Legends of Belariath

Skye

Penny for His Thoughts

Introduction

In a normal tree hiding out in the deepest forest surrounding the Lonely Inn, there is a secret compartment carved into the tree, obviously done over weeks. Inside this compartment there lies a book. The pages of the book are mostly blank, but someone has begun writing on the first few pages.

What follows is the introduction to this book, found on the first page...

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Yes, I know that's probably one of the worst ways to open a book, but since this is going to be a collection of thoughts, I think it's one of the best ways to open this book. Anyways, as I was saying, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I've been here at this place, the Lonely Inn, for almost half a year. The last time I stayed in any one area for half a year was when I was still living with that old fart of a blacksmith. Heh, despite that fact that we settled everything, I still miss him now that he's gone. I'll get into that in a bit, but first the reason for this book. I've been here for quite a while now, and I've met all sorts of odd and interesting people, and they've all left a mark on me in one way or another, some more physical than others...

Now, I know that it's in no way original, but I'm going to borrow an idea I picked up from one of these people and record my thoughts and opinions about different people here in this book. Now, while the other person who did this (his name is Story/Tophet/a bunch of other crap that I'll explain when I get to his section) actually gave the pieces about said people, including myself, to them, I'm not certain I want people to know what I think just yet. So, I'll keep them all in this book, hidden away from prying eyes until I want someone to look at it...

Well, I believe that before you can try to understand others, you have to try and understand yourself, so I'll give you the biased version of me. A mini-autobiography if you will. I don't remember where I was born, and I don't have any clear memories of my real parents. They were killed by raiders when I was still very young, but I know that my father gave me to a close friend of his and then held off the raiders while we escaped. I do remember the village I grew up in, very peaceful, full of older men and women who treated me like I was some sort of child of prophecy. It turns out I was the only child in the village, and most of those people were retired thieves who longed for a bit of sentiment, so I was the victim. Still, I enjoyed those times as a child. After a few years though, I learned that my caretaker, an old fart who probably would have pawed young women were there any available, was also a retired thief, and a damn good one at that.

I admit I probably took on a romanticized view of being a thief, but that sort of thing happens when you're a kid. I called the old man on it and bitched a fit until he agreed to train me. For every night that first year I'd ask myself if I was making the right choice. Finally, I convinced myself I had and kept at it. This lasted until my 17th birthday, when I decided it was time to take my training and put it to the test. Thus began what I like to call my "Four-year voyage" even though I didn't actually do any sailing. I must've passed through two dozen cities and twice as many weeks, stealing a bit here, scraping there, even killing to fend off scavengers and such, before I caught a break.

In the town of Clearmist, in the Human kingdom of Quelland, I met a young man by the name of Chris. He was like me, a rogue and scoundrel, but he worked a bit differently. He took jobs from patrons to steal things from either other people or old ruins and tombs. At first, he was reluctant to have a partner, but that was only until we'd saved each other's asses a half dozen times each. For two years we were a great team, carving a name for ourselves inside the shadow community, doing what seemed to be impossible, and making enough to get by comfortably. Then, we took a job that went sour, and Chris didn't make it out. I did, but just barely. It was the first real blow to me. The first time a close friend had died. To say I was devastated would be putting it mildly. I wandered aimlessly until the money ran out, and then I had to make a decision...curl up and die, or go back to stealing. Self-preservation won out and I went on to continue the "Thief for Hire" profession alone.

Despite being down to one member, I still managed to rock the underworld, to the point where I was approached by several leaders of different Guilds, asking me to become a Guild Master in one of the smaller towns. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, but opportunity almost always has a price.

Shortly after that, I was nearly assassinated, TWICE! This may not seem like much to some, but to me it was another big morale hit. To top it off, I went on some missions that went sour, and innocent people died because of me. I went into a funk again, but this time I chose to run from my problems. Taking the money I'd saved up, I started south, and eventually ended up here at the Lonely Inn. While on the road, I thought about the life I'd lived, and the end that had almost come. I realized that in the end, all that mattered was what I thought of my life, and whether or not I'd been happy. I realized that I hadn't been happy, and resolved to change that. I'd start over, and this time I'd live how I really wanted to, and just go with the flow and try to stay happy.

So, here I am, this crazy human you've come to know. Next time, I'll start off with one of the people I've known for a long time, and have grown very close to.

Aphris

I wracked my brain for hours trying to decide on who to start off with, but finally I caved in and decided to start with the person who means the most to me at this stage in my life. A woman whose description could fill up an entire book, but I will do my best to keep it condensed to a moderate length. This woman is the woman that I currently am in love with, Aphris.

Where to start with her? They say the beginning is the best place to start, so I'll go ahead and do that. When I first met Aphris, she was a slave to the dark elf Shaka-Selu and his girl/mate-to-be Nidawi. I was approached by Nidawi asking to try and help this human girl warm up to the inn. At that time, I was one of the only humans around, and I think 99 percent of the other humans were males, so it felt nice to see a female of my own species around, so I agreed to meet her.

From the first time I spoke with her, I could just sense that something inside her soul. It was a spark I didn't see in many slaves, but I knew that this woman had a fiery spirit to her, and that she couldn't be bound by slavery forever. Also, something about her attracted me from the get-go. I couldn't place it, but something about her made her absolutely beautiful in my eyes. Our first encounter was full of pleasant conversation, and we agreed to meet again soon.

I admit I got a little impatient and decided to test the waters during our next meeting. Imagine my surprise when she didn't shy away from my advances. I liked this lady more and more. Time went by, we got very...intimate. Not long after that, she and Shaka had a few arguments, and she finally convinced him to free her. I swear, if there's one thing that woman can do, it's argue her way out of Hell. I've never seen anything like it. Some of my fellow patrons agree with me that she seems to be more than capable of handling herself in an argument, but tends to throw herself in harm's way with reckless abandon. One of these days, that's probably going to get me killed...

Things haven't always been rosy though. She's had a lot of family and personal issues, not to mention that her moral and philosophical structures have taken a serious pounding. She tries her hardest to live positively, but she is the victim of a lot of hardship, and I've seen it taking its toll on her. And in order to help sort out these problems, she tends to go off on private quests, which can take anywhere from a couple of days to a month or more. That month was a nightmare, I kid you not.

Sometimes, I really wonder if I'm enough for her. She always gets on my case saying I doubt myself too much, and I probably do, but I can't help it. She's been hurt many times, some of them were with me right next to her. I keep practicing, trying to get stronger so I can protect her better, but I just don't know if it'll ever be enough. Well, enough of that. This is how I see the woman I love, a free spirit bound to a place of extremes, just like me. Maybe someday we'll leave, but not until we both feel that our business is complete in this crazy universe called the Lonely Inn.

Kalciane

Well, last time I wrote about someone I'd known for a long time. This time, I'm going to write about someone I've met just recently, but she's really struck me as an interesting person. She's a Torian, a race I've had almost no dealings with in my life. I'd seen one here and there, even killed a couple in my old days, but for the most part their race remains a mystery to me. However, this particular Torian is full of question marks that I can't get out of my head. That, and I guess I've always been a bit attracted to the cold, mysterious type of woman. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have any special feelings about her, but I have this innate desire to solve puzzles, and that's part of what keeps sending me back to her. The other part being the fact that I'm determined to get her to at least like me as a friend.

Kalciane, a curious name, but not bad at all. A name to fit the look. She's very pretty, if you can see past the calm, almost uninterested look that seems to just shout out, "Look at me wrong and you'll find your balls on the wrong end of an Arctic Blast." Still, she has a lot of potential to be great. Her partner in crime...er, life, is a young girl by the name of Amythyst, or Amy as most seem to call her, myself included. Amy's a thief through and through. I've seen her lift a wallet from the corner of my vision from time to time. She's good at it though, so there's really no reason to say anything. Just gotta make sure to keep an eye on my own money pouch though. The two of them seem close, real close. I sense some of the same feelings Aphris and I share, but it's only a hunch at this point. If they're a couple, they aren't all that open about it, and that's their right.

Kal does seem to have a darker side to her. She has some clothing that she claims suppresses "The Taint." I'm not sure what that is, but from the few clues she's dropped, it's some sort of hidden collection of negative emotions. Some sort of blind rage or something similar. I'm not an expert on demonic possession or that sort of shit. Whatever it is, I think Kal wants to get rid of it, but sometimes I just can't tell. She has an odd way of expressing herself, one that leaves you wondering whether or not she is truly serious. An effective tactic for keeping people off guard, but not the best way to win friends. Ah well, from what I gathered, she could give a damn for friends. No matter, I'll just keep going like I always do.

Eventually, she'll either try and kill me or become an ally. I just hope it's the latter. I do hate hurting pretty women, even violent ones.

Story

Ok, now I get to a real quandary. How do you explain the unexplainable? Well, I guess you don't...but I've always been crazy enough to try the impossible, so I'll do it here too. There is a being residing at the inn, a being of both immense power and immense mystery. He has the power to level a city, yet constantly bemoans his weakness. He is a hypocrite, but then again so am I. At least we both admit to this particular fact. I'm getting off track again. This person, this male, goes by a score of names, many of which I will probably never know, and that's just fine by me. I know him as Story, the Dark One.

Seriously, this guy's blacker than the night itself, and his heart may be as well. Story is an assassin. I've heard him admit as much before in my presence. From what I've gathered, he's pretty damned good at it, though I've never seen him take anyone down in the inn in a manner that would give away he'd been paid to do it. No, most of the deaths by his hand at the inn are poor nameless shmucks who picked the wrong guy to mess with, people trying to kill him, and people who attack/attacked people he cares for. Yeah, I know I said the guy was evil, but he honestly cares about several people at the inn. It's these relationships that seem to encourage him to maintain some self-control on his actions.

I came to the realization long ago that Story exists in a world WAY over the head of a simple man like me. When you deal with deities on a regular basis, single-handedly fight a war against MULTIPLE dark elf houses, and have dragons as close associates, you're in a league of your own. Still, I always appreciate his point of view, and somehow always manage to find some kind of common ground to communicate with him on. Lately, he's been doing his own thing more and more, something about finally setting his mind in one piece. I don't know what he did, but he's become much more distant and violent as of late, so perhaps this is the true him, the one he didn't want any of us to see. If that is the case, then I pray that whatever Gods exist out there give us strength to survive the oncoming storm...

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