An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Glug.

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 tattered paperback on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Glug' scribed in light brown ink.

Author:    Glug           
Date:      Sat Dec 27 00:36:18 2008
Subject     An interesting tale

"Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" the minotaur captain shouted at the top of
his lungs, but to no avail. The crushing waves demolished all that was the
once majestic frigate christened "Rising Tide". With it went its brave crew
who sought in vain to protect their prized ship from obliteration at the
hands of nature. Such is fate.

Cruel fate also had it that a young minotaur, son to the first mate of that
doomed ship, would be the only survivor. Found floating ashore by a river
miles away from the capsize site, the minotaur child was saved and taken
into captivity by patrolling Silvanesti warriors. Looking back, death may
have been a preferable outcome for that child. For twenty long years, the
minotaur endured the sufferings of a slave in Silvanost, living only by the
whim of his masters. When the time came that his Silvanesti masters
considered him a liability, he was cast out of the city and banished.

What the slavemasters did not portend was that their minotaur slave forwent
even his pittance of rest many a night to engage in a bout of study. The
chambers that the minotaur slave was housed in was a tiny storage room,
stacked with books on topics ranging far and wide. The Silvanesti house he
served possessed an ancestry of great warriors, clerics and magi and the
books lining the walls reflected that proud heritage. What the young
Silvanesti kids playing in the courtyard forsook for the temporal joy of
soaking in the bright elven sun was to be the food for the lonely slave. The
minotaur learnt the rudiments of swordplay and battle tactics, often
practising in the shadow of his dimly-lit chambers late at night when his
masters lay asleep. He could not comprehend the arcane writings of the magi
and the magic never came to him. However, he did pick up what he could
understand from the clerical tomes -- the ways of using nature's abundant
tools to heal one's self. He would probably never be proficient at it, but
at least he tried.

When the time came for his banishment, the minotaur was prepared. The forest
was his friend, for he had read much of it. He picked up leaves, herbs and
fruits that could be eaten and others that could be used to heal petty
wounds. He set forth with a purpose in mind, to find a mythical place stated
in nearly all the books he read. An order shrouded in mystery, but
nevertheless very real.

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

P.S. At the time of the writing of this story, the minotaur protagonist was
as yet unnamed. What name he had when he was on board the "Rising Tide" was
lost with the deceased crew. However, it has been said that the minotaur
wandered into a tavern one day and engaged in a drinking contest with a
local ruffian. After the minotaur won the contest by a rather large margin,
the ruffian asked for the stranger's name, but he had no answer. The
tavern's patrons thus named the minotaur "Glug", for his prowess in holding
his ale was second to none. 

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 869 books from Ansalon from before the great Cataclysm through today.'