The Great Library of Palanthas

An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Chuuga.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap is at 80. You change? 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 tattered paperback on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Chuuga' scribed in vibrant purple ink.


Author:    Chuuga         
Date:      Tue Feb 11 15:20:27
2014
Subject     Idleless Hands pt 7

Chuuga replaced the rock in the tiny crack in the wall and started back towards the Highbulp's throne room. Chuuga wasn't quite sure what the biggoblin and the boss dragonman were talking about but he was pretty sure it was news the Highbulp would want to hear. Over the last few days, Chuuga and other gully dwarves in Xak Tsaroth had heard the words "kill," "gully dwarves," and "soon" repeated very often and some were starting to think it might mean something. After a few minutes winding his way through the network of tunnels that twisted their way through the ruins of Xak Tsaroth, Chuuga came to a large, rusty sheet of iron that was crudely leaned up again a narrow part of the tunnel, forming a gate of sorts. Chuuga knocked on the sheet three times and waited impatiently. A few seconds later a voice echoed from behind the door. "You give wrong knock! Knock again!" Frustrated, Chuuga knocked on the sheet two times and waited again. He could hear voices behind the gate, trying to deliberate on something. "First knock right, first knock again, " came the voice again. Grumbling, Chuuga knocked again three times. "Right knock! Who there?" "It Chuuga! Need see Highbulp." As the piece of metal began to move, Chuuga pushed it open and walked inside. Two guards holding rusty, ancient knives stood guard. One had a clay pot on his head and the other had been fortunate enough to find a brass dinner platter to serve as a breastplate. "Where Highbulp? Very need see Highbulp." One of the guards motioned down the tunnel with his knife. Chuuga began walking down the hallway quickly as the two guards replaced the "gate" to the tunnel. Before long he reached the throne room of Highbulp Phudge I. There were many visitors to see the Highbulp that day, many with worried looks on their faces. The Highbulp saw Chuuga enter and motioned him forward. Chuuga approached the highbulp and bowed awkwardly. The king cleared his throat, trying to sound official and said: "What boss dragonman and boss biggoblin say?" Chuuga looked at some of the other dwarves around the king with a worried look on his face. "Secret for Highbulp, others go away, " said Chuuga. The Highbulp thought for a long second then nodded, calling for the others to back away. After there was some distance, the Highbulp turned to Chuuga. "Boss biggoblin say killing many dwarves.. boss dragonman say start kill two days, " Chuuga said, holding up a finger on each hand. The Highbulp got a worried look on his face and looked around at the people around him. The dragon and her dragonmen had been very mean to the Highbulp and his people, but many gully dwarves had come to the ruins and the Highbulp was now Highbulp to many people. If he left he would not have so many people to find him food and he would only be boss of the Bulp clan and not the Sluds and Glups. "What we do?" he asked. Chuuga shrugged, a worried look on his face.

Author: Chuuga Date: Tue Feb 11 15:38:47 2014 Subject Idleless Hands pt 8

Chuuga waddled down the hallway leading from the Highbulp's throne room towards the broken and ruined houses most of the gully dwarves of Xak Tsaroth called home, a concerned look on his face. Occasionally, another gully would walk by, smile and wave to Chuuga. Chuuga would wave back, exchanging a few words of greeting. Finally, he turned down a crumbling road and smiled as two young gully children ran up to him from a doorway excitedly. He picked them both up, giggling as childishly as they were. A female aghar stepped out from the sagging doorway as well. Her long, tangled hair fell down to her shoulders, framing her pockmarked face and snaggle-toothed smile. "Chuuga! How Highbulp? Good?" She walked up to Chuuga and the two kissed, causing the two children to begin giggling uncontrollably. "Me tell Bimi later.. Me tired and hungry, " Chuuga said as he made his way through the doorway and towards a pile of rotting animal hides in the corner. He collapsed into the pile, comfortably holding his children close. Bimi grabbed two rats, one still twitching, from a corner of the room and began skinning them. Before long, she finished, brought them to her family and the four ate hungrily. When they were finished, Chuuga wrapped the two children in the animal hides and hummed them to sleep while Bimi ground the rat's bones between two rocks for the next day's stew. When the two were finished, Chuuga went to Bimi and gave her a hug. "Chuuga hear boss dragonman say to boss biggoblin they come fight Bulps, Glups and Sluds, " he whispered to Bimi with fear in his voice. "This Bulp home.. many Bulps, Glups and Sluds, not many dragonmen and goblin. Me say to Highbulp 'We not leave!'" A look of fear spread across Bimi's face. "How fight? Dragonmen and goblin many weapon, Bulp, Slud and Glup no. Me think run better.. find new home, " Bimi said as tugged on Chuuga's sleeve pleadingly. "No fight. Run." Chuuga sighed, looked down at Bimi and gave her another hug. "Me tired, time sleep, " he said, and the two joined their children in the pile that served as their bed. Before long, Chuuga could hear Bimi snoring beside him and he turned to look at her, a worried smile on his face.

Author: Chuuga Date: Fri May 16 00:38:00 2014 Subject Idleless Hands pt 11

Chuuga crept down the shattered corridor, a bag of rats, some edible roots and a pair of dead birds slung over his shoulder in a sack. The way was long but the gully dwarves of Xak Tsaroth had found tunnels that led directly to the surface, allowing them to scavenge for food without needing to come in contact with any of the bosses. After a few more minutes of walking he saw another gully dwarf and approached him. "Here food, " he said, handing the sack over to the other aghar, "Me find more. You give food Highbulp." The other aghar nodded, taking the sack from Chuuga. Xak Tsaroth's gully dwarves had been doing alright, eating almost as well as when they had roamed the ruins of Xak Tsaroth. Now, however, they were more or less unbothered by the dragon army forces who rarely ventured into the aghar territory. Chuuga turned and began to make his way back up to the surface. Nearing the end of the tunnel, Chuuga stopped in alarm. He could barely make out the clanking of metal and the voices of goblins and hobgoblins. He could not understand them but there seemed to be a large number. Treading quietly, Chuuga approached the source of the noise. A large number of goblins (about three dozen, although Chuuga couldn't count that high) and a few hobgoblins were coming down the tunnel towards him, weapons drawn. Stifling a squeal of fear, Chuuga turned back down the corridor and quickly but quietly ran back towards the sanitation district. After a few minutes, Chuuga pushed through one of the rotting doors into the Highbulp's throne room. "Highbulp Phudge! Two and two and two bosses come!" As if on cue, another gully dwarf burst in, shouting about more bosses in a different tunnel. Highbulp Phudge was looking between the two aghar when a third and then a fourth entered, each trembling with fear as they related similar stories. "No talk. Me think." said the Highbulp, resting his chin on his hands in thought. The room sat quiet for a few moments while Highbulp Phudge thought. Chuuga was the first to hear the noises that seemed to come from entrances to the room, but soon, everyone heard them: screams.

Author: Chuuga Date: Fri May 16 01:12:31 2014 Subject Idleless Hands pt. 12

Within moments the room was in a flurry of motion. Some aghar ran to find their families but most ran around directionless, not even aware of what might have been the cause of the screaming. The Highbulp sat on his throne, pale with fear. Chuuga took one look at Phudge and ran to find his wife and children. The corridors leading from the Highbulp's chambers were in chaos. Gully dwarves ran in all directions, aghar children wailed for their parents in monosyllabic pleas and, already, the smell of smoke covered up the potent, pungent smell of gully dwarves. Chuuga made his way through the tunnels towards his home, hoping his family had not been caught up in the frenzied hysteria. He found them waiting in the crumbling doorway in tears. When they saw him, his two children broke free of their mother's grasp and ran to him crying. "We go! Bosses coming!" Chuuga demanded, picking up his two and children and beckoning for his wife to follow. They made their way through the city's broken streets, moved more by the surging crowds than their own volition. Suddenly, the crowd they were with stopped. Chuuga could not see why, but the screams in front of him turned to wails, please for life and the clang of metal. The crowd turned and tried to rush back on itself and the aghar that could not stay on their feet soon found themselves being trampled by their brethern. A dozen or so goblins and a pair of hobgoblins were hacking their way through the throng, laughing sadistically. Although far from the bravest race on Krynn, aghar, when cornered, can be one of the fiercest. Realizing they had nowhere to run, some of the gully dwarves began to fight back. Chuuga, seeing the fighting, handed his children to his wife and moved her to the shelter of a collapsed wall. "You stay. I come back, " he said quickly and ran into the fray. The goblinoids were as surprised by the sudden onslaught as by the manner it was carried out. The aghar fought with the fearlessness of total desperation. Throwing themselves on the goblinoids, the aghar kicked, scratched and bit with seemingly no regard for their own lives. The hobgoblins tried to stand and fight but succumbed quickly to the swarms of aghar that leapt at them. The goblins, seeing the hobgoblins fall, broke and ran, but not quickly enough. The horde of gully dwarves, seeing their foes dead or dying, resumed their panicked flight down the streets of Xak Tsaroth. Chuuga returned to his family, goblin blood covering his face and hands. "We go! Fast, go up pot to top!" he said as he took his whimpering children from his wife. The four followed the crowd that made its way to the giant cauldrons that ferried troops, aghar and supplies up and down.

Author: Chuuga Date: Fri May 16 03:33:56 2014 Subject Idleless Hands pt. 13

Chuuga helped shove his wife into one of the cauldrons and handed his children up to her. No sooner had he done this then the cauldron lurched and began to rise. Chuuga jumped and was able to, barely, grab onto the lip of the cauldron and pull himself up. As the cauldron rose, Chuuga looked up at the other pot on the chain, lowering as Chuuga's rose. Beyond being packed with hobgoblins and goblins, even more goblins hung onto the chain, weapons flashing in the torchlight. The two cauldrons passed each other and Chuuga looked up to the ledge at the top of the chain. The top of the ledge bristled with goblinoids, humans and draconians, ready to kill any who tried to flee to the surface. Chuuga looked over to another pair of pots and saw the aghar being thrown or falling from the ledge as they tried to leave the pot. Looking back down, Chuuga gave a slight smile as his brethern swarmed in a writhing, biting mass over the pots of boss' as they touched down. As Chuuga's cauldron neared the top its ascent slowed, caused by the bosses on the other end of the chain disembarking. Chuuga was close enough to the top that he could see the eyes of the bosses pearing down at him eagerly. At a command, some of the lizard bosses jumped from the ledge. Spreading their wings, they glided down towards Chuuga's pot, causing it to rock violently as they landed. A few of the draconians missed the pot and floated down gently to the mass of aghar below, but those that landed in the pot began hacking their way through the panicked aghar. A large lizard boss, wearing some of the marks that made him a bigboss ran a gully dwarf through with his sword and turned towards Chuuga's family. More lizard bosses began landing on the pot, causing it to lean dangerously. Enraged by the sight of his family in danger, Chuuga leapt at the bigboss, causing the two to spill over the side. Behind him, Chuuga could hear the cries of his wife and children, and the other lizard bosses hissing "Commander Krestak!" The lizard boss he was fighting spread its wings and tried to pull Chuuga from his neck. Chuuga clung on tightly, digging his teeth through the draconian's scales and into its flesh. As they were fighting, the big boss suddenly looked up in fright and shifted his wings. Chuuga felt a whoosh of air as the cauldron he had been in plummeted to the ground below, its chain snapped. As the big boss struggled to control his descent, Chuuga's face paled in horror as he looked at the tumbling cauldron. For a fleeting moment, Chuuga saw the faces of his family, a scream that was drowned out by the other aghar etched on their faces. His fear turning to a blinding rage, Chuuga clung to the big bosses face, biting out one of the draconian's eyes and large chunks of flesh from his face. The draconian screeched in pain, struggling to slow their fall. Chuuga dextrously climbed around to the big boss' back just as they hit the ground with a sickening thud. Dazed and losing consciousness, Chuuga opened his eyes. Around him, the ground was covered with dead or dying aghar, goblinoids and humans. Broken statues of lizard bosses and pools of acid were scattered among the corpses. Below him, the body of the big boss began morphing. Chuuga blinked once, looking directly in front of him. There lay the mangled bodies of his children and wife. The eyes of his children were already lifeless, but the eyes set in the blood covered face of his wife blinked once, looking not at Chuuga, but the body beneath him, which had now finished its change into the visage of her husband. As her eyes flickered in death, Chuuga felt the world go black and lost consciousness.

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 sighs as he recants 'We saved 868 books from Ansalon from before the great Cataclysm through today.'
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