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 leather bound tome with glowing glyphs to an Aesthetic standing by you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Immotalus' scribed in deep brown ink.
As you glance down at the page you read..
From the pages of Immotalus's book..
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Sep 23 00:05:44 2010
Subject Recruitment
"Is it dead?" "Dunno. Kick it." A groan escapes the prone figure. "Guess
no-are those horns?" "Shit-it's one of those cow people." "Let's gut it
now." Immotalus lay face down on the sand. Annoyed at the bickering, she
lifts her snout-snorts-and proceeds to rise. She shakes off sand, a strand
of kelp, and a horseshoe crab that took interest in her tail-she stomps on
it for good measure.
Crack. The soldiers turn at the sound and unsheathe their swords to face the
7' frame. Immo snorts again-"Humans." "Gotta problem with us ya udder-"
"First-I'm a Minotaur. Idiot. Second-that hurt." Not waiting for a response,
she lunges forward, goring the speaker. As the others struggle into
defensive positions and try to surround her, she lashes out with a
hoof-smashing into a knee. Reaching down, Immo rips off the crab's tail and
stabs it into the fallen man's eye. The gored one remains motionless-red
pools blossoming from 2 puncture wounds in the chest. There's a slight
jingle of chainmail and the minotaur backhands the soldier behind her.
"Anyone else hungry? It's on the house" she grumbles. The rest edge away.
Shaking her head, Immo rips some cloth off a corpse to wipe blood off her
horns. A spot of white amid the blood, leather, and steel catches her eye.
Immo grabs a crumpled parchment stained a dull red-brown from a body. A
bright red wax seal is open. It has a dragon's image imprinted.
Growling-Immo ignores the wary humans as she leaves the ferry. The parchment
is illegible save for "Dragonarmy" in fading words. Snort. "He won't be
needing this anymore."
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Sep 30 02:18:38 2010
Subject Recruitment II
Overbearing heat chokes the air. Everything is lit in a deep red
hue-courtesy of the Lords of Doom. As a result, smoke replaces clouds in the
evening sky. A minotaur appears from a rocky outcropping-she treads
carefully as ashe maneuvers over the uneven terrain. Volcanic auras dye her
fur a blood-red-her horns gleam white then crimson. Down the path looms a
menacing structure-a temple carved from the igneous rocks. Feeling oddly
drawn to it, Immotalus proceeds towards the edifice.
The minotaur enters a canyon-like crevice. A massive maw gapes ahead. Some
stones are dislodged overhead, trickling down the rockface. Immo unsheathes
her blades and crouches instinctively. Just as she crouches, a winged
predator swoops down and alights on the branch of a charred tree. It was too
large to be a hawk, more massive than an eagle. The creature screams and
spreads its wings-"definitely larger than I am" Immo thinks to herself. Its
feathers emit a lurid red-orange glow. Pheonix? She shakes her head. Bright
likes flames yet dark as the ashes and destruction it briths. The creature
ruffles its black-red plummage and assumes a guarded stance. Bowing once to
the Great Condor, Immotalus mounts the obsidian steps and enters the Temple
of Sargonnas
Sun has long departed and the moons have taken their positions in the night
sky. As Immotalus' hooves reach the last steps, she catches a blur in her
periphery. Warily, she faces the phantasmal figure, hands on her dagger's
hilt. A bright ball of light flickers into existence, dancing in pale white
hands. The hands belong to a short figure-a dwarf-garbed in tattered robes.
His face is completely obscured within the hood's depths. Immo
growls-suspicious at the magic but more so at the dark aura emanating from
the Theiwar. This individual is lethal.
"So, I hear you want to join the war?" He twirls a wax sealed parchment.
Immo nods stiffly. "Yes sir." The hood moves slightly as the figure nods.
"Ready for your first orders?" No t waiting for a response "Meet up with
Edwik and his men. Your unit awaits you in Neraka.Head east. Destination:
Kendermore." With that, he mumbles and the light vanishes. Immo barely
discerns the figure's faint outline as he merges with the shadows and
disappears. She snorts, and sets off at a brisk pace towards Neraka.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Sep 30 02:37:04 2010
Subject Kendermore Campaign
"They've taken the bait sir." Immotalus looks down at the human and nods.
She looks at the maps sprawled over the table. A part of her wonders why
Kendermore, but the Highlord commands it, and she will follow her orders.
"The men are ready. We ride out in five." With that, Edwik salutes and exits
the tent. Immo follows suit a few minutes later, and scans the encampment.
She towers over the majority of the 150 men, save for a few other minotaurs
and ogres.
Peering into the distance, she observes as the Knights of Hylo skirmish and
overwhelm the Dragonarmy reconnaissance party. She growls to herself,
"Should probably check that out..." Facing a group of goblins and hobgoblins
preparing to leave, she directs them to follow her. As the small unti heads
for the ambush site, the main body commences the massive assault Goodlund.
From afar, Immo grunts in satisfaction as catapults fling flaming boulders
at the city and its defenses. Embracing the adrenaline rush, Immo starts to
run-the mounted soldiers struggle to match her pace.
Immotalus and her unit near the Knights of Hylo as they retreat to defend
the city. She spots the scout leader-an 8' red minotaur-and snorts
derisively "captured by kender..." Just then a kender flies out of hiding
and attempts to grapple with he r Disgusted, Immo flings the kender away,
sending it soaring into a wall. Crack. The small form remains motionless.
More kender start appearing, many fleeing and many attacking. Looking
around, Immo realizes they were diverting them away from the c hildren.
Grinning, she roars, stunning those escaping, and sets upon them with
bloodlust. Moments later, she regroups with the main body. Kendermore
burns.
As the men finish off survivors and begin looting, Immotalus catches a flash
of bright greens and yellows. She watches as a kender-a Priest of
Chislev?-leads some children to safety. Before Immo could call attention to
them, smoke and debris obscure sight for a moment and seconds later, they
were gone. Shaking her head, she wades through a sea of child-like bodies in
search of Edwik. The human is drenched in blood-not his own-wiping gore off
his blade. "Immo! This just came for you." He hands over a scroll sealed in
red wax. Unfurling it, she stares at an empty parchment. "What kind of jo-"
A voice speaks in her mind: "Good job Immotalus. As soon as possible, I want
you to head towards these locations." Names appear as ink blots the blank
paper. "Edwik! Have the men "clean" up survivors-we can't be burdened with
prisoners. Station a unit here to discourage anymore bright ideas from these
kender." "Then?" "Then we move out." As Edwik leaves to execute his orders,
he beheads a groaning kender and starts kicking the head around like a ball.
Chuckling, Immo memorizes the messages and tosses the scrolls into the fire,
flames immediately devour it. Suddenly, she feels a warmth on her chest.
Looking down, Immotalus sees an insignia burned into her leather armor- a
permanent etching of a Red Dragon.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Sat Oct 9 07:20:51 2010
Subject "Sargas. Give me strength."
"Damn!" The leather-garbed minotaur clenches her fist and slams it on the
table. "Sargas damn those Solamnics..." "Who knew tin-cans could amount to
anything?" said Edwik, as he used a dagger to pick dried blook from under
his nails. He would stop at intervals to throw small blades at a kender
strung up on a battered board at the tent's opposite end. "Just kill the
damn thing already" the red furred minotaur growls. He raises his eyebrows
in mock innocence "Now where's the fu n in that?" And releases another-the
steel cuts through the air and hits its mark, severing a tiny finger. "Hmph.
Prefer a Solamnic strung up there. Now THAT would be fun." "Patience
Immotalus. Can't bash metal head-on, you'll just bounce..."
Immo waves off Edwik's words of wisdom. She retrieves the parchment that
flew off the table. Scans the bottom where it's blank. Ink suddenly breaks
the rough surface, meandering across. "Let me guess, we're going back"
declares the human. Immo no ds. He looks up for a moment, wrinkles his brow
in thought "now where were the dragons?", and resumes his activities. "Where
indeed" she thinks. She stands, stretches, and exits the musty,
copper-scented tent. Dusk settles in. Save for the sentires and lookouts,
the rest of the men are sleeping, drinking and eating-not in that particular
order. Rubbing an old scar along her snout, Immotalus heads out of camp.
This contingent was heading south to rendevous with another regiment. Then
the Knights took Kalaman-with a force a thousand strong she heard. She
shakes her horned head and sighs. "Despite the numbers, that would've been a
wondrous battle to partake in." Growling, she strikes out, snapping some
foliage-disturbing the silence that has settled around. Finally, Immo
reaches a clearing in the grassy plains. Reaching under her armor, she pulls
out a red-black feather. It emits a lurid gleam as it's twirled on its stem.
The sky is on fire now-a grim flame of deep scarlet and waning orange and
yellow."
"Sargas. GIve us strength. Give ME strength." Finishing her short prayer,
Immotalus put her talisman away. She doesn't know if her prayer will be
answered, but she does know this: The Solamnics victory is ephemeral-she
grips her daggers-as are their lives.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Tue Nov 2 04:33:02 2010
Subject War-Frustrations
Thwock. Another blade cuts the air and lands with a thud against the wood
board. Simultaneously, a finger falls in a bloody flop to the red-stained
floor. "Score!" Edwik downs another tankard of ale. "Glad you're enjoying
yourself" mumbles the mi notaur. "Aw C'mon Immo. Give it a try-there are
plenty of 'em." Edwik hands over a dagger and sticks a thumb at the cages
overflowing with prisoners of war-bloodied, emaciated, pathetic.
Snorting, Immotalus ignores the proferred blade and grabs a steel axe off
its rack and throws it at the helpless strung human. The axe rotates through
the air and lands squarely in the neck-cleanly severing the head. The head
flips down in a wet arc and joins the limbs pile-cherry on top. Edwik rolls
his eyes. "Nevermind. You wasted 5 hours of select dismemberment.." Immo
waves off another rant, apologizes, and exits the chamber.
She mounts and ascends slick black stone steps, shoving past saluting sivaks
garbed in Red uniforms. The minotaur clears the temple compound. She growls
in irritation. It's been weeks since she received her last orders-days since
the last report, detailing losses incurred by the Solamnics. Sols outnumber
them and have been routing DA forces in Qualinesti and Southgate-and there's
nothing she could do. "Hello! Would you like to purch-" Immo bares her teeth
and gores the merchant attempting to sell his wares. The merchant falls
down, gasping and coughing up blood. He stares down at the 2 puncture wounds
in his chest-also welling up crimson. Sneering, the minotaur grabs the human
and stomps off towards the North gate and into the city's outskirts.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Jan 13 21:03:01 2011
Subject Revenge: The Aftershocks of War, Part 1
Magma swells and deflates, gurgling and bubbling as it flows through
cracks and crevasses. Igneous rocks solidify then crumble into several
charred pieces. Fumes coil lazily with thick pops from roiling red-orange
liquid. A horned creature sits cross-legged amid the fire and stone, its fur
a deep crimson cast by the chamber's lurid glow.
Suddenly it rises. The creature leaves the sacred chamber, coming upon
aslight promontory. The horned head turns as it surveys the Dragonarmy
camp.New orders have been issued to reinforce an ally, then resume under
his/her command. It's late-the encampment and surrounding foliage cast long
shadows, stretching out into deep dark pool.
"Immotalus, we're just about ready." salutes a black-haired minotaur. He's
clad in steel plated armor with red filigree to represent the Red Wing.Immo
nods. "Firaloth, have the men rest now. Tomorrow, there'll be no breaks
until we reach our destination." As the soldier departs, the red-furred
minotaur catches a slight flicker of light between shadows in her
periphery.Snarling, she pivots with daggers drawn. Silence, trees, and rocks
greet her stance, with the occasional insect chirping. "Someone small,
definitely smelled...something...familiar." she thinks.
A mountain lion cub rushes from the undergrowth, hackles raised at the
minotaur, then pounces away. "Hmph. Cats." Sheathing her daggers, Immotalus
starts toward the communal tent where a frothing tankard of ale awaits. As
the sun sets, the rising cacophony of evening revelries is matched-soon
surpassed-by a chorus of an army of insects.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Jan 13 21:22:24 2011
Subject Revenge: The Aftershocks of War, Part 3
Nostrils flaring, the red-furred minotaur twirls a dagger. Metal tip
spinning upon the weathered wooden surface, it narrowly misses thin,
green-brown mottled fingers."Cedrahil, the ranger, says the bugs-" The blade
rises and settles firmly with a thud into the wood between two trembling
digits.The hand almost retracts instinctively."I don't care. Just get rid of
them" orders the horned creature. Bobbing its head, the goblin salutes, and
scrambles out immediately.
A large, black-furred minotaur enters, its armor scratched and dented. "Yes
Firaloth?" "First insects and their incessant chirping, then packs of wolves
devour half our supplies" he shakes his head " these plagues are unnatural."
Immotalus resheathes the dagger and moves over to the large map set over a
nearby desk. As she mulls over the intended route, she nods "How bad?"
"We'll have to ration what's left until we can restock or send for more.
Water's low, sent some men down the river to refill-" She looks up"What's
wrong with the water?" He scratches a furred jowl "Well, uh, some birds
decided to use the casks as baths and latrines sir. Some barrels also have
wastes mixed in-in short, water's tainted."
Growling, Immo grabs a quill, dips it in an inkwell, and scratches out more
mumbers on a half-filled parchment."These small incidents are costing us..."
she trails off.Ears twitch as they pick up a deep rumbling in the distance.
Eyes flash down and notice slight ripples in the ink. The ripples increase
in frequency and length; the sound continues to build. Firaloth reaches for
an axe strapped to his side. Immotalus continues to listen and recognizes
hooves pounding on packed dirt, snorts, and the sentries' alarmed shouts.
Crescendo arrives; large, bulky forms tear through the tent's canvas. They
upend the scarce furnishings. Burdened by heavy armor, Firaloth is only able
to sidestep before a bison tackles him to the ground. Immo evades the first
wave.Snarling, she turns and charges the incoming horde at an angle,
knocking them off-balance.One large bison, nearly twice the size and weight
of a fully mature minotaur, faces her, nostrils flaring, and attacks head
lowered. Bracing herself, Immo draws her daggers; just as the bison is a
breath away, she pivots, blades extended.The animal slashes itself on the
lower blade, cutting its forelegs' ligaments and tripping, while the upper
one cuts deeply across its side and fla nk. As the creature stumbles and
falls, the minotaur deepens the gash, spilling intestines and additional
organs. The bison twitches, breaths its last, then lay still.
Immotalus gazes in disbelief as herds of bison seem to appear out of
nowhere. They stream into camp, stampeding across tents, equipment, and
trampling oblivious soldiers. Large groups, huddled across the camp, amid
the chaos consist of men smart enough to form a shield of pikes and spears
to ward off the enraged herd. Some are just bison stomping away on the
unfortunate. Teeth bared, wrinkling her red-firred muzzle, Immotalus
remembers something. She stabs a bison behind her, and turns to aid Firaloth
who is buried beneath furious hooves. Kicking a bison and grabbing another
by its horns, Immo twists, snaps its neck and tosses the corpse into
another.
The steel-armored minotaur finally stands up, metal dented and
bruised."Regroup the men, kill and gather as many of these" she jerks her
chin towards a corpse" as possible." Nodding, the minotaur wields his axe
and shield, and proceeds to barrel into another group to relieve some ogres
and goblins. A small shadow treads the conflict's outskirts. Immo spots a
flash of yellow and green. "Kender" she mutters through gritted teeth.The
minotaur picks up a broken shaft and spears a bison ready to gore her.
Ignoring the blood spatter, she sprints toward where she last saw the
culprit.
Author: Immotalus
Date: Thu Jan 13 21:32:27 2011
Subject Revenge: The Aftershocks of War, Part 5
"Gag her" As the kender's limbs were bound in rough twine, a wad of
canvas is stuffed into her mouth, then secured around her head. The red
minotaur crouches to eye level with the captive. "Here's a gift we fashioned
for your race after we burned Kendermore to the ground." The minotaur grins
wickedly as she presents a tiny, intricate contraption. It consists of
several rings linked together by spiked chains of black iron. It doesn't
have an obvious locking mechanism or a keyhole. The smaller rings are each
further connected to a larger ring; it's thin compared to the smaller
versions, with jagged edges of a sickly green hue.
"Beautiful isn't it?" The minotaur mutters a few words and the rings and
chains mold themselves onto the kender's fingers and wrists. She squirms
uncomfortably as the contraption forces her hands into a cramped position.
"Careful. Move your fingers a certain a way and you'll cut your wrists on
those poisoned edges.Try to move wrists and you'll pull the finger chains
tighter, until they dislocate the digits and sever them. Strain too hard and
these spikes will crush them. And don't think about smashing the
chains-magically enhanced with the Dark Queens' blessings. Nothing short of
Reorx's hammer can break them." The horned creature chuckles. "Why all the
trouble for this little toy? It's been known that the smallest of things
cause the greatest of troubles."
An aurak garbed in her Dark Majesty's robes arrives, a lily engraved gold
chain hangs around its neck.He nods to Immotalus "Sergeant"."Cleric"
she bows. Scratching a scar on her snout, the minotaur narrows her eyes at
the prisoner. "Make it several more hours than usual." Flashing the kender a
toothy grin, the draconian waves a clawed hand over her face, reciting
arcane words. Slowly, the priestess' eyelids grow heavy; her head falls limp
as sleep overcomes her. "Ssshall I throw in a nightmare?" Sneering, Immo
shakes her horned head. "No, she'll be living it soon enough."
The sun kisses the ricky hills in the distance. The minotaur allows her gaze
to follow the yellow-orange glow. Evening light bathes the camp in warm
hues. Tents are taken down and packed, along with equipment and supplies.
Hatori are loaded up and fed for the journey ahead. Although a good amount
of equipment was damaged, they'll deal. Food and water won't a be a
problem-the dead bison they skinned, dried, and salted is sufficient for
several months. Creativity struck some of the men, and they fashioned armor
and weapons out of the bones and horns.
Immotalus turns to watch some ogres hang the kender upside down from a
tree.She smiles, remembering how prisoners are usually hung by the hands,
until the enchanted chains cut through their skin and into the bone,
dismembering and poisoning them. As the rest of the bison carcasses were
hung alongside the culprit-some in piles at the tree's base-the minotaur
makes an offering to Chislev. "In return for your priestess' life, interfere
no longer." she prays silently, then kicks some dirt into the small fire.
Smoke begins to rise. Snorting, the horned creature secures her blades and
rejoins the departing Dragonarmy.
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 Shadow in the Dark
by Mwagdun, posted on Tue Nov 27 19:09:03 2018.
The black velvet robes of the mage flutter in the gentle breeze as he
exits the darkness of the forest into the circle (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 18 authors starting with the letter I
who have stories in the Palanthas library.'
\n
