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Nildi of Keldagrim

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Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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Nildi’s brain stuttered into action as he righted himself painfully into a sitting position against the wall. Focus? Invrigar had told him that the dragonstone acted as a focus. But how? Then an idea came to him. Where was his file? He was still clutching it. He pulled out the crystal and began to chisel like he had never chiseled before.

Meanwhile the circle was holding, but Zavistic and his six companions were straining badly. The great shadow had regained its former size and was pushing its captors around the room again. This time it was Lavrus who was yelling.

“Do not break! The shadows must not unite!”

Invrigar had successfully blocked curse after curse, but against three adversaries he had no time to launch another attack himself. He was being pushed backwards, both mentally and physically, dodging both incantation and blade.

Suddenly two more figures appeared in the doorway, hesitated for a moment, and then rushed, screaming, towards the three shadows. One held a blue-bladed short sword, the other a black scimitar. With blood-curdling yells they ran at the shadows, cutting and slashing. The blades sliced through the grey cloaks with ease, yet the shadows, turning to their new assailants, seemed unaffected by the surprise attack. But it gave Invrigar the few seconds he needed. He dropped his defenses and formed the unbinding curse again. It tore through the three dark forms, ripping them into unrecognizable shreds, which melted invisibly into the air.

“Andarra! Jongor! I thank you for your timing,” panted Invrigar, catching his breath for a moment before jumping back to join the rest of the struggling wizards.

~continued~

29-Nov-2006 07:56:36 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 07:57:09 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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Now the circle was ailing badly and Zavistic was beginning to panic. The great shadow was swiping out at the wizards, ever closer. The power trapping the Abyssal being had degraded from shimmering sheets to tattered, disjointed ribbons of green and blue.

“Invrigar,” he yelled, “Can you unbind it?”

But the necromancer shook his head as he rejoined the circle. "Much too large. And unbinding negates exorcism. I would just break the circle. We have to refocus! We must refocus!"

The shadow lurched again, pulling the wizards across the floor once more, but this time it pushed momentarily through the weakening blanket of power that still tenuously held it. With a broad swipe and a curse of its own in a foul tongue, Lavrus fell, clutching his head in hysterical immobilizing madness. The wizards closed in once more.

Nildi staggered to his feet and approached the deteriorating circle. “Zavistic! Invrigar! Focus on the pendant!”

“What? It cannot contain the shadow now,” Zavistic yelled back. “Move away Nildi.”

“No, trust me! Or we are lost. Focus through it.” Ducking into the circle and desperately dodging the almost freed shadow, Nildi held the dragonstone aloft where everyone could see it. He screamed once more at the wizards.

“Focus on the stone!”

The result was incredible. The tattered ribbons of green and blue surged once more, creating a blinding wall of energy around the shadow that far surpassed the previous exorcism attempts. Then the mages began to squeeze. The power, channeling directly through the crystal, literally poured away without a trace, pulling the shadow with it.

The wizards’ jaws dropped. Then the stunned silence turned into cheers and whoops of joy!

~continued~

29-Nov-2006 07:57:45 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 08:08:14 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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“Quickly,” ordered Zavistic, “teleport the dead and injured to Yanille.”

“Then I must exorcise this room before the shadows reform,” Invrigar said. “Unbinding does not banish them back to the Abyss. I think that I can manage by myself though, if I may use your dragonstone one more time, Nildi?”

The Dwarf nodded and held up the crystal once again. Then the necromancer performed the now-familiar exorcism. Flashes of green and blue blossomed all over the room and drained through the pendant. Immediately, the chamber seemed lighter and less oppressive, as if a heavy cloud had been lifted.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, Nildi,” said Zavistic, still aghast at the effectiveness of the stone. “What did you do?”

“I cut the opposite strand on the top of the crystal.”

“Incredible. How did you know it would work?”

“It was a guess. Closed, it was a prison. Severed at one end, it was an open container. But Invrigar said it was like a focus. So I thought that maybe with both ends open it would act like a pipe. Call it an old crafter’s intuition,” Nildi grinned.

29-Nov-2006 07:58:02 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 08:09:23 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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***The Aftermath***

As the casualties were being taken care of and Invrigar was starting to straighten up his tower a little, Andarra and Jongor approached Nildi sheepishly.

“We are truly sorry for the trouble we caused you and your people,” Andarra said, bowing low to him. “Had we any idea of the extreme peril of the situation we would never have meddled with the skin. I will be offering a formal apology and pledge of assistance to both Keldagrim and to the Wizards’ Guild of Yanille. I do still have a great many contacts across the kingdom, which I think could be used to benefit more than just the lining of my pockets.

“Also, you will be wanting this back.”

Andarra reached under her cloak, pulled out the rolled up skin and handed it back to Nildi, who accepted it with a nod of thanks.

“Andarra, why did you return to this tower?” Nildi asked.

“We had not long left. We were riding along the road when our horses unexpectedly threw us and bolted. Then we felt a sudden and intense dread ourselves and, moments later, three shadows streaked past us, clearly aiming for this tower. With few other options, and partly to sate our own curiosity, we hastened back to see what was going on. We arrived just in time to see them shatter the front door and enter.”

“I believe that your timely entry saved the lives of everyone in this room today,” said Invrigar, who had caught the last half of the conversation. “You have my grateful thanks and my permission to draw your weapons in this house any time you feel it best!”

Nildi turned to Invrigar. “I wonder, would you be able to read the skin for me now that I have it here? I think it would finally mark the completion of the miner’s task as messenger.”

“Of course,” replied Invrigar, taking the skin from him and unrolling it.

~continued~

29-Nov-2006 07:58:40 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 08:12:25 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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“‘You grasp at us. We will seize you and grind you into fine dust. You trap us. We will imprison you, casting you into an eternity of despair. We come to strike…’

“Oh. I thought that phrase was ‘steal the prison yonder’, but it actually reads ‘strike the prison asunder.’ They meant to break the stone and release the great shadow into this realm all along.

"’We come to strike the prison asunder and wreak revenge upon your people one-hundredfold.’ That is it."

"Chilling," Nildi commented. “It is almost as if they somehow detected the crystal as a bridge between their plane and ours, thereby purposefully using the channeling of the Dwarf mages to cross over for a chance to wreak destruction.”

“I do not know,” Invrigar said. "But I do know that the shadows are devious enough and malicious enough to try such a plan, given the opportunity. It may be wise to report those possible dangers to the Keldagrim mages, just in case."

29-Nov-2006 07:59:09 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 08:14:46 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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***Homeward Bound***

A few days later, on a blustery Autumnal evening, the front door of Yanille** inn swung ponderously open. A small, hunched figure shuffled in, followed by several whirling leaves, until the door closed out the elements once again. Glancing about the almost-deserted room, he made his way to the bar and motioned over to the barman for service.

“Nildi!” Savius cried. “It is so good to see you again!”

“Likewise Savius, likewise!” chuckled Nildi, his eyes sparkling cheerfully. “Will you join me for a flagon?”

“Indeed I shall! It is on the house. Zavistic has told me of your exploits. Anyone who can single-handedly save him and half his companions deserves a free Greenman’s, I’d say!”

“I think that may be overstating it a little. We all helped each other. I was just going to check up on how everyone at the Guild was doing.”

“I must confess,” Savius said, “that word reached me that you had arrived back in town, so I took the liberty of sending a message to Secretary Rarve already. I believe he is on his way over.”

They had hardly begun with their ales when a tall figure entered the bar.

“Well met, Nildi!”

“Zavistic!” Nildi called, jumping up. “I was just coming to see you before heading back north. How is everyone doing?”

“Better than expected in fact, my friend. As you know, we lost two Guild mages, who will be very sadly missed. But the others are making a full and fast recovery. Lavrus is himself again, following his mental attack and Irwin, whom we are also nursing back to health, is awake and aware. He lost a lot of blood from the knife wound, but is much tougher than I would have given him credit for.

~continued~

29-Nov-2006 07:59:54

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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“Invrigar is quite well of course, though he is away from his tower for now. He is traveling to each of the locations that suffered a shadow attack to offer our story to the victims’ friends and families. I think he is on the lookout for more shadow activity too, mind, but I am sure it will come to nothing. When do you leave for home?”

“Today in fact. I was going to get on the road before nightfall.”

“And the crystal? Do you still have it?” Zavistic enquired.

“No. On reflection I considered it far too dangerous, so I chiseled it away to nothing.”

“Ahh pity, but no matter. You are probably right. Well, now that you no longer have the pendant, will you accept my offer of a teleport to the Seer*s village? It will save at least two weeks from your homeward journey.”

“You can do that for me? I would be most grateful!” Nildi replied, thankfully.

“Very well then. But before you go, you might have need of this.”

Zavistic reached into his robes and pulled out a weatherworn old cloak.

“My cloak!” Nildi said. “I thought it was long gone.”

“Not at all. Devlin would have wanted it to be returned to you.”

They finished their flagons of ale together, made their farewells and promised to stay in touch. Then a few moments later, the world faded into a violet haze. When it cleared, Nildi found himself outside Camelot castle on the road to the Seer*s village. With a spring in his step that belied his old age, he turned for home.

29-Nov-2006 08:00:14 - Last edited on 29-Nov-2006 08:22:34 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

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***Epilogue***

Nildi the Elder Dwarf of deep Keldagrim walked confidently through the dark tunnel into the large cavern beyond and approached the ferryman.

“Nildi?” exclaimed the ferryman in shock. “They said you were dead, or worse. It is so good to see you back!”

“And it is good to be back, my old friend. Let us hasten across the river so that I may share my tale with the council. But I will say that all is well that ends well. And ended well, it did.”

The whole city was soon astir with the news of Nildi’s unexpected return, ferrymen being almost as loose-tongued as barmen. But, other than to assure his people that the danger had passed and that the mines would now be safe from attack, he discussed his story with no one except for the Council Elders and the Mages. However, he did ask for one small favor of his fellow Dwarves, though no one quite seemed able to explain why.

“I no longer wish,” Nildi requested, “to be known as Crystalweaver.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dreamweaver
Nov 2006

29-Nov-2006 08:00:36 - Last edited on 16-Nov-2008 04:20:55 by Dreamweaver

Roshinda

Roshinda

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11 adds!!!

You're crazy!

Good going though. Here I was proud of myself for adding 5 times in 2 days lol.

Do you have any idea how long this is going to be when it's done?

Aproximately of course. I know stories change a lot from how they're planned.

29-Nov-2006 08:12:13

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