In honor of Valentine's Day, Community Members were asked to write a Norrathian Love Story. Here are the winners and their submissions:
First Place:
- Boomur4TL
- Suna
- Tnexus_Prexus
- Jyve
Her memory lives on
Written by Community member Boomur4TL There was a time when Kajok walked alone. Being an Iksar seemed to make him an outcast, nobody wanted to house him for the night, nobody wanted to give him food, and certainly no one would help him when he was being chased by the guards. Being a solo monk in this harsh world was tough and he was wearing down, but one day she came into his life and everything started to get better. It was a normal day in Qeynos Hills; the sky was blue and air was still. Kajok was heading to Blackburrow to slaughter the gnolls in hopes of gaining acceptance from the citizens of Qeynos. Kajok stopped off at Marton Sayer's cabin to restock on bandages, the kindly old man had been grateful to him ever since Kajok had saved his little boy from those mutts. "Still trying to impress those townsfolk eh," asked Marton. "Yes, yes... I don't really have a choice," said Kajok. "While you and Mrs. Sayer give me the supplies I need and a place to stay I need to start my training again and the Silent Fists are very skilled." "Well, I guess that's a good reason, be careful though, I saw Holly Windstalker stalking through the hills earlier and you know she'd love to catch you." "I don't understand what that woman has against me, but thanks for the heads up." Kajok left the cabin and made his way to BlackBurrow, he was nearing the valley to the entrance when he heard a battle cry! "Natural Selection at work," screamed Holly Windstalker as she charged at Kajok swords drawn.
Barely There
Written by Community Member Suna "Corun, Corun of the glades – how oft I watch your escapades, Watching o'er Tunare's beloved, shouting to the moon above – Are you not aware my gaze? Longing for you these past days, Of gods I ask this simple boon, that you'll notice my love soon." A young wood elf scratches out rhyme after rhyme, her face wincing at clumsy prose which can't ever truly express her feelings. Tossing her head back to shake strands of light orange hair from before her violet eyes, she crosses out the words and begins again. Dissatisfied with either effort, she sighs and allows the quill fall from her hand to the fertile earth beneath it. "Stupid words. Stupid poems. It's a good thing I'm not a bard." Placing quill and parchment back in their pack, the young ranger longingly gazes at Corun Finisc – dear, sweet Corun; wondering if things might have been different had she been born here in the Surefall glades rather than in great forests of Faydark.
Cauldron of Love
Written by Community Member Tnexus_Prexus I suppose it wasn't the most ideal place to profess my love, since I was about to be boiled in a cauldron full of vegetables and all, but it was still one of those magical moments I wouldn't trade for anything. Oh wait, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Let me back up a bit... My name is Pipp Fuzzpopple, resident hair restoration expert from the great city AK'Anon. While most people probably know my partner, Ping Fuzzlecutter, I'm the true brainchild of the wigs he carries. You see while he sells them, I'm the one who finds the best hair to make the wigs. And while I could just skin a wolf, I prefer to find the best exotic hairs and furs to make my toupees. Now this requires me traveling all across Norrath. Most of the time I'm safe, but a few times I press my luck. This was one of those times. It started when I got a request from one of my clients for a special wig. He wanted an ogre hair toupee to impress some folk and was willing to pay a small fortune for it. Naturally, being the entrepreneur I am, I hastily agreed. Unfortunately, ogre hair is not a hot commodity on Faydwer, so I chartered a ship and a guide to head to Antonica to seek out some unfortunate ogre willing to part with their hair. That was when I first met the Gurtha Hammerthall. Standing at a towering three feet, six inches, she looked like could sweep any man off his feet while simultaneously hacking off their head at the same time. A fierce, but lovely dwarf if I do say so. Maybe it was the braids, or maybe it was the beard, but I instantly fell for her. Within days of our trek, we hit it off. When you have nothing to do on a boat but exchange stories and drink Ping's Fizzlecutter 5000. (Nasty stuff mind you, I suggest you never drink it. How Ping manages to constantly sell his hair tonic/alcohol I'll never know.) Three weeks past and we finally arrived on the docks of Freeport. Gurtha failed to tell me she was unwelcomed in Freeport, but as I frequently get myself into trouble, I had previously learned the ability to turn myself and others invisible. (Apparently humans aren't too bright because they obviously don't teach their guards basic skills to see the invisible.) Thankfully Gurtha snuck by unnoticed, and we continued on our way to the Deserts of Ro. This was my first time traversing through the desert, but Gurtha seemed to guide us through it with ease, and kept us clear from unwanted guests. I stuck to her at all times which I didn't mind at all doing (and I don't think she did either!) because at this point I knew I was falling in love. I almost dreaded this trip to be over when we parted ways. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in the scorching desert, we arrived at the entrance to the Innothule Swamp. We were tired, but unscathed (Which is more than I say for the orc who found my robe pretty.) and energized by how close we were to Ogguk. The plan was simple. We'd sneak into the city with invisibility, find some poor, drunk Ogre and shave his hair. Simple right? Oh how wrong we were... Our plan fell apart not 10 minutes into entering the city. Finding a drunken ogre was the easy part, finding a lone drunken ogre was the hard part. Ogres love to one up each other in how much they can drink. With that in mind, finding a lone ogre by itself was not going to happen. Confronting one ogre was bad enough, but a group was out of the question. Gurtha and I ducked into an empty house to discuss how we wanted to reformulate our plan of attack. As luck would have it, a massive female ogre staggered through the door, tripped on the floor, and landed with a mighty thud right in front of us. At first I was too scared to move. I thought for sure other ogres would run over to hear what the noise was, but no one showed up. (I later discovered it wasn't uncommon to pass out on the floor.) Finally Gurtha and I got up the nerve to quickly shave her hair. I would have to drop my invisibility to do this, so I had to be quick. I got to work immediately. I knew the longer I waited, the more I'd panic. Even though it took maybe 5 minutes, it seemed like an eternity. When I finished I took the hair and sheers and shoved them in my pocket. Still fearing for my life, I grabbed Gurtha's hand, and ran outside so we could get out of there as fast as I could without thinking. I was out the door before Gurta could say something. Not two seconds later I realized it, I forgot to cast invisibility. And staring down directly at me was one angry looking ogre. I tried to run, but I knew I was dead. I also knew I had just sentenced Gurtha to death. The woman I had come to love was going to die because of me. I watched his club fly directly at me, and the next thing I saw was darkness. So fast-forward to where I began this story. I woke up groggy and with a splitting headache. I found Gurtha next to me, still unconscious with a nasty bruise along her brow. I realized quickly that I was surrounded in a mound of vegetables, covered in sauces, and inside the biggest pot I had ever seen. My first coherent thoughts were of Gurtha, so I went to her to hold her. She was alive thankfully, and appeared only unconscious from a concussion. The ogre had stupidly failed to bind our hands, so I pulled out a few bandages from her pockets and bound her wounds. I looked at her and started to cry. I knew our fate. I said to her gently, "I love you." She started to stir! Had she heard me I thought? I started to worry what she might have thought. She began to sit up and kissed me with as much passion as she could muster. "I love you too," she said. Oh the energy I got from that kiss. I couldn't die now, I was in love! I immediately began to figure out how to get us out of there. My cutting sheers, of course! They were still in my pocket! I pulled them out and knew exactly what I had to do. It was a longshot, but it had to work. "Can you toss me?" I asked Gurtha. "A gnome toss? Yes I think I can," she said. I explained to her my plan. She thought it was crazy, but agreed. When I finally mustered up the courage, I banged the side of the pot until I heard the ogre. The moment he peered over the cauldron, I yelled, "NOW!" Gurtha threw me up with all her might through the air. I flew through the air like a madman ready to die. I plunged my sheers through the temple of the ogre as hard as I could. The ogre staggered backwards, paused for a second, and came crashing down on the floor. I composed myself as I got up and slowly walked over to him. He was dead. I wanted to cheer, scream, and cry all at the same time. But the fear came right back that another ogre may come. So I pulled out my sheers, helped Gurtha out of the cauldron, and ran out of there faster than a bard with Selos Accelerando. (This time I remembered the invisibility spell.) Later that night, we reconfirmed our love for each other. From that day forward we were officially dating. Four months later, she was my business partner, and eight months later we were married. Ten years later, we're still as happy together as we ever were. We even have two little Dwomes of our own. She's the love of my life, and I'll never forget that adventure when a gnome and a dwarf found true love in the weirdest of places.
Hidden love on the forums
Written by Community Member Jyve Let's look back, on how we met,
that first Tumpy Tonic, we shared, to get,
Ended up blossoming into love,
and sweat. Can you look ahead, happiness, can you see?
Or that if we made it happen, it could be?
No! WAIT! You cry this mustn't occur.
I'll proclaim it to all, "It's me and her!"
"Do not forget me," a plea is made.
It's not wrong to have a love forbade.
Ignore the halflings, locking our threads;
it's in our hearts, our minds, our heads.
PM's are sent, but ignored, for fear of what may be,
happy futures for thee and me.
Do you feel that? The sound of hearts beating together?
Maybe it's hidden underneath all this leather.
A life more pleasant, enriched and rosier,
Our love can grow, just me and thee, Zatozia.
I wait with baited breath, don't wait too long
My heart still leaps with fulfilling song.
16 months isn't too long to wait,
I'll be waiting at Freeport, don't be too late.
To view additional stories, you can visit the Norrathian Love Story Challenge thread over on the official EverQuest forums.