The Spell Spear

          "Hey ugly put me down" yells a disgruntled half elf whose being carried on an orcs shoulder with her hands tied behind her back. "Where is that bird! I could use its help."
      "Grrr argh tr" grunts the Orc carrying and giving her a good shake.
      "Ok I'll be quite" she responds fuming.
      After about twenty minutes they walk in to a collection of ramshackle huts and lean-to and shanties. The Orc walks into the largest and locks her in a wooden cage.
        "I should have stayed in town at least there I could understand my jailers."
        "Klee, klee, klee!"
        She looks up and see her sparrow hawk sitting in the smoke hole at the top of the hut "about time get down here Maggie and help me get my hands free."
        The bird drops to the ground hops through the bars and starts picking at the cords with its beak.
        "Ouch be careful there I still need to use my fingers."
          After what seems like hours the cords holding her hands pull free with just a few cuts. With her hands free she proceeded to untie her feet.
        "Now let me see" she says to her sparrow hawk familiar "if I can figure out how I started the fire at the orphanage, I could burn the cafe and escape before the rest of the hut burned."  She sits in front of her cage door concentrating "burn open burn door, burn lock, burn open lock" she thinks and with the last thought she is surrounded by soft clicks.
          She opened her eyes the lock on cage was hanging there and as she left the cage she saw several chest with their locks open as well. Not knowing how long she had she would look until she found a weapon.
        She was drawn to the largest chest. Opening the chest she saw A three foot spear laying on a pile of coins jewelry gems and dagger and stuff. She picks up the spear, touching it she feels a slight static shock followed my a feeling of calm. Kneeling in front of the chest she lays the spear across her lap and grabbing a haversack from besides the chest she starts to fill it while listening for sounds of some one approaching. She feels like it is taking forever to fill the haversack, putting it off to nerves she continues, with the chest half empty she buckles the haversack and puts it on thinking that it is awfully light, but not wanting to waste time and get caught she starts to think how to get out of the village. 
        Holding the spear firmly, ready to jab anyone she sees, she opens the door a crack. She sees orcs and goblins going about their business. Something tells her to step outside so she does moving the spear horizontally I front of her and speaking the words that appear in her mind. All the orcs and goblins in the immediate area fall asleep.
                   While picking her way through the sleeping orcs. She wished she had some one to protect her and her mind was filled with an image she held the spear upright and lowered arcane words danced from her lips and she now had a pair cooshees (elven war dog) on each side of her.  As she neared the forest she came across a pair of orcs who were not affected by her sleep spell. With a word the cooshees attacked hitting their orcs hard and bearing them to the ground where they ripped out the orcs throats. That is when she heard it. From the hut she just escaped from which was not nearly as far away as she thought, there was a huge roar. Turning she saw an ogre. He raised a great sword at her and started a lumbering stride towards her.
      She looks at the cooshees with blood dripping from their muzzles "Attack!" she commands pointing the spear at the ogre. She says some arcane words that appeared in her mind and two magic missiles  appear and streak off and hit the ogre in the chest with little affect. Seeing this she lets the dogs attack and she runs towards the forest and hopefully escape.
          Almost to forest something grabs her and spins her around. It is an Orc she relaxes blinks at him "oh please help me kind sir that brute wants to hut me" and she waves her hand in front of his face. "Go stop him!"
      As the Orc heads towards the ogre she heads to the forest stumbling she falls to the ground at the forests edge next to a giant oak exhausted. Lacking the energy to regain her feet all she can do is watch as the ogre rips the Orc in two throwing the pieces aside as it continues to advance. With nothing left she leans against the tree and holds the spear out wishing there was something to keep her alive. Her familiar sensing her peril lands at her feet spreads its wings and fluffs itself up screeching at the approaching ogre. That's when it happens.
      Arrows  begin to rain down on the ogre it roars even louder, but continues to approach. As her terror rises darkness overtakes her and she feints away. The last thing she thinks she sees is the ogre falling forward with a little man holding a sword on its back.


          "Ugh where am I?" Asks a groggy Star.
          "You are in my home." Responds Ursulla, a middle aged half elf with shoulder length blond hair. "after you passed out Sully brought you here thinking I could help."
            "Sully? Who is Sully?"
            "I am sully" says an elf stepping into the light by the bed. "My companion 
Mika and I were scouting the Orc village and we saw you and the ogre chasing you. We couldn't let the ogre take you. So we attacked. Not sure what medical care you needed we brought you here its the nearest safe haven I know of."
        'Well thank you, and everyone calls me Star or almost everyone. I think it was because I always had to be in the center of the action like the star of a play."
      "Well if you can I'd like to here your story so I know what I'm working with. Asks Ursa.
        "I never had a family all I knew was the orphanage. Then I..... I destroyed the only home I've ever known" says Star bursting into tears. "I was mad.......and all of a sudden...." More sobbing. "It came out of my hand and went out of control. Luckily everyone made it out before it all burned down." More uncontrolled sobbing.
      "There there child it was an accident and no one was injured." Consoles Ursa "it was your powers showing themselves it was something called a starburst. It is a useful little spell. Causes light damage and starts fires. Please continue when you can."
      When the tears subside she continues the story. Right up to passing out.
        "Ok this spear of yours it appears to be an ancient artifact. Just being a magical weapon it is more deadly than a normal weapon this one is intelligent I believe it reached out to you and brought you to it." Explains Ursa "before you got it, your spells came only when you had the greatest need. When you had no one to talk to your familiar came. When you needed to unlock the cage you used a knock spell. My guess you opened the chest before anything else and then the spear was the first thing you grabbed. After that you became calmer and the spear guided your movements as well as amplifying your magic ability. It had you cast a sleep spell that put half the village asleep. Now when you wished to be protected it showed you the summon animal spell, instead of a couple of little dogs you summon two elven cooshees, probably the biggest and baddest war dog out there. Your magic missile spell was two missiles and not one that is normal for a beginner castor. the charm spell was powerful enough for the orc to certain death to protect you, it is hard to force a creature to go against its desire to survive. the problem came because being untrained and draining yourself that low that fast sent you into a spell coma. if it wasn’t for Sully you would probably died right there. This rune here is rune of return I am not sure how it works but i have a feeling the spear will let you know when the time comes. Until then I am going to teach you the basics so that you don’t pass out again.

      That is how Star started her journey from being a homeless orphan to becoming a powerful sorcerous