And thanks to Solar's Harper and Choo Choo for help, and vilkacis for the origin of the idea.
***************
The warmth and chill of the winter.
It was cold, it was far colder than it was supposed to be, in the middle of the summer, and the island that was usually warm and calm, was now in its worse cold air it had ever had, and in the horizon, there was was imperviously fog cloud that closing in on the island.
The time had come, the time to wake up, the time to raise, to walk, to go, to leave. The gray open eyes close themselves, and as they opened, the color had changed back to the original deep brown, that they had once been. Still holding the blade on his sternum, he toke it at its grip and dropped its tip to the ground. The legs that hadn't moved for a two decades were the next to be slid to the brick floor. Raising his head up to sit on the stone bed, he looked around and searching something. He stood up, and walked to the hall door. Not even giving a second eye to the items he passed by, and opened the door and looked up to the sun, seeing its bright glow, he knew it was the time. Even though it was early in the morning, and not many people in town were up, they all looked at him; he just began to walk past them as if not even seeing anyone around. Walking, he also just went towards a market table, that was being settled for the morning?s fish catch. The man just walked across it, and as he did, the a havoc followed on his awake, destroying the wooden table, the few fish piles that were already laid on the table and a stool was smashed to pieces as well. The man just continued as not even noticing what he had done.
"What the hell are you doing?" The merchant said, but the man just kept on walking...
After a while of this, the man raised his eyes towards the sun, but closed them this time, to see 'better'. Breathing in the air surround him, he stood there for a while to really notice the scent. The scent he would follow, the scent of the cold air and its lure. Walking in the ever-chilling winds, he passed to the docks, and toke an unoccupied rowing boat out to the waters. The center of the cold storm was where he was headed. As he rowed the small boat, looking back he saw a man staring at him in the pier. But soon it was over, as the boat went into the fog and soon thumped into an iceberg. The man then just set the rows back into the boat and waited for the next wave to jump onto the iceberg. After the jump was completed, he had shaken off the snow that had soften his quite hard fall, as he had missed the ice cliff he intended to land and crawl up from. Fortunately for him, the ice had build a ledge that was strong enough for him to land on, or he would now be in the icy water, freezing and drowning to death. But he had made it! Or so he had though, until a Frost Giant knocked him unconscious.
~***~
When Ranamar woke up, with the sore throat from the last nights drinking, he quickly noticed the unusual chilling draft. After he had cleared his head with some elven vine, he came down the stairs and looked around. He then began to call for Garith, his new monk student. But as there was no reply, he began to yell. "Garith, Garith come here now! I need to know, why in the names of all the nine hells is the main gate open! Can't you understand that the chill from the outside is going to come in! But there was still no answer, so he went to the heavy doors to close them, and when he got the first one shut, he saw the his student standing outside the door with his hand raised, on the steps leading towards the town."Did you hear anything I said to you? Why are these doors open, and why aren't you there feeding Minsc yet? His poor body must be dead already!"
"I, I, I, he, he-, he-." Garith just mumbled like he had seen a ghost.
"Snap out of it! He couldn't!"
But then realizing what could have happened, he went back inside. But it was true, and as he came back out, his eyes opened as he saw at the docks taking a fisherman?s rowing boat. Ranamar ran after Minsc, but it was way too late.
"He isn't going to make it, is he?"
"Well, let me put it this way, I have a great doubt that the iceberg that we now see melting in the sun, really was the place he was going into."
...
And, no it was not! Realizing this, toke only the three seconds the magic gate toke to close. But the Imp was now alone, in the cold snow filled North, and it rained snowflakes that were bigger than its tows. Not a good sign, not a good sign at all...
~***~
Later, there the Imp stood, in the ashes. As it had stood there before, and asked:"You wanna see a trick?"
After this it had began to cast spells, and it had ended up to stand on the pile of the ashes.
After all, it had just burned a whole elven city! The city had belonged to strangely short and bearded elves that had all dressed themselves to red. The Arc-Overlord of the North, the Slavemaster of the Elves, had tried to stop the Imp, but was no match for the Imp, after it had laced the Santa?s porridge with substance that caused him to have gastroenteritis.
But still, an elven city nonetheless! To warm up the little girls cold heart, and what a success it had been!
Her eyes glowed with fire; her hands wielded the forces within the fire perfectly, even more so than most of the Imps so called allies!
Now the time was short, but not so short that there was no time for a dance, so the Imp toke the little girls hand and casted a spell to let the music play. The smile on the little girls face made the Imp smile too... and the little crocked smile was gone, and the renewed smile was reborn.
But then it came, the opposition! A Frost Giant was the first to be seen, and a few steps closer, the Imp saw a Yeti stepping besides the giant, also there was also a Gray Elf, wearing the garnets of a Snow Witch on the other side, the last one to be seen, because it was sneaking a bit ahead in the snow, was a human male, clearly a barbarian of some kind.
The barbarian raised his hand and his further away moving allies stopped. The man came closer, and the Imp recognized it as Minsc, and went to hug him. Like a thunder would have stricken, the ground shacked under the massive weight of the giant, and it yelled.
"Attaacckk!" After which it toke huge pile of snow to throw it as a ball. But Minsc raised his hands again and yelled back, after he had gotten the Imp away from him and its joy of tickling him.
"Could you put that down, so it doesn't hit me or the girl! He is not our enemy."
"That's for now." the Imp said joyfully, with a little too much emphasis on the now-part to Minscs mind, but he said nothing.
"You know what I came here for, so hand it over."
With a little sadness in the Imps eyes, little girl was given to Minsc. Minsc raise her from the waist to coddle for a while.
Once the girl was safely in his arms, Minsc looked the Imp still ones, turned and walked away.
The Imps face didn't look happy, as it watched the girl being escorted away from it.
Little later a grim laughter erupted, as the Imp watched its hands.
"Finally, I have it!"
Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 20 February 2008 - 10:38 PM.
