Introduction. "Vynnolf and the Wyrm" is a story about a castaway and his desperate hopes to be saved, about treasures and a horrific wyrm guarding those, about friends, greed and about a lie that was meant to save people, but turned out to be a curse. Did the Goddess Baveras pull the strings of fate? Or was it all just conincidence?
 

here once took place an expedition of a discoverer who wanted to find new lands in the eastern seas.

As he and his crew entered uncharted waters all of a sudden a storm approached, which was so fierce, that it completely destroyed the ship and all members of the crew drowned in the depths of the ocean.

Except one. His name was Vynnolf, and he was an ambitious young sailor. He had thought that he'd become rich and famous when participating in such an adventure should they indeed discover new lands. But this was not to happen. He was lucky anyway, because it seemed that Baveras had an eye on him: He was washed on the shore of a small, yet unknown, isle.

Vynnolf's only possibility to survive was to make the isle his home and hope that he somehow would be saved one day. But years passed by and his hopes seemed in vain. And though, there had been people on the island before him, no doubt. As in one of the small caves he discovered whole rooms full of strange coins of gold, goblets and plates made of silver and necklaces with the brightest jewels he had ever seen. Probably all these valuables had once been treasures gathered by pirates, forgotten in the meantime, as nobody came ever back to add or take from the riches. Alas, all these things were of no use to Vynnolf, and in the long years he lived on the island he forgot about all these valuable things.

Then one day - more than two decades had passed in the meantime - a ship came off course in a storm and by sheer luck found Vynnolf's island and steered to it for safety until the storm had passed. Thus they discovered also the unlucky once castaway fellow, now barely recognizable as a human. It is said that he didn't even know anymore how to speak and had to learn many things anew. But he returned home with the crew eventually, and he was happy.

Vynnolf had changed. He had become a humble man, who had learned to value the blessings of a simple fire, fresh meat, a bit of cheese, and what it meant to have friends. He felt in heaven. Until the day when he mentioned in one of his narrations concerning his adventures on the isle that he had discovered huge treasures down in those caves where he used to sleep. And since that day people didn't want to let go of him. Immediately an expedition was planned to retrieve the gold. And this was when Vynnolf saw the other side of his "friends", the side he was happy to have missed during his time living as a castaway. He saw the greed and the recklessness of the people to gain riches without honouring what they already had.

And so he decided to lie to them for their own good. "There's a wyrm out there, guarding these caves!", he said. "A vicious wyrm, who will kill you all when you approach him, and even I barely survived, so I didn't dare to get close to it. Don't go there!" he begged to his friends, fearing that the wealth would change them to their disadvantage. "Treasures are not everything in life!"

But nobody listened to Vynnolf. A ship set out finally, meant to defeat the giant wyrm and collect the riches. Vynnolf already feared that the crew would take him to task upon returning why they hadn't encountered the wyrm he had mentioned. - But nobody ever returned from this mission.

Months later another ship set out to investigate the matter, to find the lost ship, challenge the wyrm and to return with the riches. But it returned neither.

Also a third ship tried its luck, but suffered the same fate.

Well, that's just as it happened. Nobody can tell what really took place out there in the deep seas, far, far away from Santharian lands. But the people back then agreed that the sailors shouldn't have tried to challenge such a mighty wyrm, especially as they had been warned repeatedly.

But since Vynnolf had told his son on his deathbed that there never had been any wyrm, people don't know anymore what to think. Some call the incidents "Vynnolf's Curse", others say that Baveras understood the deep sentiments in Vynnolf and only did what for the Goddess seemed her cruel duty. Or were the waters out there just too stormy for all three ships, just like the storm had once caught Vynnolf's vessel? Was it all just coincidence?

Well, the truth we'll never know.
 

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