Toxyrox (prime)/Background

Miss Toxyrox's background as told by Lord Avondell

Speaking to Avondell, you ask, "Why were you there?"

Speaking to you, Avondell says, "That's a story for another day. Suffice to say...I had given up. I was there to die. That was not to be, obviously. There were stories, in those days...something the hunters in the area called the West Wood Horror, but no one spent much time in the area to know anything. I was hunting far to the west of Old Ta'Faendryl. I was alone and I had a small camp there. I had killed a deer and was cooking it one night when I heard a melodic whistling from the woods behind me."

Speaking to you, Avondell says, "I went to investigate and had gotten a hundred yards from my camp when I was struck by a piercing scream that stunned and disoriented me for a moment. I quickly returned to camp to find my dinner gone and my fire extinguished. The night was deathly black and silent."

Speaking to you, Avondell says, "My curiosity got the best of me. I determined to find out what creature it was. I set a trap...more roasted meat over the dim fire...and waited, but nothing came. After several nights, I was about to give up when I heard the musical whistle once more. I ventured into the woods again with a deliberate carelessness and again I was assaulted by a sonic scream. When I regained my senses and returned to my camp, I found I had caught the beast."

Speaking to Avondell, you ask, "The...beast?"

Speaking to you, Avondell says, "She was no more than four feet tall then, and weighed maybe eighty pounds. Covered in mud, dirt, twigs...all grey and brown...she was hard to see even right in front of me. Her form shifted and wavered in the light of the fire. But those eyes...those blazing green malevolent eyes stared back at me. They didn't move, they didn't waver one bit, and they were consumed with hatred. She was terrified and terrifying."

Avondell takes a drink from his elven brandy.

Avondell says, "We sat there through the night, staring at each other. When daylight came, I could finally get a good look at her. She wasn't a beast. She was a little Faendryl girl. A very dangerous little Faendryl girl. I despaired at what to do with her. I thought of killing her, but I could not kill a sister. I thought of setting her loose, but I feared she would kill me. To my never ending disgrace, I chained her. I would take her to Ta'Illistim and leave her outside the gates. Her sisters would find her there and decide her fate."

Avondell takes a drink from his elven brandy.

Avondell glances down.

Avondell says, "The girl no longer resisted. She seemed resigned to her fate...or maybe just biding her time and waiting for an opportunity. At one point she froze, a silent sneer crossing her face. She saw the Ithzir before I did and perhaps saved my life. The journey from my camp to Ta'Illistim was a long and dangerous one...through the West Woods and past Old Ta'Faendryl...we became lost in the Gyldemar Forest. As we ventured deeper into the forest looking for a place to camp for the night, the girl became more and more agitated. We came upon a burned out settler's wagon...destroyed by the fae or the Ithzir...and the girl went crazy when I tried to pull her away. There were several bodies...all destroyed...unrecognizable, but the girl knew who they were. I'm certain now that it was her family."

Avondell's voice falters for a moment.

Avondell takes a drink from his elven brandy.

Avondell says, "The girl wept quietly over them, and I wept for her. After some time, she got up and climbed through the burned out wagon and retrieved some scrap of fabric...a cloth doll. We found a small alcove, filled with the remnants of a battle, some ways away and stayed there for the night. In the morning, I started a small fire and made us a warm breakfast. She sat across from me, warming herself and holding the doll she had retrieved.