03/05/03 08:28:39 AM
redchin@sonic.net

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You are adventurer # to sojourn these pages.

"I can't believe he wants me to wait ten more years before I can go out adventuring! Father killed his first orc by the time his was one hundred. Why do I have to wait?" The youthful elf snorted to himself. "Not ready he says. I'm the best archer in these parts, save father... and a few of the other elders... but how am I going to get any better sitting around here?"  Kanok passed a huge wrinkled tree, one almost as ancient as its lone inhabitant. "Master Valen says I'm almost finished with my apprenticeship with him. Another month or so, and I'll be a full-fledged wizard! I've mastered every spell he's given me to try, there's only the final tests, and I'll be done." The white haired youth sighed to himself. "But according to my father, that's not near good enough. Ten more years? That's what he said ten years ago!" Kanok shook his head. "No, there's no reason to wait any longer. Why, I'm perfectly ready now, I know I am." He nodded confidently. "I am. Just give me reason, and I'll go, no matter what father says...."

"Young Strongbow, is that you chattering away in front of Master Valen's front door? I swear, young people these days, no sense of self-preservation, none at all! Why, in my day all that talk would have brought a dozen raiders down on us like a horde of locusts! Sometimes I think your father's right about you...." Kanok tried not to frown as Mailen, one of the village elders, continued to ramble on, wandering off into a whole different topic of conversation in tones every bit as loud as he had been using before her. Kanok rolled his eyes and tried not to appear inattentive as the old matron droned on. She was still vital and her wits were as sharp as ever, but from time to time the weight of almost a thousand years of memories tended to crowd out her regular train of thought. Suddenly he blinked and paid real attention.

"What was that, Mistress Mailen? Did you say that Alyah was leaving? Where is she going? How soon?" Kanok tried not to sound too eager and failed miserably. He had had a small crush on the aspiring paladin for almost thirty years, although given their wildly different training schedules. He had not gotten to see her as much as he would have liked in the past decade. Mailen pretended not to notice Kanok's sudden attention and smirked silently to herself, steering her conversation back around to the young paladin who had announced only that morning her intention to travel into Furyondy and see the war against Iuz there for herself. "Ah yes, young Alyah is leaving us, and so soon, the fool girl! Youngsters nowadays...."

Kanok interrupted again, no longer caring about appearances. "How soon? This week? Tommorow?"

Mailen looked skyward in pretend horror, knowing fully the effect she was having on the brash young elf. "Heavens! The terrible rush you young ones all seem to be in! Alyah, dear child, is leaving this very morning! I wouldn't be surprised if she was already on the trail into human lands as we speak...."

Mailen trailed off as the leaves settled down around the spot the son of Terilin Strongbow had been standing moments before, having run off as soon as she had said the word "morning." She smiled to herself and turned toward her old friend Valen's home. "I suppose Valen would like to know that his star apprentice isn't coming to class today."
She stretched and whistled a cheerful tune as she nimbly climbed the huge old tree. "Ah... I can remember the day I set out on my own for the first time so very well. I would have been lost if good old Valen hadn't decided to tag along." Her face was slightly sad as the memory of that day came back. "Oh... I wish I had known how he had felt... all those years ago. We wasted so much time." She sighed softly. "I hope Kanok isn't is stubborn."
The High Mage Valen greeted Mailen at the hole in the trunk, which led to the extradimensional space that was his library. "I heard. You played my apprentice like a harp, didn't you." He stated matter-of-factly.

Mailen winked. "I always did know how to play with the minds of arrogant young pups like him, didn't I?"

Valen nodded, smiling wryly. "You did at that, my love. I was head over heels in love with you back then you know. So were most of the other young men my age."
Mailen smiled wider. "I know." She glanced away into the woods, where the trail to the human lands started. "Do you think he'll be alright? He barely knows his own heart, that one. Not really all that much like you, when it comes to that."

Valen nodded. "He's better off. He's got a cool head... most of the time. He won't take the foolish risks I took back then, just because I wanted to impress you."

Mailen sighed. "Ah yes, but as they say, "Faint heart never won fair maiden."

Valen sighed back. "Well, there, at least, I'm afraid young Kanok Strongbow has an awful lot to learn."

Alyah strode down the forest trail, her mind already firmly on her destination. When a white haired elf in a green cloak jogged out of the woods to walk along by her side, she raised an eyebrow and waited for him to speak. Kanok shrugged slightly, adjusting his hastily packed backpack so that it didn't cause his longsword to dig into his back. "So... I hear you're headed for Furyondy." Alyah nodded quietly. "I am."

Kanok nodded back, noncommittally. "It just so happens I was headed that way myself. You wouldn't mind a traveling companion, would you?"

Alyah shook her head slightly. "I wouldn't mind."

Kanok fixed his gaze on the road ahead. "Well then, we have a long way to go before dark."