Post by chris on Jul 10, 2012 20:30:32 GMT
Started writing this a while ago when coming up with my character for Stephen's dnd game. Haven't got round to finishing it yet so thought I'd just post the first part for now:
Adventures of Aliana Leaffoot - Halfling Wizard Part 1
It wasn’t planned exactly. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.
Aliana nimbly shut the lid and listened intently. There were no shouts of ‘Hey you!’ nor shouts of ‘Get out of there! What do you think you are doing!’. All Aliana could hear was the crying human boy who had conveniently had a tantrum, distracting all the museum’s tourists and giving her the chance to slip into the casket whilst no one was watching. She couldn’t blame the boy. The tour of the famous Entigin Museum of Magic had been full of potential but was actually frustratingly dull.
She hadn’t been able to touch anything.
In the dark, she could feel the reassuring pressure of her familiar on her feet which suggested that Wander had realised her intention and jumped into the casket as well. Clever cat. All that remained was to wait for the tours to stop and the museum to close for the night. Then she could examine the spellbook library at her leisure.
It wasn’t like she was uninvited. The tour guide had said that it was extraordinarily busy that day and that they should come back when it was quieter if they wanted to get the full measure of the place. You couldn’t get quieter than when the museum was closed.
Besides, if you looked at it another way she was a victim. It would be highly careless of the museum to close without carefully checking all the tourists had left. Shocking slackness. She would be stuck here all night! Complaints might be necessary.
She muttered a short arcane phrase, clicked her fingers and a soft light appeared. Aliana then retrieved her spellbook from her rucksack and settled back to read as Wander purred softly on her lap.
*********
Hours later Aliana moved quietly along a corridor vaguely in the direction of the library. On the way she stopped to admire various interesting items illuminated by soft magically-powered night lighting. An ancient sarcophagus stood on its end and seemed to follow her with its empty eye sockets as she walked past. Opposite this she stood on tip toe to examine a priceless tapestry depicting the god Boccob’s gift of magic to the world.
Turning the corner, she was excited to see a purple glow coming from a corridor she hadn’t noticed during the day. On closer inspection, she noticed a sign saying “Restricted Section - by Appointment Only”. A complex magical barrier pulsed with various warding sigils in the air before her, blocking her path.
It was an impressive piece of magic. About to turn away in dismay she noticed a particular sigil flash past. It was clearly out of place and shouldn’t be there. She waited. There it was again! Every 5 seconds it appeared in the lower left portion of the barrier. As it hit the side of the barrier, a small portion flickered out for a couple of seconds. A way in!
Sensing Wander’s disapproval, Aliana looked down at her cat who looked back with that quizzical resigned expression she often wore when her mistress was about to do something inadvisable. If Wander were humanoid, she would be rolling her eyes about now.
Still, clearly something was amiss here. Someone very skilled in the arcane arts had tried to break through this magical barrier and, by the looks of it, they had succeeded. Who would do such a heinous act? She should get help.
But then again if she left to get help now, the thief might get away. Far better to go after the thief herself.
She braced herself watching the familiar pattern. 5 ,4, 3, 2, 1, now! Aliana launched herself though the hole in the barrier and turned to watch Wander neatly jump through 5 seconds later.
She turned back to survey her new surroundings.
She didn’t know what to look at first....
Adventures of Aliana Leaffoot - Halfling Wizard Part 1
It wasn’t planned exactly. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.
Aliana nimbly shut the lid and listened intently. There were no shouts of ‘Hey you!’ nor shouts of ‘Get out of there! What do you think you are doing!’. All Aliana could hear was the crying human boy who had conveniently had a tantrum, distracting all the museum’s tourists and giving her the chance to slip into the casket whilst no one was watching. She couldn’t blame the boy. The tour of the famous Entigin Museum of Magic had been full of potential but was actually frustratingly dull.
She hadn’t been able to touch anything.
In the dark, she could feel the reassuring pressure of her familiar on her feet which suggested that Wander had realised her intention and jumped into the casket as well. Clever cat. All that remained was to wait for the tours to stop and the museum to close for the night. Then she could examine the spellbook library at her leisure.
It wasn’t like she was uninvited. The tour guide had said that it was extraordinarily busy that day and that they should come back when it was quieter if they wanted to get the full measure of the place. You couldn’t get quieter than when the museum was closed.
Besides, if you looked at it another way she was a victim. It would be highly careless of the museum to close without carefully checking all the tourists had left. Shocking slackness. She would be stuck here all night! Complaints might be necessary.
She muttered a short arcane phrase, clicked her fingers and a soft light appeared. Aliana then retrieved her spellbook from her rucksack and settled back to read as Wander purred softly on her lap.
*********
Hours later Aliana moved quietly along a corridor vaguely in the direction of the library. On the way she stopped to admire various interesting items illuminated by soft magically-powered night lighting. An ancient sarcophagus stood on its end and seemed to follow her with its empty eye sockets as she walked past. Opposite this she stood on tip toe to examine a priceless tapestry depicting the god Boccob’s gift of magic to the world.
Turning the corner, she was excited to see a purple glow coming from a corridor she hadn’t noticed during the day. On closer inspection, she noticed a sign saying “Restricted Section - by Appointment Only”. A complex magical barrier pulsed with various warding sigils in the air before her, blocking her path.
It was an impressive piece of magic. About to turn away in dismay she noticed a particular sigil flash past. It was clearly out of place and shouldn’t be there. She waited. There it was again! Every 5 seconds it appeared in the lower left portion of the barrier. As it hit the side of the barrier, a small portion flickered out for a couple of seconds. A way in!
Sensing Wander’s disapproval, Aliana looked down at her cat who looked back with that quizzical resigned expression she often wore when her mistress was about to do something inadvisable. If Wander were humanoid, she would be rolling her eyes about now.
Still, clearly something was amiss here. Someone very skilled in the arcane arts had tried to break through this magical barrier and, by the looks of it, they had succeeded. Who would do such a heinous act? She should get help.
But then again if she left to get help now, the thief might get away. Far better to go after the thief herself.
She braced herself watching the familiar pattern. 5 ,4, 3, 2, 1, now! Aliana launched herself though the hole in the barrier and turned to watch Wander neatly jump through 5 seconds later.
She turned back to survey her new surroundings.
She didn’t know what to look at first....