I dunno if this is the right forum for this, but I am a semi-new player who was somewhat inspired while playing through the isle of refuge and novelized a bit of my adventures. If anyone actually likes it and I'm not in the wrong place I might add more, but for now here's Chapter 1, Welcome to Norrath. “Get up, you dog!” Merric felt a boot to his side and grunted. “We’re here.” He opened his eyes and looked up. The blurry image of a man came into focus. Merric tried to move, but found himself unable to. His hands were shackled above his head and he was sitting on the ground. Wood floors, wood walls, and a wood ceiling. So it wasn’t a prison cell, at least. He heard waves and creaking wood. Must be a ship. “Did you hear me? I said we’re here!” The man shouted, and kicked Merric again. “I heard you, *******. Here where?” “The Outpost of the Overlord. Consider yourself lucky we’re not just throwing you to the sharks. But we’ve got orders.” The man explained. “We’re dropping you off here. You’ve got orders too, if you don’t want to die on this island.” Merric’s mind raced. Why was he on this ship in the first place? He vaguely remembered a heist and a prison cell. Strange, why couldn’t he remember? “Alright. Fine. Orders from who?” Merric asked. “And take off these shackles. I’m not going anywhere.” “Someone from the office of the Overlord himself. I don’t know the details, but it seems someone’s taken notice of you, kid.” The man leaned over and unclasped Merric’s shackles, setting him free. “You’re to follow me up-top. Until you get off this ship, you’re still a prisoner. Give us a reason and it won’t matter who’s orders they were.” Merric grunted and stood up. Taking stock of himself, he frowned. The guard gave him a shove and they began walking. They passed through what seemed like the galley. A few sailors sat around drinking, eating, or playing cards. As he passed, he noticed a small knife hanging off a sailor’s belt. The man was deep in his cups. Merric slipped his hand out subtly and grabbed the dagger, fishing it away and holding it behind his wrist. He made it a rule to never be unarmed. They continued up the stairs and found themselves above deck. A serious looking older man wearing a coat and a tricorne hat stood there waiting. “Captain, here he is.” The guard said, and gave Merric a bit of a shove. “Thank you, sailor. Get this man a shirt, then you can return to your duties.” The captain said in a calm tone. “Aye Captain.” The guard saluted and turned back down into the bowels of the ship, the captain turned to look at Merric. “I’m sure you’re wondering,” The captain said with a mirthful smile beneath his bushy gray beard. “How and why you came to be locked up on my ship.” “You could say that.” Merric replied. “You got mixed in something a lot bigger than you, boy. From what I understand, you and your friends attempted a robbery, correct? Don’t bother lying to me. That doesn’t matter anymore anyway.” “I vaguely recall something of the sort. My memory is strangely fuzzy on the whole thing.” Merric admitted, frowning. “Heh. Well, you boys ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The place you were trying to rob was a front for rebels, and you just happened to break in right before the Freeport Militia raided the place. The militia killed everyone but you. Apparently, you put up quite the fight.” The Captain shrugged. “Enough of one that the militia took you alive for interrogation, believing you to be one of those rebels. Once they realized you were just an unlucky fool, they were going to kill you and be done with it. But, apparently, someone thinks you have potential to serve the Overlord.” “That doesn’t explain why there are huge holes in my memory, old man.” Merric retorted. “Well, you know. Interrogation magic can be quite harmful, or so I hear.” He shrugged, “Maybe those memories will come back, maybe they won’t. Like I said, none of that matters. What matters now is that you go and report to Tayil N’Velex. That name should ring a bell to you. She serves as the emissary to the Overlord himself– Don’t ask, because that’s all the information I was given.” “Fine. I’ll go along with whatever this is, for now.” Merric decided, not that it was much of a decision. It all sounded a little unreal to him, but he wasn’t dead yet. “Good! In that case, take this.” The captain offered Merric a wooden club, “Can’t have you going unarmed, although I see you already acquired a weapon of your own.” The captain smirked, “But, you know. Orders are orders.” As he said that, the guard returned with a shirt, which he tossed to Merric. Merric threw it on and tied the club to his belt loop with a bit of string. He then stuck the dagger into the waistband of his pants, hiding the hilt with his shirt. “There you go. Good luck, you’re gonna need it, I imagine.” The captain offered as parting words as Merric walked off the ship and up the dock to the beach. The beach was small. It had two small docks, some rocks, some crates, a couple of palm trees; the things most beaches have. The thing that set it apart from most beaches was the massive, solid stone wall. The base of the wall had ornate blue, green, and gold patterns. Wooden plank stairs led up a large archway into a completely different environment. Once he got through the archway, Merric found a pleasant little grove. It was completely boxed in either through natural cliffs, or those massive stone walls. The only thing that marred the natural beauty of this place was a massive, dark gray stone tower. It was flanked by two large statues depicting cloaked and hooded men holding greatswords, bowing their heads. And there, in front of the tower, stood Tayil N’Velex. Merric knew of her. The dark elf woman was the Overlord’s right-hand, as it were. Merric would have to choose his words carefully. As he approached, she greeted him. “There you are, Merric. I have been expecting you. There is much work ahead of us. You are going to assist us in establishing Freeport’s dominance over this island.” She began, cutting straight to business, “The Overlord’s troops have secured the outpost, but there is a growing nuisance on the other side of the island that must be addressed. That is where you come in.” “Alright. Where do I start?” Merric asked. Tayil smiled. “You are handling this quite well, there is indeed much potential in you. But potential must be honed. Go speak with Darg Frostwind, the trainer here in the outpost. He will see how you fight, and help get you prepared for the trials ahead.” She explained. If she thought Merric was going to sit around and play soldier forever, she was going to be disappointed. But, until he saw an opportunity to leave, he was going to play along for now. “Alright. I will, but first, I have to ask. What do I get out of all of this?” Merric asked. To his surprise, Tayil chuckled. “An astute question. Better than ‘Why me?’ I should say. Besides getting to live, which I imagine you value rather highly. You will be rewarded for your service here. And if I recall correctly, you currently live in Beggar’s Row. Should you do well, you will be granted full citizenship, and access to the city proper. There might be more work in your future, as well. Either way, I think your prospects will shoot up considerably.” Full citizenship. That changed things. “Fine.” Merric nodded, and left.
