Post by bhagavat on Mar 23, 2011 16:43:07 GMT -5
He walked north. The borders of Amn were fading behind him as he slowly put one foot in front of the other. He was a large man and the heavy armor he wore was beginning to drag him down, not to mention the array of weapons and gear strapped to his person.
He walked alone and frequently stopped and checked the path behind him for dust clouds or other signs of pursuit. The dust bowl he walked through slowly changed, brush and trees starting to appear more frequently. It was like a great fire had burned the lands to nothing but dust, but thank the Gods that was changing. Water rations were low not to mention Xams empty stomach.
After a couple days Xam slowly entered the edge of a sparse forest. He came upon a stream and a nice place to camp and smiling to himself made himself comfortable, feeling for the first time he had escaped.
A week past he had been locked in his employers dungeon. His old employer had been a mage of some re-known and of course a wiley business man. Hired for security, it had been a decent enough gig for Xam, a still rather inexperienced warrior. The mage, Zeris the Good, was actually a decent man that along with accumulating wealth and power, used his resources to make sure his people were taken care of. Most were very loyal of course. Escape had been hard.
Not long ago Xams blood had been spilled and for some reason the mage thought it interesting. After asking for some to use in his magical experiments or potions or something things had changed. He had awoken one day in the dungeon with no explanation. He was bled every now and then and left there.
Playing possum one day had given him his doorway out. The knocked out guard supplied the gear he now had and cover for him to walk from the compound. The guard was tied up, gaged and left on the straw pillowed in the corner. Hopefully they wouldnt notice his departure to soon.
The fire blazed and Xam rested his back against a tree as he sharpened his greatsword. The fire was a risk, but the water and luxury of some cover had won out. No real food yet, but he was bound to find some game as he traveled these woods.
His skin was itching again. Every once in a while his thick skin would itch and he'd scratch off small flakes. It was paling and yellowish. It seemed to be getting worse. He'd have to speak with some healer about it sometime.
Dozing off finally he slept with the warmth of the fire and the comfort of a blade near his hand. After his eyes had closed a shimmering doorway of light appeared not far away. Out stepped a man in flowing robes with a turban wrapped around his head. He looked at Xam and began casting a spell. The magic made Xams breathing deepen and Xam relaxed, laying flat, magically sleeping now. The mage stooped down to Xam and scratched his arm, collecting the flaked skin. Then he pricked his hand with his dagger and collected some more blood. He looked distraught as he went about collecting these things and after looked down at the man. "Its really too bad for you my friend. With your blood I can brew a special and unique elixir. I suppose I can let you run around though you'll never escape me. Chuckling he stepped back through his portal.
The next morning Xam headed out with nothing more then a scratch to his pricked hand. He set off looking for another chance, scratching his skin more and more regularly as he went.
