The Spirit of Christmas Dour: Valygar

[BigRob]

Hi all! It's that time of year again, and it be Christmas Eve in my neck of the woods, so for those of you patiently waiting for my glacial writing speed, it's present time.

 

This year, I figured I'd give you all a little sense of the kind of thing going on between the scholarly monk and the troubled ranger. So, as is traditional, please enjoy a little bit of banter for the holidays:

 

 

 

 

Valygar: Here friend Aklon, you should be wary. That mushroom you pick so idly is not for eating. 'tis more like to purge you of your last ten meals and maybe your life beside.

Aklon: This I know. One this size could kill a child easily, perhaps a man grown. Many would mistake it for an eating mushroom and suffer for it. You know your herbcraft, friend Valygar.

Valygar: Something important for a man who lives off the land to know. But why pick it if you know it's poison? Do you intend to make use of it?

Aklon: Yes, but not as you might think.

Valygar: A lot of poisonous mushrooms can give you visions, but I don't think it's one of those either. When I was learning my woods-craft, I picked the wrong mushroom and I swear I spent a week chasing a winged unicorn through a wood festooned in hanging swords.

Aklon: Your instructor did not warn you of the consequences of your choice?

Valygar: When I awoke, she was sitting there grinning at me. She said engaging in a vision-quest would prove a valuable experience.

Aklon: Ah, I had a teacher like that. A mistake made may teach more than one avoided. But I do not want the mushroom for visions either.

Aklon: If this is steeped in strong spirit, rather than cooked in water, the mushroom gives up another of its properties. From it, one can obtain a tincture that aids the body in fighting off fevers and putrefaction of the flesh.

Valygar: I know enough of healing to know that the strong spirit alone will do that.

[The Artisan]

Interesting stuff. Valygar does state though that he was trained as a ranger by his father:

 

He showed me the ways of the forest and tried to woo my mother away from her magical studies, but she ignored both of us more and more as her obsession grew.

 

I suppose it's not impossible that he could've had other tutors though. I'll be keeping an eye on this since there aren't many active NPC mods left nowadays.

[BigRob]

Thanks for the positive comments, Artemius I, and thanks too for catching that error.

 

I thought I'd gone over Valygar's family and past in my preparations for writing the banters, seems I forgot that bit. Seems this one's up for a little editing before the final version to clarify things. Probably worth a check or two for a few others. Probably not Jan though, half his relatives are probably fictional as it is.