Nixx - Brownie The story as it unfolds

[Diablo_68]

Submitted Bio

Nixx had an ordinary upbringing working with her parents on human farms she loved everything about her life, working for people who were nice and needed help. The work she did was very satisfying helping to turn small seeds into huge crops that loomed over her like forests. She had fond memories running around with the animals and riding the dogs like horses.

Her parents had fallen in love with the farm they worked on and the humans who owned it treated all the brownies like family, the knew if they treated them right then the brownies would do the same and it was a system that both sides enjoyed and respected. Her parents had been on this farm for some time they did not like to move around much and once they found nice people and a nice area they stayed. All her life Nixx had great times on the farm and she thought she would never leave.

As the years past something started to happen to Nixx she found she had powers that nobody around her had or could comprehend she could make light just by moving her hands as time wore on she could sense she could do more and started to do less on the farm and would use the free time to try and understand her powers. It was on one hot afternoon when she was in the fields crouching under the canopy of crops she was making her light and trying to see if she could make it brighter she really concentrated and all of a sudden a shrieking scream was heard all over the farm, smoke started to reach for the sky and the farmer shouted for water as he ran in the direction of the smoke and the scream. As he got closer he could see the start of a fire and Nixx trembling on the floor he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, he tried to stamp out the small fire but it started to spread, he retreated out of the crops put Nixx down and grabbed a bucket and charged back in.

The fire was later put out but almost half the crop was lost, Nixx was still in shock and did not move from the chair she was in, she stayed there all night and everyone’s concern grew. In her dream she replayed what had happened the fire that streaked from her hands, she was on fire her hands were burning and as she tried to run from the flames they followed her. When she awoke she looked at her hands expecting them to be burnt to a crisp but they were fine.

That had been 11 years ago, after the fire her parents had taken her to the local brownie community and explained the situation it was revealed that Nixx had a gift that could be controlled with time and perhaps self discipline, the brownie elders were very excited sorcerers were rare enough let alone a brownie with this power. Nixx had stayed in the larger community of brownies deep in the forest, she hated it and wanted to return to her parents, the large trees scared her and all she wanted to do was go back to the farm and work. It had taken sometime but the elders convinced her to try and use her skills explaining she had a gift and should t use what Prunilla had given her, some are good at sowing seeds some at hunting the lands and sometimes something special comes along.

In the 11 years since Nixx had known she was a sorcerer and she travelled around trying to understand herself and also travelled to larger brownie communities who wanted to see her, it was after travelling to the larger communities that she heard about other brownies looking for some land that all brownies could call their own, she decided she needed some time to explore the land and herself she could help people she met and hopefully help understand herself.

On her way to Hlint she thought about her parents and missed them, it had been so long since she had seen them and she would have loved to go back to the farm and see them, if she did not have these powers she would still be on that farm and part of her wished she was there playing with the animals watching the crops grow, but Prunilla had charged her with a greater task and she would not fail.

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Walking into Hlint was daunting enough for Nixx even with all the travelling she had done in the last decade she still found it hard to go to new places especially towns and cities which were not brownie strongholds. The sun was low in the sky but on the rise and there was a slight chill to the air that was refreshing, there were not many people around but the few who were instantly became curious of this small creature that had entered their lives. Nixx tried to stay off the path and keep out of sight but this worked only to a limited extent, Brownies were few and far between and no matter how much she tried to not get attention it seemed to follow her.

After hastily leaving town Nixx found the closest forest and settled her mind, all the looks and tall people running to speak to her had been startling, the forest calmed her racing heart and gave her head time to think. She prepared herself mentally and her hands started to move and she whispered the words that she had learnt to help her and all of a sudden poof she was gone. Nixx thought about the first time she had turned her self invisible the fright as she looked down at her hands but could not see them it was very disorientating and she could barely walk the first few times, but now she was slipping back into Hlint and nobody even knew she was there. Often going invisible had torn Nixx as it was rather rude to watch people when they had no idea you could see them but over time she had mastered it because she needed to study and understand people before she would let down her guard.

She eves dropped on a few conversations but not for long and tried to not to invade anyone’s privacy, mostly people were talking about day to day things and everyone seemed like nice enough folk but it was to early to tell and Nixx did not feel safe enough yet to open a dialogue with anyone and especially not with so many on lookers.

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On her journey Nixx had spotted some Kobolds they seemed to be up to no good so she decided to act, after summoning her trusted familiar which since arriving in Hlint had been her only companion for speaking to she cast her spells and struck down the evil kobolds with some zeal, just over the squeal from the last kobold she heard foot steps approaching from behind, a lighting glance over her shoulder revealed a humanoid creature dressed in black, instantly Nixx whistled Zen her familiar to her and turned her self invisible. She studied the somewhat puzzled looking figure he was human or perhaps elf, his black garment and hood covered his features his short sword had dried blood on it and after only a few seconds of quizzically looking around he spent no time at all picking at the dead kobolds and taking anything he could find, he stopped and seemed to look directly at Nixx, this was all the encouragement she needed to depart.

Just a few minutes later Nixx had just started to slow down when she heard someone calling for help some bandits had attacked an elf and left him dieing on the floor they were mocking him and were intent on letting him bleed to death, Nixx’s blood boiled and Zen was summoned as a distraction whilst she tip toed over to the elf, she slowly and quietly pulled a potion from her belt and poured the liquid down his throat he pulled him self upright and started to drink some of his own potions Nixx used the few remaining spells she felt she could muster to kill the last of the bandits, fighting the kobolds and running from the black figure had strained her mentally but she had enough will power to stop these bandits from preying on the weak. The elf moved towards Nixx to thank her for coming to his aid but it was to late, she had disappeared and was fast moving away, he would be very lucky indeed to be able to give his thanks. But Nixx knew in her heart how grateful he was, she also thought about how Prunilla works in strange ways, running away from a dark stranger only to be led into a position to help someone desperately in need. She felt good about her self and found a quiet area to rest and meditate.

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As she studied the man in brilliant shining full plate it reminded Nixx of the paladins she had seen and the some of which she had met on her travels. She had always loved the stories of the paladins on their quests and many nights huddled around a fire the human workers would tell epic stories of their good deeds. Nixx had listened with great conviction as she could see herself fighting as a paladin standing up for everything good in this world, but it was always a fantasy as the next day she would go back to working on the farm which she loved and would wait until another story to become the mighty paladin again in her mind.

Praylor the paladin in shining armour was taking up the fight in the front shielding Kaleth, Nixx felt terrible for what she had done, she was normally so mentally prepared but this time something had gone wrong, the ball of fire was much greater then she intended and the blast knocked Kaleth to the floor and he was hurt very badly. After retreating he found the paladin Praylor and he volunteered to help Kaleth. Nixx was invisible watching the two men fight, she was invisible partly because she unsure about Praylor even though she was certain he was a paladin she still kept her distance. What she did not count on was the terrible bite wound on her shoulder that was making her feel extremely sick, the two men had stopped and Praylor heard Nixx being sick but could not see her. He called out for her to reveal herself but nothing happened. Instead a flash and Zen, Nixx’s trusted familiar was going up to Praylor and judging whether he could be trusted.

Zen noticed the badge on Praylor’s chest a symbol of his faith and his fight against evil as a paladin. Zen shook his head and thought about the situation. She always does this, in many cases hiding from somebody and sending me in to judge the person is necessary, many times I have proved that it is best for her to stay invisible and retreat but this time it had been taken too far. He looked over at her, he could see through her invisible shield and she was turning white, the bite on her shoulder getting worse. She was being too cautious in this situation. He knew Praylor was a paladin and quickly agreed that he could help Nixx. It took some time as he examined the little Brownie before he rested his hands on the wound and when he lifted them the infection was gone. Zen thanked the Paladin as Nixx was still to weak and she lay down and rested with the ever-watchful Zen at her side.

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Looking around Hlint Nixx could recognise many people, Praylor the paladin, Gruwlz the huge half giant with a heart of gold, Ranewen the Elf druid and a host of others who she had met and formed some kind of relationship with but there was always lots of other people who Nixx was unsure about and conversations in town when Nixx would reveal herself to one person would often get quizzical looks from onlookers. The problem was that she would find some trusting people and would help them but these taller races seem to join together easily and without knowing Nixx is with seven people.

She thought about Bumblebee who she had met and spoken to in the corner of Hlint. A brownie that was well known for running a newspaper, I could never see myself walking around the towns so openly and he seemed to know many people. The thought of walking around town with everyone able to see made her slightly light headed. She was invisible standing next to the giant that was Kargoth she would always let him know she was there just in case he might step on her, standing invisible and behind or next to the huge half giant made her feel better, she remembered many years ago she had seen a half giant and when she discovered he was just a half giant not a full giant she had gasped and could not believe it for days.

In her mind she screamed as Kargoth asked two adventures if they wanted to help, one was Ranewen who Nixx admired for her protection of nature and the countless times she had helped Nixx in the Sielwood forest but a human called Medarin seemed like a risk, his long coat which showed his rapier and the sly way he looked at people made Nixx nervous. She tried to judge him but his face was mostly covered, she took a step closer to peer under his hood but she stepped on a twig and Medarin’s ears seemed to aim his head towards Nixx, she stopped then backed up behind Kargoth, she cussed in her native tongue and then again as someone else joined the group, she resigned to the fact she would have to put up with these new people.    

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The Hlint benches were overcrowded and people were sitting and standing all around them, Nixx did not mind having no bench to sit on, the climb was unwelcome. She was invisible and standing next to Kargoth as usual but also had a good friend Roy Aynsworth flanking her on the other side. Roy was a strong ranger and had a keen ear for other languages he was learning Brownie word by word. With these two she felt well protected. Jser Arcanebow was telling everyone of a great evil that had beheld the topaz cave in Velensk. Nobody seemed to bothered about the peril and Jser walked off with a few men to return back to the evil cave. Nixx was dumbfounded, how dare all these so called brave adventures not wish to stop this evil from spreading, her blood boiled and very much unlike her she stepped away from Kargoth and Roy and revealed her self in the square to everyone. A few people stopped but many had not noticed the tiny creature until she raised her voice.
  ‘We should head towards these caves!’ She repeated herself so she had everyone’s attention. ‘We can help Jser on this quest and vanquish the evil!’ Her tone was slightly condescending. The few people in the crowd that had adventured with the strong willed Brownie were quick to rally to her aid, Kargoth and Roy stepped forward to show their support. Nixx shot a piercing look at the other adventures still on the bench and they conceded to the Brownie, they rose to their feet and a band of adventures was born.

The group walked for some time, many passing quizzical looks at Nixx and her bodyguards of the half giant Kargoth and the human ranger Roy, a halfling called Larissa was just happy to have somebody who was shorter then her self around. They had reached just outside port Hampshire when two people stumbled onto the small horde. A cleric called Erik Kendall and a wizard who was reluctant to give his name, as soon as Erik was informed of the cave he was happy to join and with him the wizard followed. The group was now ten strong and continued towards Velensk, as they reached the outskirts Nixx’s heart sank. Jser and his friends had cleared the cave and were returning to Hlint. Most of his group left but Lindel stayed to see what the group were planning. The discussion turned towards the mountains, Nixx looked up at the dark Berhagen mountains unsure if they should make the trek, people were discussing possible plans and Nixx saw something in the corner of her eye, a figure was approaching a cloak covering it’s features, she moved behind Roy and peered around him to look at this figure. When the face was revealed Nixx gasped and raised her staff. She shouted at the top of her lungs.
  ‘DROW!’
  She moved quickly to take up a defensive position to cast and was quickly stopped.
  ‘Please let me explain little one, my name is Cymeran Vrinn, I am here to make sure none of you die in those mountains.’ His grin was dark and even though she was welcomed by many in the group Nixx was unsure.
  ‘I will keep an eye on you…… And a half giant!’ Kargoth grunted and ignored Nixx yet still kept a discreet eye on the Drow.

The decision had been made, the now 12 man strong group headed up the Berhagen mountains. The darkness seemed to hang in these mountains, Nixx looked up but the sun was barely visible because of the protruding rock. The Drow was upfront and proceeded to take the lead, Nixx did not realise it but she was actually upset to not be in charge, she had enjoyed it even though she had been the centre of attention. Cymeran stopped and looked over his shoulder, Nixx was almost certain she could see him grinning but could not be sure.
  ‘Be ready my children…… I sense a fight is brewing.’ With that swords, axes, bows and spells were prepared, what ever was on the other side of this mountain was going to feel the full wrath of this group. The fighters charged forward and Nixx clambered up a bit of rock to try and get a good view and casting position, when she got to the top she was not ready for what she witnessed, a huge rock with legs and arms it’s shiny red body was crystallised, the few strands of sun that hit it bounced around the mountains and made the area light up red, it was beautiful. She was lost in thought but quickly snapped back as a barrage of spells and arrows shot past her and hit the rock man, it charged into the fighter line his huge arms knocked people flying. The second barrage of spells and arrows was fired off and Nixx joined it with her own array of blue sparks that rushed out towards the rockman. It finally fell and a cheer echoed around the cave the beautiful beast had been slain and the party continued deeper into the mountains.

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Nixx was screaming at Cymeran and half the party was jumping to the Drows aid, the five dead Drow which had attacked them had sent the little Brownie on a verbal assault at the so called Drow that was helping them. It was in the middle of this Tirade that the invisible Drow mage found his target and unleashed a ball of death it exploded engulfing the little Brownie, the Drow was quickly killed but when the party looked for the whereabouts of the Brownie they fell to their knees. Kargoth walked over to the charred corpse, she was dead.

After getting past the Rock man the party had found a clearing with what seemed like a small abandoned town, they all stopped and fires were quickly lit as the air was chilling. Cymeran explained about the Giants ahead, it was decided that they would attack the giants and proceed into their cave. After destroying them they would seek refuge at the Dwarven fortress then head back to Velensk. Nixx had only seen one full giant before and even then she did not have a good look, the coming fight was going to test her will.

The higher in the mountains the colder it got, Nixx wrapped her cloak around her and tried to stop the wind from cutting into her to flesh, she looked down at Larissa’s bare feet and winced. Everyone was cold but as soon as the first giant threw it’s massive boulder the blood surged and adrenaline flowed. The fight was uncoordinated, many people had never fought the giants before and in their mountain forest they were the kings. Fighting and retreating into more of their kind was working well for them but on one retreat Nixx, Larissa and the other mage unloaded three fireballs the giants fell to the floor. The battle was still spread and Nixx was trying to find a target, she looked around, the trees and snow were clouding her vision. Nobody in the party saw the giant mages join the ranks to defend their mountain, it was not until the deep voice of a spell caster echoed in the tree line, a burst of lighting flew out and trees and bodies were hit. Kargoth turned into a bear and with all his strength knocked the giant to the ground, the slam as it hit the floor toppled Nixx over and covered her in snow. The battle was fierce but the giants retreated into their cave and some respite was given.

The cave smelt terrible but it was warmer then outside, the party moved slowly with Cymeran upfront, everyone looked at each other for support, the giants were surely going to fight with even more desperation and zeal in their own home. Nixx thought about the time on the farm she had been on the cart with the farmer when some bandits attacked, without hesitation he had let them take his sacks of food and then reported it to the local captain, but when some thief’s came onto the farm it was a different story, he grabbed his pitchfork and rallied his workers and chased them off, when it is your own home where you feel safe you will defend it with your life. Nixx feared many brave souls would die whilst trying to attack this home. What Nixx had thought came true, the giants fought for every tunnel and their desperation was seen as younger giants charged into the fray. The party was not going to be stopped lightly and they continued to the last chamber, no mercy was shown as the giants trapped now were subjected to fireball after fireball until they finally charged into the last combat they would see.  This was the first time Nixx had been ashamed of what she had done with her power, until recently her power was never so destructive and as each fireball hit the giants she again began to think about the first time she had discovered what she was, and that she did not want it.

The walk back to Velensk was slow, Larissa was chatting away at speed, and Nixx was trying to correct Roy’s accent.
  ‘Nihhmy, Nihmmy, Ni hm my.’ She kept on saying it slowly so he could understand. It was out of nowhere they heard the arrows being unleashed the black metal clad Drow charged towards them. Nobody was ready and everyone fought tooth and nail to survive, Cymeran was attacking one of her brethren and Nixx aimed then unleashed her sparks into its back, more Drow seemed to climb down the cliff and Nixx was clambering around trying to make people stronger and make their weapons leap with fire, a Drow slashed her arm as she cast and Erik brought his might to bare and knocked the Drow for six. Many Drow lay dead and Cymeran walked over to bless their souls and pray they had a quick transition to the after life. Nixx stormed up to her.
  ‘What are you doing, you must have had something to do with this?’ Her tongue was cold and bitter and nobody expected such fury from someone so little.
  ‘I had nothing to do with this, I was defending myself as much you.’ Cymeran snapped back just as good.
  ‘I knew I should have not trusted you, you planned this!’ The Brownie was looking up towards the Drow.
  ‘I have been keeping you alive, some gratitude would be appreciated.’ Many people jumped in and defended the Drow. Nixx was in disbelief as this Drow seemed to have so much respect but she was in even more disbelief as she turned just in time to see the ball of fire hit her in the face, the impact threw her to the floor and before she even hit the ground her heart had stopped and her spirit had escaped.

Cymeran looked down at the tiny black corpse, the fire had shrunk the size even more so, there was no magic that was going to bring her back, the party stopped and everyone said a few words to them selves, but the mountains was no place to stop and with the Drow lurking they needed to move on quickly. All Nixx saw was black but she could feel something over her, a warmth she could not explain, she felt safe, safer then when she was in her mothers arms, safer then on the farm surrounded by family and friends, she was surrounded by love and then as quickly as it had appeared and embraced her, it rejected her and she opened her eyes to see the dark mountains around her and she was standing in the black scorched rock where she had fallen. She looked at her arms and hands, she was in perfect health, she ran up to the group and they all nearly fell over dumbfounded that she was alive.      
     

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Her face was distorted in the water it was stretched as the ripples flowed out across the surface of the shimmering liquid. Nixx let the water settle and stared at her reflection, she could see her own eyes and inside them she could not see the glint they normally had. It had been four days since she last meditated and she was fatigued. As she looked at her reflection she thought about what had caused all this, the sudden strike of the Drow that had ripped her from life. She shivered and dropped the gaze into her soul. What happened to me during those few seconds? How can I come back a different person from just a short time? She dropped a pebble into the water and again the water rippled distorting the image and reality. She searched for the reflection but the water never seemed to settle and kept her image in a constant flux.

Later that day a group approached her, Nixx’s first reaction was to go invisible but where she had not meditated that option had been taken away, the three figures approached they seemed to be human and required assistance to Fort hope. Nixx got up from the water that was still unsettled and agreed to help the three men on their trip, she was welcome to anything that would take her mind off the thoughts she had been having. The road from Krandor was dangerous but navigated correctly was done quickly and with minimal problems, the men stopped and walked around the town for some time, they had asked Nixx to stay and help them, she had reluctantly agreed and whilst they were looking around the town she forced herself to meditate.

Over the next few hours she helped the three humans discover new lands and fight evil they did not know exist, through their discovery of these new lands she discovered something in her self and helping these people seemed to help her mind cope, she was not sure if it was actually helping or was just a distraction but she was ready to believe and so after helping them she waited for others who might be in need.

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The Book

The thick adamantium lock was dented and burnt yet had not yielded to the rough treatment he had been given. The book it self was thick and very old, it was bound in a leather that Nixx had never seen before. As she picked it up it was warm to the touch and she felt something rush through her mind and the book hit the floor with a thud. Nixx sat down and summoned Zen, the pixie burst into life and looked over at Nixx, Zen had noticed a change in her master lately but had not inquired to what it was. Nixx gave a slow and strained point to the book and Zen flew over it and examined it, the lock was extremely well made and sophisticated, whoever locked this book did not intend to have anyone see it, what puzzled Zen even more was the fact it did not really seem like a lock that could be opened, perhaps the owner of this book did not plan to open it either. The book was not burned from the fire that the kobolds had subjected it to.

Nixx had heard some townsfolk speaking about strange rituals in the Sielwood forest and decided to have a look, it took days to find the source of the strange chanting but she was shocked to find some Kobolds dancing around a fire, in the centre of the fire was the book. Nixx watched the kobolds for hours and in the early hours of the morning the fire died down and a Kobold shaman took the book out of the remains of the fire and the entire kobold tribe came out and bowed and preyed to the book. It was most odd, with more observation it was revealed that the kobolds could not open the book, yet they still seemed to worship it like a holy relic that they had no understanding of. For three nights in a row the Kobolds had performed this strange routine and still they had not opened the book. On the fourth night Nixx devised a plan, her hands danced and several spells were cast, with a flick of her wrist the last one rendered her invisible. The large fire was starting to burn strong and Nixx threw herself into the burning inferno, she retrieved the book and tucked it her robe before quickly running from the fire, the embers flew out of the side of the fire and Kobolds looked and the book was gone.

‘Can it be opened?’ Nixx spoke quietly and opted for Brownie instead of common to reduce the chance of her being overheard.
  ‘I don’t think it was ever designed to be opened.’ Zen replied in perfect Brownie and shrugged.
  ‘A lock is put on so that somebody can open it, who would put a look on a book so not even themselves could open it?’ Zen stared at her master the little Brownie, and knew she had answered her own question. Somebody who was not quite right and did not want this book to see the light of day Nixx thought.
  ‘Perhaps it should be buried somewhere and left?’ Zen half looked at the book and half looked at Nixx.
  ‘No. We will keep it for now, perhaps somebody is looking for it.’

That night as they slept in the forest Nixx dreamed of places she had never been before and dreamed of epic battles with great Dragons of all colours, she was looking through someone else’s eyes, she was tall and powerful she had magics around her she could not even comprehend. When she awoke she could feel her heart racing and the adrenaline in her veins. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and stared at the book that was wrapped in cloth now. She needed to find out what this book was and where it had come from, recently she had felt her path was unclear but now she knew she had to return this book to its owner, it was the only goal on her mind and she would not fail.

The forest air was still strong with the smell of the fire, the strong odour of burning wood filled Nixx’s nostrils and reminded her of the farm, she had not thought about her past in a long time and it was strange to have the thoughts back. The kobolds seemed to be less organised many of them had either left the camp or were no longer alive, the shaman was shouting and many scattered. The book seemed to be binding them together, Nixx was uncertain whether it was some kind of magic of the book, or the kobolds willingness to devote themselves to anything that came along. She lied in wait and eventually her chance arose the kobold shaman walked into the forest away from the camp, she rushed after him and in a flash her spell had been cast and the shaman was standing still and could not move. She tied his arms as best she could and when the spell wore off she tried to interrogate him. Unfortunately for Nixx standing shorter then a kobold is not a very good way of intimidation and she had never really been in the situation to need to.

Nixx was in a forest, it was unnatural, something had happened, she was standing tall again and held a powerful looking sword, there were undead all around and something mad her look up and her ears hurt, a massive machine the same she had seen the gnome in Lar making, a golem. It was battling the undead but it was singing, the machine was singing, it was painful to hear but still elegant in its own way. It was then that her arms, but not her arms started wave in front oh her and a voice, a male voice shouted ‘Praise Lucinda.’ Then many of the undead fell to the ground. Nixx sprang upright, again her heart was racing and the book was still unopened next to her. She reached for her feather and some parchment and scribbled in Brownie.

“Lucinda”
“Male”
“Golem……. Singing”

The next day Nixx set off for a church of Lucinda, she finally felt she was heading in the right direction, this was confirmed when she walked into the church and somehow she could sense the book was happy, she did not know how or why but the book seemed happy. She looked around and spoke to some priests about heroes of the church, she neglected to mention the book, she did not want to arise suspicion. The priests asked if she was a follower of Lucinda, she had almost replied yes then her mind unclouded and she said no. When who she was a member of came up she thought for a few seconds, almost like she did not know, she finally said Prunilla but the words felt wrong and her core twisted as she said it. The temple were happy to accommodate Nixx, Prunilla clerics and followers were welcomed into Lucinda’s churches. She found no answers in the church even though they were extremely helpful.

Nixx was meditating, ever since loosing her life to the Drow  in the berhagen mountains she had found it very hard to do and really had to force her mind to settle, she could not forgot the feeling when she said about worshipping Prunilla, her body felt wrong saying it, perhaps it was the book and this life she seemed to be seeing or perhaps it was the incident. Her mind settled and then something happened, Nixx reorganised it straight away this time. The golem was back and somehow Nixx was knew what was about to be spoken.
  ‘Time to play is over boy.’ The look in the golems eyes showed sorrow, this golem was no ordinary golem. The she heard it.
  ‘Oh mercy what is an old Cleric of Lucinda going to do now? Thank Lucinda I have Kira, oh Celger you are lucky really.’ Nixx could feel his sorrow but could also feel his happiness and the mix of emotions confused her and she started to cry and laugh. As she came back to reality the tears on her face were still wet and the book opened itself. At first Nixx did not want to look inside afraid of what she might see but the page had a picture, a picture of a house and somehow she knew how to get there, she went to pick up the book and it closed itself.

The tall man looked down at the tiny creature that had lightly knocked on his door, he could sense she was there for an important reason her colourful dress was purple with two distinctive red and blue stripes running horizontally along it. After the usual pleasantries she said she had found something that belonged to him, he motioned her into the house and they sat down. Celger was intrigued about what this little brownie could have. She started to speak.
  ‘You are Celger Magnus, cleric of Lucinda and slayer of dragons?’ It had been some time since he had been described like this and he was on guard.
  ‘Yes, once long ago.’ Nixx noticed him sit uneasily in his chair.
  ‘I found an item- A book actually, I think it should be returned to you.’ Celger’s eyebrow raised and the curiosity was plain to see on his face.
Nixx unpacked the great book and placed it on the table, instantly Celger looked troubled and turned to the Brownie.
  ‘You tried to open it?’ His tone was not challenging, just seeking the truth. Yet it put Nixx on guard.
  ‘No, I retrieved it from some kobolds and I doubt we will ever know where they got it from, I…. I….. had been having dreams- dreams of your life, this is how I knew to find you.’
  ‘What kind of dreams?’ Celger was curious but also felt like he had shared something which nobody should see.
  ‘A singing golem, fighting undead and dragons.’ Celger smiled, relieved at what she had said, for what was in the book was not even for his own eyes.

He motioned Nixx to follow him and on the top shelf of a dusty bookcase was a missing spot, Celger had not even noticed it was missing. He shouted for Mercy and the golem came running in and put the book back into the correct place.

  ‘You have done me a great service my lady.’ He went down to one knee and kissed Nixx on her small hand.
  ‘I just wanted to bring it back, I knew I needed to find its owner.’ Celger nodded and said he would be more careful with the book in the future. When the Brownie had left he sent out a messenger hawk and then sat down at his desk and picked up a half used book and started to write.
                   
       

[Diablo_68]

As Nixx walked up to Roy she noticed more then a few people around the benches in Hlint, the usual Brownie welcome was exchanged between the invisible Nixx and the human ranger. Roy pointed to a red headed lady, Nixx studied her height and guessed at about 5’5 she wore some jewels around her neck and had eyes of lavender, she stood behind the benches confident and almost daring people who walked by. Nixx removed her invisibility and took up position behind Roy, a man named Remiel Delmir seemed to be having an argument with the lady.

‘You can’t be the mayor my lady, I would know if you were.’ He spoke with no bitterness or anger just trying to state what he was sure was fact.
‘You just assume I am not the mayor, what proof do you have that I am not the mayor?’ She had a slight coyness in her tone, which she seemed to enjoy.
‘What proof do you have that you are mayor?’ Nixx sighed and guessed this could go on for some time. Roy who had been silent then decided to speak up.
‘If you are the mayor you would know who owns what houses.’ Roy crossed his arms sure he had found the chink in her armour.
‘Well perhaps I would not deal with such minor things such as that, also I would not be able to give out information on the owners, if that was what you really wanted to know.’ She shot it back at Roy and her tone at the end tried to make it sound like Roy was peddling for secret information about Hlint.
‘Ehhh emmmm, well……..’ Roy fell silent. Nixx touched his shoulder and leaned towards his ear. ‘Don’t bother Roy.’ The Red headed lady squinted at the little Brownie and was just about to speak but Remiel spoke.
‘You are not the mayor, you should not tell people you are.’ Nixx decided she had enough of this show and left for the bank, when she returned from the bank she was astonished to hear that Remiel and the red headed lady were now arguing about the fact she was not a queen.
‘I am a queen, a queen from the north.’ A few people in the square turned and started to listen intrigued. Remiel was in disbelief at this woman.
‘I have travelled the land and I have been to every kingdom, you are not a queen.’
‘Well you are a very good liar because you have not travelled to my home land in the north where I am queen.’ Malor Lucredious decided it was his time to butt in now. He wore his white and bright green robes and turned to the red headed lady.
‘You don’t look like a queen.’
‘Well not every culture is the same.’
‘No, you don’t dress like a queen, I would know if you’re a queen.’ Nixx for the first time did side partially with the lady, she did not know her name she had already used a name for when she was mayor and now another for her queen status, but she was correct about cultures not every queen wears a crown and has a castle.
‘You just don’t understand, I am a queen. Also I don’t think you can tell me how to dress considering the colour of your garment!’

The argument between the three of them went on for some time an Elven women Serissa was also involved in the battle of words, nobody seemed to gain ground on the red headed lady who had a contradiction to every statement and a smart reply to every accusation. Nixx managed to round up a band of adventures, her itch for combat had come back and she had heard of some evil bears that needed to be slain just north of Point Harbour. She recruited the halfling Larissa, the mighty paladin of Toran Praylor, another of his order who was a powerful cleric, Malor pulled himself away from the red headed women, some other people decided to join in and the mighty Lindel offered his aid. Lindel was a young human but despite his tendencies to show his age he was actually one of the bravest warriors Nixx had ever seen, there friendship had been forged when between them they had battled to Lar and from one set of mountains reached the Dwarven fortress in the Berhagen mountains.

A night and a day passed and half the band who had left for the bears on Point Harbour returned, the battle had been extremely tight and Lindel had been brought down by a misplaced fireball from Larissa, lucky for Lindel the priest of Toran brought him back to life and kept the fight going, in the bear cave the chief fought strong and hard but in the end was slain. The ambush on the way out had claimed the lives of many, Malor fell, Lindel again and a young ranger who had come along joined in the dead. As Nixx walked into Hlint she just wanted to rest the battle had been hard, she was shocked to see at the benches the red headed lady still fighting with Remeil, it appeared that during the fight with the bears she had become a princess.

‘This parchment proves I am a princess!’ She thrust into Remiel’s face.
‘This could be fake, you made it your self.’ With that Nixx left for the Inn the fatigue just about to claim her.  

[Diablo_68]

The day was warm and there seemed to be electricity in the air, Nixx had spent the morning roaming the lands and enjoying the sun before she headed back to Hlint and found herself under the pear tree. Bumblebee had put a note up requesting Brownies to join him at the tree, at first she was unsure whether to go but Bumblebee had been good to Nixx and she was keen to see other Brownies, although she did wonder how many would answer the calling.  It was not long before Bee turned up and another Brownie named Frieda, she was dressed in green and was of a strong build for someone so small. Nixx was amazed to hear she was a barbarian, Nixx had never seen a barbarian before and definite she had not seen a Brownie one. It was then that Bee spoke about the day of Harvest and how he had missed the celebration to Prunillia, he was physically upset about this and he even mentioned similar in his newspaper, when he asked Nixx whether she had gone the answer was an unemotional “No” and Nixx realised she felt nothing, no remorse. She thought about someone she had met recently.

Roy was sitting in Hlint near his trash can which Nixx was sure she would grave his name into, she was standing behind him and as usual the strange red headed lady was by the benches and as usual again she fighting with somebody and this time it was Eghaas. The fight did not last long and as Eghaas walked off somebody else walked into the lives of the people around the Hlint benches and he was almost as short as Nixx. His spoke softly and kindly in the Brownie tongue and Nixx could see in her mind that over her shoulder Roy would be trying to work out was being said and she smiled to her self. He announced himself as Roggin a cleric of Prunillia, his task from the church was to come to Hlint and spread the word of the lady of the harvest. Nixx felt on guard, recently Prunillia had been a distant thought to her.

Bumblebee turned and asked Frieda if she had attended the celebration of the harvest but Nixx was not listening, she had just realised that Prunillia was dead to her and although in he heart she knew it already it was still a shock, Prunillia had never been a huge binding factor in her life but it had always been there to support her and she knew she was safe, but now it was like the first time she had realised that her father could not protect her from everything. Nixx did not even see Frieda leave, her and Bee sat down by the water and Nixx looked across the water into Hlint, Bee was talking but Nixx was not really listening, she replied in short sentences whilst she thought. She saw Cymeran the Drow cleric and something clicked in her mind, just then Bee stood up and decided that no other Brownies were going to attend, they went and found Roy who would soon have the title of ranger guardian of Brownies. They left towards Fort Himlad, the trip would give Nixx time to think.