3. Tales of the Golden Elf

Tales of the Golden Elf


    • Prologue -

    You may come in, Ayndur..

    The elder elf called from his office, seeming to go through a few papers as the younger elven man enters. The elder motions for the younger to sit, before taking a seat himself. Still rifling through a few papers, before eventually stacking them neatly, and setting them down, peering across at Ayndur.

    Do you know why I have called you? The elder spoke.

    Ayndur nodded his head, I am to be given my first assignment.

    Not just that. You seem to be slacking in your training as a guard. Your skills have not improved in time with your fellows. How do you expect to be useful in defense of these lands? The elder spoke plainly, his green eyes watching Ayndur closely.

    The younger elf spoke, in the same diciplined tone, I shall train harder..

    The elder shook his head, That will not do any good. You seem to think you are above your comrades, because you are my son. Do not think I don't see your arrogance, because it is there. You believe you deserve special treatment, and "special" treatment is what you shall get.

    Ayndur's father passed him a parchment, explaining, Here is your assignment. You must travel to the lands of Narfell, and investigate some blight we've had rumor of..

    Frowning deeply, Ayndur spoke, But father, this is a land of barbarians. I have no place amongst them.

    His father lifted a hand in order to silence Ayndur, You have just proven my point. War does not always give you the most luxorious conditions you are used to. So you -will- go there, and you will send me weekly reports. Are we clear?

    Mumbling like a small boy who wasn't allowed a cookie, Ayndur speaks, Very well. I shall do my time of "punishment" and send these reports. Even though you do not likely even care for Narfell..

    Ignoring his son's little tiff, You will spend at least three years there, and each week you will send me updates. If for one week you do not write, I will consider it a failure, and you will be denied your chance to join the guard. Now go… your horse is waiting. The elder waves a hand dissmisively at Ayndur..

    Rising from the chair, the young elf bows his head quickly to his father.. and on his way out, he slams the door irritably, like a child sent to his room..

    He finds his horse stabled outside, as it casually eats at some hay provided for it. As he is about to mount, another elf, seeming to run up to him with several clanking pieces of something wrapped up in cloth, grunting under the weight..

    Mr. Amashedrine, your father has left you these for your trip.

    _The messenger hands the bundle up to Ayndur… and Ayndur unwraps it a little to take a peek. He finds a glint of gold underneath it. Looking it over further, he realizes it is the armor used by his family past. Generations of his kin fought in this enchanted armor, or so the story goes.

    Frowning to himself as he realizes the great gift his father has left him, he sighs softly, nodding his thanks to the messenger. He then readies himself with all the supplies he needs for the long road ahead._

    Before he leaves, he mutters, These are going to be the longest years of my life…

  • R

    ((bump))


  • -The Blight-

    _After the dissapointment of not being able to return home, Ayndur did the only thing he could: His duty. At first, he thought that this blight was made up, for the most part, or at least exaggerated by his father… to add to the punishment Ayndur was given.

    However, he was soon proven wrong, as he began to question the locals in Norwick about it all. They seemed deeply disturbed by it, and there were many stories that were told. Ones involving vicious demons, goblins, and bugbears. All of this was new to Ayndur, and he had no clue what to make of it. He sent the first report to his father, explaining what the locals had said. In response, his father asked him to go into the Rawlins and find signs of decay within those woods.

    So one fine morning, the young elf half-heartedly pulled on the heavy, golden armor. He went south, beyond the gates for the second time, though this time he went farther than the lake. What he found, mostly to the east, was the decayed trees... left over from the impact from the demon fortress' destruction, or so he was told.

    The decaying trees seemed to bring a certain sadness to Ayndur. He imagined if this had happened within Silverymoon, what it would do to his home. Even the local druids could barely even do a thing about it, and their glenn was located pretty much in the middle of the blight, which was mostly in the eastern Rawlins.

    Every time he went to look, he'd be injured from the goblins who didn't take kindly to his presence... sometimes he had to cut investigations short, due to their vicious nature. However, Ayndur began to feel weak that he could barely even handle a few goblins that ran his way. He began to seek help from local adventurers...

    ...he felt out of place, since most were not even elven. Some of the races disgusted him, though that is no surprise, since he has had little to no contact with most of them. His mind secretly judging them, and their "flaws." But he does not see his own flaws, and will eventually... hopefully... realize them.

    Some of the help he received was from his previous companions. Mostly from Dondiah, who seemed to have a keen interest in him.. Ayndur, however, was mostly oblivious to this for a while, having absolutely no experience with women.

    Another was half-elf he met, who's name was Luke. Always grinning, and always having a 'smart' comment. Ayndur has a difficult time trusting this one, and often is disgusted by this man. But at the same time, he is secretly intriuged by what life is like outside a fancy manor.. and through this man's actions, he can see. But still... there is that trust issue.

    Many times Ayndur has investigated those woods, and is unhappy with how they are. He seems to have forgotten his previous tantrums of wanting to return home, only wanting to help cure the Rawlins of its disease.

    He has indeed helped, in the smallest of doses. And those are all new tales to tell..._

    -To be continued-


  • -A Tumble Down a Waterfall-

    _The companions began to explore the woodsy area around them. Though instead of trees, it was mostly cliff faces that were seen. It seemed like a maze.

    They ventured through, fighting goblins for the most part. The companions were wounded, and naked each battle. There was no modesty, or privacy to be found within this place. However, they did not even seem to care, or notice each other's nude forms… their minds set on survival, not.. other things.

    There seemed to be a routine as they explored the area. They'd kill off a small camp of goblins, then move forward, kill goblins, move forward, kill, move... it seemed endless, and amazingly, they were still alive. After a few groups were killed, there is a noticable change in the companions as they are now adourned with shoddy weapons and armor that barely even fit them.

    At one point during their escape, they came across a sleeping fire giant. The gods favored the companions, as the giant stayed asleep as they crept past it. It was surprising enough that its thunderous snoring did not wake him.

    For nearly a day, they waged small skirmishes against the small camps of goblins, desperately trying to find a way out of there. As all hope was nearly lost, they came across a goblin that... surrendered and just threw its weapon upon the ground, not even putting up a fight. A cowardly little thing. Threats, bullying, and shoving were all that was needed for the goblin to just lead the companions out... though not in a way one would think.

    The goblin seemed to snicker and giggle at his proposition of sending the companions down a waterfall in barrels. At first, they said there was no way they would agree to such... but as deperation took hold, the companions eventually agreed.

    The goblin lead them, sneakily, to the top of a water fall, and surrounding it, were camps full of goblins and bugbear. Luckily enough, they were quite lazy and were sleeping the day away.

    The companions stuffed themselves into the barrels, where the goblins had stored the things they had taken from the group. Laughing, the goblin just pushed the companions down the waterfall...

    Bam!

    They landed on the ground below, the water still streaming down into some cave. They were tossed far enough off that they landed on a foresty ledge, and the barrels broke as they landed..

    ..battered and bruised, Ayndur lifted himself up... still not knowing where he was, but apparently some of his companions did. So they went back to Norwick, not without fighting more goblins along the way, of course.

    Ayndur himself was not in the happiest of moods, so he went to rest himself for quite a while, writing the letter to his father, telling exactly what happened... hoping his father will feel sympathetic, and think this whole trip here was not a good idea.

    But no, Ayndur received this letter:

    @9f13fa0077:

    I am sorry to hear you were captured, my son. Though that is the way of battle, and war. Sometimes, you will be captured, tortured, beaten. Your request to return is denied, and so far, you've told me nothing of the blight. Given that you were incapacitated, I will not consider this a failure… however, if by the next report, you've told me nothing of what you were sent to do, I will mark this mission as failure and you will be denied your chance to become an elite guard.

    That is all._

    This, of course, infuriated the young elf..

    Welcome to Narfell…

    -To be continued-


  • -Escape-

    He awoke with a throbbing headache and blurred vision. All he could see was rocks, and boulders. He soon realized he was in a cave of some sort, and it smelled awful. Also, he could not move his hands or legs, or even speak… Ayndur was tied up, gagged, and... naked.

    Seldarine help me, he thought to himself.

    _He rolled over and bumped into something soft and warm, turning his head, he saw it was one of his other companions: Dondiah. She looked dead, though he gave her a nudge… and soon.. she began to grunt and groan as she awoke. Lifting his head, he saw his other companions, and they also began to stir at the noises. Surprisingly, they were all still alive.

    The human woman named Ashe seemed to squirm her way out of her bindings, being quite dexterous. She spoke to each of us as she untied us, wondering if all of them were ok.

    Ayndur wanted to snap at her, and tell her that she was a fool for leading them to probably their deaths, though it was no time for that. The first priority was to see if there was a way out.

    Having a more clear look about their cage, Ayndur saw that there had been previous visitors. Corpses of those visitors were strewn about, beaten, bloodied, and dead. But the goblins did not thoroughly check these corpses, as a dagger was found among the decay.

    Ayndur soon saw that Ashe was a thieving type, since she began to pick the lock to their cell with that dagger, seemingly with ease. However, he was not about to complain about her skills in picking locks, since it could likely save his life.

    Oddly enough, there were no guards posted at their cell, so as Ashe opened the door, the four of them walked out... well, you could say walked, but it was more of a limp. It was a small cave, as they walked across a pathway over some water, leading up to a makeshift door. The light of the outside shown through the cracks.

    They opened the door, and walked out to find the sunlight. The glorious sunlight! Though that is not the only welcome they received. Goblins, camped right at the entrance, sprang up and began to slice at the companions with their tiny, rusty daggers.

    Ayndur had nothing but his fists and good looks to battle these goblins, as did his other companions. So he tried to snap their necks, and break their irritating little noses. A kick here, a punch there... though it was not enough, as the goblins slashed at his legs, causing Ayndur to fall again..

    ...his other companions pulled the goblins off of Ayndur as he fell, punching them, kicking them frantically.. the goblins' frail little bodies easily being beat to death. Though it was not easy enough, as the companions saw Ayndur laying on the grassy floor, bleeding to death.

    They had absolutely no healing supplies with them, so they scavenged the camp the goblins were sitting at, looking for anything they could use. They found these ill tasting drinks, seeming to know they had healing properties... and they poured the foul liquid down Ayndur's throat, frantically trying to keep him alive for quite some time.

    Successfully, they aided his wounds enough so that he could stand.. as the dire situation passed, they began to discuss where they were. None of them knew, and of course Ayndur did not, since he only arrived that day.

    They decided to explore the area further, to find food and supplies... but mostly what they found, was more snickering goblins in the distance..._

    To be continued…


  • -Captured-

    _Arriving after several long weeks of travel, Ayndur hopped off his horse, tieing it to the hitching post provided near the inn. He was now in the town of Norwick.. if this mudpit can be even considered a town, Ayndur thought. He thought to go to the inn first, to see if he can get any information about the blight, seeming to have a half-hearted attitude about it.

    He was stopped by an elven woman, just before entering the inn, who seemed to take interest in the fact that he was new to the area. For a few moments, they talked.. until their conversation was interrupted by another woman, this time human, who seemed to need help with something.

    Ashe was her name, and she apparently was hit in the head with a rock by a goblin, and did not seem to enjoy that. Ayndur offered his aid in finding this goblin bully, and teaching him a lesson in manners. Two other companions joined, by the names of Elidur and Dondiah. Elidur was a bit of a loon in Ayndur's mind, but that is unsurprising given the poor living conditions this town suffers. Dondiah was the elven woman he first talked to outside the inn. She seemed to know Ashe, and was generally concerned with what happened.

    Introductions out of the way, the four went off out the southern gates, entering the decaying ruins. The town's conditions were bad enough, but these ruins had a certain stench of rotting flesh about them. Rats scurried about, even ones as big as dogs. It was a generally disgusting sight.

    Eventually, they made it past the old ruined southern gates, and low and behold, there was the goblin that was taunting Ashe, on the island in the middle of the pond. It began dancing and taunting her even further, even after her threats.. and as time went by, she grew tired of it, and slit its throat. That little task being finished..

    …but apparently, it was a trap. The companions heard heavy stomping on the bridge leading to the island. Two large warriors, which Ayndur would later find out were bugbears, accompied by several goblins, heavily adorned in shoddy chainmail armor. As they began their march, all Ayndur heard was a female voice yelling "FIGHT THEM!"... and so he charged, having little choice but to listen to that voice..

    The bugbear warriors held up their shields and Ayndur rammed himself into them, quite recklessly. He fell to the ground as the bugbear just pushed him away, and then gave him a good kicking...

    ...all the young elf could remember, was falling to the ground, and hearing the shouts of pain from his companions before the blackness took him into unconsciousness..._

    To be continued…