The Deck of Faith

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Elanair Vailyn
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 3:13 pm

The Deck of Faith

Postby Elanair Vailyn » Mon May 29, 2017 1:07 pm

The Wanderer

"My fucking head..." the man muttered while holding a soaked cloth against the side of his head. The cold water helped somewhat until the medicine he took would start to kick in and alleviate some of the pain.

"Barely two days passed since I got here and I already got my head bashed in... worse yet, it wasn't even my fault this time. Talk about a new personal record at getting your ass handed to you on arrival..."

Without much difficulty he shuffled the cards with his free hand while tossing one on the table, face up, in one fluid movement that hinted at years of practice and dedication.

The Key. The card would foretell riches and good fortune or in some other cases, secrets uncovered. Elanair eyed the card for a long moment before sipping his beer and cringing a bit as the pain in his skull intensified.

"Damn, that priestess is strong. Thank Mask she had the sense to use the sword's pummel and not the pointy end. Hmph... bloody fish people and their poison gas or whatever the Hells that was. Made me lose my senses there." with an angry motion of his hand he tossed another card, face up, on the table.

The Night. A sign of solitude, serenity or fear and loneliness in some cases.

"Hrm... maybe I'm being too pessimistic. We managed to halt a smuggler operation and those smelly fish things. Pity about that smuggling operation actually, groups of that size can make a lot of coin if you know the right people to introduce you. Ah well, no point crying over spilled beer... " he drained the rest of his beer "... might be better if I try and play it safe for now anyway. And who knows?"

Elanair smiled to himself at the thought of the coin he managed to make in such a short amount of time.

"Maybe this will prove good for me in the long run..." grinning, he tossed the last card on the table, face up just like the others.

The Reaper.

"Shit... maybe not..."

Elanair Vailyn
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 3:13 pm

Re: The Deck of Faith

Postby Elanair Vailyn » Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:35 am

The Star

The sound of people laughing and having a good time didn't improve his disposition. He watched with unfocused eyes from the dark corner of the tavern where he had been drinking since their return from that Gods awful place. It felt so unreal and at the same time, the anger built up inside of him felt oh so very real.

"Damn idiot... " he muttered as he took another gulp of whiskey and shrunk deeper into the quiet 'sanctuary', enjoying the illusion of protection the dark corner offered. He felt small and insignificant but at the same time there was a sense of safety while sitting in that cool, shadowy part of the tavern.

The spirit, the earth men, the damned eye and those twin idiots; all of that seemed like a dreamed to him after the 4th glass, just a bad dream that he would soon forget once the alcohol did it's job and he would slip into merciful sleep. Once morning arrived and bathed them all in Lathander's grace, he would take the first caravan back to Sarshel and remain there for a while.

"The hells with this place... " he muttered to himself while refilling his mug.

"I need to ask for payment up front from now on." he thought to himself as he realized the possibility that the Lord might not pay them due to how ridiculous their story sounds. In fact, a part of him couldn't blame him, if he hadn't been there he would of thought it was all a scheme to get more coin.

"Shit." he muttered angrily at the thought of going through all that for nothing, well... almost nothing. Reaching down to a vial on his belt he eyed the healing potion he received from the priestess. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all?

"Sure fucking hope this thing can cure a hangover.... going to need it in the morning." Elanair muttered as he drained the 5th mug and passed out minutes later.

Elanair Vailyn
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 3:13 pm

Re: The Deck of Faith

Postby Elanair Vailyn » Tue Jun 06, 2017 6:29 pm

The Unknown

Darkness. Rune on the wall. He says it marks the tunnel as safe.

We continue onward. Found a gem. Good sign.

Skittering in the distance. We tread carefully.

Can't see, need to focus. Trying to listen.

Is that a waterfall? A lake, can barely see the other side. No way to reach it. Keep moving.

Went far enough, time to return.

Retracing our steps. Did we make a left or a right?

Lost. Not good. No runes. Can't find the runes. Shit.

Water dripping in the distance, getting on my nerves.

More skittering, also heard a bat. Stupid bat. Big bat. Two of them. Killed them.

My nerves are on edge, we don't know where we are.

Hours pass, still lost.

No runes, no signs of the exist.

Losing hope.

Huge cavern, no sign of the ceiling. How deep down are we?

He stops and calmly tells me to run.

We run and not look back.

Grey Render doesn't follow us, we escaped.

Keep moving. Must find way out. Must escape.

New tunnels.

Silence.

Suffocating.

Can't breath.

Thumping sound from nearby.

My heart, I hear the sound of my own heart.

Too much silence, driving me crazy.

A breeze! An exit?

We rush through the tunnel.

No light. Not the exit. Worse, much worse.

Cold. Darkness. Runes.

He stutters.

Danger. Sealed away. So cold, can't think. Danger. Sealed away. Unnatural. Not good. Heart is racing, thumping is getting louder. Feels like drums beating in my head. Need to leave. Need to get out. Now!

We leave. No looking back. Skin crawling. Hands shaking.

What the hell did the Gods forsake in that place?

Keep walking. Tired. Restless.

Underground river, we follow it.

A camp site. We rest.

Hands still shaking. Shuffling cards is difficult now.

I pull one out.

The Wanderer; travelling, discovery, end or beginning of a journey.

A sad smile appears as I put it back with the others.

We are going to die here.

We break camp, must push on.

Giant webs.

Spider. Huge spider. We kill it.

Hope still lingers.

Found a chair in cocoon. What the hell?!

Keep moving.

New tunnels. Follow the river.

Found something. Half eaten apple. It's still fresh.

We keep moving.

Another discarded apple core. We follow.

Two more. Keep going. So close. Can't stop now. Follow the trail.

Big wolf. We fight it. Too big, too vicious, too powerful.

We're losing!

He lands a lucky hit on the beast. It yelps and retreats for now.

I grab him and shout.

We run the other way. Keep going, keep running. Don't stop.

Light.

Keep moving! Don't look back!

Fresh air.

We're out. We escaped. We live.

She's there, fishing. She's surprised.

We see the apple near her. We thank her.

Tired from walking and fighting. Still lost. She offers to help.

She guides us to the town nearby. Saved twice.

We reach town. Exhausted but alive and happy.

We thank her again and part ways.

He points back to my cards.

She was a wanderer.

I smile.

Elanair Vailyn
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 3:13 pm

Re: The Deck of Faith

Postby Elanair Vailyn » Fri Mar 29, 2019 5:55 pm

The Jester

The long walk back felt like it would never end, his feet were almost shuffling due to the exhaustion, stress and near death experience. He left the others back at the camp and slipped away the first chance he got, leaving them above grounds, above that gods forsaken hole they somehow managed to crawl out of.

"Should of listened to the cards... should of minded my own damn business... " he thought to himself, "...the damned fool I pulled and a damned fool I was... fools we all were..."

The thoughts of that 'thing' kept coming back each time he closed his eyes, the chill touch he felt as his life force seemed to leave him. The desperate crawl towards the exit as the 'things' attention moved to some other unlucky soul that dared to enter that hole. By the time he managed to get through, it was already too late for the little hin.

"Fool... I told them that it was a bad idea, shit... " he frowned, "... I should of listened to my own damned advice, should never have gone underground... two years passed and I still didn't learn my lesson..." he continued his pace until, what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to reach the city.

Without missing a beat he marched towards the inn, paid for him room and asked for the strongest ale they had.

"I never learn..." he grumbled as he brought the mug to his mouth and then... nothing.

Two days later he woke up in his room, the floor littered with empty bottles and on the nearby table his deck of cards scattered all over.

Looking at the cards, he noticed that all of them were placed face down, except for one card that was plain to see even after his drunken stupor and dizzying hangover... the Shadow.


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