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D&D Campaigns => Threshold => In Character Discussions => Topic started by: Blackspear on June 14, 2007, 09:10:40 PM

Title: Lost in Thought
Post by: Blackspear on June 14, 2007, 09:10:40 PM
Title: Lost in Thought
Post by: Blackspear on June 15, 2007, 04:37:04 PM
Title: Lost in Thought
Post by: Blackspear on January 02, 2010, 10:24:48 PM
As Dale lay by the riverside, he began to think about his life with the coven.   He had never felt closer to anyone than Lady Sondra and her students.  
   
Lady Sondra had been a kind woman, always caring for others before thinking of herself.   Despite her strong intelligence, her clear talent for manipulating the currents of magical forces and her statuesque beauty, Dale always admired her most for her caring, matronly ways.  
     
But what did that get her?   In the end her home was destroyed, her coven was disbanded and she was murdered.  
   
 Dale took in a sharp breath and released a forlorn sigh.    It seemed that all the good people of this world die terribly at the hands of greedy power mongers.    Among all things, Dale despised greed the most.   Yet, he knew that quality ran strong in him.   Maybe it was because he never seemed to be able to grasp what he desired.   Friendship and belonging were elusive.   Knowledge comes in great quantity, but always left you wanting more....knowledge is just so addictive...   Maybe his greed came from wanting to help others.   The more power he acquired, the more he could do to protect the innocent and weak.
   
 Dale pulled blades of grass one by one as he listened to the splashing of the river beside him.   As he dwelled upon these uncomfortable thoughts, he tore each blade into tiny pieces, discarding them into a pile in front of him.  
   
 As he pulled the last blade of grass that was within easy reach, he was struck with the most disturbing thought yet.   Maybe he was mimicking what he had learned from his enemies.   Maybe he was becoming like his father, or the Xan Thakians.   Maybe all of their greed started with a simple desire.   Maybe they even originally wanted to help others too.   Maybe that was what happened to Valekai.
   
 Dale didn't want to stray down that path, but how else would he become powerful enough to make a difference?   As he started to brood on these dark thoughts, he began to frown.   Then he started to grind his teeth.   As the tension within him continued to build, he began to clench his fists...
   
  Dale was lost with his dark thoughts for quite a while.   Time lost all meaning as he focused upon his future and especially his past.
   
With a jolt, Dale felt a sharp flick at his wrist.   Dale jumped in surprise.   Looking at his wrist he saw a fat toad staring back at him.
 
 Xorn had a different look on his face.  His usual "feed me" look seemed to be replaced by a look of concern and worry.   Dale felt as if his former master was staring at him through Xorn, beseeching him to stop feeling sorry for himself.
 
 "Bah!!"  Dale stood up and kicked the pile of grass aside.   "Now I know I'm crazy.  I can't believe that I am looking to a toad for guidance!"
 
 Dale scooped up Xorn and held him to his face.   "Your not gonna start talking now are ya?"  Xorn merely stared back at Dale.   As Dale began to relax, he lowered Xorn into the pouch in his back pack that he had made for the large fly catcher.   As Dale began to pull the top of his pack shut, Xorn let out an uncharacteristically loud "Riiibbbiiitttt!!"
   
Dale chuckled and petted Xorn on his forehead.   "Maybe you can talk after all?"  Having his spirit start to lift; Dale set off down the road towards the Valley of the Mists.
Title: Lost in Thought
Post by: Blackspear on January 03, 2010, 01:08:53 PM
The next night was warmer and Dale  was traveling by the light of Sardior.  The red(?) light added an eerie warming quality to the land.   The spring bugs were active in the night.  A few nagging gnats nibbled on Dale as he headed towards the valley.  

As Dale was busy swatting the nuisances away from his face, he noticed the sounds of spring peepers chirping in the night.   He had no idea what was creating this cacophony, but he was mesmerized by the beauty of the song and he was engulfed by the deafening volume.  

Xorn stirred restlessly in his pouch and began to hop from one side of the compartment to the other.   His primal instinct was heightened by his distant cousins singing near the river.   Soon he began to croak louder and louder to join in with the symphony around him.

"What's going on Xorn?", asked Dale as he reached into his pack and pulled out the enormous toad.   As soon as Xorn was free from his pouch, he jumped to the ground and began to hop to the river.   For weeks, Xorn had barely moved.   Dale had never seen him move this fast.

As Xorn headed down the hill, towards the river, Dale picked up his pack and noisily crashed behind him.   Twice Dale tried to catch Xorn, but the unnaturally wise toad evaded capture.   On the third try Dale was sure he would catch the wily toad.   Just as he reached for him Xorn took a surprise jump to the left and Dale lost his footing in the wet grass.

Sliding and tumbling down the slope, Dale came to a crashing halt against a very large boulder.   "Ooowww...." screamed Dale.    He put his hand to his head where he could feel a trickle of blood and a lump already forming.   As he lay on his back he felt Xorn jump on his stomach and powerfully launch himself on top of the boulder.   Dale felt as if he had just taken a glancing punch to the gut.

As he lay on the ground, Dale noticed that the night had become deathly silent.   The peepers were no longer singing.   Concerned, with the amount of noise he had just made he stopped to listen for any sign that someone or something may have noticed his graceless dash to the riverbank.   Lying perfectly still while holding his breath, Dale listened intently.

"Riiibbbbiiiitttt", came the thundering croak from the rock above him.    "Riiibbbiiittt....RRiiibbbiiittt...RRRRIIIbbbiiitttt.....RRRRIIIIBBBBBIIIIITTTTT"
Xorn croaked louder and louder.   So much for keeping quiet thought Dale.
   
Dale picked himself up and sorted himself out.   Then he knelt next to the rock and watched his toad friend make the loudest croaking sounds Dale had ever heard.   Dale had never seen Xorn so animated.   Since his master had died a few months ago, Xorn had seemed to become depressed, if that was even possible for a toad.   As time passed Xorn's lethargy had increased by the day.  
This sudden burst of activity was very surprising.   Dale had no intentions of squelching it.  So he sat down on a nearby log and began to rummage through his pack.  

 Soon he found what he was looking for.   The strange candle and chalice that Xen had given him back in Kazbourne.

Dale examined the candle first.   It was the most interesting candle he had ever seen.   The candle was shaped into an eight sided compass, with very sharp edges.   It was all black.   So black that it seemed to make the night around it even darker.  The light of Sardior seemed to disappear into the candle.   There was no reflection.      

The wax, if you could call it that, was as hard as iron.   Dale had never seen wax like this before.   Yet, he knew it was a candle, because of the wick standing in the center.  It was black and almost looked charred, but it had clearly never been lit.  

There was also a symbol engraved on the side of the candle.   It looked like three curved blades unified at their base.   Dale had seen this symbol many times before, but he did not know what it represented.

The chalice was large and made from a similarly dark material.   It too seemed to make the black of night even darker.    The chalice was heavier than the candle.   It  seemed to be metallic, but Dale knew that it was not iron or pewter.   He had once watched a member of the coven create a magical dagger.   The blade had been forged from a rock that had fallen from the sky.   The old mage claimed that it had come from the moon of Takhisis.   This metal, while not the same, looked strikingly similar to the dagger that Dale had seen in the coven.

Like the candle, the chalice had the three bladed symbol engraved on its side.   While Dale was not a metal smith, he could tell that this chalice had been made with the finest craftsmanship.   The handle of the chalice was tempered very thin and its edges had been rounded and smoothed for a comfortable grip.   In the center of the handle was carved the three bladed symbol.   When Dale gripped the handle of the chalice, it imprinted the three blades on the palm of his hand.

Dale was sure that there was an important story behind these two items.   Maybe they even related to Valekai.   All he knew was that Xen had told him to keep them safe and that they had been Lady Sondra's most prized possessions.  

As Dale pondered the dark items, he heard Xorn leading a chorus of croaking and chirping the likes of which he had never heard before.   While he listened his heart began to fill with the energy of the night.   His spirits were soaring as he laid out his bed roll and settled in for some sleep.    He didn't even notice the throbbing emanating from the side of his head.