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 journal to an Aesthetic standing by you. You note the spine bears the word 'Aard' scribed in glowing yellow ink. As you glance down at the page you read..
From the pages of Aard's book..
Author: Aard Date: Sun Jun 1 23:04:51 2014 Subject The Khurious case of the Kapaks part 1...
I sat overlooking the small encampment on the west side of the Bay of Balifor. The sun was setting and I was sent to scout out our route for the next week. I was sitting on my wonderful mare, Liza, who was still just a filly. I had been with her for the last 2 years and she was developing well. The stud fee on her father, King of Sand and Distance (what ridiculous names they were given) was a hefty price, but it seemed to be worth it. Liza was not the fastest I had ridden, but her stamina and footing were the best. I gazed back down over the camp. It was a small group of maybe 15 Kapak's. Scouting party perhaps, maybe some kind of hunting mission. I couldn't tell their banners from this far away, but their coppery glint was hard to miss. I would have to tread very carefully. Kapak's are notoriously deviant and with their poison, one little scratch was all it took. I had a decent knowledge and worked with some poisons, but nothing like what the Kapak's had. I whistled for my hawk to return to my arm. I would have to make sure she stayed close in this area. I considered whether to return to my band. We were headed south to the edges of the Silvanesti forest and an encounter with the Kapak's could be dangerous. Even if we did encounter them, nothing would likely happen. But those draco's can barely tolerate the variations in their own, let alone human nomads. But it wasn't my job to make those decisions, just relay them up to our band leader, that asshole Drazgul. So, I turned Liza around and headed back. *************** It was dark by the time I arrived at camp and I whistled my greeting to the How's everything here?" guards as I approached. "Welcome back Aard" "Hey, thanks, it was a long day. How's everything here?" "Oh fine, fine. Our great and mighty leader is at the campfire, drunk, regaling everyone with tales of exploits. All likely stolen from someone else. Find anything out there?" "Know I can't tell you until I tell Drazgul." I said as I walked by the guard, "but it might involve some draco's" The guard groaned as I walked past and went to tether Liza and put my hawk on her perch. I splashed my hands and washed my face off before I steeled myself to go talk to Drazgul. It could only be worse if he was already drunk and in front of the other men. I unwrapped my headscarf and walked to the fire. "And then, I cut his tongue off for eating my portion of the pig" I heard Drazgul yell and then laugh horribly and some half-hearted chuckles from the rest of the group. I stepped up into the light. "Ahhhhh, Aard. You made it back. You look tired. Long day? I hope I didn't send you out too far today!" Drazgul chuckled as he took a large swig from a wineskin. "I'd offer you a drink but, then I'd have to drink it after you" "Evening leader. I have my report for you. We likely can't stay on our path to the south along the water, there's a pack of draco's, Kapaks. Maybe 10, maybe 15." I told Drazgul, standing. "Can't?" I immediately regretted my words. "Cannot huh? Are you the leader now boy? Can't! Ha! I believe you are theno, I KNOW you are the scout, and I am the leader. So why don't you give me your reportand I WILL decide what our course of action is" "Yes sir. Whatever you find best. There looks to be an old trading path to the west that will still lead us south to the border of the forest." "And how many days longer will this path inland take?" Drazgul asked. "Well, I can't be exact, but perhaps 3 maybe 4 days." "You can't be exact eh? Great scout you are. All the accolades my uncle's given you and you can't be exact?" He had another pull from his wine skin. "You can't scout and you'll never amount to much otherwise, especially with those ears of yours." I instinctively ran my hands along the edges of my semi-pointed ears. A product of fling by my mother with a kagonesti elf during a long trading trip. "Yes, that's right. You're a little halfie, you're no khur. No desert man." He spat disgustedly into the fire. "Go clean your horse, you're riding ahead tomorrow to let those draco's know we are coming" He smiled a little and then took another drink. "Yes sir." I walked back to my tent to go sharpen my blade. It was going to be a dangerous day tomorrow. -to be continued in part 2
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He states simply 'You might start with that one.. or you could take a look at the latest story..'
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Thaen Stormbourne #6 part 2 by Thaen, posted on Sun Oct 6 14:29:56 2024.
Wyldsheed also noticed he had put on some bulk to his already large frame since he began training with her. She chuckled(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
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
Astinus mentions 'We have had over 876 storytellers on Ansalon pen their epic stories here for all to read.'
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