forums.rs

Forums

Nildi of Keldagrim

Quick find code: 49-50-957-32282822

of 94
Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Spinning round again, Finosel leapt from the clearing towards the bush where the scream had come from and shoved the branches aside. Then she stumbled in shock at what she saw, fighting not to retch. It was Siliannon. His legs had been torn almost completely away, horrific black burns smoking across his abdomen. But his face was a picture of more fear and pain than she could have imagined. It had been slashed diagonally from forehead to chin, narrowly missing his right eye. His breathing was ragged and he was shuddering in cold sweat, but he looked up at Finosel and recognized her. He tried to reach up, trying to form words through his mangled lips.

Finosel dropped down beside him, yelling frantically for help as she did so. Then she pushed her shirt to his face to staunch some of the bleeding, but with little success. Siliannon tried to talk again.

“Siliannon, be still.”

“Fin,” he whispered, “Fin, it spoke.”

“Later. Be still. Help is on the way.”

“Fin, no. It said, it said…” Siliannon drew a deep ragged breath.

“It said ‘tell them we come.’”

Then he breathed no more.

14-Nov-2006 09:06:56 - Last edited on 29-Oct-2009 03:29:45 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***Riding the Waves***

The rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully for Nildi and his wizard companions. The rough track that they were following was used by almost no one, and they were glad of this because fewer observers meant less opportunity for others to find out which way they had traveled. They did see one elderly man tilling a field, but he just stared in wordless incomprehension as they trotted past.

Night fell, but the moon was not far from being full and the sky was gloriously clear, so they chose to hasten on under the ample moonlight. Nildi, who had spent much of his life either underground or in deep cloud-filled mountain valleys found himself awestruck by the infinite majesty of the star-filled heavens, revealed to him more clearly than he had ever seen before. He felt empowered, as if the Gods were smiling down on him.

“Mark my words, Nildi,” murmured Zavistic, noticing his wide-eyed amazement. “Wait until the moon sets behind us and yet more stars will be revealed to you. Perhaps some day you and I will be able to meet my associates at the Observatory near the Western Mountains. They have seen beautiful wonders I scarcely know how to describe.”

Around midnight, the party finally left the road to make camp, choosing a secluded patch of ground amid a small copse of trees. With plentiful supplies from the Wizards’ tower, no hunting or scavenging was necessary. Within just a few minutes, everyone was satiated and drifting off to sleep. Nildi lay back and let the now-moonless star-spangled sky fill his mind and his imagination. He slept more soundly that night than he had since leaving Keldagrim.

~continued~

15-Nov-2006 09:29:05 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:11:24 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Nildi awoke first, the chill of pre-dawn nudging him from his reverie. He must have been asleep no more than four hours, but he was refreshed and ready for the new day. Climbing to his feet, he set some water boiling for tea and dug out a bag of oats for each of the horses. Then he woke his companions. After a warming drink and a quick snack they were in the saddle again.

They were riding steadily downhill now, the very taste and feel of the air changing as they progressed. A short while later, the land fell away ahead of them and the sparkling sea was revealed in the morning sunshine.

“Ahh, we have made good time,” Devlin commented, to the agreement of the other wizards. “But there are high cliffs ahead. Let us strike northwards along the coast until we find a settlement or landing spot where we may barter for passage.”

They rode to the top of the cliffs and then turned as Devlin had suggested, looking for signs of habitation and paths down to the water below as they rode onwards. After a while, the height of the cliffs lessened and the slope down became less steep. Then Lavrus called out.

“There, ahead,” he exclaimed, pointing. “I see a boat. And that must be the beach that it was launched from.”

Riggo Ferandson was an aged fisherman from Limemouth; a tiny hamlet nestled in the next bay up the coast. No one knew how long he had been catching lobsters and crabs in these waters, but no one could remember or imagine him doing anything different. So the entire population turned out in amazement when he came into the village with three sleek black horses and no sign of his trusty boat, the Bounteous Lady.

“Riggo!” “What happened?” “Whose are those horses?”

Everyone was firing questions at him at the same time, but it did not take long for the piercing yell of his wife to emerge above the rest.

“Riggo! You daft idiot! Where’s the Lady?”

~continued~

15-Nov-2006 09:29:38 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:11:58 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Skyla, you’re not going to believe what happened! I traded the Lady for these horses. They must be five times her worth!”

Back at the beach, Nildi and the others had climbed tentatively into the boat and were attempting to push away from the sand with its two oars. Unfortunately their combined weights made the task impossible, so the wizards all had to disembark and float the boat out a little way before clambering back in, robes dripping unceremoniously. Nildi, whose stature rendered him useless for such a task, sat smug and dry through the whole episode.

“Bounteous?” muttered Zavistic, frowning at the cracked boards that made up the small boat. “Bottomless would be closer to the mark. Our horses must be a hundred times the worth of this old relic!”

“So do any of you know how to drive this thing?” asked Nildi dubiously.

“I imagine if we get the sail raised we can sort something out,” replied Devlin, fumbling with a rope and pulley alongside the Lady’s short mast. A few haphazard moments later, the triangular sheet was unfurled.

“Now we shall see how seaworthy this old girl still is,” Zavistic stated gleefully. “Let us ride the waves to Port Khazard!” Brandishing his staff, he gestured and the boat skipped forwards, an arcane wind filling its sail.

15-Nov-2006 09:31:41 - Last edited on 23-Nov-2006 10:06:23 by Dreamweaver

Roshinda

Roshinda

Posts: 6,271 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Goodness, another three adds! How do you do it?
I was able to write another add today, and I hope to do another one still tonight, but that's nothing. It takes me so long to write.

Heh, a few weeks back I wrote part of a chapter I'm not up to yet, and I had a character named Devlin. I guess I'll change his name.

15-Nov-2006 09:35:54 - Last edited on 15-Nov-2006 09:42:50 by Roshinda

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Oh, sorry Roshinda. Picking the same name was pure coincidence of course. But as far as I'm concerned, there's really no need for you to use a different name unless you feel it's now lost its originality.

Dreamweaver

16-Nov-2006 04:55:40

Roshinda

Roshinda

Posts: 6,271 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I didn't blame you of stealing the name of course. That would be just plain scary if you had read my mind.

If I can't find anything better suited for my character I'll keep it, otherwise I may change it.

The Devlin in my story was just supposed to be a very minor character anyway, he's only in one short part. Though I may bring him back a bit later briefly too.

16-Nov-2006 05:18:27

Quick find code: 49-50-957-32282822 Back to Top