An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Barton.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap Off 65 80.'
The gully continues 'Eyes hurt? Turn Color OFF!! (regular story dates)

Astinus says 'Enter the main library here to view only the author list.'
Astinus gently places a concise treatise on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Barton' scribed in unearthly grey ink.

Author:    Barton         
Date:      Mon May  4 15:05:04 2020
Subject     A Merry Life and a Short One


It began with an inauspicious start - his life.

The young man lounged on a stack of barrels outside the run-down tavern and
reflected on what had led him to this point. He was a short, stocky,
barrel-chested hulk of a man, one who often chose to lead with his fists
rather than his wit. It wasn't that he was lacking in wit, just that, for
some reason, people couldn't seem to understand his dialect. They did,
however, understand his fists, and his appetite for violence had come from a
hunger for survival. Now it often seemed that same hunger could never be
sated.

Back to the beginning, though.

As a young, orphaned, teenage boy, he'd been desperate to find work
anywhere, and in any way, that he could. He found it first on a merchant's
ship. The pay was barely a living wage, but it offered room and board and a
skill set to hone, a sailor's skill set. Majere's Fortune, an oddly named
vessel he thought, made the routine journey between Freeport and Palanthas,
trading lizard tongues and holy wafers for various black market goods. The
Captain didn't discriminate; he considered himself a middle man and took his
transaction fee off the top.

However, not a year into Barton's newfound occupation, Majere's Fortune
found itself besieged and overtaken by pirates. He, and several of the other
able-bodied men, were taken prisoner aboard the pirate ship. The rest were
set adrift at sea. The captives were all given the same offer:

"In an honest service there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. In
this, plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power."

It was an easy decision, and who would not balance creditor on this side,
when all the hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a sour look or two
at choking? No, a merry life and a short one would be his motto.

-------------------------------

Where he was merely good at being a sailor on a merchant ship, he thrived at
being a pirate. The young man, Barton, shied away from most of the pirating
at first, preferring to stick to the sailing. However, as he listened to the
stories, and the glories, as he admired the swagger, and as he witnessed his
colleagues reap their rewards... he fell in love. It wasn't long before he
found himself locked in pitched battle after pitched battle: with other
pirate ships, with the Royal Palanthian Navy, with merchant ships. It became
life or death on the high seas, and he would choose life, as short or as
long as it may last.

-------------------------------

Years passed aboard the Sea's Howl, and Barton grew into a young man, one
full of spit and vinegar and eager for a fight. As he sat aboard the barrels
outside The Rusty Rudder, still feeling the hunger, he reflected on one
terrible night, a memory that still made his blood boil, as even a passing
thought stoked the fire.

The Sea's Howl was anchored in a little cave just south of the Sea of Chaos,
heartily celebrating their great fortune. They'd just pulled in a
magnificent haul on a raid that seemed far too easy. Where others might have
questioned the ease of their success, pirates living life on a short fuse
simply credited the favor of their Gods and accepted the rewards.
Unfortunately, this time their success wasn't a gift bestowed upon them but
a well laid trap by the Royal Palanthian Navy. who As the night wound down
and the alcoholic stupor increased, several dozen dinghies approached the
Sea's Howl. The moonlight reflected off the shiny emblems of Paladine as the
armed guards silently boarded the ship. Barton was one of the fortunate few;
not long into the assault an alarm was raised, giving the crew enough time
to mount a resistance, however futile. They were outnumbered and out-sobered
(he wasn't sure if that was a word, but he liked it), and Barton watched as
his Captain was summarily executed in the middle of the battle. With most of
the crew quickly falling, he took his chances and dove overboard into the
icy black waters, hoping that the sea would provide safe passage one more
time. As he swam further and further out, he spared a moment to glance back
at the Sea's Howl, and all that remained of his former home and family was a
flaming pillar in the darkness.

-------------------------------

He looked down at the compass that always seemed to point in a random
direction. It had been a gift from his former Captain, though Barton hadn't
yet been able to figure out where it was pointing and why. That was for
another time, though. For now, it was a memory, and one of the few tenuous
links he still had to his former life.

This rumor floating around, of a ship for the blackhearted, the out-of-luck,
the thrill-seeking, and the greedy, seemed like it might be Barton's second
chance at life. And it might be his chance to find out who betrayed his
former crew and allow him to gain his revenge.

He closed the compass with a snap and hopped down off the barrels. He knew
where to go to find the source of the rumors. Now he needed to find the
ship.

A Merry Life and a Short One 

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 mentions 'We have had over 869 storytellers on Ansalon pen their epic stories here for all to read.'