The Pearl Drop

Ah, the unkown.  A great place to start looking for something, anything…the greatest thing about looking for something is…you never know what you’re looking for until you find it!

Perhaps I should take this back a bit farther.  I left these kingdoms in search of adventure, and adventure I found, to say the least.  I decided to go with nothing but my trusty blood, my wind armor, a couple of lucky silver coins, and a few magical dusts in my bag.  No coin, no food, nothing.  I left from the Arctic Land, traveling further west than I have ever traveled.  I think it was 3, it might have been 4 days, before I was one hundred percent sure i was out of the kingdoms of the wind.  Nothing looked familiar, no civilation around, nothing I was comfortable with…and that is exactly where I wanted to be.  Bedroll on my back, blood in my hand, walking on my tip toes, not knowing what is around the next tree.  I was on my sixth day, when, while camping in the woods, I woke up with a small spear next to my head…  I jumped out of my sleepingbag, and reached for my Blood…but it was gone.  I looked around, seeing a group of small people, about 2 1/2 feet tall, surrounding my camp.  All were armed with the same type of spear, and none spoke my language.  I saw one of them admiring my Blood…dang…I was dead, for sure.  They approached me, circling and poking thier spears at me…I held my hands up, trying not to show aggression…somehow…someway…I had to stay alive long enough to get out of this!  They approached me, tied my hands, feet, and gagged me.  They carried me out on a long pole, talking amongst themselves….it sounded like gibberish to me.  I was carried for what seemed like hours…I must have passed out at some time.  I woke up, chained to a cell…in what looked like a caravan…with animals, people, a few…what looked like…faries…maybe…It was wild.  I tried to speak to the faries, and they understood me!

Oh, joy! Somebody who can tell me what the heck is going on! I talked with the blue farie, who told me that we were to be slaves, entertainers, and such, sold to the highest bidder at the end of every month.  Apparently, these “people” do use a currency of some sort, and they aren’t as “Primitive”  as I thought to be.  Back and forth, the farie and I talked,  I found her name to be Ceria, and she was from the woods, apparently, where I was sleeping when I was captured.  We spoke, and she told me of her kingdom, where, apparently, she was a princess!  I began to try to figure out how to escape this fiasco, without bloodshed.  She begged and pleaded with me to set her free if I could.  I decided that, tonight, I would try to escape.  After the sun went down, and the caravan stopped for the night, there was but one guard watching our cells?this would not be too hard?  I would pull the old “fake being sick” routine, and subdue him somehow.  I pretended to gag, and then, unfortunately, I actually gagged, causing myself to throw up?the guard came running, to make sure his “Merchandise” was ok?I just lay there, still as could be?barely breathing?as he opened the cage door.  He poked me with his spear, and I tried my best to not move.  He poked me again,  and again I lay still.  Soon, he was upon me, checking  my breathing, and that’s when I grabbed him, and threw him against the floor of the cage, making sure he hit his head?hard.  CRACK!.  *Proud of all those days of Devil’s Dance* I frisked him, found the key to my shackles, and opened them.  I put the shackles on him, for when he woke up, and I made my way to Ceria’s cage.  Slowly, I opened it, and snuck in.  I put my hand over her mouth, so she wouldn’t scream, and gently woke her up.  I opened the lock on the shackles that were holding her, and set her free.  She was so excited, she told me to follow her, and surely, her father would reward me.  I insisted that I needed no reward, and told her to make haste to escape, while I freed the rest of the captives.  Soon, everything was free, and I was on the run?knowing the guard would wake up soon.  I took off running, as fast as I could, not knowing which way I should go to return to the kingdoms, where I was safe.  Running, all night, finally, I had to rest.  I found a stream, and drank some water.  I sat under a tree for a bit, until I heard my name.  “Kryllin, follow the light”  It was almost as if the water was speaking to me?and there was a light, glowing faintly on the surface of the stream?slowly flowing upstream.  I followed the light,  and walked for about an hour.  “Kryllin, you are a brave one.”  A booming voice came from the stream.  “I am Jepion, father of Ceria, and I have a gift for you.  Here, this is the crown of our forefathers, and it is yours, for saving my daughters life.  It is called ‘The Pearl Drop’,  as many have been shed over it.   I also give you this scroll, one that will instantly return you to your home, no matter how far.  I owe you a debt that I can never repay, and you will always be known as a friend to the Fae Folk.  Kryllin, Thank you. ”  And then the light disappeared, and in the water was a white crown, with a single dangling pearl on it, and a parchment.  “Thank you, Jepion,” I called out?not knowing if he heard me.  I picked up the crown, and the parchment.  Placing the crown in my pack, I read the writing on the scroll out loud, and closed my eyes.  It almost felt like I was being torn apart?nothing like a Yellow scroll from the innkeeper.  But I opened my eyes, and I was home?back in the Merchant Circle?I opened my pack, and the crown was still there.  I shall give this item for appraisal to the Merchant Guild, and hold it dear as one of my most coveted treasures.