Karnak Campaign - Desert Lands

Storytelling          Star

Fiamma
Fiamma lightens the mood by embarking on another story.

"My tale of how I got Star, in the simple form, is nothing exciting. The local stable owner, Harry, gave me a horse as a farewell present when I joined the caravan of desert dwellers that passed through our town. But in a broader context, I think it makes for an interesting tale. This is all the more frustrating, for I can only tell it among my closest friends, as there are things that need to be kept confidential. Upon your sworn secrecy I can begin."

Orlando, Nasir and Shadya all so swear.

The bard started, "The tale unfolds when I was but a little girl. No, I mean truly little, only 5 years old. As you might expect, I was fairly tiny for a child, but I made up for my lack of size with the ability to be quick on my feet and dodge things thrown my way. A tavern brat needs many such skills.

"One day as I was cleaning up one of the rooms (we were put to work young, and this was one of the few things that a 5-year-old child could be entrusted with), I came across a corked vial of strange liquid. Not being able to restrain my natural curiosity, I promptly drank it. Glug, Glug, Glug. I guess I was lucky that it was not a harmful potion or that it did not turn me into a frog."

"Lucky indeed" mutters Orlando, from his perch on Shadya's shoulder.

A smile can be heard in Shadya's voice as she whispers back to Orlando, "She seems to like being invisible; you should have seen her with the bandits. I don't think she was sure what that potion would do either."

"I was amused, and decided to use my newfound powers. Unfortunately, all of my childhood friends were already at home, asleep, and my mother was busy serving in the common room. There wasn't much to do in the town, so I decided to spy on some of the guests. I figured I might see something interesting. Sure enough, in one of the bigger rooms I noticed that the inhabitant had left all manner of strange devices laying about.

"I decided to go in and play with his toys, but something warned me not to be so hasty. Perhaps it was the part of me that Orlando would call fey, or perhaps it was a benign presence watching out for me. I noticed that something at the window didn't seem quite right. I tossed a small rock in the room. (I often carried a few rocks in my pockets, along with any interesting things I had found during the day.) Sure enough, a strange thing detached from the window and wrapped itself around the rock, like a web. More amused than frightened, I tossed in another rock. Nothing happened. I tossed in a third. Again, nothing happened.

"Guessing that I was safe from getting trapped in a web, I climbed into the room. In one corner of the room lay a chest. My immediate attention was taken up by something on the table, a small crystal ball. As I was examining it, I heard something move. I spun around and noticed that there was a lump under the covers of the bed. But since monsters usually reside under the bed, as opposed to in it, I threw back the covers.

"Underneath I saw one of the strangest creatures I had ever, even to this day, seen. I can only describe her as female and vaguely humanoid. She looked at me, even though I was invisible. She spoke to me, but not with her lips nor to my ears. She asked if I could help her. I noticed that she was tied up, so I undid the bonds. She also told me to open the chest and gather one of the objects inside - something wrapped in a black cloth. She told me that it was evil and had to be destroyed, so I threw it into the fire. It certainly smelled disgusting, whatever it was, as it burned. Together, we climbed down the tree outside the window to the ground. Regretfully, I didn't take any of the other objects in the room, but she told me it would be a bad idea.

She said she needed to get away quickly. I took her over to the only place in town that sold horses, Harry's House of Hooves. Telling my new friend to hide, I went up to Harry's door and knocked. I was going to have some fun with Harry first. Surely the simple man couldn't see me. But alas, I was wrong, for when Harry came to the door he looked around a bit and then looked down. (As often happened when I knocked at doors.) To my chagrin he looked right at me and said, "Oh, hi, Squirt. What can I do for you?"

"Annoyed at my inability to hide from others, but realizing that there was Something Really Important going on I said, "Harry, I need a horse." Harry is normally really slow. He talks really slow, he moves really slow, and the townsfolk generally agree that, as we say in my country, he's a few slices shy of a full loaf. But he looked at me again, and not only did he realize that I wasn't playing games, he asked, "Are you in trouble?"
"'No, but my friend is. She needs to get out of town fast," I replied, signaling my friend to come out of hiding.

"Whereas most adults, certainly all the ones that I knew, would have exclaimed at the sight of such a strange creature, Harry took her appearance in stride. He directed us to the stables and pointed to one horse saying, "She just came in alone the other day. I had guessed she would be needed soon." The horse was quickly fitted with tack and provisions, and my friend was ready to be gone. She thanked me again before riding off. I never did learn her name or anything about her.

"After she'd left, Harry looked at me and said, "I guess we'd better turn you visible." I was about to protest that I hadn't actually had a chance to use my invisibility, but then I remembered that Something Really Important had happened. He did some mumbling and gesturing, and there I was again. He also said that I needed an alibi, whatever that was, and that we would finish up some chores in the stable together.

"When I returned home to the tavern, reeking of horses and their output, the place was in upheaval. A darkly robed man was shouting, and much of the common room had been rearranged. A few of the burly locals who served as bouncers for free food and drink were slumped over in the corner, groaning. My mom, when she spotted me, was quite relieved, hugging me closely and protectively despite the fact that I must have smelled pretty ripe. "Where have you been?" she pleaded desperately, and the others listened.

"'I was helping Harry out at the stables, ma-ma," I responded.

"The innkeeper and the others appeared satisfied with my answer. My supporting evidence was certainly in the air. "I would have smelled that one's presence in my rooms," muttered the darkly robed man, whose anger was only slightly mollified. "But I am leaving now, before I lose anything else in this den of thieves."

"Mom ushered me out to the well, and gave me a good scolding and scrubbing. Even though bathing with well water in the middle of the night was incredibly chilling, I was glad to be out of the inn and the sight of the robed man. So, too, was my mother, who had evidently suspected that I had been up to mischief, as young children," Fiamma looks at Nasir, "often are."

"Things returned back to normal by the next day, and people even stopped talking about the angry stranger a few years after his tantrum and departure. Nobody remarked that, after that evening, I started spending a lot of time at Harry's. I became his stable hand, even though there were many boys in the village who could shovel manure a lot faster than I. (I suppose I owe a lot of my physical strength, which is laughable compared to Shadya's but unusual for a girl of my slight build, to the fact the horses shit copiously.) Over the years I became proficient at horseback riding and at handling horses and other domesticated animals. I never mentioned to others that Harry knew something about magic and wasn't quite as dumb as he seemed. Who would have believed me?

"As we were on a trade route (hence the need for both an inn and a set of stables in an otherwise tiny hamlet), there was always someone of mild interest passing through every few weeks. In general, life continued in the village in the same way it had for decades, if not centuries. I supposed the only other thing that changed after that incident was that I became even more restless than I had been before. When a wandering minstrel passed through town a few years back, he heard me singing as I was mopping the tavern's floor. So he spent some time with me, training me to read both music and writing and to sing properly and play the fiddle. I think that he was escaping some sort of personal tragedy, for he was often quite sad, and only laughed occasionally when I did something silly, as opposed to the rest of the town's general reaction to my antics. But eventually, he too moved on. He did give me his second best fiddle, which is what I now play.

"Finally, the previously mentioned caravan of traders from a strange and distant land passed through our town. I knew that my destiny was with these folk, for otherwise I feared that I might waste away from boredom. After shining sufficiently that my mother relented, I gathered up my knapsack of belongings and was ready to go. My mom packed me enough food to feed me and a number of others for several days. The tavern keeper, a normally gruff and stingy man, actually managed to sniffle a bit and five me a very generous reckoning on past wages that I had never expected to receive. But Harry took me aside and said, as best he could amidst his parting tears, "You'll need a mount for your trip, so take Star. She's fast without being flighty, reliable and yet responsive. She'll never win any beauty contests, but you and I both know how outward appearances can be, uh, deceiving."

"And, that, my friends, is how I got my horse."

Shadya comments, "Your Harry sounds as though he could be brother to the Hasim in Aw'wal where we bought Nasir's sturdy mount. Even their bazaar stalls seem to have similar names." The warrior is obviously amused by her own fancy. She jokes, "Is there a law of Ashar that horse traders in towns be slow of speech and wit? Nonetheless, Hasim did not exhibit magical powers - at least while I was there. Right, Nasir?"

A strange look crosses Nasir's face. "No, great lady, I did not see him perform any magic." Nasir has been reminded of something, and drops down to check his donkey.

Shadya reflects for a moment and then excuses herself to follow Nasir. She crouches down next to the boy. "Nasir, if my careless words have upset you, please tell me how. If I have given offense, 'twas unwittingly done and I do apologize. Can you tell me what is wrong, dear one?"

Nasir is a little flustered. "Oh, no, great lady - you have done nothing to offend. It's just that, well, do you remember that I thought the merchant's stall had disappeared? Well, I was certain it had done so, but when you came back and I looked again, it was there. I was sure I had never seen it before. So, yes, I have never seen the merchant perform magic - but if it was not magic that he was there, I do not know how else to explain it."

Shadya regards him seriously. Slowly she says, "Indeed. Hm. You noticed this. Is it possible ..? Hm." Her tone indicates that she has always found Nasir to be reliable (in all save, perhaps, his self-assessments); she does not want to disbelieve him now. She muses aloud, "If a horse merchant's stall exists and then it does not and ten it does again - one is either dreaming, or considerable time has passed, or ... there is magic at work. Why a mage that can transport a caravan-worth of beasts would masquerade as a slow-witted horse trader, I have no idea. Ah, who am I to fathom the mind of a wizard?" Her thinking continues and there is some wonder in her voice, "And if he can do so ... Perhaps I was not so off in calling 'Harry' and 'Hasim' brothers. It could be, or ... Why could it not be the same man? Ah! This is very strange. Still," the warrior brings her attention back to Nasir and her voice is gay, "He seems an honest merchant and his beasts are good. 'Tis well, is it not, dear one?"

As they return to the bard, Orlando asks the half-elf, "You say the person you rescued was strange, but she was not so strange that she couldn't ride a horse. What was strange about her?"

Fiamma says, "Strange in that she had strange colored skin and no apparent facial features like a full nose or mouth. I don't really remember everything that well, being only 5, but she was unlike any humanoid I'd ever seen." Then she starts, "Hey, I still have that stuff that the fairies gave me. Think that will turn me invisible?"

Shadya and Orlando exchange glances and shake their heads.

Unabashed, Fiamma adds, "The mysterious captive also had silver eyes. I don't really recall much else about her. She was pretty strange looking, especially to a 5-year-old. Perhaps I would have put her as a fairie."

"Star" copyright 1996 S.Swinehart. The contents of this site are copyright 2004 Sheryl A. Knowles unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.