Nym danced clumsily into the streets. "I should have brought my lute!" She feigned strumming, and began to half hum half sing.
"Hmm HMMM HMM today that you're not mine to keeeeeep.
Hmmm hmmm hu-hmmm mmm mmmm!"
"I'm usually better at remembering this paaaart! Hmmm hmmm hmmm"
"It’s only water. It’s only fire. It’s only love."
"It’s only slaughter. We’re only liars. It’s only blood."
"They’re only thoughts that I’m having - thoughts safe within my head.
You’re only crying. You’re only dying! You’re only dead."
Nym slowed her pretend lute playing, staring off into the darkness toward the docks. <"Maybe you should take this,"> she murmured in Elvish, pulling her lien collection from her pocket and handing it to Evelaen. Still staring toward the docks, she added, "I'm going to go tttthataway," and pointed the opposite direction toward the town square where the general Equinox party was underway.
Nym stretched her back before beginning to clumsily skip toward the commoner's party. She turned back to wave at Evelaen, adding, <"Goodbye, lovely human, if we both survive the night, I hope we meet again!">
<"Nay, fair half-elf, though it is early for some, for you it is far too late. You should come with me to the Lady Narath and perhaps we can sing and create merriment that will undo the filth that has been laid bare."> She said as she hooked her arms into Nym's. <"Besides, Illuvaen wouldn't want his beloved to be companionless tonight!>
Nym allowed herself to be lead for a moment, her face defeated, before she stopped walking. "I don't want to go there... it's... I..." Tears were in her eyes as she whispered, "anywhere but there."
"Fine, we'll go to the lovely in where Beranhond and I are staying. You can tell me all about Illuvaen and sing songs!" She said pulling Nym off toward the colored animal inn.
"That's a really weird name..." Nym murmured as she was pulled along. "Is it by the docks?" she asked.
--------------------------------After being pulled along by Evelaen for several minutes, Nym slowly began to realize that she was ruining more than her own evening. "The drinking is supposed to lead to forgetting, not drunken guilt," she thought, annoyed.
Nym slowed her steps, pulling them both to a stop. "You know, I don't even have by lute, so I'm not much for singing songs tonight," she said lamely, avoiding Evelaen's eyes. "I think I'll return to my own colored animal inn and you should return to the ball..." Evelaen seemed unconvinced, so Nym added, "Pipper hasn't been outside for a good hour at least, so I should do that..." She cleared her throat, adding quickly, "and stop making a mess of things." Nym looked through Evelaen. "Besides, Beranhond probably would appreciate your company."
Evelaen seemed uncertain, but Nym assured her she'd return to her own inn until the human let her go on her own way reluctantly.
Nym walked slowly along the docks toward the inn, enjoying the fuzzy feeling of the wine in her head. She leaned against a dock gate looking into the inky water below. "I wonder how many stones in my pockets would keep me from coming back up?" she thought. She shook her head as though the thought could be pushed away like an unwanted spiderweb even though she knew it couldn't. She kicked a few stones into the water and watched the surface ripple and then become still again, feeling oddly satisfied by it. Finally, feeling chilled in her lightweight dress, Nym finished her walk to the inn.
Nym opened the door sheepishly, and was greeted by the two half orc barbarian brothers she'd met the night before. "OY, ELF LADY! NICE DRESS!" Ort yelled to Nym, punching his brother Fin in the ribs. Their companion Kepio, a goliath warlock, rolled her eyes at them.
"FUCK YOU ORT, YA GIT" Fin yelled back, kicking at his brother.
"I already told you both, no fighting in here!" Tores, the Dwarven bartender yelled at the pair, her voice annoyed with their antics.
A plan began forming in Nym's head. "You need these two out of your hair?" Nym asked Tores, smiling mischievously. Tores just gave Nym a look of exasperation and rolled her eyes. To the half orcs and goliath, Nym asked, her eyes sparkling "You three want to escort me to the dance in the town square?"
"WE DON' DANCE, LADY ELF," Ort yelled.
"Some of us DO," Kepio grumbled, glaring at Ort.
"We don't have to dance!" Nym replied sassily. "We can eat and drink." She smiled, crossing her arms.
"WE LIKE THOSE THINGS GOOD, YA?" replied Fin.
"Thank you," Tores whispered, relieved. Nym winked at the bartender.
"Ok, five minutes!" Nym replied to Fin, Ort, and Kepio, running awkwardly up the stairs, stumbling a bit at the top and laughing at her drunk self. She changed, grabbed her lute and some money, and poked Pipper to see if he was awake and wanted to come too. He grumbled in annoyance, eyed Nym, and then scooted out of her reach to go back to sleep. "Fiiiine, I'll go spend the night with people twice as tall as me then. You were going to even out the heights with me, but I GUESS I can represent all the short people of Faerun myself." She smiled at the fox, scratching his ears, before she left her room.
"Alright!" she exclaimed excitedly to her enormous friends. "Let's get out of here!" Kepio seemed happy to have someone who wasn't a boorish idiot to talk to for the night, and the brothers seemed excited to eat and drink more. Nym found she had to jog to keep up with her three companions, but forgetting was worth it.
The commoner’s dance was exactly what Nym had hoped it would be and more. The town square was well-lit with a variety of lanterns and magical orbs. The center of the square was reserved for dancing, and a small, makeshift band was playing local favorites. Around the sides of the square, taverns and restaurants had set up tables and carts selling a great variety of food and drink. Seers, jugglers, and other entertainers were dispersed throughout the square. Every manner of folk made up the dense, jolly crowd of strangers. The sheer size of Nym’s companions caused the crowd to part, allowing the four easy passage. The half orc brothers quickly discovered the cheapest beer available and a no weapons fight competition to one side of the square.
ReplyDeleteKepio sighed as the watched them go. “Thaaars no telling orcs whaat they should be doing,” the goliath purred in her deep voice. Nym shrugged and giggled, having little experience with telling half orcs what to do. After a few minutes looking around the fair, Kepio found stand from a dragonborn-run tavern that used furniture oversized by human standards. Kepio sat carefully at one of their three tables, gesturing with a slight head tilt for Nym to join her. Nym clumsily pulled herself onto a large chair next to the goliath, feeling like a tiny child with her legs swinging over the edge. Kepio looked, on the other hand, like she was sitting on children’s furniture.
“Not right for either of us, then,” Nym said laughing and kicking her feet over the edge of her chair. Kepio rolled her eyes in the slow, deliberate way Nym had seen other goliaths move before. For their size, they were such a graceful species. “So where you from, Kepio?” Nym asked sipping her oversized beer.
“Mmmm the Icerimmm,” the goliath purred.
Nym whistled. “Pretty far.” Kepio nodded slowly, looking around at the crowd. She was the only goliath present at the party and so was getting the occasional surprised look or stare. “Where are your other companions tonight?”
“The humaaaans and tieffffling are having the rich paaarty.”
Nym followed Kepio’s gaze, seeing she was looking at the roof of the L'aeis de Sro. “You and the boys not invited?” Nym asked.
Kepio slowly shook her head no. “Humaaaans are not liking our kinds. They are liking the kinds most kin to their selves.”
Nym blushed, embarrassed that she hadn’t noticed the ball had been mostly occupied by humans and more similar races. “Sorry,” she said softly, taking a longer drink of the giant beer.
Kepio laughed, a deep, smooth sound like waves crashing into the shore. “You are liking our kinds, tiny elf. No worrying.” The goliath patted Nym’s back, almost knocking the half elf off her chair.
Nym was confused, but maybe it was the wine and now beer and that shot of whatever it was she had at the inn. ‘But why’d they go if you couldn’t go too?”
ReplyDeleteKepio shrugged slowly, “Business. They are getting the jobs from the dortilk”
Nym didn’t know what ‘dortilk’ meant, but she guessed it wasn’t a term of endearment. “I guess that’s what my… companions are doing there too.”
“They aaaare parting the dortilk from the coin. This is caaause for smiling.” Kepio chuckled.
“So how’d you get all the way here from the Icerim Mountains?” Nym asked, changing the subject.
“Walking,” Kepio answered evasively. “And the elf?”
“Also walking,” Nym replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling mischievously.
“We all are having the secrets,” Kepio replied, shrugging.
Nym burst into laughter, pulling herself back into a sitting position. “Well, alright, I guess that’s very true. While all the rich folk sweet talk each other and our friends take their coin, what should we do?”
“We aaaare drinking. Are you keeping up?” Kepio, smiled slowly, her dark eyes filled with mirth.
“Uhhh… I’ll probably pass out if I try to keep up with you,” Nym answered, snorting.
“Then I will be carrying you to the Wyrmmm!” Kepio answered, laughing.
Nym shrugged, giggling. “Don’t have to tell me twice!” she replied taking a long drink of her beer and pulling out her lute from her pack. “Music?” she asked.
Kepio nodded slowly and leaned back. Nym finished her beer and waved the bartender for another. She then started playing some of the current favorites from Silverymoon whiling continuing to drink her troubles away.
After a few hours, Nym fell into a rhythm with her drink and was able to keep herself pleasantly drunk. After a couple musicians switched out, Nym joined the band. As the night wore on, eventually Nym was the only musician playing for the remaining dancers. Only a handful of shop carts remained setup in the town square, but Nym played on.
ReplyDeleteThe stars were bright in the sky, accented by the cool night air. The half orc brothers, who had won first and second in the fighting contest, were dancing wildly in the middle of the dance floor while Kepio watched on, the hint of a smile gracing her face.
Nym didn’t particularly want to go to sleep, but she didn’t think her aching fingers would allow her to play much more. ”Besides, drink plus tired ends up with poor playing,” she thought, stretching her arms and cracking her knuckles at the end of a particularly energetic song.
“Alright, my lovelies! I don’t think I can play on any longer on this fine night. My pillow calls my name and my hands call for mercy,” Nym announced to the remaining dancers, flashing a smile. She was met with drunken begging for ‘just one more’. “You said just one more five songs ago!” she teased.
“JUS ONE MORE, ELF LADY!” Fin yelled drunkenly.
“YA ONE MORE!” Ort echoed.
“For my lovely escorts, I will play one more,” Nym answered the half orcs, bowing dramatically.
Fin swaggered over to Kepio drunkenly, and winked at her, although it was much more a drunken blink than a wink. “WANNA DANCE?” he asked the goliath.
Kepio took in the drunk half orc for what seemed like ages before a smile slowly spread across her face and she slowly nodded. Nym wasn’t sure, but she thought the goliath might have blushed. Ort began to cheer drunkenly, clapping for his brother.
“A slow song, then?” Nym asked. Ort and Fin nodded enthusiastically, while the rest of the small crowd simply watched the half orcs and goliath with interest.
“Alright, then…” Nym murmured, thinking. She strummed her lute lazily for a few moments, running through her songs. “How about an original?” she asked quietly. No one answered, so she began to play.
One went out in a secret cave on Llewellyn
One went out in the grasslands of Sharr
One went out in a jail cell when I was thirteen
Little lights in my heart
One went out when I lied to my father
Said that I was doing just fine
One went out this day as I remembered Thay
Its getting dark in this heart of mine
Its getting dark in this heart of mine
We're born with millions of little lights shining in the dark
And they show us the way
One lights up
Every time you feel love in your heart
One dies when it moves away
One went out on the dark docks of Tarseth Bay
One went out on the island Moray
One went out I've no doubt when I grew up and left home
From the place where the girl used to play
One went out when I abandoned my lover
We used to laugh and I laugh no more
Though he will not return
I know one still burns
On a shining boat in the Sea of Swords
On a shining boat in the Sea of Swords
We're born with millions of little lights shining in the dark
And they show us the way
One lights up
Every time we feel love in our hearts
One dies when it moves away
We're born with millions of little lights shining in our hearts
And they die along the way
Till we're old and we're cold
And lying in the dark
Cos they'll all burn out one day
They'll all burn out one day
They'll all burn out one day
They'll all burn out one day
Nym looked up, and saw the remaining dancers beginning to say their goodbyes. She’d found that the melody more than the lyrics mattered for dances, but still felt a bit awkward. She stretched her sore muscles and slung her lute in her pack. “Back to the Wyrm?” she asked her friends.
The half orc brothers ran ahead, whooping and hollering, which Nym was sure would wake the dead. Kepio walked slowly beside Nym. “It was being a nice evening,” Kepio said quietly.
ReplyDelete“Yeah, heh,” Nym replied, feeling tired and drunk. “I think at least myself and those two up there are going to have quite the hangovers tomorrow.”
Kepio chuckled and nodded. The two walked in silence until they turned along the docks toward the Purple Wyrm. “You aaare having many secrets, little elf. Your saang was having many secrets,” the goliath stated quietly. Nym didn’t answer, and they walked quietly a bit longer. “The haaving of secrets is part of the life,” Kepio added. “Don’t being saaad. You are having alive. You are having friends. Good things. And having the bad things… we all are having them.” The goliath patted Nym on the head, and looked at the half elf with her soft, dark eyes.
Nym shrugged and looked away from Kepio as they entered the dark tavern. “Thanks for the fun night,” Nym said to the trio, forcing a smile, before clumsily climbing the stairs to her room. She locked the door behind her, and passed out on the bed next to Pipper. She dreamt of Thay and the Shaar that night, like she had so many nights before.
In the middle of the night Nym awoke to the sound of footsteps in her room. As she opened her eyes a ghostly outline sat in the simple wood chair in the room.
ReplyDelete"Hi Nym."
Nym fumbled around clumsily, before giving up trying to find a weapon. "Uh... hi?" she replied.
ReplyDelete"It's been a while..." The shape said sitting upward. "Since we visited the Shaar together. I think you've been worried too much."
ReplyDeleteAs her eyes cleared she saw the spectral shape of Thjodolf sitting in front of her.
Nym really hoped this was a drunken hallucination, but she doubted it. She opened her mouth, closed it, scooted back on the bed, and stared.
ReplyDelete"You shouldn't blame yourself for my death. Really, I was going to die sooner or later and you weren't yourself."
ReplyDeleteNym felt a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "Since when did Thjodolf speak so... eloquently, and since when did ghosts make footstep noises?" she wondered, looking the shape up and down.
ReplyDeleteNym stood slowly, edging her way toward her pack. "You, ah, you're more... eloquent than I remember..."
Insight: D20+11-drunk penalty?
9+11=20
Perception: D20+11-drunk penalty?
6+11=17
He laughed. "Well, I'm a ghost. Plus, I noticed that you tend to only take advice from well spoken eloquent figures." He sat back down. "Don't worry. I think, though, that we should talk."
ReplyDelete"Aaaaaalriiiiight," Nym answered, suspicious. Keeping an eye on the 'ghost,' she pulled her staff out of her bag and backed into the corner. She hadn't even been friends with Thjodolf. In fact, she was pretty sure they'd never said more than three words to each other. Nym pulled a piece of bread out of her bag and threw it at the figure to see if it would go through him or not.
ReplyDeleteThe bread passed easily through him. Thjodolf stood up, looking much more muscular and fit than Nym had ever seen him in real life.
ReplyDelete"Oh Nym, I'm not solid in that way, but I can very solid for you in other ways..."
Nym, in the timeless tradition of awkward moments, felt herself frozen to the ground as Thjodolf started to undress. After a moment he was shirtless, his chest glistening in the moonlight as he reached down and took Nym's hands into his suddenly coporeal hands.
"Nym, I know we didn't get to be that close when I was alive. It's time for us to rectify that."
"uuuAAAAAH!" she replied, swinging her staff wildly at Thjodolf. "This is NOT how you use a staff, stupid!" she thought, stumbling backwards. Pipper was now awake, trilling in confusion and fear on the bed.
ReplyDelete"I know how to use a staff..." He said following her and trilling in a sultry, very unhalf orc. "Come on Nym, let's make a tribreed."
ReplyDelete"NO!" she yelled forcefully, holding her staff at the ready. Ice began forming on her hands and making its way down the staff as her eyes flashed with anger. "DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU... A-AGAIN!"
ReplyDeleteThjodolf laughed. "It's OK, Illuvaen told me that he likes to watch his lovers with other men..."
ReplyDeleteSuddenly Nym sat upright in bed, the moonlight flickingering into the room. It had clearly been some strange dream.
Nym's heart was racing, and she felt a deep hatred for Thjodolf that she'd never felt before, followed by guilt, followed by confusion tinged with anger. Of course, real Thjodlf couldn't be blamed for creepy, sexual assault dream Thjodolf, but Nym really couldn't help feeling angry toward the half orc now.
ReplyDelete"That was gross," she murmured to herself as she pushed the blanket aside. It fell to the floor as a solid sheet with a dull thud followed by the sound of ice flakes scattering on the floor. It was then that Nym noticed Pipper very awake, shivering, and grumpy curled up at the foot of the bed as far away from Nym as he could get.
Nym felt herself blush, and she muttered 'sorry' to the fox as she got up to grab her own, unfrozen blanket from her bag of holding. She also pulled out her staff for good measure and brought it back to bed with her. Pipper burrowed under the covers next to Nym as she laid back down, troubled by her nightmare. After a long while, she was able to fall back into a fitful sleep, her staff held tightly in her hand.