Author Topic: The Journal of Creighton Dallorius... (Read 1798 times)

Creighton · « **Reply #40 on:** July 04, 2006, 03:37:06 am »

*spends the day sick in bed...must have picked up a draft on his recent ocean voyage...through his congested and aching haze, he hears Tyrian slamming things about the room again...as he begins to rise, she leaves...and for the moment, he has not the strength to follow...*

Creighton · « **Reply #41 on:** July 05, 2006, 03:32:24 pm »

--All in all, has been a good day.

*smiles*

Tyrian and I have proven that the two of us alone are a formidable pair; we bested the ogres infesting the Haven mines alone, just the two of us...her magic and my steel...

...t'was a good feeling, to stand by her side.

My leather work is coming along fine...I daresay, some of the pieces I have crafted with this hobby of mine may prove to be some that I can sell to support my family...I didn't think some time ago that I would reach this goal...

My Dwarven learning has been reduced of late to practicing with Tyrian that which we already have learned; the Stonecutters have been away for some time...although a short time ago, Axodeth came back from his travels, and took the time to show me the island of Rilara...a beautiful if troubled land...one I shall visit again.

*sighs contentedly*

Has been a busy day...I am satisfied with it.

*smiles....closes the book and puts it away, then joins his wife beneath the covers, snuggling up for a peaceful sleep*

Creighton · « **Reply #42 on:** July 07, 2006, 04:06:25 pm »

*Hurries in...finds no one home...chagrined, he quickly gathers supplies, then, as an afterthought, snatches up his journal*

--A day of mourning, this will be.

Word has reached me that Glenn Thendor is dead.

*pauses...jaw firmly clenched*

I know not if Tyrian or the Stonecutters know...I only know that I must go and see for myself...and Ash...poor Ash...I have to see if I can find her...

*snatches a page out and scrawls a quick note for Ty...that he will be travelling to the Ranger's Vale to seek word, then to Vale itself if need be...to find both confirmation of the terrible news, and hopefully to find Ash...he lays it on her pillow*

Time is of the essence...although my source is good and my fear is high...I must hold onto hope.

*slams the book and replaces it on the shelf...as an afterthought, he grabs his panther cloak off of the hook by the bed, thinking it's qualities may be useful should he have to journey to Vale...this action causes the note to fall to the floor unnoticed by him as he leaves, coming to rest under the dresser and out of sight....*

Creighton · « **Reply #43 on:** July 11, 2006, 04:25:10 pm »

*sits up on the rug in the new house...glances around with a broad smile at the sparse furniture that she and he placed...takes out a small book and quill and writes*

--'Tis a day to remember.

I have spent my time these past days scouring the continents for those I care for; to see for myself the horrible truth that Glenn Thendor did indeed perish...

*pauses*

I am told he died with honor and courage...just as he lived.

I also searched in vain for Ash, Nepp, and of course, my beloved Tyrian. I did find one old friend I had missed, but it was bittersweet; Xain told me that he was going to be doing some travelling, and that he might be gone for quite a while. This saddened me...he...

*stops a moment...sorrow filling his thoughts, but then:*

He gave me his half of the house in Pranzis. A home for Tyrian and I at last. How lucky we are to have friends such as the Stonecutters...two homes opened with warmth and welcome to us!

*starts to chronicle more of his journey, but is anxious to lie next to his wife*

I returned to Hlint, and there, in my own home, was accosted by a beast of dread appearance! Of course, this turned out to be my beloved, transmorphed into another form. Her skills are growing so much! We traded stories of our time apart (it turns out she never got my note...I found it later lying 'neath the dresser), and our concerns about Ash, Nepp, and the Stonecutters. I took her to the house in Pranzis...a surprise *grins as he writes* She seemed overwhelmed...very happy. It lit my heart like Toran's Light to see her so!

We also, in the turmoil surrounding Glenn's death, missed the wedding of our friends Rain and Sonya.

*stops, chagrined*

I feel terrible about this...I shall find a way to make it up to them.

We are going to see about the child Anna told us of...soon, we will journey to meet the children left in the wake of Roldem's destruction, and take one home...I so look forward to this...

*smiles broadly...looks over to her lying on the bearskin that is to be their bed for the night...considers writing more, but closes the book instead and takes his place next to her, wrapping his arms around her...the first true peace he has known in days*

Creighton · « **Reply #44 on:** July 12, 2006, 03:40:10 pm »

*wakes early...not knowing at first where he is, then realization sets in...he is home; he, and his wife. He smiles and rises, taking the small book from his pocket that is his journal until hie regular one is found in the disarray*

--She seems so happy.

I hope her shopping and decorating continues to keep that spark in her eye.

*thinks deeply a moment*

Something she said occurs to me; something that would make her heart glad.

*sighs, feeling the weight of his thoughts, then smiles to himself*

Anything is possible. I shall lay my plans...

*puts the book away, kisses her on the cheek, trying not to wake her, as she was obviously up VERY late working on the home...makes his way quietly out the door, but not before placing a blue rose on the pillow beside her*

Creighton · « **Reply #45 on:** July 16, 2006, 08:28:09 am »

--'Tis been an eventful night.

Tyrian has finished the decoration of our home...it looks beautiful. Such a thing I never imagined when I tread the lonely footpaths in times past, seeking that justice, that vengeance, that would have consumed me...thank Toran I found Ty...she is the light in my life.

*smiles* Speaking of light...soon, we will bring home a child! *smiles broadly* I...I could never have hoped for such a blessing.

*ponders this a moment*

I...I hope I can be a good father...I hope I can be half the man MY father was...I hope I can help ease this child's pain where I had only the quest to be my comfort...

*trails off*

Enough of that. I shall be as good of a father as I can...and Tyrian will be a wondrous mother, I am certain.

Later, we traveled back to Mistone, where in Hlint we met with Nepp. He is growing in ability, but I still worry for him...Glenn's death affected him so...

*sighs*

Speaking of that, I also learned of Addison's death. *face twists a bit in anger* I have lost two friends in such a short time...and my beloved and Nepp both have been visited again by the dread Mother...we must be more cautious...

*pauses, thinks to himself "look who's talking?"*

I too, must be more careful. There is too much in the future to miss it because of foolhardiness...

*begins to continue with this thought, but changes his mind*

We traveled to the Haven mines, and surprisingly, Ozymandias joined us. I was impressed by his skills and his manipulations of his magicks...I have no doubt that he could have traveled the length of the mine alone and emerged untouched, but he saw fit to journey with us.

I am glad for this.

May Toran watch over us all while we are apart...grant us wisdom, luck, and caution.

*smiles at his last entry, puts the book away and climbs into bed*

Creighton · « **Reply #46 on:** July 16, 2006, 08:38:39 am »

//this entry takes place a couple of days after the last one.

*staggers into the house, knocking over one of Ty's plants...he stops, despite his disorientation and pain, to pick it up, then continues his lumbering into the room...taking his journal he scrawls a quick line on the first page it opens to*

My...judgement was lacking...too many...the Mother...

Tyrian...I'm....

*collapses unconscious onto the cushions in front of the fireplace, the journal, quill, and inkwell tumbling to the floor, the black ink mixing with his blood as it trickles into the masonry cracks in the floor*

Creighton · « **Reply #47 on:** July 29, 2006, 02:23:46 pm »

//ooc-- These next couple of posts take place over a span of weeks...in RL, my internet has been out, and my wondrous ISP has taken their sweet time about getting me re-connected. This is my RP of why Creighton has been gone.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
*written in a crude ink on dirty parchment, cobbled together from refuse when their eyes could not see*

I am a prisoner.

Traveling about the lands surrounding Pranzis, to determine how dangerous it would be to bring a child home, I was suprised to find a small child crying woefully just past Corax Lake..

*pauses, withdrawing to the corner of his tiny, filthy cell as the guard ambles by, glaring with it's yellow eyes at him as it passed*

T'was a ruse...no sooner had I approached the child than it transformed through dark magicks into a robed being, and I was beset by a group of similarly dressed men who brought me down. I slew two of them, and when I was gripped by their energies, I thought I had breathed my last, but when I awoke I was here...

*glances about the filth...the smell of blood and decay rampant in the dismal dungeon...the rough iron shackles digging into his wrists and ankles...he glances at the healing wounds on his skin*

They have tortured me much...unspeakable, in fact. *he winces at the memories...the lash, the hot iron, the water* Only my memories of Tyrian and the child we wish to raise stilled my tongue...do what you wilt to me, I told them, but I shall tell you nothing to endanger anyone else! To the hells with you all, cowards who only know courage when the object of their ire cannot fight back!

This brought their wrath down upon me fully...I...I have witnessed the slow and painful death of several others here, and only by the strenth of Toran do I feel that I have survived thus...

They come...I will write more later, on the chance these words will one day be read.

I love you, Tyrian.

*hides the shreds of paper and crude bone quill beneath the flea-ridden mat that is his bed*

Creighton · « **Reply #48 on:** July 29, 2006, 02:30:11 pm »

*some days later, the tortures have intensified, and his despair has grown into a burning, calculated rage*

I am finished.

I have decided that I will leave this place, or die in the attempt. I have watched and waited for an opportunity for weeks, and have found little or none...their eyes see even when closed.

I shall make my opportunity.

Toran give me strength.

*Checks again the strength of the iron links binding his wrists...the ones joining his ankles now stretched almost to the point of breaking by his constant pulling on them, night after night, until his strength failed him. Now, he smiles through cracked, dry lips, now the time is almost nigh...his eyes raise slightly as he hears them coming...more torture, he knows.

His lips curl in a smirk as his face darkens to the point of appearing a different person as they open the cell and drag him out*

Creighton · « **Reply #49 on:** July 29, 2006, 02:40:25 pm »

*some days later...sitting by a fire near Corax Lake...as far as he could get before his legs failed him...food has been scarce, and he had not the strength to hunt...he found some blackberries, and smiled at the memory of Tyrian giving him blackberries at a time that seemed long, long ago...he writes on the parchment he took as he made his escape*

I...I have been pushed to do things I thought I would never do.

When they took me last...when sanity had all but left me, I had my plans...

I...I broke free in their midst, as they were chaining me to the wheel, when they were closest. I took the long dagger from one of their belts and tore into them, lashing out with a rage and a fury I have never let myself become a slave to...killing the three before they could speak the words of their spells.

*sighs*

I took the robe of one and his weapon...found my way to where they kept the spoils of their prisoners and retrieved most of my things...then tried to make my way out.

When I reached the outer gate, the guard had his back to me...I knew I would have to speak to him to be released, and I knew my deception would end.

I...

*trails off a moment*

I snuck behind him and strangled him...finishing him off with a dagger to the brainstem.

I have never done such a thing. I was trained to meet my enemies fairly and head on...

I thought I would not be able to do such an act...then I thought of my beloved...I thought of our home...I thought of the child we wish to raise...

...the rest was easy.

*yawns...feeling weak...the shackles still dangling broken chains from his wrists and ankles.*

May Toran grant a traveler to find me, or by his Light may I wake in the morn with the strength to make it home.

If not...then let he who finds my body please, please give my love to Tyrian...and I ask they only take her my sword to pass on...the rest, traveler, you may keep.

*Rolls over onto the robe he is using as a bedroll, pain wracking him from his wounds, and looks to Toran's Light in the sky...making his peace with either life or death...praying, however, to see her again*

Creighton · « **Reply #50 on:** July 30, 2006, 11:55:54 am »

*wakens with a start in the night, his recent memories manifesting themselves in his dreams; his sword is in his hand before he is fully conscious, his eyes narrowed, scanning from the light of the flaming blade...then, like stepping from a fog, he recognizes the familiar sights of his own home...his body relaxing almost violently, he sheathes his blade then settles back down onto the cushions, turning to put another log on the fire...it is then that he notices that she is gone...his brow knits in confusion, certain memories of their earlier reunion weighing on his mind...he takes his journal, leafs past the dirty pages from his imprisonment that he has placed there, and turns to a fresh page, writing by firelight as he chagrins over her absence*

--I am home. I am reunited with my most beloved.

But now, it seems, she is gone.

*stares into the fire a moment*

So much has gone on...Ash...Nepp...demons....

I did not like the look in her eyes at times...the stresses she bears for those she loves...I worry.

I need to find her something good in her life...something for her to anchor to amidst all the chaos...

*a brow raises as an idea strikes him...one that he will need help with, but...yes, it's quite possible*

I will not write my idea here...but I shall immediately begin preparations.

*closes the journal...makes sure the screen is in place in front of the fireplace, then sets out on a dual purpose*

Creighton · « **Reply #51 on:** August 01, 2006, 02:16:16 pm »

*Written in his small journal that he carries with him, the script obviously rushed*

--Not much time if I'm to make Hlint before sunrise.

I still have not found Tyrian. Because of the look in her eyes after hearing of my suffering at the hands of...I'm not sure who, I'm worried for what trouble she may get into.

I must hurry. Please, whatever powers that be, let me find her in Hlint.

Creighton · « **Reply #52 on:** August 02, 2006, 02:09:25 pm »

*Awakens slowly, his mind still weary from his journey...he notices a familiar smell in the room, and quickly sees her side of the bed has been slept in...

He rises quickly, searching about the room...but does not see her. A quick search around the rest of the house yields only bloody robes in the bathtub. Noticing no blood in the house, he concludes that the blood does not belong to Ty.

This thought, although happy, does little to stem his concern...he dresses rapidly, then sets out of the house once more, his jaw set in that way that says he will not stop until he finds her*

Creighton · « **Reply #53 on:** August 02, 2006, 10:19:09 pm »

*He awakens at the sound of her leaving...the candles throw odd shadows over the room as the crackling of the fire reaches his ears...gruffly, he drags out his journal*

I am a buffoon.

I fear I have only made matters worse in my ineptitude...Taskmaster Cort was right, I should have stuck to my sword, and kept my tongue sheathed, for I am a miserable student of the parlay.

I found Tyrian. She was home when I got back from my search. I...I wanted to talk to her, to let her know that she didn't have to carry all of the burdens that she carries alone...I...I sought only to let her know that she did not have to be alone...and stumbled over myself when she told me that at times, that was how she wanted it. Her caring for others is what gives her comfort, and I obviously misunderstood and overreacted...

How blind for me not to have known that!

*stops for long seconds, a twisting in his guts travels up to his heart*

And why does her response carry a twinge of pain?

*ponders following this line of thought for a moment, but then, both sad and disgusted with himself, he shakes off the thought as much as he can...but it is replaced with thoughts no more encouraging as he dips the quill again and writes*

I was once told I couldn't save the world. That for all my courage, all my skill, all my willingness to do whatever was required, regardless of the pain, regardless of the sacrifice; I could NOT save the world.

As is my wont, I never stopped believing that I COULD.

*stares at his armor and weapons on their racks...gleaming and polished in the firelight...then he turns to the empty pillow next to him*

Now...Toran help me...

...Now I'm starting to doubt.

*slams the book...for a split second, he considers hurling it into the fire...but reconsiders, and just as gruffly returns it to its spot and settles back down into his bed...eventually falling into a fitful and troubled slumber*

Creighton · « **Reply #54 on:** August 06, 2006, 11:40:53 am »

*Wakes up to notice his wounds have been treated for the final time...curses himself for being so exhausted from his trek that he did not awaken, and missed her. Rises from his bed and stretches, getting dressed, and taking his journal to walk to the kitchen*

--The information I seek is slow in coming.

I have told Tyrian of my plan to find her parents...even now, I have friends scouring for information to give me a direction in which to go. Sadly, I am told that this will be most difficult; much time has passed, and many shipping manifests and passenger lists were lost in the Blood War...but I have faith. Toran has seen me thus far, and I believe his Light will show me the way to that I seek once more.

*Reads back over his last entry*

I am no buffoon, I am merely overzealous. Ty has always, though taking much upon her shoulders, revelled in her care for those she loves. I will continue to support, aid, and love this woman in any way that I can, and that shall be enough.

*smiles, looking as his arms and chest, noticing how well they have healed*

I shall find her this eve, and we shall have a grand time.

*closes the book and, leaving it on the table, goes to prepare himself some food*

Creighton · « **Reply #55 on:** August 09, 2006, 06:05:22 pm »

*Rolls over and sits up, a slight chill in the house...throws a log on the fire and makes sure she's covered with a blanket...goes to the kitchen and gets some water...notices he left his journal on the table, and with a grin, lights a candle and sits to write*

--T'was a good journey today.

I say that because although we were in over our heads in trying to put down the large group of giants threatening the city gates, my love and I made a new friend.

*recalls meeting the stranger*

Vesath was his name, and he seems a noble soul; he stayed with Tyrian whilst I had to journey back to retrieve my stone...and he fought at our side as we made our way back to Pranzis.

*hears her shift in her sleep, reminds himself to stoke the blaze well before returning to her side*

'Tis always good to have friends...I think I shall journey back to Hlint soon, and see if I can be of aid to any newcomers that I have heard are all over town; refugees since the fall of Blood.

*grins*

Ah, Tyrian...maybe you are rubbing off on me.

*closes the book, blows out the candle...places his journal back where it belongs...puts one more small log on the fire and stokes it, satisfying himself that it will keep her warm...crawls back underneath the blanket and puts his arms around her...drifts off to sleep*

Creighton · « **Reply #56 on:** August 11, 2006, 01:20:32 pm »

*sits upright on the cushions in the middle of the night, the firelight throwing monstrous shadows on the wall...but he is not cowed, no...the dreamed images of the Soul Mother and her visitation of him this night have brought not fear...he studies the room around him, his eyes narrowing as they adjust quickly to the low light...Tyrian mumbles something, still mostly asleep, and his attention snaps to her...all angst leaves him, combat-readied sinews relax, and he lays gently back down beside her, cradling her close*

"I am here" he whispers to her.

"I am still here...and life loses it's meaning if you only think about it's end."

*he smiles at the words he spoke to her before retiring this evening as he repeats them...she shifts and nuzzles closer to him, as if perhaps she heard...he smiles, smelling the fresh scent of her hair as he drifts back into a now-peaceful sleep*

Creighton · « **Reply #57 on:** August 16, 2006, 03:56:05 pm »

*Trudges through the edge of the Forest of Mist, always watchful...disappointed that yet another lead in his quest has turned out to be a dead end....his eyes catch a few of the remaining spires in distant Pranzis, and his step quickens a bit...it will be good to see his love and his friends...it will be good to be home*

"Wonder what I've missed?" He asks himself beneath his breath, that half-grin curling his lips.

*He hears a twig snap in the brush and stops, hands on his weapons, waiting...*

Creighton · « **Reply #58 on:** August 18, 2006, 12:50:51 pm »

*Rises after several days of recuperation, the venom from the dire spiders having ravaged his bloodstream despite his destruction of the nest...he sighs as he rises, picking up his gear and clearing the small campsite he had made to either wait out the venom or die...sees that the distant spires of Pranzis are yet no closer than when he last looked on them...with yearning for those he cares for quickening his step, he presses on wordlessly, with the determination that has come to define him...*

Creighton · « **Reply #59 on:** August 20, 2006, 08:39:25 am »

*Rises in the night to find her next to him...curses the poison that had weakened him so*

"I should have been awake when you came home, my love", he whispers.

"But I am home."

*her lips curl in a slight smile, even in her sleep, as he pulls her closer and drifts back off...hoping all the more that these wanderings he has to make bear fruit for her sake*