Shifting Winds

Share your original RP stories here.
teflor the ranger
Sojourner
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 5:01 am
Location: Waterdeep

Shifting Winds

Postby teflor the ranger » Wed Apr 21, 2004 4:57 pm

Days of deep cold had frozen the lands of his home. Home. Just a simple memory now - at times just a smell, but in the darkest of nights: a loving voice. Sweat streamed down his face as it contorted in his sleep, but a surfacing hint as to the flavor of his dreams. Teflor tried to remember.

Winter rains had come, dropping a sheet of ice over the snow, plastering the hillsides in alabaster glory. Trees ceased to move as they sagged under the massive strain of their frozen life-force. They watched as ice broke under his bare feet, edges cutting into his flesh as it sank into the layer of frosty powder below. The blowing wind cut so coldly that even the blood that escaped his flesh oozed with the lethargy that gripped at his mind.

It was snowing... He remembered the snowflakes this time. Teflor gasped at his unconsciousness, both pushing it away and pleading that it stay. His fever had begun to subside somewhat as his cat licked at his forehead. Morning was soon approaching.

Night had fallen on the sleepy hills. With nothing but white-covered forest all around him, Teflor collapsed into the powder. A few flakes continued to fall, those that were not caught in the forest’s canopy above. As consciousness began to leave him, Teflor noticed the flakes as they started to dance in a peculiar manner. He could hear gentle footsteps making its way through the encrusted snow. A tear of anger rolled down his cheek, as he closed his eyes and allowed his head to lower through the ice.

Teflor opened his eyes. His fever had broken, and sunlight filtered through the cracks in his shelter. His jaguar came to his side, offering comfort for what it understood to have been a difficult night. Rubbing the dirt from his eyes, he rose to his morning tasks, and to ponder over his recovered memories.

... to be continued
Last edited by teflor the ranger on Thu Apr 29, 2004 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Teflor does. Teflor does not.
teflor the ranger
Sojourner
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 5:01 am
Location: Waterdeep

Shifting Winds, Part 2 of 5

Postby teflor the ranger » Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:32 am

Shifting Winds, Part 2 of 5

Teflor lay in the snow, fully concentrating on his painful, wheezing breaths that were to be his last. But instead of a dull axe, a soft touch came to him, pressing against his neck. The same hands that came so gently, scooped him roughly out of the ice, and bore him as a burden for as long as a lifetime would seem through the cold of the night. The bitter winds of the winter forest edged him closer to the shadows of another world, but strong arms braced him through the darkness

Warmth of radiance lapped at his face as Teflor regained consciousness. He found himself alone inside a small and cozy room. Rain tapped repeatedly at the glass window facing a darkened sky, sharing the reflection of a fire in the brick hearth. Clothed and well rested, he looked up as a woman entered the room

“I see that you’re awake. We thought we had lost you for a while.”

Teflor watched her move about the room, as she gathered the warm water heating near the flame and brought a washcloth to the side of his bed.

“Well, now, how old are you? What is your name?”

“My... eighth winter, ma’am.”

The kind woman looked as if she was about to burst into tears. She pushed the blankets off of his feet as she began to flush his wounds.

“So you can speak. What of your name?”

“Teflor.”

They conversed for a short while until consciousness left him again. His high fever took hold of his mind, wracking his lucidity and shaking his memory from him. Days passed as he survived, and recovered as children do. He awoke as his fever broke completely, to find the fair woman from before watching over him.

Lliandra... Her name was, Lliandra.
Teflor does. Teflor does not.
teflor the ranger
Sojourner
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 5:01 am
Location: Waterdeep

Shifting Winds, Part 3 of 5

Postby teflor the ranger » Fri Apr 23, 2004 7:53 am

Shifting Winds, Part 3 of 5

Lliandra took Teflor in from the stranger that passed through the village. She owned the inn in the little town that had no name, home to less than five hundred. The town was very set in its ways and had little room for a young boy with no one to watch over him. Lliandra took him in without a thought as to her own welfare, but the town council gave that thought for her. They met to decide on his fate. The hearts of men tend to overcome their sensibilities, and it was decided that Teflor was to be raised by the town.

The town was nestled high in the mountains, surrounded by unspoiled forests and crisscrossed by streams. Lliandra's inn ran six rooms, clean and cozy, where the patrons were well fed. When Teflor wasn’t helping her run the inn, he spent most of his time in the forest surrounding the town. The townsfolk did not ask him to take part in the normal duties that the other adolescent boys shouldered for the town. He was a great resource to the people, as he learned to predict the weather, read the signs of nature, and discovered the vast natural resources of the mountains around him.

When the famines came and the crops were ruined, he fed the town with his bow. When the wells dried up one year, he brought a natural spring through the ground with his magic. When evil drew near the town, he would follow them unseen with his sneaking.

As time went on, Teflor spent more and more of his days and nights in the forest. He was not ungrateful to the town that had taken him in, and he pitched in to help when his help was needed. Occasionally, he would step out of the woods, with his jaguar in tow at a town barnraising. But he wasn’t seen around town when he was not needed. There was only one that Teflor would always come back to.

Lliandra.

She had taken him in and raised him as her own. She even gave him her father’s blades, although she had no one to pass them down to. Teflor would come back with unusual berries and herbs for her, as well as the occasional cut of meat or stack of firewood. It was his pleasure to make things a little better for her. Beyond the forest, its trees and creatures, Lliandra was Teflor’s life. She was eight years older than he was, and the closest thing that he had to family.

His life. While her smile awaited him, he never thought of anything else, never wanted anything more.
Teflor does. Teflor does not.
teflor the ranger
Sojourner
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 5:01 am
Location: Waterdeep

Shifting Winds, Part 4 of 5

Postby teflor the ranger » Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:23 pm

Shifting Winds, Part 4 of 5

A foul smell on an errant wind passed through blued smoke of an early morning campfire. Every hair on Teflor’s body stood on end as the breeze blew in an entirely sinister direction. The weather on this edge of the range moved in an easterly direction, along the valley carved along the range’s north ridge. Teflor raised his head towards the east to face the new winds, the winds that had shifted.

The campfire crackled silently, burning out unattended. Swords were oiled and sheathed, supplies stuffed roughly into leather knapsacks, skins sloshed with water, and small bags jiggled with golden coins; Teflor had not a clue what to prepare for. The wind carried an unnatural scent, the smell of death, and grew stronger by the hour. The plants sang to him in horror as he scattered the remains of his encampment, and ran for the village.

He knew she was waiting for him. Dry tears formed at the corners of his eyes as he made his sped towards… home. He entered the clearing behind the Inn, ducking low and following the tall grasses as they wavered in the winds. Teflor came up to the building, noticing a lack of activity inside the inn. He drew his blade as he silently popped the latch to the rear entrance into the barroom.

“Lliandra?”

She stood from her seat, watching him as he came through the door blades drawn and fully dressed for war. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

“Lliandra, pack your things, we have to leave.”

She made no motion to move, as Teflor sheathed his blades. He spoke again for added emphasis.

“Now.”

Lliandra was unmoved. She crossed her arms, glaring at him. He had been gone for several weeks.

“You can’t just come in here every once in a blue moon and tell me what to do.”

The leaves outside the window flashed their pale undersides as they were pushed in the wrong direction.

“I don’t have time for this Lliandra. We need to go.”

Teflor headed upstairs to her room to gather her things. Lliandra followed him angrily, watching him as he moved.

“What about the inn? What about the village?”

Teflor winced. He tossed her pack onto his own shoulders, turning for the door.

“This may not be your home! But it is mine!”

Teflor paused with his hand on the knob. He closed his eyes as he opened the door and walked downstairs. Lliandra followed him with a few tears rolling down her cheeks. Wordlessly, Teflor took her cloak off the rack, and draped it around her. She looked up at him, waiting, hoping for something. Teflor opened the door to the inn, as he stepped outside.

“I’m not going anywhere, you are not my father,” she said as she gripped the cloak around her.

Teflor turned and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her outside. She shook him off violently, and stepped back inside, tears streaming down her face.

“You don’t touch me. You don’t love me. Just go away, run away… don’t come back.”

Teflor looked her over, trying to burn an image of her in his mind. He could not even describe to himself - her beauty, even in her sorrow. Just because he did not always conform to her will, did not mean that he was not gentle. Just because he would leave her from time to time, does not mean that he was not kind. And all the wrongs that he had done to her in his life, did not mean that he did not love her.

“I don’t know if I can protect you from this coming storm.”

“I need no such protection.”
Teflor does. Teflor does not.
teflor the ranger
Sojourner
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2002 5:01 am
Location: Waterdeep

Shifting Winds, Part 5 of 5

Postby teflor the ranger » Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:12 am

Shifting Winds, Part 5 of 5

The winds blew with intense rapacity, through the trees and leaves, and into crevasses of the inn that had not been previously known. Teflor sat back in a chair, still dressed and prepared for a battle. Drops began to appear on the windows as a storm approached. Leaves flew by, then small shrubs, and then young trees. Darkness covered the tiny village, as the sky became a great river, pouring out onto the lands. Furious rains and flying objects pounded the inn, as Lliandra and Teflor watched each other. She drew up close to him, her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry Teflor, I do love you.”

It was then that a vision unholy passed nearby. Teflor took her arms from him, and in her hands placed one of her father’s swords. Teflor kissed her on the cheek as he dropped his supplies and headed for the door. Rattling as he unlatched it, the door flew open to the elements; rain and thunder drowned out the sounds of nature, but did nothing to mute the sound of evil approaching the village.

Teflor closed the door behind him, drawing his sword, struggling to keep feet on the ground. The first group appeared as they marched down the main road towards the village center. Orcs under cover of weather, five of them. Teflor watched as they entered the small house at the edge of town. He made his way towards him, water streaming from his cloak, boots sodden with mud. They left the home with axes bloodied, streams of red dripping into the streets. Looking up only to notice the ranger standing immediately before them.

As they noticed him, the orcs charged, leading with knives, axes, and hammers. The lead orc came down upon him barring the edge of his axe, which hooked upon Teflor’s blade and was tossed aside into the mud. The orc reached back to strike him with his fist, finding nothing but a blade of cold steel thrust into his belly. The rain allowed the blade to slip through easily, exiting behind a spray of orc blood. The other orcs came around their fallen leader, swinging at the ranger who had left his blade and made an exit behind the corpse, drawing his bow and knocking an arrow. Another orc fell, clutching at the arrow that had pierced his heart, his body being blown away by the great winds. A thrown stone struck Teflor, glancing off his leg, spinning off into the road somewhere. Teflor knocked another arrow, sending another orc to his end. The other two orcs drew back from him, calling for their allies. The ranger bent down to retrieve his sword, as the orcs lay in the mud, clutching the arrows that had ended their lives.

More orcs came down the road, as Teflor stepped into the brush, firing twice more at the orcs. They pursued him into the woods, as he drew a running battle, firing on orcs when he could, and trying not to be hit by the rocks they slung. Teflor ducked behind a tree as he listened for their advance in the heavy rains, knocking two arrows into his bow, separating them with two fingers along the handle. He held the bow sideways as he drew the string back, snapping off the arrows into two orcs, squealing with pain.

Teflor’s quiver soon emptied as he fought his way back into the village. Orcs were slashing and hacking at everything in sight, the streets flowed with blood, and even the rain carried the metallic scent of injury and death. The gale force winds mixed with the blessing of drowning out the cries of pain and anguish. Teflor snuck through the tall grasses and shrubs to return to the inn. It had become clear to him that there was nothing he could do against this onslaught. Standing in front oft the inn were two figures larger and better equipped than the rest of the hoard. Teflor paused, fingering his blade. One orc rode atop a wolf of some sort, the other one seemed to be casting spells, sending lightning down upon the buildings of the village.

The dire raider had noticed him crouching among the grasses, as Teflor cursed himself for becoming still. He dismounted, drew his sword and pointed it at the ranger. Teflor stood, holding his sword low, pointed towards the ground besides him. The orc shaman smiled as he waved off some of the weather, and folded his arms to watch the fight. The eye of the storm was upon them as Teflor stepped from the fields.

Other orcs had gathered to watch. Teflor made the first move, slicing upwards at the raider’s chin. The raider cut downwards, striking at the blade of Lliandra. Both opponents drew back for another blow, the ranger spinning around, thrusting his blade behind him, the raider rolling his shoulders to bring the blade level to the ground on his other side. Swords rang out again, as the raider twisted on the ball of his foot to spin his sword in from the opposing direction. The ranger ducked under his opponent’s aggressive spin and brought his sword to the ready from the ground. Teflor sliced upwards at his opponent, glancing his right arm, drawing a few small points of blood. The raider’s sword slashed out mightily across his chest, in an attempt to create some distance between the combatants. Teflor took the pause to balance his stance, and awaited the raider’s next move. The raider took another mighty slash at the ranger, but found him to be too bold to cower or defend. Teflor held his sword behind him, as he jumped onto the raider’s toes. The handle guard of the blade smashed into the ranger’s left shoulder. The stunned raider tried to kick the ranger out of the way as he reached in between the two with his blade, slicing open his neck.

The raider gasped as he fell to the ground. The shaman unfolded his arms and became deadly serious, uttering and beginning to cast a spell. Teflor grabbed the raider’s heavy sword, sheathing his own, and turned on the shaman.

“Shut up.”

He twisted back, and threw the blade over his shoulder, hurtling it at the shaman. True to a form unknown, the blade entered the shaman’s open mouth tip-first, exiting through the back of his skull. The orcs descended upon him and the ranger found himself overwhelmed. The storm passed and the rain lulled into a gentle drizzle. Leaves remained on trees, some leaves. Birds returned to their morning whistling. Teflor lay in the road for quite some time. Numerous small wounds and exhaustion took consciousness from him. Bodies of orcs and townspeople lay everywhere.

As the day passed and his prayers closed his wounds one by one, Teflor crawled towards the closed door of the inn. What he saw inside is a sight that I will save you from description. Teflor crawled to Lliandra and lay by her side, pulling the other sword from her. He cried until the night came, and buried her in the morning.

_______________________________

This story has come to an end. Please leave any comments that might improve my future stories.
Teflor does. Teflor does not.
Nilan
Sojourner
Posts: 689
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2001 6:01 am

Postby Nilan » Mon Apr 26, 2004 2:51 am

very nice story Teflor. I enjoyed reading it. Write more :)
always nice to read adventure stories bout characters in our mud world.

Very good story

Nilan :)

Return to “Stories”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest