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JollyDoc's Serpent's Skull-updated 11/6/2011
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<blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 5618026" data-attributes="member: 9546"><p><strong>Nessalin</strong></p><p></p><p>The Queen hovered a foot above the lush grass as she spoke to Kiro within the castle’s gardens. The pair walked among giant, weeping willows which were surrounded by a rainbow of flowers and roses. They drifted among other rare plants such as heartwoods, wierwoods, black lotus, and patches of vivid nightshade. For the last thirteen years, General Kiro and the Queen had skillfully lead the forces of Kardashia against the rebels. </p><p>“The kobolds were once again pushed back from their advance on Fort Drelev, my Grace. However, Avashar commands the zombies and advances in the south,” said General Kiro. </p><p>“At least there is one witch in Kardashia I can still trust,” replied Mox.</p><p></p><p>The pair strolled along the gardens and through a section built after the Great Betrayal, as it was known throughout Kardashia. Here statues of each of the rebel leaders depicted them at their “greatest” moments of glory. Tungdill’s statue was of the dwarf, mortally wounded, hanging limp within the beak of an owlbear. The next statue was of the half-orc, Davrim, tears streaming down his face as he cradled the corpse of Velox. Finally, there was Duke Stevhan of Pitax, sitting upon his throne. His massive belly had grown fat through years of sloth. He looked bored and rested his jaw in the palm of his hand. An inscription on his crown read: Duke Stevhan the Craven. A reminder to the people that the Duke of Pitax continued to do nothing as civil war raged across the country. The name had become quite popular throughout the city of Veritas.</p><p></p><p>Mox paused and turned to face the general. </p><p>“Kiro, it’s time that we made a move to finally bring this uprising to an end,” she said. </p><p>“How so, my Grace?” asked the monk.</p><p> “Tomorrow, Nessalin turns 18 and it shall be his time to come of age. I shall send him to the distance land of Sargava,” Mox announced.</p><p>“Why Sargava?” Kiro asked as he folded his arms across his chest. </p><p>“I have heard rumor that it is a land rich in ancient ruins and treasure,” Mox replied, “prime for the plundering I hope. I want you to take Nessalin south to the coast and place him on a ship bound for Sargava. There he can prove himself and gather the power and allies needed to strike down Tungdill and the sweet sister-boys of the Iomedae cult.”</p><p>Kiro bowed his head and said, “As you wish, my Grace.” With that, his eyes unfocused and a moment later he vanished into thin air...</p><p>_______________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>As Nessalin packed the meager possessions that his mother allowed him to take with him, he reflected on his life and what had brought him to this day. His life as a prince had not been as leisurely as one might imagine. His true father, Kane, had died when he was only a toddler while defending his mother in a heated battle. Later he had learned it was Tungdill’s magic that had killed his father. An accident, he was told for years. He had been so stupid to have believed it. Curiously, the sister-boys, Davrim and Velox, were absent during the battle and had decided to guard the horses or scout or some such. That to was just another lie. </p><p>‘How convenient,’ thought Nessalin as he narrowed his eyes. ‘It was Velox that started the Great Betrayal by stabbing my mother in the back.’</p><p> However, Mox proved much stronger than Kane, and had dropped the oracle with a single spell. Only the combined efforts of Tungdill and Davrim had driven his mother away in battle. And his former step-father had proven almost as bad,failing to aid his mother in the battle as he had. After being rescued from the vile compulsion, he refused to bring the people of Pitax to the aid of Kardashia and its Queen. It had taught Nessalin a valuable lesson. Trust no one...</p><p>_________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Kiro and Nessalin rode a pair of shaggy, northern horses as they entered the city of Magnimar in Varisia. It wasn’t long until they found their way to an old inn called the Greying Griffin. It was there that the pair found Captain Kovack at a table drinking a pint of dark, brown stout. Within the hour, Kiro had negotiated a deal for Nessalin to join Captain Kovack’s crew aboard the Jenivere and serve as one of the ship’s guards on the voyage to Sarvaga.</p><p></p><p>Kiro departed the next morning and headed back to Kardashia. Nessalin took his place among the crew and tried to make the best of things. He quickly learned the basics of sailing and tried to make the most of the long, lonely voyage. He tried to learn as much as possible about the crew and what they knew of Sargava. As the voyage continued, Nessalin started up a regular dice game after his shift. It wasn’t long until the game attracted more than just crew members. As it turned out, dice is a favorite game of many a half-orc. Two in particular became regulars, the first was a Hellknight and a talented summoner, and the second was an unusual alchemist. He feared a fight might break out when a swarthy, half-orc bardess joined the game one night. The other half-orcs almost fell over themselves telling tales of their bravery and accomplishments to impress the foreign beauty. However, Ness, as the crew called him, kept his stories and birthright closely guarded secrets. He didn’t want to wind up as a hostage and held ransom. Trust no one is what he had learned, and that is what he did.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JollyDoc, post: 5618026, member: 9546"] [b]Nessalin[/b] The Queen hovered a foot above the lush grass as she spoke to Kiro within the castle’s gardens. The pair walked among giant, weeping willows which were surrounded by a rainbow of flowers and roses. They drifted among other rare plants such as heartwoods, wierwoods, black lotus, and patches of vivid nightshade. For the last thirteen years, General Kiro and the Queen had skillfully lead the forces of Kardashia against the rebels. “The kobolds were once again pushed back from their advance on Fort Drelev, my Grace. However, Avashar commands the zombies and advances in the south,” said General Kiro. “At least there is one witch in Kardashia I can still trust,” replied Mox. The pair strolled along the gardens and through a section built after the Great Betrayal, as it was known throughout Kardashia. Here statues of each of the rebel leaders depicted them at their “greatest” moments of glory. Tungdill’s statue was of the dwarf, mortally wounded, hanging limp within the beak of an owlbear. The next statue was of the half-orc, Davrim, tears streaming down his face as he cradled the corpse of Velox. Finally, there was Duke Stevhan of Pitax, sitting upon his throne. His massive belly had grown fat through years of sloth. He looked bored and rested his jaw in the palm of his hand. An inscription on his crown read: Duke Stevhan the Craven. A reminder to the people that the Duke of Pitax continued to do nothing as civil war raged across the country. The name had become quite popular throughout the city of Veritas. Mox paused and turned to face the general. “Kiro, it’s time that we made a move to finally bring this uprising to an end,” she said. “How so, my Grace?” asked the monk. “Tomorrow, Nessalin turns 18 and it shall be his time to come of age. I shall send him to the distance land of Sargava,” Mox announced. “Why Sargava?” Kiro asked as he folded his arms across his chest. “I have heard rumor that it is a land rich in ancient ruins and treasure,” Mox replied, “prime for the plundering I hope. I want you to take Nessalin south to the coast and place him on a ship bound for Sargava. There he can prove himself and gather the power and allies needed to strike down Tungdill and the sweet sister-boys of the Iomedae cult.” Kiro bowed his head and said, “As you wish, my Grace.” With that, his eyes unfocused and a moment later he vanished into thin air... _______________________________________________________________ As Nessalin packed the meager possessions that his mother allowed him to take with him, he reflected on his life and what had brought him to this day. His life as a prince had not been as leisurely as one might imagine. His true father, Kane, had died when he was only a toddler while defending his mother in a heated battle. Later he had learned it was Tungdill’s magic that had killed his father. An accident, he was told for years. He had been so stupid to have believed it. Curiously, the sister-boys, Davrim and Velox, were absent during the battle and had decided to guard the horses or scout or some such. That to was just another lie. ‘How convenient,’ thought Nessalin as he narrowed his eyes. ‘It was Velox that started the Great Betrayal by stabbing my mother in the back.’ However, Mox proved much stronger than Kane, and had dropped the oracle with a single spell. Only the combined efforts of Tungdill and Davrim had driven his mother away in battle. And his former step-father had proven almost as bad,failing to aid his mother in the battle as he had. After being rescued from the vile compulsion, he refused to bring the people of Pitax to the aid of Kardashia and its Queen. It had taught Nessalin a valuable lesson. Trust no one... _________________________________________________________ Kiro and Nessalin rode a pair of shaggy, northern horses as they entered the city of Magnimar in Varisia. It wasn’t long until they found their way to an old inn called the Greying Griffin. It was there that the pair found Captain Kovack at a table drinking a pint of dark, brown stout. Within the hour, Kiro had negotiated a deal for Nessalin to join Captain Kovack’s crew aboard the Jenivere and serve as one of the ship’s guards on the voyage to Sarvaga. Kiro departed the next morning and headed back to Kardashia. Nessalin took his place among the crew and tried to make the best of things. He quickly learned the basics of sailing and tried to make the most of the long, lonely voyage. He tried to learn as much as possible about the crew and what they knew of Sargava. As the voyage continued, Nessalin started up a regular dice game after his shift. It wasn’t long until the game attracted more than just crew members. As it turned out, dice is a favorite game of many a half-orc. Two in particular became regulars, the first was a Hellknight and a talented summoner, and the second was an unusual alchemist. He feared a fight might break out when a swarthy, half-orc bardess joined the game one night. The other half-orcs almost fell over themselves telling tales of their bravery and accomplishments to impress the foreign beauty. However, Ness, as the crew called him, kept his stories and birthright closely guarded secrets. He didn’t want to wind up as a hostage and held ransom. Trust no one is what he had learned, and that is what he did. [/QUOTE]
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