Open Chronicles Open Roads

[Cadger]

Somewhere in Amol-Kalit.

The taste of iron, warm and mysterious, alarmed Cadger. The next thing to further draw the elf to the harsh heat of reality was the loose sand scattered all over his body. The tiny specks ran over his body like loose water.

As the elf groaned he could feel the sand burst out of his mouth in ragged coughs. Pain seared through his body as readily as the desert heat. His clothes hung off him in ragged strands.

Slowly he brought himself to his feet, his arms hung limply in front of him as he gasped for breath. Next he inspected his hands, blood stained his fingers in smears of mud mixed with the sand.

Wincing in the daylight, Cadger groaned out loud once more. He rocked his head back to gaze at the source of the heat. Letting out a long breath, the half naked elf collected himself enough to get his bearings.
Another night of trying to loose himself to the beast, another night of disappointment. As he looked around he realized that he knew were he was and sighed in resignation. Sure enough not even twenty paces away was a hole in the sand with his pack and gear in it. He reached in and got himself sorted out then decided to head in a northerly course.

This routine was starting to get old. Every night for the past month he had been calling upon the beast, and for what? To drown his guilt in instinct? To hide from the reality of his true form? He was a pathetic mess.

As the elf shambled on down the road he found himself wondering towards a settlement in the distance. At one point he knew the name, back when he had cared to know. Since the death of his family he had been aimlessly navigating the desert and rightfully couldn’t tell which town it was. He continued to adjust his robes around him and tugged on his backpack to keep himself together. Cadger was running out of excuses to avoid the settlement and wanted to at least look somewhat presentable when he finally arrived. Despite his intentions every time he looked at his smeared hands he couldn’t find the care to wash them off with his water skin.

As the town came into view the elf began to wonder; just what kind of people would he run into, and what exactly was a settlement even like? He had been born and raised in the desert and had no idea what to expect in the mythical settlements of less nomadic people.

 

[Calibar the Colorful]

"So how bad do you want it to be?"

"Just enough to make life uncomfortable for him on his little wagon. The worse it is, the more likely he's going to be to want to get out of town."

"And away from your daughter?"

"Yeah, and what's it to you, wizard?"

Calibar held up his hand in defense. "It's important to know the reasons why a curse must be made before casting one. I'm not one to cause sporadic boils without first understanding why I'm doing it." Sitting upon his chair in the tent situated just outside the city, Calibar thought on what he could do.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it, and the price will be a bit steep, but fair. Come and see me again tomorrow and we will discuss the plan. Until then, I want money up front." He told him his price, and after the gold was exchanged, Calibar sighed, resolving to do a little more digging on this elf to see just what he needed to do to make his life miserable.

 

[Gunnolf Odinson]

Gunnolf trudged through the desert sand, the sun relentlessly bearing down on him with its rays of heat. As a pirate, he was used to the water and the ocean breeze, not the painful heat of the desert, but he was curious as to what kind of wares and trinkets he could find out here. He had been traveling for what had felt like days since docking his ship, but he knew that it had only been a few hours...still though, he could use a drink.

The pirate untied his hair and let it fall down behind his head, before tying his strand of rope securely around his wrist so as not to lose it. He grabbed the leather water skin off of his hip where it was tied, and drank the cool liquid down greedily. He focused on counting his steps as he walked, as it helped him ignore the heat that was desperately trying to kill him. Gunnolf knew that if he didn't find some shelter soon, he was going to be in deep trouble.

"Ninety-Eight, Ninety-Nine, One Hundred," Gunnolf whispered to himself. He had started recounting every one hundred steps, and didn't know how many sets he had counted exactly. The wind started to blow, spitting harsh sand at Gunnolf that bit into his skin. He gritted his teeth and pulled the only covering that he had for his bare torso, a fur pelt he had taken from a wolf that had tried to make him into a meal once, and pulled it over himself as best as he could. In the distance he saw what looked like another person, but he knew better. No other person would be crazy enough to come walking around out here alone, so he decided it had to be his eyes playing tricks on him. However, he still decided to follow the shape, as he had no other idea as to where to go.

After several minutes of following the shadow off in the distance something miraculous happened...a village came into view. Gunnolf watched as the shadow walked toward the settlement. "So it really is a person..," the pirate thought to himself. Upon this realization he gripped the wooden handle of his battle axe and smiled, revealing his teeth that had been carved and dyed to intimidate any who would dare cross him. He had found a settlement, and knew that people were here as well. He stopped for just a moment and chuckled, before he continued walking on his way toward the village. It was time for a drink....

 

[Cadger]

As Cadger approached the town his senses slowly picked up on more and more unusual sensations. The first noticeable change was the sounds coming from the place. It was early morning and yet he could hear more noise on the outskirts than he ever heard in his old camps.

Next he noticed the smell. While he wished it was just the odor of fine foods it was more like a rip mixture of perspiration, animals, human waste, and then fine foods. The Sand Elf crinkled his nose in apprehension but kept approaching.

It was at that moment that Cadger realized he had never properly been to any settlements previously. First thing he really noticed was tent set up just outside of the city proper. Being a nomad he wasn’t particularly familiar with this set up, but it felt more welcoming than the clay structures of the actual town. He almost considered approaching the tent but realized he was not invited as a guest. He did pause however to regard the tent and contemplate its’ existence.

 

[Calibar the Colorful]

First the man, who had named himself as Kashnar in front of Calibar, exited the tent. At seeing the sand elf, he pulled up his hood and left with a scowl upon his face. Muttering, he quickly reentered the settlement, fearful someone might see him.

Then came Calibar, who wore his own hooded robes of dark black, to better protect himself from the harsh rays of the sun. Living his life in the dark city of Cerak At'Thul, his skin was not accustomed to such brightness. How surprising, he thought to himself absently, that in a place of such blinding light, the desire for the darkness of his craft was very much in demand. Looking over to the elf, he bowed in greeting, the empty sleeve of his robe flapping in the gentle breeze.

"Good day to you, traveler." He said, his accent clear to anyone, denoting his status as a foreigner of these lands. "Would you like to enter my tent for some shelter? You look parched. Would you like some tea?" Opening the flat revealed an interior of burning incense, pillows and aesthetically strange tapestries within.

 

[White Swallow]

A spirited black steed carried a lone man over the dunes. With how wide the land steched in barren nothingness, it was not hard to miss the other wanderers out and about. Especially if they were so alone in their travels in a place where such is dangerous And here he was, the little bird, away from his flock as well.

He briefly contemplated trotting to the half nude elf to offer him a garb, but it seemed like he reached the tents much sooner than the swallow. Still, he followed if only to inspect the curiosities of a pale foreigner.

 

[Cadger]

The sand elf stood a long quiet moment and simply regarded the strange man. Indeed, even Cadger could see that the strange one armed man was not native to these lands. That wasn’t what froze Cadger in place as he stared. No, it was the fact that he was a human, the first the sand elf had ever seen.

Cadger looked around helplessly to confirm that he was in fact being addressed. He noticed a strange rider on a horse and gave both a less than friendly glare at the strangers before finally nodding his head.

He approached and accepted the invitation out of pure curiosity more than anything else, for he had never seen a human; much less any elf-like creature that was so tall and not a monster. As he entered the tent he did manage a cordial smile. “I think I’ll take you up on the offer kind stranger.”

The tent was more lavish than anything he had been used to in his lifetime and his curiosity about humans grew deeper with each step inside the wondrous tent. The smell was a sweet reprieve from the city stench. The elf marveled at the tapestries in awe for a long moment before clearing his throat. “Forgive my… lack of…” he paused to consider his words for his own voice sounded foreign to himself at that moment. “My lack of manners, I’ve been in the desert a very long time…” he finished gawking at the tapestries to look at the curious one armed man. “I’m pleased to say you’re the first human I’ve ever met.”

This time he did offer a more sincere smile. A bashful expression crossed his face as he began to wonder how odd he himself must appear at that moment. He stood a little straighter and announced, “allow me to introduce myself, my name is Cadger.”

He offered a look outside the tent to see the rider and wondered who that was. He fixed his disheveled robes some in a self conscious effort. Indeed it had been perhaps too long since he had been around people.