One Lost Elf

[joleda]

The back of my head hurts.

The pain in my feet is excruciating! I can lift my head just enough to seen some centipede sucking on my feet. I look around for a weapon, for anything, and find only a small tree branch. Without hesitation I begin to beat the slimy beast with the wooden stick.

Looking back I must have blacked out. My next memory is standing naked over its corpse. Tusks, rotten flesh, stone, ears, and a tree are the only memories I have before waking up to a slug eating on my feet. Each is only a brief snapshot in my mind and none appear to be related.

My next memories are clearer. I’ve awakened in a cave somewhere underground. There is nobody around, dead or alive. I looked around the area and found clothing. The boots did not fit; none of them did. Nothing on my feet felt natural. I did find a breastplate that fit after significant alteration. I don’t like the feel of metal, but it will have to do for now. I could not tolerate it’s restriction on my shoulders or legs.

I next remember finding a wooden shield. It was battered, but not broken. I felt it calling to me. Not audible, or was it? The darkness must be messing with my mind. I picked up the shield with my left hand. The wooden stick in my right hand and a wooden shield in my left hand felt familiar.

I met another person in the cave. I did not get her name. She was excellent with the bow and she led me out of the cave. She suggested that I meet with the priestess at the Friendly Arm Inn. The entrance to the city felt foreign to me, so I declined to enter. I headed back into the forest and leaned against a tree, while hugging my new shield. While watching the sunset over the distant walls of the Friendly Arm Inn, I said to myself "Maybe tomorrow I will remember my name? At least my head no longer hurts." I took a nap.