The Great Library of Palanthas
Astinus' Office
Dominating the center of this room is a massive birch desk. Legend claims this desk has supported the thousands of volumes of history Astinus has recorded. A large pot of ink, a container of sharpened quills, and a candelabra complete the desks decorations. Small windows line the room, allowing light to trickle in and gently illuminate the entire room. A comfortable couch rests against the west wall. Tapestries hang on the walls between the windows. Shelves line the walls, filled with tomes of the more recent records of heroes and villians upon the face of Krynn.
The librarian notices you aren't reading anything... Astinus hands a dirty book showing much wear to an Aesthetic standing by you. You note the spine bears the word 'Autumnstar' scribed in dull black ink. As you glance down at the page you read..
From the pages of Autumnstar's book..
Author: Autumnstar Date: Fri Oct 11 12:25:05 2013 Subject A Night at the Tavern Pt. 1
The bell to the Bard's Song Inn tinkled as the door swung open. A cool blast of autumnal air blew past the cloaked figure in the doorway, carrying with it the smell of dust and travel. A small aghar in dirty yellow and green clothes waddled up to the new-comer and smiled, holding out a pair of silk slippers. "Welcome to Bard's Song Inn! Take of dirty shoe, put on nice clean shoe!" The figure grunted, took the slippers and began pulling off his muddy boots. Further inside the inn, the sound of a band playing a merry tune was almost drowned out by the singing and talking of the inn's patrons, some sober, others not. After he had changed into the slippers and stored his boots, the new-comer walked into the sprawling room. A couple dozen patrons sang or talked happily at one of the many tables in the tavern, while a few lone patrons drank at the bar. The figure took a seat at the bar and pulled back his hood, revealing long, platinum blond hair and pointed, elven ears. As he did so, a human or two looked his way, but most at the Bard's Song were accustomed to the diverse population that visited the inn. "A carafe of wine, your finest, if you will, " the elf said, with an accent that belied his noble upbringing. The elderly kender barkeep smiled and nodded, quickly returning with a carafe of elven wine and a clean wine glass. Pouring himself a glass, the elf turned in his chair, his gaze passing over the inn's patrons until it came to rest on the stage as the band was finishing up its song. Beside the stage was a young kender dressed in brilliant yellows and greens. Perched on her shoulder was a beautiful canary who looked around the room, almost intelligently. After the band had cleared off, the kender walked up to the stage and pulled a small harp from the wall. She turned to the crowd and smiled, plucking the harp's strings absent-mindedly but masterfully. "Welcome to the Bard's Song Inn! Tonight, I'd like to sing you a riddle! If you can guess the answer, you drink for free!" She began playing a tune, and after an intro, opened into song: "I am the wind through trees and leaves, the dusty breath through Dwarven halls, as calm as morning on a lake, or fiercer than the Maelstrom's squalls. The gurgle of a crawling brook, is one form that I choose to take, but also that of mighty waves, that causes boats to creak and shake. The crackle of a traveller's fire, its embers growing close to death, or the mournings 'round a pyre, for a knight, devoid of breath. I'm in the hearts of lovers, young, I keep the old man's heartbeat strong, The faintest beat within the womb, and pounding in a battle's throng. Soldiers, lovers, foes and friends; I weave around through all of them, and when there's doubt 'bout when I'll end, just listen close and there I am." To be continued...
As the kender finished singing, the inn broke out in applause. Many of the patrons had already forgotten that the solution to the riddle promised free drinks, so beautiful was the kender's voice and harp playing. Even the elf at the bar had to admit that this kender played better then most elven musicians. The kender bowed to the patrons, hung up the harp and turned to walk off the stage. As she did so, it seemed to those who watched that the canary on her shoulder whispered something in her ear. With a smile on her face, the kender turned her gaze out into the crowd, looking for someone. Finally, her eyes met the elf's and she nodded to him silently from across the room. The elf turned from her gaze to his drink uncomfortably, confused about what he thought he had seen. After a few moments, the bar stool next to the elf's creaked as the kender pulled herself up onto it. The elf felt a tap on his arm and turned, his hand going to his coin purse. "Can I hel-" he began before being interupted by the kender "Hello! My name's Autumnstar! I just played a song in case you weren't listening and was told you might be someone worth talking to! Of course, everyone is worth talking to but-" "By whom?" the elf re-interrupted. The kender tilted her head, a little confused. "What do you me-" the kender said slowly. "By whom were you told I was someone worth talking to?" The elf said, obviously uncomfortable talking to a kender, especially one that drew attention to him. He was a long way from home and disliked being away from Abanasinia. "Ahhhhh! By my bird of course!" said the kender. "Your bird? You can ta-" the elf said before getting interrupted again, "Oh yes, she's talked to me since I started my wanderlust and has always been very helpful! Keeps me company on the road and seems to know quite more about the world then most people I've met. Of course, talking wouldn't be the right word.. more like "sings" to me.." The elf used the slight lull in Autumnstar's sentence to interrupt once again, "And why did this bird say I was worth talking to? If it knew so much it would know I prefer not talking to strangers." The kender smiled and nodded, "Oh she told me that too, but she also told me you were on a mission! A mission that some of your friends didn't think was worth taking!" The elf squirmed in his stool slightly. "What else did she tell you?" The kender shrugged, "Only that the Solamnics would not grant you an audience and that you are quite right about a darkness stirring in Abanasinia, " said Autumnstar matter-of-factly, "Oh, and you never told me your name!" "I would prefer if you didn't know.. how could you have known about what is happening in Ab-" said the elf before getting interrupted again, "Oh, I know your name is Yohanthalas, but YOU never told me that! And those who truly listen to the Song of Life know far more then others realize.. for example, it told me what you should do next." A hint of anger appeared on the elf's face, "Who are you to say what I SHOULD be doing, especially when you say it was a bird who told you, " demanded the elf. The kender giggled and said "Come now, Yohanthalas.. I listen to the voice of my master! Is that so much harder to believe than being saved from death by a blue bird?" The elf's jaw dropped in shock, "How.. how could you-" The kender giggled again, "This isn't the time to worry, we were both chosen for our respective reasons, and it is time we play our parts! You really shouldn't return to Abanasinia, the evil is weaker there. It is your brothers in Silvanost that need your help." "Silvanost! That is on the other end of the world! You expect me to abandon my home to warn the Silvanesti of some darkness they are no doubt already aware of?" said Yohanthalas, incredulously. Autumnstar shook her head, still smiling. "Not me, Yohanthalas, the gods. Soon, those who fight the darkness will learn to call any place that fights against the evil home. If we abandon one pocket of those who stand against this dark tide, Ansalon will fall. Stay in one of the rooms upstairs for the night and at sunrise tomorrow, take one of our horses and ride for Silvanost as fast as you can." The elf shook his head, but deep inside knew that everything this kender spoke was true, no matter how hard it was to believe. He bowed his head to her, turned and walked towards the stairs to the guestrooms. He would have a long journey ahead, but if this little one believed in the true gods, maybe there were more who did as well, and he shivered as he realized the implications of that.
"But who will take care of things around here?" Frazzlelock asked in exasperation as Autumnstar flitted from room to room. Frazzlelock followed her around watching her grab bags and pouches and fill them with odds and ends from shelves, cabinets and pantries. "Who will perform when we can't find an entertainer for the night? What about if Spez drinks too much? Who will calm him down?" "You, of course!" Autumnstar replied without looking at him, her attention still on putting supplies together. She stopped in front of a shelf and picked up two small driftwood carvings of horses and looked at them a few moments before returning one to the shelf and placing the other in one of her pouches. She skipped over to a table and grabbed a loaf of bread, broke off a few bites and placed the remainder in one of her bags. She stopped for a second, deep in thought, before returning to the abandoned carving and swapping it for the one in her pouch. Frazzlelock remained in the doorway, a distraught look on his face. "But.. but.. what will I tell all the regulars? The Merrits will be coming through soon on their way to market.. you know Aarond needs to hear your story about the ogres near Vingaard each time they come!" Autumnstar brushed past, paying him little attention. Autumnstar skipped over to the bar, poured herself a beer and hopped up to take a seat on a stool. She wheeled herself around to face the room as she took a long swig. Dangling legs kicking, Autumnstar enjoyed her drink and looked around the Bard's Song Inn's common room, taking it all in. Closing her eyes for a moment, Autumnstar took a deep breath, the scent of pine and wood polish filling her nostrils. She heard Frazzlelock take a seat beside her. "I know you're worried, Frazzlelock, but everything will be fine! You'll have Alaine and Kyla to help. If anyone is giving you trouble, Spez will help. If Spez is giving you trouble, the guardsmen will help - just try and get him closer to the door before they do." Autumnstar said quietly but happily. She giggled at some memory and finished off her drink. "Well, about that time!" Frazzlelock watched Autumnstar hop down from her stool and skip towards the door. She grabbed her boots from the shelves the inn kept for dirtied footwear and pulled them on. Leaned up against the shelves was her hoopak, worn and weathered. She grabbed it gingerly and fingered its grooves sentimentally. From up in the rafters, the small, luminously yellow canary that followed Autumnstar everywhere flapped down and landed on her shoulder. Autumnstar smiled, turned to it and whistled a greeting. "When will you be coming back?" Frazzlelock inquired. Autumnstar turned back to Frazzlelock and shrugged. "Whenever I get bored or miss home too much!" With that, she pushed open the door and began skipping down the path from the inn, whispering an ancient kender trail song. Autumnstar could not recall the last time she felt that undeniable emotion that was the kender birthright called wanderlust, but here she was, on the road again.
The Bard's Song Inn remained one of the few establishments not affected by Marshall Frank's dusk curfew over the Port of Schallsea. It was also one of the few places in the city where alcohol could still be obtained. The kender race, of which Autumnstar and most of the Bard's Song Inn's staff were proud members, had an innate ability to "find" things and this talent had served the inn's cellars well. This "talent" was assisted by the fact that the city guard was eager to turn a blind eye to where or how the inn was able to find its supplies - no doubt because soldiers received their two drink ration at no charge. "But Autumnstar!" Frazzlelock muttered as one of the recent feline refugees bounded between his legs at the canary eating crumbs from Autumnstar's hands. "We are losing money! If we keep giving the guards their drinks for free there won't be enough for paying customers!" The canary fluttered up to Autumnstar's shoulder with a reprimanding "chirp" as the Inn's owner caught the cat gently in her arms and began stroking it's neck. "Frazzlelock, have YOU been up to the city walls?" Looking from the cat to Autumnstar, Frazzlelock shook his head before looking down. "Well I have. The smell is horrible and the moans of the Dragonarmy's forces fit nowhere into the Song of Branchala.. Without a few drinks to calm their nerves it would be up to us kender to man the walls." The cat in Autumnstar's arms let out an agitated "mew" as Autumnstar shifted her arm to the bar. The cat resumed its purring, however, when it nestled into the crook of Autumnstar's elbow. "You're worrying about money too much in your old age, Frazzlelock. Money is for making people happy!" Frazzlelock nodded and returned to cleaning mugs. Suddenly, the door to the inn swung open, revealing a young, handsome Solamnic squire. Taking only one step into the inn, he loudly said: "Pardon the late call, but Marshall Frank would see you.. uhm.. Lady Autumnstar"
Autumnstar giggled and motioned the squire forward. "It's rather late, perhaps tomorrow morning would be better?" she said before looking down and petting the cat sleeping on her arm. The guard approached the two kender, eyeing them both warily and with a look of aversion. "It may be, m'lady, " the squire said, nearly choking on that last word, "but the defense of the city demands the Marshall's attention all hours of the day and night. I have been tasked with escorting you to him immediately." Autumnstar's attention remained fixed on the sleeping feline while Frazzlelock and the squire both stared at her. After what seemed like a few minutes, Frazzlelock finally squeaked: "Autumn?" "I heard the good man, " Autumnstar said, "Just trying to find a way out of my predicament." "Predicament?" Autumnstar motioned with her left hand to the cat sleeping on her other arm. "He's sleeping..." "The CAT?!" the squire exclaimed incredulously. "Shhh" Autumnstar hushed the human. Looking down at the cat once more, her face revealed an idea that popped into her head. She took out a small pocket knife from one of the many pouches strapped to her body. Craning her neck to look over her shoulder, Autumnstar proceeded to cut through the sleeve of the yellow silk shirt she wore as the squire looked on with a mask of disbelief and Frazzlelock nodded with approval. With a nimbleness only a kender could perform, Autumnstar slipped her arm out of the sleeve, leaving the cat undisturbed. Hopping off her stool, Autumnstar skipped to the squire, took his hand (and most likely his purse) and said: "So.. what does Frank need me for?"
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He states simply 'You might start with that one.. or you could take a look at the latest story..'
The Latest Entry
Third Update by Ayasana, posted on Sat Apr 20 03:09:54 2019.
Concerning the White Dragonarmy wing. The Wing will continue with operations around Icewall Castle while c(read more)....
The Storytellers of Ansalon, The DragonLance MUD
Astinus points to the massive wall of books behind him and bids you to make a selection.
Authors: All|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
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