The Redhamster Chronicles

Part 1

The Adventures of Redhamster in the Clouds It was a fairly normal day, for the most part. I had woken up in the square of Cabeiri. As always, people staring at me for sleeping there under the old apple tree next to the fountain. I grabbed all my equipment from my pack and proceeded to put on my rings, while checking that everything else was there. Then, as usual, I checked the message board for any news or events that might be interesting. There wasn’t anything really interesting here, so I went to the bar to get some breakfast with the money I had ‘attained’ the day before. After a good meal, my throat was parched so I asked for a drink. Well, he didn’t have anything non-alcoholic. I was to lazy to walk to the square for a drink from the fountain. I ordered. 5 drinks later, and tipsier than a newbie who has challenged Simoriah to a drinking contest, I walked to the balloon landing to head to Whitestorm. The balloon keeper gave me a worried look and asked if I’d be alright in my ‘condition’. I told him to just let me use the balloon and do his job. He gave me a horrendous scowl to which I just razzed in reply. I then proceeded to trip into the balloon. It took off with me sprawled in the basket. After a few seconds, I got to my feet and looked around. I saw clouds everywhere, which was normal at this height. In my drunken stupor however, I thought it would be a great idea to leap into the clouds and walk around. So I did. Luckily for me, these particular clouds happened to have substantial footing to them. I looked around a bit and started giggling.
Then I deposited the contents of my stomach on the ground and passed out. Later, unsure of how much time had actually passed, I awoke with a horrible headache, dimly aware of some strange dream of leaping out of a balloon on my way to Whitestorm and landing in some clouds. Then I actually found myself standing in the clouds. Shock is an understatement.
This, I had decided, deserved some investigating. I found that this strange environment was home to a race of gnomes, vaguely shaped like mushrooms. They had the odd ability to turn blue and they laughed alot. There was also a race of elves that lived here, but I left them alone for the most part. After walking a bit, and hopping across scattered clouds here and there, I found myself at the base of a rainbow bridge which led to a castle. Castles equal gold. I ran as fast as possible at the rainbow bridge only to smack face first into an invisible wall of some sort and land on my behind. While sitting there cursing, a cherub happened to notice me and wander over. Now I’m not violent often, but I have my moments. This cherub proceeded to giggle and comment on how cute I was. Mildly annoying. Then he pinched my cheek… Moments later I was giggling, commenting on how cute he was. He wasn’t going to pinch anyones cheek again. One of those elves I had avoided earlier saw me standing over the cherub. He chased me. Let me tell you something, aside from the rainbow and castle up here, this place was devoid of anything to hide behind. I ran alot. Eventually I got to the edge of these white clouds and saw a group of storm clouds on the horizon. A white dove just sat there, as if a border guard. I thought this peculiar, but I didn’t have much time to think with an angry elf hot on my tail. The way I figured it, I could hide under my cloak in the black clouds and finally ditch the elf. I jumped farther then I think I’ll ever jump again to make it to those clouds. To my suprise, when I looked over my shoulder, the elf had stopped on the edge of the white clouds. He turned and walked away. I started laughing at him and calling him names, making a huge ruckus. I happened to attract the attention of a race of gnomes that happened to live here in these black clouds. Like their ‘cousins’ in the white clouds, they too could change colour. They changed red, and laughed maniacly. I liked these gnomes and this place much better. The feeling was not mutual.
The gnomes chased me around, and after numerous little battles with them, I dispatched enough to make the others run off. When I looked around to survey the area, I saw another rainbow bridge, connected to another castle. Well this time I walked towards it slowly, not wanting to run face first into another invisible wall. Sure enough, I was blocked from entrance to this one as well. I took a step back to think over what I was going to do next. No sooner had the gears in my head started turning had I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to face a horrendous creature, to which I had no intention of waiting around to name or talk to. I ran from him the same as I had run from the elf. Only this one threw lighting. As I neared the border again, I saw a raven, black as night, also seemingly a border guard. I jumped across. I hid myself as best as possible, wanting a way out of this place. However, I couldn’t think of a possible way down from such an altitude. Then an idea popped into my head. It was the stupidest idea I had ever had, but it was the only idea had. I ran back to the lifeless cherub and grabbed his detached wings.
I then ran to where I had awoken. I was going to jump and try to fly with the use of the cherubs wings. Then it hit me how stupid I was. Then I saw the small army of blue gnomes and elves coming charging toward me. I looked at them, then the ground below, then the wings. No alternatives, I chose to jump. I closed my eyes and started flapping. My decent didn’t slow any. I started panicing and flapping faster and faster… Amazingly, after a quick jerk, my decent slowed and I seemingly floated to the ground, as if in a balloon. When I got to my feet, I kissed the ground and swore off ale. I turned to see someone getting off a balloon. He seemed to be complaining that the balloonkeeper in Whitestorm had left a rope dangling from his balloon and that part way on his decent back to Cabeiri, he felt a sudden jerk and lost his footing, nearly falling out. Uninterested in his story after my wild adventure, I walked back to the square, then to the board, eager to post my findings.
I then walked to the bar and bought some dinner. I then proceeded back to the square for a drink from the fountain, then to relax under the square and off to sleep. It had been an interesting day, but I was exhausted.

Part 2

Tundra It had been a long day as it was, and I thought I’d ease my mind with some exploration. So, I got up from my rest under the old apple tree in Cab, and hurried over to Whitestorm, to where my boat was docked. I hadn’t had my boat very long, but I was growing rather fond of it. I had found a number of new areas for exploration with it. I rode around, hugging the coastline, so as not to get lost at sea. I was, as of yet, inexperienced at sailing. After a brief encounter with a small group of dragon’s nest, which i thought to be deserted, I sailed farther north. I came upon ice. Large masses of it formed small islands and large islands alike, lining the northern hemisphere of Cardania. I had encountered an area like this to the west, where I found a Snow Witch, who was thankfully uninterested in me, for she was too busy with her own agenda. Back to the story at hand, I sailed my boat throught the narrow rivers formed by the split islands of ice, hoping they did not close in on me during my passage through. I had no want of a scrape with death. I had had to many. Luckily, there was no doom intended for me this day. After encountering a few snowfilled barren wastelands, filled with nothing save the natural wildlife, (polar bears, arctic foxes, seals and the like), I came upon what seemed like solid ground, a tundra. This area seemed more barren than the rest. Nothing seemed to be alive. Until i found the wolves. These animals seemed to travel alone, unlike most wolves, and with this advantage, I felled many. I searched the iceland, coming repeatedly upon paths that ended at the bases of unscalable cliffs, until I found something of interest. I couldn’t tell what it was at first. I ventured closer, my curiousity peeked. Knowing that this could lead to one of the aforementioned ‘scrapes with death’, (as is to be expected when i get to curious), I tried to keep myself aware, especially in this frozen wasteland, beings I was not accustomed to the climate or landscape. When I reached the ice, i found it was more than ice. It was the frozen form of some poor traveller. I was about to move on when i noticed the crown and garb the form wore. My curiousity once again peeked. Something told me I knew something about this traveller, that I actually knew her name. I thought for a second, then turned to my notes. I went through the names of those I had met in my travels. The only royalty I had ever spoken to was Queen Simoriah of Jewel, and this was not a dwarf. Then my brain kicked into gear. Solitaire! That was it. I flipped to my notes on Jewel and its history. Then I found the name, Solitaire. The previous queen of Jewel. She had felled many evil dragons. This was the body of Solitaire. I had no notes on her death, though it was apparent she had passed away, as Simoriah now ruled the Queendom. I quickly noted the location and findings. After closing my notes, I thought that returning the crown to the land of Jewel would gain some gratitude from someone at least, and being in good standing with a Queendom is always good. If nothing else, it could gain a nice sum from Horatio’s or Horace’s shop.
I stepped toward the from to pluck the crown from the lifeless head, and to my amazement, was flung back. I tried again, with the same results.
Cursing, I walked off, hoping to find something at least that would give me some sort of gratification for traveling through this barren area.
Having to leave treasure with the dead always made me angry. All I found was a cave with paintings of nomads fighting the wolves. Nothing else was here. I headed home, dissappointed. I thought to tell Simoriah, or one of her advisors of my finding the next day. That might get me some gold.
I fell asleep to these thoughts under the Cabeiri apple tree, resting up for another day of adventure.