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Story Hour
Dusk in the land of Fading Stars - Femerus' Story hour (updated 2-20-03)
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<blockquote data-quote="Femerus the Gnecro" data-source="post: 245836" data-attributes="member: 2381"><p><strong>Chapter 1: Running, tripping and stumbling through the gauntlet</strong></p><p></p><p>The red spheroid gleamed briefly as its rotating surface caught the sun, muddled images reflecting incomprehensibly on its mottled surface. As it hurtled towards its destination, millions of different variables of wind, weight, humidity, velocity, trajectory and luck coalesced into one single arc of flight that eventually resulted in a violent impact upon its intended target. </p><p></p><p>Kerim thought: “Oh… a tomato,” and casually plucked it out of the air before it splattered messily against his head. Well, he intended to pluck it at any rate. Actually, the tomato was so horribly rotten that it effectively blew up in his hand, showering his body with countless bits stinking fruit flesh. The crowd cheered. Kerim, meanwhile, made a mental note to add a personal lesson to his journal.</p><p></p><p>Lesson 1: Commoners rarely throw fresh fruit</p><p></p><p>After cleaning himself up somewhat, Kerim jumped up and grabbed the bars above his head, straining to gain a better view of the crowd assembled in the stands around him. If they wanted a good show, he would give them one. </p><p></p><p>Ten feet in front of Kerim was a door… the first of many obstacles in this “Thief’s Maze.” The rules were quite simple: “Astound your friends and colleagues! Successfully navigate a personally designed gauntlet and win fabulous prizes!” All Kerim had to do was begin by getting past this doorway.</p><p></p><p>Kerim examined the locked door with an expert eye and set to work… within seconds the door was open and Kerim stepped through. </p><p></p><p>*click*</p><p></p><p>As the floor shifted slightly beneath Kerim’s feet, he reacted instinctively and threw himself forward, narrowly avoiding the arrow that sprung out of the wall at chest height. The crowd’s noise continued unabated. </p><p></p><p>Three doors, one pit and several hundred needles later, Kerim paused to remove sharp pins from his arms and legs before proceeding. Not only was he tired of the “Thief’s Maze” by this point, he was sure that his performance thus far wouldn’t go very far in securing him employment, which is of course why he agreed to enter this silly contest in the first place. </p><p></p><p>As he rested against the wall, Kerim noticed that the wall opposite him in the corridor seemed… off. A more detailed search of the wall revealed a loose stone</p><p>that, when pushed, opened a sliding stone doorway that led into an adjacent tunnel. Also curious were what appeared to be two stone buttons cunningly hidden within the stonework of the wall itself. Kerim experimentally pushed the buttons, noting that only one could be depressed at once. Kerim left the buttons set in the ‘left depressed’ position and moved cautiously into the new tunnel. </p><p></p><p>Outside, he crowd’s roar seemed to swell to epic proportions, and Kerim was all but certain that he had managed to find the hidden exit. As visions of shiny things danced in his head, Kerim reached the end of the tunnel. Instead of a door, there was what appeared to be a large stone sphere. It was at that point that Kerim began to get a tingly sensation throughout his body… wasn’t it interesting how this tunnel seemed to slope upwards somewhat? Only now did the crowd’s excitement begin to take on a new light to Kerim… one that he pondered as he hauled ass back the way he came. </p><p></p><p>Sure enough, a grinding clicky sound behind him heralded the release of the large stone sphere, which obeyed the laws of physics and began to pursue Kerim down the long hallway. </p><p></p><p>Kerim cursed loudly as his foot snagged on a razor sharp wire… an addition to the tunnel which hadn’t been obvious during his trip towards the boulder. Glancing quickly behind himself, Kerim saw that the boulder was rapidly gaining on him, rolling straight down the middle of the hallway towards him. Hobbling, Kerim finally managed to reach the other hallway. As he cleared the doorframe, he quickly toggled the switch to the ‘right depressed’ position as he hurled himself with all his might towards the left side of the doorway. </p><p></p><p>The rumbling increased to a deafening roar, totally drowning out the sounds of the jeering crowd above Kerim. Then the boulder reached the hallway. Luckily for Kerim, the boulder hit the opposite wall and careened off to the right, following the path laid out by Kerim’s prodigious (and totally arbitrary) use of the wall switch. </p><p></p><p>Lesson 2: Better to be lucky than… well… dead.</p><p></p><p>Score update: Kerim 2, Maze 2</p><p></p><p>After bandaging his foot with a hanky and waving to the crowd, Kerim continued through the maze. Four more doors and a few unimpressive traps later, Kerim was back where he started. The maze was a loop.</p><p></p><p>“This isn’t much of a ‘maze,’” Kerim thought. For a minute or two he waited for an announcer or someone to come and give him bags of money for completing the</p><p>maze, but such a boon was not forthcoming. It took Kerim another minute or two to make the mental leap from “I’m not done yet” to “wonder what was behind that boulder?”</p><p></p><p>Sure enough, after Kerim made his way back to the boulder hallway, he found a doorway in the newly opened alcove. A few seconds later, it was open.</p><p></p><p>Sixty feet away was another door, located on a platform some thirty feet above the arena floor… a platform very similar to the one Kerim was currently standing on. Below the “Thief’s Maze,” on the arena floor, warriors battled each other with steel and wood, bringing death and glory and entertainment to the watching crowd, all for the cost of a gold piece. Entertainment… cheap at any price. Unfortunately for Kerim, the two platforms of the maze were connected only by 60 feet of very old, very ratty looking rope. </p><p></p><p>About twenty feet from the other side, as Kerim was waving and showboating to the crowd, the rope snapped, sending Kerim plummeting down towards the arena floor…</p><p>to dangle mere feet above the head of an angry Ettin. After climbing back up the remnants of the now worthless rope, Kerim entered the available door and</p><p>found himself still outside. In front of him was a large platform, a winch elevator and another person. The robed human seemed preoccupied with the elevator, as though expecting something to come up at anytime. Kerim, automatically assuming this human to be another challenge, snuck up behind him silently and readied his dagger. Only at the last second did Kerim recognize the showmanship of scaring the living crap out of this hapless individual instead of merely killing him. </p><p></p><p>“Waiting for someone?” Kerim asked. The robed man jumped nearly a foot before spinning around with his staff in a battle ready stance. </p><p></p><p>The man looked at Kerim for a moment, then relaxed. “You can’t possibly be my challenge.” The man then resumed looking at the elevator.</p><p></p><p>Kerim was insulted. “Hey! Did it occur to you that you may be *my* challenge? We’re all alone up here, and I don’t see any way down except for that elevator. </p><p>Now defend yourself!” Having said this, Kerim moved backwards, out of range of the staff, and drew a throwing dagger. </p><p></p><p>The robed man sighed, stepped back and cast a spell. A pinprick appeared in front of the caster and grew into a shining disk that hung in front of the man like a glowing shield. After he stopped chanting, the glow faded, though a slight ripple effect could still be seen when the man moved. </p><p></p><p>Kerim, in the meantime, threw an experimental dagger at the man, hoping to end the battle quickly. To the robed mage’s utter astonishment, the knife’s trajectory was such that it completely avoided the transparent barrier, imbedding itself solidly in the</p><p>mage’s left shoulder. In anger, the mage lashed out with another spell, sending two shards of pure energy into Kerim and knocking him back a pace. </p><p></p><p>Kerim launched another dagger, but this time it simply rebounded off the disk of force present in front of the mage. Then everything went dark… the eerie darkness of magic. Kerim, however, simply slinked along the wall’s edge until he was partially out of the sphere of darkness… he then moved quickly up to the midpoint between himself and the mage and lay caltrops around to delay the robed man’s crossing. Just as Kerim was getting ready to start playing ‘pin the knife on the donkey,’ a godawful screeching noise heralded the activation of the elevator. It wasn’t until an ogre’s head appeared that Kerim began to think maybe he and the mage hadn’t been intended to fight after all. </p><p></p><p>“Ahh… my challenge has arrived.” The mage, who had stepped out of his darkness sphere the moment the elevator began to rise, readied himself. “We can kill it if we work together, or die separately.” Kerim, ever the pragmatist, asked “Can I have my dagger back?” The mage looked at his shoulder in disgust and was about to reply when the Ogre stepped onto the platform, waving his giant club menacingly. </p><p></p><p>The mage was ready for the beast, and two more shards of energy flew past Kerim’s head and impacted the Ogre in the chest. Kerim’s dagger followed quickly, but rebounded off of the Ogre’s tough hide. The Ogre advanced, confused by the large sphere of darkness that hid part of his enemies. The mage took advantage of this distraction and dropped a sphere of burning flame right into the Ogre’s face, burning him horribly. The stench of burnt giant was overwhelming, and Kerim thought he might vomit. Instead, he took the opportunity to tumble past the ogre so that he could plant a dagger firmly in the monster’s back. Unfortunately, as the ogre was thrashing about in anger and pain from the sphere of fire, its club smashed into the tumbling Kerim, who fell into a crumpled heap behind the injured monster. The ogre,</p><p>having recovered somewhat from the flaming sphere, suddenly found a crossbow bolt protruding from his chest… he looked up just in time to see the mage disappear back into his sphere of darkness. Roaring in pain and rage, the ogre advanced towards the mage’s position, completely unaffected by the caltrops Kerim had set earlier. However, in his haste, the ogre ignored the seemingly unconscious Kerim. Kerim, on the other hand, quietly stood up from his faux death and plunged his dagger into the ogre’s back, striking a decisive blow. The ogre spun and tried to smash the halfling, but the Kerim nimbly dodged out of the way, avoiding the club by mere inches. </p><p></p><p>Suddenly, the ogre screamed out in pain as the flaming sphere once again burnt a path of destruction down his back, just as a second crossbow bolt struck the</p><p>creature in the throat. The ogre only had time to make a wet gurgle before it fell to the ground, its combined injuries finally taking their toll. As it fell, Kerim was forced to dodge out of the way again to avoid being crushed. Moments later, the darkness winked out of existence.</p><p></p><p>Kerim stood up and brushed himself off, good-naturedly acknowledging the roar of the crowd. The announcer ascended to the platform and amplified his voice magically for the benefit of the audience.</p><p></p><p>"You both have demonstrated remarkable skills today, some more commendable than others. Your tests, of Intelligence, Luck, Trust and Strength were all overcome, despite some close calls along the way. Here is your reward.” </p><p></p><p>The announcer then handed Kerim a large bag full of coins.</p><p>5000 copper coins to be exact.</p><p></p><p>“Well… that was fun.” Kerim gathered up his caltrops before making his way over to the mage. “I’m Kerim, by the way. What’s yer name anyways?” Kerim stuck out his small hand to properly greet the man. </p><p></p><p>“I’m Lucien. You look like hell.” </p><p></p><p>Kerim then noticed that the wound on his foot had broken open again and was caked in dried blood, while a smear of bloody footprints followed in his wake. He could also feel a couple of broken ribs, from where the ogre had landed a lucky blow. His hair was matted, his hands filthy with dirt and blood and his daggers were crusted with the yellowish/red ichor that only giants possess. Furthermore, he smelled like rotten tomatoes. Kerim waved to the crowd cheerfully and then turned to Lucien. </p><p></p><p>“Nice to meetcha Lucien… can I have my dagger back now, please?”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Femerus the Gnecro, post: 245836, member: 2381"] [b]Chapter 1: Running, tripping and stumbling through the gauntlet[/b] The red spheroid gleamed briefly as its rotating surface caught the sun, muddled images reflecting incomprehensibly on its mottled surface. As it hurtled towards its destination, millions of different variables of wind, weight, humidity, velocity, trajectory and luck coalesced into one single arc of flight that eventually resulted in a violent impact upon its intended target. Kerim thought: “Oh… a tomato,” and casually plucked it out of the air before it splattered messily against his head. Well, he intended to pluck it at any rate. Actually, the tomato was so horribly rotten that it effectively blew up in his hand, showering his body with countless bits stinking fruit flesh. The crowd cheered. Kerim, meanwhile, made a mental note to add a personal lesson to his journal. Lesson 1: Commoners rarely throw fresh fruit After cleaning himself up somewhat, Kerim jumped up and grabbed the bars above his head, straining to gain a better view of the crowd assembled in the stands around him. If they wanted a good show, he would give them one. Ten feet in front of Kerim was a door… the first of many obstacles in this “Thief’s Maze.” The rules were quite simple: “Astound your friends and colleagues! Successfully navigate a personally designed gauntlet and win fabulous prizes!” All Kerim had to do was begin by getting past this doorway. Kerim examined the locked door with an expert eye and set to work… within seconds the door was open and Kerim stepped through. *click* As the floor shifted slightly beneath Kerim’s feet, he reacted instinctively and threw himself forward, narrowly avoiding the arrow that sprung out of the wall at chest height. The crowd’s noise continued unabated. Three doors, one pit and several hundred needles later, Kerim paused to remove sharp pins from his arms and legs before proceeding. Not only was he tired of the “Thief’s Maze” by this point, he was sure that his performance thus far wouldn’t go very far in securing him employment, which is of course why he agreed to enter this silly contest in the first place. As he rested against the wall, Kerim noticed that the wall opposite him in the corridor seemed… off. A more detailed search of the wall revealed a loose stone that, when pushed, opened a sliding stone doorway that led into an adjacent tunnel. Also curious were what appeared to be two stone buttons cunningly hidden within the stonework of the wall itself. Kerim experimentally pushed the buttons, noting that only one could be depressed at once. Kerim left the buttons set in the ‘left depressed’ position and moved cautiously into the new tunnel. Outside, he crowd’s roar seemed to swell to epic proportions, and Kerim was all but certain that he had managed to find the hidden exit. As visions of shiny things danced in his head, Kerim reached the end of the tunnel. Instead of a door, there was what appeared to be a large stone sphere. It was at that point that Kerim began to get a tingly sensation throughout his body… wasn’t it interesting how this tunnel seemed to slope upwards somewhat? Only now did the crowd’s excitement begin to take on a new light to Kerim… one that he pondered as he hauled ass back the way he came. Sure enough, a grinding clicky sound behind him heralded the release of the large stone sphere, which obeyed the laws of physics and began to pursue Kerim down the long hallway. Kerim cursed loudly as his foot snagged on a razor sharp wire… an addition to the tunnel which hadn’t been obvious during his trip towards the boulder. Glancing quickly behind himself, Kerim saw that the boulder was rapidly gaining on him, rolling straight down the middle of the hallway towards him. Hobbling, Kerim finally managed to reach the other hallway. As he cleared the doorframe, he quickly toggled the switch to the ‘right depressed’ position as he hurled himself with all his might towards the left side of the doorway. The rumbling increased to a deafening roar, totally drowning out the sounds of the jeering crowd above Kerim. Then the boulder reached the hallway. Luckily for Kerim, the boulder hit the opposite wall and careened off to the right, following the path laid out by Kerim’s prodigious (and totally arbitrary) use of the wall switch. Lesson 2: Better to be lucky than… well… dead. Score update: Kerim 2, Maze 2 After bandaging his foot with a hanky and waving to the crowd, Kerim continued through the maze. Four more doors and a few unimpressive traps later, Kerim was back where he started. The maze was a loop. “This isn’t much of a ‘maze,’” Kerim thought. For a minute or two he waited for an announcer or someone to come and give him bags of money for completing the maze, but such a boon was not forthcoming. It took Kerim another minute or two to make the mental leap from “I’m not done yet” to “wonder what was behind that boulder?” Sure enough, after Kerim made his way back to the boulder hallway, he found a doorway in the newly opened alcove. A few seconds later, it was open. Sixty feet away was another door, located on a platform some thirty feet above the arena floor… a platform very similar to the one Kerim was currently standing on. Below the “Thief’s Maze,” on the arena floor, warriors battled each other with steel and wood, bringing death and glory and entertainment to the watching crowd, all for the cost of a gold piece. Entertainment… cheap at any price. Unfortunately for Kerim, the two platforms of the maze were connected only by 60 feet of very old, very ratty looking rope. About twenty feet from the other side, as Kerim was waving and showboating to the crowd, the rope snapped, sending Kerim plummeting down towards the arena floor… to dangle mere feet above the head of an angry Ettin. After climbing back up the remnants of the now worthless rope, Kerim entered the available door and found himself still outside. In front of him was a large platform, a winch elevator and another person. The robed human seemed preoccupied with the elevator, as though expecting something to come up at anytime. Kerim, automatically assuming this human to be another challenge, snuck up behind him silently and readied his dagger. Only at the last second did Kerim recognize the showmanship of scaring the living crap out of this hapless individual instead of merely killing him. “Waiting for someone?” Kerim asked. The robed man jumped nearly a foot before spinning around with his staff in a battle ready stance. The man looked at Kerim for a moment, then relaxed. “You can’t possibly be my challenge.” The man then resumed looking at the elevator. Kerim was insulted. “Hey! Did it occur to you that you may be *my* challenge? We’re all alone up here, and I don’t see any way down except for that elevator. Now defend yourself!” Having said this, Kerim moved backwards, out of range of the staff, and drew a throwing dagger. The robed man sighed, stepped back and cast a spell. A pinprick appeared in front of the caster and grew into a shining disk that hung in front of the man like a glowing shield. After he stopped chanting, the glow faded, though a slight ripple effect could still be seen when the man moved. Kerim, in the meantime, threw an experimental dagger at the man, hoping to end the battle quickly. To the robed mage’s utter astonishment, the knife’s trajectory was such that it completely avoided the transparent barrier, imbedding itself solidly in the mage’s left shoulder. In anger, the mage lashed out with another spell, sending two shards of pure energy into Kerim and knocking him back a pace. Kerim launched another dagger, but this time it simply rebounded off the disk of force present in front of the mage. Then everything went dark… the eerie darkness of magic. Kerim, however, simply slinked along the wall’s edge until he was partially out of the sphere of darkness… he then moved quickly up to the midpoint between himself and the mage and lay caltrops around to delay the robed man’s crossing. Just as Kerim was getting ready to start playing ‘pin the knife on the donkey,’ a godawful screeching noise heralded the activation of the elevator. It wasn’t until an ogre’s head appeared that Kerim began to think maybe he and the mage hadn’t been intended to fight after all. “Ahh… my challenge has arrived.” The mage, who had stepped out of his darkness sphere the moment the elevator began to rise, readied himself. “We can kill it if we work together, or die separately.” Kerim, ever the pragmatist, asked “Can I have my dagger back?” The mage looked at his shoulder in disgust and was about to reply when the Ogre stepped onto the platform, waving his giant club menacingly. The mage was ready for the beast, and two more shards of energy flew past Kerim’s head and impacted the Ogre in the chest. Kerim’s dagger followed quickly, but rebounded off of the Ogre’s tough hide. The Ogre advanced, confused by the large sphere of darkness that hid part of his enemies. The mage took advantage of this distraction and dropped a sphere of burning flame right into the Ogre’s face, burning him horribly. The stench of burnt giant was overwhelming, and Kerim thought he might vomit. Instead, he took the opportunity to tumble past the ogre so that he could plant a dagger firmly in the monster’s back. Unfortunately, as the ogre was thrashing about in anger and pain from the sphere of fire, its club smashed into the tumbling Kerim, who fell into a crumpled heap behind the injured monster. The ogre, having recovered somewhat from the flaming sphere, suddenly found a crossbow bolt protruding from his chest… he looked up just in time to see the mage disappear back into his sphere of darkness. Roaring in pain and rage, the ogre advanced towards the mage’s position, completely unaffected by the caltrops Kerim had set earlier. However, in his haste, the ogre ignored the seemingly unconscious Kerim. Kerim, on the other hand, quietly stood up from his faux death and plunged his dagger into the ogre’s back, striking a decisive blow. The ogre spun and tried to smash the halfling, but the Kerim nimbly dodged out of the way, avoiding the club by mere inches. Suddenly, the ogre screamed out in pain as the flaming sphere once again burnt a path of destruction down his back, just as a second crossbow bolt struck the creature in the throat. The ogre only had time to make a wet gurgle before it fell to the ground, its combined injuries finally taking their toll. As it fell, Kerim was forced to dodge out of the way again to avoid being crushed. Moments later, the darkness winked out of existence. Kerim stood up and brushed himself off, good-naturedly acknowledging the roar of the crowd. The announcer ascended to the platform and amplified his voice magically for the benefit of the audience. "You both have demonstrated remarkable skills today, some more commendable than others. Your tests, of Intelligence, Luck, Trust and Strength were all overcome, despite some close calls along the way. Here is your reward.” The announcer then handed Kerim a large bag full of coins. 5000 copper coins to be exact. “Well… that was fun.” Kerim gathered up his caltrops before making his way over to the mage. “I’m Kerim, by the way. What’s yer name anyways?” Kerim stuck out his small hand to properly greet the man. “I’m Lucien. You look like hell.” Kerim then noticed that the wound on his foot had broken open again and was caked in dried blood, while a smear of bloody footprints followed in his wake. He could also feel a couple of broken ribs, from where the ogre had landed a lucky blow. His hair was matted, his hands filthy with dirt and blood and his daggers were crusted with the yellowish/red ichor that only giants possess. Furthermore, he smelled like rotten tomatoes. Kerim waved to the crowd cheerfully and then turned to Lucien. “Nice to meetcha Lucien… can I have my dagger back now, please?” [/QUOTE]
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Dusk in the land of Fading Stars - Femerus' Story hour (updated 2-20-03)
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