Well here it is my weekly chapter of my “Return of the Dragon Gods” story. Well last week I told the story of the bumbling thief that stole the rod of wonder from Lady Moonshadow’s vault, and then proceeded to try to use it resulting in him becoming a pile of ashes. So this week I will tell the story of Lord Shieldheart. However to tell his story I must go back many years to when he was barely an infant.
Lord Howard Shieldheart was a proud man who was eager for his son Richard to take his throne and lead the battle into the impending war with the dwarves of Stormforge. The day of the royal coronation Richard he had gone missing. The only thing left in his bedchambers was a note explaining that he was taken by the king of the dwarves King Jamkool. Furious that the dwarves and taken his son who had just given him his first grandchild he stormed the Dwarven kingdom and kidnapped the King of the dwarves only son, Nanar. Howard made the demand that his son Richard be returned to him at once. King Jamkool, who was a little mentally unstable made the promise to give him Richard in exchange for not only Nanar, but control of the Mithral mines as well.
After a few days Howard agreed on the conditions providing that Richard be returned first then Nanar would be safely returned, however the dwarves counter offered with the papers to the mines being delivered, then Richard would be returned. Howard agreed to the terms. Days later dwarves were spotted delivering a box to the gates of The Shieldheart castle. Richard quickly ran to the gate to open the box hoping against hope that his son was somehow in it. Richard opened the box and it was filled with the body of Richard slaughtered. Attached to the box was a note reading “We said we would return Richard to you. We didn’t say anything about him being alive when we did. However fear not he was slaughtered for a good cause, he was a sacrifice to the great Erythnul.”
Infuriated that the Dwarven king had broken his vow he decided that he didn’t have to honor his end. Howard ordered his faithful servant to take the infant prince into the woods and kill him. The servant took him into the forest but didn’t have the heart to kill an infant. So he took him deep into the forest and left the infant there to let fate do whatever it wished to the baby.
Hours later a hunter found the baby and brought it in to the local orphanage to be raised there.
451 Words.
