Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 21, 2013 0:28:58 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 1
Mountains, Nothing but mountains for miles. I should have just gone around the mountains. But nooooooo fastest way between to points is a strait line, right through giant rock pointing out of the earth.
These were the thoughts of Aramaus "Wizard Extraordinaire" Luckdon as he began his journey. Aramaus wasn't a terribly impressive person by any stretch of the imagination. His red hair his most notable feature was really closer to a brown than any shade of red you're likely to see. Asking him though it would be a vibrant fiery red reflecting his burning passion for justice or some such thing. So for the sake of moving on he has red hair.
Boats are nice, a bit slow I suppose but not nearly as much walking. Could have taken a nice boat ride around the mountains. Where I would find a boat who knows but I could have made one right? Best crafter in my village granted its a tiny village but how hard could it be.
Aramaus stood at a fair height for a human at just under six feet, but any effect this would have on anyone was ruined by his as he would call it "lack of excess bulk". Frankly the man is as skinny as a twig, and likely as fragile.
The worst part of this whole trip is of course the boredom, I signed up for a tale of adventure, romance, and best of all CRAFTING! But instead i'm walking through these mountains with not a creature in sight.
"Wait a second, there I do have something to entertain me, now where did I put that little guy?"
After rooting around in his possessions he grabs me softly and holds me in the palm of his hand in front of him, just about level with his head.
"Scorpi entertain me!"
A wizard of untold potential, self proclaimed best crafter in his village (a matter of some debate may I add) and the best name he can think of for his majestic Greensting Scorpion familiar is Scorpi. I am beginning to hate this man, I really am. Naturally I sting him, and with that we are on our way.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 21, 2013 1:20:21 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 2
Stupid scorpion, I just want to relieve the boredom. Can't be much more interesting in that backpack than it is out here.
The wizard appears to be quite annoyed about the sting, haven't felt anything out of him in hours other than annoyance and a brief out break of boredom. Serves him right I may not be able to understand a word that man says but, I recognize a stupid name when I hear one and Scorpi is about as stupid as you get. Of all the nerve calling a majestic beautiful creature like me Scorpi.
What's he so angry about i'm the one with the stung hand...So lets see where am I? Rocks to the left, Rocks to the right. Ahead of me rocks, and behind me appears to be some more rocks. Good now not only am I in the mountains, i'm lost in the mountains. Nothing to do but keep going I suppose, what kind of amazing wizard would I be if I let a silly little mountain beat me. Adventure awaits and all that. I just hope these New Order fellows truly are men of noble ideas. This land needs justice. Anarchy and evil is bad for business after all.
Greed, OK that's odd we are in the middle of no where, surrounded by rocks of no discernible value, and this wizard is feeling greedy. Well I suppose if he's crazy he will die all the sooner and its back to eating all the delicious insects I can find.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 26, 2013 14:35:58 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 3
I remember when I was just a lad, new to this world. My father, the blacksmith of the village would wake me up early every morning so that I could work the forge. I used to hate it so much, I wonder when that changed, when It was that I decided that I would become a great maker of many things. When my ambition to create an empire of trade. It likely had something to do with the merchants. As the family of a blacksmith I and my brother and my mother lived well, but whenever a lone merchant would wander into our village, beautiful caravan laden with all kinds of fantastic treasure I would yearn to be greater than I am.
I began to beat iron into all kinds of shapes in earnest. I would collect twigs from fallen trees and fashion them into wooden facsimiles of the treasure I would see in the wagons of the passing merchants. Eventually my father trusted me enough to let me run the forge without his supervision. But I never did get to create the works of art I truly wanted. The demand was for simple things, a new shoe for a horse, heads for all kinds of farming implements, and buckets. How I hate buckets, but there would always be a demand, could never have enough buckets. I rarely even got to make them out of metal, why waste what little iron we had on a bucket when wood worked almost as well and we had plenty of it.
It was a good life, a simple one but a good one. I wonder if some day I will miss it.
Nostalgic, nothing but rocks for miles and he's feeling nostalgic. I really do think he might be crazy, I suppose my sting is even greater than I thought.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 26, 2013 23:27:50 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 4
My real desire for adventure likely started after I had learned magic. It was a wizard traveling with a merchant caravan that sparked my interest. He would entertain children with his magic. Like most of the children of the village I would try and emulate what he was doing. Of course it never worked, if magic where that easy it would likely be used by everyone, but it got me started. Occasionally merchants would have books on magic and spells in their stock when they came by. I would use my earnings from the forge to buy them. It was long arduous work but I remember to this day the feeling of joy I had when that ball of light first appeared above my head. Funny that I can now perform such a feat without even focusing on it now.
I tried to use my magic for all sorts of things, mainly the buckets, buckets become a lot easier when you can make wood sprout at your feat, also good for the odd critter you ran into the forest.
Now lets see where am I? Rocks....Rocks.....More Rocks.....I know there is a forest this way some where, never though i'd be looking forward to the forest.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 0:56:44 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 5
Getting Scorpi took me a while to figure out. I managed to purchase a tomb on familiar binding pretty early on, but the task itself is not as easy as many wizards make it look. The material costs alone, which I have no doubt many court magician laugh at are somewhat difficult to obtain as a village blacksmith. To this day I have no idea what crushed Behir skin is supposed to be. I can however tell you that you can get the same effect out of a handful of tree sap and some iron shavings. I must admit that one took me a while to figure out.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 1:09:09 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 6
After much trial and error I finally managed to bind my familiar Scorpi to me. The upside to all of my failure I suppose is that I likely lived in the least best ridden village for quite a while. Well that and I never had any real trouble figuring out how to feed Scorpi. I was finding failed attempts around the home far longer than I would like to admit. I sometimes wonder why the creatures died. All I really had them doing was standing relatively still while I cast the ritual, just one of magic's mysteries I suppose. Scorpi himself I found at the base of a tree while I was out collecting wood to make, you guessed it, buckets.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 1:24:44 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 7
Once the excitement of having learned magic wore off I quickly started getting bored of my sleepy little village. What few books on magic the passing merchants had ceased holding new mysteries to me. I suppose it makes sense what merchant that had to bother with small villages like ours would have tomes on the greater arcane mysteries? Not much of demand for that in a village whose principal export is wooden buckets and the occasional spoon. Still I had a good life there but the lure of greater things got me to where I am today, which I suppose is in the middle of a mountain range so there you go.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 2:11:21 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 8
After deciding I would leave my village I had to figure out a destination. So I purchased maps from passing merchants and listen to rumors they brought to the village. There were tales of a band of pirates marauding across the country side marching determinedly towards who knows what. I heard of a cult to worshiping an evil goddess. I heard tales of a man calling himself a god-king attempting to maintain a war between beliefs. I heard tell of a nation of settlers from far off unknown lands. Finally I heard tale of a group of knights trying to bring justice and order to this land. The way I see things, more than anything if I’m to have a successful business I need a peaceful and just world.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 2:12:59 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 9
Having decided I would go to the new order I set off on my journey. At least I would have, but it turns out preparing for a journey that by all reckoning would take several months is not the easiest thing in the world. I slowly gathered provisions, studied many a map and asked merchants about good routes to take. I really probably should have spent more time on that last part as these mountains are nowhere near as easy to get over as I had thought. I really should have taken a boat, but what does a blacksmith know about geography, it looked so much closer through the mountains than to go around them all in a boat.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 2:14:01 GMT
The Journey Through the Mountains Part 10
“Forest! Finally the forest, still off in the distance, but at least I can see it that has to be a good sign.” I reach into my pack and bring out my companion in the palm of my hand. “Look scorpi! No more mountains! Fewer rocks more trees!”
Well he’s happy now, I’ll admit the forest is a nice change of scenery from endless mountains but he seems far too happy, it’s just a bunch of trees. In fact I remember when the sight of a forest like this would give him nothing but a feeling of boredom and disappointment. Perhaps the wizard has made my sting magical, wouldn’t that be something.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 22:14:26 GMT
The Forest of Orcs and Goblins Part 1
I remember why I don’t like forests much. I can’t believe I forgot really you get a decent stride going and then your run into a root and trip over yourself. So you pick yourself up, feel silly and keep going more carefully. Well you’re careful for a while and you start to feel confident, you speed up a bit, everything’s fine so you go a little faster, and then bam another root. I’m really not sure why I got so excited about all this really other than the occasional root the forest is no more interesting than the mountain, just instead of rocks there are trees, so much for an exciting adventure.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 22:15:22 GMT
The Forest of Orcs and Goblins Part 2
The phrase be careful what you ask for has never been more apt I suppose. I tripped on a root only to have an arrow go sailing above my head, a bit of a shock as you might imagine. Then I looked up to see where it came from and I don’t think in my entire life in my village I had ever been more frightened. The first thing I saw a bloody body on the ground, covered in robes we a very nasty gash on his leg. In front of him was an orc roaring and thrashing around with a weapon larger than I am.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 22:17:14 GMT
The Forest of Orcs and Goblins Part 3
Only after I over came my surprise at seeing an orc did I notice what else was there. Dogs the likes of which I had never before seen. Perhaps dogs would be the wrong word they looked more like giant rodents, either way they are far more savage and ugly than anything I had ever seen, which I admit was a distinction belonging to the orc I had seen only moments before , so I may simply not be well traveled enough to have a good idea. Either way I had just wandered into an orc fighting giant ratdogs, and goblins, lots of goblins.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 22:18:37 GMT
The Forest of Orcs and Goblins Part 4
I made up my mind pretty quickly to help the orc, as I figured that if the orc wished me ill then I was still better off with him than with a bunch of goblins that had already shot an arrow at me and there for defiantly wished me ill. Although I must say when I saw the orc break one of his tusks off in one of the ratdogs only to roar a bit louder and smash it with a single hammer swing, I decided that if he wishes me ill I had best run. Nothing for it but to show off my amazing magical talent, perhaps it will deter the orc from attacking me.
|
|
Aramaus
Knight of The New Order
Posts: 107
|
Post by Aramaus on Aug 27, 2013 22:22:49 GMT
(ooc: I have switched to Time New Romans, 12 point type, because the default font here bugs me. In the unlikely event someone actually reads this, let me know if it is a problem.)
The Forest of Orcs and Goblins Part 5
With a wave of my hand a spear the size of my arm began to sprout out of the ground. The spear made entirely out of wood was covered in wicked looking splinters shooting out at all angles. From a distance you could easily confuse my spear with a strangely shaped branch fallen from one of the many trees that surrounded the area. With another wave of my hand the spear flew towards the nearest ratdog with a speed that would rival a throw from the strongest of men. As it flew over the head of my target it occurred to me that I should be focusing more on my target than describing my spells to myself.
|
|