peanutbuttermagi-blog

[peanutbuttermagi-blog]

smoking is good for the environment

[peanutbuttermagi-blog]

character back story (sorry its long)

           Born on the plane of shadows, in a community of whisper gnomes looking to get back in touch with their shadow heritage, I was thought to be a mark of their success. Born more shadow than gnome, the plane we were on was more home to me than any of the others. As I grew into my strengths, I wandered further from the settlement in search of something, anything, that was interesting or different from the boring gray of what I knew from our world. One day, during my wandering, I came upon a box. Small, and unassuming, but locked, I could not open it. I took it back to an elder in the village, who taught me the basics of staying unseen and unheard, and he proceeded to teach me to open the lock. He guided my hands as I struggled to find out what was inside. After a few minutes of my teacher's guidance and advise the lock "clicked" and came free. My teacher applauded my first success, and gave me the opportunity to open my first chest. I trembled with excitement. As I lifted the lid, my breath caught, it was beautiful. The gold and silver was highlighted with emeralds and rubies, diamonds and pearls. Everything caught the light of the candle and reflected or refracted it back and forth. I spent hours learning what each piece was and what it was worth from the elder. He was as excited by it as I. We played catch in his home with diamonds and rubies, he juggled pearls and gold, it was magnificent.

           As we got down to deciding what to do with our treasure, we heard screams from outside. Startled, we peered out the windows to see strange creatures walking through the settlement. Tall but dainty, their skin dark and their eyes bright, most carried weapons, as they stalked through our home. They spoke in a strangely rough tongue that my elder called undercommon. Most of the intruders wore leather with small quivers on their hips. I watched as another elder approached them warily. He spoke to them in their own tongue and gestured calmly yet pointedly back out of town. The intruders did not speak back but parted as another of their kind, obviously female, stepped forward into what light we had to offer. This one spoke quickly and succinctly, gesturing calmly to the village around her.

           My teacher breathed in sharply and pulled me away from the window. He whispered to me "They are tracking the chest, it is theirs." I could not believe that. I found it, it should be mine. My teacher told me to hide and he would give it back to them. Hopefully they would leave afterward. I hesitated, but finally listened to the fear that was in my elder's voice. I hid in the shadows that were everywhere in this world, and watched as the greatest thing I had ever discovered was locked away and carried out to these unknown beings.

           I watched, unseen, as my teacher obviously apologized for having claimed the chest as he had found it in the wilderness near the village. The tall folk, studied the chest as he placed it at their feet. It was obvious they saw the tool marks from my fumbling. With a word from the female, one of the others stepped forward and produced a key from its belt. As the chest opened I was, once again, awestruck by the beauty contained there-in. I managed to maintain my composure and stay out of sight, but I ached to feel the coolness of the gold and silver, and see the sparkles of the jewels in the candle light. Satisfied that the contents were all there, the strangers locked the chest and one of them hefted it onto their shoulder.

           They began filing back out of the village into the darkness, weapons readied against any possible threat. The female and one other stayed a moment longer sharing what seemed like a conversation with their hands. The female made one final gesture and turned to leave. The other watched her leave then turned back smiling faintly toward my teacher.

           I didn't see the blade until it was already piercing my teacher's chest. I watched, in shock, as the thin blade slid through my teacher’s body and was withdrawn smoothly and placed back into its sheath. My mind seemed to scream but no noise escaped my lips. The murderer turned and left whistling a happy tune. I barely noticed as I ran to my friend's side. I held his head as he gurgled through his own blood. As he breathed his last he smiled looking me in the eyes and said, as best he could, "Twas a great treasure, but drow are not to be trifled with." As he passed away in my arms, I could see the sparkle in his eyes as he remembered the treasure we shared, if only for a little while. Then his eyes faded too.

           When I looked up from my friend and teacher, I found the rest of the village had gathered around. I felt ashamed for having let my friend take the blame for my finding the treasure and anger at the others for not helping him. I knew the fear they felt for these Drow. I felt it too. But now, I was even more ashamed of that and of my weakness, and angered that those Drow would kill my friend over a treasure that I had found in the wilds surrounding our home.

           They did not deserve that treasure. I would not let them keep it. Even if they killed me too, their treasure would be lost to them forever. This place of shadows is mine. I can use its darkness to remain unseen. They would never see where the chest went.

           As the rest of my clan prepare for a funeral, I prepared myself for my first heist. I retrieved my teachers armor, remembering when he said it helped him blend with the darkness and silence both. I retrieved the tools he had shown me to use in opening the chest. Finally, I found a dagger, thinking to put it to use against the one that killed my friend.

           I said my final goodbye to my friend and faded into the gloomy landscape that was my home. The others saw the stubborn determination on my face and did not try to stop me. Some even seemed to ignore me and looked almost relieved to see me leave. I guess I would be relieved too, the one who brought the killers here was leaving.

           I am sorry my friends. My family. I will not return here.

           The trail ahead of me was easy to find and follow. The drow were far too arrogant to believe one of us would track them. I heard them before I saw them, so noisy and boisterous in a land filled with dangers. They seemed fearless of the perils they faced. I watched from the darkness far from their fire. I studied them as they moved about. Looked for what belonged to my friend and me. It was a small gathering, two wagons, one tent, and six drow. I did not see or hear the female, or the one who killed my friend.

           I circled the camp, made my way closer to a tent. I did not hear anything, but there was a light inside. I used the dagger to open a small hole, just big enough to see through. As I peeked in, I saw the female lying naked on a small bed. At the foot of the bed, I saw my chest. I withdrew from my spy-hole to contemplate my next move. As I thought it over I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. The world quickly started to fade as my eyes felt heavy and the ground rushed up to meet me.

           When I finally awoke the world felt... different somehow. The air was lighter, it felt less oppressive. As my eyes opened I noticed that everything seemed sharper. The gloom and shadows of my home were nowhere to be seen. It hurt my eyes at first but they adjusted quickly enough. I found that I could not move. My hands were stuck, raised above my head, my back pressed against a wall of stone, and my feet pulled tight below me with irons around my ankles.

           The female drow approached me from across the room speaking in the strange language of theirs. A male voice came from a corner of the room I could not see. The female poked my chest with a delicate, yet strong, finger and continued to speak. She smiled. Took a step back, and spoke again. This time I understood. "You are a curious specimen. I simply must find out what makes your skin so intriguing."The smile she wore took on a vicious appearance as she stepped closer and began her work of discovering just that.

           At first, the pain was too much for me to bear. I awoke some time later with the female chanting over me and the pain subsiding. The relief did not last long as I recovered quickly under her magic only to be subjected to the torture again and again. Eventually my mind gave up any hope of surviving. The pain never lessened, as the healing magicks brought my skin back to the same softness at which it started. The only good thing to come of my time in that room, was my understanding of the drow language as the female and male continued to discuss my existence.

           They treated me as a toy and used me for their experiments. As time progressed my mind closed off the pain. I felt numb to all. It was hard to believe a world where colors and light seemed so vibrant and sharp could make me feel, inside, what my home felt like outside. Gloomy and dark, as though none of it were real. Every day for what seemed like forever since I woke up, it was the same pain as I was pealed, so the female could examine fresh flesh. And every night the chanting that brought temporary relief and sleep.

           Then the day came when something changed. The female came in, just like usual, but instead of approaching with knives she sat across the room. She watched me for a time as I hung in my chains. Then her male arrived. He was carrying my armor from that night, so long ago, and my dagger. I felt no joy at this, as it was not the first time they teased me with something to try and elicit hope back into my eyes just to crush it again.

           "I have learned everything I can from you in this room little one. So, I have decided to observe you in a bit more open arena." Her lips curved up in a cruel smile at this last word. "Starting tonight you will sleep in a room all your own, you will regain your strength in whatever way you can, and in a fortnight you will be placed in the arena with a challenge. If you manage to overcome this challenge perhaps you will make your way up the ranks to one day become a worthy slave."

           As the day approached, I acclimated myself to my new surroundings. A small room with a solid metal door and a small grate through which food and water was slid every now and then. The shadows in my room were cool and welcoming. I stayed in them as much as I could. The guards panicked at first and stormed my cell when they couldn't see me. I slipped by them as they scoured the room and the halls outside. They were lucky I didn't get to keep my knife.

            I had no idea where I was going and didn't get far. I came upon a gate beyond which I saw a large area ringed with torches and above those were dozens of drow. As I followed where they were all looking I saw drow but with light skin and golden hair, swinging a sword at a squat yet powerful looking man who was wielding a wicked looking axe. I stood and watched as they battled. The rhythmic and flowing quality of the light skinned drow and the blunt and forceful movements of the shorter man. The ring of steel on steel. And finally the howl of pain as the sword found its mark in the shorter mans chest. The light skinned drow grunted with the effort of forcing his blade through the short man's body.

           "That's two, he has won now. You are to be his next fight." I must have dropped my guard when I was watching the fight. "That's twice now I've caught you off your guard. You will need to get better at that if you want to survive." It was the male that was always with the female, the one who killed my friend. Barely seemed to matter anymore.

           "Come back to your room now little one. You have to prepare." He led me back to my room and reminded the guards to keep my door closed. Or he would see them in the Arena next. I didn't get another chance to escape.

           The day of my fight arrived. Before being led to the arena my torturer female, also known as Mistress Luatha, came to my room and spoke to me while her male, Telor, stood nearby. "I have high hopes for you today my pet. Try not to let me down." As she proceeded to describe the situation ahead of me and talk to me about using my strengths, I found myself caught by the sight of a ring on one of her fingers. It was gold with a large diamond set in it. As the diamond caught the light from a torch and Luatha swung her arm, I was reminded of the day before my life became a nightmare, playing catch with my friend using the jewels as nothing more than toys.

           As Luatha finished talking, she looked at me as though expecting something. Thinking quickly, I muttered "Yes, my mistress." She seemed pleased by this and turned to leave. She didn't even seem to notice the ring was missing. I stashed it quickly under my pillow, figuring I could find a more permanent place for it when the fight was over. If I made it back to my cell.

           They gave me my dagger before sending me into the arena. I looked around at all the drow watching from above and nearly forgot why I was there. Luckily it hit me before the sword did, and I managed to duck out of the way as the sword dug into the ground where I stood previously. The light skinned drow sneered at me as he raised his sword for another swing. I back tracked nearly to the wall as he charged forward with a snarl.

           It continued like this for a while. Him swinging and me dodging around the arena. He didn't seem to get tired. Then again, he probably had more than a fortnight to work on his strength. I was beginning to slow down and by the look in his eyes, he saw it too. He swung low and when I dodged he brought his sword back with lightning speed slashing me across the shoulder. The pain was almost like it woke me up. Took me back to the days with Luatha. Being skinned alive every day. Only, now, I could do something about it. I grabbed the shadows in the arena and wrapped them around myself as I was taught back home. I moved away from the man with the sword as I kept the shadows wrapped around my body.

           He blinked as though unsure of what just happened. He approached where I had stood before and swung. Missing me horribly. I smiled to myself as I studied this person trying to kill me. I continued to circle him the shadows as my shield, stepping softly so I didn't alert him to my location. Thinking back on those long days of torture I remember the spots that hurt the most when Luatha stuck her knives in, and approximated the same location on him. Readying my dagger, I approached the light skinned drow and struck at the most vital spot I could reach.

           His eyes widened as my dagger struck home. His limbs went limp, and his sword fell to the ground. The silence in the arena was wonderful. All of the drow had watched the first half of the fight certain of my death. It seems the light skinned one's surprise was shared with the crowd. All except for Mistress Luatha and her male. Their smiles at my victory felt like nails in my soul.

           Over the next few months I continued to train and to fight and to win. Luatha eventually figured out what happened to her ring but allowed me to keep it as a reward for my victories. I managed to gather other bits and pieces of shiny things from the foes they continued to place in the ring with me. I started using some of them to practice the last skill my friend taught me before his death. I scratched at the lock to my door and every now and then the guards would check, but they never found anything when tossing my cell.

           Eventually, I heard a click while practicing on my door. The guards did not. Just like they did not find the extra dagger I had managed to hide on my person after taking it off my opponent. I did not think myself ready for this confrontation yet, so I continued to practice my lock picking and managed to relock my door before they realized it was unlocked. Now all I had to do was wait for the right moment.

           I continued to lock and unlock my door to sharpen my skill. I continued to fight my battles and continued to win. Mistress Luatha continued to be pleased and eventually took me on a walk to show me off to her competitors. I did what I could to remember the layout of the halls we walked. If I was ever to escape, I needed to learn the way. Luatha used me at the doors to her estate as a show to her guests of her strength and my loyalty. I could feel the eyes watching me, ready to stop me if I made a move toward anything resembling the shadows.

            I stood quietly and nodded to each of her guests as they entered. I saw their jewels and gems shining in the light. I could see now that we were somewhere there was no sky. The only lights to be seen were fire or magic. One of the guests caught my eye as he climbed out of a carriage. I had seen his kind in the arena and had learned they were called humans. This one wore robes of red and black. With a silver pendant of strange design hung around his neck.

           I stared at him as he walked through the doors and he stared back. He looked at me, the way Luatha looked when I first woke up in that room. It was curiosity. It made me twitch. I wanted to kill him before he could peel me the way she did. After the last of the guests arrived I was led inside and the eyes continued to follow me. I walked through the crowds with a chaperon of a couple of guards, and always the eyes.

           I spent most of the party listening to whatever chatter I could hear. Picking up random bits and pieces that sparkled in the lights. Careful not to pick up anything that would get me beat excessively. After the party is when I finally noticed that my guard had almost doubled sometime during the night. Telor was among them, which was incredibly rare. He never left Luatha's side. Something must have happened.

           I started paying more attention as I was led back to my cell. I saw more guards at each of the cross ways. The strangeness was complete when they led me past my cell and to another which was almost unguarded. It felt strange. The tension in the air. Not a word was spoken by the guards around me, but their hands twitched with that silent language of theirs. Their eyes twitched down halls and back behind us. Even as they led me to a cell, that was not my own, and locked me in, their nerves seemed strained.

           I sat in the dark of my new room and checked over what little I had felt good gathering from the crowd above. It was paltry compared to what was stashed in my room. But I did manage to retrieve something that would work for picking the lock to get out. A long hair needle, silver plated, but sturdy. Not sure which of the guest it came off, and it didn't really matter. None of them deserved any of their wealth.

           The noise was barely perceptible. A soft thump. I looked out of the grate in the door, using a silver spoon as a mirror to see down the hall. It was empty. No guards, no sounds of patrols, not even the screams of the torture rooms. My curiosity peeked and I decided to take a look. Besides, I couldn't stand being away from my collection.

           It was a different lock but similar enough to mine to make it easy pickings. It didn't take me a minute. With a smile on my face and the shadows as my cloak, I took a step out into the hall and locked the door behind me. I followed the hall to my room and peeked around the corner. Standing out front were my usual guards.  They seemed different though. More solid, more statuesque. I approached slowly. thinking about how I could get them to move so I could get into my room.

           As I got closer I realized why they looked different. Their skin had been turned to stone. Instead of their usual dark skin, there was only stone carved with their features. I took the opportunity and found the key on one of them, figured it would be nice and easy compared to picking the locks with hair pins. He had several other keys too, and even though I didn't know what doors they opened, I took them as well. Just behind the statue guards, I found my door. It was ajar slightly. I felt nervous.  

           I slipped through the door without touching it, keeping the shadows tight around my body. What I saw inside was strange yet wonderful. Telor sat on my bed clutching his arm. His sword sat across his lap and on the floor at his feet was the body of something. Small and winged yet grotesque, with a sharp looking tail. "Damned wizard, sending an Imp. He just doesn't know who he's dealing with here." Telor grimaced from the pain of his wound. "Poisonous little bastard almost got me." I reached the hiding place for my stash and reached inside for my dagger. Moving quietly and softly. Telor must have been exhausted. He is the only one that could usually see me in the shadows.

           After he caught his breath, Telor proceeded to get up and leave my room. I followed him down the hall. He moved slowly, his usual grace dulled by the pain from his wounds. After a while we came upon another set of guards these ones turned to statues as well. Telor seemed more interested in the pile of dust at their feet though. He grimaced and a new look crossed his face. If I had known better I may have called it fear.

           As Telor moved further down the hall, I continued to tail him at a distance. It wouldn't do to get caught by him now. I had cleared much of my stash thinking to simply sneak out of this hell, after I finished Telor off, but my curiosity had the better of me. I wanted to see what, or possibly who, could do this to my captors. I had watched before as magic seemed to break against them with no effect, like wind against rocks. And Telor, I watched him face down demons in the arena, to please Mistress Luatha. To see him scared was exciting and terrifying.

           As we continued to travel into a part of the building that I have never seen before, I started hearing noises. At first I thought it was talking, but as we got closer, it turned into chanting. It was almost an argument. Two voices, each trying to talk over the other, each trying to finish first. I barely noticed Telor moving faster. The voices got louder as he rushed down the hall.

           I moved faster. Not worried that Telor would see me, he was too distracted by what was ahead. Of the beautifully carved wooden doors ahead of us, one hung from a single hinge while the other lay inside the room. Both doors seemed scorched, and the guards outside it were nothing more than fried meat. A flash of light from within marked an end to voice's chanting only for it to pick up again. The chanting and flashing grew panicked and heated. The tempo continued to increase, and the effort in one voice showed exhaustion.

           Telor reached the door and rushed through, yelling as he went straight for whatever he saw with his sword raised. I don't know if the distraction worked but one of the chanting voices stopped for an instant. Followed by a flash of green light. A scream, female, and as I rounded the corner I found it to be Luatha. She stared with horror at a pile of dust near the door as a slight glow faded from it. Strangely, Telor was nowhere to be seen.

           "Well, that was unfortunate. I suppose him being here means my minion is dead," The red and black robed man stated with a smirk. Sweat beaded on his bald head, and his breathing was labored. Mistress Luatha seemed worse off though. Her robes were tattered and burned slightly. Her hair disheveled and slick with her own sweat. Her face was twisted in horror as she continued to stare at the pile of dust. "Guess I will have to summon another." A slight laugh marked his amusement. "Maybe you can do the same Luatha."

           Luatha's horror turned to rage as she trained her gaze back on the man. She smiled wickedly as she reached for a small jewel hung at her wrist. The jewel seemed to shine almost hopeful for her touch. "Maybe you are right Thomas. Maybe it is time for a new minion."

           The man, Thomas, looked curiously at the jewel for a moment. Then, as recognition dawned, his smug face distorted into horror even worse than Luatha's had been. He cast his magic wildly, trying desperately to stop her from whatever she was attempting. His spells died as they touched her. Her eyes closed as she pulled the now jet black jewel free and simply crushed it between her fingers.

           It was like a piece of my home came into being. A being of pure shadow appeared even as the light in the room faded into darkness. I was more at home than I had been in over a year. My eyes quickly focused to the shadows they knew well. The shadow elemental was huge. It reacted as though released from bondage. Thomas stared fearfully into the darkness, Human eyes are pathetic. He couldn't see the death that was reaching out for him. Luatha dropped to the ground. I couldn't tell if she died or just passed out. It didn't seem to matter at the moment.

           The shadow man smacked Thomas with a tendril of shadowy smoke. He cried out from the shocking cold and pain. He fumbled with something in his pocket drawing out a small crystal. Thomas tossed the pearlescent item to the floor. Suddenly, a light brighter than any I had ever seen before flared throughout the room. The shadows that protected me disappeared the same as those surrounding the elemental. I blinked and stumbled, dazed by the sudden flash. The elemental reacted similarly. Thomas looked even more fearfully upon the thing in front of him. His eyes bright with recognition and sparkling with fear.

            He stepped back a few feet, and began chanting while the shadow and myself adjusted to the light. A tendril of smoke stuff reached out from the elemental and struck Thomas again, nearly bringing him to his knees from the pain. He managed to keep chanting and moving his hands. As the light started to fade back to normal for the room, Thomas finished his chanting, I wrapped myself in the protection of the shadows once again, and the tendrils from the elemental reached in to finish off the human. Just as I thought it would kill him for sure, the elemental simply vanished.

           "That was close. Desperate were we? Luatha?" Thomas shivered, the cold from the shadow elementals touch still hanging with him. He started shuffling toward her motionless body. "I hope you aren't dead, it would make searching for what I want so much more time consuming." He approached her warily, drawing a dagger from his robes. A prod from his foot brought a groan from Luatha. Thomas turned her over and looked her over. He was disappointed by what he saw. She was alive, but she wasn't going to be answering any questions anytime soon. "I guess it would just be safer to kill you now."

           I watched as he raised his knife, nothing but joy on his face. It reminded me of something. I step closer. Close enough to touch the man who had single-handedly ended my servitude in this house. I watched Thomas' eyes and realized what they reminded me of. The moment before my old friend was killed by Telor. Thomas' eyes looked as evil as Telor's. I stared, as Luatha's final moment descended toward her chest and she was replaced by my teacher. I did not hesitate. I did not draw back from fear. I simply plunged my dagger into the back of Thomas's neck. He dropped his blade as his body sagged. His last breath bubbled around the tip of my dagger as it protruded from his throat.

           I had done it. I had saved my teacher. In truth Luatha was my teacher. She taught me about pain, and my strength. I pulled my dagger out and wiped the blade on Thomas' robes. I studied him for a time. His lifeless form lay beside Luatha's unconscious one. As Her breathing continued I started to hear noises from the hall outside. I did not want to go back to my cell. I wanted to be free. I grabbed a bag from beside Luatha's bed, and tossed a few things that seemed worth taking in. I took a last look at my second teacher, turned and wrapping shadows around myself walked out of the room, past new guards hurrying in, through rooms filled with more guards searching everywhere for whatever threat remained, and finally out into the cavern that was the furthest I ever remembered being from my cell. I continued forward, not looking back, leaving the past where it belonged.