A journey begins

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A journey begins

Post by Drakfot » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:29 pm

Part 1.

The rain kept pouring down as it had ever before. She stood there under the tree and wondered what had happened, how it all had become like this. Yes it was not long ago as she set out on a journey looking after what was beyond that line some named the horizon.
Oh and what a trip it had been, she had seen so many new places , so many strange animals and other fauna that had caught her vision within a glimpse. Ah yes there had been so much joy in seeing all this, but also the darker side had made themselves apparent. As for when she ran out of food and there seemed to be anything near that could be edible, unless those animals that saw her as a quick snack. And she did not wish for them to notice her. And as for what the nature had to offer she did know less or nothing about the plants and what grew here. It could prove to have been poisonous and fatal.

She had not seen any other either, no Humans, Elves, Gnome or Half-elves. This had been strange, were there no one to live past the horizon ? Or had she just taken the wrong turn at an intersection ?
And what was that strange glowing thing she had noticed one night ? It looked like a human but still not. As it constantly changed its shape. And the strange animal that looked like it was half of bird and half of lion. She was astounded by all this and it gave her much to think about. To think at times such as this. The rain still kept its pace falling down lading softly on the blades of the trees and flowers. Making small puddles on the ground and as it grew it floated away into other puddles or made their own small paths in the ground.

So where were she supposed to go now ? She was happy that she had found some things to eat before as her stomach had made her more than noticeable by hearing. It had protested loudly for some time and it seemed as her body too would give in under its protests. It was then she had found something growing. This time hunger convinced her that even if she did not eat what this strange flower provided she would still fall under the death of starvation. She found herself lucky as she had taken a small taste of the strange fruit like thing hanging from the flower and gently chewed it.
At once her stomach silenced as she was eating a whole feast. After a few minutes she felt how her body was as strong again as the day she had left for her travel. Once more the spirit had returned to her and she felt as good as ever. She had quickly looked around and found more of these fruits, she even noticed that they had some strange shiftings in their color. And a bite later confirmed to her that it also meant a change of taste. All wonderful and sweet. She filled her bag and then set off to where she felt was the way to go.

She looked around to see if there was someplace that particularly tickled her sense of curiosity.
The mountains in the distant looked appealing yet would she even reach them with the package of food she had now ? If the effects of the fruits she had lasted she would have food for perhaps fifteen to twenty days. One fruit seemed to keep her up and focused for a day. But should she chance on the mountains in this state, perhaps when she came better prepared. Another thing that catched her eye was the large green open meadow towards west, could there be something worth there in the grass ? Or what lied behind it. Or the forest that was a bit more to the northwest. What could be found in there ? Some strange people or magical beings that was friendly ? Or worse unfriendly creatures. She sat there with her head resting on her knees staring out through the rain, at the small drops that fell , how they shined through the air for later to create a rumble in the puddle they landed.

After a time the drops became fewer and fewer and she stood up and stretched for she had been sitting there for some time now. She stretched out in her entire length with her arms reaching for the sky, she leant backwards a bit and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Aahh that felt so good.
A small bite of another fruit gave her strength and a good mood.

“Oh, it has finally stopped raining” She thought to herself as she appeared from under the tree.
She made a quick last sweep over the area before she turned and started walking towards where she wanted to travel.
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Post by Drakfot » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:30 pm

Part 2.

A knife, a small , yet still efficient one, was all that she had brought when she set out for her journey through the lands. This little knife was given to her from Daranger, her mentor in basic survivial, that had helped her not just to handle a knife. But also to survive in the manner of using what was at hand in battle. He had shown her that with just a small branch from a tree you could in fact almost paralyze the greatest of dangers as long as you knew how to handle yourself and your surroundings. Thinking of this, she often swayed away in thoughts as she traveled, it was quite amazing that a mighty beast that seemed to be so strong could easily be beaten with the use of speed and agility. And to strike on a opponent that was well out of stamina often turned out to be a victorious strategy. A quick and well minded opponent was better to be avoided until a flaw in his o hers style of attack was shown then use that as the upper hand against the person. There were many way to defend oneself against what was ahead, all with the aid of a small knife.

She unshielded the knife and removed a part of a fruit as she peeled the skin of it and took a bite. She had just left the tree where she sought shelter for the rain and was now walking in the direction that seemed to the be the most appealing one. It could change in the swift of a second so she really did not mind to where she was headed. It turned out that she was closing in on the meadow that she had previously seen in the far distant. Perhaps they held more of the lovely fruits. What should she name them ? She had not seen any of their like in her village before leaving, and she could not remember any lore's or tellings that held the answer to what they were. Has she discovered something new ? Then what would be a suitable name for them she thought. What did they do to the one that ate from them. They silenced the sound of hungry stomachs, they gave energy to the sore body that had wandered too far and brought spirit into the mind that was doubting. Would Sperbo be a good name ? Sp from Spirit, er from energy and bo from body. Perhaps it was not the best of names but it would do for now. Perhaps she would meet someone that could give a better explanation to them than her speculations.

“Ouch” She said out loud as she walked.

It seemed as she had accidentally cut her thumb a little as she had been walking and got stuck in a string of thoughts about the fruits. “Well that is how it ends when you think a bit too much” She thought to herself and laughed a bit. Yes, so far she had seen some quite fascinating bits that she never thought that she would encounter. And this was what made it all so interesting. To find out about the unexpected, to see what was beyond the line named horizon. And to seek out the new unknown lands that neither she nor any from her village had seen before. Ah yes exciting indeed it was, and dangerous. Many would give up at the thought of the dangers that lied outside the safe havens of the village. Yet she had always, even since she was a small one, had an urge and determined mind to seek what was beyond all that was well known to the townspeople.

She stopped a bit and looked on a small bush that grew by the road, it seemed as some animals had eaten , or at least tried to take a bite of, the branches of it. She used her knife to cut herself a small part of it and examined it closely. It seemed to the emanating a fluid of some kind in very small proportions. She gently moved it closer to her mouth and let her lips touch it, in an instant she was filled with yet another rush through her body. Even this bush seemed to hold its own secrets and magic as the small piece of it that she had in her mouth gave of such lovely and sweet taste that she could not help to hold it in her mouth as she walked further on, of course she also took some more of the branches of this bush for the travel.

Once more she casted a glimpse at the knife, the blade reflected the sunlight and an image of her.
Yes, she was not the best nor greatest of fighter that was born into this planet, but she knew how to care and defend herself and that was quite sufficient for now.

So she continued to walk along the road she had set for her. Holding some sweet candy from a bush to keep her cheery and the protection of perception and a small knife...
Last edited by Drakfot on Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Drakfot » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:21 pm

Part 3.

It has turned mid day now. The sun stood high on the sky and she was still
walking on the path that lead towards the great meadow in front of her. The
small branch was still in her mouth and still as tasty as it had been a while
ago. The day was calm and nice, air fresh and playful as she walked along what
seemed to be a not so well traveled path. Or was that just her imagination as
she had not yet seen any sort of life since she set out on her journey. So was
the route ahead of her used before or was it just another of the natures
mysteries ? Even though these thoughts seemed to be discouraging she kept on
walking keeping her spirits high. She was the one that set out on this travel
and she was to finish it. But she had to admit that it had sometimes felt a bit
lonely, but it was soon remedied by finding something interesting to look at.
She was curious by nature and it sometimes had got her into smaller troubles now
and then. But it was all part of whom she was and the elders in the village had
soon accepted her person and came to know her pretty well as she often spent
time with them to hear the tales of the old and myths of magic. Yes magic was a
n area that she found to be interesting indeed, how could one tame such forces
without fully understand them.

The ones that was well wandered within this area all shared the same conclusion;
magic and its heritage was rather unknown of. But as long as the one using it
did it on equal terms and not walked against the will of the magical flow itself
this was what needed to use magic.

She had found its mysteries tempting in a way that she could not really explain,
but she had also had an easy hand for learning its skill. Many learned it as a
way to defend themselves or to overcome a hard foe. Yet she had chosen to use
her skills to heal the wounds of others in the first hand. As she was skilled in
both the use of heal and of handling of a knife she still was the last to seek
violence as the resort of an issue. There was no valid point for her to do it
otherwise than try to settle it. Last resort would be the one of violence for
her, and even that she did not like. So hopefully she would only get to use the
skills she had and learned in the ways she wished to.

But still it was all calm and nice as she walked there. Nothing could be seen in
any direction , not a sign of life except her own. So where was she then and
where were she headed, the explorer in her awakened again and started to view
the surroundings. If not she had learned to be a rather well tracker, but as
there seemed to be little life around what was there to track.

As she rounded a small hill she found that there was a large stone on the top of
it and she decided to have a look at it and perhaps get a better view from up
there. She walked towards the stone and as she approached it she could see that
it had some strange markings that she did not recognize as something the nature
had created. She tried to read it but it made no sense to her, she then closed
her eyes and let her hand wander over the carvings. Even now she could not get a
hint of what it was that was written on the stone in front of her.

A flash appeared in front of her as she stood there holding her hand on the
stone. She did not know where she was and she could not open her eyes. But
around her she heard noises, sounds of fighting and struggling. There was the
sound of arrows flying through the air, some seemed to find their target as a
short thud and then a scream was the obvious proof. Did she dare to open her
eyes and see what it all was ? She still stood there with her hand on the stone
with her eyes closed and listened to the sounds around. When would they notice
her and find her as their new target ?.
She heard something that crawled in front of her and then th sound of something
that tried to carve into stone. What was that, was the marks now being written?
Could she open her eyes to see it ?.

She decided that she had to try and open her eyes and see what was in front of
her. As she opened them she saw a tall man sitting in front of her trying to
carve the marks she had seen previously into the stone. From his back there were
arrows sticking out and he was bleeding heavily. Then all of a sudden a whining
sound of an arrow was heard and the man gave of a harsh moan and the last thing
she saw before he fell over her was that he lost an amulet that was around his
neck.


With a bounce she landed on the ground. She was back into the normal world, or
had she been here all the time? She was not certain yet she saw the rock in
front of her and the markings were now old. There was not possibility that what
she had seen had happened recently. Was it an flashback of history ? And why did
she see this, this was the first time even as she had experienced such thing and
why now. So many questions she had even before she stood up. As she looked at
the rock she could almost see that it must have been slightly altered since she
closed her eyes. But still she could not put the finger on what it was. It was
still in the same shape as before, yet different.
She turned around to leave as she did not want to stay there any longer, it was
then she noticed something that was lying in the grass close to the rock. It
reflected the sunbeams and caught her eye as she reached down to grasp it. All
she could get out of her was a small gasp as she recognized what it was she held
in her hand. It was the amulet the man had dropped in her vision. How could this
be , it had not been here before she had her vision, and how come it was here
now ?

She did not know why she picked it up and placed it around her neck before she
left. It was just something she had to do. For it was important.

Then she continued to walk once more along the way..
Last edited by Drakfot on Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Drakfot » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:41 pm

Part 4.

Her mind was still full of the images that she had just seen, who was he ?, who
were those that attacked him. And had their eyes met as he fell over her ? Was
this all a coincidence or did it bring meaning. The sun stood high on the sky,
yet it was not so warm so that it could be the cause of this. Neither could she
find any reason that it could be a side effect of the berries. She had already
forgotten the name she had given them. It was all so strange to her that she had
forgotten about her journey, what her goal was. Now she just walked on the path
while staring into the ground and touching the amulet that now rested around her
neck.

She tried to rewind the happenings in her head as she walked and walked. Yet she
could not find a meaning from it. She could barley remember the face of the man,
yet she knew that she had seen his face so clearly when he fell.

"Ouch" she said and had to sit down. All the thoughts had been a bit too much,
her head hurt a bit. A zip from the water bottle cured that and she got ready to
continue. She was back, she reminded herself about why she was here in the first
place and she was now to continue that.

She decided that the forest was to be left for now, it seemed to be exciting and
interesting, but before she entered it she would like to know more about the
surroundings here. Who knows where she would end up once she entered the forest
? So then she started to follow the meadow a bit, perhaps she could find a nice
place to rest for the night. She gave the hill with the rock a quick look and
made it a landmark to return to if needed. Then she turned around and walked
towards the mountains that was far away. She made a quick train in her mind on
where she wanted to walk to be able to see the most before she came too close to
the mountains and had to turn back. After some time she noticed that there was a
small streak of smoke that emanated from behind a hill, she was still on the
meadow, or at it's outskirts. She thought that she might be able to finally meet
someone now, that would be fun. Perhaps even find someone to share the journey
with.

As she got closer she heard some voices, still too far off for her to clearly
hear what they said. But they went silent right after she had heard them. She
did not mind, now she had two good signs telling her that there finally was
someone else then her around. As she reached the top of th hill she saw a small
camp, one made by those that travels, what luck that she had bumped into them at
this point. There were not many in this traveling gang, only four of them what
she could see as the moved closer to the camp. They had not seen her yet as it
seemed as they were busy with assembling the camp back into traveling state. But
after a minute one of them glanced in her direction and noticed her. She was
small and thus moved with ease and silently so he was quite surprised that
someone had gotten that close without they noticing.

"Grahm, fna dagenmno" He said and pointed at her. What was it he said she
thought to herself, she was close enough to hear him well but still she did not
understand him. What happened next clarified the situation for her. She waved to
them in a friendly manner to show that she wanted not harm.

They quickly responded to her gesture and a whining sound confirmed that a spear
was coming her way. She dodged it and it steadily stuck in the ground. She
reacted instinctual and fast as she turned around and then ran as fast as her
legs could ever carry her. Great, when she finally meets another living being
here they starts to hunt her. What had she done to them, and why. There was no
time to find out now, only time for survival and she ran and ran. A look
backwards told her that they still were following, three of them to be exact,
the last one was most likely still back at the camp. She had managed to lay some
distance between her and them and she started to look around to see if she could
find some place to hide and hopefully loose them off her track.

She noticed that there were a small gathering of trees a few hundred meters away
and she set towards them while trying to increase her speed further. The trees
grew larger and larger in her sight and the voices of her followers became
quieter and quieter, yet still they were there. As she got close she found that
the trees had extensive roots and perhaps she could find shelter there. She
looked around and found a place where she hopefully could crawl in and hide, but
as she set off for it the ground under her foot gave in and she was stuck
between two large roots under a tree.

"No, this cannot be happening, not now." She thought as her mind started to
panic and the voiced became louder once more.

She fell backwards towards the tree and sat there, heavily breathing and tried
to calm both her mind and her breath so that they would hopefully not see her.
She pressed herself towards the tree, but still she was much in the open. Was
this the end ? Should it be that two roots where the cause of the loss of her
life, would her journey end here because of this. She closed her eyes and
pressed herself as much as she could against the tree as the voices were just
behind her, she held her breath and wished for nothing more then to disappear.

The voices were now right next to her, she could tell that they were just a few
meters away. Then she heard the footsteps of one of them as they came closer.
She could feel that he now stood just in front of her, he must see her now. If
this was the end she would at least see the one claiming her life and she opened
her eyes.
She was surprised to see that indeed he stood there in front of her, his back
turned towards here while he spied around looking for her. But why ?

"Dafn nimod kathra ?" Another one said as he came closer.

"Dimr fna, cletch" The one in front of her said as he walked to the others and
they started to move in the direction that led back to the camp.

She held her breath until she believed that they were far away not to hear her,
it felt like hours to her.
But why had they not seen her ? They had both been standing in front of her,
they must have noticed.

The sky became darker as day shifted to evening. It was then she noticed that
the amulet she had around her neck gave off a small shining light. She struggled
a bit and could finally get her foot loose from the roots and she dared to peek
after her hunters. They were well far off now. Then she noticed that also the
shining from the amulet faded. Did it tell her that she was safe ? And was it
the amulet that had kept her safe from them, had it made her invisible as she
had wished for?.

And where was she ?

She got up and moved away from the trees carefully not going in the direction
from where she had come from. That way was not one that she would walk for some
time now when she knew that they were around there.
And the night started to make itself noticed and now she had to find herself
someplace to rest for the night. Somewhere safe. So she picked a direction by
guess and walked that way. She had to find somewhere to lie down and rest so she
had to move somewhere.

After some walking across meadows and a small lake she could see a shape in the
far distance.
It was the shape of a hill, and on top of the hill there was a rock..
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Post by Drakfot » Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:59 pm

Part 5.

So it seemed as she once more was headed for this strange rock on the hill. She
had no other way to turn to either way so why not go there again. "But would I
get another sensation again, what will I see ?" She thought to herself as she
continued to walk closer and closer. The shape of the hill grew clearer and
clearer. The sky faded more into darkness but still it seemed as the hill and
rock was as clear as when she had seen it just moments before. Perhaps it was
her eyes and tired body that played tricks on her, she didn't know and for the
moment she did not care. She had to find some place safe to rest for the night.
She was not sure if the hill was even safe again but for now it was all that
would do. Hopefully there wouldn't be any rain this night but a clear sky.

Soon enough she was walking up alongside on the hill stood next to the rock. The
inscriptions were still there giving of their message that she could not
interpret still. What did they mean and why had the man carved them into the
rock, did he know that he was about to die?
She sat down and leaned against the rock and let her head fall backwards so that
she could watch the sky. It looked as she was lucky for it was a clear sky with
hardly no clouds. The stars shined strongly, some blinking and some were just
bright. As she was looking at the sky she thought of what had really happened
before she returned here, she had been hunted by some men that spoke a language
she did not know as little as she knew the reason for them hunting her.
She looked at the sky and it slowly faded out and turned into shapes. As she
closed her eyes and fell asleep the medallion around her neck started to
levitate just a little above her chest and started to glow.

When she opened her eyes the sky was black and filled with dark clouds, as if a
thunderstorm was coming. She looked down and was horrified of what she saw. All
around there were bodies of fallen fighters, blood was covering the once green
ground, everywhere there was pieces of armors and weapons lying around. It was a
mayhem and a carnage that was in front of her eyes. With fear she saw how this
giant battlefield stretched over such great lands that it almost looked like she
was not able to see the end of it. Such horror and death she had never seen
before, yet now it was right there in front of her eyes. Where was she ? She
looked around and saw the familiar rock and the carvings, the carvings ! They
looked different from when she had fallen asleep. They were not as old and
weather torn , but they were also not as fresh as if they were newly carved.
Where was she ? Or more important, when was she ?

She tried to stand up but her legs did not follow her commands, she fell back on
her behind with her back against the rock. Did it want to show her yet another
vision ? But why her, why should she be the one to see all of this ? Then she
looked at the battlefield, there was a man on a horse there whom rode through
the field, over corpses and through puddles of blood. The horse and man seemed
not to be affected at all by the destruction that surrounded them. He was
looking at the corpses.
Suddenly one of the soldiers made an attempt to stand up but a deep gash in his
knee told him otherwise. The man on the horse noticed this and changed his
course towards the soldier.
As the came close he unshielded his sword, it was a magnificent sword not like
the others that were spread around. It was either the sword of a kind or a great
warrior. He pointed the sword towards the soldier who was sitting on his heels
trying to stop the flow of blood from his knee. When he saw the blade of the
sword appear in front of his eyes he looked up straight at the man on the horse.

The rider made a swift move with the arm and was now pointing towards the rock,
straight at her, with his sword. Could they see her, was he pointing at her ?
The soldier looked at the rock and his eyes told her that he could not see her,
but that he also understood what the horserider meant. He then looked at the man
and shook his head and then lowered it again to see to his wound. The rider
looked at the soldier then started to ride pass him.
As he passed he lifted his sword and let it fell towards the neck of the
soldier...


Suddenly she woke up with a gasp. It had been a dream, or a vision. She had
another one of the sensations. She looked around and it was a she thought, it
was all back as usual. No battlefield, no soldiers or weapons. And no blood.
She stood up and tried to move, now her legs obeyed her but she was taken by
what she had just witness. Why did she continue to see these things ? She then
remembered the medallion and how it had appeared after she had seen the man fall
by the rock. But it was impossible to happen, but her curiosity took over and
she walked towards where she had seen the man on the horse and the soldier.

As she entered the area where they had been she started to roam the area with
her eyes but could not see anything special there. "How silly of me she thought"
and turned around to head back to the hill. It was the as the evening sun
blinded her a little, but it was not from the sky but from the ground. She
looked down at this little source of light and found it to be a coin, one that
she did not recognize. At home she had lived near the merchants and often
visited them to see what all foreigners brought to town. This was she had also
come to know the different currency's and their denomination. But this coin
baffled her memory as it gave nothing but emptiness when she tried to recognize
it. She picked up the coin and moved back to the hill.

Why did she see all this ? Why her, she was just a wanderer and explorer but one
that had already experienced more then she could ever imagined she would when
she sat out on her journey. And those back at home would probably scream if they
knew what was happening.

When she got back up to the rock she looked at it, it just stood there. It was
like the one form pillar in time what would never change no matter what happened
around it.

Soon she was lying near the rock sleeping deeply and calmly while the clouds
passed by on the sky.
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Post by Drakfot » Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:37 pm

Part 6.

A light breeze swept through the trees around the hill and made the grass dance
in pace with the trees. Some dust followed in and flowers took the opportunity
to spread with the wind.
She was still sleeping deeply near the rock on the hill. The latest vision had
taken its toll on her, not to mention all the other things she had been
experiencing since she walked into the area to find the strange rock. She was
sleeping and did not mind what was happening around her, and neither would she
as nothing in particular was happening. She did not have any dreams that would
wake her up, but after some time she woke up by herself. She stretched and stood
up. She looked in her bag and found that her supplies was on their last straw so
she decided that it was time to learn more about the fauna and what it could
provide.

She got up and looked at the rock. "There is no use to wander off from here, it
seems like I will end up here sooner or later anyhow" She thought to herself as
she walked down the small hill.
Her stomach accompanied her with a growl telling her that it was empty and
wanted something to work with. But what? What was there to find in this unknown
area, she had planned to travel light and fast and not to be upheld too long at
the same place. Then again she didn't plan to be attacked, getting visions and
finding strange items either. But that was thinking for later times, for now
food was on the list of things to find. She reached a tree nearby and decided to
climb up it to get a better view of the surroundings, perhaps even find food in
it.
Moments later she was sitting in a large branch that was sticking out from the
tree and that was not covered in too many leafs that would hinder her sight. She
looked around and found that the lands looked as empty viewed from the tree as
from the ground. So it was berries and roots that was the safer thing to look
for. And she had never been any greater cook when it came to meat.

Well back on the ground, after looking through the branch for something edible,
she looked around for some nearby bushes and berries. Seems as luck was one that
had left her side for some time ago as her sight could not find anything that
clearly resembled what she was looking for. She walked a bit along the path
heading back from where she came, the berries that she had found earlier came
into her mind, what was it that she had called them? Perhaps she would find some
if she walked there. Said and done she walked along the small path while looking
around for more things which could dampen her appetite which by now had grown
quite big.

After a little walk she noticed how the grass around started to get thicker and
thicker and soon turn into smaller bushes. She started to walk faster as she
noticed this, not because she wanted but because the hunger told her so. She was
quite happy to find that her guessing had turned out to be true for soon she
noted some familiar bushes not far off from the road and she headed to them. As
she got next to them she saw that they were full of the berries she had eaten
before.
She quickly grabbed a fistful and shoved in her mouth and started to chew. The
strong sweet taste ran a shiver through her body as she swallowed and she felt
how the energy started to come back to her once more. She grabbed as many
berries as she could, leaving a few behind just in case she had to return here
on a later time.

Once her bag was filled she looked around trying to find some familiar places so
that she could better remember this place. It was not that hard to notice that
the plants, grass trees and bushes around here somehow were more colorful, it
was perhaps not easy to spot at first as every plant was as colorful as the
other. But comparing with from where she came it was different. Then it hit her
, her vision had showed her. Could it be that the place looked a bit colorless
due to the battle that had taken place there ? And what was the battle about ?
What did the man on the horse want, what was he looking for. And that rock..

As her bag was as full as it could be with food she decided that she could head
back to the rock and try and think over the latest happenings a bit. She was now
full of both energy and curiosity to find out what it could be about. Perhaps
she could even decipher the carvings on the rock itself. That was not too likely
though. As she walked on the path back she found herself to be humming on a tune
that just came to her mind. But when she thought about it it was not a tune that
she had heard before nor learned herself. Perhaps it was an effect of eating so
many berries at once. So she continued to humm as the song came to her. She
tried to remember the song and it almost surprised her a little that it was not
as hard to.

She finally got back to the hill, it did not look as horrifying as it had done
before, it was a bit like home to her. She walked up along the hill but decided
that she should take a lap around it when reaching halfway to see if there was
something that she might have missed. It looked like an ordinary hill to her,
she could not catch a glimpse of anything unusual.
When she had a good luck she continued up along the hill and was soon near the
rock again.
She sat down and looked around, it was all as when she had woken up earlier so
she decided not to put any further thoughts into it.

As she was correcting her bag she felt something in her pocket, it was the coin
she had found where she had seen the man being decapitated by the horseman. She
looked at it using the sun to light it up as good as possible. It glistened as
the sunbeams reached it and shined in a strange way. The markings on it was
signs she had not seen before but some bare an resemblance with the carvings in
the rock. Or at least she thought so when she tried to compare them both in
order to find clues. After looking at the coin for a moment her eyes got tired
of the strong light and she sat down to think things through a bit. About what
had happened, how she had seen something and how the medallion had saved her
when she was hunted.

The medallion ! She had seen some carvings on the coin from somewhere but had
never really been able to put the finger on from where. But now she remembered,
she had seen one sign on the medallion.
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Post by Drakfot » Tue May 23, 2006 10:27 pm

Part 7.

The sun was still shining clearly on her and the medallion as she was looking at
it closely. She knew that somewhere on it there was a sign or a latter or
something that she had seen on the coin.
It was all so strange to her, what was these items she held in her hands ? She
had got them both through dreams, or were they dreams ? She could not really
tell if it was so, but sitting there holding both the medallion and the coin
told her otherwise. Even the carvings in the rock was there, and it was no
dream. How strange.

She was comparing the coin to the medallion, she tried hard to find the letters
that she had seen but it was as if they were lost somehow. After a moment of
staring into them her head started to hurt a bit so she relaxed against the rock
while closing her eyes.

Suddenly she was back a the battlefield, but not the last one she had seen. But
the first one, it was as if it was rewinding itself in front of her and she
ended up meeting eyes with the man that had lost the medallion. It was as if
everything just froze, she was just looking at him. The arrows that had hit him
was just levitating in the air just behind him, as if they had stopped just
before piercing through his body. She looked around and was stunned to see that
everyone around, everything was just standing still as if time had frozen. Why
did this happen ?
She did not dare to move, what would happen, would she be trapped in this
tragedy over and over again if she did ? She looked around, was it telling her
something, if it did what was it.
She looked around, it was hard since everywhere there was pain and blood,
wounded people. Then after a moment she noticed something different. This time
the man was not dropping the medallion. This time she was wearing it, in her
dream she had the medallion around her neck.
She held it in her hands staring at it, trying to find a solution to all this.

"What is it that you are trying to tell me" She asked it.

As if her voice was the trigger the medallion sounded off a "click" and it
looked as if it was opening up, or rather as if it was cracking up in the center
revealing a blue gem inside. She held it up in front of her staring at the gem
so much that she forgot that she was trapped in the dream.
The gem was round and blue, but it was as if the inside of it living, she could
see two small , what seemed to be white balls, moving around in harmony leaving
facing tails behind. They moved as if they were swinging in the pace of tunes,
or performing some kind of dance. She was absorbed by them, just kept looking.

Suddenly the world shakes, as if an earthquake made its presence. She had to
take a step backward to regain her balance, and as she did the dream moved from
its frozen state back into what had happened before. The mas was pierced and
fell to the ground and she once again lost her balance, this time the sun hit
the medallion and the reflection lit up the side of the rock, it emanated on
parts of the carvings.

"...key that opens door..." Was all that she could read on the rock before
waking up again.

This dream had been so different, she had actually been standing in it didn't
she ? She had been there, seen it all again but now it was all so different. It
had been in a frozen animation until the moment she had looked at the medallion.
The medallion ! It had changed its shape in her dream, it had displayed a gem
whom in return had showed her parts of the carvings. Could it be that the
medallion was the key to decipher the carvings, what they means ? She stood up
and looked at the sky, the sun and clouds were still there as before she had sat
down. She tried to get a reflection of sun from the medallion to hit the
carvings, it was trickier then she had thought and she tried several times from
different angles before giving up. It seemed as it didn't want to work now.
Then she realized that when it had happened, even though it went very fast, that
it was the gem that had reflected the sun, not the medallion itself.

She sat down and looked at the medallion. It looked as before the dream, nothing
new or unusual about it. She examined it closely, ignoring the carvings on it,
trying to find some sort of lock or switch on it which could activate the gem
again. There was nothing, in fact it was as if it was laughing in her face with
its perfect lines and shapes, nowhere was an opener nor lock seen.

"What is it that you are trying to tell me" She said in an attempt to activate
the medallion.

Still nothing, it didn't react the least to her words, just lied there in her
hands silent and glistening.
Perhaps the time of the day was wrong, perhaps it only activated at a certain
time of day she thought to herself. Perhaps there was something she could see in
the dream what might help her activating it. But she was not sure if she wanted
to return to the dream again, just being there as everything was standing still
was scary enough for her. But she was so curious, it seemed as it constantly
teased her to continue to seek out more when she lost interest in it. She had
already convinced herself when she thought that and decided to once more let her
curiosity take the upper hand.

She lied down by the rock after eating just a few berries and closed her eyes
squeezing the medallion in her hand. She tried her best to fall back into the
dream. She fell asleep.

She dreamt, but not about the medallion or the rock. Not even the coin.
She was back in her own hometown walking down the street heading nowhere it
seemed. As she walked she met all her merchant friends, they greeted her and she
answered. At some she stopped and talked with them a bit before moving on. One
even gave her an applefruit as a kind gesture.
She continued to walk along the street taking a left and right turn around
corners. It seemed as she were heading somewhere anyhow, but where she couldn't
put the finger on. She was just walking now, it seemed as she street would never
end. She tried a left turn down a small alley just to find out that the street
there looked just like the one she was just coming from. Down through another
alley from there and she was still facing the end of the merchant street, but
even as she walked closer to it it was like it would never end. Another small
alley and the same street appears.

It had started out as a usual walk down a street but now it seemed to have ended
up in a maze of confusion. A labyrinth with no end and no goal. Whatever turn
she took it was always the same, the maze was a labyrinth that was a circle. She
started to get confused and scared, what would happen ? What was the point and
meaning, where was she headed and why ? She didn't know but she decided that the
best thing would probably so just walk straight towards the end of the street,
even if it never seemed to come any closer. She walked and walked and nothing
seemed to ever change, had this happened to her before ? Had she been lost on
the street as a child trying to find back to her friends or parents and as being
a small one the streets had seem endless ? She didn't know at all.
In a flash a large shadow appeared in front of her and she woke up.

"aahh" She said out loud.

It had just been a bad dream. She was a bit sweaty but in a way she was happy
that it was just a bad dream. Thinking of it she had felt it right from the
start that it was just an ordinary dream, not like the one she had just got
stuck in earlier. And she was in a way thankful for it not being the same dream.
But it was scary anyways.

The sun and clouds had already sought refuge behind the horizon and the stars
and their dark blue and black drapery had now taken over. The stars were showing
their patterns in the sky as she looked at them. The breeze was calm and
cooling, but never cold enough to make it chilly. It seemed to be a nice
evening, or night as it was. She leaned back at the rock, it had almost become a
kind of friend to her now. Since she had been there so much, and well so much
had happened there lately.
Quite funny as she just set out to see the lands, she never expected to end up
in something as confusing as this. A fight or something like that at worst she
had thought, but she was good with handling the knife so she didn't fear that
too much, but to get taken away by this. It was way over her understanding. Why
would something like this happened to her ? Why not someone else, she was no one
in particular and this seemed to be a task for a grand mage or at least a
magician.

Oh well, the night was beautiful so why not enjoy it while it last.
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Post by Drakfot » Sat Jul 01, 2006 2:22 am

Part 8.

Looking at the stars showed how they slowly moved over the heaven vault slowly
wandering from one place to another. Some glistened with more power then the
others while some seemed to just fade into the background of the show. Some
combined themselves and formed patterns which she recalled partially from when
she had been spending some time with the old scholar back home.
Yes home, it seemed to be not farther off then a few days walk down back along
from where she came, still it felt as if she had left the safe haven of home
years ago. It was not possible that time would have traveled so fast was it ?
Could the stalled dream have frozen her in time allowing her to continue at a
future moment ? No she must be tired as she was having such conversations with
herself now. Tired but not sleepy.

She looked at the medallion again and it still looked the same from when she had
last peeked at it, it hanged around her neck as if nothing unusual had ever
happened to it. What was its past, its origin and why was it so sought after by
so many. And why did it seem as this little item brought so much suffering and
pain along its way ? Still she could not just tear it off and throw it away. It
was not as if it held any power over here, it was more that it was affectionate
to her curiosity and therefore she wouldn't part from it until its mystery was
solved.

She had already tried to fall asleep and to force herself in to the strange
dream with the man and the medallion but she had failed and had ended up in her
own nightmare. Probably an occurrence from her past, still not a pleasant one.
Perhaps the medallion was the source of this dream, that it only showed her its
past when it saw fit. Then how had she seen the first dream ? She was certain
that there had been no medallion near the rock until after she had seen that
dream. Such a strange artifact this must be then, a magical artifact. And what
was the gem she had seen inside it, she could not recall its appearance from any
of the books she had read in the old library either. But then some of them were
written in the young days of the village and others had traveled there on the
packs of merchants and distant travelers. Perhaps some of them were not reliable
as facts when they could have been written in the whim of someone.

She stared at the sky as the thoughts passed through her mind over and over
again. What had the carvings on the stone said just before she had awoken ? "key
that opens doors" what key would that be, the medallion ? And what doors for
that matter. She hadn't seen any house, town or village or anything remotely
inhabitable but she was not so far away from her home village but it was not
satisfactory to go back there. And thinking about what had happened the last
time she had tried to travel on, the ones hunting her. Was it so that the
medallion was defending her as long as she did not stray away from what it
wanted to show her ? It sure had helped her the time she had got her foot stuck
between some branches, but it had also held her enclosed in a frozen dream?
Then again, it seemed as what the medallion wanted to show her was on par with
what her curiosity wanted to find out. It was simply to good of an opportunity
to pass it up.

Oh, was it already so late ? She had noted that a large star she had been
looking at when she first looked at the sky had moved quite a bit since she last
saw it, had the time flown off that quick ? She looked around to see if she
could see any other signs of how much time that had passed since she started to
ponder things. The starlight had with the aid of a thicker straw formed a sort
of clock on the ground and she noted that from what she recalled it had traveled
around two hours already.
But she was not so sleepy, perhaps her bad dream and the curiosity held her
awake still, perhaps if she fell asleep again she would end up in the alleys
again, and what if something happened that could be a clue to her, she didn't
want to sleep for now.

She moved up and turned into the front side of the rock where the carvings where
and let her hand wander along the rough surface. She peered with her eyes and
tried to focus on where she had seen the translation of the carvings. It seemed
as the translation would have ended up somewhere near or in the middle of the
line of carvings, but she was not sure as she had just seen letters she could
understand and read them before she had awoken. But it somehow were fitting that
it would be placed in the middle of the carvings.

So if this medallion was a key that open doors, what kind of a key would it then
be ? Would the blue gem she had seen inside of it be the key ? And why did the
medallion seem to crack open as if it was a shell merely created to house the
gem, the key. It didn't have any resemble with an ordinary key like the ones
used back home either. They were just small pieces of iron formed in unique ways
so they would only open one lock. She looked once more ".... key that opens
..door.." it must be some door if it would require such key.
Who had the horseman been ? She tried the hardest she could to remember any
special marks or emblems on his armor but it was all blank and shiny as far as
she could tell. The armor on the horse had seem to be rather mighty for covering
a horse. Often they just had plates covering the vital parts since they were
used to storm into the crowd during battles, but this was a different kind she
thought. It had more markings on it, as if it was not only a defense but also a
mark of rank of its rider.
The armor was adorned with small emblems and the headpiece was holding a
gigantic horn in the middle of the head, a unicorn ? A bit strange though that
the armor of the horse would have more markings then its rider. Perhaps it was
some sort of marking after all. And why would he be after the medallion, was the
carvings on the rock when that had happened ?

There she was again, swirled in questions but no way to find and answer. Perhaps
it was intended by the medallion, that she had to ask herself the right
questions for it to continue to show her the past, to give clues. So what would
she ask herself then, what would be the appropriate question to generate a reply
or an action from the medallion. She thought to herself that it was most likely
time to set the medallion in the center of it all instead of relying on it as a
periphery. What was that thing the old scholar had said so often : "The size of
knowledge cannot be measured by comparison. Even a thin book can hold great
wisdom.", yes something like that it had been she thought.

Now then, what to ask she thought. Even though it was late at night she was
still thinking way to much then was good for this late hour. But she couldn't
just force herself to rest now, it seemed as through all the strays of thoughts
she had finally found one that might prove to be the the right approach.
She sat against the rock and let her eyes sway from the ground up to the sky
again, the stars were still there though some had moved a little more. So if the
medallion was the key that supposedly opened doors, what about the gem inside.
Was it part of the medallion or had that part just been a figment of her
imagination. Anyhow she was now certain that she had found the way to look for
new ideas and clues about this.

She closed her eyes in order to remember more details from the frozen dream, and
even trying to see the horseman in front of her again it seemed as she was more
successful now as the details seemed to be clearer to her. Either she was able
to focus on it better, that or she was dreaming again.
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Post by Drakfot » Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:57 am

Part 9.

If it was a dream or not she was not sure of, but she could in fact see the
horseman in front of her now. Somehow it was strange as she looked at him and he
just stood there, still and hardly moving. It was as if her was waiting for his
mark to enter the stage or something. Could it be... a frozen dream with
movement ? But how strange was not that, a dream is either something where you
experience things or you simply does not recall it. She had never heard of a
dream that stood still in time while moving.
Did she dare to confront the horseman ? Would he see her, well he should have
already seen her as she was in fact standing in front of him now, but still if
she touched him would he then react ?

She started to walk towards the horseman while looking at him carefully, the
slightest move resembling an attack or anything and she was prepared to dodge
and run. Soon she was close enough to be able to touch the muzzle of his horse.
But there was no such thing under the large armour covering the horse.
It seemed as there was nothing at all under it as she looked.. just a skeleton..

She stepped backwards and gasped for her discovery. She had not seen it before
for the actions of the horseman and the details around had taken all her focus.
But now she saw that the horse, it was a horse indeed, but only the remains of
one; the skeleton. The gigantic armour and coat that was covering the horse had
hidden this to her in her earlier visions. But as it was breathing there were
still air coming out from its muzzle, as if it was still alive despite being a
skeleton.
But it had not moved or tried to avoid her when she was closing in, perhaps she
would be able to have a closer look without being noticed. What a strange dream.

She gathered her courage and walked towards the horseman again, she had backed
some distance when she had found out about the horse, so she had almost to start
over again with the walk it seemed. She looked at the horseman as she approached
him. It was strange though, in the distant she had barely been able to
distinguish details on his armour, details that should become clearer as she got
nearer, but the odd thing was that when she came closer the details were
vanishing. She was now as close again as she had been when touching the horse
but she took a few more steps and was now next the side to the horseman and was
looking at him. The armour seemed gigantic but totally shiny and glossy, no
details or ornaments, not even a dent, could she see on it. It was as if it had
been forged from one single piece of metal which made it look as it melted
together. She wondered how its surface would be to touch and contemplated to try
it out. She stretched her arm and hand and doubted a second before she let her
fingers touch it.
Suddenly, as her fingers touches the hard and cold armour the horseman turned
his head and looked at her with a evil grin. The last thing she saw was his big
red demonic eyes and the grin..

She awoke with a shout, it had been a dream again. A strange one it was; did the
dream stand still eve though she was able to move or was it the dream itself
that wanted to show her something.
Anyhow it had been a bad dream, a nightmare for her and she wanted to forget it
as soon as possible. Especially his eyes as they had almost burned themselves
into her mind. She had seem them for a short while, still she could remember
them clearly for some reason.
The night had turned into morning, the dream must had taken its time with her
since so little happened but so much time passed but she got up and stretched
and suddenly it was like something told her that today she should wander a bit.

She did a quick look that she had everything with her, the knife, the medallion,
her bag with some berries and so on and as soon as she was done checking she
looked at the area around her.
It seemed as she would head towards the forest this time, or well it was as
something had pre-set her course and she didn't really questioning it since so
many strange things had happened since she had found this rock. Odd that it
hadn't happened to anyone else before here though, quite many had already passed
along this route and were bound to experience something like this, so why her.

She walked towards the forest and soon she found herself in its outskirts, the
nice line it former as if it did not want to extend any further then this formed
a wall of trees in front of her. It was almost a scary sight but also soothing
and welcoming, she felt as she could travel safe in this forest. She took her
first step into it and it almost seemed as the roof of trees bended over here
covering the sky only letting sparse rays of light through creating spears of
light that lit it up. It was a beautiful sight to see how the stems formed
pillars accompanied with the light. It all had a shimmer around it that gave her
a feeling of a welcoming as she walked into it. She just walked where she
thought she was headed, perhaps if she tried to escape the rock on the hill she
was inadvertently drawn back to it. Perhaps her mind had to be free in order to
become free from the circular travelling she had done before.

She walked on for perhaps an hour or so, still in the small bliss the forest had
created when she walked into it, she looked around to see if there was something
she could use. She had found another small bush with the strange berries at the
roots of a tree, just in one of the places where the trees let the sun pass
their roof. It stood there happily alone as if it was guarded by the tree
itself, growing towards the sky which held the warmth of the sun giving it
energy to grow even more. She had gently picked a few of the berries in case she
would have to eat later on.

She almost lost time as she walked further and further into the forest, still it
seemed as the time stood still in here, there was still rays of light coming
from the rooftops and she did not look close enough to see if they wandered on
the ground telling of the suns movement on the sky, but she did not really care
since this was the first comfortable thing she had experienced since she had
started her journey.

Suddenly it was something that grabbed her ankle and almost made her loose
balance, but she reacted quickly and was standing on her two feets hastily. She
looked around to see if there was someone who had grabbed her, if so they must
have moved quietly as she had not heard anything but herself walking.
But there was none around and she noticed that it was a small root that she had
got entangled into. Strange as she could not recall passing near enough to get
entangled like this, she set herself free and looked around.
Not far away there was something resembling a small hill and on it there were
something that seemed to be an old cabin. How odd that it would be in here,
wonder whom had lived here she thought to herself as she somehow decided that
she wanted to give it a closer look.
So she changed her path now heading towards the cabin while looking at it and
around to see if there still was someone living in it. But it seemed as it had
been abandoned a long time ago, and a tad run down. She was not far away from it
now and she could see the small path that once was used by the one or those that
lived in this cabin, it originated from the door of the cabin down the little
hill and then sort of faded away into the forest as they would probably have
taken many different directions when reaching this part of it. As she walked on
the path she felt something warm against her chest and notices that it was the
medallion that suddenly had turned warmer then it had been before. Did this mean
it was familiar with this place ? Was this the workings of the medallion again ?
As she stood in front of the door she though to herself : "Well, it might not be
a rock. But I am on a hill again..."
//Drakfot,
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I am but a crafter of words

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