Known World

Dixie's Story

(7-Feb-06)

"Dixie" : Dixie Normous (NPC/Tim Robinson), Halfling Interpreter
"Eve" : Eve O'Lution (Matt Carr), Halfling Tea Leaf
"Helen" : Helen Back (Ian Luxton), Human Assassin
"Brad" : Brad Buttstrummer (Jamie Schulmeister), Human Smackwater Jack Priest
"Metro" : Metro Gnome (Jeff Clendon), Gnome Wizard
"Xavier" : Xavier Breath (Darryl Sherwood), Human Super Fosfait Priest

My name is Dixie Normous and I'm a halfling thief. (My older brothers had got into the habit of calling our mother "Bumsy". They thought it was a great joke. When I was born, my mother named me Dixie by way of retaliation.)

I speak Gnoll, and the priests of Malechai (god of Hate) sometimes use me as an interpreter with their Gnoll allies. The Gnolls had suddenly turned hostile and the Temple wanted to know why. I was told to join up with a diplomatic party to find out what the Gnolls were up to.

The diplomatic party turned out to be a rabble of trigger-happy adventurers. Naturally, they thought the best way to approach the Gnolls was to break into their stronghold, capture one and beat the information out of him. Needless to say, it all went wrong and the Gnolls were the ones asking the questions, and chopping off toes to boot.

Some would say the job of a translator is to faithfully report what is said on both sides. I had other ideas! This was a delicate situation, and both leaders (Helen and the Gnoll chieftain) were rather forthright. I had to tone down the dialogue. And make tactful omissions. And make stuff up. But my overriding concern was the success of the mission. Plus my life was in danger.

At least the Gnolls were willing to talk. They explained that a Malechai war party had destroyed a Gnoll village and slaughtered the population without provocation. They wanted an equal number of Malechai priests sent to them. Dead or alive? Alive would be acceptable They wanted someone to take their bloodthirsty demands back to the Temple. But who to send?

Initially, the Gnoll chieftain thought that Helen would be the best choice. I didn't like that at all. Helen is an Assassin, i.e. a fighter attached to the Malechai Temple. If she went back to the Temple, the rest of us would be expendable. I was able to persuade the chieftain that Helen would be more useful as a hostage and he should send someone else. But he wouldn't part with me (his only interpreter), Butt Ugly was unconscious and all the others had fled, so that left Karl Rove, the Smackwater Jack Priest and violinist.

Karl was naturally reluctant to be the bearer of such unwelcome tidings, and Helen still wanted to go in person, and at first refused to write a letter for Karl. Here I was forced to rely on their ignorance of Gnoll: the Gnolls were implacable and we had no choice. They saw reason after that!