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by: Redhamster 
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.
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