they always have to argue? Her parents didn’t argue like she and Tal, but her mother seemed content with her position within their society. Natani had seen something different and knew she had more to offer than just as a woman who needed to settle down and have children, serve her husband and keep the family longhouse in good order. At this rate, with Tal’s death, she had even lost the chance to be a wife and mother.
The pain in her muscles and her chest couldn’t compare to the emptiness she felt within her and when she took a ragged breath, the tears began to flow.
Their last argument rang in her ears. Each labored breath Pots took increased the volume of the words until she covered her ears to try to drown them out. Nothing worked.
She hadn’t wished him good luck in his battle against Ansel, but then she had never wished him luck for any of his previous duels either. This one was different though, and they all knew it. She had doubted his abilities this time and he had won. And died to a lesser man in the combat that ensued after.
The pain had lessened enough for her to move and Natani rolled to her side away from Pots. She pulled the blankets over her head, but the words and his breathing could still be heard.
She had disgraced and dishonored Tal and now she could do nothing to rectify that. They had argued, she had yelled at him in front of servants who did not understand and she had doubted him. She had failed to do as Leilwyn had asked and Natani did not know if it would have brought Tal back, but it didn’t matter now. Would Kaz speak for Tal, and if he did, would the elf allow it, since Natani spoke first?
She had said it would be better for her to find someone from Skyhorse than to stay with Tal. Why did they always have to argue? Her parents didn’t argue like she and Tal, but her mother seemed content with her position within their society. Natani had seen something different and knew she had more to offer than just as a woman who needed to settle down and have children, serve her husband and keep the family longhouse in good order. At this rate, with Tal’s death, she had even lost the chance to be a wife and mother.
The pain in her muscles and her chest couldn’t compare to the emptiness she felt within her and when she took a ragged breath, the tears began to flow.
My Writing
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