Somewhere in the isles, there is a kingdom so small, no cartographer has ever recorded it on their maps. No outside ruler has ever spared this place a single thought, much less a drop of blood trying to invade it, and no explorer has ever set out to find it.
This is not to say its people never receive visitors. It happens that travelers, purely by chance, find their way across its borders. Most of them leave again, by one way or another, having never realized they entered another kingdom at all.
Despite its size relative to other places, it is very easy to get lost within its borders, for it seems to be folded up upon itself and twisted around more times than a nest of origami snakes in a whirlwind. Its hills and fields and forests roll and twist and bend until wanderers don't quite know which way is which or whether their own heads are up or down. Paths and burrows riddle the landscape, leading every which way but never seeming to lead anywhere.
Its people, who are themselves quite small, find much humor and enjoyment in such bewilderment. They spend their days playing games on each other, or the rare unwary traveler, trying to lead others astray without being led astray in turn. All for good fun and merriment, of course.
In this kingdom lived a girl, whose name was Nin. Nin was smaller than most of her kind and quite good at playing the game. Not because she was a passionate player who dedicated herself to daily practice and study, but because she—quite uncommonly for her kind—hated getting tricked, turned around, led astray, or spun around in circles. When others had a good laugh together over the day's foibles, Nin would grump and sulk and stare daggers at everyone.
After one too many embarrassing experiences of being fooled as a child, she dedicated herself to not play the game and instead spent all her energy on outwitting everyone else, to learn and predict their intentions and plans, the better to avoid them. Which, quite inadvertently, made her really good at making them all twist themselves into knots. Though everyone teased her for being a grumpy grump, they also came to respect her for her skill at the game.
But Nin hated it. And when she had the time, which was rare because she constantly had to look over her shoulder or anticipate the next trick, she dreamed of a different life. A life of straight roads, long roads leading somewhere. Of flat lands extending as far as the eye could see and farther still. Of people who said what they meant and kept their word.
That last part would prove elusive, but she did think she knew of a place of long, straight roads and vast, flat fields. As a good and attentive listener, she'd heard of it from travelers, rare though they were.
One day, having finally had enough, and in a fit of extreme grumpiness, she tossed everything she owned into her wagon and set off, never to return. She'd find roads so straight, she could ride in her wagon for days on end without a single turn.
She'd find fields so vast, she couldn't see the end of them.
And maybe, just maybe, she would find a single person in the whole world who said what they meant and kept their word.
*
Hola amigos! So, it's been a while, but I thought it was probably time to get back into the PbP game.
I wasn't too sold on Fellowship the first time I tried it, but perhaps I'll enjoy it as a player. Perhaps the 2nd edition has some improvements too, and maybe you guys have more experience now, which also helps.
Right now I only have the old 1e book, though I'll see about getting the others, and I don't really remember a thing about the mechanics or details of Fellowship.
But I kinda wanted to play a halfling of some style, and then this morning inspiration struck, and I wrote the above. I think I like it, so maybe I don't need any of the fancy new playbooks after all.
Also, I'm a noob when it comes to Arthurian legends. Unless it's something everyone probably knows from popular culture, I probably don't know it. Though I'm happy to learn, and I plan on maybe reading up a bit :)
