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 heavy platinum-covered book to an Aesthetic standing by you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Derkylos' scribed in green ink.
As you glance down at the page you read..
From the pages of Derkylos's book..
Author: Derkylos
Date: Thu Dec 11 06:38:00 2008
Subject Shadows Proposition (Knife of the Dracart)
Walking back from his last encounter with the black robed mage looking
for revenge Derkylos passes through the town of vingaard stopping to get
some ale and bread. Derkylos sits back and enjoys his ale, chewing on his
bread when necessary when he heard some people talking. Now normally he
would not eavesdrop but the words 'Legendary' and 'Black Robes' caught his
attention, thinking this may be something new they would come after him with
he listened to their conversation.
Many minutes after that Derkylos had figured out what they were talking
about, apparently there is a rumor going around that golden dragon eggs were
being mutated, of which Derkylos cared little, and that there was a dagger
blessed by something, the men talking didn't know what either, and that it
had awesome powers for whoever wielded it.With this in in his mind Derkylos
set out, deciding it would be good to do some research seeing as how the
mages lost it if Derkylos could find it this would serve him two purposes.
The first being the mages would not have another weapon to come after him
with, the second obviously being a little more towards self preservation
would be that he would have new powers defend himself with. Either way it
would be up to him to find it.
Setting out across the solamnic plains towards the city of palanthas and the
great library Derkylos was stopped by a man shrouded in black robes a stench
that was ungodly. Derkylos politely nodded to the man giving him a few
coins, this man obviously needed it for a bath and some new clothing,
Derkylos started on his way again. Before he got too far the man stopped and
spoke 'You have the look of strength.' Derkylos stopped, not knowing why
something just pulled him towards this man. 'Yeah, what of it?' Derkylos
stated, not wanting to be delayed from his research for too long. 'And you
are in the holy order of the stars, no?' Derkylos nods slightly confused. 'I
would like to employ you then, I need you to get whatever information you
can from the holy order about any peculiar items, rewards will come when the
information does.' Derkylos stares at the figure, debating for a moment,
then finally nods. 'And these rewards, what form will they come in? Coin?
Power? Knowledge? What?' The dark figure grins 'In whatever form you wish i
can give you any or all of these things, so the form is your choice and
yours alone.' 'And if i decide to give you such information? How shall i
find you?' As if the figure disappeared in front of him altogether Derkylos
heard nothing but a voice 'I will be here, waiting.'
With that odd bit done Derkylos continued on towards the city without any
incidents. Upon reaching the town of palanthas night had fallen and Derkylos
went to the inn paid for his room and sat down in his bed, head swimming
with bits of thoughts of half run-on sentences "'Crazy stranger looking to
me for information?' 'Wonder what this weapon looks like?' 'Wonder if i'll
ever find it?'" Before long Derkylos was fast asleep in his bed, still
sitting in his meditation style.
Author: Derkylos
Date: Sat Dec 13 01:41:55 2008
Subject Rodin, Knife of Dracart.
Awaking the next morning Derkylos stretches, walks out of his room and
goes down to the inn for some breakfast. While eating breakfast Derkylos
decides to go for a walk, coming out of the inn he takes a left down diamond
and continues on, taking in the sights of the beautiful city. Upon passing
the park he bumps into a member of his order, Rodin. 'Greetings Rodin, how
have you been?' 'Shove off.' was the response he got from a fellow monk of
the holy order of the stars. Finding it odd Derkylos shrugged it off but as
his fellow monk passed he felt it, the urge to fight, to bleed, the urge to
kill. Upon feeling this he knew there was but a single item powerful enough
to nearly overcome his senses, the legendary knife. Knowing that he must
have the knife, of course to save everyone else from its wrath, Derkylos
swiftly followed Rodin on his way towards the docks. Since it was mid-day it
would be hard to find a place to subdue the monk, knowing it would be hard,
he had to find a place that the noise would be expected. Moments later the
idea smacked him hard in the face, literally. Caught up in his thinking and
focusing on Rodin he had walked directly into a sign for the arena.
That was where it would happen. After a few moments they neared close enough
to the arena that battle screams would be common occurrence and their battle
would not be heard. 'I am truly sorry my friend.' muttered Derkylos, loud
enough for Rodin hear and make him turn on his heels landing a gruesome
punch in Derkylos' face. "I do not remember him being this strong in our
last training session, is this the power of the knife?' Derkylos thought to
himself just barely dodging another attack, obviously meant to destroy
Derkylos' rib cage. Concentrating more on the present Derkylos takes to his
martial arts style of fighting and begins his assault. Through an immense
amount of dips and dives Derkylos can hear rodin saying 'Derkylos, you can't
have this dagger, the power is too immense.' 'I seek it for nothing, not
it's power, not it's use. I seek it simply to have it, not use it.' Of
course Derkylos knew this was a lie, he wanted the power, yearned for it,
would even kill for it if he had to. It's odd being in close proximity to
the knife he was feeling rather strange. Before interaction with Rodin, when
he woke up this morning, he really did just want it to have it, to keep
others from using it from wrong or right. Ever since he was in close area
with the knife the feelings increased, he knew now that the dagger would
overwhelm him, but at this point he cared little he could worry about that
if the time ever came. After a bit of dodging and more gruesome blows from
Rodin Derkylos saw his opening, when Rodin threw his punches, just for a
second, he left his chest open. This was how he would have to beat him. He
did not want to kill him, while yes he had a feeling for violence and blood
ties with a fellow brother were more important which gave him hope that with
some time he could deter the dagger from controlling him. With another shot
from Rodin bringing him back from his thoughts he once again concentrated on
subduing the monk. With a shot that was intentional taken Derkylos brought
his fist into Rodin's chest with all his might. That one blow coupled with
the other small blows to vital spots Rodin all at once stopped attacking and
fell over, unconcious.
Apologizing one more time Derkylos began to frisk the unconcious monk
searching for what he was looking for. Tucked quietly in the back of Rodins
belt was the dagger he sought for so much. Holding it in his hands Derkylos
felt the burn, felt and loved it. The pain brought him to the realization
that he needed to get out of here, out of the city. If the guards found him
standing over a crumpled corpse then they would be sure to arrest him and
confiscate any weapons he had, including the dagger. Looking both ways up
and down the street Derkylos spotted a guard to the south and walked
promptly up the street to the north, briskly but not enough to draw
attention. Not wanting to risk going by the inn to grab his things Derkylos
walks straight out the south gate onto the knights high road. After hours
and hours of walking Derkylos' feet and body begin to feel the pain of the
previous battle, now that the adrenaline rush died down, and he decided it
would be a nice time to rest a short bit.
Taking a two hour walk off the east side of the road he discovers a cave and
enters it, first checking for previous inhabitants of course. Derkylos sits
down and rests on a rock, taking the knife in his hands again he begins to
study it. The first thing derkylos noted was that it curved to fit his hand,
tight enough to stay there, yet not too tight to cause discomfort, the knife
looked cold, freezing almost, yet its touch was hot. It would appear as
though the blade was liquid, or dipped in something liquid, yet that had
dried up long ago from the air and the weather. As he continued to study it
his mind started to fill with an overwhelming noise. Voices, he could not
understand what they were saying yet he could hear them crisply. Shoving the
dagger into his belt he began to meditate, attempting to heal what damage
was caused by the duel between him and Rodin, after many hours and much
effort nothing occurred. Every time he tried his head would fill up, he
could not concentrate on anything but the dagger. After a few minutes
exhaustion took him over, he fell into an uncomfortable sleep, dreams
haunted by a power that would control him and yet satisfy him at the same
time..
Author: Derkylos
Date: Sat Dec 13 07:34:07 2008
Subject Final resting place (Knife of Dracart)
Waking up the next morning not feeling completely refreshed from
yesterdays battle Derkylos once again sat on the rock. His mind set on
overcoming this dagger. 'If I am going to have this to prevent all else from
using it I must resist the temptations of it myself or fall pray to that
which I am choosing to save others.' Taking the dagger in his hands yet
again Derkylos feels the impulses surge through his head more than when the
dagger was tucked away. 'I must resist this, remember your training.'
Derkylos strains through all the negativity to remember what the abbots
taught him back at the monastery, the only way to overcome something is to
not try to beat it but instead just try to neutralize it. The only way to
neutralize this daggers animosity would be to stay positive. With memories
of all the wrongs done to him, like being an outcast from his family for
being only half-elven, or how at first he did not exceed in the monastery.
Those were the first thoughts coming to his head. After straining to fight
through these he began to remember the days of laughing and playing with
childhood friends, then even those turned to flashes of his friends dying,
Derkylos saw himself standing over them with this knife in his hand,
grinning madly. 'NO!' Derkylos fought harder through these memories to bring
back those of the good, this continued on through the better half of a day.
The memories of good finally seeping through only to be perverted and
twisted by those of the dagger. After a long time Derkylos found it
necessary break his meditation, coming to the realization of blood seeping
from his mouth from the mental stress, sweating, out of breath, and very
much drained from the 'battle' that had waged in his mind. 'I need rest, to
continue on like this will kill me', but he could not bring himself to put
the dagger down.
He slept that night, dagger in hand, not restful at all. His dreams were
even twisted by the dagger which he still held, clutched in his hand. He
awoke the next morning feeling no better than he did the night before. Again
sweating, gasping for air, and drained in general. 'I must seek a better
place, one where I am comfortable and good energy will surround me.' This
meant returning to the monastery where he once trained.
Gathering his things he wearily trudged on through the solamnic plains south
of the knights high road he had traveled to get to his cave. After many
hours of walking he finally reached his destination, only to have his hope
shattered. The monastery lay in front of him, completely in disarray. A
single temple stood, which used to be gleaming and majestic, now with holes
in the walls. Where there was once a bustling courtyard of monks in
training, was now just an empty lot, overgrown with plants and weeds. The
once silver shining doors were now turned what could only be described as a
dark ugly green. This upset Derkylos, the place he had loved was now in
disarray. Feeling the twinges of anger and malice towards the masters that
once taught here Derkylos once again started thinking the happy memories,
subconciously trying to fight the dagger yet again. Walking through the now
empty lot Derkylos started getting flashbacks of his training, interactions
with other monks and his teachers. 'This is where it will happen, if I
cannot neutralize this thing here then it will not be able to be done.'
Walking over to the front of the solitary temple Derkylos studies the doors
giving them a push. Realizing they were blocked from the inside, possibly
rubble from collapsed pieces of the second floor, maybe not who knows.
Setting out his bedroll Derkylos cannot help but begin his routine that he
used to follow when he still stayed in the monastery. After his workout
Derkylos felt drained so without giving the dagger, which was tucked neatly
into his belt since he got to the monastery earlier today, Derkylos fell
fast asleep being at ease for the moment.
He awoke early the next morning, feeling more refreshed than ever before he
once again without thought did his morning exercises and sat down. Taking
some bread out of his pack he munches on bread and sips on water from his
leather skin he ponders on what could have transpired here to allow this to
happen. After his breakfast Derkylos decided it was time to try to battle
this dagger again, filled with thoughts of happy memories from his dreams
the night before he pulled out the dagger confidently. Once again staring at
it, as the feelings started to surge through his body once again, he thought
he saw the dagger blow a bit of red. It also appeared as if the pointed end
of the dagger twisted slightly, almost as if to make a mock smile at the
monk's efforts.
The meditation started once again, the battle started as well. Mind
straining to remember the good times without being perverted by the bad. The
battle waged on within Derkylos for many hours, he had one last shot and he
knew it. Dragging up the single memory he has of his parents back when he
was younger, Derkylos smiled. The way they held him and looked so happy,
even if it was only for a moment, that single moment was all he needed. The
concentration Derkylos set on this memory was one that the dagger found it
hard to penetrate, after hours of concentrating on the same moment he
suddenly felt a rush of relief with in him. The sudden rush of calmness only
lasted for a brief moment before it was broken, his parents held him, but in
the twisted version his parents had held him only long enough to take him to
the monastery. When his parents dropped them off, instead of riding off
together his mother is slain by his father who is in turn slain by elves who
banished him for his love of a human woman.
Derkylos then stopped his meditation, realizing that nothing would ever be
able to neutralize an object with this much force. Continuing to try would
be insanity and most likely drive him mad. With that thought in his head
Derkylos then began thinking of how to discard this weapon of immense power
so it could no longer be used by anyone. Derkylos sat there thinking a
while, when he realized the best place would be his current position, no one
had been here in years it was perfect. Glancing at the dagger in his hand
one last time he almost could not bear to get rid of it, the touch was warm
and the power was trying to entice him once again. Glancing around he took
note of a well that had been covered in vines, 'This is where the final
resting place of this object should be, away from those it would hurt. No
power this great should exist and you must be destroyed ' Derkylos said to
himself and to the dagger. Tossing the weapon into the well, making sure to
cover it with stones and rocks to ensure no one would ever find it. He then
packed up his things, thinking it would be best to move away before anyone
saw him and got suspicious of what he was doing in such a place, Derkylos
then moved on making his way back to the holy order of the stars, hoping he
would forget any such thoughts of the dagger.
Author: Derkylos
Date: Sun Dec 21 07:08:09 2008
Subject The post regrets (Knife of Dracart)
Waking up, feeling cold and bloody from the beating he recieved from the
mage, Derkylos first took a few minutes to first realize where he was. He
sat up, feeling the pains from his ribs and the back of his head, and stared
around with a blank look on his face. "Where am i? What happened?" were the
first thoughts to come to his head. Then he rememberd, he had done battle
with the dagger and before he could overcome it he put it in the well. With
that thought and not another he strained to get up, after a couple tries and
some seriously painful feelings, he succeeded. Slowly walking over to the
well he looked inside only to find the dagger had gone missing. 'SHIT!' he
said aloud to himself and no one else because he was alone. 'I don't really
give a damn about the mage he deserves whats coming but that power must not
be released on krynn, I must wield its power for control and not domination'
he said. It was then that he realized it, the cold feeling, not from the
weather or the lack of gear he had, but the cold of being without the
dagger. The warmth of its blade, the enticing power, without this he was
nothing. If he would have had the dagger and just embraced it he would not
be laying here, damn near naked. Realizing what he must do he decided to
rest for a few days, heal his body with his mind, and then set out in search
of this dagger once again.
rest for a few days, heal his body with his mind, and then set out in search
of this dagger once again. Tower. Feeling the pub was the best place to find
answers he walked inside and sat down, looking for the person who would know
all the towns gossip. 'You, would you please come over here for a minute?'
Derkylos asked the man sitting in the corner, huddled in the middle of
another group of men whispering like women. 'Me? Now why would i want to do
that, eh?' was the mans reply. Derkylos stood up and walked over to this man
'I will ask you one more time, will you please join me at my table?'
Derkylos said with less patience. The mans reply was simple 'No.'Derkylos
nodded, 'If that is your wish then thank yourself' in a single swift motion
Derkylos picked up the man and hurled him into the chair that was sitting
across from where he was previously sitting, 'Thank you for complying'
Derkylos said with a slight smile as he walked over and sat down across from
the now frightened man. 'I'll make this simple, has there been a mage that
has passed through this town in the past few weeks? Acting odd, even for one
of those mamby pamby mages?'the mans reply came swift and unsarcastic now
'Yes, was walking round, talking to himself and would answer anyone who
tried to talk to him back, came paid for a room and went to study, got up
the next morning and that was the last we saw of him.' the man finally got
out after a little bit of fear induced stuttering. 'Good, now since you were
so rude to me you will pay for my ale, and my room as an apology, go inform
the barkeep and you will keep your limbs.'"I must find this dagger again,
its power was much too comefortable, if i could have had that this would
have been prevented, i must embrace the power and let it engulf me in its
glory." Derkylos continued to think about this as he walked to his paid for
room and laid his head down. Dreams had haunted him that night, nightmares
had comforted him. The only dream that stuck out in Derkylos' mind was the
one where he had the dagger in his posession and was challenged by none. A
dream about traveling the world where there was no war for any who sought to
start one turned up dead, with a single mark carved into their back. The
mark at this point was shrouded in a blrruy fog, but he was sure it would
become clearer once he had the dagger in his posession once again.
Awaking the next morning, filled with a sense of renewed need for this
dagger Derkylos had set out across the Solamnic Plains in search of rumor of
this mage who attacked him and last had the dagger, as far as he knew. Once
he had come to the middle, or what looked to be the middle, of the plains he
stared ahead, having an eerie feeling, and continued walking forward
cautiously. After another few minutes of walking he came upon a shadowed
figure once again, remembering when he had started his quest that he had an
arrangement with this figure he tried to walk around, to avoid questioning
but it was effort that ought not to have been spent for the figure had seen
him already. 'Have you brought any news of any powerful artifacts that we
had once talked of?' 'No, i have not been in the halls much lately to have
time to do research for you.' Derkylos started walking again, surely the
figure would not follow him. 'You know something your not telling me, I have
heard rumors of a monk that possesed a dagger of quite some power, a monk
that fits your description.' 'Well there are a dozen monks that look like
me, go ask them.'The monk heard a slight rustling of robes, then felt very
confused. Things that were stationery started moving, walls appeared when
there were none, he could not find the words in his head to speak. Locating
the robed figure who was staring at him intently Derkylos heard two things
the first was the voice of the robed figure 'I told you rewards were great,
i did not mention failure would be deadly.' the second thing Derkylos heard
was the bone crunching crack from the figures mace smashing down on
Derkylos' head, before drifting into unconciousness Derkylos reflected yet
again upon how this would not have happened, if he had only kept the
knife.....
Read More
He states simply 'You might start with that one.. or you could take a look at the latest story..'
The Latest Entry
The Human Hand Refers to Love
by Kristus, posted on Thu Apr 7 20:30:02 2022.
After missing my love, I realized that duty aboard the ship was more important than her.
I was fortunate to exist as a (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
Astinus says '
There are 60 authors starting with the letter D
who have stories in the Palanthas library.'
\n
