CHAPTER II: TRIALS OF THE HIDDEN ONE
Some months had passed since I was released from stasis. I had gotten a chance to get to know the fools I was traveling with. It turns out Razadime was a ranger and a cleric of Solonor Thelandira. The amazing part was Razadime never used holy water. He would just relieve himself on the unholiness before him and say a prayer as he did it, blessing his own bodily fluids. The really amazing thing was his god didn't smite him down for being so lewd and demented. I still can't believe that Greymist was his cousin, and was willing to admit it!
Speaking of Greymist, he was a grey elf, the same as Razadime, if I might add. He was a rather clever mage, for his age, of course. The time that he spent in the lab was just as bad as I did in the lavatory. I never saw him working on new spells, or trying to figure out a problem. He always seemed to have a solution for everything. This got me to thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was in cahoots with the Hidden One. Other than that, the guy seemed all right by me. His father on the other hand, was a nut case. He always had something up his sleeve.
J.J. was not much help to our quest. He was always arguing with his sword, parrot, one night stand, or god. He seemed to have a new woman every time I turned around. It was almost like traveling with a gigolo, but he always managed to piss off the woman before he could get anywhere. And then he would write these horrific ballads about her, saying things like "she was the most beautiful woman in the world," but he said that about every woman!
Drake still had me worried. As we were traveling one day, I was talking with Greymist and Razadime, and the two of them told me the citadel I came from was destroyed about 45 years ago by the giant-folk. It turns out the Hidden One had hired the entire race to wipe out the citadel and take it for his throne. I got to thinking about all this, and when we were held up in a town for a couple of days (J.J. was off looking for a former love), I went and did some research in the local archives. It turns out Drake was the son of the chief to the giant-folk, meaning it was his father that gave the orders for every elf in the city to be burned alive. When I read this, my heart was filled with horror, and my mind with images of my mother and sister being burned to a crisp, just for spite. From that day on, I made it my mission to make Drake's life a living hell.
Sarcomus, the half-orc, was also royalty. He was actually at the battle of the citadel when the giant-folk overran the throne. He was hired by the empire to protect the royal family from harm. If only the kingdom had enough money to save all of my people. How typical of the wealthy only caring about themselves. He and I seemed to get along rather well, despite him making comments like, "When you die, can I have your ears?" That worried me just a bit. I kept thinking in the back of my mind that he was going to kill me in the middle of the night, just so he could have my ears for a midnight snack. Turns out he made that statement to every elf in the party.
As the months passed, we gained a few members, but I will not share their names, just for the sake of time and I don't want to bore you. We ran into many different walks of life throughout our journeys, wanting to follow us. Some we accepted, others we beat to a bloody pulp, and stole their belongings. I know it sounds like a mean thing to do, but when you are starving and you have a half-orc staring at your ears twenty- four/seven, you need to do something.
We traveled about four hundred miles in just one year of being together. For what purpose, I am still not sure, but I can tell you it was a living hell. I'm talking about barbarian tribes, magic-dead areas spanning fifty or more miles, and of course the worst of all: undead. This being the first real journey that I had ever been on, I was not accustomed to fighting undead. But with the help of my goddess, Tymora, I was able to push them back to the depths of hell, where they belonged. Months turned into years; years turned into decades. Still no answer to my question: "Where are we going?"
When we arrived at the port city on the edge of the known continent, I knew that I was quite a distance from any known territories to my kingdom. We made our way to a rumored Lich tower in the area. We never did find the lich, but the Hidden One found us. One by one, he started to bribe us, promising the world and all the power in it on a silver platter. To the best of my knowledge, Razadime was the only one that would not succumb to the wishes of the Hidden One. I was very tempted to follow, but then I had a vision of my mother from beyond the grave.
Her body was burnt from head to toe, flames still in her hair and in her eyes. She looked at me in a way that I would never forget. Her eyes seemed to burn deep into my soul, with the same intensity of her suffering. She told me that my destiny lied along a different path than those I traveled with. I must run far from this place and never look back. I asked, "How can I not look back? Your agony lives with me every day. I feel your pain in my heart as I watch the sun's rise and fall. How can I just forget about my family and how you were killed for just kicks?" "You have a future ahead of you. You must go to the north and seek out those who need your wisdom. Look for the ones in the most common places. Lost souls gather in casks of fear and despair. Find them, and the answer will present itself. Help others in need and we shall be avenged. Do not look back, my son. Do not look back!"
From that moment on, I knew that I was given a second chance on life. That everything happens for a reason. The gods had other plans for me, and they were very far from here. "Run!" said Razadime, as the walls started to fall around me. The two of us made it out alive, but we were scarred for life. Neither of us would forget the events that happened. We went our separate ways, and vowed to meet up at some point before the other passed on. I then began my journey to the north.
Some months had passed since I was released from stasis. I had gotten a chance to get to know the fools I was traveling with. It turns out Razadime was a ranger and a cleric of Solonor Thelandira. The amazing part was Razadime never used holy water. He would just relieve himself on the unholiness before him and say a prayer as he did it, blessing his own bodily fluids. The really amazing thing was his god didn't smite him down for being so lewd and demented. I still can't believe that Greymist was his cousin, and was willing to admit it!
Speaking of Greymist, he was a grey elf, the same as Razadime, if I might add. He was a rather clever mage, for his age, of course. The time that he spent in the lab was just as bad as I did in the lavatory. I never saw him working on new spells, or trying to figure out a problem. He always seemed to have a solution for everything. This got me to thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was in cahoots with the Hidden One. Other than that, the guy seemed all right by me. His father on the other hand, was a nut case. He always had something up his sleeve.
J.J. was not much help to our quest. He was always arguing with his sword, parrot, one night stand, or god. He seemed to have a new woman every time I turned around. It was almost like traveling with a gigolo, but he always managed to piss off the woman before he could get anywhere. And then he would write these horrific ballads about her, saying things like "she was the most beautiful woman in the world," but he said that about every woman!
Drake still had me worried. As we were traveling one day, I was talking with Greymist and Razadime, and the two of them told me the citadel I came from was destroyed about 45 years ago by the giant-folk. It turns out the Hidden One had hired the entire race to wipe out the citadel and take it for his throne. I got to thinking about all this, and when we were held up in a town for a couple of days (J.J. was off looking for a former love), I went and did some research in the local archives. It turns out Drake was the son of the chief to the giant-folk, meaning it was his father that gave the orders for every elf in the city to be burned alive. When I read this, my heart was filled with horror, and my mind with images of my mother and sister being burned to a crisp, just for spite. From that day on, I made it my mission to make Drake's life a living hell.
Sarcomus, the half-orc, was also royalty. He was actually at the battle of the citadel when the giant-folk overran the throne. He was hired by the empire to protect the royal family from harm. If only the kingdom had enough money to save all of my people. How typical of the wealthy only caring about themselves. He and I seemed to get along rather well, despite him making comments like, "When you die, can I have your ears?" That worried me just a bit. I kept thinking in the back of my mind that he was going to kill me in the middle of the night, just so he could have my ears for a midnight snack. Turns out he made that statement to every elf in the party.
As the months passed, we gained a few members, but I will not share their names, just for the sake of time and I don't want to bore you. We ran into many different walks of life throughout our journeys, wanting to follow us. Some we accepted, others we beat to a bloody pulp, and stole their belongings. I know it sounds like a mean thing to do, but when you are starving and you have a half-orc staring at your ears twenty- four/seven, you need to do something.
We traveled about four hundred miles in just one year of being together. For what purpose, I am still not sure, but I can tell you it was a living hell. I'm talking about barbarian tribes, magic-dead areas spanning fifty or more miles, and of course the worst of all: undead. This being the first real journey that I had ever been on, I was not accustomed to fighting undead. But with the help of my goddess, Tymora, I was able to push them back to the depths of hell, where they belonged. Months turned into years; years turned into decades. Still no answer to my question: "Where are we going?"
When we arrived at the port city on the edge of the known continent, I knew that I was quite a distance from any known territories to my kingdom. We made our way to a rumored Lich tower in the area. We never did find the lich, but the Hidden One found us. One by one, he started to bribe us, promising the world and all the power in it on a silver platter. To the best of my knowledge, Razadime was the only one that would not succumb to the wishes of the Hidden One. I was very tempted to follow, but then I had a vision of my mother from beyond the grave.
Her body was burnt from head to toe, flames still in her hair and in her eyes. She looked at me in a way that I would never forget. Her eyes seemed to burn deep into my soul, with the same intensity of her suffering. She told me that my destiny lied along a different path than those I traveled with. I must run far from this place and never look back. I asked, "How can I not look back? Your agony lives with me every day. I feel your pain in my heart as I watch the sun's rise and fall. How can I just forget about my family and how you were killed for just kicks?" "You have a future ahead of you. You must go to the north and seek out those who need your wisdom. Look for the ones in the most common places. Lost souls gather in casks of fear and despair. Find them, and the answer will present itself. Help others in need and we shall be avenged. Do not look back, my son. Do not look back!"
From that moment on, I knew that I was given a second chance on life. That everything happens for a reason. The gods had other plans for me, and they were very far from here. "Run!" said Razadime, as the walls started to fall around me. The two of us made it out alive, but we were scarred for life. Neither of us would forget the events that happened. We went our separate ways, and vowed to meet up at some point before the other passed on. I then began my journey to the north.