Dungeons and Dragons Australia
For the love of dice
The Tale of Naiilo Tyran: Episode One.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Columns of black smoke rose in the north, staining the sunset. The young sorceress turned away from the remnants of the Protectorate with a shiver, despite the intense heat of the savanna. It was unlikely she would ever see Rex again. Her father had made many enemies through his swindles and cons, so it seemed ironic that he should meet his end in a problem not of his own making.
The Paladins were dead, of course. Or in full retreat, abandoning their charges to blood and fire. The Orc hordes had never truly been crushed, contrary to the decrees of the Temple. The young Protectorate had not been lost in a single green tide, but rather had withered slowly. The barbarian cancer had been eating away at each isolated outpost for years, eroding the will of the frontier and killing off any chance humanity had of taming the scorching plains.
Things looked better down south. The Mithril City couldn't feed itself so surely the Paladins would protect the Hinterland with all their considerable might. She had travelled extensively as the daughter of a peddler and vaguely remembered stopping at a lakeside village without a name, fifty miles or so south of the Jagged Teeth. When the grassland turned to wheat fields and she saw flights of ducks heading for a rust-coloured lake, Naiilo breathed a sigh of relief. The warm lights of the village were glowing a few miles away. She laughed for the first time in days and broke into a run.
The village consisted of a dozen thatched houses, a simple chapel beside a tavern and a towering grain mill with a decrepit water-wheel turning in a murky creek. The only structure with open doors was the tavern. A scruffy yellow dog growled and barked, but everything else was as still as the stifling night air. And looming beyond them all, on the far side of a lush forest squatted a hideous granite manor. The great toadlike structure was not illuminated in any way, though a soft but menacing glow eminated from the huge cemetery which served as the manor's front garden.
Presently Naiilo reached the tavern. The hot breeze brought with it the smell of stale beer, wet grain and livestock. Though a dozen men sat inside huddled around mugs, only one was speaking. In fact, he was yelling.
"Have ye no balls at all?! None of ye?! Not even you, Baker? She's your own sister, damn it! Will ye not help her? Is there not a man here who is willing to save the lass?!" The desperate man was tall and muscular, with a full brown beard. He clutched an axe in his hands which he was using to emphasise his words. It was causing the other men to flinch each time.
Naiilo swung through the saloon doors defiantly, casting a measured gaze across the men with her glittering purple eyes. The jewelled rapier slapped her thigh and doeskin boots crunched rushes beneath them as she strode into the watering hole. Some men gasped, some swore and the flabby one named Baker ducked and squealed.
"I am no man, axe-bearer, but I am willing to help."
*** TO BE CONTINUED ***
Columns of black smoke rose in the north, staining the sunset. The young sorceress turned away from the remnants of the Protectorate with a shiver, despite the intense heat of the savanna. It was unlikely she would ever see Rex again. Her father had made many enemies through his swindles and cons, so it seemed ironic that he should meet his end in a problem not of his own making.
The Paladins were dead, of course. Or in full retreat, abandoning their charges to blood and fire. The Orc hordes had never truly been crushed, contrary to the decrees of the Temple. The young Protectorate had not been lost in a single green tide, but rather had withered slowly. The barbarian cancer had been eating away at each isolated outpost for years, eroding the will of the frontier and killing off any chance humanity had of taming the scorching plains.
Things looked better down south. The Mithril City couldn't feed itself so surely the Paladins would protect the Hinterland with all their considerable might. She had travelled extensively as the daughter of a peddler and vaguely remembered stopping at a lakeside village without a name, fifty miles or so south of the Jagged Teeth. When the grassland turned to wheat fields and she saw flights of ducks heading for a rust-coloured lake, Naiilo breathed a sigh of relief. The warm lights of the village were glowing a few miles away. She laughed for the first time in days and broke into a run.
The village consisted of a dozen thatched houses, a simple chapel beside a tavern and a towering grain mill with a decrepit water-wheel turning in a murky creek. The only structure with open doors was the tavern. A scruffy yellow dog growled and barked, but everything else was as still as the stifling night air. And looming beyond them all, on the far side of a lush forest squatted a hideous granite manor. The great toadlike structure was not illuminated in any way, though a soft but menacing glow eminated from the huge cemetery which served as the manor's front garden.
Presently Naiilo reached the tavern. The hot breeze brought with it the smell of stale beer, wet grain and livestock. Though a dozen men sat inside huddled around mugs, only one was speaking. In fact, he was yelling.
"Have ye no balls at all?! None of ye?! Not even you, Baker? She's your own sister, damn it! Will ye not help her? Is there not a man here who is willing to save the lass?!" The desperate man was tall and muscular, with a full brown beard. He clutched an axe in his hands which he was using to emphasise his words. It was causing the other men to flinch each time.
Naiilo swung through the saloon doors defiantly, casting a measured gaze across the men with her glittering purple eyes. The jewelled rapier slapped her thigh and doeskin boots crunched rushes beneath them as she strode into the watering hole. Some men gasped, some swore and the flabby one named Baker ducked and squealed.
"I am no man, axe-bearer, but I am willing to help."
*** TO BE CONTINUED ***
Add a Comment
About
© 2009 Created by Jye Smith on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
You need to be a member of Dungeons and Dragons Australia to add comments!
Join this social network