Lonelywood

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Rholmar arrives back in Lonelywood, after four hours of hunting, with only a bloody rabbit in his hand. He walks to his small house, opens the frozen door and throws the rabbit on a table covered with dry blood. He then stairs at the fireplace for a few secons and says: "Damn this wet wood! The fire's gone out again! I reckon it happened more than an hour ago, 'cause it's so cold in here... It'll take a few more hours for the room to get warm again." So, he lights the fire again, after a few atempts and then heads out to the Whistling Gallows Inn, in the middle of the village.

As he walks in, he sees Kieran Nye, the innkeeper. He heads towards the bar and takes a seat. After checking his pockets, he find a few gold pieces: "Good day to ye, Kieran. I'll have a cup of Cormyran Brandy." The Innkeeper gives him the glass, and Rholmar slowly starts drinking from it.

Kieran then asks: "So then, Rholmar, what have ye been doin' today?"

Rholmar takes another mouth of brandy, swallows it and says: "Well, as I see it, today I didn't have too much of Tymora's grace, 'cause I only caught a rabbit after four hours of hunting. Strangely, they just seem to dissapear..."

Kieran: So is that one rabbit gonna hold yer stomach?

Rholmar: I guess it's gonna hold untill I manage to catch, I mean find another one.

Kieran: And ye say they've just started dissapearing? How's that?

Rholmar: I really don't see any reason for the dissapearances, but from what I saw, eaven the bears and the wolves have started to head south...

Kieran: Who knows what the nine hells is the matter with them. But I'm tellin' ye, something foul's about to happen. I can feel it in my gutter.

Rholmar: Your starting again, Kieran... Don't forget where you live, In Lonelywood, not in Neverwinter.

Kieran: And what's that suppose' to mean? Ye think if I came from Neverwinter, I didn't get used to life in Lonelywood?

Rholmar: Come on, Kieran... I was just kiddin'!

Kieran: Ya, well that wasn't a good joke...

After he stops lauthing, Rholmar continues to drink from his cup of brandy.

[ February 06, 2005, 01:08: Message edited by: Kelvon Shadowmane ]

 

Lantus sighed. Another day and Lonelywood had had no visitors. No customers. All he could do was drink his mead and stare out into the snow. It was a bit of a pain making all his mead and having no one to share with. Only a few people lived in the town, and even less visited. And, of course, he was still alone. Out there somewhere was the wife he had always looked for. She had never arrived. And still Lantus waited. Suddenly there was a loud, single bang on his door.

“What?” he thought.

The old man waddled across his small house to the front door. He pulled the locks away and opened the wooden door a little. The rest was done for him as a gust of wind blew the man to his feet, and the door open. But there was no one there.

 

Rholmar walked outside the inn and realised just how cold it was.

"Should I have another drink?" he thought.
"No... no. I can't spend the whole day in the inn. I reckon Kieran had enouth of me. Maybe I'll spend some time by the lake..." And he headed for the bridge crossing a tiny potions of Lake Dinashare.

As he was watching the beatiful waves, he remembered having some tobacco in his pouch. And he was right, but it was all wet...

"Oh, blast it! Now what am going to do? It's so cold outside, and my house hasn't had enouth time to warm up. Wait a minute! I wonder how's Lantus doing. I think I'll give him a visit..."

And he headed for Lantus the Brewer's house. He was almost frozen stiff when he reached the door and knocked.

 

"I traveled all around the world but never been in a place is small as Lonelywood, hopefully I can make some money here..." Yümvo thought when he entered the small village. "Damn it's really cold here I wish I had spent my last money on a coat instead of ale!"

"Where to go what to do..." Then he sa a man knocking on a door. "I wonder who that is" Yümvo mumbeld, "but more importand who lives in the house?"

"This is like the mouse on the mountain of cheese, but when the orc came the ice had melted!" Yümvo laughed about his own joke wile he was watching from a distance waiting for things to happen.

 

Jerek shuffled in the front door with a sigh. Taking of his coat he sat down at the table, across from his brother who was sipping from a large, steaming mug, while inspecting a trap.
"Hope you caught something Froidoc, only got a couple of silver today, and that was from a drunk who thought I was hilarious when I kept dropping my flute."
Froidoc looked up from the trap with amusment.
"Don't worry, we'll eat well enough tonight."

As Jerek started complaining about some other muscisian getting all the money, just because he chose better spots to perform, Froidoc sat back taking a long sip from his mug pretending to be listening to his brothers feeble complaints...

When Jerek had finished, Froidoc said. "You know Jerek, it is really weird, i'm coming across very few animals lately, if this keeps up you might have to earn s ome money for once." Froidoc finished with a wink.

[ February 09, 2005, 06:00: Message edited by: Terthe ]

 

Lantus looked up and saw his friend. Regaining his footing, he smiles at Rholmar.
“Ello’! Welcome, welcome.” He leads Rholmar into the main living room.
“And how are ye today? Cold?” Obviously he had had too much to drink. Lantus chuckled, grabbing another few meads and handing one to his guest.

 

Rholmar happily accepted the mead. But before he started to drink from it, he took his leather cloak off and put it on a chair, next to Lantus' fireplace.

"Thanks for the mead, Lantus. I hope ye don't mind me putting my cloak here, it's very wet. I think I drank too much and had a little snooze by the lake."

After talking a few unsignificant details, Rholmar decided to tell Lantus about:

"Ye know, it's really strange, but most of the animals are starting to dissapear. I mean, as in running south, as if something malicious was comming from the north. Ol' Kieran thinks something evil is behind these animals' actions, but I'm not shure if I believe him. What do you reckon it is?"

 

Lantus simply snorted.
"Bah! Nonsense if i ever heard it! That ****head Kieran wouldn't know evil if he saw it! Now as for me, i have met dragons and giants..." Teh old brewer was obviously drunk as he trailed off. He sat stupidly silent for a moment, then looked up at his guest. He smiled.
"Hello!"

 

Rholmar ignored the "Hello!".

"Yah, yah, you must be right..."

He drank a bit more mead, then he took his cloak on and left:

"Thank ye for the mead Lantus. But I think you need a little rest... I'll be seein' ya!"

As he tried to open the door, he couldn't quite hit the door knob. He was drunk as well. He finally opened the door. Looking far away, he saw a strange person standing there and looking towards him. But he was so drunk that he collapsed in the snow.

"I'm soooo sleepy"

[ February 09, 2005, 17:39: Message edited by: Kelvon Shadowmane ]

 

Sarkin was really angry when came in town. Rholmar said that the animals were going away. Yeah right, he thought.

He had only been in the woods for an hour when a wolf attacked him. He killed the wolf easily enough but he was still angry. Especially because he heard more wolfs howling, which meant that the town might be attacked by a pack any time.

As he entered the town he noticed two things. The first one was Rholmar falling flat on his face and the second was some stranger. Suddenly all his anger left him. Rholmar was wrong about the wolfs leaving but he was only human, he had the right to make mystakes.

Sarkin shook his head, he was way to tolerant. Oh well , he thought, might as well see what this guy wants .

"Hey you" he shouted toward the stranger" what buisness do you have in this quiet little place?"

 

Yümvo watched the drunk men coming out of the house and falling in the snow. For some moment there was doubt in his mind what should he do?

Then he hearth a voice calling out to him, he looked in it's direction and said: "I'm a traveling jester!" "My name is Yümvo, I could play a song for you for some gold and shelter for the night!"

 

Sarkin almost laughed. A traveling jester in this place ? Boy did this guy chose the wrong town for making money .

"Right now I don't have time but you're welcome to stay at the inn. Or if you'r broke find Herak, the half-orc, and tell him Sarkin sent you. Tell him to find you a place to sleep."

Sarkin walked over to Rholmar and hauled him over his shoulder like a sack of potatos. Then he headed towards Rholmars house.

Once inside he dumped Rholmar on his bed and left.
As he came out of the house Sarkin saw Zaera, the longlegged redhead with the perfect body, head toward Lantu's house. Nothing new there, everyone in Lonelywood went there at one point or another.

I think I'll join her, thought Sarkin while his eyes were fixed on Zaera's shapely thighs.

 

Jerek and Froidoc sat down on the bridge crossing the small lake at the bottom of the town, their legs dangling over the side. Each of them with a tankard of Lantus' best ale in one hand and a pipe filled with their own home grown leaves.

 

Lantus shook his head. What was that? Another day of being drunk, he thought. Emptying his mead and grabbing a bear skin cloak, he decided to find the townspeople and tell them of his decision. Exiting the hut, he saw Jerek and Froidoc down by the lake, and Sarkin and Zaera approaching his house. Now was the time.

“Jerek! Jerek!” His drunken voice was carried by the wind down to the lake.
“Come here a moment…”

 

Rholmar suddently woke up and said:

"Where in the nine hells am I???... oh, home...ok."

He then got out of bed and saw the open door:

"Now who in Auril's name left the door open? Who in whoever's name came in here?"

As he went to close the door, he saw Jerek and Froidoc by the bridge, Sarkin following Zaera and Lantus yelling..."

He decided to take his (obviosly wet) cloak on and walk after the bunch.

 

Lantus noticed that he now had five listeners. It was a large number considering the small number of people who actually lived in Lonelywood. He began.

“My friends. I know I have lived among you all for a long time, and our friendships have grown quite a lot. However, tonight is my last night in tiny town for tomorrow I take my leave. I am heading back to Baldur’s Gate, the city of my birth, to find what is left of my family. I hope everyone understands.”

 

Jerek turned as he heard his name.
"Stay here, i'll be right back." said Jerek to his brother, Froidoc replied with a small nod.
Draining his tankard, Jerek stood and ran towards Lantus.

Lantus having finished speaking, there was silence around him. It was a huge shock, Jerek couldn't believe it, Lantus had been in this town longer than anyone he knew personally and might well be his best friend after Froidoc.
"You can't leave Lantus," said Jerek mock sadly, "where are we going to get how beer from?" He finished, breaking the silence.

 

"Leaving is just another way of saying: I love you!" Yümvo sayd wile he walked towards the crowd. "It only hurts more!" "Well people that joke was for free!" "I'm Yümvo the traveling Jester, ad it looks like you could use some entertainment around here.".

Then Yümvo took at his mandoline and starts to play a song... badly.

 

Rholmar just arrived in time to hear Lantus' declaration of departure.

"Well then Lantus, eaven though I'd rather have ye around, I can't stop ye from leavin'..."

Then he stared towards Yumvo:

"Please stop playin' yer mandoline, sir. We'd rather enjoy the silence.

 

Sarkin was speechless. Lantus was leaving? He couldn't belive it. He was still staring without seeing anything when he heard something that could be described as music, if you're a drunk orc with no taste.

Then he heard Rholmar tell someone to stop it with the music.

"I can't belive Lantus is leaving." said Zaera.

Sarkin just looked at her and coudn't decide what to do. Try and convince Lantus not to go or tell Zaera he loved her before she decided to go as well. She never mentioned leaving but right now Sarkin could belive just about anything.