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(OOC: Yesterday, Cazen was about to run to Muckspear with a few others to complete the "Talona's Artifact" quest. At the transition point, I experienced the freeze we all sometimes get. As per usual, I restart NWN2 and was in the process of logging in when, all of the sudden, my ISP decided I didn't need to be online anymore for the day, or whatever really happened. Since I won't have enough time to do any RPing in Sundren until about Saturday, I present this as what happened, IC.)
The Forest of Viridale never seem particularly threatening. To the untrained eye, the place is a tranquil paradise of pristine land, mostly untouched and untrodden by the hands of man. Those who truly know the Forest, however, know the dangers that lurk within. Animals grow to frightening proportion and fear not the unknown, and various sub-human creatures band together in small villages, sometimes at war with each other and, more often, at war with the outside world.
It seems the more the civilized aspects of Sundren intrude upon the Forest, the more it retaliates. Some blame the druids, others the orcs, ogres, and goblinoid species, but very few (if anyone) has the answers as to what truly (if anything) controls the forest. But this is another story for another day.
Cazen strolled out of the Druid's Grove, having only moments before left the near-by over-grown tree-house of the Ranger's Outpost. He would never call it that in front of his friend, Daelus, but mostly, the Rangers were decent folk. "Lonely men of the woods..." Cazen smirked to himself, feeling that the arrows he had just purchased from "Bullseye" were over-priced. He made his way toward the Viridale Border, where the forces of Sundren had made camp to rejoin his friends.
Several times, he and Daelus had gone to Muckspear with various others to complete a task set forth by the Druids of the Grove. Twice now, they had failed to recover the artifact, and a third time, each of them fell to the under-estimable might of the Muckspear Goblins. This time, he was confident the combined forces gathered would be able to surmount anything the Muckspear decided to attempt.
As he quietly walked along, he felt a great pressure suddenly impact the back of his head. There was a high-pitched keening in his ears and, suddenly, his eyes forced themselves shut. Cazen knew nothing else in this world from that moment on. In his mind, however, he was whisked away to familiar places of his past, before finally comes to rest in a place he wished he could forget.
Standing in his mother's library, Cazen looked around. No longer was he in the various attire he wore in Sundren, but he was in the black broad-cloth that his mother had insisted he wear around her home in Neverwinter. Cazen sighed, waiting impatiently for whatever was going to happen. The double-doors of his mother's library opened and he expected to see the short, graceful form of his mother enter.
Instead, the woman was tall...taller then Cazen, even. Her blond hair laid straight as it fell down behind her ears. She was, oddly enough, a shade of pale and yet, golden at the same time in skin tone. No one would've considered her conventionally beautiful, as she was more waifish then the current style, yet she exuded an aura of quiet confidence, as if she always knew the answer and was ready for it. Her eyes...her eyes were indescribable. Suffice it to say, Cazen could not meet her eyes.
As the door-doubles shut behind her, there was an eerie silence. "Who are you?" Cazen finally managed to ask. He looked down at himself and look around for any weapon before he finally returned his attention to the lady. She gave him a furtive smile, "I think the question is, Cazen, who are you?" Her tone was undeniably feminine, but had the surety you normally find in a young, cocksure male. Cazen screwed up his face, "You just said my name, and yet you're asking who I am?"
Her poise and cheer never left her, "People are so much more then their names, Cazen Kro-" She made the "oops" face, "Oh...forgive me. You don't use that name anymore, do you?" Cazen struggled to remain untouched by her social gaffe, though he couldn't understand why it was a social gaffe. "I don't deserve Roman's last name. I'm not his blood." She nodded, gesturing with her hand as if the explanation was getting boring. "That's all very lovely, Cazen, but you've yet to answer my original question."
"And you've yet to explain what you mean by it. I can't very well answer a question I don't understand." As he spoke the words, a realization came upon him. She offered an innocent smile, closing those eyes of her and nodding. "Now, you get it." Cazen stagged backward and came to rest in a conveniently placed seat. "I think, perhaps, it's time you made more of an effort to discover yourself, Cazen." She turned, the double-doors opening seemingly on their own.
Cazen seemed to realize something, "Wait! Who are you?" She looked back, a gentle smile on her face. As that world faded away to another, her voice came to Cazen. "You are lost and alone...if you can find your way back, I believe you'll be ready to search for yourself." And then, his eyes opened and Cazen stirred. It was night and he was in the forest. He just lay there, his head pounding and every sight and sound a painful reminder of whatever had struck him.
After a while, he stood up, brushing himself off, and checked all of his belongings. Nothing had been stolen...appearently, he'd been disabled and...He looked around, then, realizing that he did not lay where he fell. In fact, he did not recognize any of the surrounding area. "Tymora..." he said softly, almost under his breath, "Help this poor fool find his way home." He felt no comfort in those words...they seemed empty upon his lips.
"Alone..." he said to himself, "...and lost."
The Forest of Viridale never seem particularly threatening. To the untrained eye, the place is a tranquil paradise of pristine land, mostly untouched and untrodden by the hands of man. Those who truly know the Forest, however, know the dangers that lurk within. Animals grow to frightening proportion and fear not the unknown, and various sub-human creatures band together in small villages, sometimes at war with each other and, more often, at war with the outside world.
It seems the more the civilized aspects of Sundren intrude upon the Forest, the more it retaliates. Some blame the druids, others the orcs, ogres, and goblinoid species, but very few (if anyone) has the answers as to what truly (if anything) controls the forest. But this is another story for another day.
Cazen strolled out of the Druid's Grove, having only moments before left the near-by over-grown tree-house of the Ranger's Outpost. He would never call it that in front of his friend, Daelus, but mostly, the Rangers were decent folk. "Lonely men of the woods..." Cazen smirked to himself, feeling that the arrows he had just purchased from "Bullseye" were over-priced. He made his way toward the Viridale Border, where the forces of Sundren had made camp to rejoin his friends.
Several times, he and Daelus had gone to Muckspear with various others to complete a task set forth by the Druids of the Grove. Twice now, they had failed to recover the artifact, and a third time, each of them fell to the under-estimable might of the Muckspear Goblins. This time, he was confident the combined forces gathered would be able to surmount anything the Muckspear decided to attempt.
As he quietly walked along, he felt a great pressure suddenly impact the back of his head. There was a high-pitched keening in his ears and, suddenly, his eyes forced themselves shut. Cazen knew nothing else in this world from that moment on. In his mind, however, he was whisked away to familiar places of his past, before finally comes to rest in a place he wished he could forget.
Standing in his mother's library, Cazen looked around. No longer was he in the various attire he wore in Sundren, but he was in the black broad-cloth that his mother had insisted he wear around her home in Neverwinter. Cazen sighed, waiting impatiently for whatever was going to happen. The double-doors of his mother's library opened and he expected to see the short, graceful form of his mother enter.
Instead, the woman was tall...taller then Cazen, even. Her blond hair laid straight as it fell down behind her ears. She was, oddly enough, a shade of pale and yet, golden at the same time in skin tone. No one would've considered her conventionally beautiful, as she was more waifish then the current style, yet she exuded an aura of quiet confidence, as if she always knew the answer and was ready for it. Her eyes...her eyes were indescribable. Suffice it to say, Cazen could not meet her eyes.
As the door-doubles shut behind her, there was an eerie silence. "Who are you?" Cazen finally managed to ask. He looked down at himself and look around for any weapon before he finally returned his attention to the lady. She gave him a furtive smile, "I think the question is, Cazen, who are you?" Her tone was undeniably feminine, but had the surety you normally find in a young, cocksure male. Cazen screwed up his face, "You just said my name, and yet you're asking who I am?"
Her poise and cheer never left her, "People are so much more then their names, Cazen Kro-" She made the "oops" face, "Oh...forgive me. You don't use that name anymore, do you?" Cazen struggled to remain untouched by her social gaffe, though he couldn't understand why it was a social gaffe. "I don't deserve Roman's last name. I'm not his blood." She nodded, gesturing with her hand as if the explanation was getting boring. "That's all very lovely, Cazen, but you've yet to answer my original question."
"And you've yet to explain what you mean by it. I can't very well answer a question I don't understand." As he spoke the words, a realization came upon him. She offered an innocent smile, closing those eyes of her and nodding. "Now, you get it." Cazen stagged backward and came to rest in a conveniently placed seat. "I think, perhaps, it's time you made more of an effort to discover yourself, Cazen." She turned, the double-doors opening seemingly on their own.
Cazen seemed to realize something, "Wait! Who are you?" She looked back, a gentle smile on her face. As that world faded away to another, her voice came to Cazen. "You are lost and alone...if you can find your way back, I believe you'll be ready to search for yourself." And then, his eyes opened and Cazen stirred. It was night and he was in the forest. He just lay there, his head pounding and every sight and sound a painful reminder of whatever had struck him.
After a while, he stood up, brushing himself off, and checked all of his belongings. Nothing had been stolen...appearently, he'd been disabled and...He looked around, then, realizing that he did not lay where he fell. In fact, he did not recognize any of the surrounding area. "Tymora..." he said softly, almost under his breath, "Help this poor fool find his way home." He felt no comfort in those words...they seemed empty upon his lips.
"Alone..." he said to himself, "...and lost."
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