One Big Mistake

After the liberation of Tilverton, Deuce was feeling very important. He and Molmus worked incessantly on their magic. Among other things, Molmus was introducing Deuce to the art of making magical items. It started out with very small things. Things which Deuce had carved were suddenly imbued with temporary magical effects. Nothing lasted at first and some were even consumed by the utter failure of the experiments. However, with Molmus assisting him, Deuce managed to avoid any real danger. Until one day.

It was a very comfortable day in the late summer when Molmus and Deuce decided it was time to start crafting the item they had been discussing for quite a while. They had come up with a way they thought would allow them to create a pocket dimension with a doorway which would essentially be a portable sanctuary. The focus was just going to be an amulet. With this amulet, the user would be able to call up a doorway to a small pocket dimension which could contain a comfortable sized home and a small amount of land. This dimension would exist as long as the amulet was intact, which would allow for permanent storage.

The surprising thing was that they succeeded! It worked. The amulet was one of Deuce's best carvings, having worked on it for almost five ten-days straight. After the ritual which took thirty hours straight, much longer than either one of them thought, they were both exhausted. That was the first warning sign. However, Deuce was so excited about the success, he wanted to test it immediately. Deuce volunteered to be the first to enter the door. They forgot one small piece in all their planning. How do open the doorway back from the other side.

Deuce used the amulet and a dark shadow of a doorway opened up in front of the two of them. Deuce gave Molmus a look that seemed to say, "One small leap for halfling, one giant leap for halfling-kind," or something like that, and stepped through.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, the door closed. Apparently, by bringing the amulet with him, he had removed the anchor to the prime material plane. Nothing bound this dimension to it anymore. And he couldn't get back.

After a long time trying to create a portal back, Deuce slumped down exhausted and scared. He hadn't planned for a trip. All he had were his figurines, his whittling knife, some basics he kept with him everyday and his book, which almost never left his side anymore. He didn't even have his bow.

Over the next approximately four years, Deuce set himself up for survival. He built himself a modest abode. His companions were his lions. But they could only stay around for about an hour a day. He focused much effort on keeping them longer, and over time extended their visits to around six hours a day. The rest of the time he got used to having himself as the only company.

There were terrors he had to deal with however. This may have been a small pocket dimension, but there seemed to be things lurking at the edges of the perpetual light centered on Deuce. He could move around, and there was a radius of light always around him, but there were always things he could sense just out of view.

Having talked about the terrors, it's only fair to talk about the pleasures. The temperature was always pleasant, even if there was no real sun. The scenery in the immediate vicinity was pleasant forest views. When he went out hunting with a bow he carved for himself, there was not problem finding the animal he wanted. This was strange due to the fact that he never saw these animals any other time.

It was as if the place was providing what he needed. As if in response to what he needed. That occupied a great deal of his thought when he sat down and tried to puzzle a way out of this place. They hadn't intended much of the extra features of this place, such as the responsiveness to needs.

During the four years in isolation, Deuce studied his magic a great deal. He learned more about how do manipulation illusions, spy through shadows, and how to breach the veil to the shadow plane. He also spent a great deal of time learning about how to wrap himself in shadows for protection.

In addition to the magical studies, Deuce became quite skilled in whittling. He carved little things all day long. Toys, works of art, images of his imagination, and of course many carvings of the lions. Mym and Kall had kept him sane for all that time. He spent a great deal of time talking to them as if they were just another person, even if they never talked back.

One day, while working on probing the veil, he suddenly broke through. He was so shocked that it snapped closed again right in his face. He was so excited that he immediately gathered together everything valuable to him, said goodbye to the only home he'd had in four years and stepped into the shadow plane.

He was terrified and it took him a while to find a place to open another breach back to the Prime Material plane. Once he did, he stepped through, back to the life he thought he'd lost forever.