“What luck!” The farm boy exclaimed to himself as he ran unseen from his home. Clutched tightly in the pre-adolescents arms was a large leather and gold bound book, roughly as wide as the boys chest and long enough so that to see over it he had to stretch his neck.
The child ran as far as he could before his stamina failed him and he fell to the ground nearly exhausted. “Hail Darenthil the dragon slayer!” the boy yelled in praise of himself and his imaginary defeat of the dragon which was in reality his own mother, and actually he hadn’t slain her, he had simply stolen a book from the attic that he had been told many times NOT to touch.
With trembling hands he lifted the heavy cover of the book and read aloud the title page. “The Adventures of Sir Eoin Fitzpatrick, protector of the helpless, bringer of justice and…” the boy stopped short and wrinkled his nose at the last title, “Dwarf Cushion?”
The next page revealed elegant drawings of a knight battling two ferocious fire breathing dragons, and Darenthil clapped his hands with joy as he read the calligraphic title of the first chapter.
“Sir Eoin the Dragon Slayer.”
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Sir Eoin Fitzpatrick’s journeys had by a trick of fate brought him to the Gnome town of Barga, quite infamously known for its myriad sections of walls built around the city. After a quite confusing time of twist and turns the young knight found himself at a rather busy looking tavern named “The Frosty Mug”. Though as a knight he had sworn off ale and other such beverages, a tavern is always the best way to find adventure, so Sir Eoin placed himself at a center table and listened for opportunities to fulfill his knightly duties.
His wait was not long, a group of adventuring dwarves and rather wild looking gnome where seemingly interested in returning some type of stolen property to a haggard looking gnome. Surmising from their conversation that this meant combat, Sir Eoin offered his services to this band of unlikely heroes. The assembly eagerly accepted his help, recognizing that they would never be able to accomplish the task alone and that only a well renowned knight like Sir Eoin could bring them victory.
A plate covered dwarf named Groehl, that later identified himself as a cleric, explained to Sir Eoin that their mission was to return a wagon full of stolen items and to rescue one of the local’s daughter who had been captured by goblins.
Though Sir Eoin did not know it at the time, there was another in the tavern interested in stolen goods. A hobgoblin by the name of Gorgoth, a fighter of some fame, was searching for his own lost property.
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“No!” Darenthil exclaimed as he saw that the writing had faded and was unintelligible. Whispering a quick prayer that the next page would be intact he turned the sheet. |
