The Five Folded Map

gbachura · April 2013

This story is an ongoing project as part of the contest I held for players. Feel free to read and enjoy. Cheers!

"As storytellers we are all eager to share, and as storytellers we all covet our creations. In the end we must give up a little piece of that story each time we share it, until eventually we no longer hold anything more of it than the rest of all those who have heard it from us, and shared it over again. The cycle goes on, and on, and there is beauty in that. We are all storytellers, the moment we imagine something fantastical or sinister. The moment we make a character, we are telling a story. Don't be afraid to share. Don't be afraid to recognize when a story should end. Don't be afraid to adapt.

I tell you this, my child, because some day you may appreciate the story I am trying to tell you now. About The Five Folded Map. It has changed much since I heard it, and it will change again. I cannot say how much of the original remains, but the essence of it is there. So, sit down on that chair, and prepare yourself to listen."

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The Five Folded Map

The wind whipped around at the man's face, harsher than the day before. Yesterday the wind had been like a lover, caressing his cheek as it floated by. Today it was a fiercer mistress, buffeting him as if to rebuke whatever wrongs he might have committed. He stood on a road, The High Road, and not for the first time wished he could return to the Neverwinter Wood where the wind's reach was something less. But he could not, would not, for fear of what lay back there. So now, facing nature or elemental -- he cared not for which it might be that summoned up this tempest of a windstorm -- he trudged south toward the jagged remains of the Jewel of the North. They were rebuilding it, he knew. Escaping his troubles in a troubled town sounded about right to him. He double-timed it down the road.

As he carried himself down the road, he constantly found himself caught by upturned paving stones and muck puddles. Add that to his list of worries; brigands, wind, a nasty cut on his left hand, and now tripping into the wet dirt. Preoccupied as he was with these things, he did not immediately notice that he was being tailed, or that a bit up ahead a trap lay in wait for just such an unfortunate soul as himself. He was too busy trying to keep his long black coat from being stripped away by the damnable wind.

"'Ey, you there! Hold fast, or you'll be a fine pincushion in a quick minute!" The unfortunate man stopped in his tracks, his boot scuffing across one of the stones underfoot.

"Just great..." His good hand came down atop the hilt of his blade, though he did not deign to draw it. Such an act would be condemning himself to death if these dirty ungulates were to be taken at their word. Which, it seems, they were.

"Steady now! You don't wanna die, do you? Toss out any coin, an' then keep walkin'." The first voice had come from his left, and now this one from his right.

Without bandying further with them, he reached his injured left hand into his coat and tossed out a small purse of coin which jangled as it landed just ahead of him. After a deep breath, he began to murmur a spell...

"Quick, get the coin Jeb!"

"You get it, you big oaf!"

"Quit arguing, before he gets awa--" With an accompanying applause of noise, a sort of darkness overtook the area.

Nimbly he dodged forward and grabbed the coin pouch, his fingers almost dropping it in his haste as he escaped. It took him almost a full minute to run through the darkness he had conjured. He did not stop running until he was out of breath, but being out of breath was preferable to having to fight and risk one's life. Or so he reasoned. Not that he wasn't capable of taking on 'Jeb' and 'Big Oaf', but it was an unnecessary risk all the same. That, and it required too much effort. This was the sort of man Eredis Mal was.

For figure tailing him, his little trick had been sufficient to permit their passage through the banditry as well. As Eredis stopped to pat himself down and check that all his nooks and pockets in his long jacket still contained whatever it was that was in them, the figure was fast approaching. He noticed only after he was able to make out that they were an elf, and female. Torn between making an account of his personal belongings and making ready to encounter yet another possibly dangerous situation he rested his hand on his blade and tried on a wary smile.

The elf maid raised a hand in greeting, and offered a disarming smile. It was not altogether effective on Eredis, though he did relax his grip on the hilt of his blade. She walked close and then looked back over her shoulder quickly once, her smile growing wider while the wind jostled her hair around her face in such a way that unframed it and gave her expression a disembodied element.

"That was very neatly done. You surely could have fought, but you didn't. I approve." Her head inclined toward him, but that was about it in terms of a greeting.

"Heh. Well, thanks. I didn't really do it for approval though. It was just easier." He didn't like people assuming he was a good person, even if he might be one. It meant being asked favors of, being expected to behave a certain way, and all other manner of things that he didn't want to be tied up with.

"You are heading south. To Neverwinter?" Her words were crisp, clipped. Common wasn't her first language, obviously. Obviously because she was an elf of course.

"Err. Yes, yes I am. My name is Eredis, and yours?" Already he was turning to keep walking, his back to her. For some reason the way she held herself upright didn't speak violence to him.

"For now, you don't know. Maybe later though, I will share it with you. If we find our paths continue to converge that is. Don't think me suspicious for saying so, it's just that I prefer my privacy until I'm sure I want to know you." She fell in step with him, dodging the occasional upturned paving stone.

They continued to walk, mostly in silence unless one or the other of them spotted something interesting. Once, the unnamed elf inquired about the blade at his hip and whether or not he could use it, but he declined to answer that directly. He inquired about her purpose in going south to Neverwinter, but she too declined any sort of real answer. They were nearing Neverwinter as evening approached, and so they finished the last leg of the first part of their journey in silence. There would be plenty of time for talking once they had a warm meal and the light of a proper inn.

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kwsapphire · April 2013

I like it so far! I'm looking forward to learning more about these two travelers. *subscribe*

richardseaton · April 2013

Very nice! But I'm jealous my character wasn't chosen!

erideita · April 2013

Looking forward to read it, I liked the introduction!

xhatch · April 2013

Good so far! Looking forward to reading more!

druid2009 · April 2013

Nicely done! Good start to a story, The characters were pretty flavoursome, it seems as though this is going to be an interesting journey. Thanks for putting the time and effort into this for us to enjoy.

This is one the main reasons I am looking forward to playing Neverwinter. For a Story, a journey. The Foundry creations could very well be a pot of gold when it comes to short stories, or at least, I hope it will be.

The Five Folded Map

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