D&D: It's Life
Posted: 2005-08-17 12:43am
Just a short story written as an excuse to wax eloquent about another character of mine: Zero the warforged fighter.
Dungeons & Dragons: It's Life
"Lavi!" Zero hissed. "Hurry up!" The search had been going on far too long for his liking and he kept making anxious glances back towards the port.
"Five minutes!" the Halfling whispered back.
"You've got one!" Zero growled. "Then we go, wolf or no wolf!"
"Let's go now," Fulgor grumbled.
"One minute," Zero repeated calmly. The two warforged ex-soldiers stood just outside the treeline, Zero watching the spot where the Halfling had entered the forest while Fulgor watched the surrounding area. Fulgor stood perfectly motionless except for his head. Zero was less contained. He continually tapped one clawed hand on his metal thigh as he counted off the seconds remaining on Lavi's time limit.
Zero was an unusual warforged. He'd started life as 00-14, a perfectly standard construct in a perfectly standard production lot. As time had passed, the members of his fighting team had begun to differ. Zero had taken to reading adventure stories in between fighting battles. Then the war had ended. Zero and another warforged, Artificer Relic, had chosen to go their own way. Relic was an obsessive tinkerer and his inventions had given Zero a set of red nightvision eyes and a powerful claw to replace his right hand. Zero's personal favorite amongst the modifications was his new jaw full of razor-sharp teeth and, with Zero's strength behind it, capable of delivering a devastating bite.
But beyond the physical abnormalities, Zero's attitude set him apart from the average warforged. He was impatient and brusque, sometimes demanding. He had a short temper that tended to cause him just as much trouble as it solved. At times, he could be friendly and accepting, at others cold and aloof, leaving most of his fellow travelers shaking their heads in confusion. And there was a wild side to him. More and more recently, Zero had been satisfied not just with defeating the animals and evil creatures that threatened the party, but beating them into the ground with his heavy maul and then using his claw and teeth to tear them into cutlets. For the last week, he'd been after Relic to modify his remaining hand, but the artificer had been brushing him off, citing the lack of adamantine to do the job.
The final touch on top of all of this was the voluminous black cloak he wore. Zero had impulsively bought the article of clothing nearly a year before despite the fact that he didn't need anything of the kind. He claimed that he liked the way it looked against the polished gray of his adamantine body.
"Thirty seconds," he muttered. Fulgor grunted. The other warforged was nearly as impatient as Zero and lacked the tenuous friendship he had with the Halfling. He'd only come out to help because of the twenty-five gold pieces Lavi had given him. But if push came to shove, Zero knew Fulgor would follow his lead. The other warforged lacked initiative and generally went along with whatever Zero and Relic did.
Zero tapped his leg for the sixtieth time. "Your minute is up," he said evenly.
"Almost!" the Halfling's voice replied.
"I'm going," Fulgor announced. "That ship isn't going to wait forever." He turned southwards and began to walk.
"Wait," Zero said calmly. Fulgor froze in place as if rooted to the spot. Zero kept his eyes fixed one the forest and continued ticking off seconds. After fifteen, the bushes at the edge began rustling and Lavi emerged butt first, slowly walking backwards. A moment later, a wolf tentatively thrust its head out of the bushes, blinking in the daylight.
"Come on, boy," Lavi was whispering as she beckoned the animal forward. "Come on, it's not dangerous." The wolf slowly came out of the forest, moving inch by inch and sniffing the air constantly. Zero had to admit that it was a fine specimen for its species, large and healthy with a sleek gray pelt. It was also amazingly aware of its surroundings, eyes darting at movement, ears turning, and nose sniffing for the slightest hint of danger.
"Is this the one you've been looking for?" Zero asked.
"Yes, this is him," the ranger said happily. "I can't believe I finally found him."
"Good, let's go. The ship won't wait and we've got a lot of ground to cover." Zero turned and began walking away to join Fulgor in heading south, then stopped and turned back. "Can you ride him?"
"Um…" Lavi looked back at the wolf and frowned, gently petting him on the head. "No, I don't think he'll let me, yet."
Zero shook his head and let his jaw drop – a warforged sigh. A moment later, he held out his hand. "Shoulders, now," he said, and his tone brooked no dissention. Lavi sighed and grabbed the construct's arm, letting him haul her up onto his shoulders. "Ready?" he asked her.
She tightened her grip and nodded. "Ready."
Zero looked to Fulgor and nodded. "Let's go." The two constructs took off, thundering across the plains without tire. In the distance, Zero could see the small port town where the rest of the party waited aboard ship for them. By the angle of the sun, he reckoned that the three – no, it was four now – had about an hour and a half until the ship departed.
They made the run in about an hour, coming to the outskirts of the port town still moving at top speed. "Slow or stay?" Fulgor asked casually.
"Stay," Zero promptly replied. They made the transition from grassy field to cobblestone road without missing a beat, the two of them drawing more than a few astonished stares. Even so, they'd barely made a hundred paces into the town when Lavi cried out.
"Guys! Stop!"
The two skidded to a halt, Fulgor nearly crashing into Zero. "What is it?" the warforged impatiently asked his rider.
"He's back there, let me down," was the reply. Zero did so and watched the Halfling scamper back towards the entrance of town where her wolf sat.
"Oh great," Zero muttered. "He's afraid of people."
"Let's leave him," Fulgor grunted.
"Come on," Zero said, walking back towards the Halfling. Fulgor followed quietly. "We don't have time for this," he said as he reached the pair.
Lavi was gently petting the fur on the wolf's head as she got a rope out of her backpack. "He'll come with us if I'm by his side, she promised. "Now, just hold still, boy." Calmly talking to the wolf, she gently put the rope around his neck to form a makeshift leash.
"Good, that makes it easier to hang," a voice commented. Zero spun, free hand going to his tethered maul and jaw opening to frame his malevolent red eyes as he expelled air in a vicious hiss. As he expected, none of the passerby dared own up to the comment in the face of the angry warforged. As his temper cooled, Zero realized that the fleshed ones' natural fear of wild animals could be a major problem.
"You on the left, me on the right," he said to Fulgor. "Lavi, don't leave us."
"Thanks Zero," she said as she haltingly guided the wolf into town. The group made quite a picture with the two huge constructs flanking the small female and the canine. As they reached the docks themselves the wolf slowed down even more, but Zero was placated by the fact that he could now see their ship still tethered at its pier.
Another problem arose as they reached the gangplank. "Hey!" the captain yelled down. "You can't bring that thing on here!"
"He won't be any trouble, I promise!" Lavi yelled back.
"The only way I'm letting that thing on my ship is if it's in a crate!" the captain replied, waving his arm at a nearby stack of empty packing crates.
"I-I can't do that!" Lavi protested, but Zero was already tromping over to grab one of the large wooden containers. Fulgor shook his head and went aboard. Zero came back with a large five-by-two crate with a hinged top that would be more than big enough for the wolf if Lavi could get him in there. As he set the crate down, Zero suddenly ripped a series of furrows into the top with his claws.
"Air holes," he said in response to Lavi's questioning look. She shuddered.
"OK boy, don't worry, nobody's going to hurt you," she began. Zero patiently held the lid open as Lavi talked the wolf into climbing into the crate and removed his leash, then shut the lid slowly enough to allow her to keep her hand on his neck until the last possible moment. Then he cautiously picked up the crate and walked aboard.
"Put it in the hold with the rest of the cargo," the captain promptly said. "And you're feeding it yourself, I only have enough for the crew."
"That's fine," Lavi growled.
Relic looked up from where he was working on a small trinket and cocked his head. "What's that?" he asked his fellow warforged.
"Extra baggage," Zero growled. The warforged carried the wolf's crate down into the ship's hold and gingerly set it on top of a stack of similar crates. A moment later, he brought his claw hand to the nearest surface and cautiously cut the profile of a wolf's head into it. "Just in case things get mixed up," he said to Lavi.
"Thanks," she said as she hopped onto another crate and perched next to her wolf, sticking her fingers through the furrows Zero had made so that he could lick her fingers. "How long will this trip take?" she asked.
"The captain said seven days," Zero replied, and her face fell.
"He's got to stay in here for that long?" she whined.
"You're the one who wanted to bring him," Zero said harshly. "If you're having second thoughts, we're still tied up. Go release him. Or if you want, run along the shore and maybe you'll move fast enough to meet us on the other side" He pointed towards the ladder leading back up to the deck. Lavi opened her mouth to reply, then shut it and seemed to huddle down a little. Zero saw her lip tremble and decided that he'd gone a little too far.
Without any kind of warning, he walked up to the crate and used his claw to cut a hole in the top through which the wolf promptly poked his head out to rub against the Halfling's hand. Astonished, Lavi watched in openmouthed amazement as Zero stepped back and sat down on another nearby crate. It groaned under his three hundred pounds, but didn't break. He extended a hand and, taking care to be very gentle, patted the wolf on the side of the head.
"So, does he have a name or must we choose one for him?" he asked, tone even.
Lavi felt a grin tug at her mouth. "Thanks, Zero."
Dungeons & Dragons: It's Life
"Lavi!" Zero hissed. "Hurry up!" The search had been going on far too long for his liking and he kept making anxious glances back towards the port.
"Five minutes!" the Halfling whispered back.
"You've got one!" Zero growled. "Then we go, wolf or no wolf!"
"Let's go now," Fulgor grumbled.
"One minute," Zero repeated calmly. The two warforged ex-soldiers stood just outside the treeline, Zero watching the spot where the Halfling had entered the forest while Fulgor watched the surrounding area. Fulgor stood perfectly motionless except for his head. Zero was less contained. He continually tapped one clawed hand on his metal thigh as he counted off the seconds remaining on Lavi's time limit.
Zero was an unusual warforged. He'd started life as 00-14, a perfectly standard construct in a perfectly standard production lot. As time had passed, the members of his fighting team had begun to differ. Zero had taken to reading adventure stories in between fighting battles. Then the war had ended. Zero and another warforged, Artificer Relic, had chosen to go their own way. Relic was an obsessive tinkerer and his inventions had given Zero a set of red nightvision eyes and a powerful claw to replace his right hand. Zero's personal favorite amongst the modifications was his new jaw full of razor-sharp teeth and, with Zero's strength behind it, capable of delivering a devastating bite.
But beyond the physical abnormalities, Zero's attitude set him apart from the average warforged. He was impatient and brusque, sometimes demanding. He had a short temper that tended to cause him just as much trouble as it solved. At times, he could be friendly and accepting, at others cold and aloof, leaving most of his fellow travelers shaking their heads in confusion. And there was a wild side to him. More and more recently, Zero had been satisfied not just with defeating the animals and evil creatures that threatened the party, but beating them into the ground with his heavy maul and then using his claw and teeth to tear them into cutlets. For the last week, he'd been after Relic to modify his remaining hand, but the artificer had been brushing him off, citing the lack of adamantine to do the job.
The final touch on top of all of this was the voluminous black cloak he wore. Zero had impulsively bought the article of clothing nearly a year before despite the fact that he didn't need anything of the kind. He claimed that he liked the way it looked against the polished gray of his adamantine body.
"Thirty seconds," he muttered. Fulgor grunted. The other warforged was nearly as impatient as Zero and lacked the tenuous friendship he had with the Halfling. He'd only come out to help because of the twenty-five gold pieces Lavi had given him. But if push came to shove, Zero knew Fulgor would follow his lead. The other warforged lacked initiative and generally went along with whatever Zero and Relic did.
Zero tapped his leg for the sixtieth time. "Your minute is up," he said evenly.
"Almost!" the Halfling's voice replied.
"I'm going," Fulgor announced. "That ship isn't going to wait forever." He turned southwards and began to walk.
"Wait," Zero said calmly. Fulgor froze in place as if rooted to the spot. Zero kept his eyes fixed one the forest and continued ticking off seconds. After fifteen, the bushes at the edge began rustling and Lavi emerged butt first, slowly walking backwards. A moment later, a wolf tentatively thrust its head out of the bushes, blinking in the daylight.
"Come on, boy," Lavi was whispering as she beckoned the animal forward. "Come on, it's not dangerous." The wolf slowly came out of the forest, moving inch by inch and sniffing the air constantly. Zero had to admit that it was a fine specimen for its species, large and healthy with a sleek gray pelt. It was also amazingly aware of its surroundings, eyes darting at movement, ears turning, and nose sniffing for the slightest hint of danger.
"Is this the one you've been looking for?" Zero asked.
"Yes, this is him," the ranger said happily. "I can't believe I finally found him."
"Good, let's go. The ship won't wait and we've got a lot of ground to cover." Zero turned and began walking away to join Fulgor in heading south, then stopped and turned back. "Can you ride him?"
"Um…" Lavi looked back at the wolf and frowned, gently petting him on the head. "No, I don't think he'll let me, yet."
Zero shook his head and let his jaw drop – a warforged sigh. A moment later, he held out his hand. "Shoulders, now," he said, and his tone brooked no dissention. Lavi sighed and grabbed the construct's arm, letting him haul her up onto his shoulders. "Ready?" he asked her.
She tightened her grip and nodded. "Ready."
Zero looked to Fulgor and nodded. "Let's go." The two constructs took off, thundering across the plains without tire. In the distance, Zero could see the small port town where the rest of the party waited aboard ship for them. By the angle of the sun, he reckoned that the three – no, it was four now – had about an hour and a half until the ship departed.
They made the run in about an hour, coming to the outskirts of the port town still moving at top speed. "Slow or stay?" Fulgor asked casually.
"Stay," Zero promptly replied. They made the transition from grassy field to cobblestone road without missing a beat, the two of them drawing more than a few astonished stares. Even so, they'd barely made a hundred paces into the town when Lavi cried out.
"Guys! Stop!"
The two skidded to a halt, Fulgor nearly crashing into Zero. "What is it?" the warforged impatiently asked his rider.
"He's back there, let me down," was the reply. Zero did so and watched the Halfling scamper back towards the entrance of town where her wolf sat.
"Oh great," Zero muttered. "He's afraid of people."
"Let's leave him," Fulgor grunted.
"Come on," Zero said, walking back towards the Halfling. Fulgor followed quietly. "We don't have time for this," he said as he reached the pair.
Lavi was gently petting the fur on the wolf's head as she got a rope out of her backpack. "He'll come with us if I'm by his side, she promised. "Now, just hold still, boy." Calmly talking to the wolf, she gently put the rope around his neck to form a makeshift leash.
"Good, that makes it easier to hang," a voice commented. Zero spun, free hand going to his tethered maul and jaw opening to frame his malevolent red eyes as he expelled air in a vicious hiss. As he expected, none of the passerby dared own up to the comment in the face of the angry warforged. As his temper cooled, Zero realized that the fleshed ones' natural fear of wild animals could be a major problem.
"You on the left, me on the right," he said to Fulgor. "Lavi, don't leave us."
"Thanks Zero," she said as she haltingly guided the wolf into town. The group made quite a picture with the two huge constructs flanking the small female and the canine. As they reached the docks themselves the wolf slowed down even more, but Zero was placated by the fact that he could now see their ship still tethered at its pier.
Another problem arose as they reached the gangplank. "Hey!" the captain yelled down. "You can't bring that thing on here!"
"He won't be any trouble, I promise!" Lavi yelled back.
"The only way I'm letting that thing on my ship is if it's in a crate!" the captain replied, waving his arm at a nearby stack of empty packing crates.
"I-I can't do that!" Lavi protested, but Zero was already tromping over to grab one of the large wooden containers. Fulgor shook his head and went aboard. Zero came back with a large five-by-two crate with a hinged top that would be more than big enough for the wolf if Lavi could get him in there. As he set the crate down, Zero suddenly ripped a series of furrows into the top with his claws.
"Air holes," he said in response to Lavi's questioning look. She shuddered.
"OK boy, don't worry, nobody's going to hurt you," she began. Zero patiently held the lid open as Lavi talked the wolf into climbing into the crate and removed his leash, then shut the lid slowly enough to allow her to keep her hand on his neck until the last possible moment. Then he cautiously picked up the crate and walked aboard.
"Put it in the hold with the rest of the cargo," the captain promptly said. "And you're feeding it yourself, I only have enough for the crew."
"That's fine," Lavi growled.
Relic looked up from where he was working on a small trinket and cocked his head. "What's that?" he asked his fellow warforged.
"Extra baggage," Zero growled. The warforged carried the wolf's crate down into the ship's hold and gingerly set it on top of a stack of similar crates. A moment later, he brought his claw hand to the nearest surface and cautiously cut the profile of a wolf's head into it. "Just in case things get mixed up," he said to Lavi.
"Thanks," she said as she hopped onto another crate and perched next to her wolf, sticking her fingers through the furrows Zero had made so that he could lick her fingers. "How long will this trip take?" she asked.
"The captain said seven days," Zero replied, and her face fell.
"He's got to stay in here for that long?" she whined.
"You're the one who wanted to bring him," Zero said harshly. "If you're having second thoughts, we're still tied up. Go release him. Or if you want, run along the shore and maybe you'll move fast enough to meet us on the other side" He pointed towards the ladder leading back up to the deck. Lavi opened her mouth to reply, then shut it and seemed to huddle down a little. Zero saw her lip tremble and decided that he'd gone a little too far.
Without any kind of warning, he walked up to the crate and used his claw to cut a hole in the top through which the wolf promptly poked his head out to rub against the Halfling's hand. Astonished, Lavi watched in openmouthed amazement as Zero stepped back and sat down on another nearby crate. It groaned under his three hundred pounds, but didn't break. He extended a hand and, taking care to be very gentle, patted the wolf on the side of the head.
"So, does he have a name or must we choose one for him?" he asked, tone even.
Lavi felt a grin tug at her mouth. "Thanks, Zero."
