Dru's Storyhour
Darklone said:Horacio, how do you ever keep up with so many storyhours? Do you get paid for reading them? If yes: Where do I get such a job?
Answer #1: You must know I'm not real, I'm a piece of software programmed to say Great update! in the Story Board forum...
Answer #2: See my custom member title
Maldur
First Post
Let Horacio read. The man needs it
btw Horacio, What are good stories to read? You must be able to guide us around the storyhour. cant you create a Horacio presents thread , or something? or become caretaker of the storyhour boards and/or archive?
Oops: nice story Dru!, over the hill adventurers, priceless
btw Horacio, What are good stories to read? You must be able to guide us around the storyhour. cant you create a Horacio presents thread , or something? or become caretaker of the storyhour boards and/or archive?
Oops: nice story Dru!, over the hill adventurers, priceless
Last edited:
Maldur said:Let Horacio read. The man needs it
btw Horacio, What are good stories to read? You must be able to guide us around the storyhour. cant you create a Horacio presents thread , or something? or become caretaker of the storyhour boards and/or archive?
Hey, good idea
Maybe you could suggest that to Morrus in the Meta forum
Dru, I want more story hour...
Jon Potter
First Post
Jon Potter
I second that.
Very intriguing beginning to the story, BTW.
Horacio said:
Dru, I want more story hour...
I second that.
Very intriguing beginning to the story, BTW.
Drusilia Nailo
First Post
At the Edge of the Circle
I'm glad to see that there are folks reading my story. I'll try to be quicker about my posts, even though I'm working overtime every day!
The next morning, Aelric and Ivae rode side by side out the gates of the capital city, followed by pack horses, and spare mounts. They followed the road to the North, which would ultimately lead to Joyal, the closest village to the Maiden Lake, and then onto the lake itself. They did not speak overly much, both of them being well acquainted with silence.
As the sun climbed high in the sky, Ivae sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?” he asked.
Aelric sniffed, shaking his head. “Smell what?”
“Charred grass,” the elf said grimly. He took out his very finely made elven cloak and wrapped it around himself.
Aelric frowned. “I did not think that the battle had come this far,” he said.
“Neither did I,” said Ivae. “But, we’ll come to it soon enough.”
And they did. They saw vultures long before they approached the expanse of black that should rightfully be fields of tender green shoots. As they got closer, they could see the bodies of peasants, scattered about carelessly. Vultures fought over the bodies, dipping and swooping, and crying out belligerently as the pair and their horses rode by.
Ivae frowned, looking up and down the road. “The path of destruction doesn’t follow the road, like it usually does... it crosses it.” He scanned both horizons, biting his lower lip in consternation. “It almost seems to go in a big... circle.”
Aelric swiveled to stare at Ivae. “A circle. And can you guess where the center of that circle could potentially be?”
“I can in a moment.” The Royal Explorer hopped off of his horse with a grace that Aelric envied, and got into his pack. He withdrew a mapcase, and then from that, a map. He spread it out against his rather amiable horse, making a few calculations. “I believe,” he said with a sigh, “That the center of the circle would be Maiden Lake.”
Aelric nodded grimly. Neither man was truly surprised, although both had been hoping that it would be otherwise. “I think,” said the paladin, “That we’re not going to like what we find at the center. Not at all.” He dismounted slowly, and began putting on his heavy and cumbersome armor. After a moment, Ivae moved to help the old man with both his armor and the mounting of his horse.
Moments later, the two were riding to the North again, following the road through the charred fields, huts, and corpses.
Aelric’s mount was actually the first to see them. It flung its head up, glancing out across the blackness to the East. Its nostrils flared, and it made a low growling noise in the back of its throat. Aelric turned to see what had interested the horse so much, and saw four large humanoid figures moving towards them.
Ivae was looking too, and said softly, “Not human. Bigger than that.”
When the four figures got closer, it was clear that they were orcs. All of them carried huge Great Axes, and were wearing studded armor. Ivae retrieved his composite long bow, and nocked the arrow. He took aim, and let fly, but at the last moment an eddy of wind made the arrow veer away from his intended target. The orc sneered, and pumped his fist into the air. “Your puny weapons mean nothing to us! We are under the protection of great Arust!”
Aelric’s response to this was to stampede his horse towards them, holding the rather unwieldy lance steadily, aimed in the general direction of the orc leader’s heart. “The protection of your demon lord means nothing in the face of the Father!”
The Father heard, and approved. The lance skewered the orc as if his armor was nothing, thrusting completely through his chest. Rather than try to pry the orc corpse off of the lance, Aelric dropped it, pulling his bastard sword with a rasping of metal.
Swallowing a curse, Ivae abandoned his longbow, and pulled his two short swords. He charged in towards one of the remaining three orcs, and with a powerful strike, piercing deep into its ribs. The orc’s eyes widened in a moment of momentary surprise, and then it fell to the ground, soaking the blackened grass with red.
The two orcs left standing, in desperation, moved in flanking positions on either side of Aelric’s battle steed. One of them went high, aiming its huge Great Axe at the paladin himself, the other went low, trying to hamstring the horse. With two sickening thuds, the blades of the Great Axes connected. One of them cut deeply into Aelric’s shoulder... his shield arm. The other sung deep into the horse’s leg.
The horse screamed in pain and rage, and both horse and rider wheeled to exact their revenge. Aelric’s bastard sword neatly severed his opponent’s head from his neck. There were two thuds, one louder than the other, as first the head and then the body hit the ground. The horse reared up on his hind legs, and came down hard, with two sickening thuds, atop the last remaining orc.
That orc staggered backward, and came up weakly with an attempt to retaliate with his Great Axe. Before the blow was able to land, however, his side blossomed crimson, and Ivae came into view, with a grimace.
And there was silence for a moment, broken only by Aelric’s groan as he slumped in the saddle. “I’m too old for this,” he grunted.
Ivae chuckled, and helped his companion dismount. “You should try to heal yourself,” the elf said.
The paladin shook his head stubbornly. “I will heal my horse first.” He laid his hands on his mount’s quivering leg, and murmured a plea to the Father. In answer, some of the wounds began to close. When only superficial wounds remained, Aelric healed some of his own wounds. With a sigh, he looked up. “I really don’t think we’re going to like what we find in Joyal. Maybe we should find a place to stay for the night before we get there...”
<to be continued>
I'm glad to see that there are folks reading my story. I'll try to be quicker about my posts, even though I'm working overtime every day!
The next morning, Aelric and Ivae rode side by side out the gates of the capital city, followed by pack horses, and spare mounts. They followed the road to the North, which would ultimately lead to Joyal, the closest village to the Maiden Lake, and then onto the lake itself. They did not speak overly much, both of them being well acquainted with silence.
As the sun climbed high in the sky, Ivae sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?” he asked.
Aelric sniffed, shaking his head. “Smell what?”
“Charred grass,” the elf said grimly. He took out his very finely made elven cloak and wrapped it around himself.
Aelric frowned. “I did not think that the battle had come this far,” he said.
“Neither did I,” said Ivae. “But, we’ll come to it soon enough.”
And they did. They saw vultures long before they approached the expanse of black that should rightfully be fields of tender green shoots. As they got closer, they could see the bodies of peasants, scattered about carelessly. Vultures fought over the bodies, dipping and swooping, and crying out belligerently as the pair and their horses rode by.
Ivae frowned, looking up and down the road. “The path of destruction doesn’t follow the road, like it usually does... it crosses it.” He scanned both horizons, biting his lower lip in consternation. “It almost seems to go in a big... circle.”
Aelric swiveled to stare at Ivae. “A circle. And can you guess where the center of that circle could potentially be?”
“I can in a moment.” The Royal Explorer hopped off of his horse with a grace that Aelric envied, and got into his pack. He withdrew a mapcase, and then from that, a map. He spread it out against his rather amiable horse, making a few calculations. “I believe,” he said with a sigh, “That the center of the circle would be Maiden Lake.”
Aelric nodded grimly. Neither man was truly surprised, although both had been hoping that it would be otherwise. “I think,” said the paladin, “That we’re not going to like what we find at the center. Not at all.” He dismounted slowly, and began putting on his heavy and cumbersome armor. After a moment, Ivae moved to help the old man with both his armor and the mounting of his horse.
Moments later, the two were riding to the North again, following the road through the charred fields, huts, and corpses.
Aelric’s mount was actually the first to see them. It flung its head up, glancing out across the blackness to the East. Its nostrils flared, and it made a low growling noise in the back of its throat. Aelric turned to see what had interested the horse so much, and saw four large humanoid figures moving towards them.
Ivae was looking too, and said softly, “Not human. Bigger than that.”
When the four figures got closer, it was clear that they were orcs. All of them carried huge Great Axes, and were wearing studded armor. Ivae retrieved his composite long bow, and nocked the arrow. He took aim, and let fly, but at the last moment an eddy of wind made the arrow veer away from his intended target. The orc sneered, and pumped his fist into the air. “Your puny weapons mean nothing to us! We are under the protection of great Arust!”
Aelric’s response to this was to stampede his horse towards them, holding the rather unwieldy lance steadily, aimed in the general direction of the orc leader’s heart. “The protection of your demon lord means nothing in the face of the Father!”
The Father heard, and approved. The lance skewered the orc as if his armor was nothing, thrusting completely through his chest. Rather than try to pry the orc corpse off of the lance, Aelric dropped it, pulling his bastard sword with a rasping of metal.
Swallowing a curse, Ivae abandoned his longbow, and pulled his two short swords. He charged in towards one of the remaining three orcs, and with a powerful strike, piercing deep into its ribs. The orc’s eyes widened in a moment of momentary surprise, and then it fell to the ground, soaking the blackened grass with red.
The two orcs left standing, in desperation, moved in flanking positions on either side of Aelric’s battle steed. One of them went high, aiming its huge Great Axe at the paladin himself, the other went low, trying to hamstring the horse. With two sickening thuds, the blades of the Great Axes connected. One of them cut deeply into Aelric’s shoulder... his shield arm. The other sung deep into the horse’s leg.
The horse screamed in pain and rage, and both horse and rider wheeled to exact their revenge. Aelric’s bastard sword neatly severed his opponent’s head from his neck. There were two thuds, one louder than the other, as first the head and then the body hit the ground. The horse reared up on his hind legs, and came down hard, with two sickening thuds, atop the last remaining orc.
That orc staggered backward, and came up weakly with an attempt to retaliate with his Great Axe. Before the blow was able to land, however, his side blossomed crimson, and Ivae came into view, with a grimace.
And there was silence for a moment, broken only by Aelric’s groan as he slumped in the saddle. “I’m too old for this,” he grunted.
Ivae chuckled, and helped his companion dismount. “You should try to heal yourself,” the elf said.
The paladin shook his head stubbornly. “I will heal my horse first.” He laid his hands on his mount’s quivering leg, and murmured a plea to the Father. In answer, some of the wounds began to close. When only superficial wounds remained, Aelric healed some of his own wounds. With a sigh, he looked up. “I really don’t think we’re going to like what we find in Joyal. Maybe we should find a place to stay for the night before we get there...”
<to be continued>
drnuncheon
Explorer
Hee. This is where Dru and Ivae got to see just what the combination of Spirited Charge and smite evil can do...
J
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