Din Family/Mikolas
Mikolas Din is the bastard son of a prostitute named Sarley and one of the many warriors she serviced. Adopted by Angus & Sabetha Din he was raised equally in the church as well as the woods. Angus and Sabetha had three other sons. Fingal and Dingal are twins and Drexel is the oldest.
Angus gave Mikolas plenty of work to build him into a man as well as taught him how to handle a sword. The church gave Mikolas the character and knowledge to temper the tenacity of his upbringing by Angus.
Mikolas travelled as a mercenary for many years, honing his skills and abilities. It was during this time that he found that his size and strength were better suited for a different weapon. Mikolas had a warhammer built special for him. With a sixteen pound head and a 3 1/2 foot shaft, Mikolas can be heard raising quite a "din" on the battlefield. Mikolas named his warhammer "Stumpcrusher", due to the unique way that he trains.He can often be heard singing loudly while in battle:
Crush a stump, crush a stump,
Kick the enemy in his rump.
Crush a stump, crush a stump, Never met a maid to plump.
After a battle two summers back Mikolas had found a barrel of mead in a celler of a burnt down house. As Mikolas was downing the first swallows of the mead, he noticed a warrior much like himself coming down the road. It appeared that this warrior named Magnus could smell mead from a mile away.
Drinking the barrel of mead, they shared stories of battles and women the rest of the night and became good friends. Magnus invited Mikolas to come and visit Perdan. After being banned from most of the taverns in his own country, he travelled to Perdan and is loving it so far.
Mikolas pulls out his wineskin and takes a drink of cool water. The training of his men today had been taxing to say the least. As he pulls the wineskin down he sees the Ex-High Marshal running through Brive as naked as the day he was born. Trying to catch up to him, and holding his clothes and banner is the Queen.
"By gosh and by golly, that's not something you see everyday." Mikolas thinks.
Just as he is about to take another drink, out of the corner of his eye Mikolas notices movement over by the Suffering Sloth. He looks just in time to see a different man go flying through the air and land at the feet of some men that his friend Magnus is sitting with.
"Must be a full moon today...." he says looking skyward.
Booooooommmmmm!!!! Mikolas is starled by a loud explosion in the distance over by Thrydwulfs tent. He turns just in time to see some guy impaled on a pole go shooting up into the air.
"That's gotta hurt." Mikolas says, "Well, I know one thing...Magnus was right about this place being interesting....a little crazy maybe, but interesting. I think I'll fit right in." Mikolas begins to sing as he returns to practicing his weapon skills against a dead tree.
"Crush a Stump, crush a stump. Kick my enemies in their rump."
"Crush a stump, crush a stump. Ne'er met a maid to plump."
"Yep, a little crazy is good", Mikolas says as drives the warhammer he named "Stumpcrusher" into the tree again, throwing splinters in all directions.
As Mikolas walks among his troops, he notices that many of the men are grumbling. Talk of sitting around too much. Talk of the constant training and drilling. The men are unhappy and he knows it.
As he listens, Mikolas he also knows that he needs to take the time to raise the morale of the men a little. Ordering one of the kegs of ale brought from the cart, Mikolas brings his men in around the campfire.
I know that these have been long days for soldiers that want battle not training." Mikolas says. "But, for now we must remain ready. The day will come to fight, and when that day does come, The Gutbuster Brigade will show all of Perdan our ferocity and skill. Our cunning and might. We are The Gutbuster Brigade and we are MIGHTY!!!"
From all around the campfire cheers go up. Mikolas smiles as he hears The Gutbuster Brigade begin to sing:
"Rest my men and enjoy the day, For tomorrow we make our enemies pay.
Tomorrow we'll march the road to war. We'll march until our feet are sore.
To defend the realm and all we swore, We'll march upon the road to war.
Upon order from our lovely Queen, We'll raise our voices and loudly sing.
Enemies of Perdan runaway all. Runaway now or die where you fall."
Mikolas (Knight of Partora)
Sitting with his back against the cart, Mikolas runs the whetstone down the length of his dagger. The dagger could split a fairy hair, but Mikolas continues to sharpen it, more, more and more.
"Damn the luck..". He speaks outloud, "Train, train, train and for what...police duty somewhere. I promised the Gutbusters a fight, hell they need a ...."
Mikolas notices Stoneshadow, his second in command of the Gutbuster Brigade, come running towards him. Stopping in front of Mikolas and trying to catch his breath, "Beggin' your.....pardon sire. I ...have...news."
"Well, spit it out man. What's the matter!" Mikolas asks impatiently.
"Monsters sire..." he says, "monsters are attacking Mulhouse! The Queen is requesting troops....troops to march there and stop the attacks."
Mikolas stands and sheaths his dagger, slowly a grin stretches across his face.
"Go and let the Queen know that the Gutbuster Brigade will march immediatley. I'll rally the men myself. Go, go on now hurry....I don't want to miss this battle." Mikolas tells Stoneshadow.
"GUTBUSTER BRIGADE TO ME!" Mikolas yells, "WE MARCH FOR MULHOUSE NOW!"
"Hey Stoneshadow."
Stoneshadow stops and turns, "Yes, sire."
"I do wish Magnus were here" Mikolas says, "He's gonna hate missing this. Maybe we'll save a couple of the monsters and bring them back for him as souvenirs."
Mikolas walks off laughing towards his men who are rallying at the campfire. Stoneshadow just shakes his head and starts running towards the castle.
The glory of battle has given way, to the dullness of peace again today.
Some men were made to till the soil, others are merchants and trade is their toil.
I am a warrior from my head to my feet, N'er should I spend this much time on my seat.
I need a fight, or even a melee. a war, a clash, a battle or fray.
I need an enemy that I can kill, maime or smite, an enemy to conquer, I need a good fight.
Well, another day is over, boredom has won out. My excitement today? I lost my last scout!
A last check on my troops, their morale fifty percent, Not much I can do so I retire to my tent.
I kneel with my sword, head hung in prayer, My voice lifted up into the night air.
"Lord, if your up there and can hear this young knight, Please send Maelg, Magnus and Mikolas a fight!"
...in the Filleted Flamingo with Maelg.
As Mikolas look around the tavern he notices that a young soldier has passed out on one of the tables in the corner. The soldiers head is laying on the table with a puddle of drool forming under his chin. Mikolas sees Dimi walk over, lift the head of the young soldier by the hair, wipe the drool with a bar towel. Dimi then returns to the bar and begins to dry the stack of clean mugs on the bar....with the same towel? Mikolas wonders as he tips his own mug to take another draw of ale.
"How long do you think the peace will last Maelg?" Mikolas asks.
"Who knows, days, weeks, months...we could be back at war tomorrow." Maelg replies.
"I think all this peace is making my men lazy. We train, but their hearts are not into it." Mikolas says.
"Let them enjoy a little peace. It might do The Gutbuster Brigade some good. You know that there is going to be a circus in town soon. Let them...." Maelg stops when he sees the color drain from Mikolas' face at the mention of "a circus."
"What's wrong with the circus...you aren't scared of clowns are you?" Maelg says, rocking back in his chair and laughing outloud.
"No, I'm not scared of clowns.....it's just that....well I probably shouldn't even tell you.....you see once I....." Mikolas stammers.
"Spit it out man! What's wrong." Maelg says.
"A couple of years ago I had a really good time at the circus and well, I made The Bearded Lady's husband a little mad and he has been looking for me ever since. But really, it's not my fault...who would have thought The Bearded Lady even had a husband!"
...in the Filleted Flamingo.
"So how drunk were you?"
Mikolas tries to remember what the Bearded Lady looked like, then he pictures Magnus...could they be one and the same? Although it was only a kiss on the cheek....but still, could Mikolas have been that drunk?
Mikolas stops mid-sip and lowers his mug of ale. He wonders should he quit drinking? Has his drinking gotten so bad that he could mistake the face of Magnus for the face of The Bearded Lady from the circus? Maybe he should quit drinking....then suddenly as if waking from a bad nightmare, Mikolas shakes his head and says "That's just silly....quit drinking. Dimi, bring us another round over here!"
Dimi brings another jug and sits it down in the middle of the table, sloshing some of the ale out of the pitcher and onto the table.
"Now, that is abuse of alchohol...." Mikolas says, "Me quit drinking....now that's funny. "Heh,Heh,Heh..."
Once again, Mikolas half-falls, half-walks out of The Maimed Seagull. This is the third time this week that he has stayed to be the last one thrown out. As he blindly stumbles down the alley, he wonders silently....
"Will I ever battle again? These days of peace are making me soft," he thinks to himself. "Man cannot live on ale and taters alone....he must have purpose. He must have a reason to live."
As Mikolas stumbles along, the shadows of the alley make the cobbled road hard to see. A black cat, darting from one of the shadows, startles Mikolas just enough to cause him to miss his next step. Twisting his ankle, Mikolas goes down hard into a pile of crates and barrels that line the alley. His world goes black....
Awakened by the morning sun, Mikolas looks around and sees that he is in an alley a short distance from the Maimed Seagull. But, the alley looks different.
"That wall wasn't there last night was it?" , He thinks to himself.
As he turns to look the other way he notices a brightly colored tent blocking the alley exit. A small hand painted sign above the flap reads "Madam Monta's Mind Meddling." Curious, Mikolas stands up.
"Not even a little bit of a hang over..., " he says outloud to no one in particular, "This must be my lucky day."
Walking over to the strange tent, he pulls back the flap and peers inside. A woman with dark features sits behind a small table. Mikolas notices that her hair is wound tightly on top of her head in a bun that rises two or more feet into the air. On top of the pile of hair rests a purple turban that matches her silken purple clothing.
"Sit, Mikolas." she says, "I've been expecting you."
"How do you know me?" , Mikolas questions.
"I know many things. And many things can I tell you. Will you listen?" she asks.
"I will listen." Mikolas says.
"Good. Good. Now take off your boot."
"What...?"
"Take off your boot and put your foot on the table. I read feet!" she commands.
Hesitating, Mikolas removes the worn leather boot from his foot and places it on the table. Immediately Madam Monta grabs his foot and sniffs it. Mikolas starts to pull away but, she pulls back. Coughing slightly, she starts tracing her finger along the sole of his foot.
"You want to know if there will be battle."
"How do you....."
"Shhhhh....you listen. I speak." Madam Monta tells Mikolas, "There will be battle. You will get to prove yourself once again. Ahhhh....but there is also love. I see love in your future. I see a woman......no it is a man......No! I see.......It is brother and sister but, the sister is bearded and the brother is not. One is a great warrior friend and the other will be your wife. But, can you tell them apart? Can you? Does this scare you............."
"Aaaaaauuuuuggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" Mikolas screams. His world goes black.........
"Sire! Sire!" Stoneshadow shakes Mikolas' shoulder, You are having a bad dream....wake up!"
"What? Where am I?" Mikolas asks with sweat dripping down his forehead.
"It's alright sire. You didn't come back last night so I went looking for you. You had passed out in an alley, so I brought you back here." said Stoneshadow.
"By the Gods! I had the most horrible dream. I.......I.....never mind. I've got to quit drinking so much." Mikolas said, "I know one thing if this peace lasts much longer I'm gonna go pick a fight. By the way Stoneshadow....we aren’t anywhere near that circus are we?"
Mikolas and Stoneshadow ride side by side leading the troops on their way to Mullhouse...
Mikolas looks over to Stoneshadow, "You know Stoneshadow I've been thinking about all the mead I've been drinking lately and the number of times I've been drunk in the last couple of weeks since this thrice damned peace started."
"Yes Sire, you have been drinking some." Stoneshadow says, rolling his eyes.
"Well Stoneshadow, I beagan to wonder if maybe I have been drinking too much, and then I had an ippifin..an appifi...I had an idea. I began to think about the cute little wenches that served me all that mead."
"That's not surprising Sire." Stoneshadow interuppted.
Yes, but then I thought about those two Heiniken brothers on the other side of town that actually make the mead and let's not forget about the barrel maker...he's probably got what 10-15 guys working for him!"
"Yes Sire, but what are you getting at?" asked Stoneshadow.
"Don't you see Stoneshadow....I can't quit drinking. There are too many people depending on me. I'm good for the economy!" exclaimed Mikolas.
Standing on his barstool, Mikolas grinned from ear to ear at the sounds of breaking glass and shattered wood. This was going to be a great tournament."
Mikolas yelled at Magnus over the sounds of fighting, "HEY MAG, WATCH THIS! THIS SHOULD GET THINGS GOING REAL GOOD!"
Mikolas downed the mug in his hand and then, jumping straight into the air, he tucked his knees and "cannon-balled" the table next to him.....
Standing up a little groggy from the "cannon-ball" he just did, Mikolas straightens just in time to catch a squarely landed blow right on the chin. Stumbling backwards into the bar, he shakes his head and starts forward into the fray when someone suprises him by jumping up on his shoulders from behind. Wrapping a pencil-thin arm around Mikolas's neck, the unknown attacker starts poking his finger into Mikolas's right eye.
Reaching up and trying to swat off the pesky attacker, Mikolas yells "GET OFF ME!"
Mikolas is answered by a snotty high-pitched familiar voice "I knew I shouldn't have let you two in! I knew you were trouble! You and your friend with the noble "patent" papers!"
Spinning around trying to reach the agile waif-like man on his shoulders, Mikolas bellows, "Yeah, well I should have know you were that twig-necked little Fontanese by your perfume!"
Mikolas is immediatley responded to with a poke in his other eye. "OWWWW!"
Seeing that he can't reach the pesky little man, Mikolas stops spinning and asks "Hey, do you know the way to Nascot?"
Stopping his assault on Mikolas's eye, the small fairy of a man looks quizzically and says "Of course, it's that way." pointing at the wall across the room.
"Thanks!" Mikolas says, and then lowering his head with the petite pipsqueak clutching tightly on top, he runs straight for the wall the man had just pointed to......
Finally rid of the pesky twig-necked man, Mikolas stands and turns towards the ruckus just in time to see his friend Maelg clock some dude on the back of the head with a tankard of ale.
"HEY, MAELG'S HERE!" Mikolas yells across the room. Ever one to notice the obvious Mikolas waves again and shouts "WE'RE HAVING A BARFIGHT!", just before he catches a thrown potato in the side of the head....
After listening to Magnus recite his apology to each and every noble (one by one and in alphabetical order, I might add) at the tournament, he turned to Magnus and said "I don't really remember much after I hit myself in the head with my own warhammer....so remind me, what am I apoligising for?"
"For everything", Magnus said.
"Oh," Mikolas said. Then standing up and straight next to his brothers in brawl he cleared his throat and said, "I apoligise for everything!", and then quickly started to step back down. For his effort he was quickly rewarded a smack to the back of the head and a glare from Magnus.
"OK...OK...I apoligize for everything I did, except for throwing that little twig-necked Font...." another slap to the back of the head inturupted him again.
Magnus glared once again at him. Farther down the line of warriors, Maelg was shaking his head at Mikolas and SINBAD was just rolling his eyes.
"Okay....I apoligise for "cannonballing" the table of Fairi....er nice people. I apoligise for trying to run the twig-neck....the nice little Fontanese man through the wall. And I would like to personally apoligise to all the mead, ale and beer that I spilt tonight. I find alchohol abuse of that sort to be beneath me and I will do my best to make sure all the mugs are empty before I start the next fight...uh brawl...I mean welcoming party."
Patora held a tourney, all this last week A tourney to judge sword and jousting technique
Colorful tents staked out all in their splendor Games, contests and a "Tater Vendor?"
In the tent tavern there was plenty of ale And the mead flowed freely while a bard told his tale
It started out slowly, with a thrown rock Then a chair, a table and even a clock
Then high on the bar came a familair call "Watch this Magnus, it's a cannonball!"
Not to be outdone, not in the least Magnus did a Swan dive right into some priests
Sinbad and Kava both got in the fray But Maelg and San decided their own way
They both took their place with a barrel and a straw They drank and they drank, but they tied in a draw
Hearing of the ruckus, the Queen rolled her eyes The names of the perps, That was no suprise.
"Someone must stop them, tell them to cease Don't those Brothers of Brawl know we're at peace
After they apoligised, things settled down Until Lord Aram yelled, "Free beer all around!"
The scramble for the bar started a new fight. "Hope you all enjoyed the tourney, have a good night!"
One lonely potato to bake or fry, I see it's eyes, but they can not cry.
One potato is not enough for dinner, I have a good plan and it's a winner.
The taters and onions, I chop them up, I cry as I put them in the measuring cup.
A couple more items to add the right spice, Fry a little bacon, now that would be nice.
Some pepper and salt, and a little flour, Cook it on low for about an hour.
Sir Remorse, this recipe is just for you, It's called, "Sir Remorse's One-Potato Stew"....
.....in Wasteland.
Mikolas walked briskly along the dusty road as he yelled for his second in command. "SARGENT!!!!!"" Hacking and coughing mostly for effect, Mikolas yelled again, "SARGENT! I'm dying over here!"
Walking briskly from the direction of Baron Fingals estate, SARGENT Stoneshadow came up from behind on the same dusty road. Out of breath, he finally reached Mikolas who was tapping his foot impatiently. "Yes, Sire. What can I do?" Stoneshadow asked.
"Have you seen my brother the Baron?" Mikolas asked.
"Yes, Sire. He was headed to Perdan City to get some more supplies for the rebuilding. He left you in charge." Sgt. Stoneshadow answered.
"Rebuilding? What is he rebuilding? There is nothing to rebuild! What he needs to do is come back with a cart of Ale! Then maybe I could wash some of this grit from my throat." Mikolas grumbled, "The first thing he needs to build around here is a tave......Hmmmmmm.....Did you say he left me in charge?"
"Yes Sire, you were passed ou....errrr....sleeping...so he left the message for you when you awoke." Stoneshadow answered.
"Sargent!....I have made my first decision as temporary Baron. Get the men together and let's start building a tavern. Have two of the men take a cart to Chaos Temple of Kalamar and get some mead, ale, ...I don't care....just as long as it contains alcohol. And maybe a dancing girl.....a cheap one!"
Stoneshadow looked bewildered and asked "Begging your pardon sir, but what shall we build it with?"
Mikolas looked around for a moment and then in the distance he spotted the ruins of a building, "Rebuild that building into a tavern."
"Uh....sir, that is what is left of the Temple of Gymnisitisim. You can't use a temple for a bar."
"They drink that sacramental wine all the time in those things....I don't think their god will mind if we have a little ale too." , Mikolas said as he smiled. "And Stoneshadow..."
"Yes sire."
"Make a sign.....from this day forward, The Old Temple of Gymnisitisim in Wasteland will now be known as the Hamstrung Hummingbird."
Stoneshadow just shook his head as he walked off, "As you wish Sire...."
.....in The Hamstrug Hummingbird.
As Sgt. Stoneshadow walks in with the rest of the Gutbuter Brigade, he notices Mikolas leaning against the alter...uh ... bar, whatever it was now. Sir Mikolas is smiling and waving them to come on over. Approaching the bar, Stonshadow notices a large mug, a small mug, a bottle and a candle lined up across the bar.
"Men...", Mikolas starts, "to dedicate this bar in a manner fitting it's region I have invented a drink just for the Hamstrung Hummingbird."
The men look around nervously at each other and then back to their leader. Never knowing what to expect.
"I call this drink "The Volcano." First thing you need is a large mug of Ale or Mead.", Mikolas says "..and then you top it off with some rum."
Mikolas takes the bottle of rum and pours it into the mug of ale. "The next thing you do is light the rum."
Mikolas takes the candle and lights the rum. Flames erupt from the top of the mug as Mikolas continues, "Then you drop a smaller mug of sacremental wine...in honor of the temple that was.....into the flaming ale. The key is to drink the whole thing before the flames go out.....observe."
Mikolas takes the little mug of wine and drops it into the ale. Flames roll over the edge and onto the bar. Grabbing the mug quickly, Mikolas throws back his head and swallows vigorously as flamed lick across his beard and mustache. The stench of burning hair quickly fills the room, and the men step back a little unsure of what to do.
Working quickly, Mikolas finishes "The Volcano" and slams the mug back down. As he looks around, he sees the smoke coming from his beard and quickly runs over and douses his head into the temple's foutain to put out the flames from his facial hair.
Leaning against the bar, trying to catch his breath he looks into the stunned faces of his men. Hacking up a black "lugee", Mikolas finally speaks, "Well, that's how it's done boys! Anyone else want to try a "Volcano"?"
For a long moment, no one moves and then without warning the forty men of the Gutbuster Brigade began to jostle and fight for position in front of the bar.
Laughing, Mikolas yells, that's my boys......That's my Gutbuster Brigade.....Heh Heh Heh..."
Mikolas begins filling mugs with Ale and Rum......
For reference, here is a list of some of the Inns and Taverns that Mikolas sometimes calls home...at least for a night anyway.
Perdan/Inns
