Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Nov 29, 2011 19:45:08 GMT -6
The village was founded as most were back then, at the crossing of a couple of goat trails. With water nearby and woodlands not too far away, it was the ideal place to stop hauling your cart and set up camp for the night. That one night turned into weeks and months as more and more travelers decided "Yeah,this looks like a good place to stop". Soon farms began to appear and a small inn took the place of that first cart to arrive. One day, a young man was out hunting in the woods, when he discovered something that had yet to be seen by anyone else. A small farm,(more like a hut and garden),where there shouldn't be one. Suddenly, an old man appeared out of the doorway, shaking his grain flail he yelled at young man, "HEY YOU,GET OFF MY LAWN"! Startled, the young hunter fled back to the village as if he had a pack of wolves on his heels. Arriving back at the village the young man ran into the inn and told the people there about what he found. "There's an old man living in the woods", he exclaimed. "Threatened to bash my head in,he did". Alarmed that there was a crazy old man living in the woods, the patrons of the inn grabbed their meager weapons while the innkeeper shouldered a spear he had hanging over the fireplace mantle. They then preceded to follow the young man back into the forest. They carefully retraced his path to the farm he had discovered. When they got within a few hundred feet of the place,the innkeep motioned for the others to stay back and preceded on alone. As he approached the dwelling he started to hear a voice coming from inside. ".......always come back, never fails"."No escaping it, always happens,always coming back". The voice stopped suddenly then called out in a louder tone,"You might as well quite trying to sneak around out there and come in,your going to anyway". Surprised at being discovered so easily,the innkeeper stepped through the doorway and looked at his surroundings. The inside of the hut seemed normal enough with all the usual items found inside ones home. There was a ladder leading up to a small loft that presumably held the bed as none was visible on the ground floor. Along with the normal stuff,the place was crammed with box's and crates filled with items that would take years for someone to accumulate. Shelves lining the walls were sagging from the weight they tried to hold and blankets covered mounds of stuff leaving no clue as to what might be underneath. "Well,are you gonna stand there all day and sight see or are you gonna tell me what your doing here"?,the voice said. Spinning around the innkeep see's an old man sitting at a table in the corner of the room, by the fireplace. He's situated just so the light doesn't reach him making it obvious why he wasn't spotted until he spoke. "Again I'll ask you,What do you want"? I came here",replied the innkeep,"along with some others waiting outside, because you threatened one of our hunters"."That and no-one in the village has ever seen this place before". "Who are you, and from whence do you come"? The old man sighed as he leaned forward and said,"I could ask you the same thing"."My name? that doesn't matter anymore,call me whatever you want,I dont care.As far as where I'm from, look at me and I say a long time ago, the place doesn't matter either. All I want is a place to keep my stuff a little ground to provide what I need, and for people to quit walking on my lawn, use the stones that's what their for". Glancing outside the innkeep saw that there was indeed a stone path that lead out of the house. "I'll make sure everyone knows to use them next time",he responded,"But why are you here"? " Cause I live here that's why, and I've been here longer than that village of yours has been"."Now go away, it's late and I want my supper". The innkeep was taken aback by the request and said " No need to be rude"."We will go and leave you to your meal old man, but remember that you are welcome in my inn whenever you wish to visit our village". "Maybe I will, but not tonight, now git", he responded. With that command the innkeep hastily left to rejoin his group. Careful to use the stone path, he lead his party back to the village,telling them about the strange old geezer as they went.
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Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Nov 30, 2011 16:56:25 GMT -6
Chapter 2 Visitors... Again
It was raining, not a light drizzle that could be ignored, or a heavy downpour that forces a person to bring their dog inside, but a constant falling of wet misery for anyone unlucky enough to be caught out in it. The young hunter was that unlucky soul walking through the woods, cursing the job he had been given, while trying (unsuccessfully) to keep the water out of his eyes. " Why do I have to do this"?, he thought to himself. "Why not go himself? Yes, he has to watch the inn but I could have done that for him". "It's not like he's gonna get a lot of new business today anyway". "I could have watched it and poured the drinks for anyone stupid enough to come through town". Not watching were he was going, he stepped onto a muddy patch on the ground. " Oh shit"!,he exclaimed as he sank halfway up to his knee. Barely managing to stay upright by grabbing onto nearby branch, the young man pulled his foot free with a wet sucking sound, giving voice to the grounds displeasure at releasing it's prize. "Great, Just elfing great, first he gives me this stupid job on the worst day of the year, and now the very grounds trying to eat me, I can't wait to see what happens next". "Uhmm.. maybe I can wait after all", the young man finishes as he looked around nervously into the surrounding trees. With that, he increases his pace, hoping to get to his destination before getting mauled by some unspeakable forest nightmare. In a relatively short time,(as these things go ),the young hunter reached his destination. The small house deep in the forest accompanied by a garden. Being careful to use the stone pathway, he approached it calling out, "Hey Old Man are you here"? "Where else would I be on a day like this, traipsing around the woods like some fool"?,came the voice of the person living inside. "Get in here and tell me why your out on a day that would make ducks look for shelter". Grateful to get out of the rain the young man stepped through the doorway into the house. "DOORMAT"!, yelled the old man. Startled the hunter stopped where he was and looked at the old man in confusion, "Huh", was all he could think to say. The old man yelled at him again,"DOORMAT, use the doormat, I don't want you tracking mud all over my floor, and close the door were you born in a barn"? "Uhm.. isn't everyone"?, the young man said sheepishly as he tried to wipe the mud from his feet. Turning back to the kettle hanging in the fireplace the old man said, "Around here? probably". "Well Dhormat, what brings you to my humble shack in this lovely weather? Can't be your interested in my shining personality". " My names not Dhormat and Jon sent me". "He want's to talk to you about something dealing with the village". "Jon"?, "Jon who"?. "I don't know any Jon's do I"?, he muttered to himself as he started to ladle the contents of the cook pot into a couple of bowls. "Jon Iron, the inn keep,that's what people call him,he's the one that sent me". " Said to have you come to some village meeting he's having". "Well now, What makes him think I'm interested in a village meeting"?, replied the old man. I don't live in the village and I was doing just fine till you all started showing up". "Don't know what it's all about, but he said that if you were reluctant to come I was to tell you that your drinks are on him during the meeting", Dhormat responded between mouthfuls of stew. "Free drinks huh"?, "I guess I could find out what all the fuss is about, as long as there's free drinks". The old man turned back to the kettle and started helping himself to a second bowl. "You want anymore of this ratstew before I take it off the fire and we go" ? "Uhm..ratstew"?, Dhormat said quietly. With his back still to him the old man said, "Yeah,I got beef rats living all around here, though their really some kind of small hairy pig, they look like rats to me". The blast of wet air and loud heaving sounds from outside told the old geezer that young Dhormat hadn't heard anything after the first word.
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Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Feb 17, 2012 20:49:40 GMT -6
Chapter 3. Revelations
Jon Iron approached the cottage slowly, not knowing what to expect. He had sent a
young man out this way yesterday to invite the old geezer to a town meeting. the
meeting had gone off without a hitch but both the young and old man hadn't shown up.
A quick check of the younger mans hut reveled that he had not returned during the
night, so the worried innkeeper had set out for the older man's farm after feeding
the boys pet goat, Anna Mae. There was a light in the window and smoke was coming from the chimney. This
showed Jon that the hut had occupants, at least it had within the last several
hours. As he drew closer, his nostrils were assaulted with the sour sweet smell of
someone having gotten sick recently. "That's why the boy didn't return", Jon thought
to himself, "The old man's sick and the boy's taking care of him". Feeling less
apprehensive, Jon walked confidently up to the door and knocked. "Door's open", came
the voice from inside. Jon hesitated a second as he realized that the owner of the
voice was the same as the owner of the farm. "Morning Geezer" said Jon as he entered wiping his feet. "I was wondering"....'I
reckoned you were gonna ask about the boy", interrupted the old man,"and after what
I'm gonna tell you, you'll have quite a few more questions". "What do you mean"?
asked Jon. "Sit down and let me ask you something"." can you read any of this"?,he
said pushing a brown clay jug toward the innkeeper. As Jon picked up the jug he
noticed strange runes carved on the surface,"No" he thought to himself,"their
floating.Wait that's not possible,their changing,twisting somehow". He started to
feel a tight hand clutching his stomach and a deep dread filling his head. 'Easy there, mister',Geezer said gently as he removed the jug from the innkeepers
loosening grasp."Well, could you read any of it"? "No", Jon answered as the strange
feelings started to leave him,"What is that"? Ignoring the question, Geezer opened a
small black box,"You probably don't know what this is either,do you"? Inside was an
ornate golden amulet set with large garnet that glowed with a blood red light. "My
eyes are playing tricks with me", said Jon,"it looks like it's pulsing". "It is"said
Geezer",but do you know what either of those things are"? Watching Geezer replace
the lid on the box and placing it next to himself Jon answered that he didn't know
what the items where. "I'm not surprised", Geezer said, "I don't think that there
are many left who would recognize either of those things". The old man sat looking
at Jon in a very unnerving way. Finally Geezer seemed to reach a decision and said,"Jon,I'm gonna tell you a
story. It's gonna answer some of the questions you've asked me in the past and
possably some that you have now. I'm not a trusting person, so this is very
difficult and I would appreciate it if you let me finish before asking questions,do
you understand"? Yes,but"..."Good" said the old man."What I have to tell you will
defiantly change the way you think and if there are any problems I want to know
right away instead of you letting them fester inside of you, can you promise to be
honest with me when I'm done"? "Yeah, I'll be honest with you old man,your cranky
but I like you anyway". "We'll see if you still feel the same way when I'm
done",Geezer said as he handed a bottle of wine to the innkeeper.Pulling the cork on
a second one for himself the old man began....
Long ago there was a beautiful city located on a hill. The hill was on a large
island completely surrounded by the ocean. Now when I said a beautiful city you
might imagine Icehome to the far north. As nice as a place youmight think that is,
it's nothing compared to this city. It would be like saying that a goats ass is as
beautiful as a rose without ever having seen a flower. Elves came to the city fot
inspiration and Dwarves wept at the sight of the stonework. The people of the island had long ago concord their environment with a mix of
magic and something called science. This thing called science was similar to magic,
but instead of arcane energy, it was powered by a rare ore found only inside the
hill. No where else in the world had this ore and it was speculated that it had
fallen from the sky at the dawn of time. The ore itself was highly energized in that
it radiated power. Most of the machines on the island received their energy right
out of the air and seldom was any actual ore mined. No machines or any of the ore
that powered them was ever allowed to leave the island, in fear that it would
disrupt the political balance of the rest of the world. Imagine what would have
happened if any of the barbarian race's had ever gotten ahold of a cart that moved
without horses pulling it, or being able to smite an enemy from miles away! The people of the island lived and died, loved and lost, like anyone else in the
world. The labor saving machines allowed them to spend more time in the pursuit of
more radical thinking, artists so skilled that today's artist would give up,knowing
that they could never match the beauty before them. Poets and story tellers that
would make today's bards cry and vow to never speak again. A person could pursue any
occupation they wanted to as there was no restrictions because of their sex. Some of
the best thinkers were women as a matter of fact. There was a standing army to help keep the peace, and to patrol the beaches. The
only real hazards on the island were the occasional earthquake and attacks by giant
crabs that lived in the mud off the coast. The crabs were the only known life-form
affected by the ore's radiating power, causing them to grow to gargantuan size. The
earthquakes happened, it was thought, by the ore itself being unstable, but not
everyone believed this to be true.
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Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Feb 18, 2012 7:13:33 GMT -6
Of the thousands of people living in the city, my story now narrow's down to just
two of them,(well three actually, but I'll get to that in a moment). One of them was
a "scientist" for lack of a better word, and the other was a member of the guard.
They had one child. When a child is born a lifestone was attuned to them. This stone allowed the
parents to monitor the child's health by it's glow and brilliance, while the
pulsations mirrored the heart rate indicating their state of mind. When the child
reached adulthood their amulet was given to them, usually with some kind of
ceremony. When an adult married, the couple would exchange lifestones as a sign of
commitment to each others health and well being. When a person died, their lifestone
would go dark. Now the scientist had been working on a project to extend ones life, and to heal
injury's,no matter how serious.As a personal side project she correlated information
on the strength and frequency of the earthquakes that plagued the island.She was
assisted by a dwarven wizard by the name of Arostol.He had been outcast from his
clan on the main continent,because wizardry was generally frowned upon in dwarven
society . The guard was on his way home after being relived of duty from his shift. The
quakes had been lasting longer although no substantial damage had been reported. He
was curious what his wife had to say on the matter and was looking forward to a
little rest. He was only a couple of streets away when another quake hit. This one was
stronger than any other had been, and knocked him to the ground. As he struggled to
his feet with the roar of noise around him, he couldn't help notice that some of the
buildings around him were actually starting to break apart. Confusion and panic was growing amongst the population as a quake had never been
so strong or lasted as long. Trying to maintain his balance, the guard looked around
and saw that while there was considerable damage, there didn't seem to be any
serious injury's. He started to tell the people nearby to follow the set procedures
during a time like this, when once again he was thrown to the ground as the very
earth seemed to redouble it's attempt to shake itself apart. As he climbed to his feet for the second time in five minuets,there was a flash
of heat from the broach pinned to his cloak. This could only mean that his wife,
(it's her amulet remember?),had been injured. Looking down in horror he saw black
tendrils of death slowly winding themselves around her lifestone. Ignoring the cries
of panic and the shaking ground he started running towards his home. How many times he almost fell, we will never know,for it was all a blur. Somehow
after what seemed like eternity,(although it was only moments),he reached his front
door.Running upstairs to where his wife worked in her private lab, he barely noticed
the fallen statuary and crumbling walls. Bursting through the doorway he was
horrified to see the chaos that was her once pristine work area. Anything that
wasn't part of the actual structure of the place looked as if shaken inside a snow
globe. Cabinets and columns lay everywhere and pinned under a fallen support column
was his wife. A quick glance at her lifestone showed that she was still alive,but
only just barely.
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Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Mar 17, 2012 9:40:48 GMT -6
As he hurried to her side in the desperate hope that he might move the offending column, his wife's eye's flickered open. A
slight smile played across-ed her lips as she said in a whisper barely heard over the noise of objects that were still falling,
"J'lif, I knew you would come. Save your strength for you will need it, and my fate is confirmed by my stone. There is no pain so
do not fret, for I can go peaceably now that you are here". "You don't have",the man started but was interrupted as his wife
continued, "Yes I do",she said,"but I must know that the two of you are safe. "Drink this", she weakly put a small vial in his
hand. Trusting his mate the man downed the bitter fluid inside, trying not to notice the unnatural taste sliding down his
throat.Watching him drink the potion, she smiled once again and said," Thank you for that, now you will live,hurry and save our
son for the island doesn't have much longer.The ore is shifting and I fear that the island is doomed because of it. "Take your
stone ,she said trying to unclasp it,"remember me and save our....... Her voice grew still as the last of the light faded from her lifestone leaving behind a dull black rock. Kneeling next to her
lifeless body, he tipped his head back and shouted his despair to the gods. "Enough of that", yelled a gruff voice from the
adjoining room. "If you wish to respect her wish's get in here, I can't hold much longer". Stumbling to his feet, J'lif
absentmindedly put the object his wife had given him into a pocket and entered the day nursery. "Hurry up man", shouted Arostol.
"The earthen jug on my left hip, take it, pour it over your boy, soak him in it". J'lif dashed over to the dwarf, barely noticing
that the room was eerily still. The dwarf stood facing the central support pillar in the room, his arms wrapped around it as far
as he could reach. As J'lif poured the liquid inside the jug over his sleeping son, (amazing isn't it how some people can sleep
through anything ?), Arostol called out, " My magics are strong like the stones from which it comes, but I have limits". "That
elixir will preserve him as stone like in that he won't age or come to serious harm until you apply the antidote. You must take it
also to revive him. It's on.... Before he could finish the room shook with such force that the sturdy wizard lost his hold on the pillar for a split second.
That's all that was needed, for as soon as his hands left the pillar, a slab of stone, easily weighing several hundred pounds fell
from the ceiling. Looking in horror at where the dwarf once stood, J'lif watched as a thin trickle of blood started to ooze out from underneath
the stone. He was shaken, ( literally ), from his shock as another slab fell from the ceiling. The relative stillness of the room,
(compared to the rest of the city ), was broken by the death of the dwarf, and everything in the room was trying to catch up to
the destruction going on outside. Wrapping his still son in a blanket, J'lif turned toward the doorway, only to watch as rubble filled it from the next room.
glancing around in growing desperation, he spotted a window. Praying that there was something soft to land on, he jumped through
the second story window. The good's must have been listening, for at that moment a runaway vegetable cart was passing by. Holding his son with one arm
and trying to clear his vision, J'lif saw that the automatic controls were going crazy.Smashing the control panel in mad
determination, all he managed to do was unlock the steering mechanism, but the speed control seemed to be frozen in place.
Steering one handed, J'lif maneuvered the speeding cart towards the shoreline, knowing that they had to get off the island before
it was too late. The next few minuets were a blur as the cart careened off of fallen statuary, and over uneven paving stones.The sickening
crunch of the occasional fallen body made J'lif hope that whoever it was had already passed from the land of the living, because
there was noway that he could stop and offer aid to the victim. Reaching the dock's, J'lif aimed for the pier, hoping that his momentum would carry them out far enough into the bay that they
could make their escape. It was at this point that fate decided to once again play a part in the tragedy of the island, and as the
earth continued to shake, a section of the ocean floor raised itself up several feet. This caused the pier's end to raise up so
that it acted as a ramp sending the cart several hundred feet into the bay. Seeing that they would hit the water with more force
than before, J'lif wrapped both arms around his son and tried to lay at the bottom of the cart. As they hit the unforgiving water,
he felt a white hot flash of pain in his leg before hitting his head and everything went black.
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Geezer
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Post by Geezer on Mar 18, 2012 9:02:14 GMT -6
How long J'lif remained unconscious he would never know. Suffice to say that he did not see the final moments of his island home
as the top of the hill exploded with a shower of dirt and rock. Nor did he see the watery geyser shoot up from the crater where
the hill used to be. He did not see that the same water rush down upon the city, washing everything away with it . He did not see
the island itself sink into the ocean until nothing remained, or the glaring white flash of light followed by a huge ring of water
racing away from the spot it had just tried to fill. When he did finally awake, the first thing that he was aware of was a dull throbbing ache in his leg. With a start he recalled
everything that had been happening and looked around frantically for his son.There, half buried under what vegetables remand in
the cart was his son. J'lif uncovered the boy, checking if he was injured in any way. The child lay upon the blanket, their were
no visible marks on him that J'lif could see, but he was so still that panic started to work on the father. The boy didn't seem to
be harmed, for there were marks on him, but he wasn't breathing. Desperately, J'lif dug into the pouch at his side and brought
out the amulet his wife had given him. Opening his hand he saw that she had actually given him two lifestones. One was his son's
and the reassuring glow of life calmed the father until he noticed that there was no pulse to it. This was unheard of, for
everyone had a stone that pulsed to show their state of mind, but this one seemed to be broken. The energy that powered the stones
were magical in nature, not powered by the fabled ore. The stone in his hand indicated that his son was alive but almost "frozen
in time" as it were. J'lif then recalled the hurried words of the dwarf, "It will preserve him as stone like, in that he won't age". Could the boy
truly be frozen in time, never aging? There was no other explanation that he could think of. If this were true, then the rest of
it would be as well, "That he will not come to serious harm". Not willing to test this statement, J'lif gently covered his son up
and put the lifestone back into his pouch before inspecting the other stone. This would be his as he was still wearing the inert
black amulet that once belonged to his wife. Turning it over, he was horrified to see that his stone was black. Blacker than the other one actually, but at the same time it
was glowing and pulsating, as a normal red stone would do. On top of that , entwining itself around and through the blackness were
strange green threads of eldrich energy's. Suddenly remembering the flash of pain before blacking out, J'lif pulled his trouser
leg up and inspected the place where his leg was still throbbing. There was a large scar there, still scabbed over with the signs
of recent healing. Acting on instinct, he drew his dagger and sliced his thumb. The reaction from his lifestone was instant as the threads of
green flared for a moment and he watched in amazement as the cut knit itself back together. "so," he thought to himself, "Her
research worked and I can heal.If only she had enough time to make enough to save herself as well. J'lif sighed with regret at what could never be and said out loud to his unresponsive son, "Well little W'fel, if we're gonna
get you back to normal, we better get off this ocean". With that ,J'lif started to paddle the vegetable cart made raft, not
knowing where they were going, just knowing that it had to be better than here.
Geezer stopped his narrative and looked up at the stunned innkeeper. "It was a long time on that water and even longer reaching
the new kingdom of Icehome.In the course of that time a huge favor was bestode upon that man, and the ruling family promised to
care for the inert boy and to raise him if his condition ever changed". " The amulet I showed you came back to life 8 days ago". " I told you this story to show that there is hope for young Dhormat". " Dhormat"?, asked Jon Iron as he tryed to come to terms
with what Geezer had been telling him. " Yeah,I don't know his name and he wouldn't wipe his feet last night". "But where is he
now"?, asked Jon. "Well, after he heard what he was eating, he ended up getting pretty sick. When he came back in I told him to
grab something off the shelf to rinse out his mouth. I didn't think he would reach all the way to the farthest corner and grab the
jug that he did. "He's standing right there behind the door". Jon turned, and sure enough there stood the missing young hunter, arm raised and
head tipped back as if to take a drink from a flask or jug. A look of surprise was frozen on his face.
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