In a serene mountain glade ...

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Cleasor
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Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:18 am
Location: Colorado MST

In a serene mountain glade ...

Post by Cleasor »

Cornelius could not believe his fortune. Somehow, he has received a day off from the mines. While that has never occurred before, here he is in a serene mountain glade. The weather is warm, sunny, with a gentle breeze. The mountains are beautiful, holding a blanket of snow upon their highest reaches. The sound of clear, running water mixed with song birds is in his ears. The scent of mountain grasses and evergreens is on his nose. His beautiful Gisela is sitting near him on a blanket, laughing and smiling. He lifts his water flask and notes that it’s empty. Speaking kindly in their LLorkhan dialect of the Northern language, he tells Gisela he will return soon. He’ll fetch water from the nearby stream.

He’s at the stream’s edge and is dipping his flask into the swiftly running water. The water must be cold, as only a league away, its source is an icefield. Strange though, he doesn’t feel pain from the near-freezing water. No matter.

His peace is suddenly pierced by a scream. Gisela!

He finds himself bursting through tall willows arriving back at their picnic location. Before him is a scene of horror. Several armed men stand over Gisela’s half-naked, lifeless body. They are laughing and mocking Cornelius, saying this is what happens to outlaws.

The scene suddenly changes and Cornelius finds himself standing before an imposing figure. The person, a tall warrior wielding a warhammer in one hand while his other is a bandaged stump, glares down at him. Cornelius can hear words spoken in his native tongue, though the figure’s lips do not move. It says, “Have Thou not given thee all thy need to exact vengeance upon thy oppressors?” The figure raises the warhammer menacingly, and points it at Cornelius. It continues, “Yet, thou avert from thy task! Fighting insignificant woodland fairies. Such folly! How many more innocents must perish? Thou have one more chance, before Thou seek another!”

With a flash of light, a feeling of searing pain and a great exhalation of breath, Cornelius awakens on the cold, hard floor of the Third Circle.
"Having an adventure shows that someone is incompetent, that something has gone wrong. An adventure is interesting enough in retrospect, especially to the person who didn't have it; at the time it happens it usually constitutes an exceedingly disagreeable experience." Vilhjalmur Stefansson
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