Steph's Fiction

Kakari shielded her eyes as she stepped out of the dark tunnel and into Hollowshade Moor.

Nothing could have prepared her for the impact of the massive sight of the planet of Norrath in the sky. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Kakari didn't even beg the guard for money as she walked, dazed, into the vast openness of the Hollowshade moor. Even the ground beneath her feet seemed to shimmer.

"Sergeant Tylah," she reminded herself. In her paw she tightly clutched the pack containing the rockhopper eggs. Her eyes caught sight of some rooftops in the distance. She'd look for the Sergeant there first.

Kakari explored the moor. She loved the amazing sights and odd creatures. She was so glad to finally be out of the messy training pit!

At last, she located her target. "Hail, Sergeant Tylah!" she called.

His eyes filicked in her direction. "Good day to you Kakari." he sniffed the air. The rockhopper eggs did indeed give a distinct odor.

"Would you happen to have any boiled rockhopper eggs for sale? I'm so very hungry and they're my favorite food," the Sergeant continued.

Kakari grinned. "Indeed, Sergeant Tylah! I've come a long way to give you these." She presented her delicious creations to him.

The Sergeant, very pleased, handed Kakari some acrylia flakes. "For your troubles," he said. He'd already shifted his full attention to the four eggs. Kakari bowed and left him to his lunch.

Things couldn't be better! Here she was, finally out of the pit, and in the wide open Luclin, ready to take on the world.

Kakari took one last stare at the looming planet in the sky before turning back to the tunnel that would lead her home to Shar Vahl. She had to report her successful delivery and then receive her next assignment.

The tunnel's guard quietly watched her walk into the darkness. Kakari looked back at him once, then twice. Why was he watching her so strangely? Was the tunnel off-limits or something? No, the guard would have stopped her. Kakari shrugged and continued her way into the mouth of the tunnel.

Kakari continued walking until it became pitch black. She wasn't in complete darkness for long until she saw a faint light appear ahead of her. She couldn't wait to see Mignah and gloat over her success!

To her dismay, her first step out of the tunnel met the sparkling pastures of the Hollowshade moor. Kakari blinked and looked behind her. The cave -- had she somehow gotten completely turned around in the blackness? It couldn't be. She had an excellent sense of direction. But....

She gave a startled glance to the tunnel guard, who was still watching her. She shrugged, then turned to go back into the cave. This time, she was careful to walk in a perfectly straight line.

Moments later, she stepped out into Hollowshade again.

What in blazing hell was going on?

The strange tunnel guard's steady gaze made Kakari turn to face him. She cleared her throat. "Pardon me, good sir, but do you know if there's anything special about this dark passageway?"

Kakari stepped closer to him to hear his response. As she approached, her breath caught in her throat. She'd never seen such haunted eyes in her life.

"Child," his voice was worn and tired. "The only way out of Hollowshade Moor is death."

(Kakari, eighth season.)
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[8 Rogue] Kakari (Vah Shir)
A Companion of Norrath

/ooc For those of you unfamilliar with the Al'Kabor server EverQuest circa 2003-2004, there was a bug in the game where any player who entered the Hollowshade Moor would be eternally trapped in that zone. Attempting to leave the exit would cause the character to get warped back into the middle of the grassy field. Those lucky enough to have high-level Wizard friends could use the wizard's portal spells to escape, but those like me who did not have any high-level friends could only leave by getting yourself killed and then waiting for the game to ressurect you to the place where your soul was bound. The cost is that you'd lose all of your armor and any money and items that you were carrying. This, of course, was a cause of many complaints to customer service at Sony Online Entertainment -- So, while we were all wating for the programmers to fix this bug on our server, I decided to write it into Kakari's adventures. The stories, after all, are supposed to be based on in-game experiences, whether they be intended by the designers or not!!!

Posted by Steph at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

/ooc I've just been itchy to post these next few entries! I'm in the process of weaving Kakari's life and training in Shar Vahl into her appearance at the mighty battle in Freeport. On with the story....

"That's right, just a little closer..." Kakari murmured.

Kakari stiffened, then pounced on her prey, plunging her dagger into its small body. It was dead even before its squeal had silenced. The rockhopper's dead claws clutched Kakari's prize -- the last rockhopper egg. Finally!

Kakari bounded across the pit and used all four limbs to scale the crater wall. She wasted no time on her way to the ovens.

At first glance, there was no one in sight. Kakari began to unpack the precious ingredients from her backpack.

"I see you've brought everything," said a voice behind her. Kenkaishin. Right on time.

He brushed past her and expertly flipped open the oven door. He looked at her from over his shoulder.

"Do you have much experience baking?" he asked.

Kakari shook head.

"Allow me to demonstrate, then," he said. "Grilled cheese sandwiches, my specialty."

Kakari watched his practiced paws fold the ingredients together in his frying pan. Already, she noticed a couple things that she'd been doing wrong in her own baking. For one, she'd been setting the oven much hotter than Kenkaishin had it now. No wonder she burned everything.

The delicious cackle of the grill caused a growl to emanate from Kakari's stomach. Embarassed, Kakari put a paw over her middle in a futile attempt to silence it.

Kenkaishin's ears flicked. "Here," he handed her the sandwich.

"Thank y--" Kakari hadn't finished speaking before she hungrily swollowed the first bite.

Satisfied, Kakari was better able to concentrate on Kenkaishin's advice about the skill of baking. Before the end of the afternoon, with Kenkaishin's help, she'd cooked all the rockhopper eggs into healthy snacks.

She couldn't wait to deliver them to Sergeant Tylah in Hollowshade moor. Her mentor would be proud when she brought back news of her success!

Kakari turned to thank Kenkaishin for all of his help, but he was already gone.

(Kakari, eighth season.)

/ooc In her "real" life, Kakari hasn't actually gathered all the eggs yet... (Next time I see you in the pit, Kenkaishin, we'll have to go hunting!) But, I didn't want this minor detail to hold up the rest of Kakari's adventures. So, in the next episode, she continues with the four boiled rockhopper eggs to continue her mission in Hollowshade moor!
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[8 Rogue] Kakari (Vah Shir)

Posted by Steph at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Early the next morning, Kakari found herself revitalized with energy. Finally! A ray of hope! She had no idea who this shadowy character was, but she figured that if he already knew that she was collecting the rockhopper eggs -- and that she was failing miserably to do anything with them -- then he'd likely have similar means to know when she'd gathered all nine of them.

Kakari took her usual route down the crater wall and scanned the horizon for young rockhoppers. Another Vah Shir trainee, several seasons older than herself, stood to her left, his orange fur glowing in Luclin's morning light. His whiskers twitched as his gaze moved steadily over the sea of critters.

"Hail, Comrade." Kakari stepped closer to him.

He nodded a quick greeting. "How goes it?" He shifted his leather shoulder pads. Kakari judged that they were brand new.

"Fairly well, thank you," she replied. "Although, I do wish that the young rockhoppers were more plentiful."

He grinned. "Me too. I'm after their hides."

Kakari smiled. Perhaps the shoulder pads were of his own making.

"You know," he turned to her, "someone told me once that if you kill the needle clawed hoppers, then the young rockhoppers start to come out of hiding."

Kakari cocked her head to the side. "Really? Well, then, thank you for the advice!" She usheathed her dagger. The trainee nodded at her again before jogging off into the pit.

Before she knew it, Kakari had already gathered four more rockhopper eggs.

Things were certainly looking up today.

(Kakari, seventh season.)
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[7 Rogue] Kakari (Vah Shir)

Posted by Steph at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)