The Great Library of Palanthas
An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.
Stories of Ansalon from the view of Derkylos.
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 leather bound tome on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Derkylos' scribed in burnt maroon ink.
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.....
The Storytellers of Ansalon, The DragonLance MUD
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