Post by djdas2006 on Oct 13, 2007 3:33:09 GMT -5
"Very good young lord Bleth" The old tutor said distractedly.
"Now.. let us go over the noble houses of Cormyr that no longer..."
A house guard burst into the study suddenly. "Young Bleth is to meet in the stables.. NOW!" And then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.
"Whats going on old one?" The young noble asked.
"I don't know... come Monan... let us find out."
Young Bleth stood slowly.. a bit confused.. and let himself be led toward the stables. The house was filled with maids and guards bustling about.. something was wrong. As the young lord was being led to the stables he overheard orders shouted and serving maids worriedly mumbling. "Guards to the gate..." , ".. watch for the purple dragons...", "Aunadar's plan has failed... we must run!", "Aunadar is dead!"
Young Monan heard that clearly. His elder brother by over 10 years, Aunadar Bleth was young Monans idol. Dead? Suddenly Monan came to a stop behind his tutor.
"Whats going on?" The old tutor of house Bleth demanded of the stable boy.
"Uh.. I..I overheard that King Azoun IV killed Lord Aunadar... its said Lord Bleth is responsible for the deaths..."
"Enough!" Monan's maid and caretaker since his birth yelled as she entered the stables. "We must leave.. at once!".
And so young Monan found himself on the road with his tutor and maid.. riding at a fast pace toward Arabel. One night, while his new guardians thought him asleep, he overheard the truth.
"Lord Bleth is said to have betrayed the crown.. house Bleth is no more."
"What will we do Viv?" the old man said.
"I know not Zepfer." Monan's maid replied.
"Hmmm.. Arabel is close.. and I know some who would help us... for a price" The last he said glancing over at the bedroll that Monan slept in. They stopped talking and eventually went to bed themselves.
"Alright.. so what your name?" The old tutor asked young Bleth.
"Dirk.. Dirk of Marsember" Young Monan replied.
"Good..good. Things are going to change for you young one. The truth is best faced head on and your truth is... its best no one knows who you were."
The young boy nodded and looked across the valley to the beautiful city of Arabel... a single tear in his eye as he thought of all he had just lost... his brother.. parents.. and though he didn't know it at the time.. his fortune.
A few years later found young Dirk in an alley. Things had changed quite a bit for the young ex-noble. He glanced up from his hiding place and watched the tavern across the street. His thoughts wandered as he kept a watch on the door for possible marks. After coming to Arabel.. his guardians had put him up with a fairly wealthy merchant family. He never heard from them again.. and the family he lived with had no love for him. One day.. on his 13th birthday.. they simply told him to leave. He found he was naturally good at sneaking around.. and thieving. Not the kind of thing he wanted to do with his life.. but you do what you need to.
The door opened across the way and out stumbled a drunken merchant.. still in his work clothes. Dirk noticed the coin purse and the dagger.. and slowly moved closer to the street to watch the mark. The man let out a burp.. staggered a little.. and then headed right toward the alley Dirk was hidden in. Keeping to the shadows Dirk watched as the man walked within 10 feet of him and turned his back. Obviously the man was going to relieve himself.
Dirk waited.. soon he heard the splatter of urine on the wall.. slowly he moved up to the merchant. Quickly he reached for the purse and yanked.. his feet already blurring into a run down deeper into the alley. He heard a yell.. then a crash.. but he didn't turn around to look. He just ran and looked in his hands. He had a heavy coin purse and the mans dagger. Somehow it was attached and he had been able to get away with both.
He ran and ran until he was nearing his favorite hide out. The alley dead ended here but he began to climb. Once on the roof he turned and looked for any pursuit. Smiling to himself he sat and started going though the large purse. Tossing the dagger on the ground he opened the purse and was a little shocked to find it filled with not just a good amount of golden lions, but a small book and a few gems. A good take.. he would be able to eat for quite a while with this.
He opened the book and was overcome by a wave of nausea.. the letters seemed to swim on the pages. He kept staring at them and knew at once what he had. His old tutor had told him of such things.. and this spell book would fetch a good price.. if he could find someplace to sell it.
A few years later he decided it was time to leave Arabel.. and start anew. He still had the spell book and dagger. He had actually been able to learn a few of the simple spells he found in the book.. and he had dreams of a new life. The life of an adventurer...
"Now.. let us go over the noble houses of Cormyr that no longer..."
A house guard burst into the study suddenly. "Young Bleth is to meet in the stables.. NOW!" And then he was gone as quickly as he had appeared.
"Whats going on old one?" The young noble asked.
"I don't know... come Monan... let us find out."
Young Bleth stood slowly.. a bit confused.. and let himself be led toward the stables. The house was filled with maids and guards bustling about.. something was wrong. As the young lord was being led to the stables he overheard orders shouted and serving maids worriedly mumbling. "Guards to the gate..." , ".. watch for the purple dragons...", "Aunadar's plan has failed... we must run!", "Aunadar is dead!"
Young Monan heard that clearly. His elder brother by over 10 years, Aunadar Bleth was young Monans idol. Dead? Suddenly Monan came to a stop behind his tutor.
"Whats going on?" The old tutor of house Bleth demanded of the stable boy.
"Uh.. I..I overheard that King Azoun IV killed Lord Aunadar... its said Lord Bleth is responsible for the deaths..."
"Enough!" Monan's maid and caretaker since his birth yelled as she entered the stables. "We must leave.. at once!".
And so young Monan found himself on the road with his tutor and maid.. riding at a fast pace toward Arabel. One night, while his new guardians thought him asleep, he overheard the truth.
"Lord Bleth is said to have betrayed the crown.. house Bleth is no more."
"What will we do Viv?" the old man said.
"I know not Zepfer." Monan's maid replied.
"Hmmm.. Arabel is close.. and I know some who would help us... for a price" The last he said glancing over at the bedroll that Monan slept in. They stopped talking and eventually went to bed themselves.
"Alright.. so what your name?" The old tutor asked young Bleth.
"Dirk.. Dirk of Marsember" Young Monan replied.
"Good..good. Things are going to change for you young one. The truth is best faced head on and your truth is... its best no one knows who you were."
The young boy nodded and looked across the valley to the beautiful city of Arabel... a single tear in his eye as he thought of all he had just lost... his brother.. parents.. and though he didn't know it at the time.. his fortune.
A few years later found young Dirk in an alley. Things had changed quite a bit for the young ex-noble. He glanced up from his hiding place and watched the tavern across the street. His thoughts wandered as he kept a watch on the door for possible marks. After coming to Arabel.. his guardians had put him up with a fairly wealthy merchant family. He never heard from them again.. and the family he lived with had no love for him. One day.. on his 13th birthday.. they simply told him to leave. He found he was naturally good at sneaking around.. and thieving. Not the kind of thing he wanted to do with his life.. but you do what you need to.
The door opened across the way and out stumbled a drunken merchant.. still in his work clothes. Dirk noticed the coin purse and the dagger.. and slowly moved closer to the street to watch the mark. The man let out a burp.. staggered a little.. and then headed right toward the alley Dirk was hidden in. Keeping to the shadows Dirk watched as the man walked within 10 feet of him and turned his back. Obviously the man was going to relieve himself.
Dirk waited.. soon he heard the splatter of urine on the wall.. slowly he moved up to the merchant. Quickly he reached for the purse and yanked.. his feet already blurring into a run down deeper into the alley. He heard a yell.. then a crash.. but he didn't turn around to look. He just ran and looked in his hands. He had a heavy coin purse and the mans dagger. Somehow it was attached and he had been able to get away with both.
He ran and ran until he was nearing his favorite hide out. The alley dead ended here but he began to climb. Once on the roof he turned and looked for any pursuit. Smiling to himself he sat and started going though the large purse. Tossing the dagger on the ground he opened the purse and was a little shocked to find it filled with not just a good amount of golden lions, but a small book and a few gems. A good take.. he would be able to eat for quite a while with this.
He opened the book and was overcome by a wave of nausea.. the letters seemed to swim on the pages. He kept staring at them and knew at once what he had. His old tutor had told him of such things.. and this spell book would fetch a good price.. if he could find someplace to sell it.
A few years later he decided it was time to leave Arabel.. and start anew. He still had the spell book and dagger. He had actually been able to learn a few of the simple spells he found in the book.. and he had dreams of a new life. The life of an adventurer...
