The Journey Begins [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

Lonewolfba

11-28-2005, 07:47 PM

<DIV> The Journey Begins "He finally lost it", Wolfweaver told Wolfenbane. "What are you talking about", Wolfenbane ask annoyed as usual with his baby brother. Wolfweaver learned the news from his forest friends long before his brother Wolfenbane had a chance to hear it from the thieves’ den. This was not going to be easy to tell him, since Lonewolfbane and Wolfenbane were a lot closer than Wolfenbane and Wolfweaver. "There was an assassination attempt on the Queen today" Wolfweaver started out. Wolfenbane walked over and grab a beer off the counter. "The assassin was captured and left for dead on the shores of Coldwind Coastline", Wolfweaver continued "but from what I have found out he survived and made his way to Freeport" "Who would have been stupid enough to try and Kill our beloved Queen" Wolfenbane asked as he started to drink his beer. "Our brother that is who" Wolfweaver said. Wolfenbane nearly choked on his drink. The glass shattered as it hit the floor and Wolfenbane slumped into a chair. He was devastated. His brother, his best friend was no longer around. He would never be allowed back into the city, he knew this for a fact, and this broke Wolfenbane's heart. If not for the rational thinking of his baby brother, Wolfenbane would have followed in his younger brothers footsteps. "Get a good nights sleep baby brother" Wolfenbane wept, "We leave tomorrow to find our brother" They woke up long before the sun came up. They quickly packed their bags and made their way to the bank where they each took out some silver for the trip. The three of them had lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Castleview Hamlet since moving out on their own. Wolfenbane and Wolfweaver were not sure when they would be back. The two of them headed for the Mariners Bell, where they summoned a boat to take them to the docks in Antonica. The journey from Castleview Hamlet to the dock of Antonica was a short trip. They quickly disembarked the boat and head up to the Merchants, just outside the Lighthouse. Wolfenbane stopped and bought a satchel full of arrows. He knew the trip was going to be long and dangerous, and he was taking no chances. He then pulled out a map he had "borrowed" from a Guildie and studied it very carefully. Before he went to bed the night before, Wolfenbane had met with Tanas. Tanas was a seasoned Ranger who belonged to the same Adventuring guild as Wolfenbane and his brothers. Tanas had given him directions on how to safely get to the Steppes. He also warned Wolfenbane that once in the Steppes that the dangers would be ten fold. Wolfenbane thanked Tanas, before quickly and quietly liberating his maps. It was nearly noon before the two had reached the Qeynos Bird station. Wolfenbane knew that this would take them to the Steppes Bird station, and it would put them only a few hours walk from the gate of The Steppes. The ride between the stations was eventless. By time the two had finally landed it was starting to dark. Wolfweaver cast Spirit of the wolf on both of them, and Wolfenbane smuggled them both to the gate, wanting to avoid any encounters. They safely passed through the gates of the Steppes a little after sunset. Wolfenbane, heeding Tanas' warning, decided it was best to make camp near the Steppes Sentry. That night as they lay sleeping, Wolfweaver had a dream about his older brother Lonewolfbane. He thought it weird that he would dream about Lonewolfbane, since neither was that close, so he chalked it up to his Shaman training. Wolfweaver saw his brother sneaking up to a group of Orcs. He saw Lonewolfbane kill the first Orc, before the other three could even react. The fight only lasted about a minute more. When all four Orcs were dead, Wolfweaver was horrified at what he saw next. Lonewolfbane cut the ear off of one the Orcs and then took a tooth from another, putting both into his pack. Wolfweaver was actually afraid of the look he saw in his brother’s eyes. The look was filled with pure hatred and was evil. Wolfweaver woke in a cold sweat. He knew that it was only a dream, but he felt it was so much more. It took Lonewolfbane nearly a week to get from the Coldwind Coastline of Antonica to the Commonlands. The trip was slow going and there were lots of dangers along the way. He had to fight his way through a group of Gnolls near the gates of the Steppes. Here he had almost lost his life for the first time on his trip, and it would not be the last time. It took every skill he had and then some just to make it this far. The second and third days of travel were no better. He made it to the Thundering Steppes only to be met by more Gnolls. There were much too many for him to handle and again he was running for his life. When he finally stopped sprinting and took a look around, he found himself in a dry riverbed. He found an outcropping of rocks and decided that he would make camp for the night and get a fresh start. The next morning he awoke to find the riverbed littered with Undead. Lonewolfbane thought to himself could things not get any worse. As if to say yes it could, a Corpse Feeder crab started moving his way, opening and closing it's large claw. It was fight or flight time for the young predator, and he decided that he who runs away, lives to fight another day. He vowed to himself that when he finally reached the Commonlands, he would never run from a fight again. While running he noticed a dock up ahead. He made a made dash to it and finally found he could take a breather. He spent several hours there, before he finally called for the boat to take him to Nektulos Forest. The Captain of the boat told him that the trip would take the rest of the day and much of the night. So Lonewolfbane decided to get some rest while on the boat and collect his thoughts. He was just glad to finally be safe for more than a few hours. Lonewolfbane had never been so scared in his life. He had arrived in Nektulos Forest and found it to be the most dangerous place he had been so far. Everywhere he turned there was another danger. First it was the giant spiders on the beach, and then it was the owlbears and firebats. It was not easy getting past any of them. Everything he came across could see right through his sneak. Most of the time he was running for his life. He was told by the boat Captain how to get to the Commonlands. He followed the path until he reached the bridge, once at the bridge he followed the riverbank north toward the gate to the Commonlands. Lonewolfbane felt he was getting close; he dared not camp or sleep while in this vile land. It had been two days of walking, running and hiding before he finally saw the second bridge and the gate to the Commonlands in the distance. Lonewolfbane had not slept now for two days. He was exhausted and let his guard down for just a minute, but a minute was all it took. He had stepped up on a log to get a better look at the gate, which was up on a hill about a half a mile or so away, and that is when it happened. Lonewolfbane did not see the giant tree snake, but he sure felt it when it hit him. He felt the poison as it started through his veins. He began to run as hard and as fast as he could towards the gate. Lonewolfbane knew that if he could make it to the gate and get on the other side he would be safe. He was just a matter of feet now from the gate, scrambling up the hill to get to it. The poison was doing a good job on him. He could barely walk or breath now and everything was starting to go black. The last thing Lonewolfbane remembered before he blacked out was closing the gates to the Commonlands behind him. He took two steps forward and collapsed to the ground. He remembers thinking to himself, how could I make it to the Commonlands just to die, and how unfair it was. "RUN!!” Wolfweaver Screamed at his Brother, "THE WARD IS FALLING AND THERE ARE TO MANY" Dang it Wolfenbane thought to himself, he hated it when his baby brother was right. There were just to many undead and he knew there only chance was to make it to the docks. Wolfweaver had just enough power left to cast Spirit of the wolf on both of them. Wolfenbane broke the encounter, grabbed his brother by the arm, and ran. When they reached the docks, the boat was just pulling away for Nektulos Forest, they made a leap for it and both barely got onboard. Wolfenbane turned to the dozen or so skeletons that were just reaching the docks and blew them a kiss goodbye. They had woke early that morning and started out in search of Lonewolfbane at first light. They met up with a Trapper with a bad back along the way that gave them directions to the dock. The Trapper failed to mention the riverbed was full of undead. Wolfenbane had tried to smuggle them to the docks, but the undead saw right through his invisibility. They had managed to hold their own for about twenty minutes, but there were just to many of them and they had to run. Now safely on the boat they had time to plan their next move. After the last encounter and after talking to the Captain of the boat, Wolfenbane knew that for the safety of himself and his baby brother, he would need help getting through Nektulos forest. He decided that tomorrow when they reached there, that he would find help to get to the Commonlands. He just needed safe passage to the gates; from there he knew that Wolfweaver and himself could handle the Commonlands. The ride was going to be a long one, so they made themselves comfortable and were soon asleep. Upon arriving in Nektulos Forest, Wolfenbane set about finding aid in get through to the Commonlands unharmed. It just so happened that at almost the exact same time four adventurers were returning to Nektulos Forest for a scouting mission. Kerick, Shavol, Glofa and Cajia were all seasoned Adventurers and offered their help getting the two brothers to the gates of the Commonlands. They stayed on the path for most of the trip, heading in the direction of the broken spires. Once they reached the bridge, they followed the river to the gates of the Commonlands. The trip was almost completely uneventful with one exception, the giant tree snake. Wolfweaver saw it, but did not have enough time to warn anyone, he barely had enough time to get his ward up before it attacked. If not for the ward and the other group members, Wolfenbane knew that he would be dead by now. Thanks to his brothers quick thinking and cool head he was still alive. Shavol and Kerick proceeded to beat and pommel the snake to death in a matter of minutes. The fight was over before the ward even wore off. Safely delivered to the gates of the Commonlands, Wolfenbane and Wolfweaver bid their new friends a fond farewell. They disbanded from the group and stepped through the gates of the Commonlands. They hoped they would find their brother soon. Someone kicked him in the ribs. There it was again, a sharp pain in the ribs. Then there was the muffled voice coming through. It seemed far away, as if it was down a tunnel, but it was getting closer and clearer. "Get up you worthless slime" The man said. "Your not dead, but I will kill you if you do not get up now" Lonewolfbane slowly got to his feet, still feeling the effects of the poison. He knew he was given some sort of antidote, but was not sure what it was. His eyes finally focused on an Evil looking man standing before him. He did not like what he saw, and liked even less what the man said next. "I saved your life, scum" The man sneered. "I own you now. You are mine to do with as I please." "I belong to no man" Lonewolfbane said "I will not be your...". Lonewolfbane dropped to his knees, doubled over in pain, the bruises started to form on his ribs where the man had unleashed a quick assault of blows. He knew that there was no way he could fight this man now. Lonewolfbane was resolved to do as the man told him. The man evilly grinned. He enjoyed the beating he gave Lonewolfbane. The boy would make a good pupil for him to mold in his own image. He was pleased that he had found the young man, before the carrion hounds had. He grabbed the kid by the scruff of the neck and dragged him along with him. The seasons changed and the months flew by as Lonewolfbane underwent his training. At the same time Wolfenbane and Wolfweaver scoured the Commonlands looking for their brother. All three had grown in their own ways over the many months. Lonewolfbane and grown very bitter and an accomplished assassin. Many Orcs and Men alike fell beneath his blade. He was no longer the boy he once was. Wolfweaver grew into a gifted Mystic. He was no longer the happy go lucky youth he once was. Wolfenbane had grown into a great Swashbuckler and leader of men. The two brothers were coming to an end of a long journey and the beginning of an even bigger Adventure. Wolfweaver saw him first, and it was just like his dream. He saw Lonewolfbane engage the four orcs and watch with horror as his dream was reenacted before his eyes. He motioned to Wolfenbane who was just as shocked as his baby brother. When it was all over they slowly approached their brother. Lonewolfbane saw the two men approaching and prepared himself for another battle. Living this long in the Commonlands he learned to trust no one. As they got closer he could not believe his eyes. He thought to himself that he must have been dreaming. He realized that it really was his brothers. Lonewolfbane dropped his weapons to the ground; he then dropped to his knees, covered his face and began to sob. All that had happened in the last several month had finally taken its toll on him. Wolfenbane ran over to his younger brother, helped him up, hit him in the jaw as hard as he could, and then hugged him close. "Don't you ever leave us again like this" Wolfenbane said as tears of his own ran down his cheeks. Wolfweaver approached his brothers with tears starting to well up in his eyes. Lonewolfbane and Wolfenbane each put an arm around their baby brother and pulled him close. All three of them stood there hugging and crying. No words needed to be said. They all three knew that from here on out they would be inseparable. .... Here ends one story. Like life itself, the rest is yet to be written</DIV>