The Confused Elf - Kerrin Alayons Musings

[soul101]

So much has happened in the last 48 hours, that I simply must recount it! If not, I feel it shall be lost to time, and to myself.

Nelem was killed... I could do nothing but flee the throng of giants without my mentor... my father... there to aid me. The Shaman was strong enough to kill him; I certainly did not stand a chance! I felt the aid of Kithairien as I took flight, and almost in an instant found myself back at the school. I have sworn an oath of vengeance on the giant that ended Nelems existence. And The Runner help me, I shall prevail!

And I believe he is. I awoke, as if still in dream, on a strange, dark pathway, as I walked, I heard a tale recounted, of a land destroyed. I had no sooner come to the end of the dream, than I woke up in the town of Hlint. Where that is I have no clue? My bow and arrows, my tools and traps, my books, all left behind. And yet, I can't help but feel The Runner has brought me here, to begin my training for vengeance.

Yet more aid from the father of the hunt! He has given me a guide, a cat who called itself Jendri! He is bound to me by the runner, and shall hopefully come to my aid when I call on him. I first met him just outside Hlint, as I was being savaged by a band of goblin sharpshooters; he diverted their fire, and enabled me to escape. Later, he appeared again, this time in less dire circumstances. It is good to have a new friend in this strange new land.

Enough rantings for now! The Hunt calls!

[soul101]

Another eventful day. Little hunting to be done in this region, at least by the likes of me... but other forms of the hunt abound...
  Bumped into a kindly gentleman, who declined my request for joining his hunt (on grounds that it would be far too dangerous for me). Then he dropped 500 true in my pockets! Hunter repay him for his kindness... I don't know quite what to do with it yet, but I'm sure I'll find something.
  Met a pretty young lady a few nights ago. We had met in passing before (she has healed my wounds a few times). Very charming, and beautiful hair. Allei... hopefully I'll meet her again. It was an interesting hunt... perhaps I will have another chance in the future...
  Those darned rats! Jendri is starting to get the hang of them now, which is good to see. He appears quite fond of rat meat...I, however, am still struggling to hit my targets often enough. I sometimes have to go back to those darned cantrips for protection, but I suppose I should not complain. At least I know them.
  Hunter guide me in my quest for vengeance.

[soul101]

So, here I sit, in a room in the Flaming Twins Inn in Lar, after having had my first trip away from the vicinity of Hlint. I suppose by some standards it has taken me a while to get away from that town, but it was an opportunity too good to miss. A long journey, good company (Allei...), and fair hunting, showed me just how harsh and dangerous and BEAUTIFUL this land is!

I saw a giant for the first time since... well, since that night. I put an arrow in it's corpse, angry at what it reminded me of. One of it's kin, an Ogre shaman, killed me (yes, I died!), and if not for the prayers of Allei, I would not have survived. So, I suppose thanks to Aeridin are owed. I must be resolute in my practice, and not allow myself to get distracted.

May I be swift of foot! Kithairien be praised!

[soul101]

Well, much has been accomplished since last I wrote. More friends made, in particular a halfling named Ivory. He was new, and had a date with the ratman, so I decided to go along (knowing how dangerous it can get in those sewers). Well, Me, Ivory, another halfling named Selelev*various attempts to spell it*Selevein, and Jendri, all headed down to the Ratmans lair. All praise should go to Jendri, who was swift to the kill! I was surprised at how easily the beast fell, but surely Kithairien was involved. Praise to the Swift-Footed (that's a new name I learned from Sallaron. Hope you don't mind, because I think it's great)!

My dreams are being haunted by memories I wish weren't real. Nelem, I swear to you by the spear of The Hunter, I will exact vengeance!

I wonder how father is doing? Probably happy to be rid of me... My elven senses tell me to honour my parents though, so I will continue to learn the arts. My first priority though, is to my mission, so everything else will have to fit around that.

[soul101]

Hmmm... much  to think about.... I really should have expected this.

Well, I have a new vocation! I hope to prove myself to the hunter of being worthy of the title of Arcane Archer! I met an elven archer named Celrith, who taught me about what it means, to infuse your archery with arcane powers! My fingers are tingling at the thought! Perhaps, one day, I will.

A new perspective today. I have come to realise that there is more to the hunt than senseless killing for sport. Maybe I'm growing up. Maybe it's the look in her eyes... either way, I feel it is my solemn duty to maintain a balanced view when hunting. No more than necessary. Fortunately, all giants dying is completely necessary!

Tonight I was threatened by an elderly druid named Drogo. It seemed my death in the High Forest sparked the killing of 2 bears. Don't ask me how! maybe I'll learn about all this in the future. Maybe I won't. Maybe Drogo should take the stick out his butt! Pun intended (I learned why druids are called tree-huggers today. TeeHee!).

[soul101]

A day like no other...

My penchant for trouble certainly makes me seem adventurous in these writings. I suppose I only write the interesting things.

Hlint was quiet today. Few people about, until Celith showed up. We decided (finally!) to get the letter that I've been holding onto delivered to Fort Hilad. I didn't realise it would be such a journey...

Giant ants, Griffons, rogue rangers, more bigger griffons and scarecrows! By the Spear of The Hunter! Never have I been on such a frightening journey! Fortunately Celith was there to protect and guide me. I felt the tug of the Soul Mother for the first time, as a scarecrow cut me down. I now fear more for my life than ever. I am no longer invincible.

We managed to help a lot of people along the way, slaying beasties and creepy-crawlies who threatened the existences of the local population.

I look forward to the day when I am in a position to become an Arcane Archer, like Celith. I fear however that it may be a while still. No matter, I will continue...

I met a girl named Lynx today. Newer than me (7 sunsets she said... took me a while to work out what she meant), and nearly got herself stuck by the goblins. It felt good to help someone less experienced than myself... a sort of role reversal. We took on the Ratman together. A druid, she was not best impressed when I torched them (and her!) with a cone of fire! I've never killed a greater being before. I'll have to be more careful with my fathers bloodgift. Another useful tool to add to my arsenal of vengeance, but I need to be careful it doesn't hurt the one I love. Lynx seemed interested in my gift; I can't wait to meet her again.

[soul101]

never insult a dragon-called halfling. I hope she speaks to me again. I hope allei speaks to me again... sometimes I should just keep my big mouth shut!

acacea started it! I wasn't drunk that night. Drunk with rage maybe, but hadn't touched alcohol. Not the kind of drunk that has you waking up on a strange road in an unfamiliar part of the world. anyway, I refrained from telling her about that night (she was too busy having a laugh, and I didn't want to spoil the moment with seriousness), so I joked about not believing her story about dragons calling and such, and she took off in a rage! just like that. allei followed, and didn't say anything to me, and I tried to go after them, but lost sight of them. I hope they can forgive me. It was difficult to do anything else after that, except think about what happened.

It's wierd how I can put an arrow through a deer's heart, and get on with my day without thinking about it twice, but put a word through the heart of someone who has been kind to you, and it won't leave me alone.

On the upside, I bumped into Blue again, this time in the crafting guild (I had previously seen her in the forest, and I was out cold and infected by a horrid stink bug!), and she kindly gave me a bowstring! my first! seeing as I can't get the silk for it myself (see previous bracket), it's a great gift! I gave her a black bear skin for it, as I didn't have a use for it, and felt guilty with it sitting in my ox pack.

[soul101]

Busy times!

I was milling about in Port Hampshire the other day, chatting to a few dwarves, exploring the local inn, and sitting around the fountains, when all hell broke loose! A flash of lightning appeared outside a door, startling all of us, attracted our attention first. 7 of us went to find out what was going on: 3 dwarves, 3 elves, and a human. One of the elves knocked on the door, and then made his way slowly in. I followed out of curiosity. Inside the house, more lightning, explosions and so on! And an angry dwarven woman, yelling about some local cooking competition. After she had calmed down a bit, some of the dwarves started to ask her what the matter was. It turned out that her cookbook had been stolen, while the woman was out walking her dog. The cat, Milo (supposedly a ferocious guard), had failed to protect it.  Because I was the only one capable of speaking to it, I was asked to find out what happened. Unfortunately, it wasn't too friendly with Jendri, so he had to disappear back to the hunter for a while. Eventually it let on that a large group of trolls had gone off with it. That, coupled with some leftover evidence identified as a thistle-leaf, lead us to enter the nearby swamps.

Oh, the swamps! wouldn't have been too bad, if not for one pesky dwarf named Han! Kept on wandering into the middle of them, despite my best efforts to scout ahead and forewarn them, causing the rest of us to run to his rescue all too frequently.  Fortunately the party was capable in a scrap, so we came out on top every time. There was, however, a rather nice paper trail of ripped out recipe's for us to follow, which saved us getting overly lost. Eventually we came to the end of the swamp, and a rather mean bunch of trolls, who took more effort to clear than the previous groups. But clear them we did, and then I managed to find a patch of brambles with more pages on the other side.  On climbing through (this took a lot of effort for the dwarves) we discovered an entrance to an old tomb of some sorts.

This was where the fun began. And by fun, I mean it was very scary! A whole bunch of Slaads (reminding me of a particularly nasty hunt in my youth), were just the tip of the iceberg. It was here we experienced the first deaths in the party, because of two particularly nasty grey slaads (grey ones are the worst, we discovered). Fortunately one of the other elves was a cleric, and was able to raise them. As we went deeper, the monsters got bigger and scarier. Fortunately Jendri was a good scout, and gave us all a good heads up (except one time, where Han decided to go in on his own). Eventually we came to the end, only to come face to face with a huge being from the planes! One of the girls called it a fiend. This, coupled with the super-rats aiding it, meant for a particularly tough battle. Eventually though, we managed to end it.

The Fiend was standing guard over a nasty looking pot of brew, a magic potion of some sort, in a room full of recipes and ingredients and strange alchemical equipment. One of the girls tasted the potion, and found herself being sickened by it. The dwarves appeared alright with it though. After gathering the papers, and searching the room a bit, it was decided that we should take some of this brew back to the cook, as she would hopefully know what exactly it was. Whilst myself, the dwarves and one of the girls were up for destroying the thing, the cleric and the bard reckoned it was a bad idea. So we left it alone, and managed to get out the dungeon alive (just).

On our way back we were ambushed by a group of Lizardmen. I was almost killed, and the bard (Brielle) was killed. We had to stage a body rescue, managing to push back the Lizardmen and retrieve her. We then took her to the temple back in Port Hampshire, where the Deliar Clerics were able to bring her back. We then headed back to the house. The lady was not best pleased with the state of her book, but was pleased to have it back all the same. She gifted us with a huge amount of fine food and drink. I also came out with a cool 110 true from the looting, and I feel my bow-skills were truly tested and improved on this journey! All in all, it was a very interesting journey, and I hope to spend time with that bunch again.

[soul101]

//if anyone is bothering to read this excuse of a journal, I haven't been on for a while, due to a lack of internet, so I will be developing my character here for now.//
  Interlude in the Life of a Wild Child: Growing Pains Part 1
It was fear, confusion and loneliness that drove Kerrin into the deep Sielwood forest. The dreams had gotten worse, the memory had not faded; all that he had learned in the past few months had contradicted all that he believed. And Kithairien? The Runner had provided little help thus far to ease the suffering of the confused elf. Only Jendri served as a reminder of The Runner's purpose and hand in Kerrins life. But then, a fleet-footed god probably has little time for a single being.  Perhaps it was the noise of the city that he had begun to call home. Perhaps it was is Wild Elven blood, calling to him to move on, seek new paths, new homes, new hunts. Perhaps it was the nagging memory of his mentor, slain, or the blood debt on the death that was his to claim. Perhaps it was thoughts of his former life, his father, his school, his mother. Then again, perhaps it is all of these things; the turmoil of images, memories, questions, thoughts, and unmade decisions plagued Kerrin as he stumbled deep into empty parts of the forest.

[soul101]

Interlude in the Life of a Wild Child: Growing Pains Part 2  In the sky, a Great Eagle battled a young Red Drake. Feathers and flames, talons and teeth, both fighting for supremacy of the skies. At that moment, the drake appeared to be in the ascendancy.  Leaning against a tree to catch his breath, Kerrin caught sight of a deer crunching on some foliage in the near distance. He considered the requisites of the hunt:  “Am I hungry? No, food is not the first thing on my mind. Do I have a need for the hide? Nope, I’d have nothing to do with it, out here, right now. Is this deer a threat? Pssshh! Yeah, right! So I don’t have anything to gain from killing this creature.” Yet a spark inside him filled his eyes with flame, and in a blind rage he drew his bowstring and let fly an arrow! The point burst through the soft body of the innocent creature, ripping a whole in it and knocking it to the floor. Kerrin approached the limp body of the barely breathing creature, and with a menacing grimace, and eyes glowing with a dark fire, an incantation rolled off his tongue. A shriek, an explosion, and the body burst into flames. The glow left his eyes, and Kerrin surveyed the carnage in front of him. Kneeling beside the creature, he said a prayer. “What have I done? Oh Swift-Footed One, where are you? I beg you, teach me to hunt with honor, that I may truly repay the blood debt. Nelem, be with me, remind me of your teachings, and the ways of the true hunt.” Taking out his knife, he began to strip the usable pieces of flesh from the freshly charred carcass. No tears graced his cheeks for his deed, despite his true regret and repentance.   The Great Eagle perched atop an old Oak. It filed through its feathers, singed and scarred, and flexed its damaged wings. Below, a wisp of smoke curled out of the nostril of the dead drake, as its body lay entangled in the branches of the tree. It was a tough battle, and only the final blow had won the day, but the Eagle sensed that more would be on their way soon.