Yesterday was D&D Day!
Since we didn't D&D yesterday I figured that I'd post a story that I am working on with my original D&D character, Barathiel.
So here you go:
The older ranger had been listening to this argument all day, and it had finally gotten on her nerves. “Orihalcon,” The name was said with a warning in its tone, punctuated by the speaker placing her fists on her hips. Barathiel fixed a reprimanding glare on Ori and arched her silvery-white brows. Her normally expressionless face carried a frown and she watched Ori for a few seconds. Always alert, her gold-flecked blue eyes watched all around them as they spoke. Here in Faerun, danger could be found anywhere for those that were caught unprepared and Barathiel had scars to prove it. She flicked back her deep green cloak and placed her gloved hands on the handles of her sheathed weapons.
“Look, you’re doing all of the work here and I want to help!” Ori said with a whine. She brushed a lock of black hair out of her eyes to look up at her friend and traveling companion. The taller elf stood a few paces away, her long silvery-white hair pulled back in a braid and her purple skin glowing slightly in the late afternoon light. Ori sat next to the fire in a small clearing Barathiel had chosen as a campsite for the night. A childish pout appeared on her angular face and she scowled. “You find the trails in the woods; you decide where to camp for the night; and all you do is let me light the fire!” She threw her arms in the air, bracelets clanging against each other. Barathiel sighed and put her face in her palm.
A loud snort came from Silver Cloud, the unfettered, saddle-less horse grazing nearby. You almost set the tent on fire, the last time you cooked. Cloud was an Asperii, or wind steed. He was a horse that flew through the air like Pegasus, but had no need of wings. His coat was a mottled gray, and his long mane and tail were full and thick.
Barathiel released a long sigh at the memory, rubbing her temples. “The green mushrooms you picked last time…” she started to say.
“I thought that, well, mushrooms are a vegetable, right? Vegetables are green! So, green mushrooms!”
A thought wafted over them when Cloud spoke telepathically-you almost set me on fire. The magical horse looked up reproachfully, and his tail swished in agitation.
Barathiel wondered if this particular conversation with Ori and the horse would ever end. She crossed her arms in front of her, and drummed the gloved fingers of her right hand on her left bicep. “The mushrooms were covered in bright green spots, Ori. Didn’t that seem the least bit suspicious to you?”
They exploded when you put them in the fire! Cloud snorted, his gray ears laying flat at the memory.
“I said I was sorry, okay?” Ori said louder to include them both. “I know I’m not that good at the whole plant thing.” She sulked for a few moments, and then smiled. “But, I figure that the whole hunting thing should be much easier!”
Barathiel crossed her arms again and looked down at the younger girl. “Well, I don’t know…”
Orihalcon didn’t give the older elf a chance to continue with her doubt. “Please? Please, Barathiel? I promise not to bring back anything green this time.” She clasped her hands in front of her, pleading. “Please?”
Cloud took a step towards them, a large clump of grass hanging out of his mouth. You could just eat some grass and save yourself the effort.
“Ha,” Barathiel laughed. “I’d let her cook if all I had to worry about was grass.”
“Hey!” Ori cried.
“Calm down. Calm down. Go ahead,” Barathiel caved. She raised her hands in a placating gesture.
“Hooray!” Ori cheered, her hurt feelings forgotten. She grinned broadly and held her hands out towards Barathiel.
The elven ranger’s brows arched, “What?”
“I gotta hunt with something, right?” Her grin grew wider and her crimson eyes lit up with an impish expression.
The horse’s ears flicked forward- You have got to be kidding me. He shook his head and whinnied.
“I’m not giving you my bow,” Barathiel replied in a flat voice.
“But! How am I going to-?”
“No buts. If you want to hunt you are going to have to make do with what you have.”
“What I have- but I don’t have anything!” Her brows furrowed and she crossed her arms. She stared off into space thinking, and her eyes focused sharply as an idea struck her. She grinned and turned to Barathiel. “Fireball?”
I thought you wanted to hunt so you could eat?
Barathiel shook her head, and shook her finger at the sorceress. “No. No fireballs. You’ll end up burning down the forest. And us with it.”
“Humph,” Ori huffed angrily. She drummed her fingers against her elbows in time to her heartbeat. “Just you wait. I’ll think of something. You’ll see,” she promised. She hunched down to remove some of her weightier jewelry and place them in her backpack. “I wouldn’t miss with a fireball though.” She stood, and shook the dust from her long sleeves and marched away from the campsite. Her earrings provided a musical accompaniment as she stalked away, leaving Cloud and Barathiel alone.
Barathiel waited until the emotional whirlwind had left earshot before turning to the horse. “I bet you my bow she doesn’t come back with something edible.”
The comment confused him and he pulled his head up to look her in the eye. Why would I want your bow?
Barathiel laughed lightly and changed the topic. “You’re her familiar, so shouldn’t you go and keep an eye on her?”
He snorted, stamping his foot. What? When she’s going to be throwing fireballs around? Are you crazy?
She shook her head, “No. Ori tends to listen to me about these things.”
He snorted, his grey brows scrunching in concern. So she is out there trying to hunt without weapons or magic? His head turned back in the direction that the flighty young wizard had left the camp. Maybe I should…She’s just a filly after all. He took a step.
“She’s hardier than she looks; she’s close to being a hundred years old, you know. And I didn’t say that she couldn’t use magic, just that she couldn’t cast fireball.”
A hundred years old? And how old are you Ranger?
Barathiel grinned, “I’m one hundred and twenty seven right now. But remember we elves age differently than you Asperii do.”
He tossed his head, and flicked his tail. So she could be casting anything out there trying to catch something for dinner?
A tired nod and a yawn. “It’s possible. I’ve seen her family come up with some very strange ideas.”
He lowered his head and his hoof, beginning to graze again. Her family? She had said something about it before… Something about a harp…
“Harpelle, it’s her family name.” She laughed at the memory. “A whole extended family of wizards.”
He almost spat out his mouthful in surprise. The whole family? Wow. He chewed for a moment in thought. So there’s a whole family of scaly, clawed dark elf wizards?
Barathiel shuddered at the mental image before answering. “No, the Harpelles are human.” She smiled to herself for a moment. “Well, excluding Orihalcon and Bidderdoo, the mastiff.”
Ah, He thought. A pet.
“Oh, no. Bidderdoo is family. He was human once, until he was hit with some spell or other that turned him into a large dog. No one has figured out exactly what happened.”
Cloud nickered softly. Wait, a whole flock of wizards couldn’t undo what was done to him?
“No, a whole flock of wizards couldn’t change him back.” She looked at him, trying to hold back her laughter. “Why do you call them a flock, anyway?”
They always made me think of birds. What with their long sleeves and how silly they look when they try to fly. Clumsy.
“Ah, well not everyone can have your grace in flight.”
You poor land bound thing. No way to fly. Not even wings. Stuck on the ground in the dirt.
“Thanks for the optimism.”
Not that dirt is a bad thing. It is not uncommon for colts and fillies to roll in it. It’s fun. Erm, if you’re a colt. I’m too old for that sort of thing.
“Right, so I suppose that the dirt that I see on you didn’t come from you rolling on the ground like some ‘poor land bound thing’?”
Cloud looked at his broad back and the layer of dust that had accumulated. Uh, no. Of course not. He shook himself, sending up a cloud of dust that settled on the ranger. She sneezed.
“Thanks Cloud.”
The pleasure’s mine.
Barathiel pulled a handful of mint leaves out of her pack. “Here you go, you worthless excuse for a horse.” The Asperii devoured the fragrant leaves.
“I need to go and take care of Skadi, my animal companion. Would you like to come with me and visit her, or are you going after Ori?”
Cloud swished his tail in thought. “I suppose that I can go with you since you think that Orihalcon will be alright.” He scratched his forehead on her side, leaving several long silvery hairs plastered to her studded leather armor.
“Alright then,” she said, plucking off the hairs. “Follow me.”
Like a silent silver shadow the mammoth owl tucked her wings and dove. She spiraled falling from the sky, keen eyes catching often missed details as they swirled around her. The moon was full and for many miles, the sparkling reflection could be seen in a stream that snaked its way through the forest. Over the roar of the wind in her ears, she thought she heard soft cooing. Spreading her massive wings, she ended her dive and coasted through the air, listening intently. There! She heard it again, someone was calling her name.
It came from a group of scraggly trees that were on the northern end of a small clearing. Orienting on the origin of the sound, she headed to the north. She saw a small clearing, surrounded by tall pines. Standing off to the side of the clearing in the shadows of the trees she saw the creature that had made the soft sounds.
Covered in a dark green cloak, the figure ‘hooted’ a welcome as the giant snowy owl lit in the clearing. The greeting was a sound full of affection, and the owl returned it with one of her own. She hopped over to Barathiel and lowered her large head. The ranger reached out and began to gently scratch the feathers on the bird’s face.
“Hello, Skadi. I missed you too, girl.” Barathiel took a quick step back as the owl rubbed her head on her shoulder, “Careful there now; you’re going to knock me down, silly.” She patted Skadi on her shoulder and pulled a special treat out of her cloak.
Skadi’s eyes focused quickly on the slain hare and Barathiel flipped it through the air to the giant owl. She followed the treat’s descending arc and snapped it out of the air. The hare was gone in two quick bites and Skadi hissed softly as her golden orbs caught movement behind the ranger. Cloud walked into the edge of the clearing and stood several paces behind Barathiel and whickered. What in the name of Aerdrie Faenya is that? He asked the elf.
“This is my animal companion,” Barathiel said, patting the giant snowy owl’s head. “Her name is Skadi, and she seems very interested in you.” The owl cocked her head to the side and peered at the much smaller Asperii. Barathiel sensed the aerial horse’s fear of the giant owl and calmed him by saying, “Don’t worry too much. I just fed her so she won’t be hungry for another few minutes.”
Ha ha. Not funny, she-wolf.
Skadi turned her head, facing the direction that Barathiel and Cloud had come from, and cooed. Barathiel turned with her owl and sniffed the air.
What’s going on ranger?
“I don’t know, but something seems to be wr-”
BOOM!!! The sound of the explosion reached them just before the shockwave that rippled underneath their feet, hooves, and claws. “Ori!” the ranger cried vaulting onto the back of the giant owl and held on tightly. Skadi flapped her mighty wings and lifted both of them into the air. Cloud flew beside them as they raced over the tops of the trees toward the source of the explosion. Already dusty smoke was beginning to rise into the night sky, blown by the light wind.
Do you think she’s alright? the Asperii asked the ranger as she leaned down over the owl’s back. “I hope so, but we can go and check nonetheless.” A curious look appeared on Barathiel’s face, “Say, can’t you communicate with her telepathically anyway?” Cloud slowed in mid-flight and blinked. I hadn’t thought of that, but actually I can… Barathiel mouthed something that sounded like “Stupid bird-brain” as she held on to her owl’s back.
Ah, I see. It seems that she thought that she saw a displacer beast and figured that she’d better kill it before it hurts anyone, and it turns out that it was a black panther…The ranger sighed dramatically. She says she needs your help for something or other. What do you want us to do? “That’s a silly question,” Barathiel replied. “Skadi, dive.”
Comments appreciated!
So here you go:
The older ranger had been listening to this argument all day, and it had finally gotten on her nerves. “Orihalcon,” The name was said with a warning in its tone, punctuated by the speaker placing her fists on her hips. Barathiel fixed a reprimanding glare on Ori and arched her silvery-white brows. Her normally expressionless face carried a frown and she watched Ori for a few seconds. Always alert, her gold-flecked blue eyes watched all around them as they spoke. Here in Faerun, danger could be found anywhere for those that were caught unprepared and Barathiel had scars to prove it. She flicked back her deep green cloak and placed her gloved hands on the handles of her sheathed weapons.
“Look, you’re doing all of the work here and I want to help!” Ori said with a whine. She brushed a lock of black hair out of her eyes to look up at her friend and traveling companion. The taller elf stood a few paces away, her long silvery-white hair pulled back in a braid and her purple skin glowing slightly in the late afternoon light. Ori sat next to the fire in a small clearing Barathiel had chosen as a campsite for the night. A childish pout appeared on her angular face and she scowled. “You find the trails in the woods; you decide where to camp for the night; and all you do is let me light the fire!” She threw her arms in the air, bracelets clanging against each other. Barathiel sighed and put her face in her palm.
A loud snort came from Silver Cloud, the unfettered, saddle-less horse grazing nearby. You almost set the tent on fire, the last time you cooked. Cloud was an Asperii, or wind steed. He was a horse that flew through the air like Pegasus, but had no need of wings. His coat was a mottled gray, and his long mane and tail were full and thick.
Barathiel released a long sigh at the memory, rubbing her temples. “The green mushrooms you picked last time…” she started to say.
“I thought that, well, mushrooms are a vegetable, right? Vegetables are green! So, green mushrooms!”
A thought wafted over them when Cloud spoke telepathically-you almost set me on fire. The magical horse looked up reproachfully, and his tail swished in agitation.
Barathiel wondered if this particular conversation with Ori and the horse would ever end. She crossed her arms in front of her, and drummed the gloved fingers of her right hand on her left bicep. “The mushrooms were covered in bright green spots, Ori. Didn’t that seem the least bit suspicious to you?”
They exploded when you put them in the fire! Cloud snorted, his gray ears laying flat at the memory.
“I said I was sorry, okay?” Ori said louder to include them both. “I know I’m not that good at the whole plant thing.” She sulked for a few moments, and then smiled. “But, I figure that the whole hunting thing should be much easier!”
Barathiel crossed her arms again and looked down at the younger girl. “Well, I don’t know…”
Orihalcon didn’t give the older elf a chance to continue with her doubt. “Please? Please, Barathiel? I promise not to bring back anything green this time.” She clasped her hands in front of her, pleading. “Please?”
Cloud took a step towards them, a large clump of grass hanging out of his mouth. You could just eat some grass and save yourself the effort.
“Ha,” Barathiel laughed. “I’d let her cook if all I had to worry about was grass.”
“Hey!” Ori cried.
“Calm down. Calm down. Go ahead,” Barathiel caved. She raised her hands in a placating gesture.
“Hooray!” Ori cheered, her hurt feelings forgotten. She grinned broadly and held her hands out towards Barathiel.
The elven ranger’s brows arched, “What?”
“I gotta hunt with something, right?” Her grin grew wider and her crimson eyes lit up with an impish expression.
The horse’s ears flicked forward- You have got to be kidding me. He shook his head and whinnied.
“I’m not giving you my bow,” Barathiel replied in a flat voice.
“But! How am I going to-?”
“No buts. If you want to hunt you are going to have to make do with what you have.”
“What I have- but I don’t have anything!” Her brows furrowed and she crossed her arms. She stared off into space thinking, and her eyes focused sharply as an idea struck her. She grinned and turned to Barathiel. “Fireball?”
I thought you wanted to hunt so you could eat?
Barathiel shook her head, and shook her finger at the sorceress. “No. No fireballs. You’ll end up burning down the forest. And us with it.”
“Humph,” Ori huffed angrily. She drummed her fingers against her elbows in time to her heartbeat. “Just you wait. I’ll think of something. You’ll see,” she promised. She hunched down to remove some of her weightier jewelry and place them in her backpack. “I wouldn’t miss with a fireball though.” She stood, and shook the dust from her long sleeves and marched away from the campsite. Her earrings provided a musical accompaniment as she stalked away, leaving Cloud and Barathiel alone.
Barathiel waited until the emotional whirlwind had left earshot before turning to the horse. “I bet you my bow she doesn’t come back with something edible.”
The comment confused him and he pulled his head up to look her in the eye. Why would I want your bow?
Barathiel laughed lightly and changed the topic. “You’re her familiar, so shouldn’t you go and keep an eye on her?”
He snorted, stamping his foot. What? When she’s going to be throwing fireballs around? Are you crazy?
She shook her head, “No. Ori tends to listen to me about these things.”
He snorted, his grey brows scrunching in concern. So she is out there trying to hunt without weapons or magic? His head turned back in the direction that the flighty young wizard had left the camp. Maybe I should…She’s just a filly after all. He took a step.
“She’s hardier than she looks; she’s close to being a hundred years old, you know. And I didn’t say that she couldn’t use magic, just that she couldn’t cast fireball.”
A hundred years old? And how old are you Ranger?
Barathiel grinned, “I’m one hundred and twenty seven right now. But remember we elves age differently than you Asperii do.”
He tossed his head, and flicked his tail. So she could be casting anything out there trying to catch something for dinner?
A tired nod and a yawn. “It’s possible. I’ve seen her family come up with some very strange ideas.”
He lowered his head and his hoof, beginning to graze again. Her family? She had said something about it before… Something about a harp…
“Harpelle, it’s her family name.” She laughed at the memory. “A whole extended family of wizards.”
He almost spat out his mouthful in surprise. The whole family? Wow. He chewed for a moment in thought. So there’s a whole family of scaly, clawed dark elf wizards?
Barathiel shuddered at the mental image before answering. “No, the Harpelles are human.” She smiled to herself for a moment. “Well, excluding Orihalcon and Bidderdoo, the mastiff.”
Ah, He thought. A pet.
“Oh, no. Bidderdoo is family. He was human once, until he was hit with some spell or other that turned him into a large dog. No one has figured out exactly what happened.”
Cloud nickered softly. Wait, a whole flock of wizards couldn’t undo what was done to him?
“No, a whole flock of wizards couldn’t change him back.” She looked at him, trying to hold back her laughter. “Why do you call them a flock, anyway?”
They always made me think of birds. What with their long sleeves and how silly they look when they try to fly. Clumsy.
“Ah, well not everyone can have your grace in flight.”
You poor land bound thing. No way to fly. Not even wings. Stuck on the ground in the dirt.
“Thanks for the optimism.”
Not that dirt is a bad thing. It is not uncommon for colts and fillies to roll in it. It’s fun. Erm, if you’re a colt. I’m too old for that sort of thing.
“Right, so I suppose that the dirt that I see on you didn’t come from you rolling on the ground like some ‘poor land bound thing’?”
Cloud looked at his broad back and the layer of dust that had accumulated. Uh, no. Of course not. He shook himself, sending up a cloud of dust that settled on the ranger. She sneezed.
“Thanks Cloud.”
The pleasure’s mine.
Barathiel pulled a handful of mint leaves out of her pack. “Here you go, you worthless excuse for a horse.” The Asperii devoured the fragrant leaves.
“I need to go and take care of Skadi, my animal companion. Would you like to come with me and visit her, or are you going after Ori?”
Cloud swished his tail in thought. “I suppose that I can go with you since you think that Orihalcon will be alright.” He scratched his forehead on her side, leaving several long silvery hairs plastered to her studded leather armor.
“Alright then,” she said, plucking off the hairs. “Follow me.”
Like a silent silver shadow the mammoth owl tucked her wings and dove. She spiraled falling from the sky, keen eyes catching often missed details as they swirled around her. The moon was full and for many miles, the sparkling reflection could be seen in a stream that snaked its way through the forest. Over the roar of the wind in her ears, she thought she heard soft cooing. Spreading her massive wings, she ended her dive and coasted through the air, listening intently. There! She heard it again, someone was calling her name.
It came from a group of scraggly trees that were on the northern end of a small clearing. Orienting on the origin of the sound, she headed to the north. She saw a small clearing, surrounded by tall pines. Standing off to the side of the clearing in the shadows of the trees she saw the creature that had made the soft sounds.
Covered in a dark green cloak, the figure ‘hooted’ a welcome as the giant snowy owl lit in the clearing. The greeting was a sound full of affection, and the owl returned it with one of her own. She hopped over to Barathiel and lowered her large head. The ranger reached out and began to gently scratch the feathers on the bird’s face.
“Hello, Skadi. I missed you too, girl.” Barathiel took a quick step back as the owl rubbed her head on her shoulder, “Careful there now; you’re going to knock me down, silly.” She patted Skadi on her shoulder and pulled a special treat out of her cloak.
Skadi’s eyes focused quickly on the slain hare and Barathiel flipped it through the air to the giant owl. She followed the treat’s descending arc and snapped it out of the air. The hare was gone in two quick bites and Skadi hissed softly as her golden orbs caught movement behind the ranger. Cloud walked into the edge of the clearing and stood several paces behind Barathiel and whickered. What in the name of Aerdrie Faenya is that? He asked the elf.
“This is my animal companion,” Barathiel said, patting the giant snowy owl’s head. “Her name is Skadi, and she seems very interested in you.” The owl cocked her head to the side and peered at the much smaller Asperii. Barathiel sensed the aerial horse’s fear of the giant owl and calmed him by saying, “Don’t worry too much. I just fed her so she won’t be hungry for another few minutes.”
Ha ha. Not funny, she-wolf.
Skadi turned her head, facing the direction that Barathiel and Cloud had come from, and cooed. Barathiel turned with her owl and sniffed the air.
What’s going on ranger?
“I don’t know, but something seems to be wr-”
BOOM!!! The sound of the explosion reached them just before the shockwave that rippled underneath their feet, hooves, and claws. “Ori!” the ranger cried vaulting onto the back of the giant owl and held on tightly. Skadi flapped her mighty wings and lifted both of them into the air. Cloud flew beside them as they raced over the tops of the trees toward the source of the explosion. Already dusty smoke was beginning to rise into the night sky, blown by the light wind.
Do you think she’s alright? the Asperii asked the ranger as she leaned down over the owl’s back. “I hope so, but we can go and check nonetheless.” A curious look appeared on Barathiel’s face, “Say, can’t you communicate with her telepathically anyway?” Cloud slowed in mid-flight and blinked. I hadn’t thought of that, but actually I can… Barathiel mouthed something that sounded like “Stupid bird-brain” as she held on to her owl’s back.
Ah, I see. It seems that she thought that she saw a displacer beast and figured that she’d better kill it before it hurts anyone, and it turns out that it was a black panther…The ranger sighed dramatically. She says she needs your help for something or other. What do you want us to do? “That’s a silly question,” Barathiel replied. “Skadi, dive.”
Comments appreciated!