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ToastyPigeon

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[Themes: fantasy, humor, fantasy] Year 17 "Yeah, yeah, here's the rent." You say handing over a few silvers to Trobart. The innkeeper takes the silver and gives you a scornful look. "Bout fucking time! You're always late! And don't think I don't know how you get this!" Trobart says. "Of course you know how I get this, but it doesn't stop you from taking the money anyway, you mean old bastard." You answer. "Watch yer, fuckin' tongue! One word from me, and the militia would take your ass in quick!" "Pfft, yeah right. You call the militia and they'd probably shut this whole place down. You're selling booze without a license in the basement and one of your rooms is being used by an unlicensed whore." "Fuck you cunt face!" Trobart shouts and stomps off. You just shake your head at the old man's misplaced anger. You head to your room with no more distractions, and then wearily sit on your shitty straw mattress and count what's left of your ill-gotten loot. Enough to eat for a few days. Granted this hasn't been the best month, but you swear you thought you'd be doing a lot better than this by now. This city unfortunately though is proving a lot more vigilant than you'd like. You certainly aren't in Teckleville anymore. What's really not helping is the Crimson Talons running around carelessly committing clumsy burglaries and heists and bringing the militia down even harder on everything. You're sort of glad you didn't join up with them now, because at this rate, the militia is probably going to track them down and execute the lot of them. Still, that doesn't solve your current problem. Part of you wonders if maybe you should just move on from this city, but you really loathe the idea of travelling again and you aren't sure where you'd go. Hessla maybe? While you're pondering your possible future here, you get a knock on the door. "Heeeeey youngster! (hic!) You got any spare....coppers fer the faith?" Great, it's that drunken priest that has a room across from you. You thought the men of Joachim were supposed to be into purity and restraint. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Joachim was the god of alcohol and hopeless drunks based on this guy's behavior and actions. "No and I told you to stop bothering me Virgil! Don't you have a collection box you can pilfer booze money from?" you shout. "Yeah...but no...but I got some (hic) news..." Virgil answers. "Yeah, I already know about Joachim's blessed light. You tried to tell me about it the first time I came here and you nearly threw up on me in the process." "I did? Geez, sorry son...but this is different! (hic) Some...somebody..." "Somebody what?" "Somebody was lookin' fer ya." Well that peaked your interest. "Oh?" you answer. "Yeah...(hic)." "Hold on." You say and go answer the door. No sooner have you opened the door when the odor of Virgil hits you full force. You immediately cover your nose and mouth. "Shit, Virgil. When the hell was the last time you washed? You fucking smell worse than a troll's ass. Granted I've never smelled a troll's ass, but I think it's a safe bet you smell worse than one." You say. "Guess again. Hahahahahahaha! (hic) So can ya spare a copper?" "Maybe, so what's all this about someone looking for me?" "Oh, that. Yeah, this big guy. I mean not like ogre big, but just human big ya know? Old guy too. (hic) I mean not as old as that asshole who own this place, but probably around my age." "Well that's still fucking old then, aren't you like seventy?" "Fuck you. I'll have you know I'm in my forties...I think...yeah..." "Okay, so big guy in his forties was looking for me. What did he want?" Of course NOW Virgil decides to be uncooperative. "No! No! Fuck you, I'm not tellin' you shit now. (hic) Who...who...what do you think I am some kinda asshole fer you to abuse? Callin' me seventy fuckin' years old. I oughta kick yer ass in the name of Joachim! Yer lucky I'm a man of faith...(hic)" At this point Virgil mumbles and stumbles away, bumps into the door to his room and then after a few tries he finally gets it open and slams it behind him. You suppose you could always ask him again later when he's feeling less feisty. He will have likely forgotten all about your so-called insult later, of course he probably will have forgotten about the guy looking for you too. You close the door and think on who he could have been talking about. Your dad? Dad's not a big guy though and you honestly doubt if he would bother to come look for you. Maybe it was Tom from the Crimson Talons? You can't imagine what he'd want to see you directly for though. You'd imagine if he were trying to recruit you again he'd send an underling to invite you to see him. Tom wasn't a huge guy either; of course given that Virgil is on the short and scrawny side, he probably thinks you're a big guy too. Other than those two, you're drawing a blank. It's a little concerning that some big guy is looking for you though. You hear another knock on the door. "Virgil?" you ask. "No, it's Randi. I got some information that you might want to know." A woman's voice says Randi is the red headed whore that lives down the hall. Unusual that she'd seek you out, since she's snotty with you at the best of times. You guess it's because you turned down her overly aggressive offer the first time you stepped into this inn. You answer the door and she's as scuzzy as ever. You feel like you're catching something just by standing this close to her. "Okay, so what's this information? Because if it's some big guy that was looking for me, I already know because Virgil told me." You say. "Oh? Well did he tell you what this big guy wanted too?" Randi asks. "No." "You'll want to know then." "...Well?" "Well what?" "(Sigh) I know you're not used to hearing this, but spit it out! Tell me what this guy wanted." "I'm not your fucking secretary. You want to know, you need to pay, ten silvers." "Ten fucking silvers? You don't charge that much for a blowjob!" "Yeah well if you want a blowjob, then you can pay half that price, but if you want to know what that guy wanted, it's ten silvers." While you're wondering who this guy is and why he's looking for you, you're not exactly keen on giving away most of your hard earned money to some whore who you're not even fucking. "Yeah well go find two dicks to suck then, because you're not getting ten silver from me." You say and shut the door on Randi who shouts some obscenities at you from the hallway. You'll just remain alert and keep an eye out this guy looking for you. Remain on your guard too, since you still don't know if this man means you harm or not. Hopefully Virgil can tell you something later. You might have to offer a couple coppers, but it's far cry from ten silvers. For now though you decide to get some sleep after your long night of thievery. As your lids get heavier, you think on where you could ply your trade with a little more ease and a lot more loot. The rich areas are well patrolled, the government district is well patrolled, the merchant district is well patrolled, and the poor areas are...still patrolled and the folks don't have shit. It suddenly occurs to you that you've never really tried the university district of the city. Might be worth a look, after all it should be filled with stupid rich kids not aware of their surroundings and the Talons don't seem to go running around there, so there might be less heat. Later... You wake up midday. After getting yourself ready for today's endeavors, you knock on Virgil's door, but there is no answer. He's either still asleep or he's out collecting donations for Joachim. Probably the latter considering you didn't contribute to his booze fund. You leave the Welcome Mat Inn, though a little more cautiously than usual. Nobody seems to be approaching or giving you suspicious looks though. Still, wishing to keep a low profile, you stick to the back streets as much as possible and eventually when you get to the better part of town, you catch a coach for your remaining trip to the university. By the time you arrive, the day is beginning to end, but you soon find that the university is still fairly active. After a few hours of just scouting and walking around, it's much like you figured. A lot of scholarly types with their noses in books and rich kids that do a lot of partying. The dorms have security, but oddly not as much as one might think. You find that despite being dressed in your lower class clothing, nobody is really giving you a second glance. It might be due to your youth though; you probably just look like a struggling student. Wasn't like your dad was exactly rich when he attended this place either. It occurs to you how strange it is to be at the university at all. You never thought you'd ever "attend" your dad's old place of higher learning. You're sure at one time he had hopes you would, but it probably wasn't under these circumstances. Out of curiosity you pay a visit to the section to where the medical school is located. Seems weird that your father spent so much money and time putting himself through the place while you're here basically casing it. You're not that well versed in the value of medical supplies and drugs, but you figure the Crimson Talons could be willing to fence whatever you bring. Hell, you probably could just sell the stuff yourself. You know more than enough folks in your area that bitch about not being able to afford shit from the local apothecary, let alone proper medicine. Of course since this is your first time here, you're still getting used to all the twisting corridors that this university seems to favor. You end up stepping into a class in session a couple times, before stumbling upon an unattended supply room where you pilfer various bottles of pills and liquids. When you attempt to leave the facility, you go in the direction where you think you came from, but soon find that you made a wrong turn somewhere. Somehow you manage to find yourself in what you think must be an office area since you see various doors with names on them. (All of them with "Dr." in front) As you're passing one, the door opens and you find yourself face to face with an older woman with gray hair. "Hey. You here about the job?" the woman asks. "Huh? What?" you answer. "I put out several announcements around campus for an escort job. Hmmm....you don't look like a warrior and you're a little young. You one of those students over from the magic college?" "Um, no actually, I just got lost. I'm trying to find my way out of this place." "Lost? What were you doing here in the first place?" "Well my father used to go here and I..." "Wait a minute...you do you look a little familiar. What's your father's name?" You tell this woman your father's name and she instantly lights up. "Hah! I knew it. You look a lot like your father. He was in my microbiology class when I used to teach it. Did very well too. How he doing?" the woman asks. "Oh he's doing fine uh Miss...umm..." you reply "Oh I go by Dr. Gossey and nowadays I focus purely on zoology and the biology of the creatures and animals that live in our fascinating world! So are you a student here too and trying to follow in your dad's footsteps?" "Something like that I suppose. I'm actually just checking out my options right now. You know, to see what I might be interested in." "Good. Good. Glad to see a young person thinking about their future. Hey, would you consider yourself to be an adventurous spirit?" "I suppose in some ways I am." "Well I've got a job that needs doing and I don't have time to do it myself and I'd rather not send my assistant there by herself. You familiar with qweepas?" "Aren't they some really ugly oversized rats?" "In simple terms basically, but they're much more than that. They're actually much more intelligent than the average rat. They aren't even native to the continent, but a lot of them over the years have undoubtedly snuck aboard Hessla pirate ships and now they're slowly starting to gain a foothold as a pest on the coast. One can only imagine how far they will have spread in another ten years." "So what is it that you need exactly?" "I need someone to go into Hessla or around that area with my assistant and get me some live specimens. About ten should do. Like I said, I'd send my assistant alone, but I know how dangerous Hessla is especially for a single female, so it would be better if someone went with her." "So, am I just to be there as hired muscle?" "Yes, though as I noticed before, you don't seem to be a physical type...not to say you aren't well proportioned for a young man your age, it's just I was hoping to get a taker from the gladiator team or someone of similar intimidating size. I only mentioned this at all to you because for one, I haven't had anyone else come in as strange as that may be. And two I knew your father. I figured it wouldn't be polite to not offer his son a chance to earn some money towards his education goals, whatever they may be. You could even get a jump start on potential class credits." This is getting a little strange, but you might as well ask. "So what's this job pay then?" you ask. "Thirty gold pieces upon completion." Dr. Gossey replies. "And all I have to do is escort your assistant?" "Yes, and make sure the qweepa specimens get here alive. Those are very important to my research. My assistant will have everything else required for this job and the trip will essentially be completely paid for." "Do you need a decision now?" "Well it would be nice, but I understand if you need to think on it. Hessla isn't a safe place and knowing your father, I'm sure he wanted better for you and you grew up in a protected environment and are probably less familiar with handling folks with a more criminal mentality." Dr. Gossey's assessment of you nearly makes you laugh. While this is technically a "real" job, you can't say you aren't totally unopposed to performing it. Thirty gold is certainly better than what you've done in most weeks since your time here and it would give you a chance to go to Hessla for free. Maybe see if things are potentially more lucrative over there. > Don't take the job While the pay seems okay, this doesn't really seem like your sort of thing. Running around catching rats and escorting some student that lacks common sense on top of it doesn't sound too fun. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think this is for me." You say. "Completely understandable. Well, good luck on whatever it is that you're deciding to go into, and say hello to your father next time you see him." Dr. Gossey says. "I will." You say and bid her goodbye. After leaving the medical building you decide to just call it a day at the university. You've had an okay haul today and you think the university will be your stomping grounds now. When you finally get back to the neighborhood, you revert back your cautious ways until you finally enter the Welcome Mat and your room. You manage to make it without being accosted by any of its denizens this time. The next day you start your routine of heading to the university and then after a productive day you make your way back home. As you're heading home in the middle of the night, you suddenly feel uneasy. Like you're being watched. You look around constantly, but never see anything out of the ordinary. There isn't anyone following you, though you suppose if they are they're really good at staying hidden. Your thoughts go back to the man who was looking for you a few days ago. You still don't know what that was all about and if this is someone meaning you harm. You're paranoid for the rest of your way home. You don't change your routine too much other than perhaps taking different ways to get to the university and back home. You still feel uneasy at times, but again nothing happens. However on one of your more mundane trips to get some food, one of the local food merchants who doesn't normally make much small talk, breaks that habit when you're looking over the fruit cart. "Hey, some big guy was looking for you yesterday." The merchant remarks. "So I've heard. Got a better description than that?" you ask. "Uh, sort of a bushy beard, but the rest of his face was obviously pretty weathered. Shaved head. Probably in his forties or fifties, but still pretty fit. Carried a pack with him, but no weapons. Well at least none out in the open. Said to tell you that he'd carrying an important message for you from your family and that it's very urgent that you meet him at the Raggedy Man Inn." "Hmmm, and that's it?" "As far as I know." "Thanks. I'll just be taking these today." You say and pay the merchant for your food before leaving. Just keeps getting weirder. All you know about the Raggedy Man Inn is that it's in a worse part of Klyton than even you stay at. If this guy is some sort of courier, surely he should know where to find you, especially if this is an urgent message from your family. And you can't begin to know what that might be if true. Part of you wants to just head to the Raggedy Man Inn to confront this person once and for all, but all of this sounds so damn suspicious that you can't imagine going there would do you any good other than getting caught in a trap. You keep up your usual caution and after about a week passes, nobody is coming up to tell you that some guy is looking for you anymore. You end up wondering if it was some message from your family after all. In any case, you relax slightly and continue with your usual life. After a month, the whole thing seems to be forgotten by anyone that spoke to you about it. In fact you aren't even thinking about it as much anymore either. You're mostly thinking about how you're really making a killing at the university. You come home from another successful night and enter your room... No sooner have you opened the door, when a hand strongly grips your hand and yanks you inside. You feel a foot trip you and you go plunging face first into the floor and hear the door being shut behind you. "Now hol..." you start to say before you feel a boot kicking you in the side of the head. "Stop talking, I don't want to hear your voice. This has to happen." You hear a voice say. You manage to roll over and see a muscular older man with a beard standing over you with a very large knife. This is the man that was looking for you. "Who..." you start to say again before the man descends on top of your body and punches you in the face with his free hand. "I said shut up! I thought about this. I thought about the pros and cons for a long time. The right and wrong. And ultimately it all comes back to justice." The man says. You never put it together based on the vague descriptions by other people before, but you know who this man is. He's Klint's father. "You took away my son and not only did you escape, but I see you merely plying your criminal ways here too. I could have easily told the Klyton militia about you, but no, I want to perform this justice myself. Not just for my son you murdered, but for ALL those you've hurt!" With those final words, Klint's father begins stabbing the hell out of you repeatedly with his knife. You scream out several times, but he doesn't care. In fact he wants to hear your pleas and begging. By the time the militia is called to check on the noise, Klint's father stabbed you to death and is covered in your blood. He merely turns his head and says that justice has been served.

You figure it might be best to head somewhere that you can at least get your bearings about what you're going to do in the long term with your life. Still, it would be best to stay off the road and stick to the wilderness. With a new goal, you head in the direction of Klyton and hoping nobody from Teckleville is tracking you. You stick to the woods figuring that it will provide you with more cover. You keep alert for possible denizens that lurk in the woods themselves, but besides a lot of birds and a few normal animals, you don't encounter anything out of the ordinary. You even manage to get a good night's sleep, well as good as you can get with as paranoid as you are. Unfortunately the woods eventually begins to thin and if you continue walking the way you are going, you're going to be in the open plains and if you're going to march across the open fields, you might as well just walk on the road since you'll be just as exposed. Since you're not exactly in danger of starving or anything and the woods themselves seem fairly safe, you decide to play it cautiously by staying in the woods for the rest of the day and travel in the open at night. Hopefully it won't be a much longer trek to Klyton. You take the opportunity to rest up some more and when the only light in the sky is that of the dim moon, that's when you leave the edge of the woods. The trees around you soon disappear and all that's left is you in the open countryside and the occasional sounds of nocturnal animals. You walk across the fields for a while, but as the grass starts getting knee high, you start hearing unfamiliar sounds. While you hope it is only a harmless nocturnal animal (or rather several of them judging by the noises) you get concerned that you might be at a disadvantage if it isn't, so you quickly make your way back towards the road where you have better vision of any potential low to the ground threats. The road is just as empty as the plains you just left. You continue to keep aware of your surroundings by keeping an ear out for various sounds. You still have this idea that you're suddenly going to hear Teckleville watchmen on horses galloping on your position. You continue down the road and once again you see something out of the ordinary. This time though it's a hanging cage along side the road. You've heard of those before. Klyton apparently uses them when the jails are full and the criminal hasn't done anything bad enough to deserve outright death. So they get put in these cages until they eventually die of starvation, exposure or someone grants the mercy of killing them. Either way they aren't the city's problem anymore. Seems like it would be kinder to kill them immediately. You walk a little further and you see a few more of them on both sides of the road. Well if there's anyone inside them, they're going to be safely locked in a cage. First couple cages you pass are empty. The next one has a decaying smell as you pass, but nobody is in it. You notice on the other side of the road a couple of the cages have bodies in them, but seeing as they aren't moving, you can only guess you're probably walking by corpses. At least you think you are. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any extra water would you?" you suddenly hear one of the slumping figures in the cage say. Well you may have decided to travel at night, but it would seem you're encountering more people than you thought. "Uh, no not really." You answer. "That sounded really convincing there son. Come on, if you got any you could spare some. You always got the luxury of grabbing yourself a drink at the first tavern in Klyton...assuming you're even old enough...I can't quite see you, but you sound fairly young." The figure in the cage says. "I'm not young, I'm a grown man!" you exclaim. "Oh. Well apologies then. So can you please spare any water, I'm dying of thirst over here." "Why should I trust you? You're in a cage meant for criminals." "So? What, do you think I'm going to suddenly attack you or something? Even if I had the strength to grab you from between the bars and choked you out or something, that wouldn't exactly help my situation now would it? If anything it would just be harder to beg for water from the next person that passed by given that your corpse would be near my cage." Strangely that logic makes a bit of sense to you. "I'm not a violent criminal anyway. I'm just in here because I was a little down on my luck and stole some food. Unfortunately Klyton is pretty overzealous when it comes to their laws." The man goes on to say. "So you're a thief?" you ask. "Only out of survival." "Explains why you got caught. You're not a professional." You say. "Oh? Well more apologies then, I didn't realize I was speaking to a master fucking thief. Of course if you're so good, why the hell are you wandering out here in the boonies? Shouldn't you be stealing the King of Delantium's jeweled chamber pot or something?" "Hey, if you're still expecting me to give you any water you're doing a piss poor job at convincing me." You say getting a bit agitated and stepping closer to the cage. From this distance you get a better visual on the man in the cage. He looks about of average build, and he's a lot older than you. In fact he looks like he might be around your dad's age. Of course he gets a better look at you as well. "Heh. You barely have any stubble on your face! I knew you were just a kid! Something about you though...you look strangely familiar." The man remarks. "I don't think so, I've never been to Klyton." You say. "No, you don't look like you have. You look more like someone from a small town...say you wouldn't be from Teckleville would you? That is the closest town around here." "...um no why?" you say and then silently cursing yourself that your lie didn't come out natural. "I'll take that slight pause as a yes and you really need to work on your attempts at misdirection and lying. What sort of thief are you?" "Better one than you obviously, you can't even pick the easy lock on your cage." "Yeah, yeah, so Teckleville huh? Hmm....wait a minute!" The man suddenly asks if you know a doctor from Teckleville, and then goes into a description somewhat matching your dad, even mentions him by name. Does this man know your father? Since you seem to be messing up on your lies right now, you just go ahead and confirm his suspicions. "The gods are truly merciful this night! I knew your father! You look a lot like him when he was young. My name's Tom and I used to go to school with your father!" "You mean in the university?" "No, I used to go to primary and high school with him. I was one of his friends during childhood. I mean sure we drifted apart obviously, even more so when I dropped out altogether, but me and him were always alright with each other! I heard he moved to Teckleville years ago and had a family. Didn't know his son was a thief though...how the hell did that happen?" "Long story." "Hm, I'll bet...so you were saying this big ass lock on my cage looked easy?" "Yeah, I've picked more complex merchant lockboxes." You say confidently. At this point Tom stops slouching and begins to move towards you as much as he can in his cage. "That's good...that's good....so hey instead of water, how about you set me free?" "What? Why should I do that?" "Oh come on! I was a friend of your father's! Surely he's mentioned all the fond memories of us playing smash sphere after school." "Well, actually my father doesn't speak much about Klyton or the past at all. He prefers to forget it. Says it was mostly stressful." "Oh....well hey how about this deal then? You've never been to Klyton, so how about in exchange for my freedom I give you some basic information on some of the neighborhoods and potential places you could easily go burgle. I mean obviously I'm rubbish at it, but if you're as good as you say you are, they should be easy for you. You might have less of a problem with releasing him if you could somehow confirm he is who he says he is. Tom certainly seems to know bits about your father that would be hard to know by some complete stranger. Your father never said anything about former childhood friends though, or if he did you weren't paying attention. > You leave Tom Even if he is a childhood friend of your father, you just don't trust Tom enough to set him free. "Look, I got my own problems right now and I can't be taking on someone else's, so I'm saying goodbye to you." "Wait! Okay, I get it, I get it. You don't trust me, but can't you at least give me that water?" Tom asks. "And I told you I don't have it to spare! Look, I'm going, maybe the next person will be more generous." You say. "Fine. I can see you're nothing like your dad. He would have at least given me the water." Tom mutters and then mumbles some swears as you leave. You continue along the road and fortunately you don't have any more late night encounters. Eventually Klyton is in sight and you quicken your pace, anxious to get to your destination. When you get to the city gates, you find them to be heavily guarded and you're stopped. "Halt, you don't look like a merchant or anyone else that has a real job. In fact you look a bit suspicious sneaking about the city at this time of night." One of the guards says. "Sneaking around? But I'm going through the main gate!" you say. "You giving me lip boy? I'm asking the questions here! We don't need anymore scum like you in this city!" the guard says and pushes you. You're smart enough not to start a fight with an armored guard, but you're starting to wonder if you're going to even get in the city. Fortunately, not all the guards are power drunk assholes and one steps forward to pull the asshole one back a bit. "Oh for fuck's sake Clyde, calm down and leave the boy alone. Judging by the look of him he's just a snot nosed kid. Probably ran away from home or something. Hey, kid you got any money on you?" While you normally wouldn't announce such things, you figure they want a bribe to leave you alone. "Um, yeah...look I don't have much, but you can have what I..." you start to say. "What? No, we're not trying to shake you down. This isn't Holgard son. I just wanted to know so I can tell you which inn you should probably check in at. Seeing as you said you don't have much, I'd recommend the Welcome Mat, which isn't that far from the main gate, you really can't miss it.. The place is cheap and pretty safe. If you still can't afford their low prices, they'll probably have some tasks you can do to earn a place on their flop room floor at least." "Oh, okay. Thanks." "No problem, but I'm going to warn you once now. I certainly HOPE if you're sticking around the city, that you have every intention of being a productive citizens. Because if you don't, well...let's just say we don't take kindly to crime around here. I trust you saw all those cages down the road." "Yes, sir." "Hm, well that'll be where you're heading if you have ill intent in this city. And that's if you're lucky." "Yes, I certainly understand sir." You say. "Very well, off you go son." You start to walk towards the city entrance, when Clyde can't resist talking more shit at you. "Remember what we said! You fuck up and I'm gonna fuck YOU up! You hear me you little shit? I'll be on your ass! I'll be on you ALL fucking night and day!" "Yeah, yeah, I got it." You say. While some of the other guards are chuckling and Clyde's buddy is telling him to cease his almost rape like threats, Clyde isn't even paying attention anymore, he HATES your dismissive tone and all he's feeling is disrespect to his authority. "You fucking little scumbag bitch! Fucking dismiss me will you?" Clyde mutters and before you know it he's punched you hard with his gauntlet-encased fist. You drop like a sack of potatoes. "NO Clyde! STOP! Shit! Get Clyde off of him!" Clyde's buddy shouts to everyone, as Clyde is kicking your head in. Eventually they get Clyde off of you, but it's too late. He's stomped your head into mush. You can't even see anymore and you're already losing your hearing. You think you hear someone shout for a medic, but by then everything goes black.

You wake up fairly early, but then you didn't really sleep much to begin with. This was more of a brief rest anyway. After a quick check to see if anyone is in the area, you get out of your bloody clothes and change into some new ones. You might not be properly clean, but it's better than you were. You then check your supplies, which aren't much. You've got a few coins, but you aren't excessively worried about that since food and water are more important out here in the wilderness. You've got a little food and water, but it isn't going to last long. The only weapon you have currently is your dagger. Part of you is only just now starting to feel the various negative emotions involving your parents and Annah. You can only imagine the shitstorm they're facing because of your actions. You just hope that they don't suffer the consequences of what you did. Then there's Annah. You feel like you should be feeling a lot sadder about her, maybe even crying a bit, but maybe you got all those emotions out of your system when you killed Klint. Still seems a bit surreal that you killed someone. Not just anyone, but someone you knew since childhood, even if you didn't like him. You definitely don't feel bad about it and while that can be due to several understandable factors, you can't help but wonder if you could do it again under different circumstances. You may have to, especially now, though your mind certainly went to a dark place during that time. Whatever the near future holds, you'll have to deal with it when it happens. Right now you have to make a decision on where you're going to go because you're not exactly hot on the idea of staying out here in the wilderness. Your first thought is to head west to the city-state of Klyton. It's certainly the closest city and it's the direction you ran from Teckleville anyway. The problem is if anyone from Teckleville is still searching for you, that's going to be the first place they look. Still, Klyton is the only place you really have any basic knowledge about thanks to your parents both being originally from there. Your father never really spoke too much about it, just saying that the only thing worthwhile that he got there was your mother and he was glad when they finally moved to Teckleville to be closer to your grandmother at the time. Your mother on the other hand didn't speak so ill of the place, which is surprising since she grew up in a lower class area than your father did. She even said that sometimes she missed the times when she worked at the inn where she met your father in the first place. Of course her knowledge about the city is bound to be a bit out of date. Also, while Klyton has no jurisdiction over Teckleville, it has been known to apprehend wanted criminals from elsewhere trying to hide out there. Not to mention the place in general has a fairly good reputation (And they want to keep it that way) as far as its own security goes. The Delantium Kingdom to the east isn't really high on your choice list. For one thing, you'd have to backtrack around Teckleville to go in that direction. From what you've overheard, the kingdom has been slowly trying to expand again which sounds a lot like more soldier types running around and that's the last thing you need. Still, the kingdom is a big place and they can't possibly be everywhere. Sivak is the closest major city there. The only other nearby bastion of major civilization you can think of that's close is another city state by the name of Holgard. It's to the south and in terms of existence, it's only a little older than you are. It was founded by a noble from the Delantium Kingdom. Originally it was most likely supposed to be some sort of outpost or colony for the DK. But whatever the original intent, the noble soon set himself up as absolute ruler with no ties to the kingdom at all. For whatever reason, the DK hasn't taken any action against him, whether that's because the cost wouldn't be worth it, they've got more important things to deal with or they're simply glad to have him gone is unknown. The third possibility isn't entirely out of the question either, since you've overheard travelling merchants say that Baron Varsakken is a very unlikable man and it's amazing he hasn't suffered any assassination attempts. His children are apparently little better. Still, you've also heard the place is filled with corruption so it would probably be a better place to do your work than Klyton. > Holgard From what little you know of Holgard, it sounds more like a city you could thrive in. The first problem is going to be getting there though. Holgard is still located in a wilder region of the land so road maintenance isn't always an option due to marauding monsters or bandits. In fact it might not even be safe to stay on the road. In any case it's a ways there, so you get on with it. Your couple of days of travel are uneventful. Just you and an empty road. When night falls you always get off the road and attempt to find a safe place to sleep in the trees nearby. Though you never really sleep easily and are constantly waking up at various sounds. Third day is a little different as you hear the clopping of horses behind you. At first you get concerned that someone from Teckleville is galloping your way, but a quick glance shows it's just a merchant caravan. A fairly big one too since you see several men on horseback along with a carriage and large wagon behind it. An idea comes to you and you wait for the caravan to reach your location. It gets a little closer and then stops completely. A couple of the men on horseback speak to someone in the carriage and then both of those men ride out to meet you. Both of them are carrying crossbows and wearing full plate mail. No insignia though so they're probably mercenaries. "Hey you! What are you doing?" one asks. "I was waiting for your caravan." You answer. "Yeah? For what purpose?" "Depends. What are you guys selling?" "Nothing to the likes of you. You don't look like you could afford it anyway." "I can't even look?" "No. In fact you're acting really fucking suspicious just waiting around on the road like this. I'm warning you right now that if this some sort of ambush tactic, you and your bandit buddies are far from equipped to take us on. And I can guarantee YOU are going to be the first one to die." One mercenary says as he points his crossbow at you. You slightly raise your arms a bit. "Hold on! I'm no bandit! I'm just a traveller a bit down on his luck. I know this road is dangerous, I was just wondering maybe if I could travel with you guys, you're going to Holgard right?" "No, we're hired to protect that caravan, not baby sit every stranger along the way." "You wouldn't be baby sitting me! I know how to fight, its just safety in numbers. I mean if we run into any trouble I'll even help. I'm not asking to get paid either." The mercenaries both glance at each other and don't look too enticed by your offer, but fortunately they aren't entirely calling the shots. "Hold on, we'll have to ask the boss first." One says and then they both gallop back to the carriage. You don't wait long before they return. "Okay son, the boss says you can travel with us, in fact he says you can ride with him in the carriage." The mercenary says. "Wow, really? Well I wasn't expecting that. Awfully nice of him." "Yeah...nice. (snort)" the merc says with a slight grin. The other merc chuckles a bit as well and you follow the pair of them back. The closer you get to the carriage; you see that it's pretty ornate looking. Obviously the merchant who owns this one is very wealthy. When you finally enter the carriage it's even more luxurious inside. Soft fur lines the seat, the curtains covering the windows are silk and the carriage floor and ceiling are gold plated. A perfumed smell also fills interior. And to your left, is where you see the owner sitting. He's a grossly fat berk dressed in fancy colorful clothing and a couple of jeweled rings on his fingers. He smiles in your direction denoting friendliness, but he's looking at you in a way that...well you aren't used to. "Well hello my dear boy. When they told me there was a young boy out on this ghastly road by himself, I knew I had to provide help. However, their description of you doesn't do you justice. You are certainly are very fit and firm looking." He says staring you up and down. Now you know why the mercs were smirking earlier. You sit down across from him and he tells his driver to get on their way before turning his attention completely to you. "So, what a fine lad like you doing on this road by himself? Don't you know there are bandits and worse about?" the merchant asks. "Yeah, but it's the only way I know to Holgard." You say "Well still. A boy like you should be careful. These bandits are terrible brutes. They don't just rob people, they usually kill them too. Sometimes they do even worse things. Why I shudder to think what they'd do to a handsome lad like yourself. You'd find yourself stripped, beaten and violated several times over before they finally slit your throat...and then perhaps violated repeatedly again...I mean who could stop them if they caught you all alone?" "Nobody I guess." "Exactly. But we needn't dwell on such morbid situations now. You are safe with me and I shall make sure no harm will come to your...body..." The merchant licks his lips as he stares at you and it is at this moment you think you now have a general idea of how your sister and Annah must have felt when they had merchants fawning all over them. Fortunately, the merchant doesn't press whatever unnatural lust he has for you and proceeds to just speak about himself. He mentions his name Graham Oren famous wine merchant (Or at least he thinks he's famous) and that he's coming from the Delantium Kingdom to do a bit of business in Holgard. You're a little disappointed since you were hoping to rip the caravan off in some way, but knowing he's just hauling wine casks makes stealing those large wooden things a little difficult to do. He goes on to say that normally he wouldn't bother to travel to the doomed city, but sometimes an in person presence is required to appease certain clients. "Doomed city? Why do you say that?" you ask. "I'm guessing you don't keep up on politics, m'boy, but then why would someone like you really need to, but yes the city is doomed. The Baron's days are numbered. Honestly it must only be by Yag's luck that he's survived as long as he has." "Is the Delantium Kingdom coming to take back the city?" Graham looks a little impressed by your basic knowledge of the political landscape. "Well...it would seem you are just full of surprises and here I was thinking you were just another pretty face. But to answer your question, I do believe they have their sights on it, but not necessarily through force. Something about annexing it peacefully so they don't have to waste the manpower. Probably through the help of one of his children, but given how treacherous they all are, that's not necessarily a certainty. Still, whether they take it or not, the Baron himself is going to be out of the picture soon. There is a growing discontent in the air by every faction and everyone that has an agenda there. He can't possibly keep control for much longer." Well that's a bit of interesting information about the city, though a bit concerning. You wonder if you're going to find yourself in the middle of a citywide revolt when you get to Holgard. While you're pondering that possibility, Graham begins speaking again. "But enough about these things. Let us talk more about you..." Graham says leaning his girth towards you and being bold enough now to put his hand on your leg, which you immediately pull away. "Look, I don't like being fucking touched and I'm not fucking interested." "Oh come on, don't be like that. You knew what you were getting into when you entered this carriage." Graham remarks and tries to touch your leg again. "I'm serious, don't do that again." "Or what? You'll leave? What if I don't let you?" Graham remarks and then reveals a decorative and strange looking pistol with multiple barrels. Firearms aren't common and you've only ever seen your grandfather's old non-working troll gun hanging up in your house, but it's obvious that this fat bastard is rich enough to have some sort of custom made one. It's enough to make you freeze up, but you maintain a cool head and don't panic. "That's right little lamb, you're going to stay right here and..." Suddenly a lot of noise and shouting can be heard from outside and one of the mercs rides up to the window. "Sir! Stay inside! We're being attacked!" he shouts This is enough time to distract Graham and allowing you to act. > You run out of the carriage Only having escape in your mind, you attempt to rush out of the carriage, unfortunately you're not quite quick enough opening up the door and Graham fires his pistol at you. You feel a hot burn on the right side of your head before you tumble out of the carriage. It takes you a moment to actually realize you haven't suffered a fatal wound, but only a "graze" that's taken off your right ear and skin. Your vision is blurry, you feel dizzy, your head is in pain and ringing and the rest of your body isn't doing much better since you fell pretty hard and twisted your ankle. To top it all off there is a skirmish going on around you. You barely manage to stand yourself up and you nearly fall over several times as you hold your head and try to get out danger. Blood covers one side of your face and you can still feel some of it dripping from the hole where your ear used to be. With a muted ring still going on in your head, you don't hear the sound of a run away horse galloping your way. You're trampled by the beast and feel the full weight of its hooves stepping on you and crushing some of your ribs in the process. Now nearly crippled, you don't even have the strength to get up again, but it hardly matters since one bandit who was sneaking about and trying to avoid the heavier fighting notices that you're still breathing. He of course has no problem in finishing off a target that can't fight back.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy] From what little you know of Holgard, it sounds more like a city you could thrive in. The first problem is going to be getting there though. Holgard is still located in a wilder region of the land so road maintenance isn't always an option due to marauding monsters or bandits. In fact it might not even be safe to stay on the road. In any case it's a ways there, so you get on with it. Your couple of days of travel are uneventful. Just you and an empty road. When night falls you always get off the road and attempt to find a safe place to sleep in the trees nearby. Though you never really sleep easily and are constantly waking up at various sounds. Third day is a little different as you hear the clopping of horses behind you. At first you get concerned that someone from Teckleville is galloping your way, but a quick glance shows it's just a merchant caravan. A fairly big one too since you see several men on horseback along with a carriage and large wagon behind it. An idea comes to you and you wait for the caravan to reach your location. It gets a little closer and then stops completely. A couple of the men on horseback speak to someone in the carriage and then both of those men ride out to meet you. Both of them are carrying crossbows and wearing full plate mail. No insignia though so they're probably mercenaries. "Hey you! What are you doing?" one asks. "I was waiting for your caravan." You answer. "Yeah? For what purpose?" "Depends. What are you guys selling?" "Nothing to the likes of you. You don't look like you could afford it anyway." "I can't even look?" "No. In fact you're acting really fucking suspicious just waiting around on the road like this. I'm warning you right now that if this some sort of ambush tactic, you and your bandit buddies are far from equipped to take us on. And I can guarantee YOU are going to be the first one to die." One mercenary says as he points his crossbow at you. You slightly raise your arms a bit. "Hold on! I'm no bandit! I'm just a traveller a bit down on his luck. I know this road is dangerous, I was just wondering maybe if I could travel with you guys, you're going to Holgard right?" "No, we're hired to protect that caravan, not baby sit every stranger along the way." "You wouldn't be baby sitting me! I know how to fight, its just safety in numbers. I mean if we run into any trouble I'll even help. I'm not asking to get paid either." The mercenaries both glance at each other and don't look too enticed by your offer, but fortunately they aren't entirely calling the shots. "Hold on, we'll have to ask the boss first." One says and then they both gallop back to the carriage. You don't wait long before they return. "Okay son, the boss says you can travel with us, in fact he says you can ride with him in the carriage." The mercenary says. "Wow, really? Well I wasn't expecting that. Awfully nice of him." "Yeah...nice. (snort)" the merc says with a slight grin. The other merc chuckles a bit as well and you follow the pair of them back. The closer you get to the carriage; you see that it's pretty ornate looking. Obviously the merchant who owns this one is very wealthy. When you finally enter the carriage it's even more luxurious inside. Soft fur lines the seat, the curtains covering the windows are silk and the carriage floor and ceiling are gold plated. A perfumed smell also fills interior. And to your left, is where you see the owner sitting. He's a grossly fat berk dressed in fancy colorful clothing and a couple of jeweled rings on his fingers. He smiles in your direction denoting friendliness, but he's looking at you in a way that...well you aren't used to. "Well hello my dear boy. When they told me there was a young boy out on this ghastly road by himself, I knew I had to provide help. However, their description of you doesn't do you justice. You are certainly are very fit and firm looking." He says staring you up and down. Now you know why the mercs were smirking earlier. You sit down across from him and he tells his driver to get on their way before turning his attention completely to you. "So, what a fine lad like you doing on this road by himself? Don't you know there are bandits and worse about?" the merchant asks. "Yeah, but it's the only way I know to Holgard." You say "Well still. A boy like you should be careful. These bandits are terrible brutes. They don't just rob people, they usually kill them too. Sometimes they do even worse things. Why I shudder to think what they'd do to a handsome lad like yourself. You'd find yourself stripped, beaten and violated several times over before they finally slit your throat...and then perhaps violated repeatedly again...I mean who could stop them if they caught you all alone?" "Nobody I guess." "Exactly. But we needn't dwell on such morbid situations now. You are safe with me and I shall make sure no harm will come to your...body..." The merchant licks his lips as he stares at you and it is at this moment you think you now have a general idea of how your sister and Annah must have felt when they had merchants fawning all over them. Fortunately, the merchant doesn't press whatever unnatural lust he has for you and proceeds to just speak about himself. He mentions his name Graham Oren famous wine merchant (Or at least he thinks he's famous) and that he's coming from the Delantium Kingdom to do a bit of business in Holgard. You're a little disappointed since you were hoping to rip the caravan off in some way, but knowing he's just hauling wine casks makes stealing those large wooden things a little difficult to do. He goes on to say that normally he wouldn't bother to travel to the doomed city, but sometimes an in person presence is required to appease certain clients. "Doomed city? Why do you say that?" you ask. "I'm guessing you don't keep up on politics, m'boy, but then why would someone like you really need to, but yes the city is doomed. The Baron's days are numbered. Honestly it must only be by Yag's luck that he's survived as long as he has." "Is the Delantium Kingdom coming to take back the city?" Graham looks a little impressed by your basic knowledge of the political landscape. "Well...it would seem you are just full of surprises and here I was thinking you were just another pretty face. But to answer your question, I do believe they have their sights on it, but not necessarily through force. Something about annexing it peacefully so they don't have to waste the manpower. Probably through the help of one of his children, but given how treacherous they all are, that's not necessarily a certainty. Still, whether they take it or not, the Baron himself is going to be out of the picture soon. There is a growing discontent in the air by every faction and everyone that has an agenda there. He can't possibly keep control for much longer." Well that's a bit of interesting information about the city, though a bit concerning. You wonder if you're going to find yourself in the middle of a citywide revolt when you get to Holgard. While you're pondering that possibility, Graham begins speaking again. "But enough about these things. Let us talk more about you..." Graham says leaning his girth towards you and being bold enough now to put his hand on your leg, which you immediately pull away. "Look, I don't like being fucking touched and I'm not fucking interested." "Oh come on, don't be like that. You knew what you were getting into when you entered this carriage." Graham remarks and tries to touch your leg again. "I'm serious, don't do that again." "Or what? You'll leave? What if I don't let you?" Graham remarks and then reveals a decorative and strange looking pistol with multiple barrels. Firearms aren't common and you've only ever seen your grandfather's old non-working troll gun hanging up in your house, but it's obvious that this fat bastard is rich enough to have some sort of custom made one. It's enough to make you freeze up, but you maintain a cool head and don't panic. "That's right little lamb, you're going to stay right here and..." Suddenly a lot of noise and shouting can be heard from outside and one of the mercs rides up to the window. "Sir! Stay inside! We're being attacked!" he shouts This is enough time to distract Graham and allowing you to act. > Atack Graham You aren't going to let this fat fuck get a chance to possibly shoot you in the back, plus you're too pissed about him trying to molest you. With a couple quick moves you pull out your dagger, stab him in his arm and relieve him of his fancy pistol. Graham screams out like a little girl and now pleads for his miserable life. "Please! No, don't kill me!" he whimpers pathetically. Once again, much like how it was Klint, you show no remorse and pull the trigger of the pistol. It's the first time you've ever used one; so the unexpected kickback nearly causes you nearly drop it. You also weren't expecting it blow half of Graham's stinking face off. His obese corpse slumps lifelessly against the carriage wall. "Shit." You remark to yourself being in awe of the power of the weapon. Never being one to miss an opportunity, you quickly deprive Graham's body of the jeweled rings on his fingers. You then also go through the pockets that you can get to and get a bag full of gold coins. After looting Graham's body, you remember that there is a skirmish going on outside. A quick glance shows several bandit types fighting the mercs. The mercs are out numbered, but thanks to their armor and better training, they're doing a good job of fending off the bandits. You get out of the carriage with the intent of just running off into the woods, but then you might get lost. It occurs to you that you do have an advantage that will allow you get away a lot faster and still stay on your course. While one of the mounted mercs bashes in the head of a bandit you take the opportunity to shoot him while his back is turned. The merc's armor is of no protection and he cries out as he falls from his horse. "Who the hell is that guy?" one of the bandits shouts. "Dunno, but who cares, he's killing their side!" another says. You quickly run to the now ownerless horse and clumsily get on. You're a bit vulnerable for a few seconds, but fortunately the bandits seem to now think you're on their side and don't focus on you (and the remaining mercs have their hands full) You soon manage to control the horse (which is anxious to get away from the chaos anyway) and gallop away until the skirmish is far behind you and you're basically left alone again. Unfortunately your horse suddenly starts wheeze and wobble. You manage to hastily get off before it collapses. There on it's left side you see what the problem is. In all the ensuing the chaos, the horse actually took a few crossbow bolts. Probably damage to vital organs and its adrenaline is finally wearing off. Bad luck for you and even worse luck for the horse. Not having many more options, you start walking. In any case there's two more bodies to your count now. Granted Graham deserved it, but that merc...well he made a living risking his life, it just happened that today his time was up. You had to survive a dangerous situation and that's it. That's how you're justifying that one anyway. Still, you at least acquired a few goodies for your troubles. You're going to have to learn more about how to take proper care of this pistol because it's far too valuable of a weapon to neglect. It'll certainly make dealing with shit in Holgard a bit more manageable. The rings are what surprise you most. You're no jeweler, but you have stolen enough cheap baubles in the past that you can tell a fake when you examine it in greater detail. The gems in the rings are actually common, but altered slightly (especially their color) to resemble more valuable ones. Even the ring is gold plated rather than pure. Looks like Graham wasn't as rich as he made out. However, the little pouch of coins is real money so there's that at least. You continue along the road, which as you guessed starts alternating from being intact, to dirt with a few stones to being little more than a well worn path in the grass. Even the occasional signs aren't much help given that many are flat out damaged in some way. Your natural instinct to just keep going in a straight line like you were doing, but unfortunately for you, the path completely disappears into forest. Doesn't help that the road also branches into several paths that twist in different directions. You weren't expecting that so you aren't sure which way to go. While you're pondering this decision, a voice calls out to you. "Hey! Where youz tryin' to get to?" You then see a person dressed in simple clothing coming out of the forest. He's a little shorter than you, in fact he's a little greener than you too. Doesn't look like an orc though, not nearly big or massive enough. Goblin perhaps, but he's taller than one and almost a bit human looking. A short green human with a few warts on his face and a bigger than average nose. In any case, you maintain your usual caution. "Okay, that's far enough. Who are you?" you ask. "Me? I'm just Warts." He answers picking his big nose. "Appropriate name." "Grhm. So youz tryin' to get to Holgard?" "Yeah, why?" "Well cuz, I can lead you to it. Lotz o' paths in this forest lead lotz o' places. Easy to get lost if you don't know da way." "You know the way huh? How do I know you aren't going to lead me into an ambush?" "Youz don't I suppoze. Take yer chances going alone an' getting lost, don't care. I just try to earn a little extra coin for drink an' leadin' clueless humies like yerself gets me some...well when they aren't throwin' rocks at me that is." "What are you exactly?" you ask. "Huh? What you mean?" Warts replies. "I mean, you don't look quite like any greenskin I've ever seen." "You seen a lot o them have ya?" "Well no, but I've heard tales..." "Then you don't really know nuthin' then do ya?" Warts says in a perturbed tone. Actually he's got a bit of a point. You decide to get right to the matter. "Alright, assuming I take you up on your generous offer, how much is it?" you ask. "Oh, yeah price...hmm, you want to go to Holgard right? Five gold coins." Warts answers. "Five gold coins just to lead me through the forest? That's fucking outrageous!" "Holgard is tricky to get to if you don't know the way. Lot of false paths get made. Besides, you lot usually have more than enough gold. I see you humies travelling all over in your rolly boxes filled with goods." "Do I look like I'm in a rolly box carting around a wagon full of treasures? I'm just a simple traveller down on his luck." "Down on luck huh? You should pray to Yag more. Anywayz five gold. Final offer." This greenskin obviously has no concept of haggling. It really isn't like you don't have the coin, it's more like you don't want to give so much to the likes of him after being fortunate enough to acquire it in the first place. Ultimately, he's either telling the truth about the forest being that treacherous or he's completely bullshitting you. You'll just have to decide for yourself. > Pay Warts He might be bullshitting you, but you're not exactly familiar with this area, so you might as well not take chances. Still, you got a better idea on payment. "Hey Warts, I don't have the five gold coins, but I do have these." You say and hold out Graham's rings to Warts. Warts approaches cautiously and then takes one of the rings from your hand. He inspects it and then speaks. "Grm. Okay, sure these will do. Stupid hobgoblin tribe around here always likes pretty jewelry even if it fakesy." He says and takes the other one from your hand. "Fake?" you say in a completely surprised tone, though not completely put on since you didn't think someone like Warts would know. "Yeah, fake... youz really didn't know?" "No, I'm afraid I come from a small town and don't have a good eye for that sort of thing. The merchant passing through was very convincing when he was selling them. I bought them for a girl I liked, but alas, I was unlucky in love too, so I just kept them." "Grm. Youz gotta have a better eye and pray to Yag more. Anywayz, come on let's get goin, don't wanna stand out here tooz long. Dis path is da one." You start following Warts who leads the way. "So...there are hobgoblins in this area?" you ask. "Oh yeah, the Spider Fang tribe, but there don't really come around the way we're goin' so no need to worry about getting' eaten. Can't wait to get back to them though. With these rings, Snuffit will allow me at least ten ruts with 'er. Way better than getting' drunk...well sometimes better anyway." Warts remarks. "Are you a member of the Spider Fangs?" "Me? Nah...too much humie blood. Can't ever be part of tribe proper. Good thing mum good fighter and loves me, otherwise tribe probably would 'ave eaten me when I was born." "Wait, your mom is a hobgoblin? Who was your father then?" "Dunno, some humie bandit that attacked and tried to rut with her in the forest. Me mum said it was dark and he seemed pretty surprised when he realized she wasn't another human. Mentioned he tasted like cheap beer after she was done wit him, so I guess he liked to drink." Since you have no words for that story, you just silently continue to follow. Warts and you trudge along a dirt path for quite sometime until it disappears completely. "Okay, from here, we go...dis way...no wait dis way...I think..." Warts says. "You think? Don't you know?" you reply. "Yeah, yeah, I just haven't used this way in a long time. Gotta pass a haunted cabin. Accidently passed out there once, ended up shitting my good pants, though not sure if that was just because of the ghost." "Haunted cabin? Why the hell are we going near it then?" "Cause it's the safest way. Even the bandit types don't like goin' near it and nobody from the Spider Fang tribe is brave enough either. Sides, it's really only haunted sometimes." "Sometimes? But what if today is that day?" "Well hope youz brought extra pants den. Really though, it's a lot safer. Da ghost really only messes with people that go in that cabin. I mean if you wanna risk it, we could go another way I know, but there's been a lotta bandits travelling back an through that area. Normally, I'd just go that way since I know all da best hidin' places and even if they did see me, I'd disappear again before they could even mount an attack. However you're probably not as stealthy as me, so you'd probably get yerself seen and gutted. Might even rut wit youz first, some of these bandits aren't picky." "I'm actually no stranger to being stealthy myself when I have to be." "Truly? Grm. Well it's up to you." "I'd rather take my chances sneaking pass some bandits than possibly dealing with something I can't even hurt." "Okay, hope yer as sneaky as you claim, cuz all bets are off if the bandits catch sight of ya. Dis way." Once again Warts leads the way and you follow. You trudge through the forest for quite sometime and eventually it gets dark, but you still haven't seen any signs of bandits or anyone else really. Warts doesn't seem to be concerned, but you're constantly alert, thinking behind every tree lies an ambush. "Gettin' pitch black, gonna have to stop soon." Warts says. "What? We're not walking through the night? In fact won't it be easier to slip by any potential hostiles in the dark?" you ask. "You want to continue, be my guest, but I'm gonna get some sleep. I'm tired. Sides, looks like we got lucky. Guess the bandit crew that was wandering around this area moved on. Praise Yag." "As you say." You reply, still looking around. While you're half tempted to go on without Warts, you're still holding on to the slight hope that he actually knows where he's going, so you start looking for a tree to climb and sleep in. "Hey, what youz doin? You think youz a squirrel or somethin'?" Warts asks. "I'm not sleeping down here on the ground. What if something wanders by before I can properly react? I'll be in a tree so I can at least be somewhat out of immediate sight." "Youz gonna fall out and break yo' neck too. All youz gotta do is cover yerself in dirt and leaves and shit. Hides youz just fine." Warts says and begins doing just that. "Yeah well when you're already green and smell like the outdoors, I suppose it's a lot easier to camouflage yourself with little effort. I'll take my chances in a high tree." Warts shakes his head unconvinced and continues to cover himself. You have to admit, if you didn't know he was there, you probably wouldn't notice him if you were just wandering by. As for you, you climb to a sturdy and large enough branch that will support your weight and you can at least somewhat perch yourself on. You already know you aren't going to sleep deep tonight, but you figure that's sort of been the standard problem while out here. "I'll be so damn glad to be out of the damn wilderness." You say to yourself. You're up for quite awhile, but hear nothing exce

pt the usual sounds of various insects, owls and other nocturnal animals. Eventually sleep catches up with you and you close your eyes. You aren't sure how long you're asleep, but you open your eyes when you start hearing voices nearby. "I told ya, I heard something." "Probably just another raccoon. I don't know why we gotta patrol over here anyway." "Cause the boss said so that's why! You know there are savage greenskins that live in this forest. We're supposed to make sure none of them get too close to the main cam...I knew it. I knew I heard something! Snoring! And it's coming from over there!" At this point you're awake enough to see everything that's going on below. You see two men who you guess are bandits. Seems like Warts didn't take into account that his camouflage attempt would all be for naught due to his large honker making noise. It doesn't take long before they kick and prod at his hidden location, waking him up. "Hah! A filthy greenskin! Probably a scout! Kill him!" one of the bandits shouts. Warts just barely avoids their attacks and tries to scramble away from his prone position, but one of the bandits manages to trip him up before he can run and it isn't looking good as he gets kicked in the face by the other one. Not that you have any loyalty to Warts and he's been pretty snarky towards you in general, but he's still your guide and if you don't want to get lost... You waste no time and try to climb down your tree as fast as you can. Fortunately, the bandits are have decided to have a little fun before killing him directly. They proceed to continue kicking Warts and don't notice you at all. > You shoot the bandits One thing you've learned since acquiring your new weapon is how easy it kills folks with minimal effort on your part. You shoot one of the bandits in the back before anyone knows what's going on. He falls to the ground screaming out in pain. He isn't dead yet, but he might as well be. The other bandit at this point has turned around and raised his arms though still holding on to his weapon. "Shit. Okay...look this ain't got nothin' to do with you son. So why don't you put that thing away and...ARGH!" Warts has wasted no time and already cut into back the bandit's legs. The bandit falls and you kick away his dropped weapon while Warts proceeds to crawl on the bandit's back and repeatedly stab the hell out of him. Meanwhile you go over the other incapacitated bandit and finish him off by slitting his throat. By the time you've done that, Warts has already finished off the other one. "Quick let's loot the bodies and get outta here. All that noise your shooty gun made might have attracted something else!" Warts exclaims. The bandit you killed doesn't really have anything of value on him, though you do take his short sword since one can never have too many weapons. After that's done, Warts tells you to follow him and the pair of you are off again. You keep up the brisk pace for the remainder of the night, which soon starts turning to day again. You also can now see a break in the trees. You've finally reached the end of this blasted forest and a large walled city is now in sight! "See? Told ya I'd get ya to Holgard." Warts proudly remarks. "You wouldn't have been getting me anywhere if I hadn't saved your life a few moments ago." You say. "Bah...if youz let me die, you woulda been lost." "Perhaps, but you would have been still dead." "Grh. Well...maybe I do owe ya some thanks...I'm not given back these rings you paid me with though!" "Didn't expect you to. Just wanted you to remember that I saved your ass." "Okay, okay...anyway, the main road's over that way. I trust youz can make it from here." "Yeah." "Good. Oh, word of advice, don't go flashin' dat shooty around unless you're gonna use it. The guards don't take kindly to folks just carrying those things around." "Can't I just bribe them to look the other way?" "Sure, but unless you're someone of importance, or have connections or something, they'll probably just take it from youz anyway. 'Specially with as fancy as that one you got is. Never seen one like yers before. Youz not really a down on your luck traveller from a small town are you?" "Well, I am from a small town, but I may have had a little more fortune than I let on when we first met. Not much more though." "Grm, well lyin' will serve you well in Holgard. The city has a lotz o' opportunities, for someone like you." "Someone like me?" "Yeah, youz stealthy, youz a liar and I saw ya kill someone without hesitation. Youz no doubt a rogue, possibly even an assassin, but you seem a little young to have been one of those for very long. In any case, you'll be able to hone whatever skill you do have. Just don't piss off the Ebony Claw Syndicate in the process." "Who are they?" "They run the underworld of Holgard, though I think they're still trying to stamp out a few other lingering organizations. They don't much care for freelancer types either. I guess you could try to join them, but don't ask me how, I'm not familiar with their initiation practices." "Any suggestions on where to go first when I get to the city?" "Um, the Hell's Own Inn might be good for the likes of you. Despite its name, it's fairly safe. Sort of neutral ground too, so youz won't be stompin' around in someone's territory." With that last bit of advice, Warts says he's heading off to see Snuffit and the two of you part company. You follow the road to Holgard and of course when you get to the city gates you get stopped. "Sorry friend, but we can't just let anyone in this fine city. Well not before checking you first." The guard says with a smirk. "Sure, I understand...just let me...whoops." You say and drop a few of your gold coins on the ground. The guard slowly picks one up. "Y'know, I think we can dispense with the check. You look like an okay lad. Off you go." He says and finishes picking up the rest of your coins. You didn't really want to let go of your coin like that, but you couldn't risk being searched. You're just glad he wasn't a greedy asshole. Well you've finally reached your destination and you now have an entire city of corruption to perform your work in. First thing you're going to do though is find that inn Warts mentioned. You'd really like to sleep in a proper bed if only for a little while, then you can take it from there. It doesn't take you long to find the place; it isn't even in too bad of an area. When you enter a few people watch you, but don't say anything. The burly looking innkeeper just asks you what you want and when you say a room for a day, he asks for payment, which you hand to him in exchange for a key. The room isn't the same luxury you had back home, but it isn't bad considering the price. Between this room and the recent bribe however, you realize you're going to have to start getting to work fairly soon because your money is already starting to run low. You sort of wonder if maybe you should seek out some sort of connection to see about joining the Ebony Claws, but then you figure you should probably get to know the city first before joining anyone. Not to mention that while you get the idea that this Ebony Claw Syndicate is the big swingin' dick around here, you're not really keen on the whole idea of having to "work" for someone else. The whole point of being a rogue was so you didn't HAVE to get a real job and have a boss in the first place! If you get wrapped up in an organization like the Ebony Claws, you're also likely to be in it "for life" and that's a bit too much commitment for you. No, the best thing to do is to keep a low profile and make your own way for now. It's a big city and you're ready to take what you can. (And not draw any unwanted attention in the process) > Time passes... Year 17 This city is a violent crime ridden pit of corruption. And while you don't actually mind all that, what you do wish is that you didn't have to concern yourself with potentially stumbling into Ebony Claw Syndicate territory, which according to most of them is basically the entire city. They're more of a danger than the Holgard Watch. There's also the Thieves' Guild, which is the ECS chief rival from what you've learned. Apparently the Thieves Guild was established here first, but when the ECS moved in with their Blue Dream trade, they've been slowly winning the fight over the underworld Originally, the Guild was more of a loose confederation of thieves and such. Nobody ever forced anyone to join, but there were benefits if you did such as not having to worry about paying extra for fencing stolen goods, ease of bribing guards for major crimes, etc. As the Thieves' Guild has been losing ground however, they've been less "free spirited" and have been actively trying to recruit any freelance thief, burglar, pick pocket they can. However, they're more reasonable about it than the ECS since they still don't force you to join and will let you remain independent. As opposed to the ECs who normally just beat the hell out of any freelancers as a warning once and if they get caught again, it ends much worse. There are a few other smaller factions, but they're so low that they're barely worth considering. Fortunately so far you've managed to avoid the attention of any group mainly due to focusing on stealing actual coin and dealing primarily with a non-aligned fence by the name of Yinen for your stolen valuables. You met him at the Hell's Own Inn where you still reside at. Funny thing is you didn't seek him out; he came to you asking if you needed a fence. After a bit of suspicion and getting over some trust issues (Which you still have concerning him) you agreed and he's been taking all your business. You aren't sure who he's selling your stolen goods to and he's probably taking a little more than he should, but it's worth it just so you don't have to worry about selling the stuff yourself or seeking one out and having to get involved with one of the major factions in the city. In any case, you've been more or less making a decent living here and despite a healthy amount of paranoia, you actually like it here. It's definitely not Teckleville. "Yeah, these will fetch you a nice price. Might take a few days though. You alright with waiting?" Yinen remarks examining your gems. "Yeah, that's fine. Just get me the value in bullets and a pistol cleaning kit." You say. "Oh. Okay, sure. But more bullets again? Are you planning to shoot everyone in Holgard? I didn't realize you used it so much, I would think such a loud weapon would incur too much noise in your profession." "I don't use it much actually, but it makes me feel safe." "Well, can't argue with that. Things in this city have been feeling a little more tense than usual. Rumors are that there are dark forces gathering to stage a coup on the Baron." "Dark forces? What, as opposed to the dark forces under the Baron's control?" "Nah, I mean like REAL dark forces. There's just rumors about religion being involved, it's very weird." "What, you mean like Fel, the god of shadows? You told me their temple has ties to the ECS. You saying the Ebony Claw Syndicate is going to take over the city directly?" "I dunno, but I don't think it's them we should worry about. Tell me, have you ever heard of Neroth?" "Not really religious so no." "Not surprised, most people don't unless they're really into the old text dedicated to Joachim. You familiar with him right?" "Yeah, it's general a religion that preaches peace and shit." "Well there was a time when it didn't and that's mainly due to Neroth. Neroth was like the opposite of Joachim. Good verses evil type shit. People forget that it was only a couple hundred years ago when the Church of Joachim was burning and crusading on a regular basis due to their desire to stomp out any followers of Neroth and things they generally tied to him such as the supernatural. Nowadays the Joachimites are generally peace loving pacifists for the most part, but that's only due being mostly successful in destroying those that follow Neroth and then subsequently going so overboard that some of the Joachimites finally realized they needed to rein it in before they became like their hated enemies." "Hm, didn't realize you were a theologian. How do you know all this?" you ask. "Eh, I grew up in a Joachim household. Didn't take obviously, but still I don't like hearing rumors of Neroth worshippers being in the city. I mean say what you want about Karn or even Fel, but they aren't actively evil deities. Neroth is bad news man." Before you can respond you're suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice. "Bah, none of doze gods compare to Yag. No point worrying about shit, when you've run outta luck, yer time iz up and that's all there iz to it." You look and see Warts standing nearby clutching something in his hand. Looks like a bunch of small figurines of some sort. "Warts? What're you doing here?" you ask. "Sellin these figures. Found 'em in da woods with a bunch of broken boxes. Probably somethin off a Caravan that bandits were tryin to steal from. Dunno why dey didn't take these. Tried to use dem for barter with Spiderfangs, but dey dumb. Think these things iz cursed. Superstitious idjits." Warts remarks and hands five figurines to Yinen who takes them. "Hmm, odd. They look like something that you'd find in some tribal village. I'd say Sotakian, but these don't look reptilian enough and I've never known the lizards to have craft stuff out of valuable material. You got Ivory, jade, gold, silver and platinum here. Wonder if they're a complete set. Well I'm sure I'll find someone interested." Yinen hands Warts a bag of coins, which Warts takes and then looks displeased about. "Ey! Wat's dis then? I may be just some dumb halfbreed hobgob, but I know damn well that shit is worth more!" Warts exclaims. "I gave you MORE than enough Warts. I still have find someone interested in this shit as you put it." Yinen remarks. "Bah, you humies always tryin' ta cheat. Fine. Should be enuff for drink and Snuffit for awhile anyways." You take your leave to head up to your room, you figure you'll stay in a couple days waiting for Yinen's payment. You've got enough to take a break for a while. As you're half way to your room, you hear the patter of feet running behind you and you quickly turn around with your pistol. "EY! Don't shoot!" Warts says. "Warts, what the hell, you should know better than to run up on me like that! Why are you following me anyway?" "I wanted ta catch ya before I left. I noze I still owez youz a debt, well I'm here ta repay." "Oh?" "Yeah, I wuz thinkin' I could help ya on a job or sumthin." "Help? No I don't think so. I work alone." "An howzat workin' out? Doesn't look like yer doin' all that well if yer still livin' here. If I had ta guess, youz still small time." "I do alright halfbreed, and what's it to you anyway?" "I'm just sayin' you could be doin' better if you went fer better targets. Have you even broken into one of dem nobles' homes yet?" "Well, no...but I'm working up to it." "Pfft. Wat kinda thief are ya?" "Look, I've cased the high class rich area several times and the homes got security up the ass. The aristocrats got more watchmen on their payroll than the average merchant. I know I'm no slouch, but if I can get enough coin with lower risk targets, why take the fucking chance? Besides, I'm trying to keep a low profile anyway." "Well what about Lord Reginald?" "Who?" "Sheesh, youz been in dis city for a year and you don't even know the major players! Lord Reginald is some well off guy dat got a title becuz he's dah Baron's son's friend. Hear he's more than dat though." "Yeah so what's this all got to do with me?" "Well he lives more on the edge of da high end district. He doesn't even own a mansion, just a modest house. He has no family an' he also doesn't pay for any extra guards. Not even mercs, which prolly means he's got more coin than it appears" "There has to be a catch. I mean if he's well off and a special friend of the Baron's son, then he's gotta have connections and protection." "Well, dere's some rumors about him and not just about him pokin' the Baron's son like a woman. Like he's got magic powers or sumthin'. Guess makes sense he don't need extra help." "So you're saying we should got rob a wizard." "Nah, he's no wizard, he's just got some magic powers. Prolly just rumors anyway. Sides, should be easiest stealin' from one lone man, than one who has a shitload of guards right?" "A lone man, who might be able to turn me into ash with a flick of a finger and has who knows whatever else in his home. Assuming I even go for this, why do I need you to come along again? I didn't realize you were actually a thief, figured you were more of an opportunistic scavenger." "Pfft, I've been sneakin' around, nicking stuff long before youz was even thought about! You try growin up as a half breed in a mostly hostile tribe. I had ta steal to survive sometimes! Sides I could carry more stuff for ya! Also, if ya getz inta trouble I could help. Like last time!" "Last time I helped YOU." "Yeah, well I'm offerin' anyway. I don't even want dat big of a cut..." And THERE it is. Warts definitely isn't doing this solely for altruistic reasons. "Thought you said you were helping me out?" "I am! You don't expect me to do it fer free do ya? Come on, give a hob halfbreed a break. The place is ripe fer the pluckin' an best of all ya don't have ta worry if its Ebony Claw territory." You shake your head that you're considering this. "Okay, okay, we can go do this, but I'm getting some rest first, just tell me where the place is exactly and I'll meet you there later. When is the best time to break into this place anyway?" Warts gives you some directions and then says it probably would be best to meet him there around midnight since he says he's seen this Reginald person leave at night and stay out until dawn. Sounds more like something you do, but if he's not going to be there then that's when you need to be there. You part ways with Warts and get some sleep. Hours pass and when you wake up you find that it's night time, still too early though. You stay your room a bit going over all your tools and equipment and making sure everything is in order. Eventually you decide that you're going to be as ready as you're going to be and leave. You head downstairs and find that the inn has the usual crowd with one important difference. You see Warts lying under a table with a couple of big mugs of alcohol on it. Surprisingly, the owner has not thrown him out; unsurprisingly everyone is avoiding that table. You walk over to the halfbreed and kick him in the foot, which causes him to stir, so he's not completely out of it. "Warts! What the hell are you doing here?" you ask. "Huh? I...uh...buh...I waz just..." Warts slurs as he sits up and just manages to not hit his head on the table. "You were just what? What were you doing Warts? Fixing the table leg? Counting the number of nails in the wood? Having an out of body experience and travelling a different plane of existence? You talked me into doing this job and now I find you in no condition to do anything." "Ey! I'm up! I'm up! I ain't forgot wat we're supposed ta do, an' I'm more than ready! I'm not drunk, I just had a little rest like you did." You have your doubts about that, though Warts stands up without too much trouble. > You take Warts with you You might as well go together at this point, you knew he wasn't going to be the ideal partner to begin with. Who knows, maybe you can use him as bait or something. "Alright, come on let's go." You say. "Hold on a minute." Warts says and finishes off one of the mugs that wasn't quite empty yet. "Seriously?" "Hey, I'm thirsty. Alright NOW let's go." Warts and you leave the inn and after looking around a bit and scratching his head he beckons you to follow him. He walking just fine, so maybe he isn't that bad off. You continue to follow without another word, until he gets to a secluded spot with a sewer covering. "What the hell are you doing? You ask. "Tryin' to take dis thing off, wat's it look like ya idjit? Help me over here." Warts says trying to take off the sewer lid. "No, I mean why the fuck are we entering the sewers?" "Cuz, it's the best way to get into Reginald's house. He's got a secret passage to it down here." "How the hell you know this?" "Cuz people talk shit all the time and not even realize ol' Warts is even there to lissen. Waz in a garbage bin and heard these two weird guys in red robes talkin about it in an alley awhile back." "...okay I'm not even going to ask why the hell you were in a garbage bin, but weird guys in red robes, secret passages...are you sure Reginald isn't part of some fucking cult? I mean this is starting to sound a lot more complicated and dangerous." "Well, why ya think I wanted someone else to come along?" "YOU said this was for MY benefit!" "Oh yeah...well it is! Look humie, ya gotta take big risks in dis profession. I don't doubt yer skil

led. You've lasted longer than most independently in dis city. But I'm tellin ya, there's more out there that yer missin. I mean, sure it's foolish ta go head to head against da ECS, but robbin some rich asshole that may or may not be a wizard? Well dat's different." "I really don't see how since both can get you killed. However, I do see your point to a small degree. I have been playing it a bit on the safe side. Still, if this is looking to be more trouble than it's worth then I'm getting the hell out as quick as possible." "Sounds like a plan ta me." You help Warts with the sewer covering and the pair of you descend into the smelly depths. It actually isn't too bad, but that might be because you're standing next to Warts and his own stench is cancelling out that of the sewers. Warts gets slightly more talkative as you walk to your destination. He mentions that the Thieves Guild has their hideout somewhere down here, but he doesn't know where. Neither does the ECS, since they'd probably mount an attack if they could. Warts also goes on about how he's not fond of the ECS since a lot of them tend to have ties to Fel while he's dedicated to Yag. Says that worshipping Fel if you're a thief is like cheating since he's the god of shadows and all. Though he's not so much opposed to that, so much as he doesn't like all the dedication Fel seems to want. Yag on the other hand doesn't really require anything and he not might bless you anyway, but then he might give you a lot even if you don't do much. Warts claims that ALL the gods are like that, so he might as well pray to one that is at least honest about it all. "Why worship any god at all?" you ask. "Wat? You crazy or sumthin? You don't pick a god, youz gonna be in trouble when ya die! Even pickin' some stupid god like Karn would be better than nuthin! You don't believe in anything an' who knows WHERE yer soul goes! Nah, better to pick somethin' just in case." It's a little surprising just how serious Warts takes religion, well as serious as a follower to the God of Luck and Chance can be anyway. (It also occurs to you how it's weird how everyone's been getting religious on you lately) "Eh, I guess I can sort of see that logic. I'm not really religious, but occasionally I have said the odd thanks to Yag." You say. "That's all ya need man. He's lissening, even if he doesn't do anything." Warts says. You and Warts continue a little longer and then he stops. "Okay, think wez gettin' close. Should be a secret wall around here from what I heard." Warts says and begins pushing on the wall nearby. "This seems a bit unprotected." You say looking around for potential traps. "It's a secret door, maybe he didn't anticipate anyone finding it." "You said the Thieves Guild is down here, surely they would have found it if this is their territory." "It's a big ass sewer and they're the Thieves Guild not the Holgard Watch. Dey don't exactly patrol da place. They're all most likely up top breaking into shit. Besides, I told ya, they ain't the ECS. They aren't very territorial anyway. Dat's why we can walk around here without as much concern...well except for giant rats and such." Just as you're about to ask Warts another question about the Thieves' Guild, Warts finds what you're looking for and when he does so a large bolt just whizzes over his head and into the wall behind him. "Man, good thing Yag lissened to me." Warts says. "Good thing you're short and constantly walk around slightly hunched over most of the time. Oddly, this makes me feel slightly better. If there weren't any traps at all I'd be even more paranoid about how easy this was. So far it seems like this guy just has shitty security, but then we haven't actually gone inside yet." You respond. You and Warts both enter the passage and soon find yourself in a cellar with a bunch of wine barrels. Tons of them. Warts looks like he's hit a gold mine and immediately starts grabbing wine bottles. "Hey, leave some room for actual valuable, you're supposed to be carrying shit for me, remember?" "I am grabbing valuables! You realize how much old bottles of wine go fer?" "Okay, point taken, just don't drink them all." While Warts plays wine expert, you take a look around the room and find that there are stairs leading up and a solid metal door to your left, which is locked. Since you don't want to go too far from Warts while he's alone with a bunch of wine, you stay in the cellar and pick the lock of the metal door, which is surprisingly easy. You enter the dimly lit room and find what could only be a room dedicated to dark magical endeavors of some sort. There's two demonic looking idols starring at you and the pentagrams and symbols on the floor aren't any you recognize. There's also blood splatters on them. From what little you now know of this Reginald, this guy is into some dark shit. Everything about this makes you want to just get the hell out right now, but you're already here now and you'd hate to just leave with wine bottles. You walk carefully around the room making sure you don't step on any symbols or inside any circles just in case. You also keep an eye on the demonic idols, which still feel like they're watching you. There isn't much else in the room itself, though there is another door off to the side, this one isn't locked and you open it. However, you soon wish you hadn't. You see a row of cages and various torture devices along with dead bodies in most of them. "Fucking hell, I came here to rob some shit, not take a tour of a slaughterhouse." You say to yourself. Just as you're about to shut the door a voice calls out. "Stranger! You're not one of them! Not one those red robed freaks! (sob) Please! Help me! I can't die here, not like this! I watched my...(choke) just please...help. Who knows when they'll be back!" a nearly naked young girl in a cage begs. She reaches out to you desperately hoping that you'll rescue her. You definitely didn't sign up for this...however given what you've seen here, you'd be quite the heartless dick if you just left her here to this horrible fate. "Curse my parents for some of their morality getting through..." you say and head over to the cage. The lock isn't that difficult to pick and you soon get it open causing the girl to not even wait around, she just runs past you, out the torture room and beyond. You suppose you can understand her not wanting to stick around, but a thank you would have been nice. So much for good deeds. Seeing as there isn't anything else in here, you return to the wine room where you unsurprisingly see Warts drinking. "Hey, some humie gal just ran through here an into da sewers wearin' practically nuthin'." Warts says. "Yeah and I'm glad to see that didn't interrupt your important work. Thought you were supposed to be helping." You say. "Wat's yer problem? I am helpin'! Sides dese valuable bottles, I found out one of the barrels had a hollowish sound. Smashed it open and there was a body inside, idiots didn't bother looting it and he had some good stuff still on him." Warts answers and takes another swig from a bottle. "Warts, you're telling me you found a body in one of these barrels and you're STILL drinking the fucking wine?" Warts suddenly stops drinking. He ponders your words a bit and then sniffs the top of the bottle. Then he promptly gives a little shrug. "Still tastes alright ta me." Warts says "Of course it does. Look, we're getting the hell out of here. This place has been a big fat zero." You say. "What about all these valuable bottles of wine? An' ya haven't even checked da upstairs yet!" "Yeah well I've checked enough of the basement to know that most likely there isn't going to be anything that precious up there that's going to make me want to stay another moment in this fucking house. There's some dark magic going on here and I'm not sticking around for it rub off on me." "Just say a prayer ta Yag, you'll be fine." "And as you like to point out, he might not listen." "Fine, we can leave if you really wants, but I'm just sayin' we haven't gone through the entire house yet." Funny how Warts is content on letting you do all the exploration. He could have easily been searching the upstairs while you were stumbling upon sacrificial captives. > You leave now Warts can stay and get drunk here if he wants, but you're not sticking around. You're also not leaving without something for your trouble, you take Wart's pack on a table stuffed with bottles and leave. "Ey! Dat's my shit!" Warts shouts and immediately begins to follow you. You make your way back through the sewers as quick as you can, while Warts is complaining. "Look, I knows ya didn't wanna stick around, but some of dose bottles is my cut!" Warts says. "As far as I'm concerned, you drank more than your cut back at the house! Besides, you told me you looted some body you found in one of the barrels, I'd say you came out ahead." You respond. "Alright, alright, but can ya at least gimme my pack back?!" "I'll give it back to you when we get to safety, staying around here is just not a good idea...shit!" You suddenly hear the sounds of multiple footsteps heading your direction and you immediately find an alcove to hide in and pull out your pistol. Warts of course crowds your hiding spot, you just hope the smell of the sewers masks his own odor from whoever is approaching. And it's not just one either, it's a whole group of them. "Reginald said we need to get another sacrifice for the next ritual to Neroth. You know Reginald is very particular about these things." A red robed individual says passing by. "Then Reginald can stop buttfucking the baron's son for one second and start doing his own dirty work. I know he likes to think he's some sort of high priest of Neroth and all, but he's a fucking dabbling ponce. Him and his noble boyfriend have no real idea of how this shit works." Another one says. "Say that to his face." "Don't worry I will when the time comes. The only reason why I'm following this fool, is because he's got connections. When this city is in our grasp, then all bets are off, and you, ALL of you had best know what side you stand on. A true believer in the ways of Neroth or a fucking pretender. Neroth isn't about sacrifices and decadent orgies. It's about fucking chaos. It's about bringing ruin to civilization. To spit in the eye of all things dedicated to order and good, even to the smallest degree. The Baron's son is free to take over this city if he wants, but I guarantee the only thing he's going to be ruling over is a smoldering pile of rubble. I suggest you ALL remember that." The group of red robed folks don't say much to their more passionate comrade, but a couple give some quieter acknowledgements of agreement. Meanwhile you're still hiding in the darkness wondering if you'll get lucky and get a kill with every bullet before they take you down. Fortunately they move on past you without seeing you. After waiting a bit, you leave your hiding spot and make your way back even quicker than before. Even Warts isn't complaining anymore and is focused on escape. You don't stop to rest until you get back up top. "Shit...thank Yag we got outta there when we did." Warts says catching his breath. "Thank ME, that we got out when we did. I can only imagine the shit we would have been in had we still been in the house when they got back to it." "Yeah, suppose that was good thinkin' on yer part. Guess you do deserve most of the loot." "I was taking it anyway, such as it is. Damn, guess Yinen was right about Neroth cultists though. Just one more fucked up thing in this city. Probably best if I don't tell him where I got these bottles of wine." You transfer the bottles out of Wart's pack and into your own and after a few exchanged words, you and he parts ways. You can't say this was the best night out, though you'd be lying if a small part of you didn't get a minor thrill out of it all. You might have even enjoyed all this, if you made out with more stuff. You return to Hell's Own and take the rest of the night off. Hopefully you can get a good price for the wine otherwise it really will have been all pretty pointless. The next morning as soon as you make your way down stairs to go see Yinen, you're approached by two figures. One of them is very non-descript and oldish looking man, probably not a bad quality to have for blending in with the crowd during a quick getaway actually. The other you can't tell due to the hood, but judging from the smaller body type with more curves, and long white hair peeking out from the hood they're probably female. "Hi, friend." The older one says. "Okay, I already know anyone who starts calling me friend as a greeting is probably the exact opposite." You say. "My, you're a suspicious one. Though understandable and smart. However, if you give the pair of us time, you will soon see there is no need for animosity." "Don't see why I should give you time at all." "Well maybe it's because you've been operating on our turf for quite some time now." Your hearts sinks when you hear this and then you instinctively start to go for your weapon. However the older man backs off and raises his hands. "Relax. That wasn't a threat. That was just to get your attention. We're not the Ebony Claw if that's what you're worried about." He says. "Thieves Guild. Thought you guys didn't have turf." You say not really relaxing too much. "Officially we don't, but ever since the ECS, well it helps to label things. At least until they're gone anyway. In any case my name is Garrick and your recent exploits, along with your ongoing ones have caught our attention, so if you don't mind, can we sit down to speak?" You didn't plan on this, but it would probably be better if you didn't cause a scene, so you, Garrick and his quiet friend all sit at table. "So, this is Thieves Guild territory now? I always thought this place was supposed to be neutral." You say. "It is for the most part it is, though officially it's ours. Really it just gets spread around that this is neutral territory to keep the new non-aligned thieves feeling safe. You're not exactly the only new one that's come through here thinking they don't have to join a side if they want to continue to ply their trade. You've just lasted longer and shown more skill than most." "Wait a minute, is Warts part of the Thieves Guild?" "Heh, Warts is more of a outside ally. He's actually spoken highly of you. As has Yinen. That's why I've come to see you for myself." Well this just goes to show how wet behind the ears you still are that you never thought that you'd been in a Thieves Guild haven the whole time. Even Warts managed to fool you. Though it does explain a few things. Maybe this whole thing was a test. "So are you the leader of the Thieves Guild?" "I'm more of its...yes, well I guess leader would be the term, but honestly I hate it. You're probably thinking I'm here to press gang you into joining, but I'm not. In fact there was a time when this place was filled with freelance thieves. The city is a big thriving place after all, plenty of loot to go around. Our Guild is more of a club of sorts rather than some sinister octopus organization. People join because they want to, well that and the fact that we do tend to pull off the more lucrative jobs and get better deals on selling stolen merchandise. You have to do a job for the good of the Guild every now and then, but even then you still get a cut of the money. But I'm sure to some extent, you're aware of some of this." "Yeah, I am, but this still feels like recruitment." "Times are harder since the Ebony Claw moved in, and I won't lie, there is a war going on. And there is also strength and protection in numbers. "So which do you think is more necessary? Your protection or my strength?" "Why not both? Look I can see you're in a bit of a hurry to sell off your loot, so how about this token of good will, I'll give you five platinum pieces what you got in your bag." "Five plat?" Garrick dumps the coins in front of you, which you immediately inspect. They're real and a lot more than what you were expecting to get for your trouble. Garrick's friend turns her head a bit towards him, but doesn't say anything. You get the impression she doesn't approve. Meanwhile, you waste no time in handing over the bottles to Garrick. "So, you're really not here to force me to join you? This isn't a trick?" you ask. "If it was, do you think we'd tell you? However, if you think you can handle the Syndicate all by yourself good luck. I'm sure if you haven't caught their attention by now, you soon will. The ECS is fairly efficient that way. In any case, we're reaching a hand out to you because we think you'd be an asset to the Guild. If you don't like it, you can always leave the city entirely. That's already better than the Claw. Once you join them, it's for life." Garrick remarks. "Wasn't planning on joining them either." "Glad to hear it, but will you at least think about our offer? If you change your mind, just let Yinen know. In any case, pleasure meeting you and doing business. Hope we can do it again on a regular basis." And with those last words, Garrick and his associate get up and make their exit, leaving you to ponder your next decision. Which of course is to go spend your new wealth. You spend the next few days not doing much of anything other than buying some things you need and spending a little extra on better quality food than you normally do. You also visit one of the better brothels in the city and as it turns out when you enter you're met with a lot of positivity by the madam and some of the other ladies. At first you figure they're just being nice to get more money out of you, but as it turns out the girl you set free back in Reginald's house was a worker here. (She's thoughtfully been given a couple days off so she can get her head back in the game again) As a result of your actions, you get a discount, which you take full advantage of. You leave the brothel feeling like robbing that cultist's house wasn't a bad thing after all. You even entertain the idea that Yag has blessed you a bit. Then not five minutes later after leaving the brothel you're attacked on the street by three thugs catching you slipping. A crushing blow to your head is felt, though fortunately not enough to knock you out completely, just enough to cause you to fall to the ground. "This the one Mantis mentioned. Quick, let's finish him off." One says. "You idiot, we were supposed to drag him someplace quiet and not draw a fucking crowd in front of us." The second remarks. "What difference does it make? Not like any of the people around are going to stop us anyway." The third adds. "The difference is we're supposed to be at least somewhat discreet." "Fuck that. This sends a message to everyone not to fuck with us!" "Okay then how about this? The Holgard Watch might look the other way every now and then, but they'll stop doing that if we're blatantly murdering people in the streets. Only they get to do that. You want to answer to Mantis when he's bitching about one of our Blue Dream houses getting raided suddenly?" "Eh, fine. Better disarm this...ARGH!" one of the thugs shouts as you jam your dagger into his leg up to the hilt. You scramble away and manage to get back up, but one of the thugs is already upon you. The whole time slack jawed gawkers either just watch in silence or they run off not wishing to be caught up in this. You feel a punch to the face sending to back to the ground, but fortunately away from the pair of them. The two thugs ignore their companion still screaming with a dagger in his leg and advance on you again. You aren't completely drained of energy, and you probably could try to run, they were arguing about not killing you in the street and given all the commotion going on, they may abandon their task if you prove to be too much trouble right now. Of course you don't have a pistol for nothing. > You Run If you start killing people in the middle of the street in front of everyone, you're just going to bring unwanted heat on you by the Holgard Watch and unlike the Syndicate you don't have the luxury of having them in your pocket to look the other way. You pick yourself up and begin running again. "Shit, is this asshole really going to make me run? Fuck this." one of them says. In a perfect world, this would be followed by them ceasing their harassment of you. In your world however, it means one of the thugs threw a dagger into your back. You drop instantly. "Quick, get him now!" Groaning in pain, you fumble to grab your pistol. You manage to turn over and get off a shot, dropping one of your assailants, but the other quickly wrestles the weapon from you and begins beating you in the face with it. Your attempts to struggle soon come to an end as he begins destroying your nose along with the rest of your face with it. The Ebony Claw Syndicate certainly sent a reminder to all onlookers that they are the not to be opposed.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] Warts can stay and get drunk here if he wants, but you're not sticking around. You're also not leaving without something for your trouble, you take Wart's pack on a table stuffed with bottles and leave. "Ey! Dat's my shit!" Warts shouts and immediately begins to follow you. You make your way back through the sewers as quick as you can, while Warts is complaining. "Look, I knows ya didn't wanna stick around, but some of dose bottles is my cut!" Warts says. "As far as I'm concerned, you drank more than your cut back at the house! Besides, you told me you looted some body you found in one of the barrels, I'd say you came out ahead." You respond. "Alright, alright, but can ya at least gimme my pack back?!" "I'll give it back to you when we get to safety, staying around here is just not a good idea...shit!" You suddenly hear the sounds of multiple footsteps heading your direction and you immediately find an alcove to hide in and pull out your pistol. Warts of course crowds your hiding spot, you just hope the smell of the sewers masks his own odor from whoever is approaching. And it's not just one either, it's a whole group of them. "Reginald said we need to get another sacrifice for the next ritual to Neroth. You know Reginald is very particular about these things." A red robed individual says passing by. "Then Reginald can stop buttfucking the baron's son for one second and start doing his own dirty work. I know he likes to think he's some sort of high priest of Neroth and all, but he's a fucking dabbling ponce. Him and his noble boyfriend have no real idea of how this shit works." Another one says. "Say that to his face." "Don't worry I will when the time comes. The only reason why I'm following this fool, is because he's got connections. When this city is in our grasp, then all bets are off, and you, ALL of you had best know what side you stand on. A true believer in the ways of Neroth or a fucking pretender. Neroth isn't about sacrifices and decadent orgies. It's about fucking chaos. It's about bringing ruin to civilization. To spit in the eye of all things dedicated to order and good, even to the smallest degree. The Baron's son is free to take over this city if he wants, but I guarantee the only thing he's going to be ruling over is a smoldering pile of rubble. I suggest you ALL remember that." The group of red robed folks don't say much to their more passionate comrade, but a couple give some quieter acknowledgements of agreement. Meanwhile you're still hiding in the darkness wondering if you'll get lucky and get a kill with every bullet before they take you down. Fortunately they move on past you without seeing you. After waiting a bit, you leave your hiding spot and make your way back even quicker than before. Even Warts isn't complaining anymore and is focused on escape. You don't stop to rest until you get back up top. "Shit...thank Yag we got outta there when we did." Warts says catching his breath. "Thank ME, that we got out when we did. I can only imagine the shit we would have been in had we still been in the house when they got back to it." "Yeah, suppose that was good thinkin' on yer part. Guess you do deserve most of the loot." "I was taking it anyway, such as it is. Damn, guess Yinen was right about Neroth cultists though. Just one more fucked up thing in this city. Probably best if I don't tell him where I got these bottles of wine." You transfer the bottles out of Wart's pack and into your own and after a few exchanged words, you and he parts ways. You can't say this was the best night out, though you'd be lying if a small part of you didn't get a minor thrill out of it all. You might have even enjoyed all this, if you made out with more stuff. You return to Hell's Own and take the rest of the night off. Hopefully you can get a good price for the wine otherwise it really will have been all pretty pointless. The next morning as soon as you make your way down stairs to go see Yinen, you're approached by two figures. One of them is very non-descript and oldish looking man, probably not a bad quality to have for blending in with the crowd during a quick getaway actually. The other you can't tell due to the hood, but judging from the smaller body type with more curves, and long white hair peeking out from the hood they're probably female. "Hi, friend." The older one says. "Okay, I already know anyone who starts calling me friend as a greeting is probably the exact opposite." You say. "My, you're a suspicious one. Though understandable and smart. However, if you give the pair of us time, you will soon see there is no need for animosity." "Don't see why I should give you time at all." "Well maybe it's because you've been operating on our turf for quite some time now." Your hearts sinks when you hear this and then you instinctively start to go for your weapon. However the older man backs off and raises his hands. "Relax. That wasn't a threat. That was just to get your attention. We're not the Ebony Claw if that's what you're worried about." He says. "Thieves Guild. Thought you guys didn't have turf." You say not really relaxing too much. "Officially we don't, but ever since the ECS, well it helps to label things. At least until they're gone anyway. In any case my name is Garrick and your recent exploits, along with your ongoing ones have caught our attention, so if you don't mind, can we sit down to speak?" You didn't plan on this, but it would probably be better if you didn't cause a scene, so you, Garrick and his quiet friend all sit at table. "So, this is Thieves Guild territory now? I always thought this place was supposed to be neutral." You say. "It is for the most part it is, though officially it's ours. Really it just gets spread around that this is neutral territory to keep the new non-aligned thieves feeling safe. You're not exactly the only new one that's come through here thinking they don't have to join a side if they want to continue to ply their trade. You've just lasted longer and shown more skill than most." "Wait a minute, is Warts part of the Thieves Guild?" "Heh, Warts is more of a outside ally. He's actually spoken highly of you. As has Yinen. That's why I've come to see you for myself." Well this just goes to show how wet behind the ears you still are that you never thought that you'd been in a Thieves Guild haven the whole time. Even Warts managed to fool you. Though it does explain a few things. Maybe this whole thing was a test. "So are you the leader of the Thieves Guild?" "I'm more of its...yes, well I guess leader would be the term, but honestly I hate it. You're probably thinking I'm here to press gang you into joining, but I'm not. In fact there was a time when this place was filled with freelance thieves. The city is a big thriving place after all, plenty of loot to go around. Our Guild is more of a club of sorts rather than some sinister octopus organization. People join because they want to, well that and the fact that we do tend to pull off the more lucrative jobs and get better deals on selling stolen merchandise. You have to do a job for the good of the Guild every now and then, but even then you still get a cut of the money. But I'm sure to some extent, you're aware of some of this." "Yeah, I am, but this still feels like recruitment." "Times are harder since the Ebony Claw moved in, and I won't lie, there is a war going on. And there is also strength and protection in numbers. "So which do you think is more necessary? Your protection or my strength?" "Why not both? Look I can see you're in a bit of a hurry to sell off your loot, so how about this token of good will, I'll give you five platinum pieces what you got in your bag." "Five plat?" Garrick dumps the coins in front of you, which you immediately inspect. They're real and a lot more than what you were expecting to get for your trouble. Garrick's friend turns her head a bit towards him, but doesn't say anything. You get the impression she doesn't approve. Meanwhile, you waste no time in handing over the bottles to Garrick. "So, you're really not here to force me to join you? This isn't a trick?" you ask. "If it was, do you think we'd tell you? However, if you think you can handle the Syndicate all by yourself good luck. I'm sure if you haven't caught their attention by now, you soon will. The ECS is fairly efficient that way. In any case, we're reaching a hand out to you because we think you'd be an asset to the Guild. If you don't like it, you can always leave the city entirely. That's already better than the Claw. Once you join them, it's for life." Garrick remarks. "Wasn't planning on joining them either." "Glad to hear it, but will you at least think about our offer? If you change your mind, just let Yinen know. In any case, pleasure meeting you and doing business. Hope we can do it again on a regular basis." And with those last words, Garrick and his associate get up and make their exit, leaving you to ponder your next decision. Which of course is to go spend your new wealth. You spend the next few days not doing much of anything other than buying some things you need and spending a little extra on better quality food than you normally do. You also visit one of the better brothels in the city and as it turns out when you enter you're met with a lot of positivity by the madam and some of the other ladies. At first you figure they're just being nice to get more money out of you, but as it turns out the girl you set free back in Reginald's house was a worker here. (She's thoughtfully been given a couple days off so she can get her head back in the game again) As a result of your actions, you get a discount, which you take full advantage of. You leave the brothel feeling like robbing that cultist's house wasn't a bad thing after all. You even entertain the idea that Yag has blessed you a bit. Then not five minutes later after leaving the brothel you're attacked on the street by three thugs catching you slipping. A crushing blow to your head is felt, though fortunately not enough to knock you out completely, just enough to cause you to fall to the ground. "This the one Mantis mentioned. Quick, let's finish him off." One says. "You idiot, we were supposed to drag him someplace quiet and not draw a fucking crowd in front of us." The second remarks. "What difference does it make? Not like any of the people around are going to stop us anyway." The third adds. "The difference is we're supposed to be at least somewhat discreet." "Fuck that. This sends a message to everyone not to fuck with us!" "Okay then how about this? The Holgard Watch might look the other way every now and then, but they'll stop doing that if we're blatantly murdering people in the streets. Only they get to do that. You want to answer to Mantis when he's bitching about one of our Blue Dream houses getting raided suddenly?" "Eh, fine. Better disarm this...ARGH!" one of the thugs shouts as you jam your dagger into his leg up to the hilt. You scramble away and manage to get back up, but one of the thugs is already upon you. The whole time slack jawed gawkers either just watch in silence or they run off not wishing to be caught up in this. You feel a punch to the face sending to back to the ground, but fortunately away from the pair of them. The two thugs ignore their companion still screaming with a dagger in his leg and advance on you again. You aren't completely drained of energy, and you probably could try to run, they were arguing about not killing you in the street and given all the commotion going on, they may abandon their task if you prove to be too much trouble right now. Of course you don't have a pistol for nothing. > Shoot These people are already trying to kill you in broad daylight in front of people, all bets are fucking off. You sit up and pull out your pistol which causes the closest thug's eyes to widen. "Shi..." is all he utters before you blast him in the chest. As he falls, his comrade has already turned and ran, but you fire off another shot as soon as you stand back up and land a hit to the back of his skull. The one you hit in the chest lies bleeding, clutching his blood soaked shirt and still convulsing. He's dying, but you're not waiting that long and shoot him in the head. You pass by the other one you shot in the back of the head and towards the one still screaming about his leg. Except now, he's not crying about his leg now so much as he's begging for mercy. "Wait! Stop! If you kill me, the Ebony Claw Syndicate will continue to hound you! Let me live and I can..." he says before you interrupt. "Fuck you. You're nobody important and I'd wager the ECS would look MORE favorable on me by culling their ranks of pieces of shit that can't even do their job right." You say, and then shoot him twice in the head. With your last assailant dead, you grab your dagger out of his leg and get the hell out of the area since you've become more aware of your surroundings which are people screaming, yelling and generally running away. While this place might be a crime cesspit, the fact that you openly killed three Ebony Claw members in front of everyone (Which is something at least one of them was trying to avoid doing to you) you probably look crazier than the usual type of criminal around here, especially since you aren't even in the worst part of the city. Besides all that, you don't exactly have any protection from the Holgard Watch so they aren't likely to just look away in your case. You take several side streets and even backtrack a few times, before you eventually just go down one of the sewer openings in the hopes of hiding for a while. You actually wander down there for a while since it isn't like you're an expert in navigating your way around in the sewers. You run into a few bums, some really destitute Blue Dream junkies, and some oversized fauna, but nobody of any major importance. Eventually you get to a part of the sewer that seems familiar from the last time you were here and you make your way back up. When you exit, you find that you're not too far from Hell's Own Inn, so you get back there as soon as possible since you think you need to reconsider an option you were given earlier. You head straight to Yinen who assumes you're to meet him for business as usual. "Hey, I got those bullets and that cleaning kit you wanted." Sinin says. "Yeah, that's great, I might be needing that soon, look I gotta talk to you. Garrick approached me a couple days ago." You say. "Yeah I know, I told him that I didn't think you'd be interested in joining...wait I hope you're not mad at me for not telling you about having connections to the Guild. I assumed you probably knew somewhere in the back of your mind and I wasn't supposed to be announcing that anyway." "Shut up for a minute, I'm trying to tell you that I want to join." "You do?" "Yeah, Garrick told me to talk to you if I changed my mind." "Oh, okay. Yeah sure, what caused you to change your mind?" "I dunno, I guess the safety in numbers thing. So when do I get to go to the big hideout?" "Hold on there! Just because you join doesn't mean you get to go to the main base of operations. If every new recruit got to go there after they joined, the ECS probably would have discovered its location by capturing and torturing one of them. There's also a process of weeding out potential spies. Certainly hope you didn't run off and join the ECS and then hope to get in good with them by doing that." "I don't think the ECS is going to let me join anytime soon considering I just shot three of them." "You what?" "Three of them jumped me and I had to defend myself." "Are they dead?" "I certainly hope so since I shot them all in the head to make sure." You explain in a little more detail about what happened and Yinen starts to look more concerned. "Shit. Man, you're going to definitely be marked now. I'm surprised you didn't just leave the city." Sinin says. "I thought about it as I was stomping around the sewers, but what good would that do? If the ECS is going to be as pissed at me as I think they'll probably be, it's not like they won't send assassins after me elsewhere. If I'm here and join you guys at least there's a chance." You respond. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder, but I guess I shouldn't talk like that. Shit, I can't believe that you...well I'll definitely inform Garrick. I can't say if this is going to get you into the Guild lair itself, but it probably will make Garrick look favorably upon you. Just stay in this inn for a while, , all your food and drink will be taken care of. Someone more important than me will contact you. Here, take your bullets and kit while you're at it." You take your stuff and head to your room where you immediately reload your pistol and start organizing your belongings and items, just in case you need to leave in a hurry. You spend a lot of time in your room basically pacing the floor, wondering if you've made the right decision, but you try not to think about it too much since it's done now and you'll hopefully have new allies that will at least watch your back. Eventually you get tired of being in your room and decide to go take advantage of your free food and drink. You find an empty table, put your back against the wall and partake in your meal. You constantly watch the door expecting trouble to come in. Of course while you were so busy watching the door, you completely didn't notice the person coming up to your table and sits down across from you. It's the woman that was with Garrick earlier. You still can't quite make out her face, it's as if the hood completely shrouds it in darkness. The white hair still peaks out though. As she sits across from you, she says nothing. She just stares. Or at least you assume she's staring at you, you can't see her eyes. "Hey. I remember you. You're Garrick's friend. Guess you're the one he sent to contact me." You say. You get no answer. You take a drink and try again. "Um, never did get your name." No answer. You wait for a little while expecting something, but just silence. You're a little on edge as it is, so you fall back to mild churlishness. "So...is this silent act supposed to shed more light on whether or not I'm in the Guild or not or are you just fascinated by my good looks?" Suddenly a dagger comes short of severing the finger from your hand while the woman reaches over the table to grab you by your shirt. She's a lot stronger than she would appear since you're partially yanked out of your seat towards her. You finally see her face due to being so close to her now. She's quite pretty. Unnaturally alluring might be a more accurate word, but obviously she isn't entirely human. Besides her hair being pure white, her eyes now give away an otherworldly appearance and right now her eyes are glowing a reddish color and look like they could twist mithril with the stare they're giving you. "Listen up, because I'm only saying this once! Maybe Garrick thinks you're an asset to the Guild, but I'm not convinced. You better show me something better than the pitiful displays you've shown since you got here." She says. Every logical fiber of your being tells you that you should just shut the fuck up, but maybe it's your nerves or you feel like this is some sort of test or maybe its this woman herself...but whatever the reason... you don't shut the fuck up. "So, been watching me since I got here huh? Good to know." You see her roll her eyes and she releases you and sits back down. "Please, I didn't even know about you until recently and that's only because you and that lowly halfbreed foolishly went and half assed robbed a rich Neroth cultist." the woman says. "Hey that wasn't my idea." You point out. "Well then you're shit at picking a partner and I question your wisdom." "Okay, fair, but I'd say I made the best of the situation AND got out of there without getting caught." "So what? You ended up saving a whore who then blabbed to her fellow whores about the so-called noble thief that saved her life! You do realize that you're probably not JUST on the ECS hit list, but you've probably just made enemies with certain members of what passes for the aristocracy around here along with a cult of fanatics." "So what you're saying is I should have just left the girl to get tortured and killed. I'll remember that for next time." "What I'm saying is it was fucking sloppy and you're not half as good as you think you are." "Okay, but I know I can't be as bad as you're making out either. If I was so horrible, your boss wouldn't be considering me." "First off, Garrick is NOT my fucking boss. I don't have a boss. Second, if you were any worse, I'd seriously be questioning Garrick's decision on this. Arguably the ONLY thing in your favor as far as I'm concerned is the fact you killed three ECS members. And you did that sloppy as well and it isn't making me inclined to impress me any more than when I first had the displeasure of laying eyes on you." This girl REALLY dislikes you to a point where you're almost wondering if you did something to her personally or something. Then again you've had people try to kill you for less. Yet...you can't help it...there's something about her that just... "Well I hope I can impress you in the future since now that I have laid eyes upon your lovely face, I can definitely say that it has not been a displeasure." The hooded woman sits back a bit as if you've actually succeeded in making her slightly uncomfortable. "Maybe you feeble charm works on whores, but you'll find that I'm unimpressed by such attempts." She says dismissively. "Maybe I need to try harder then." You respond. At this point you succeed in making her angry again, she actually sits up and snatches her dagger out of the table and waves it at you. "And maybe you need to learn your limitations." she exclaims. "Maybe I'm just setting my sights higher. If I'm joining your Guild, I'm going to have to be better than I am. That means taking more risks even when there is potential danger." You look at her dead serious when you say this. You actually don't even know where all this is coming from honestly. It's almost like you're under a spell. The hooded woman doesn't even acknowledge what you're saying. "Tomorrow night, be prepared to go on a job with a Guild member. A REAL Guild member. He will meet you here and from there we'll see if we need to waste anymore time with you." She says. "It won't be you? A pity, well I'll be looking forward to the day when we can do a job together." You respond. Without even realizing it, you've touched her other hand that's on the table. She of course immediately notices this and for a split second she probably considers breaking or stabbing your hand, but instead she just pulls her hand away and then steps back from the table altogether. "You...you are not going to last that long." She says and then leaves. As soon as she steps out of the inn, you sit there in a daze for a while, but then you suddenly snap out of it. "What the fuck was wrong with me? I could have gotten myself killed, flirting like that." You briefly wonder if maybe you drank too much, but that definitely wasn't it. You'd say it was the woman herself that was causing you to do that, but she didn't seem like she wanted anything to do with you on that front. You head back to your room and you can't get your mind off of her. You'd visit a brothel, but that didn't work out so well last time. So you take the matter in hand... By the time the tomorrow night rolls around, you're sort of glad to meet up with the other Guild member since you're hoping it will clear your mind. The Guild member in question calls himself Sneaks. He's an older man, though certainly still younger than Garrick. Says he's been friends with Garrick for a long time and also mentions that he hopes you're as promising as he's heard. The job that you and Sneaks are to perform doesn't sound all that difficult, which is just as well since you're still having problems focusing. When he asks if you have any questions, you just have one and that's what's the name of the hooded woman who spoke to you yesterday. Immediately Sneaks shakes his head. "Oh for...you saw her face and looked straight into her eyes didn't you? Fuck. Well that explains why she came back all pissed off and not very talkative yesterday. Though she's surly at the best of times. It's a temporary effect kid, try to just focus on the job okay?" "I don't understand." Sneaks sighs a bit. "Okay, real quick. Her name is Tanya and if you want to make yourself happy, you will NOT pursue that one. Just forget about her. I know it's difficult right now, but you'll be better off. Trust me." Sneaks says. "Is she involved with someone else?" you ask. "Not exactly, but...look she's got some demon blood in her. I mean surely you realized that she wasn't quite human right?" "Well yeah, but demon didn't come to mind, but so what? I don't care, I want to get to know her..." "Hah! I know how YOU want to get to know her! Trust me, you aren't the first to try, and you probably won't be the last, but so far every guy I've seen try has failed. Just walk away. Now get your mind off her ass and back to business." While Sneaks' advice is well meaning, it wasn't exactly Tanya's ass that was clouding your mind, but rather her face. Fortunately Sneaks is also correct in that the effect does seem to dissipate. As for the job, it goes a lot better than the one you did with Warts that's for sure. Sneaks says that it'll still be awhile before you're allowed to actually go to the Guild proper, he says that as long as you keep up the good work, you'll eventually get to see it. However, at this point you just want to see Tanya again. Looks like she didn't leave your thoughts completely. Probably for the best that she's still lingering in your mind, because if you really thought about just how deep of shit you probably are as far as powerful enemies you've made, you'd probably be a lot more depressed. > Time passes... Year 18 "Yep, Garrick's been very impressed with you. I'd say a few more jobs and you'll finally get invited to where all the magic takes place." Sneaks says. "I can hardly wait." You say. "Well geez son, don't sound so enthusiastic. Last year you kept asking me if you were any closer to getting into the Guild headquarters." "Last year, I was still a bit more optimistic about my choice in joining the guild." "Oh? And how exactly did we fail you your majesty?" "That's not exactly what I mean, but if we're going that route, I just thought I'd be doing slightly better while aligned with you lot." Sneaks starts laughing. "Well that's your first problem right there. Joining a criminal organization that's currently feuding with another one isn't exactly a stable future son." Sneaks says. "I know that too, it's just...okay...I'm just a little concerned that we aren't doing too much directly against the Ebony Claw Syndicate. I mean shouldn't we be doing something more to decrease their power? Their presence hasn't exactly decreased in the city and if anything it has only gotten stronger." You respond. "I dunno about that, I'd say they're probably struggling like everyone else currently. If they were truly stronger in presence they'd be directly attacking us and some of our hangouts more often." "Well that's still a problem since it's still not progress, it's just keeping the status quo." "So, what are you going to do? Shoot them all?" "Well considering how many I have shot, I'd say it's not a bad plan. Not to mention it's something I could have easily done on my own." "And you would have been dead already on your own. But if you really feel like you could do better on your own then nothing is holding back from leaving. Why stay?" "Because obviously I'm still an optimistic idiot." "I don't believe that, I believe its MORE likely you're just sticking around because you're an infatuated idiot." "What?" "Don't play dumb with me, I know you still got a thing for Tanya after I told you to just walk away. I remember when we all had to work on that job together three months ago, I swear at one point with how hard you were starin' at her, I thought you were going to whip your dick out and start wackin' it right there." You laugh at that remark. "You laugh because you know it's true." Sneaks says. "Yeah well it certainly is a better reason than anything else I could come up with, and I'm not totally convinced that goal isn't at least as possible as wiping out the ECS as a force in this city." You respond. "I dunno about that. You've at least killed Ebony Claw members, you haven't even gotten a kind word from Tanya yet." "Yes I did! She said she couldn't believe I was still alive and that I had to be the idiot bastard son of Yag eternally blessed with more luck than actual ability." "Hm. Well actually coming from her that IS a kind word. Congrats. At the risk of inflating your ego even more...and she'd probably kill me if I told you...she actually would somewhat agree with you on your views about the Ebony Claw. She sort of wishes we took the fight more to them too. Actually you could probably count me in that group as well." "So why the hell aren't we doing more then and why isn't Garrick being pro-active?" "He actually is, just not in the way you think. He thinks an all out gang war would be a mistake due to them having the numbers. He might be right, I don't know. But all that shit we steal and the Guild gets a cut of? That doesn't all just go towards equipment and extra casks of booze for the headquarters. Some of that money goes towards more important things like bribes, paying off the Watch and getting a few underpaid bean counters on our side to muddle paper work on occasion." "Well that's great and all, but how's that fuck up the Ebony Claw?" "It doesn't, but it keeps a balance. You don't think they don't do the same thing? Try to manipulate the law in their favor? The only reason why the Holgard Watch doesn't mess with either side much is because they're taking bribes from both sides. They got best racket in this city. They practically never even have to do their fucking jobs! Garrick HOPES that one day he'll be able to manipulate the right people that will cripple the EC, but I can say right now, he's doomed to failure, because at his core, he's too fucking nice. Bribery only gets you so far. To do what he wants to do, he'd need to rely more on blackmail and extortion, which isn't something he's too fond of getting heavily into." "Surprised nobody's tried to kill him and take power from him." "I said he's nice, not a pussy. There have been a few who have tried over the years, mostly before the EC established a greater presence, but the man isn't unskilled in the ways of defending himself. Besides the Thieves Guild isn't the Ebony Claw and because Garrick is so fucking nice, people generally like him enough that they'd rather keep him as head of the organization. Not to mention we don't exactly have the most ambitious bunch in the Guild. Most of the really ruthless, kill their own mother types to get ahead join the EC. We're not Joachimites, but I'd still wager that most of us in the Guild have just a few more scruples than the average EC member." "Yeah, well scruples doesn't win wars." "No argument there. Look kid, I'm not sure what to tell you, except I do hope you stick with us. I don't care what your reasons are, whether its for safety, or riches or you

r ongoing failed pursuit of Tanya's demon pussy. We need more...for the lack of a better word...warrior types in the Guild." "Never considered myself a warrior before, but I suppose I'll take it as a compliment." "Of course you will, that's how I meant it. Anyway, I gotta go. Garrick's holding some sort of meeting for some of us important elite. Tell ya what, I'll try to convince Garrick to let you in the Guild's inner sanctum already. I know it's not Tanya's inner sanctum, but here's something that might help you in that goal, she's supposed to be casing the Museum of the Ancients tonight. Who knows, maybe if you get there quick enough she might even let you help." As your eyes light up, Sneaks smiles and parts ways with you. You of course don't waste any time heading to the Museum of the Ancients. You've never considered burglarizing that place before, but you suppose it makes sense that there would be some pretty valuable stuff in there. Though you imagine that it's more protected than even some of the banks here. You've only had the fortune of working with Tanya a couple times before and that was always in a group and she of course always limited her contact with you in those cases. You still don't exactly know WHY you're as drawn to her as you are. Well you do and it's probably due to her demonic heritage and whatever powers of charm she put on you. (Accidently you guess given her stand offish personality towards you) Sneaks said the effects should have worn off by now since you don't even see her that much. Granted you aren't thinking about her all the time, but if you ever have the chance to be around her (Like you do now) you're going to take it. Luckily you manage to arrive unaccosted by anyone, the law or otherwise. Now you're just hoping you find Tanya before the fun begins. The surrounding area outside the museum, the place is more or less empty. There aren't too many other people in the area other than a few Holgard Watchmen patrolling around which you keep clear of. You look around to see where Tanya might be, but again its possible she already went inside. You bet she went in from the rooftop. Every time you've worked with her, she's always favoring the rooftops. Of course you prefer a more grounded approach so as soon as it looks safe, you simply run up to the front door and pick the lock, which is a lot easier than you thought it would be. You look around the museum and mostly see a lot of oversized items that you'd need at least two people to carry to get out of here. Statues, suits of rusty armor, oversized tapestries and the like. While you're sure some of this stuff is valuable to someone, it wouldn't exactly be the easiest to just lift out of here. Though you haven't seen or heard any night guards of any kind at all. Seems weird that this place doesn't have any security. You try to keep an ear out for anyone that might be walk around, but it's nothing but silence. You start to wonder if she came and left already or maybe this was all Sneaks idea of a practical joke. Wouldn't be the first time. Since you can't find her or detect anyone else roaming these halls, you decide that you might as well see if there actually is anything here that you might be worth taking. Eventually after wandering a bit, you stumble into an area that seems more promising. "Royal treasures of Old Galpatis" you say to yourself as you read the sign to exhibit room. You don't know too much about Galpatis except shit that your sister sometimes spoke about from some book she read. It was supposed to be a great empire thousands of years ago that destroyed itself as all these ancient civilizations tend to do for whatever reason. Probably had something to do with necromancy or something. In any case you enter and see in the dim torchlight you see proper treasure that you could actually carry out of here. A lot of old necklaces, bracelets, crowns with gems and similar items behind glass, though some, like the weapons are mounted securely on the wall. A couple of weapons that catch your eye are a pair of ornate looking dagger. Not even tarnished and definitely still usable. You probably could easily pry them from the walls though you'd have to reach a bit since they're little higher than you. Of course you do have your trusty glasscutter with you and you could just start getting to work on grabbing what you can from the displays. > You get the daggers It suddenly occurs to you that maybe there are traps about, but they're magical in nature. You start cutting the glass and who knows what might happen. The daggers seem like there is possibly less danger involved seeing as they just fastened them to the wall. Of course it isn't just an easy matter of ripping the dagger from the wall, you grab a prybar from your pack and start to get to work, but given their height above you, it's awkward. You pry and pry, but don't seem to be making any headway. You begin to think that the daggers are being held in place by magic and you might be right considering that you suddenly feel a force knock the prybar from your hand and as you try to grab it you stumble into one of the isolated stands with a glass case knocking it over and falling on the broken glass. Fortunately you're mostly protected by your clothing, though you're still picking glass out of bits of your body. However, you don't do that for long since you notice the diamond necklace that has now been released from its cage. You might as well grab that instead. No sooner have you picked it up and that's when you feel an unnatural chill in the air. "That's not good." You say and get the hell out of the Galpatis exhibit room. Doesn't help though, you're still feeling like the unnatural cold is following you. You get the very real feeling that SOMETHING is following you, but you don't dare look behind you, all you want to do is get out of the museum and HOPE that whatever this is doesn't follow you outside. You see the exit in the distance and then you see a wispy green glow materialize in front of it. A malevolent face briefly appears and then one of the statues closest to you comes to life! "Shit!" you exclaim and just barely manage to avoid getting your head smashed in. You look around and see that now several of the statues are coming to life. The exit is blocked by that ghostly thing so even if you could maneuver past the statues, you aren't getting out that way. "HEY! Grab the damn rope!" a voice shouts from above. You look up and see Tanya on the second floor throwing a rope to you over the railing. You waste no time in grabbing and climbing up it while she pulls you up. The statues try to grab you at first, but then soon realize the best way to get you is going up the stairs. As you grab the railing, Tanya grabs your arm and hoists you over it. You almost feel like she's going to yank your arm off, but of course you see a glimpse of her face again as she's pulling you up and you're almost smitten enough to forget all about the extreme danger you're currently in. Hurry you fool before I regret saving you!" Tanya shouts and runs towards another rope that hangs from an opening she's made in the glass dome on the roof Following her lead you make your way to the rope and quickly climb up it where you're staring directly at Tanya's ass the entire time. Again, probably a good thing since your focus isn't on the invisible horrors that are desperately trying to get your attention by whispering demoralizing things in your ears to cause you to give up hope and stop trying to escape. Doesn't work though, Tanya's ass is literally saving your own. Eventually you manage to get to the roof where you and Tanya both start leaping across the tops of nearby buildings. When you get far enough away, Tanya at last stops to take a breather and then also punches you in the face. "What was that for?" you ask. "Do you even need to ask?! Your incompetent bumbling nearly got not just yourself killed, but ME as well! What the fuck were you even doing there? Did you KNOW I was going to be there?" Tanya asks. "Well..." "Let me guess, Sneaks told you...I'm going to kill him." "Where were you anyway? I looked for you for awhile." "I was in the basement stealing the Tivan Crystal." "Oh. I didn't think to check the basement." "Given all the security you set off, it's apparent you didn't think at all! I was just on my way to leave when I heard glass breaking and the scampering of your feet. Did you really think you could just smash and grab shit in a place like that without consequence?" "I didn't mean to at first. It was an accident. I just wanted to get you something since I couldn't find you. Here." You say and pull the diamond necklace out of your bag. "You're joking right? I could steal, and have stolen items a lot more valuable than this!" "Yes, I'm sure you have, but its value is not the point, this is my gift to you. The motivation behind it is important." "You expect me to believe you stole this for me?" "Believe what you wish, the point is that it's yours now my dear." You say and put the necklace in her hand. Tanya looks at the necklace in disbelief, and addresses you again. "So...wait...you REALLY think I'm going to wear this? Surely even someone of your intelligence can see that I'm not some dainty aristocrat who dresses in fancy gowns and adores myself with jewelry." "You may do whatever you wish with it. You may throw it away, keep it and wear it, keep it and then sell it or just keep it period. It doesn't matter. It was just my way of thanking you for not just saving my life, but also the pleasure of being in the glow of your beauty." Tanya is now looking at you in disbelief. "...you...you...I..." Tayna starts to say. "Yes?" you ask. "Look! I don't know what the hell your game is, but I'm not playing, and I'm not fooled!" "But I'm not trying to fool you, it's merely a gift to..." "Stop it! Stop it right now! And stop looking at me like that, if you want to keep your eyesight! I don't want to hear anymore of your honeyed words! We part ways here and don't you dare try to follow me!" Tanya yells and pulls her hood even more over her head, before leaping to the next building. You naturally ignore her and start following her anyway. You must hop across three rooftops before Tanya stops again. "LOOK, this is NOT going to..." A bolt whizzing by suddenly interrupts Tanya's words. At first you think briefly that it's the guardian museum and it's followed you, but it turns out to be a more tangible enemy instead. Several men with crossbows suddenly materialize on the roofs nearby and a few of them even on the roof you're currently on. You both instantly duck down and try to find cover. Several other bolts follow though fortunately the ECS has not employed skilled marksmen. "Bah! All those bolts and you lot couldn't hit a behemoth's butt with a bass fiddle! I told you fuckers to practice! Just fucking close in for the kill!" you hear someone shout. You and Tanya can't go in any direction without facing ECS members, but given the state you're in right now, you're not exactly avoiding a fight and neither is Tanya. "Looks like some of the EC are begging to be declawed. I'm always up for whittling down their ranks." You say. "First thing you've said, that I agree with." Tanya remarks. While the EC might be terrible shots, you certainly aren't, you shoot three of them before they even manage to close in. Tanya on the other hand is perfectly content on taking on five of the assassins in close combat. One of the members however is standing back and still blinking in and out of existence. He's obviously using that blasted shadow magic. He's mainly giving orders right now, but if he gets in the fight, you don't anticipate things going well. You try to take aim at him, but you're stopped by two EC members who both nearly stab you. After dodging their blows, you shoot the pair of them. Seeing as you've only got one shot left and no real time to reload, you turn your attention back to the EC leader, who is now gone. Tanya is still working on two other EC members and you're about to go over to help her, when a magic missile of some sort hits you. You drop your weapon and collapse. You almost feel like all the energy has been drained out of you. You're so weak, you can hardly even push yourself back up, though a hefty kick soon stops that attempt. "Finally got your ass! It's like they always say, you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself. So you think you can just get away with shooting our members like some cowardly sonofabitch?" the shadow magic wielder remarks. "You...you just hit me with a fucking magic missile!" you wheeze, pointing out his hypocrisy. This of course isn't appreciated and you soon receive another kick. "Silence! I'm gonna enjoy this." Fortunately, he doesn't get the chance due to all his gloating which was enough time for Tanya to finish off her last opponent and run over to help you again. However, he's quick enough to avoid her attacks. The pair of them duel while you lie there trying to gather your strength. You're really woozy and weak. You eventually manage to stand up, but you feel like you're going to teeter over again. Tanya is still fighting the EC leader, but she's not making much progress. In fact, he might even have a slight advantage since he hasn't been exerting himself as much as she has tonight. You look over to your right and see your pistol lying nearby. You've got one shot in it and you're not exactly in the best condition as far as accurately aiming anything right now. Of course you could just try to help Tanya in the more traditional way and try to backstab him. Still not ideal, but if you miss, you're not likely to hit Tanya by accident. > You get your pistol In the condition you're in and how quick he's moving, you question if you'll even be able to hit him, but you also know you're currently not much good in a straight up fight right now. You stagger over to your pistol and nearly fall over just trying to pick it up. You look over at the duel and Tanya's still holding her own, but the bastard's shadow magic is giving him the edge. You try to aim, but you can't get a clear shot and when you do, he's already moved out of the way or you're suffering from dizziness. You try to get a little closer and every inch of you is struggling to not slip into unconsciousness. You see the EC member block several of Tanya's attacks and then manages to knock her down with some sort of glowing magic from his hand. He moves in for the kill as she hits the ground, but it's best opening you've got now. You fire and hope the figure in the center is the real one before you collapse again. You aren't unconscious for long as Tanya soon slaps you awake. "Hey, get up! We need to get out of here, before more of these assholes show up." Tanya says. "Guh, did I get that sonofabitch?" you utter and slowly sit up. "Yeah, you blew half of his head off. Pretty sure that was Mantis." "Mantis...I think I heard that name before." "You should, he was one of the Ebony Claw's lieutenants. Explains why he had access to shadow magic." "Yeah well his magic couldn't stop a bullet. You okay?" As you ask this, you touch Tanya's arm, which she retracts. "Yeah, I'm fine! Get your hands off me! And I could have taken him without your help you know." Tanya exclaims. "I know, just trying to help." You reply. "Yeah, well your help could have gotten me killed what with you stumbling all over the place." "Apologies." "Hm. Well, I guess you did do your part. Almost makes up for the bumbling you did back at the museum. Anyway I highly recommend that YOU go home as soon as you can, I'm going to go report everything to the Guild." "Why don't I come with you?" "Hah, nice try, but there are still questions out on you." "I've been fucking killing EC members since I joined and I just shot one of their leaders in the face. Fairly certain I'm on your side." "Well it's not up to me." "Oh, so you're saying if it WAS up to you, you'd let me in?" "I didn't say that, and I'm going to address something else. While I know its unfortunate that my...ugh... condition has made you more drawn to me, you need to fucking snap out of it. It's been two years and even those I work with closely don't behave this way around me." "From the stories Sneaks has told me, you've put so much fear in would be suitors that they're too scared to make any advances on you. Just because they're not being obvious about it, doesn't mean the desire isn't there." "First, Sneaks talks too much and second, well maybe YOU need to start internalizing some of that desire as well. Get control of yourself. It'll get better and go away over time." "Maybe my feelings are genuine, you ever think of that?" "Yeah right. You barely even know me." "Maybe not, but I'd like to get to know you better. I mean you think I'm a complete fucking idiot? I know that your little demon aura or whatever is probably affecting me, but that's really not having as much of an effect on this as you think. Especially since I don't just think about us in a sexual manner. I think about us just talking and..." Tanya looks at you very irritated by your words. "Okay, I don't want to hear anymore. Shut up and don't bring up my condition again! Stick to jacking off or get yourself a whore, I don't give a fuck WHAT you do, just fucking do it and get yourself under fucking control! You flirt with me again and it'll be the last fucking time, got it?!" Tanya doesn't even give you a chance to respond, she just turns away from you and takes off across the rooftops again. You don't follow, not due to fearing for any violent repercussion, but more because you're not exactly feeling up to leaping across rooftops right now. Instead, you go ahead and loot the Ebony Claw members' bodies. Sort of makes up for not getting anything from the museum. By the time you're done, you feel your strength has returned enough that you can safely climb down from your position and get back to street level again. You look at your full coin pouch and ponder your next move. "Well, I guess the night is still young. Might as well." A few minutes later you arrive at your destination. "Hey! Haven't seen you here in a long time! How's the scourge of the Ebony Claw?" the madam asks. "Is that what I'm being called now?" you respond. "I'm sure in certain circles you are, the EC more likely has more colorful names for you, but let's not dwell on that. You're here for fun. What would you like tonight?" "Uh, I kind of have a special request. I know it's short notice, but..." "Say no more! We'll do everything to try to accommodate your needs as long as you have the coin and don't worry, your discount is still in place!" "Thanks." You start going into an elaborate description of what you want the girl to look like. The madam nods a few times. "Yeah, we can accommodate that, and I know just the right girl too. Head on upstairs third door on your right. She'll be with you soon." You head upstairs feeling a little weird about all this, while you're waiting you almost have second thoughts, then the girl comes in. You see a girl wearing nothing but a black open cloak. All her fun parts are fully exposed to you, save for her face, which is partially hidden due to a hood over the top half of her head. Long white hair can be seen peeking out though. They did a pretty good job in matching your description. "Hello. I'm Tanya and..." the girl says. "Stop. Don't say anymore. Your voice doesn't sound like hers and you're already too friendly. I don't want to ruin the illusion so let's just get to it." Without another word, fake Tanya approaches you and you waste no time spinning her around, lifting her cloak up, and doing her on all fours, mainly because it's easier to immerse yourself if you aren't looking at her face which might work from a distance, but isn't going work very well if you're staring full on at her. In any case, the session is pretty intense. Afterwards you're collapsed on the bed, while "Tanya" professionally starts to collect herself. "I know you got other customers, I'll get up in a second, I just gotta catch my breath for a moment." You say. "Take your time, I wasn't shoving you out the door just yet. I know you didn't want me to talk, but I felt like I should at least thank you before we parted ways here." She says. "Thank me? For what?" "For saving my life of course." "Tanya" takes off the hood and white wig revealing her natural brown hair. Now that you've got a full look at her, you recognize her, even if the voice wasn't immediately familiar. "It's you! You were the one I freed from that cage!" you say. "Yep, it's me. I actually worried that you MIGHT recognize me and it would break your illusion, glad that it didn't." "No, you were just about perfect...shit...so how have you been?" "Oh. Okay I guess. A lot more paranoid, still have nightmares sometimes, but at least I'm still alive and attractive enough to still whore." "Damn...well let me at least pay full price, I know the madam said I had a discount, but..." "Oh no. This one's on me. No charge at all and I'll just make up the difference elsewhere. Honestly, I wanted to reward you before, but I missed you the first time you came here and then you never came back here until tonight." "Yeah, I suppose I've been a bit busy what with fighting the ECS and all." "Hm. We all got our struggles. Well, I guess we better get going, time and money and all. You did have a good time though right?" "Huh? Oh yeah! Yes, it was good. There were definitely times where I thought I was with...well someone else." "Good. I'm glad. That's what I'm here for." You don't say anything else and just focus on getting dressed. As you start to leave, you ask one more question. "What is your real name?" "Naji." You don't exchange any more words with her and you exit the establishment. Been a weird night for you. Granted you've had more than your fair share of such nights, but this one will probably stand out in your mind. Especially due to what happens next. "Don't turn around. Into that alley now. You try anything, and you'll have a bolt through the back. Move." A voice whispers as you feel a crossbow shoved into your back. You didn't even see anyone around, but you don't have much choice except to comply for now. When you get to the alley you're met by a scarred looking man with an eye patch. "Ah there you are, we have much to discuss. My name is Rook." He says. Rook looks like an assassin of some sort, but it's obvious that he's also a man that prides himself on how he looks since even in this dirty alley he stands out as being dressed more like a government official rather than some lowly thug. His eye patch has a claw symbol on it. His comrade with the crossbow is still unknown to you since you haven't turned around at all. About all you tell is that they're very fond of that crossbow. After sizing you up a bit, Rook speaks again. "You've been busy during your stay here in Holgard. Pick pocketing, burglary, and all those other activities that are frowned upon by the law. Not to mention all the Ebony Claw members you've been murdering. So tell me, do you feel that you can just rob this city blind and do as you please?" Rook asks. "Basically." You retort. "Why?" " Because I can." "Ah, I see. You feel your skills are a waste if not practiced. I can identify with that." At this point, Rook slugs you in the stomach, dropping you to your knees. You didn't even see it coming since he was standing far enough a way that he wasn't in reach and then suddenly he was in front of you. As you struggle back up, you feel that blasted crossbow still at your back. "Normally someone like you would be disposed of, however many of my peers are short sighted and don't always see opportunity clearly. The fact that you've managed to survive this long either means you're incredibly lucky or you're more intelligent than you appear. I'm hoping it's the latter since if you are intelligent that means you have untapped potential." Rook says. "I sure hope so at this point." You respond still trying to gather yourself from Rook's punch. "I do too, because despite what you may have heard about us, you will soon see that if you're in this line of work, joining the Ebony Claw really is the way of the future. As I'm sure you're somewhat aware, you've come at an interesting time. There are some changes going on in this city. Rebellion in the air, rumors of demonic cultists, but none of that matters. Business is what matters. What matters is that WE come out on top when smoke clears. The best way we can do that, is by controlling as much of the criminal activity as possible. By uniting the Underworld under one organization we will be able to survive whatever chaos is to come. That is the goal of the Ebony Claw Syndicate...well at least one of the goals anyway." "So I take it you're the head of the Ebony Claw?" This comment makes Rook smirk a little. "Oh no. I'm merely one of the more important people in this particular city. There are far more higher ranking people than myself all over, but we all perform our tasks for things we believe in and our various loyalties right?" Rook says. "I suppose." You answer. "The Thieves Guild is one of the chief obstacles that stands in the way of my task. This relic of the past still holds on to their shortsighted archaic ideas and morals. Their antics bring unnecessary chaos, which is certainly something we don't need more of in this city. Still, they aren't complete fools as they have managed to hide within the city and we still can't locate their hideout. Surprisingly even the ones we've captured have either managed to kill themselves or been dedicated enough that they have not revealed its location. I also am working with less than ideal resources available. If things were different...but...ah I get off topic. In any case, I am looking for alternative solutions. One of these involves you." "I hate to break this to you, but they haven't even let me in their little clubhouse yet." "Oh, I'm sure that will change soon. I mean from what I can tell, you're a rising star in their organization. I have full confidence that you will be soon accepted." "You're more optimistic than me then." "You find that in this line of work, optimism helps keep you going at times, which is why I'm also optimistic that when the time comes you WILL see the advantage of joining US." "Why would I do that?" "Because, you're not just a mere rogue. You're a killer. You could even be an assassin if you wanted to be. Granted you're not exactly subtle what with your love of firearms, but sometimes that isn't important. The Thieves Guild is limited. The Ebony Claw? WE are everywhere! You have the potential to really rise up in ranks. You want money? Infamy? Power? It's all available if you're smart and skilled enough." "I feel like this is a trick." "And you wouldn't be wrong to think that. Paranoia is good and healthy, but I promise you that this is a real offer. I know you'll need to think about this though, so I don't expect you to agree right now. However, if you want some sort of assurance that I'm telling the truth, all hits on you are called off. As of right now unless you're attacking an EC member and they're acting in self defense, you will not be targeted." Now this really sounds like a trick. "Bullshit." You say. "Nope, it's true. Wish I could have stopped that fool Mantis BEFORE we met, but seems like you took care of that. Oh and thanks for eliminating a rival tonight. Anyway, I trust you'll be making the right decision, because it would be a shame if I had to kill you the next time we see each other." Rook then chuckles a bit at his comment. "What am I saying? You wouldn't see me, if I killed you." With that last threat, Rook takes his leave, you don't feel the crossbow anymore so you slowly turn around, but as expected nobody is there. The next day just when you think your life can't get any more complicated... "Hey kid! Good news! You're in! We were debating about letting you in early and a lot of people were against it since they felt you needed to spend more paying dues as it were, but then Tanya came back and spoke about what you did last night against the Ebony Claw and her opinions pushed Garrick, who was just bending to popular opinion anyway, to make a final decision to let you in! Ain't that great?" Sneaks says. "Yeah...great." You remark. > Time passes... Year 19 "That's the third large group of cultists we've had to evade in our own fucking sewers. Something needs to be done about those shitheads because not even the EC is giving us this much trouble down here." Sneaks says. "Agreed. They've been spreading all over the damn place. Granted I'm not much for religion, but given what I know from what Yinen has said about Neroth AND seen what these fanatics do first hand, I'm not exactly keen on them spreading any further." You add. "I understand the concerns, but we're already warring with the EC, the last thing we need is to open up a front against a bunch of Neroth worshipers." Garrick says. "We don't need to open up a front, because they've already made it quite clear that they've already done so. I don't know about anyone else, but every time I bump into those fanatics they attack on sight." Sneaks says. "If you're just bumping into them accidentally, then you're lucky because I know by their personalized threats they're specifically targeting me." You add. "I told you that rescuing that whore would catch up to you." Tanya says. "That was years ago and they didn't even see me do it!" "Yeah, but that tart and her friends spread the word about your deeds a long time ago. I'm more surprised they you weren't targeted sooner by them." "Well apparently they were too busy with other things than bothering with the likes of the kid here. In any case I'm just saying we need to thin out their ranks or something because while I know we aren't officially territorial, we shouldn't have to deal with daggers at our throats right outside our front door." Sneaks says. "Exactly. And if left unchecked who is to say they won't find this place? Not to mention these assholes worship a dark god. The last thing we need is for them to do is gather enough power to start summoning shit. Last thing we need is demons running around down here." You add. As soon as you say that, everyone looks at you and then also looks at Tanya who is also looking in your direction with her head cocked to the side almost intrigued by what you're going to say next. "Shhhhit..." you quietly say which causes a snicker from Sneaks. Tanya doesn't even address what you said she instead turns her attention back to Garrick. "Word fumbling aside, he has a point Garrick. They all do. We can't ignore this potential threat any longer." Tanya says. "Maybe... (Sigh) I just don't want to lose any more people especially when we may need them in the future." Garrick says. After a brief moment of silence, Garrick speaks again. "Okay, fine. Maybe we need to do something. The question is what exactly? I'm still loathe to go all out gang war on a bunch of fanatics, because you know they're only going to hit back with more fervor...maybe...wait a minute. We could set it up so it looks like the Ebony Claw is targeting them. That will hopefully draw some heat off of us on both sides." Garrick says. Garrick begins to go into a plan to start ambushing the cultists, but also to ambush a few Ebon

y Claws and plant their bodies among the dead cultists so the living ones can stumble upon them and vice versa. In the meantime he says he's going to try to grease the right palms to gain some sort of meeting with Reginald and appear as an "ally" against the Ebony Claw so Reginald will tell his people to leave the Guild alone. It's not a bad plan, though you're really not sure on the whole "allying" with Reginald bit. "Um, I'm not sure if this Reginald is ally material." You say. "Well we need to try, because if you haven't noticed, we are at a bit of a disadvantage. Reginald is Farrad's boyfriend. You know, the baron's son? The one who is probably going to attempt a coup on his father soon? If he's actually successful it's probably best that we're not on his bad side at least." Garrick retorts with annoyance. "I can see that logic, but I still have concerns if allying with religious fanatics that participate in human sacrifice is a good idea. I mean hell, I'd rather temporarily ally with the Ebony Claw against the cultists at this point..." "Well it's a damn good thing that YOU don't have to make the fucking decisions isn't it then?!" Garrick's sudden snap causes you to shut up immediately and everyone else to stand in silence. You certainly weren't expecting it, but then Garrick in general has been less than friendly with you, as your time in the Guild proper has come about. He's certainly nowhere near like he was when he first offered his hand to you in joining. You have some theories about why, but for now you just answer: "Your call. Apologies." Garrick gives you a dirty look and starts assigning tasks to people. He doesn't give one to you though. As everyone starts to leave, you go up to Tanya and offer to help her on her assignment and that's when you get a scolding voice again. "Hey! Leave her be." Garrick orders. "But I was just..." you start to say before you're interrupted again. "Did I assign you and Tanya to work together? No I didn't." "Garrick, it's actually okay, I can..." Tanya says before Garrick interrupts her as well. "Stay out of this Tanya! Everyone get to work! Except YOU." Tanya looks at you a little sympathetically as she leaves with the rest, which is definitely not the norm, and part of what you imagine is the problem Garrick is having with you. Soon it's just you and Garrick and he wastes no time in speaking. "You know when I brought you in, I thought you'd be an asset to us. Sure you weren't exactly what I normally look for, but your actions against the Ebony Claw couldn't be ignored. Your ongoing work to prove yourself worthy of becoming one of the inner circle couldn't be ignored. Granted, I was still a little hesitant at the time since I was starting to have some doubts since so many thought you should continue to prove yourself, but Tanya's words in your favor...well those couldn't be ignored either." You don't say anything. "I also can't ignore how you look at her and more importantly how she looks at you." Garrick says. "I don't think she looks at me with anything but scorn." You say in an effort to deflect. "Bullshit. Maybe at one time she did. Not anymore. You're not so stupid to not realize that. Hell, she tried to speak up for you just now. I don't know HOW you did it, but you've actually been getting through that normally solid brick wall she puts up to shield herself again all would be suitors. I have seen MANY try and while I imagine that she leaves a lasting impression due to her nature, I have seen NONE continue to pursue her, or those that have, have met with physical violence that either put a definite stop to it. Somehow you have miraculously avoided that. Somehow YOU have defied what shouldn't be possible." You continue to stand there and say nothing, which only causes Garrick to throw something at you, which you narrowly dodge. "WELL? Aren't you going to say anything?!" Garrick shouts. "I'm not sure what to say. Anything I say, you're not going to like." You answer. "Well permission to speak fucking freely then." "Okay, well I don't see how this is any of your concern. Tanya, from what I can tell is a full grown woman that's MORE than capable of taking care of herself and dealing with the likes of me. And as far as I know, you're not her father either even if you see her as some sort of surrogate daughter." "It...it doesn't make sense! WHY YOU?! There have been FAR better suitors in the past!" "You mean like you?" "W...what?" "Oh come on! I think given your increasing hostility towards me this is going beyond a father-daughter type of protectiveness. You're acting like a jealous boyfriend or something. I'm succeeding where you and so many others obviously failed." Garrick just starts shaking his head. "No, I...I never...I never..." "Or maybe I'm succeeding in something you never had the guts to do at all? That's it isn't it? You've never made any sort of advance on her, and just admired her from afar since you were always secure in the fact that she always drove everyone away. I'm guessing perhaps you thought one day Tanya would come to you of her own accord and..." Now Garrick lifts up the table and flips it at you. For an older guy, he's certainly fit. "You think you know everything don't you? Well let me tell you something, you don't know shit. YOU are still a BOY and YOU are not worthy of Tanya." Garrick says getting in your face. "Okay. Then what would make me worthy...in your eyes?" you ask. Garrick starts laughing. "Are...are you actually asking me? You seem to have all the answers, you figure it out. But while you're trying to figure it out, go do what you're actually good at and go kill our enemies. GO! Get the fuck outta my sight!" You leave Garrick and exit the meeting room somewhat expecting there to be a few people hanging around outside listening to the conversation, but it would appear that nobody wanted to be around for Garrick's anger to be directed towards them as well. Not even Sneaks lingered behind. Since you didn't even get paired up with a full fledged Guild member, you suppose you could just go gather a few associates to help you, though you believe you're probably more than capable of performing the task yourself. Honestly though, you're ready to just dispense with the plan and do something else instead like try to kill Reginald. Those assholes have been targeting you anyway. Also seems like it would solve the problem a lot better than trying to be friends with him. Cutting off the head of a cult usually results in it falling apart. The problem of course is he isn't as easy to get to anymore. The secret passage to his home no longer exists as one person in the Guild soon learned when he tried to break in that way thinking that it would be an easy job and nearly got himself killed in the process. If there's another secret passage to the house, you have no idea where it is and it's probably better protected now. Which would mean a more traditional approach, but again, he's got security up the ass and has his own personal retinue of guards around his home. Perks of fucking minor nobility you suppose. In any case, you'd be doing this alone though because nobody would help you in this task. Say what you want about Garrick, but everyone listens to him and this would definitely be going against his plans. Though you do have another option, and that's going to the Ebony Claw Syndicate for help. Rook called off the hit and so far other than a few unavoidable skirmishes here and there, the EC has not been actively targeting you. You never thought you'd feel this way, but you've actually considered joining them lately mainly because things have been just so miserable in the Guild. If it weren't for Tanya, you probably would have done it already. Rook has never followed up on your last meeting, you don't know exactly what his game is, but you imagine if you come in for help, he's going to want that inside information on the Guild. > You kill Reginald yourself As much as you've been toying with the idea, you're still not quite sure about throwing your lot in with the EC yet. You're walking a pretty traitorous line as it is just by not telling anyone that they ever approached you, but then it isn't like you can exactly tell them, can you? Killing Reginald is going to take some scouting and planning. As far as you know the man is rarely ever leaving his house anymore or if he is, he's not seen doing it. Since you're not exactly getting any further with Tanya at the moment, Garrick's pissed at you and you're essentially doing your own thing, you might as well stay somewhere other than the Guild while you do this. You head to Hell's Own Inn since it's at least some place that you know and can consider hospitable. Bruno, the innkeeper nods when he sees you. Funny how you never really learned his name until after you stopped living here on a regular basis. "Hey Bruno, I'll have a room. My old one if it's currently available." You say. "A room? Thought you were living in the Guild quarters ever since they let you into inner circle." Bruno says. "Yeah well I've got something I need to do on my own and I can't be creeping in and out of sewers to do it. Where's Yinen, I might have a few things to trade with him." "Yinen? Haven't seen him in days." "You haven't seen him? He practically never leaves this place." "I know, which is why it's weird that I didn't even see him leave. Unless he left in the middle of the night, but none of the staff saw him leave either." "Nobody has thought to look into this?" "What am I going to do, call the Holgard Watch?" "No, but we could at least get somebody from the Guild or even one of the associates to look in on this. I mean he's one of our best fences. Seems like for all the Guild's talk of solidarity, they're dropping the ball on this one." "He hasn't been gone THAT long. I figured maybe he had a special delivery or deal to take care of elsewhere. If he's gone for much longer I guess one of the associates can go look for him." "What about Warts? He tends to not have much to do." "He's been gone longer than Yinen. Though I think in his case he's deliberately staying away. Last thing he mentioned to me is that bad things are going to happen here soon and he doesn't want to be around when they do. Can't say as I blame him either. I'm still surprised this place hasn't gotten hit yet by the Ebony Claw. What the hell is Garrick doing about them anyway? Because as far as I can tell, they're not dropping in presence." "I dunno, we've been taking the fight to them, but the rumors are that they're getting reinforcements from the Delantium Kingdom. Also, we've been having problems with cultists running around in the sewers." "Yeah, I've been reading about a couple of brutal murders in the paper that are thought to be the work of Neroth cultists. Actually, maybe that explains Yinen's disappearance. He always was a little nervous when it came to anything relating to Neroth. Maybe he took off like Warts did." "Maybe so. I feel like he might have told someone first. Guess he might have been really scared though." "In any case, you're in luck. Your old room is available, but I'll be needing some rent for it. Business is a little slow what with not many folks coming to visit the city as much now." "Are you kidding me? (Sigh) Fine. Whatever. Here, take this, but not a silver more." Bruno takes your payment and you head to your old room. You take a quick inventory of your equipment and make plans to go case Reginald's home, but then you hear noise outside and a quick peek out your window reveals that the Holgard Watch are putting down a group of dissidents and decide to stay put for a little while. That's been a more common sight too nowadays. Even on your way here, you were trying to avoid getting caught up the various groups of protesters that have been more frequent. Part of you wonders if Warts doesn't have the right idea, but at this point you've got a few loose ends that need to be tied up first. One of which is killing the head of this cult that's been trying to kill you. It's odd that you feel so strongly about this given that the EC was trying to kill you for years, but then maybe that's because you knew the EC was an enemy that from you can gather is much bigger than you could ever hope to fight. You consider it a victory that you even managed to get them to stop attacking you though you know you're going to have to deal with them again eventually. You just don't know how yet. These fanatics however, there's a limit to their power for now. Right now they've grown and if left unchecked, who knows, they may take over the city. Sure you could flee and maybe you'd be fine. But you might also be running for the rest of your life as cults tend to not be satisfied with staying in one place and love to spread. Add their desire to summon demons and such into that mix and it might be best to nip this in the bud right now. It's funny how you never really used to think that far ahead before, but you suppose you've seen and done a lot since your simple days in Teckleville. "Certainly hope you're having an easier time of it than I am sis." You say to yourself. Over the course of the next three days you make visits to Reginald's home and spend hours watching the place. You never see anyone come in or out of the place though. Indeed, you've never seen Reginald at all except from descriptions of him. Holgard Watch patrols the grounds night and day, but you don't see them ever enter the home either. You wonder if they even know what's going on in there or more likely they do, but don't care. Eventually you spend an entire day and night on a nearby rooftop watching the place, hoping that you'll see him come out. He never does though. In your state of weariness, you barely react in time to hear someone approaching. "You can put that away, it's just me. Glad to see you're more alert than you appear though." Tanya says when you spin around pointing your pistol at her. "What're you doing here? I sort of thought if anyone was going to check up on me, it would be Sneaks." You say putting your weapon down. "Hah, like you'd get him to climb up on rooftops, let alone jumping from them nowadays." "Guess you're right. So what do you want?" "What do I want? No comments about my beauty? No flirty statements? If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd finally shaken off the effects. So you must be in a really shitty mood." "What's the point? You've made it quite clear you're not interested and others have also made it quite clear as well, so why bother beating my head up against a wall?" Tanya doesn't answer you immediately as your answer has caught her off guard a bit. "What happened between you and Garrick after the meeting?" Tanya asks. "Nothing." You answer. "Doesn't seem like nothing considering you're disobeying orders. It seems to me you're trying to figure out a way to take out Reginald directly. That's why you've been spying on his house for the past few days." "Looks like I'm not the only one that's been spying." "I've been keeping track of what every main group is doing, don't flatter yourself." "Be that as it may, I thought the Guild was supposed to just be a loose alliance anyway and Garrick wasn't officially our boss. And if he isn't our boss, then that means I can do what the hell I want." "You know that's not exactly true." "Maybe not, but I'm not following orders this time. And it's not ONLY because these fuckers have been targeting me. These Neroth cultists are a bigger danger than the EC. Maybe they haven't been fucking with us as long, but if their leader or high priest or whatever is fucking the Baron's son then who is to say their goal isn't to turn the city into a theocracy? If something like that happens I can bet that there won't be any freedom to do anything here and they certainly aren't going to be dealing with the likes of us and quite frankly Garrick's an idiot if he believes he can somehow reason with them on some level, I've seen what the hell they do." "I see your point, but I somewhat understand his logic for attempting to make an alliance. However he's relying on something that I already told him isn't going to make a difference." "What do you mean?" "Well you said it yourself. They worship a dark god and are probably trying to summon infernal beings if they haven't done so already. I believe Garrick thinks that having me by his side if he ever got to meet with Reginald, would help since y'know...being half infernal and all." "Hm. Didn't consider that. Would that work?" "Probably not. I even told Garrick as much when he first approached me about the plan earlier. At best Reginald might temporarily ally in an effort to separate me from the rest of the Guild and probably attempt to convince me to join them and embrace my heritage or some shit. I don't even like...my condition. Last thing I want to do is embrace it. Already had to deal with that once before, don't feel like dealing with it again." "Deal with it again?" "Yes, and we're not talking about it. In any case, I'm here to help you in your plan, because I believe you're completely right about this. These cultists need to be destroyed and taking their leader out will at least severely lessen their power." You nod silence and with a somewhat uplifted spirit. "Thanks. I didn't expect any help, least of all from you." You say. "Well, we're on the same side aren't we? However, I do think YOU should get some rest before we attempt this. So you head back to Hells Own, get some sleep and tomorrow night, you and I will meet up outside here. In the meantime, I'm going to talk to Sneaks and few others to see if I can't get them to make a bit of extra distraction for Neroth's most loyal. I'm not going to let too many in on this plan though for obvious reasons." Tanya remarks. "Good idea, again thanks. I really appreciate this." "Hm, well off you go. We've got a big night tomorrow so be prepared as much as you can." You bid Tanya goodbye who just nods an acknowledgment and leaves. Since you've got your orders to rest, you climb down from your spot and head back to the inn. You get a couple of blocks and suddenly you feel like you're being watched. You start to look around, but nobody is around. You quicken your pace and a couple seconds later, you feel a crossbow in your back. "Shit." You say. "Don't turn around. Alley. Now." A familiar voice says. Once again you obey the man with the crossbow and enter the nearby alley where once again, you see Rook. "Glad we could meet again." Rook says. "It's not like I ever had a choice." You answer. "Not true! You could always choose to escape, I wouldn't bet on your chances, but you can't say you don't have a choice. You also have a choice to give me information on the location of the Thieves' Guild or not. I know for a fact you've long been a member of their inner circle so you should have lots of information on the layout along with the location." "Um...well...I don't know ALL of the layout...you see there was some debate about even letting me in, so they still don't trust me completely and as such they haven't allowed me full access." "No problem. Just the location will do. It's not ideal, but I have more than enough confidence that we'll be able to take it anyway." You're silent. You can't think of anyway to lie or stall. It's either betray the Guild or die. You feel the crossbow still in your back, Rook inspects you as you struggle with the morality of this decision. "Tell me, why do you hesitate? Do you have close friends in the Guild? I can only imagine that the answer is yes, because if the answer was no, you would be spilling your guts right now. In fact, you probably would have done so on our first meeting. It's obvious you have no real love for the organization itself because if you did, you wouldn't even be considering any of this in the first place. You would be a good little Guild soldier and tell me how you'd never betray Garrick or the Guild. At which point I'd stop wasting my time and kill you. So you must have emotional attachment to someone there. Tell me who it is, and perhaps an arrangement can be made." Rook says. "What sort of arrangement?" you ask. "The Ebony Claw doesn't like to waste potential talent. Or at least I don't, hence why we're having this pleasant conversation. If you can convince your friend or friends to join you in seeing that the future is the Ebony Claw, then I have no problem with them joining as well. Quite frankly, we'll probably need the manpower." "I don't think she..." Rook interrupts you and you realize you've already given away too much. "She? Oh wait...." Rook chuckles. "Of course. It's her isn't it? Garrick's little demonkin. This explains everything! Did you fall in love with her?" "Well I..." "Ha ha! You poor silly enchanted fool! She's half succubus you know. That's why you're all fucked up and not thinking straight. Why I'll bet if it wasn't for her charming everyone, Garrick wouldn't have half the people in his Guild." "She didn't enchant me! In fact she doesn't even like using her powers like that!" you say getting agitated and temporarily forgetting that you're at Rook's mercy. "Oh of course she doesn't. That's all part of her act. The puritanical demon seductress. Gets everyone hot an bothered and keeps them on a string by not actually putting out. How better to control the average man? I'll tell you what, we could use someone like her in the EC. Would make things easier to a certain extent." You don't say anything, while Rook continues to chuckle. "Okay, I'll give you a little more time because you seem to believe that yours is true love. If you do manage to convince the demonkin to join though, well that will just prove I was right in seeing your potential. However, I can't walk away from this meeting without nothing, so I still need you to do something for me or at least provide some sort of information." Rook responds. "What did you have in mind?" you ask. "I don't know, you tell me. A plan of some sort perhaps. I'll decide if it's important enough or not." Currently the Guild doesn't have any plans other than the one involving the Neroth worshippers and making it look like the EC are attacking them. The only other plan you can tell Rook is your plan directly against Reginald, you just aren't sure Rook's going to find that one important enough and you'll end up having give out the Guild's plan anyway. > You give away the Guild's plan Rook might be testing you to see if you'll lie to him or not. You'd rather not take that chance so you better just come clean now. "We're mounting an attack on the Neroth cultists because they've been fucking with us. More specifically, we're mounting an attack on the Neroth cultists and going to make it look like Syndicate did it. We're also going try to ally with them, though to be honest that's the shit part of the plan." You say. "I see. Well that is a very important bit of information. I thank you for telling me, though it would have been more impressive if I didn't have to initially pull it from you. No matter, give me the details and how you're involved exactly." "I'm not. I'm doing my own thing because I'm not really into Garrick's plan in the first place. The Neroth cultists have been targeting me specifically longer than they've been fucking with the Guild, so I was going to just go take out Reginald and be done with it." "Interesting. To be honest those Neroth worshipping assholes DO need to be dealt with. While some in the Ebony Claw don't consider them top priority, I see them as a potential problem in the future. Especially since we've started to have our own run ins with them. Though I may be a bit biased considering they did kidnap my cousin once. Oh, by the way, always meant to thank you for rescuing her." "Wait...you mean...Naji is..." "A whore that doesn't know what the hell she's doing with her life, but she's still my cousin and she should finally get a little justice. This city already has more than enough gods competing, and as a dedicated disciple to Fel, I see no reason why I shouldn't aid directly in their fall. Consider the Holgard Watch taken care of by tomorrow." "What, really?" "Yes. Obviously you're still going to have to kill Reginald and whatever fanatics he has in the house with him, but the Holgard Watch? They can always change loyalties and those that can't, well they'll be dealt with. Consider this another favor from your friends at the Ebony Claw." You silently acknowledge Rook's words. While this is certainly going to help you out, you're not sure if you're going to be able to afford all these "favors" when it comes time to pay up. "Well then I guess this concludes our business again. I suppose I'll be sending some of my people to start actively hunting down groups of Guild members based on the information you told me. Next time we see each other though, I trust you'll have that other vital information for me. Time is growing short you know, and I would hate to see you on the wrong side." Rook says and pats you hard on the side of your face a couple times before walking away. You soon no longer feel the crossbow at your back and that's when you know it's okay to move again. You make your way back to the inn where you're supposed to be getting some rest like Tanya suggested, but after your encounter with Rook, you're more wound up than ever. Eventually you do fall asleep and by the time you wake up, it's night and you're rushing to go meet Tanya. When you get the place you were going to meet you find that she's not there. You wait around for awhile, but still no sign of her. You wonder if she changed her mind, then you wonder if she went in already because you also noticed that Reginald's house doesn't have the extra Holgard Watch security around it. (Rook was true to his word) "Shit, I hope not. I've been standing around like a dumb ass if that's the case." You mutter and rush back down to street level again. You open the gate (which the guards helpfully left unlocked) and go to the front door which you lockpick with ease. You'd think even with the guards he would have gotten a better lock, but whatever makes your task easier. You slowly walk into the dimly lit foyer with your weapon drawn. You search the downstairs cautiously and methodically, but don't find any one. In the back of your mind you wish this was just a simple breaking and entering job because you're seeing a lot fancy decoration and you're sure Reginald has more portable valuables laying around in a safe or something somewhere. Still no sign of Tanya. You begin to worry if something happened to her if she came here at all. It also crosses you mind that it's possible she got held up before coming here. Rook did say he was sending some of his people to go actively hunt Guild members. For all you know she ran afoul of one of those groups or had to help other Guild members. While you're looking around for stairs to the cellar, you hear some thumping coming from the upstairs. Things have been more or less silent so far, so this it cause to give you alarm. You immediately head back to the large set of stairs that lead up in the foyer. As you're heading up the stairs, you notice that the lighting is becoming much darker. It's almost as if the candles from the chandelier are going out. You get to near the top of the landing and then it goes completely dark. You then feel several hands grab at you You manage to fire off your pistol once before several hands take it from you. "Fuck!" You say and begin to struggle. "Restrain the unbeliever!" "Don't kill him, this infidel must be properly sacrificed! Since you have no intention of going quietly, you fight your assailants. It's hard to see in the dark, but you're doing the best you can. Eventually you manage to get your arms free and draw your blade. You slash blindly, hitting someone before you try to make your way back downstairs. You're half way down the stairs with footsteps and yelling not far behind. You then suddenly feel a force of a person grabbing and tackling you with abandon. The pair of you goes rolling down the stairs and don't stop until you hit the bottom. You feel a sharp pain in your right leg when you try to move it. Doesn't take long before you realize it's broken. Your assailant was less lucky and managed to break his neck during the tumble down the stairs. That doesn't help you that much though since his body is partially holding you down and his buddies are already almost upon you. "Shit, he killed Daniel!" Gotta love the "outrage" by a bunch of demon worshippers, not to mention the fact that Daniel killed himself by tackling you in the first place! You crawl the best you can from out under Daniel's body and swing your blade at anyone coming near, but it's no use. There are just too many and despite hacking a couple of them at the legs, they soon begin stomping and kicking you. The best you can do is try to cover yourself until eventually one person tells them all to stop. You raise your head and see a man with a goatee in a red robe. A couple of other larger men in red robes stand behind him. Granted everyone around you is wearing red, but it's obvious that this is the one you were looking for. This is Reginald. He motions the others to pick you up which they do despite you struggling and the agony of a broken leg. Reginald walks towards you. "So, you've returned. I know you're the one that so rudely broke into my home and stole that girl years ago. We were a little pre-occupied in nabbing you before and you seem to be skilled enough to fight off our recent attempts. Not sure why you stupidly decided to believe you could get away with walking in here alone again, but you'll soon learn that was a very grave mistake. Going to have something very special planned for you." Before you can answer with some sort of defiant reply, two of the red robed assholes holding you go down to throwing daggers in their faces from above! Of course this also means you fall to the floor as well since your leg is broken and you can't stand. It's still dark, but even from your prone position and in your one eye that hasn't closed shut you can see a figure running about on the second floor balcony and throwing more daggers. It has to be Tanya. "Damnit, it's a full on assault! Take this asshole to the dungeons, the rest of you get whoever that is and be on the look out for others!" Reginald orders. Several cultists try to pick you up again, but you do everything you can to prevent them from doing so. Eventually you get walloped and kicked in the head enough times that you're unable to do much of anything except struggle to stay conscious. You're dragged across the floor and down some steps while the chaos of shouting and running is around you. Eventually you no longer feel a wooden floor but cold stone. As you are continually dragged across the cellar area, you are now starting to black out. Your only thoughts are that you hope Tanya will be okay and save your ass on top of everything else. Unfortunately, those are the last thoughts you ever have. The cultists dragging you to the dungeon cell aren't exactly being the most gentle and your already battered head takes a few more hits, then when they throw you in the cell, they give you a couple more kicks as well. You don't feel the pain any longer since you're unconscious by this point. It's just as well that you soon die from internal head trauma since Tanya isn't even successful in retrieving your body.

As much as you've been toying with the idea, you're still not quite sure about throwing your lot in with the EC yet. You're walking a pretty traitorous line as it is just by not telling anyone that they ever approached you, but then it isn't like you can exactly tell them, can you? Killing Reginald is going to take some scouting and planning. As far as you know the man is rarely ever leaving his house anymore or if he is, he's not seen doing it. Since you're not exactly getting any further with Tanya at the moment, Garrick's pissed at you and you're essentially doing your own thing, you might as well stay somewhere other than the Guild while you do this. You head to Hell's Own Inn since it's at least some place that you know and can consider hospitable. Bruno, the innkeeper nods when he sees you. Funny how you never really learned his name until after you stopped living here on a regular basis. "Hey Bruno, I'll have a room. My old one if it's currently available." You say. "A room? Thought you were living in the Guild quarters ever since they let you into inner circle." Bruno says. "Yeah well I've got something I need to do on my own and I can't be creeping in and out of sewers to do it. Where's Yinen, I might have a few things to trade with him." "Yinen? Haven't seen him in days." "You haven't seen him? He practically never leaves this place." "I know, which is why it's weird that I didn't even see him leave. Unless he left in the middle of the night, but none of the staff saw him leave either." "Nobody has thought to look into this?" "What am I going to do, call the Holgard Watch?" "No, but we could at least get somebody from the Guild or even one of the associates to look in on this. I mean he's one of our best fences. Seems like for all the Guild's talk of solidarity, they're dropping the ball on this one." "He hasn't been gone THAT long. I figured maybe he had a special delivery or deal to take care of elsewhere. If he's gone for much longer I guess one of the associates can go look for him." "What about Warts? He tends to not have much to do." "He's been gone longer than Yinen. Though I think in his case he's deliberately staying away. Last thing he mentioned to me is that bad things are going to happen here soon and he doesn't want to be around when they do. Can't say as I blame him either. I'm still surprised this place hasn't gotten hit yet by the Ebony Claw. What the hell is Garrick doing about them anyway? Because as far as I can tell, they're not dropping in presence." "I dunno, we've been taking the fight to them, but the rumors are that they're getting reinforcements from the Delantium Kingdom. Also, we've been having problems with cultists running around in the sewers." "Yeah, I've been reading about a couple of brutal murders in the paper that are thought to be the work of Neroth cultists. Actually, maybe that explains Yinen's disappearance. He always was a little nervous when it came to anything relating to Neroth. Maybe he took off like Warts did." "Maybe so. I feel like he might have told someone first. Guess he might have been really scared though." "In any case, you're in luck. Your old room is available, but I'll be needing some rent for it. Business is a little slow what with not many folks coming to visit the city as much now." "Are you kidding me? (Sigh) Fine. Whatever. Here, take this, but not a silver more." Bruno takes your payment and you head to your old room. You take a quick inventory of your equipment and make plans to go case Reginald's home, but then you hear noise outside and a quick peek out your window reveals that the Holgard Watch are putting down a group of dissidents and decide to stay put for a little while. That's been a more common sight too nowadays. Even on your way here, you were trying to avoid getting caught up the various groups of protesters that have been more frequent. Part of you wonders if Warts doesn't have the right idea, but at this point you've got a few loose ends that need to be tied up first. One of which is killing the head of this cult that's been trying to kill you. It's odd that you feel so strongly about this given that the EC was trying to kill you for years, but then maybe that's because you knew the EC was an enemy that from you can gather is much bigger than you could ever hope to fight. You consider it a victory that you even managed to get them to stop attacking you though you know you're going to have to deal with them again eventually. You just don't know how yet. These fanatics however, there's a limit to their power for now. Right now they've grown and if left unchecked, who knows, they may take over the city. Sure you could flee and maybe you'd be fine. But you might also be running for the rest of your life as cults tend to not be satisfied with staying in one place and love to spread. Add their desire to summon demons and such into that mix and it might be best to nip this in the bud right now. It's funny how you never really used to think that far ahead before, but you suppose you've seen and done a lot since your simple days in Teckleville. "Certainly hope you're having an easier time of it than I am sis." You say to yourself. Over the course of the next three days you make visits to Reginald's home and spend hours watching the place. You never see anyone come in or out of the place though. Indeed, you've never seen Reginald at all except from descriptions of him. Holgard Watch patrols the grounds night and day, but you don't see them ever enter the home either. You wonder if they even know what's going on in there or more likely they do, but don't care. Eventually you spend an entire day and night on a nearby rooftop watching the place, hoping that you'll see him come out. He never does though. In your state of weariness, you barely react in time to hear someone approaching. "You can put that away, it's just me. Glad to see you're more alert than you appear though." Tanya says when you spin around pointing your pistol at her. "What're you doing here? I sort of thought if anyone was going to check up on me, it would be Sneaks." You say putting your weapon down. "Hah, like you'd get him to climb up on rooftops, let alone jumping from them nowadays." "Guess you're right. So what do you want?" "What do I want? No comments about my beauty? No flirty statements? If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd finally shaken off the effects. So you must be in a really shitty mood." "What's the point? You've made it quite clear you're not interested and others have also made it quite clear as well, so why bother beating my head up against a wall?" Tanya doesn't answer you immediately as your answer has caught her off guard a bit. "What happened between you and Garrick after the meeting?" Tanya asks. "Nothing." You answer. "Doesn't seem like nothing considering you're disobeying orders. It seems to me you're trying to figure out a way to take out Reginald directly. That's why you've been spying on his house for the past few days." "Looks like I'm not the only one that's been spying." "I've been keeping track of what every main group is doing, don't flatter yourself." "Be that as it may, I thought the Guild was supposed to just be a loose alliance anyway and Garrick wasn't officially our boss. And if he isn't our boss, then that means I can do what the hell I want." "You know that's not exactly true." "Maybe not, but I'm not following orders this time. And it's not ONLY because these fuckers have been targeting me. These Neroth cultists are a bigger danger than the EC. Maybe they haven't been fucking with us as long, but if their leader or high priest or whatever is fucking the Baron's son then who is to say their goal isn't to turn the city into a theocracy? If something like that happens I can bet that there won't be any freedom to do anything here and they certainly aren't going to be dealing with the likes of us and quite frankly Garrick's an idiot if he believes he can somehow reason with them on some level, I've seen what the hell they do." "I see your point, but I somewhat understand his logic for attempting to make an alliance. However he's relying on something that I already told him isn't going to make a difference." "What do you mean?" "Well you said it yourself. They worship a dark god and are probably trying to summon infernal beings if they haven't done so already. I believe Garrick thinks that having me by his side if he ever got to meet with Reginald, would help since y'know...being half infernal and all." "Hm. Didn't consider that. Would that work?" "Probably not. I even told Garrick as much when he first approached me about the plan earlier. At best Reginald might temporarily ally in an effort to separate me from the rest of the Guild and probably attempt to convince me to join them and embrace my heritage or some shit. I don't even like...my condition. Last thing I want to do is embrace it. Already had to deal with that once before, don't feel like dealing with it again." "Deal with it again?" "Yes, and we're not talking about it. In any case, I'm here to help you in your plan, because I believe you're completely right about this. These cultists need to be destroyed and taking their leader out will at least severely lessen their power." You nod silence and with a somewhat uplifted spirit. "Thanks. I didn't expect any help, least of all from you." You say. "Well, we're on the same side aren't we? However, I do think YOU should get some rest before we attempt this. So you head back to Hells Own, get some sleep and tomorrow night, you and I will meet up outside here. In the meantime, I'm going to talk to Sneaks and few others to see if I can't get them to make a bit of extra distraction for Neroth's most loyal. I'm not going to let too many in on this plan though for obvious reasons." Tanya remarks. "Good idea, again thanks. I really appreciate this." "Hm, well off you go. We've got a big night tomorrow so be prepared as much as you can." You bid Tanya goodbye who just nods an acknowledgment and leaves. Since you've got your orders to rest, you climb down from your spot and head back to the inn. You get a couple of blocks and suddenly you feel like you're being watched. You start to look around, but nobody is around. You quicken your pace and a couple seconds later, you feel a crossbow in your back. "Shit." You say. "Don't turn around. Alley. Now." A familiar voice says. Once again you obey the man with the crossbow and enter the nearby alley where once again, you see Rook. "Glad we could meet again." Rook says. "It's not like I ever had a choice." You answer. "Not true! You could always choose to escape, I wouldn't bet on your chances, but you can't say you don't have a choice. You also have a choice to give me information on the location of the Thieves' Guild or not. I know for a fact you've long been a member of their inner circle so you should have lots of information on the layout along with the location." "Um...well...I don't know ALL of the layout...you see there was some debate about even letting me in, so they still don't trust me completely and as such they haven't allowed me full access." "No problem. Just the location will do. It's not ideal, but I have more than enough confidence that we'll be able to take it anyway." You're silent. You can't think of anyway to lie or stall. It's either betray the Guild or die. You feel the crossbow still in your back, Rook inspects you as you struggle with the morality of this decision. "Tell me, why do you hesitate? Do you have close friends in the Guild? I can only imagine that the answer is yes, because if the answer was no, you would be spilling your guts right now. In fact, you probably would have done so on our first meeting. It's obvious you have no real love for the organization itself because if you did, you wouldn't even be considering any of this in the first place. You would be a good little Guild soldier and tell me how you'd never betray Garrick or the Guild. At which point I'd stop wasting my time and kill you. So you must have emotional attachment to someone there. Tell me who it is, and perhaps an arrangement can be made." Rook says. "What sort of arrangement?" you ask. "The Ebony Claw doesn't like to waste potential talent. Or at least I don't, hence why we're having this pleasant conversation. If you can convince your friend or friends to join you in seeing that the future is the Ebony Claw, then I have no problem with them joining as well. Quite frankly, we'll probably need the manpower." "I don't think she..." Rook interrupts you and you realize you've already given away too much. "She? Oh wait...." Rook chuckles. "Of course. It's her isn't it? Garrick's little demonkin. This explains everything! Did you fall in love with her?" "Well I..." "Ha ha! You poor silly enchanted fool! She's half succubus you know. That's why you're all fucked up and not thinking straight. Why I'll bet if it wasn't for her charming everyone, Garrick wouldn't have half the people in his Guild." "She didn't enchant me! In fact she doesn't even like using her powers like that!" you say getting agitated and temporarily forgetting that you're at Rook's mercy. "Oh of course she doesn't. That's all part of her act. The puritanical demon seductress. Gets everyone hot an bothered and keeps them on a string by not actually putting out. How better to control the average man? I'll tell you what, we could use someone like her in the EC. Would make things easier to a certain extent." You don't say anything, while Rook continues to chuckle. "Okay, I'll give you a little more time because you seem to believe that yours is true love. If you do manage to convince the demonkin to join though, well that will just prove I was right in seeing your potential. However, I can't walk away from this meeting without nothing, so I still need you to do something for me or at least provide some sort of information." Rook responds. "What did you have in mind?" you ask. "I don't know, you tell me. A plan of some sort perhaps. I'll decide if it's important enough or not." Currently the Guild doesn't have any plans other than the one involving the Neroth worshippers and making it look like the EC are attacking them. The only other plan you can tell Rook is your plan directly against Reginald, you just aren't sure Rook's going to find that one important enough and you'll end up having give out the Guild's plan anyway. > You give away your own plan You're pretty much fucked either way, but you're going to gamble that Rook will be satisfied with revealing your plan, with some embellishments of course. "Garrick sent me on a mission to kill Reginald." "The cult leader that seduced his way into high society? Interesting." "Yes, the Neroth cult is getting out of hand and the Guild is having severe problems with them so I was ordered to take out the leader. Been spending a few days staking out his home in an effort to figure out the best approach, but he's got guards every fucking where." "Hmm, I see. To be honest those Neroth worshipping assholes DO need to be dealt with. While some in the Ebony Claw don't consider them top priority, I see them as a potential problem in the future. Especially since we've started to have our own run ins with them. Though I may be a bit biased considering they did kidnap my cousin once. Oh, by the way, always meant to thank you for rescuing her." "Wait...you mean...Naji is..." "A whore that doesn't know what the hell she's doing with her life, but she's still my cousin and she should finally get a little justice. So while normally I would love to see two enemies kill each other and making things a lot easier for us, it would be best if the followers of Neroth were curtailed. This city already has more than enough gods competing, and as a dedicated disciple to Fel, I see no reason why I shouldn't aid directly in their fall. Consider the Holgard Watch taken care of by tomorrow." "What, really?" "Yes. Obviously you're still going to have to kill Reginald and whatever fanatics he has in the house with him, but the Holgard Watch? They can always change loyalties and those that can't, well they'll be dealt with. Consider this another favor from your friends at the Ebony Claw." You silently acknowledge Rook's words. While this is certainly going to help you out, you're not sure if you're going to be able to afford all these "favors" when it comes time to pay up. "Well then I guess this concludes our business again. Next time we see each other, I trust you'll have that vital information for me. Time is growing short you know, and I would hate to see you on the wrong side." Rook says and pats you hard on the side of your face a couple times before walking away. You soon no longer feel the crossbow at your back and that's when you know it's okay to move again. You make your way back to the inn where you're supposed to be getting some rest like Tanya suggested, but after your encounter with Rook, you're more wound up than ever. Eventually you do fall asleep and by the time you wake up, it's night and you're rushing to go meet Tanya. She's of course on the rooftop where you were yesterday. "I was expecting you here earlier, it's not like you to leave things at the last moment." Tanya remarks. "I guess I was more tired than I thought." You say. "I nearly went in before you, because a perfect opportunity just opened up ten minutes ago. All of the guards left." "What?" "All of the guards just left. I saw a couple of them speak to each other and then one called to some of the others and they all just collectively left. I couldn't believe it myself. That's why I was hoping you'd hurry up since who knows how long they'll be gone." Well looks like Rook wasn't a liar and he came through. Almost makes you start to wonder WHY he's being so helpful. He doesn't fit what you know about the EC at all. True, this is probably just all to get you to rat on the Guild, but it still seems above and beyond. Of course he might think now that you'll be able to talk Tanya into switching sides too. He didn't seem convinced you'd be able to do it, but then maybe it's a small effort on his part for large potential gain. Honestly, you aren't even sure how or if you'd ever be able to approach the subject with Tanya. As far as you know she's always been pretty dedicated to the Guild even if she's aloof to most of the members. But this is a problem for another time; right now you've got a cult priest to assassinate. Tanya says she's still going with her original plan of leaping to the roof of the house and breaking in that way. You doubt if you could make it since the distance is a little farther than average, but then you aren't blessed with infernal blood allowing you to do shit like that. You say you're going to just go in the front door now that everyone is gone. Assuming he's not in the cellar or not there at all, you're guessing you'll be able to catch him upstairs or down. Besides the unknown factor of his location, there's also the unknown factor of what abilities he has or what else is in the house. At best you're hoping he's just some mouthpiece for bloodthirsty cult. At worst he's going to be summoning demons and have all sorts of other dark magic at his disposal. You make your way down to street level again, open the gate (which the guards helpfully left unlocked) and go to the front door which you lockpick with ease. You'd think even with the guards he would have gotten a better lock, but whatever makes your task easier. You slowly walk into the dimly lit foyer with your weapon drawn. You search the downstairs cautiously and methodically, but don't find any one. In the back of your mind you wish this was just a simple breaking and entering job because you're seeing a lot fancy decoration and you're sure Reginald has more portable valuables laying around in a safe or something somewhere. While you're looking around for stairs to the cellar, you hear some thumping coming from the upstairs. Things have been more or less silent so far, so this it cause to give you alarm. You immediately head back to the large set of stairs that lead up in the foyer. As you're heading up the stairs, you notice that the lighting is becoming much darker. It's almost as if the candles from the chandelier are going out. You get to near the top of the landing and then it goes completely dark. "Oh shit." You say to yourself and immediately turn your head towards the direction of the chandelier. Then when you turn your head back forward, you nearly fall backwards when you see Tanya standing right in front of you. "Fuck!" you utter out loud and then Tanya grabs your tunic so you don't fall. "Thanks." You say. Tanya doesn't seem to acknowledge your gratitude though; instead she pulls you closer to her. At this distance, even in the darkness, you can make out her normally shrouded face. The first time you saw it at this range you were partially enchanted. This time is no different, but you're still aware enough that this isn't normal behavior for her, especially in these circumstances. "Tanya?" you utter. You get no answer, what you do get is a kiss on your lips. The feeling is unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's very pleasant, but as it goes on, you start to feel weak. In fact you try to pull away, but when you do so, Tanya's eyes glow red, she makes a growling sound and then shoves your away. You tumble down the stairs and while you fortunately don't break anything, you unfortunately smack your head so hard you're dazed. If you could actually see anything in this darkness, you'd probably be seeing double. You hear a bunch of footsteps and then you feel a couple sets of hands lifting you up and finally a fist coming straight at your face. When you wake up, you're in a cell, completely naked. A brief look at your surroundings and you know exactly where you are. It's the torture chamber where you saved Naji. In fact, you're in the exact same cell. You look around, but there's nothing in your cell that you find useful, you do notice that there is someone else in the next cell over. They're sitting in a corner rocking back and forth mumbling. While the person has obviously been through hell and you've definitely never seen this person naked before, the face and hair are still recognizable despite some of the fresh wounds. You can hardly believe it. "Yinen?" you ask. Yinen briefly looks at you and while he knows who you are, he returns to his rocking and mumbling. You can't even tell what he's saying, but he sounds like he saying something religious. You hear Joachim's name being mentioned a few times. Well this explains where Yinen has been. Poor bastard's probably been tortured for quite awhile. You still don't know what happened with Tanya either. Was a spell cast on her? She is half succubus, was the "presence of Neroth" forcing her to act more within her nature? You don't know, but what you do know is you need to get the hell out of here. You're not filled with confidence that you're going to survive whatever is to come, but you sure hope whatever they have planned its quick. Grabing a hold of the door in a vain attempt to open it and feeling a little hopeless yourself, you say your own prayer though yours is more along the lines of "I sure hope Yag is throwing a seven for me tonight." "Ah, prayer! The last refuge of a scoundrel as they say. I've always disagreed with that though. Prayer can be a powerful tool. I should know as my dark father has blessed me with much since my dedicated prayer to him." A voice says. You turn your head and see a man with a goatee in a red robe. A couple of other larger men in red robes stand behind him. "However I think you shall find that your prayers will go unanswered here. Neroth holds complete sway as he soon will over this city and eventually the world!" Given his superior attitude and boasting, you can only imagine this is Reginald. He gives you a look that reminds you of that fat perverted merchant you had to kill years ago. You instinctively cover yourself. "Oh we have a shy one do we? I must say, you shouldn't be, given your body. However, as much as I would love to throw you over the altar in front of my congregation and introduce my dick to your ass while slitting your throat as I released, I've got something better planned for you." Reginald remarks. "Hope its better than ass rape." You say. "Hah. Depends on your viewpoint I suppose. I know you're the one that so rudely broke into my home and stole that girl years ago. We were a little pre-occupied in nabbing you before and you seem to be skilled enough to fight off our recent attempts. However when you walked in here of your own accord, and with that infernal spawn...well that almost makes up for all the years you were able to go on breathing." Reginald motions the two large men to open the cell door. You back up ready to fight, though Reginald shakes his head and makes some gestures with his hand and your body completely tenses up like you're paralyzed. "We don't have time for that, important work must be done. That half-breed you walked in with has only begun to realize the untapped potential of her powers. Honestly, I don't know how she has managed to suppress her infernal side for so long. Most daughters of true succubi by her age have long since gone on to embrace their infernal heritage. This one was obviously lost, but no more." Reginald says. "What did you do to her?" you ask as the two men grab your arms and start dragging you out. "Me? I did nothing other than speak a few truths to her guided by Neroth's wisdom, though as I said, his presence in this house is stronger than most. I believe she felt it, just as all who follow do. However, she's still not complete, that's where you will come in. She will complete her transformation with you as the sacrifice and we will ALL witness it, and it shall be glorious to see a higher being achieve freedom!" Reginald motions the two men to drag you to the room with the altar and large pentagram on the floor. When you enter, you're thrown into said pentagram. A crowd of red robed individuals watches silently. When you get your head up off the floor, the paralysis is wearing off, but now you see Tanya in front of you looking at you like a predator with its prey. She definitely doesn't seem like herself. "Daughter of Neroth! Embrace your true heritage and kill this sacrifice in the name of your dark father! We shall all bask in the glory of your transformation!" Reginald shouts followed by several of his followers. You manage to stand up, but you doubt if you're going to be much match for Tanya. Even if you weren't naked and unarmed, you probably wouldn't be a match. Despite the fact that death is most likely imminent, you've still got this unnatural attraction to Tanya, or rather genuine attraction, but unnatural due to the situation at hand. This is really looking like the end for you, unless you can come up with something. > You try to reason with Tanya You'd never be able to take her in a fight, your only chance is talk your way out of this. Try to make her remember who she is and not what these cultists are trying to make her. "Tanya, it's me! You gotta snap out of this! These people are trying to control you!" you say. Tanya however isn't responsive; she just approaches in a seductive way that is making it very hard for you to focus on anything else except the obvious. Tanya moves closer to you and runs her fingers through your hair and then lifts your head up with one hand and puts another hand to her lips in a "shhhhh" motion. It's apparent she's toying with you like a cat would with a mouse. "Tanya, you...have to remember..." you utter and then Tanya shuts you up with one of her kisses. You can't resist. You embrace Tanya as she guides you down to the floor, still continuing to press her lips against yours. And once again you begin to feel the effects of her succubus kiss. Tanya mounts you and begins grinding her body into yours. While it's everything you ever hoped it would be, a part of you still knows this is killing you. Meanwhile the chanting of the Neroth cultists grows louder. "Tanya..." She doesn't answer you, she just continues with her actions which are now beginning to get faster and rougher. Her eyes glow red once again and she slams your arms down to the floor. You can feel her talons digging into your flesh. The mixture of pain and pleasure is almost too much to handle. You begin to feel very drained and dyhydrated. You gasp for Tanya to stop, but she doesn't. She has now taken on a less human looking appearance and the noises she's making definitely aren't loving moans of ecstasy. "DAUGHTER OF NEROTH FINISH OFF THIS INFIDEL AND EMBRACE YOUR TRUE NATURE AT LAST!" Reginald shouts above the rest of the chanting. Tanya looks down at you and even in your hazy condition you no longer see any glimpse of the girl you knew in her eyes any longer. All that remains is a beast out for blood. Tanya quenches that desire when she brings her fangs down on your throat and rips it out. The mercy of a quick death was perhaps her last gift to you.

You're pretty much fucked either way, but you're going to gamble that Rook will be satisfied with revealing your plan, with some embellishments of course. "Garrick sent me on a mission to kill Reginald." "The cult leader that seduced his way into high society? Interesting." "Yes, the Neroth cult is getting out of hand and the Guild is having severe problems with them so I was ordered to take out the leader. Been spending a few days staking out his home in an effort to figure out the best approach, but he's got guards every fucking where." "Hmm, I see. To be honest those Neroth worshipping assholes DO need to be dealt with. While some in the Ebony Claw don't consider them top priority, I see them as a potential problem in the future. Especially since we've started to have our own run ins with them. Though I may be a bit biased considering they did kidnap my cousin once. Oh, by the way, always meant to thank you for rescuing her." "Wait...you mean...Naji is..." "A whore that doesn't know what the hell she's doing with her life, but she's still my cousin and she should finally get a little justice. So while normally I would love to see two enemies kill each other and making things a lot easier for us, it would be best if the followers of Neroth were curtailed. This city already has more than enough gods competing, and as a dedicated disciple to Fel, I see no reason why I shouldn't aid directly in their fall. Consider the Holgard Watch taken care of by tomorrow." "What, really?" "Yes. Obviously you're still going to have to kill Reginald and whatever fanatics he has in the house with him, but the Holgard Watch? They can always change loyalties and those that can't, well they'll be dealt with. Consider this another favor from your friends at the Ebony Claw." You silently acknowledge Rook's words. While this is certainly going to help you out, you're not sure if you're going to be able to afford all these "favors" when it comes time to pay up. "Well then I guess this concludes our business again. Next time we see each other, I trust you'll have that vital information for me. Time is growing short you know, and I would hate to see you on the wrong side." Rook says and pats you hard on the side of your face a couple times before walking away. You soon no longer feel the crossbow at your back and that's when you know it's okay to move again. You make your way back to the inn where you're supposed to be getting some rest like Tanya suggested, but after your encounter with Rook, you're more wound up than ever. Eventually you do fall asleep and by the time you wake up, it's night and you're rushing to go meet Tanya. She's of course on the rooftop where you were yesterday. "I was expecting you here earlier, it's not like you to leave things at the last moment." Tanya remarks. "I guess I was more tired than I thought." You say. "I nearly went in before you, because a perfect opportunity just opened up ten minutes ago. All of the guards left." "What?" "All of the guards just left. I saw a couple of them speak to each other and then one called to some of the others and they all just collectively left. I couldn't believe it myself. That's why I was hoping you'd hurry up since who knows how long they'll be gone." Well looks like Rook wasn't a liar and he came through. Almost makes you start to wonder WHY he's being so helpful. He doesn't fit what you know about the EC at all. True, this is probably just all to get you to rat on the Guild, but it still seems above and beyond. Of course he might think now that you'll be able to talk Tanya into switching sides too. He didn't seem convinced you'd be able to do it, but then maybe it's a small effort on his part for large potential gain. Honestly, you aren't even sure how or if you'd ever be able to approach the subject with Tanya. As far as you know she's always been pretty dedicated to the Guild even if she's aloof to most of the members. But this is a problem for another time; right now you've got a cult priest to assassinate. Tanya says she's still going with her original plan of leaping to the roof of the house and breaking in that way. You doubt if you could make it since the distance is a little farther than average, but then you aren't blessed with infernal blood allowing you to do shit like that. You say you're going to just go in the front door now that everyone is gone. Assuming he's not in the cellar or not there at all, you're guessing you'll be able to catch him upstairs or down. Besides the unknown factor of his location, there's also the unknown factor of what abilities he has or what else is in the house. At best you're hoping he's just some mouthpiece for bloodthirsty cult. At worst he's going to be summoning demons and have all sorts of other dark magic at his disposal. You make your way down to street level again, open the gate (which the guards helpfully left unlocked) and go to the front door which you lockpick with ease. You'd think even with the guards he would have gotten a better lock, but whatever makes your task easier. You slowly walk into the dimly lit foyer with your weapon drawn. You search the downstairs cautiously and methodically, but don't find any one. In the back of your mind you wish this was just a simple breaking and entering job because you're seeing a lot fancy decoration and you're sure Reginald has more portable valuables laying around in a safe or something somewhere. While you're looking around for stairs to the cellar, you hear some thumping coming from the upstairs. Things have been more or less silent so far, so this it cause to give you alarm. You immediately head back to the large set of stairs that lead up in the foyer. As you're heading up the stairs, you notice that the lighting is becoming much darker. It's almost as if the candles from the chandelier are going out. You get to near the top of the landing and then it goes completely dark. "Oh shit." You say to yourself and immediately turn your head towards the direction of the chandelier. Then when you turn your head back forward, you nearly fall backwards when you see Tanya standing right in front of you. "Fuck!" you utter out loud and then Tanya grabs your tunic so you don't fall. "Thanks." You say. Tanya doesn't seem to acknowledge your gratitude though; instead she pulls you closer to her. At this distance, even in the darkness, you can make out her normally shrouded face. The first time you saw it at this range you were partially enchanted. This time is no different, but you're still aware enough that this isn't normal behavior for her, especially in these circumstances. "Tanya?" you utter. You get no answer, what you do get is a kiss on your lips. The feeling is unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's very pleasant, but as it goes on, you start to feel weak. In fact you try to pull away, but when you do so, Tanya's eyes glow red, she makes a growling sound and then shoves your away. You tumble down the stairs and while you fortunately don't break anything, you unfortunately smack your head so hard you're dazed. If you could actually see anything in this darkness, you'd probably be seeing double. You hear a bunch of footsteps and then you feel a couple sets of hands lifting you up and finally a fist coming straight at your face. When you wake up, you're in a cell, completely naked. A brief look at your surroundings and you know exactly where you are. It's the torture chamber where you saved Naji. In fact, you're in the exact same cell. You look around, but there's nothing in your cell that you find useful, you do notice that there is someone else in the next cell over. They're sitting in a corner rocking back and forth mumbling. While the person has obviously been through hell and you've definitely never seen this person naked before, the face and hair are still recognizable despite some of the fresh wounds. You can hardly believe it. "Yinen?" you ask. Yinen briefly looks at you and while he knows who you are, he returns to his rocking and mumbling. You can't even tell what he's saying, but he sounds like he saying something religious. You hear Joachim's name being mentioned a few times. Well this explains where Yinen has been. Poor bastard's probably been tortured for quite awhile. You still don't know what happened with Tanya either. Was a spell cast on her? She is half succubus, was the "presence of Neroth" forcing her to act more within her nature? You don't know, but what you do know is you need to get the hell out of here. You're not filled with confidence that you're going to survive whatever is to come, but you sure hope whatever they have planned its quick. Grabing a hold of the door in a vain attempt to open it and feeling a little hopeless yourself, you say your own prayer though yours is more along the lines of "I sure hope Yag is throwing a seven for me tonight." "Ah, prayer! The last refuge of a scoundrel as they say. I've always disagreed with that though. Prayer can be a powerful tool. I should know as my dark father has blessed me with much since my dedicated prayer to him." A voice says. You turn your head and see a man with a goatee in a red robe. A couple of other larger men in red robes stand behind him. "However I think you shall find that your prayers will go unanswered here. Neroth holds complete sway as he soon will over this city and eventually the world!" Given his superior attitude and boasting, you can only imagine this is Reginald. He gives you a look that reminds you of that fat perverted merchant you had to kill years ago. You instinctively cover yourself. "Oh we have a shy one do we? I must say, you shouldn't be, given your body. However, as much as I would love to throw you over the altar in front of my congregation and introduce my dick to your ass while slitting your throat as I released, I've got something better planned for you." Reginald remarks. "Hope its better than ass rape." You say. "Hah. Depends on your viewpoint I suppose. I know you're the one that so rudely broke into my home and stole that girl years ago. We were a little pre-occupied in nabbing you before and you seem to be skilled enough to fight off our recent attempts. However when you walked in here of your own accord, and with that infernal spawn...well that almost makes up for all the years you were able to go on breathing." Reginald motions the two large men to open the cell door. You back up ready to fight, though Reginald shakes his head and makes some gestures with his hand and your body completely tenses up like you're paralyzed. "We don't have time for that, important work must be done. That half-breed you walked in with has only begun to realize the untapped potential of her powers. Honestly, I don't know how she has managed to suppress her infernal side for so long. Most daughters of true succubi by her age have long since gone on to embrace their infernal heritage. This one was obviously lost, but no more." Reginald says. "What did you do to her?" you ask as the two men grab your arms and start dragging you out. "Me? I did nothing other than speak a few truths to her guided by Neroth's wisdom, though as I said, his presence in this house is stronger than most. I believe she felt it, just as all who follow do. However, she's still not complete, that's where you will come in. She will complete her transformation with you as the sacrifice and we will ALL witness it, and it shall be glorious to see a higher being achieve freedom!" Reginald motions the two men to drag you to the room with the altar and large pentagram on the floor. When you enter, you're thrown into said pentagram. A crowd of red robed individuals watches silently. When you get your head up off the floor, the paralysis is wearing off, but now you see Tanya in front of you looking at you like a predator with its prey. She definitely doesn't seem like herself. "Daughter of Neroth! Embrace your true heritage and kill this sacrifice in the name of your dark father! We shall all bask in the glory of your transformation!" Reginald shouts followed by several of his followers. You manage to stand up, but you doubt if you're going to be much match for Tanya. Even if you weren't naked and unarmed, you probably wouldn't be a match. Despite the fact that death is most likely imminent, you've still got this unnatural attraction to Tanya, or rather genuine attraction, but unnatural due to the situation at hand. This is really looking like the end for you, unless you can come up with something. > You fight for your life While talking might work under normal circumstances, you're literally having a hard enough time trying to focus on your own sense of self-preservation because part of you wants to just embrace her and go out fucking if your semi-erection is any indication. You're probably going to die anyway, but at least in your head you can take comfort in the fact that you tried. "Tanya...Tanya...please...." You say and hang your head down in an effort to look defeated. Tanya moves closer to you and runs her fingers through your hair and then lifts your head up with one hand and puts another hand to her lips in a "shhhhh" motion. It's apparent she's toying with you like a cat would with a mouse, but something about it is very alluring. So much so that you almost forget to punch her right in the face. This is more than enough to surprise her and cause her reel back a bit. You immediately look around for a way to escape. However the crowd is converging on you, including Reginald, but he's instead telling everyone to back off. "No! Let her finish him off! His impotent fighting will only prolong the inevitable and make her transformation all the more sweeter as she will tear him apart with no mercy!" he shouts. By this point Tanya has recovered and with how pissed she looks right now Reginald may be right on that last part. You stand your ground with your fists up, and Tanya runs towards you. You throw another punch, but she dodges and gives you a swift punch to your stomach and knocks all the wind out of you. Now while you're hunched over trying to catch your breath, she grabs your throat with one hand and your balls with the other. Just as you're thinking you're going to be soon singing soprano, something unexpected happens. Instead of crushing your manhood, she instead lifts you up over her head, not that this isn't still painful of course. But the next thing she does is even more unexpected. Instead of slamming you into the floor or something similar she instead throws you at Reginald who is taken completely off guard by this. "Wha fuck!" he utters before you go crashing into him. With you and Reginald on the floor, the congregation is now really getting agitated. Those two large cultists that dragged you from the cell immediately go to get you off of Reginald, but before they can, you hear grunts and howls of pain as Tanya has stabbed them both. Blood has now sprayed all over the place and you feel the crushing weight of a dead body falling on you. "You and that half breed bitch will pay for this! Kill them both!" Reginald shouts. Reginald isn't exactly in the best position to give any orders however as he's in an even worse position than you since he's now buried under two bodies rather than just yours. He struggles to get his arms free and while you're trying to do the same you get another idea. Your head is at his chest level right now, and mustering all your strength you manage to move your entire body forward and slam the top of your head up into his jaw repeatedly. He tries to stop you, but he still can't get his arms entirely free. You're naked and you've got one dead man on top of you and you're currently rubbing up against another one trying kill you, if someone had told you that you'd ever be in this situation you never would have believed it. Eventually you break his jaw causing him to moan and wail, or at least the best he can do with a broken jaw. You take the opportunity to roll sideway and wiggle out from under the dead cultist. You catch a few short punches to your side, but you eventually get free. Reginald despite being in pain begins to do likewise. Wasting no time, you take advantage of his still prone position and use the heel of your foot to bring it down on Reginald's nose. If you didn't break it the first time, you certainly do the second. By the third and forth time you've stomped it into mush. Your balls still ache, the top of your head is sore, your foot hurts like hell and you're pretty sure you've got a bone fragment in it, but Reginald is currently choking on his own blood and struggling to breath with a mashed up nose and broken jaw so you're currently doing much better than he is. You take his head and start smashing it as hard as you can on the stone floor. Reginald tries to feebly stop you, but he's too weak at this point and with the back of his skull being caved in and his brains starting to leak out of his head he soon loses consciousness forever. After finishing the bloody deed, you take a moment to catch your breath. You finally get a chance to be more aware of your surroundings and see Tanya has been making short work of the remaining cultists that have still stuck around. After finishing off the last cultist she turns to face you and once again you're still a little concerned about as you have no idea if she's actually still on your side again or she just decided to go on killing rampage. "Well don't just stand there with a stupid look on your face, we need to get the hell out here and at least take a robe off of one of these assholes and put it on. I've seen way more of you than I ever wanted to!" She appears to be back to normal. "Wait a minute, what the hell happened to you a few moments ago? In fact what the hell happened to you period?" "I...I don't want to talk about it, look we need to get the fuck outta here. I don't like it here and I don't...feel right just being here. We need to fucking go NOW." "Alright, alright, shit...robe...robe..." As you're stripping off a robe of one of the corpses, Tanya's looking around as if she's expecting more trouble. While that might very well be the case, you can tell it's more than that. "Shit! Yinen! He's still in the fucking cage back there, we need to let him out." You say as you're putting on the robe. "What? I don't have the damn keys and we don't have time to search all these fuckers." Tanya exclaims. "Well I'd pick the lock, but it's not like I have a lockpick anymore, do you have any?" "Here, but hurry the hell up I'm not sticking around here any longer than I have to." You catch the lockpick that Tanya tosses at you and run back to the torture chamber. You go back to Yinen's cell and start opening the cell, but he just continues to do the usual rocking back and forth and mumbling. "Yinen! Come on! We gotta get the hell out of here! Yinen!" you say and approach him. Yinen finally realizes someone is there with him, but instead of jumping at the chance to be free, he starts screaming. At first you're confused to as why he's acting this way and doesn't see that it's you, but then you think it might be the fact that you're wearing a red robe. "Yinen! It's me! I'm not one of them! I'm..." "NO! LIES! NEROTH IS THE FATHER OF LIES AND EVIL! JOACHIM! BRING DOWN YOUR HOLY VENGENCE AND SAVE ME!" Yinen shouts and suddenly lunges at you. You fend off his attack in an effort not to hurt him too badly, but he isn't so much interested in fighting as he is escaping. He runs off yelling after he manages to maneuver around you. You hear Tanya shout something in the next room and you run back to her. "Was that him? He ran right past me screaming." Tanya asks. "Yeah, I dunno, the guy's head is all fucked up. They really did something to him, I dunno if he's going to be the same." You say. "He's not the only one, now WE need to leave." Tanya doesn't wait any longer, she runs into the room with all the wine barrels and you follow as close as possible. You'd suggest looking for the passage to the sewers for a quicker exit, but you aren't even sure if it exists anymore, besides she's already made her way up the stairs to the ground floor. Yinen must have known the way out since the door is already open, or rather the hidden bookshelf door that was hiding the stairs to the cellar. From here, you both make your way out the house (And again, find the door already open) You don't exactly know where Tanya's running to, but you continue to follow her and eventually she stops somewhere secluded. Then she start going through her clothing. "Here. Take this thing and leave me be." She says and hands you back your pistol. In all the ensuing mayhem you completely forgot that you had potentially lost your favorite weapon. "Thanks...but where did you get this?" you ask. "I took it when they were stripping your clothes off, I dunno why I did. I really don't understand why I did anything. I thought I was past this. I need to get my head together and figure this shit out." Tanya says. "Tanya can you at least tell me something? I mean did Reginald case a spell or what? I mean was all his babbling true, Neroth is your father in some way?" "No! And I'm not just saying that because I don't want that to be true. I'm saying that, because my real father from what my succubus bitch of a mother told me was some drunk dickhead that she killed immediately after mating with and because Reginald doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. While he may have been sucking Neroth's infernal cock in the spiritual sense, I still know more about the infernal realm more than he EVER could have and trust me, if he had known, he wouldn't have been worshipping Neroth or whatever petty infernal warlord that's setting himself up as a god to mortals at any given time." "Wait, you've been there? You've actually crossed into a different plane?" "No, but I don't need to physically be there and I hope I never do. I saw enough based on what my mother showed me and I resisted the lure of it then and I'm going to continue to do so." "You keep bringing up your mother, I thought you were an orphan." "I was. Wasn't like she took care of me, she tossed me aside as soon as I was born and I suppose I was lucky to be born female and she wasn't hungry at the time. Look, while I'm sure this is all very intriguing for you, I am fucking done talking about this. If you want to know what happened to me, I don't fucking know! Maybe all the demonic ties that Reginald and by proxy his home had to the infernal realm had some effect and I lost control because I've let my guard down to it over the years. I guess I was lucky that you punched me in the face to snap me out of it. Thanks, but just because you know some shit about me doesn't mean we're getting closer!" "I wasn't even thinking about that..." "Bullshit! That's ALL you ever think about. I know you do. You can't even help yourself. Pfft, your earlier lie about not being interested me anymore when we were on the rooftop before all this happened was laughable. I know for a fact that you regularly have sex with some whore that tries to look like me. In fact isn't she the same one you saved? Boy you must LOVE that. It's almost like you can pretend that you saved me like some hero." "Um..." "What? You embarrassed? You're not THAT embarrassed if you're still doing it. Besides, it's not like you'd be the first, you just happen to be one of the few that's been doing it the longest." "Tanya, I really don't know what you want from me at this point. I mean I'm really trying my best. I thought we were at least getting along." "And THAT'S a failing on my part. If anything I've allowed you to get TOO close lately! I need to fucking redouble my efforts, I see that now. I should have known to keep my distance from you and I should have NEVER offered to help you on this task!" You can see this is a losing battle and you're tired so you decide to bow out. "Ok Tanya, you've made your point, I'm leaving. Thanks for saving me again, see you later." You start to leave, but Tanya spins you around. "Don't you turn your back on me, and this is for punching me in the fucking face!" Tanya says and kicks you hard in the balls. You crumple to the ground and Tanya starts to say something, but then stops and then starts again. "I'm...sorry...I just...I can't... just stay away from me." She says and quickly runs off. After vomiting a little bit you eventually stand back up and stagger back to the Hell's Own Inn. Thankfully you aren't accosted by anyone along the way. When you get back, Bruno sees you and gives you a sideways glance at first. "Okay, it's you. I saw a red robe and got a little nervous. What's with the red robe anyway, aren't those the ones that Neroth cultists wear?" Bruno asks. "Yeah, I just joined so you better watch out." You say. "Ha ha funny guy. What's the real story?" "I don't want to even get into it right now, I'll tell you another time, I just want to go rest." "Sure, whatever." You start making your way upstairs, but stop to ask one question. "Hey Bruno, Yinen didn't come in here by any chance did?" you ask. "I told you, I haven't seen him in days. He probably left the city." Bruno says. "I bet he wishes he did." You mumble and head to your room. You take off the blood stained and rank red robe and collapse on your bed. You've spent a lot of the night naked tonight, and not in a good way. The only good thing about tonight is you killed the top asshole of the cult that was trying to kill you. You imagine there are still others around, but you can't worry about it right now. As you slowly drift off with your hand covering your abused testicles, you think about how things are just fucked up with Tanya now. It's like you're back to square one, but maybe you were just deluding yourself anyway. Of course despite all this AND the fact that she tried to kill you today, you still go to sleep dreaming about her. > Time passes... Year 20 "I'm not obsessed." You exclaim which causes a look of skepticism from Sneaks. "Okay, maybe I'm a little obsessed, but not in the way you're saying." You say. "Look kid, I'll let you in on a little secret, I've jerked off thinking about Tanya too. I don't think there's a man that's been in contact with her for any length of time that hasn't. Hell, there's been guys in the Guild into men and they STILL admitted to having thoughts about her. She had a dick of course in their fantasies, but my point is, she still had an effect. It's part of her demon heritage, but the effects should have long since worn off and I'm telling you the way you're going is not fucking healthy." "But my feelings for her are not just physical. I mean yeah that's part of it, but I've been getting to know her and I feel a real connection with her." Now Sneaks is totally confused. "I thought you were staying away from her ever since you took out Reginald." Sneaks asks. "I have! But I keep seeing her in my dreams! And those dreams have been becoming more frequent lately. In these dreams, we spend time together and talk and laugh and..." "And fuck. Probably a lot of fucking. Look, sounds like you're having some nice dreams, but dreams aren't real and with some of the ones you've described they sound impossible. Just go back to fucking that whore that dresses like her, it's the closest you're going to get." "I can't even do that anymore, I feel like I'm cheating on Tanya. I'm telling you, this is really happening. I don't know how, but it is. I mean don't succubi invade dreams? I mean maybe she's trying to tell me something even if she isn't doing it in the real world." "Real world being the key word here. Are you listening to yourself? Look, I don't know what to tell you man, I mean...(sigh) okay say for the sake of argument this IS all true, have you even spoken to her directly about it?" "Well no, I've been trying to stay away and respect her wishes to leave her alone." Sneaks slaps you upside the head. "What the hell?!" you say. "That's without a doubt, the stupidest fucking shit you've ever said involving Tanya. I've known you since you joined the Guild and you've flirted with her shamelessly beyond a point where others have gotten shanked by her for their troubles. The ONLY other person I know who's gotten this obsessed with Tanya and lived is Garrick, though Yag knows he'd NEVER fucking admit that." Sneaks says. "So...I was right about Garrick?" "Of course you were right about him. Why do you think he still holds a grudge against you even though you're staying away from Tanya? I mean in his case, I don't think it started out that way...shit I HOPE it didn't start out that way since he took her in when she was a young teenager, but in any case. Garrick has been in love with Tanya for a very long time now. He'll never make a move of course, which is why I'm telling YOU that if you REALLY think you've got a shot with Tanya, then you need to just go talk to her, because the non-confrontational routine? Yeah that doesn't work and it isn't your style anyway." "Weren't you the one that once told me once to forget about her?" "Yeah well I'm hoping you'll listen to me on this advice this time because it's apparent that you're bound for a path of destruction. At least if you go talk to her you'll get that over quickly and who knows, maybe just MAYBE, you're right about all this. In any case, I'm going to go see if there's anyone around to play cards with." "I think a lot of the members are out enjoying the riots." "Yeah fuck that, it's absolute chaos out there. Surprised the Baron's managed to still keep control of some of the city. Mostly the merchant's district, rich areas and his palace of course, but it's getting worse. To be honest, I would leave the city, but unfortunately I've still got a streak of loyalty and I'd never just abandon Garrick. Too much history, even if I don't agree with him sometimes. Anyway, see you later and good luck." Sneaks leaves you and you immediately go to see if Tanya is in her quarters. You already know what you're going to say, because you've been saying it in your mind for a long time now, you're just mentally preparing yourself the verbal (and possibly physical) repercussions of your confrontation. Has to be done though because this has gone on long enough and if Tanya genuinely has no interest in you then you're not going to stick around just to have something you desire greatly dangling in front of you everyday and can't do anything about it. As you approach Tanya's quarters you hear voices coming from it. You slow your pace and strain your ears to listen and eventually hide just outside her door. "Tanya, I can throw him out of the Guild, if he's been bothering you again. Honestly I would have done it sooner had you not told me not to after that stunt with the Neroth cultists." You hear Garrick say. "He hasn't been bothering me Garrick, if anything he's been honoring my wishes. He's been a perfect fucking gentleman...or at least as close as he can get to one." "Be that as it may, I know something is wrong." "I'm fine Garrick, stop fussing." "Tanya, I KNOW something is going on with you. I've known you since you were girl and I know when you're more troubled than usual. I mean if you don't tell me, I can't help..." "That's fucking right Garrick, you CAN'T fucking help! Nobody can! So stop playing the over protective dad role trying to save his little girl and just get the hell out of my quarters." "Tanya, you forget that..." "Yes, Garrick I fucking know. You brought me in off the streets when I was some poor dirty orphan stealing food and had run away from the home for the umpteenth time! How long are you going to bring that up? I've never said I wasn't appreciative, I think my time staying here has proven that, but if you think I OWE you something more, then you've been a fool for a longer time than even he has! Worse even." "Tanya! I've never..." Before Garrick can complete his statement, you finally enter the room causing an immediate hostile look from Garrick and a look of exasperation from Tanya. "Oh great..." Tanya says. "YOU! Get out of here, we're having a private conversation!" Garrick yells. "Tanya, WE need to talk. There's something going on between us and I have to think you know what I mean. This has been a long time coming and I can't just continue to walk around here in silence any longer." You say. "I'll tell you what, you don't need to be walking around here anymore period. You're out of the Guild! You've been nothing a headache since I allowed you in here! I can't believe I was so blind to think you would be an asset in the first place!" "Garrick, I'm not even arguing with you and I'll be more than happy to leave this shitty Guild, but I've got to speak to Tanya first." "Go ahead then." Tanya says a bit defeated. "Tanya, I've been having dreams about you for past few months ever since everything that went down with the Neroth cultists. Now I dunno if you're doing it on purpose or what, but these dreams have been more than just dreams, it's like...it's like they're real somehow. You're talking to me. WE'RE talking to each other about, well everything. My past, your past, our likes, our dislikes. I swear it's like we've been dating without actually going out." "Bullshit. You don't know shit about Tanya. You've been making shit up in your delusional mind. Wishful thinking about shit that's never going to happen! Okay asshole, if you know so much, why don't you give us a little history lesson?" "Gladly." You begin with a description of the orphanage Tanya grew up in and the apathetic lady who ran it. You mention how Tanya had to beat up two older boys when she was six because they were accusing her of stealing their food. After she broke one boy's arms and the nose of the other boy, the other children remained afraid of her. She ran away from the orphanage altogether by the time she was nine and lived on the streets until she was around thirteen where upon Garrick caught her trying to pick his pocket. You even describe the type of day it was, mentioning that it was lightly raining. After he caught Tanya he offered her a place in the Guild. At this point Tanya and Garrick are just silent as you relay this information. Garrick's mouth nearly hangs open as he knows you're exactly right about everything. He can't believe that you know all this. Tanya even looks a away a couple times. "And you told me, that you've remained loyal for the past twenty some odd years since that time at first because you originally felt obligated to Garrick for giving you a home and helping you when nobody else was, but there was a point when you started to feel less satisfied here and you considered leaving." You say. "Tanya! You never told me this! Is this true?!" Garrick remarks. Tanya doesn't answer, she just looks at you like you're going to tell him anyway, so why stop? "She never told anyone that. She would have left too, but then her mother showed up and after her brief meeting, she stayed with the Guild. Not because she had great attachment to it, but because she feared what she might do without it keeping her somewhat grounded. The Guild became a sort of sanctuary against her infernal nature. Sure, thievery isn't exactly the most noble of professions, but it's a far cry from what infernals like to engage in." you say. Garrick turns back to Tanya. "Tanya, you could have told me this! Why didn't you? I could have..." Garrick starts to say before he's interrupted. "You could have what Garrick? Tried to make everything better like you always think you can? This is what I was talking about earlier, you CAN'T FUCKING HELP ME! Nobody can! I mean just look at what's occurred...I'm meeting this infatuated loser in his dreams and telling him my whole life story and I was only barely aware of some of it! How long before I have complete control over it? My infernal nature is coming out and it can't be stopped. Stop trying to fucking save me because I'm NEVER going to love you Garrick or at least not in the way YOU want." Tanya shouts Garrick says nothing; he just staggers back a bit against a table like all the wind has been knocked out of him. Tanya now turns her attention towards you. "And as for you, your best option would be running far away from this place and from me before it gets worse. I don't care how much you THINK you're in love with me." Tanya says. "Or even how much you might be in love with me?" you answer. "Now THAT is wishful thinking and not what is happening." "Okay, maybe love isn't the right word, but I have a hard time believing that you didn't contact me in my dreams for shits and giggles. You're actually fun in those dreams and I know you well enough in the real world that you never do anything remotely fun. It's like you wanted me to see another side of you that nobody else does. Arguably the closest person you were close to before I showed up was Garrick, and you only see him as a father figure at best. You didn't contact him in his dreams. You didn't show up in anyone else's either. You showed up in mine because you obviously have a fondness for..." "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Garrick suddenly shouts and lunges at you. He tackles you to the floor and you roll around briefly with him, but you soon get him off of you. However, he's managed to pilfer your pistol that was tucked in your clothing. "Garrick! Put that down!" Tanya shouts. "Why?! Just so you can go off with this dickhead? No! How many people have fallen for you Tanya? How many? I've lost count. Why does THIS one get your affection?" Garrick screams and then starts laughing. "I WAS the one who took you in! I WAS the one who gave you purpose and apparently I was the one who gave you salvation! Don't you see Tanya? I'M the one who loves you! I always did! But if I can't have you...then I suppose I'll have to accept that...but what I won't accept is someone else having you instead!" Garrick is pointing the pistol right at you and ready to fire. You might be quick enough to stop him, or you might not. Tanya looks like she might do something, but who knows? > You grab the gun from Garrick You take that chance that you're quick enough and Garrick is so emotional right now that he's not focused like he should. You lunge for the pistol. A loud sound is heard followed by the sensation of a burning force hitting you hard in the lower chest. Still working on adrenaline you don't stop and continue to try to wrestle the pistol from Garrick. He fires again, but this time misses as you move his arm and then break his wrist completely causing him to drop it. Tanya at this point intervenes and tackles Garrick and you all go tumbling on the floor. Tanya starts screaming at Garrick and punching him in the face while he unsuccessfully tries to fend her off. You on the other hand are now coming to realize that you've been shot pretty badly and your adrenaline has worn off. You cough blood and wheeze as death is finally catching up to you. Tanya goes over to you and starts telling you to hold on while she frantically attempts to look for something in her room to help you, but there isn't anything and it wouldn't help anyway. You look over to your left and see Garrick's face mashed into bloody mush. Not being able to find anything to help your wound, Tanya attempts to lift you up, but you tell her to stop. "Tanya, stop. You're not going to get me to an infirmary or the apothecary in time." You say. "But...it can't end like this! Not now! Not when I...(sob)" "Just wasn't (cough) meant to be...but it's okay. At least I know finally." And with those last words your eyes begin to close and you feel the taste of Tanya's lips on your own before you pass on.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, anti-hero, serious] Year 20 "I'm not obsessed." You exclaim which causes a look of skepticism from Sneaks. "Okay, maybe I'm a little obsessed, but not in the way you're saying." You say. "Look kid, I'll let you in on a little secret, I've jerked off thinking about Tanya too. I don't think there's a man that's been in contact with her for any length of time that hasn't. Hell, there's been guys in the Guild into men and they STILL admitted to having thoughts about her. She had a dick of course in their fantasies, but my point is, she still had an effect. It's part of her demon heritage, but the effects should have long since worn off and I'm telling you the way you're going is not fucking healthy." "But my feelings for her are not just physical. I mean yeah that's part of it, but I've been getting to know her and I feel a real connection with her." Now Sneaks is totally confused. "I thought you were staying away from her ever since you took out Reginald." Sneaks asks. "I have! But I keep seeing her in my dreams! And those dreams have been becoming more frequent lately. In these dreams, we spend time together and talk and laugh and..." "And fuck. Probably a lot of fucking. Look, sounds like you're having some nice dreams, but dreams aren't real and with some of the ones you've described they sound impossible. Just go back to fucking that whore that dresses like her, it's the closest you're going to get." "I can't even do that anymore, I feel like I'm cheating on Tanya. I'm telling you, this is really happening. I don't know how, but it is. I mean don't succubi invade dreams? I mean maybe she's trying to tell me something even if she isn't doing it in the real world." "Real world being the key word here. Are you listening to yourself? Look, I don't know what to tell you man, I mean...(sigh) okay say for the sake of argument this IS all true, have you even spoken to her directly about it?" "Well no, I've been trying to stay away and respect her wishes to leave her alone." Sneaks slaps you upside the head. "What the hell?!" you say. "That's without a doubt, the stupidest fucking shit you've ever said involving Tanya. I've known you since you joined the Guild and you've flirted with her shamelessly beyond a point where others have gotten shanked by her for their troubles. The ONLY other person I know who's gotten this obsessed with Tanya and lived is Garrick, though Yag knows he'd NEVER fucking admit that." Sneaks says. "So...I was right about Garrick?" "Of course you were right about him. Why do you think he still holds a grudge against you even though you're staying away from Tanya? I mean in his case, I don't think it started out that way...shit I HOPE it didn't start out that way since he took her in when she was a young teenager, but in any case. Garrick has been in love with Tanya for a very long time now. He'll never make a move of course, which is why I'm telling YOU that if you REALLY think you've got a shot with Tanya, then you need to just go talk to her, because the non-confrontational routine? Yeah that doesn't work and it isn't your style anyway." "Weren't you the one that once told me once to forget about her?" "Yeah well I'm hoping you'll listen to me on this advice this time because it's apparent that you're bound for a path of destruction. At least if you go talk to her you'll get that over quickly and who knows, maybe just MAYBE, you're right about all this. In any case, I'm going to go see if there's anyone around to play cards with." "I think a lot of the members are out enjoying the riots." "Yeah fuck that, it's absolute chaos out there. Surprised the Baron's managed to still keep control of some of the city. Mostly the merchant's district, rich areas and his palace of course, but it's getting worse. To be honest, I would leave the city, but unfortunately I've still got a streak of loyalty and I'd never just abandon Garrick. Too much history, even if I don't agree with him sometimes. Anyway, see you later and good luck." Sneaks leaves you and you immediately go to see if Tanya is in her quarters. You already know what you're going to say, because you've been saying it in your mind for a long time now, you're just mentally preparing yourself the verbal (and possibly physical) repercussions of your confrontation. Has to be done though because this has gone on long enough and if Tanya genuinely has no interest in you then you're not going to stick around just to have something you desire greatly dangling in front of you everyday and can't do anything about it. As you approach Tanya's quarters you hear voices coming from it. You slow your pace and strain your ears to listen and eventually hide just outside her door. "Tanya, I can throw him out of the Guild, if he's been bothering you again. Honestly I would have done it sooner had you not told me not to after that stunt with the Neroth cultists." You hear Garrick say. "He hasn't been bothering me Garrick, if anything he's been honoring my wishes. He's been a perfect fucking gentleman...or at least as close as he can get to one." "Be that as it may, I know something is wrong." "I'm fine Garrick, stop fussing." "Tanya, I KNOW something is going on with you. I've known you since you were girl and I know when you're more troubled than usual. I mean if you don't tell me, I can't help..." "That's fucking right Garrick, you CAN'T fucking help! Nobody can! So stop playing the over protective dad role trying to save his little girl and just get the hell out of my quarters." "Tanya, you forget that..." "Yes, Garrick I fucking know. You brought me in off the streets when I was some poor dirty orphan stealing food and had run away from the home for the umpteenth time! How long are you going to bring that up? I've never said I wasn't appreciative, I think my time staying here has proven that, but if you think I OWE you something more, then you've been a fool for a longer time than even he has! Worse even." "Tanya! I've never..." Before Garrick can complete his statement, you finally enter the room causing an immediate hostile look from Garrick and a look of exasperation from Tanya. "Oh great..." Tanya says. "YOU! Get out of here, we're having a private conversation!" Garrick yells. "Tanya, WE need to talk. There's something going on between us and I have to think you know what I mean. This has been a long time coming and I can't just continue to walk around here in silence any longer." You say. "I'll tell you what, you don't need to be walking around here anymore period. You're out of the Guild! You've been nothing a headache since I allowed you in here! I can't believe I was so blind to think you would be an asset in the first place!" "Garrick, I'm not even arguing with you and I'll be more than happy to leave this shitty Guild, but I've got to speak to Tanya first." "Go ahead then." Tanya says a bit defeated. "Tanya, I've been having dreams about you for past few months ever since everything that went down with the Neroth cultists. Now I dunno if you're doing it on purpose or what, but these dreams have been more than just dreams, it's like...it's like they're real somehow. You're talking to me. WE'RE talking to each other about, well everything. My past, your past, our likes, our dislikes. I swear it's like we've been dating without actually going out." "Bullshit. You don't know shit about Tanya. You've been making shit up in your delusional mind. Wishful thinking about shit that's never going to happen! Okay asshole, if you know so much, why don't you give us a little history lesson?" "Gladly." You begin with a description of the orphanage Tanya grew up in and the apathetic lady who ran it. You mention how Tanya had to beat up two older boys when she was six because they were accusing her of stealing their food. After she broke one boy's arms and the nose of the other boy, the other children remained afraid of her. She ran away from the orphanage altogether by the time she was nine and lived on the streets until she was around thirteen where upon Garrick caught her trying to pick his pocket. You even describe the type of day it was, mentioning that it was lightly raining. After he caught Tanya he offered her a place in the Guild. At this point Tanya and Garrick are just silent as you relay this information. Garrick's mouth nearly hangs open as he knows you're exactly right about everything. He can't believe that you know all this. Tanya even looks a away a couple times. "And you told me, that you've remained loyal for the past twenty some odd years since that time at first because you originally felt obligated to Garrick for giving you a home and helping you when nobody else was, but there was a point when you started to feel less satisfied here and you considered leaving." You say. "Tanya! You never told me this! Is this true?!" Garrick remarks. Tanya doesn't answer, she just looks at you like you're going to tell him anyway, so why stop? "She never told anyone that. She would have left too, but then her mother showed up and after her brief meeting, she stayed with the Guild. Not because she had great attachment to it, but because she feared what she might do without it keeping her somewhat grounded. The Guild became a sort of sanctuary against her infernal nature. Sure, thievery isn't exactly the most noble of professions, but it's a far cry from what infernals like to engage in." you say. Garrick turns back to Tanya. "Tanya, you could have told me this! Why didn't you? I could have..." Garrick starts to say before he's interrupted. "You could have what Garrick? Tried to make everything better like you always think you can? This is what I was talking about earlier, you CAN'T FUCKING HELP ME! Nobody can! I mean just look at what's occurred...I'm meeting this infatuated loser in his dreams and telling him my whole life story and I was only barely aware of some of it! How long before I have complete control over it? My infernal nature is coming out and it can't be stopped. Stop trying to fucking save me because I'm NEVER going to love you Garrick or at least not in the way YOU want." Tanya shouts Garrick says nothing; he just staggers back a bit against a table like all the wind has been knocked out of him. Tanya now turns her attention towards you. "And as for you, your best option would be running far away from this place and from me before it gets worse. I don't care how much you THINK you're in love with me." Tanya says. "Or even how much you might be in love with me?" you answer. "Now THAT is wishful thinking and not what is happening." "Okay, maybe love isn't the right word, but I have a hard time believing that you didn't contact me in my dreams for shits and giggles. You're actually fun in those dreams and I know you well enough in the real world that you never do anything remotely fun. It's like you wanted me to see another side of you that nobody else does. Arguably the closest person you were close to before I showed up was Garrick, and you only see him as a father figure at best. You didn't contact him in his dreams. You didn't show up in anyone else's either. You showed up in mine because you obviously have a fondness for..." "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Garrick suddenly shouts and lunges at you. He tackles you to the floor and you roll around briefly with him, but you soon get him off of you. However, he's managed to pilfer your pistol that was tucked in your clothing. "Garrick! Put that down!" Tanya shouts. "Why?! Just so you can go off with this dickhead? No! How many people have fallen for you Tanya? How many? I've lost count. Why does THIS one get your affection?" Garrick screams and then starts laughing. "I WAS the one who took you in! I WAS the one who gave you purpose and apparently I was the one who gave you salvation! Don't you see Tanya? I'M the one who loves you! I always did! But if I can't have you...then I suppose I'll have to accept that...but what I won't accept is someone else having you instead!" Garrick is pointing the pistol right at you and ready to fire. You might be quick enough to stop him, or you might not. Tanya looks like she might do something, but who knows? > You Wait You're putting a lot of trust into Tanya right now... Since you aren't going for the gun, you attempt to stall for time. "Garrick, look, she isn't exactly tripping over herself for me either despite me revealing all this information. If anything she probably dislikes me even more now. She's not worth dying for so you want me gone, fine, I'm going. And if it will suffice, my apologies." You say and start backing away with your hands up. "I'm afraid that will NOT suffice!" Garrick exclaims before Tanya tackles him. Tanya knocks the pistol from his hand and easily subdues him while you grab your weapon off the floor. He struggles for a bit, but then eventually just stops and starts crying. "Tanya, move out of the way." You say fully intent on killing Garrick "No! I know what he did, but you're not killing him! Despite everything, the man DID help me at one time and I'm not going to just forget that. Just leave us." Tanya says. "What about...you know what, forget it." You're done. You might still have strong feelings for Tanya, but obviously you're going to have to get over them and hopefully in time they will eventually dissipate by putting as much space as you can between you and her. You also hope the dreams will come to an end because if they don't that's going to make the process a lot harder, if not impossible. Troubles for another time however and you'll deal with it when you have to. You make your way out of the Thieves' Guild as quick as you can, into the sewers and to the closest manhole cover. One thing you aren't going to miss and that's mucking around in the damn sewers. You look around and see a few stores that have been looted, some in the process of being looted, but nothing excessive. The city isn't on fire or anything. (Just a couple of buildings) Your goal is to get the hell out and as far as possible from this damn city because there really isn't anything holding you here now. You attempt to avoid potential trouble by taking the quieter side streets. Midway through you half wonder if you should have just used the sewers until you got closer to the front gate, but it's too late now. You turn down an alleyway to avoid a Holgard Watch patrol rounding up dissidents, and that's when you bump right into Tanya. While you are caught off guard a bit, there's a small part of you that was sort of hoping you'd see her. "Do I even need to ask how you even tracked me in all this chaos?" you ask. "If you're already dreaming about me, I think you know the answer. I've pretty much imprinted on you at this point, though I suppose not completely." Tanya replies. "What does that mean exactly?" "It means if you wanted to, you could still get away. You would eventually in time get away from me or any feelings relating to me. Even the dreams would disappear eventually. Probably would be the best option for you because I can't imagine it getting any better for you, if you stayed." "Yeah, well I always sort of figured those might be my options anyway, but what do YOU want? I mean I get the reasons for you pushing me away, but is that what you really want?" "I don't know. Not really. I would like to have a close relationship with you, I probably have even before the cultist incident. I mean now especially considering I know nearly everything about your life just like you know most of mine. Like you said, we've practically been dating, just without the hassle of going out." "I don't think we're really dating types anyway." "Hah, probably not. I just don't know though. I mean how do I know if your feelings are real for me, or if it's all just infernal magic? How do I know that my feelings for you are genuine or if I'm just luring you in and going to just suck out your soul eventually?" "I've asked myself the same question multiple times as I'm sure you have. I mean I'm sure some of it is infernal influence, since I was just about to leave and now here I am completely re-considering. However, I think this is the important difference. I NEED to know if you really feel the same way. If don't, even to the smallest degree, then I'll know that I should leave. It won't be easy, but I'll deal with it. If I was completely under your spell, I don't think I'd even have the capacity to even think about leaving." "Well that's just it, you're not completely under my spell or influence, but I'm worried that one day you might get that way! I mean I want you to be a freethinking being. There's so much shit going on and I'm experiencing changes a lot faster than I ever have before. Look!" And this point Tanya takes her hood off and you not only see her lovely face clearly, but two little horns. She must go to great lengths to arrange her hair to cover them, along with wearing the hood. "Uh, how long have you had those?" you ask. "A few weeks now." Tanya remarks. "Oh. Well you shouldn't cover them, I find them to be cute." You say trying to bring a little levity to the situation. "I'm going to gore you with them if you don't start taking this seriously! I mean I just killed Garrick and I don't even feel that bad about it. I mean shouldn't I feel something?" "Wait. He's fucking dead? You stopped ME from killing him. What the hell happened?" "I spoke with Garrick a little in an attempt to calm him down, but the man was a complete emotional wreck. He practically begged me to kill him at that point since he claimed he couldn't go on living the way he was living. So I honored his wishes. It was the least I could do." "So...it was a kindness. I mean it's a little unorthodox, and granted I'm certainly not shedding any tears, but it wasn't like you killed him in cold blood." "Yeah, but for better or worse, the man WAS my father in a way. I mean ignoring all the rest of his unwanted feelings, I do remember the positives. Despite all that, I haven't even cried. Shouldn't I cry?" "I dunno, maybe his recent actions muted your feelings or maybe you're just dealing with them in another way...um are able to cry? Serious question." "Yes. Just haven't done it since I was a child though. I guess it's not important anyway. My point is I'm worried that I might become a complete monster and I don't want you to be in my path when that happens since you'll most likely be the first victim." "Well the fact that you're so concerned about me, is a pretty good indication that you're no heartless monster and you're talking about something that MIGHT happen, not that it will. Besides, despite all of what we've shared you still don't know everything about me either." "What? You a shapeshifter or something?" "No, I wish it was that interesting. But what I'm referring to is something a lot more mundane. Just a secret of my own I've been harboring and if we're going to be together, I might as well come clean right now." You explain your dealings with the Ebony Claw Syndicate, constantly pointing out that you are NOT actually a member and that you haven't even done anything that would harm the Guild, though you wonder if that even matters anymore given that Tanya just killed Garrick. Tanya's reaction is one of shock. For a moment it looks like she's going to punch you, but then she just shakes her head and actually chuckles. You think it's the first time you've seen her remotely laugh. "Fuck it. I mean at one time I would have killed you as a hypocritical traitor, but what difference does it make now? I already killed the head of the Guild. I'm hardly in a position to judge. If anything, I think I feel better about all this." Tanya says. "What do you mean?" you ask. "Well here I was worrying that my infernal influence was slowly turning you into my slave or something, but obviously I don't have that much influence if you're able to keep a pretty big secret like that from me." "Um, well I did just confess to you." "Oh right. Shit." "I knew I shouldn't have pointed that out. I do want to stress though I never actually betrayed the Guild though, I always wanted to tell you because I felt it was the honest thing to do. I just never could figure out a good way to do it and then for awhile you wanted me to leave you alone and..." "Just stop. As I said, it hardly matters now. (Sigh) The next question, is where does this all leave us? I mean seeing as you're a half spy for the Syndicate and I just murdered the leader of the Guild, it's not like either of us can go back." "Before you caught up to me, I was about ready to leave the city." "It's not a bad idea, though I've never left Holgard. There's also the fact that you have some unfinished business with the Ebony Claw Syndicate. Aren't you worried they might hunt you down?" "Well if I stay here, they're even more likely to find me. They probably aren't going to bother looking for me anyway. And wouldn't you be with me?" "I suppose I would. However, I'm still reluctant to leave Holgard." "Why? What's holding you here now?" "Nothing I suppose, but maybe I wouldn't mind leaving Holgard if it didn't feel like running. I mean I've spent so many years fighting the Ebony Claw, I'd hate to just hand the fucking city over to them. Yeah, I know it's foolish, and maybe I'm just feeling the need to at least avenge the Guild considering I practically just destroyed it myself." "I think they were always going to win. They just have the numbers and now you're suggesting just the two of us going against them?" "I don't see why not and I mean we probably could do a lot more damage with just the two of us no longer being restrained by Garrick's caution. We can make a plan. The more I'm thinking about it, the more I really want to do this. I feel like giving myself this purpose would be a good way of directing my energy. Granted it's not exactly the most virtuous way, but surely it's still a positive thing taking down a criminal organization that engages in various violent and illegal activity, right?" Seems Tanya is trying to figure out a few things in light of trying to handle all her recent actions and physical changes. She tells you that she would like you to stay to help her, but she would completely understand if all you want to do is put as much distance as you can between yourself and this place. Infernal influence or not, you're not going to let her go into this alone. Besides you wouldn't mind taking out that one eyed asshole, or at least that fucker that keeps shoving a crossbow in your back. "Okay. I'm in. I stayed here for you this long and I'm not going to leave when you need my help the most. So, let's get to this plan of yours." Tanya smiles a bit and then hugs you. A bit sudden, but certainly not unwelcome. You have to admit, you're already glad you've made this decision even if you're dreading the danger that's to come from it. "So, what's the plan and what's it all going to entail exactly?" "Let's go some place else to discuss this. Probably not at the Guild headquarters or Hell's Own, though, um...let's go the Lighthouse." Tanya says. "The Lighthouse?" "Yeah, it's an inn close to the docks area and they probably aren't getting much business anymore what with less ships coming in right now. We can use that as our meeting and planning place for right now." Tanya says and puts her hood back up. The pair of you travels there without any problems. It seems the rioting and civil unrest has died down for the rest of the night. The owner of The Lighthouse seems pretty surprised (and happy) that anyone is checking in since the place is practically empty. You pay for your one room and the pair of you head to it. No sooner have you entered the room and you're about to ask Tanya about what she has planned, you see her taking her clothing off. "Tanya, wha...what're you doing?" you ask. "What's it look like? I'm getting ready to make love to you. In fact why are you still dressed? I would have thought you'd be the first one to have your pants off by now." Tanya says. "I...well I just didn't know we were getting into that tonight, I mean I figured you might need a little time. Plus, I figured we were going to discuss the plan to take down the Ebony Claw Syndicate which is not going to be an easy task. "All the more reason to do this now. One of us could die when we start seriously pursuing this path. Now I know maybe this isn't going to be a big deal to you, but I think I'd like to actually experience sex in the flesh to see what all the fuss is about." "Wait....you've never?" "No. Why would I? I've never fancied anyone before and I've been fighting my succubus heritage remember? That means no sex of any kind. Hell, up until that incident with the cultists, I hadn't even kissed anyone before." "I was your first kiss too?" "Yep, looks like you're conquering the rest of the virgin territory tonight. Hope that's not too much pressure, but then why would it be? Not like I can compare you to anyone else right?" "Um, sure I guess so." "Hm. Anyway, take off your clothes, I really want to get to this." You have to admit, after all the times you've fantasized and dreamed about these encounters, none of them ever were like this. The two of you soon get to it and it's fairly interesting. Tanya might be a virgin, but she's obviously a natural. Of course being half succubus might have something to do with that. The session goes on for quite awhile. While you definitely don't want to disappoint, you find that you're struggling in the endurance department, though you're not sure if it's because Tanya's taking out decades of pent up sexual energy on you or again, it's because she's part succubus and she's actively draining your own energy. She can tell you're obviously feeling ill effects and finishes you off before she possibly inadvertently kills you. "Are you okay?! You look really pale, I have some water in my pack." "I'm...(wheeze) fine...I'll take that water though." You struggle to say. As you down the water, Tanya cuddles up next to you lovingly. "So was it like you imagined?" she asks. "It was good of course, but definitely more intense. What about you?" you ask. "It was okay." "Oh." "No! I don't mean that as an insult! You were fine and enjoyed all the closeness and it was pleasurable, but somehow I was expecting more given how much people talk about it." "Well we can try again later after... shit, I'm tired. I dunno if I'm in any condition to process a plan right now." "Don't worry about that. You get your rest, I'll just be right here beside you." You slowly start to drift off as you feel Tanya rubbing against your body and almost wrapping herself around you like a second skin. She then whispers "I love you." in your ear and makes some odd noises which aren't exactly the most human sounding, however they do sound content, so at least there's that. While there wasn't a ceremony of any kind, you suddenly get the very real impression that you're married now. > On to business The next day, you surprisingly wake up in the afternoon. Tanya apparently has been awake for quite awhile though, but she's basically been watching you sleep for most of that time. While you'd think that would probably be creepy, but considering what she is, you can't say you're all that surprised. Besides, she went to the trouble to go get you food. "Well this is a nice surprise." You say taking the nearby tray. "I just got what they sell here at the inn. I want to make sure you've got your strength up for tonight's assault on the Guild. I know I drained you during our...closeness last night. I really didn't mean to." Tanya says. "I know. It's okay." "But I have concerns about our future intimacy, if I'm going to nearly be killing you every time." "I'm sure there are potions to help. Quick trip to the apothecary and all that." "I hope so." While Tanya has her worries about your sex life together, you're actually feeling a bit more positive about all this. Tanya's concern for your well-being at least shows she's not going to eat your soul anytime soon. You and Tanya spend the rest of your time talking about her plan. It's actually fairly simple. She tells you to go back to Rook and report everything you know about the Guild. Location and everything. She says when your information pans out to be true, and what remains of the Guild is destroyed then you'll be in the Ebony Claw with no problems and from that point onward, you can tell relay vital information which she can use. "Wait a moment, what about all the thieves in the Guild headquarters when the Claw comes to take it down?" you ask. "Well I thought about that and...well they're just going to have to be losses for the greater goal. I mean I could warn everyone, but if it's empty then that's going to look might suspicious for you." "Are you sure the place is going to be packed anyway? I mean you did just kill Garrick, surely someone has found his body by now. People might be a bit suspicious and not wish to hang around." "Um. No, they probably didn't. First off, nobody but Garrick would dare enter my quarters in the first place. Second, I made sure to hide it from immediate sight after the deed was done." "You hid his...nevermind. Probably good thinking on your part given what we're planning." "Do you have a problem with this plan?" "Me? Well other than the danger of becoming a mole in the EC, I suppose not, though you do realize how ruthless this plan is if you're willingly sacrificing those you once called comrades for years right?" "Yes, and I already came to the conclusion that I never was really close to most of them anyway. True, maybe I saw the Guild as my family in some way, but ultimately I was pretty much always alone. I never bothered to interact with any of them except on a job and still always kept to myself. I'm sure you saw that as well." "True. Still though. Not even Sneaks?" "Not really. I think you were closer to Sneaks than I ever was. That going to be a problem?" "Not exactly going to be taking any pleasure in it, but I'm with you all the way on this, so it's gotta be done." Tanya nods at your pragmatism on the situation and tells you that you should go report to Rook and get the ball rolling on the first phase of this plan. You leave the Lighthouse and head to the Poisoned Blade Inn which is the well known Ebony Claw hang out in the city. Granted you don't know if Rook is actually going to be there, but given that's the only way you can think of to get into contact with him, that's where you go. Unsurprisingly before you even get in the place, you're getting a lot of dirty looks from obvious Ebony Claw members on the streets. Your reception is no warmer when you get inside and you get stopped instantly by a group of EC members. "You better have a REAL good reason for coming in here." One of them says shoving your shoulder a bit. "I do actually. I'm looking for Rook, I got important business with the man and I don't exactly know how to contact him so I came here." "Is that so? Well if you don't know how to properly contact him, maybe YOU shouldn't be looking for him, let alone coming in here uninvited." At this point you're shoved again, this time hard enough to move you back a bit. "Alright fine, I'll go and one of you can relay the message that I need to see him." "We ain't your fucking messengers!" the man says and before he can lay another hand on you, you pull your pistol. "I got six shots here, maybe I'm not making it out of here alive, but six of you are going down with me, and YOU are definitely first." You say and then you feel a familiar object shoved in your back. The rest of the EC members back away from you at this point. "Y'know, I wonder how effective of a killer you would be without that fancy pistol of yours." A voice whispers. "One might ask the same of someone who does nothing but remain invisible and bushwacks people from behind with a crossbow." You say. "What do you want to see Rook for?" "It's about the Thieves Guild." "Alright. I'll take you to him then." You suddenly feel a blow to the back of your head and you go unconscious. When you wake up, you're in a chair at a table with Rook sitting across from you. "Shit...was that really necessary?" you ask rubbing the back of your head. "My right hand isn't entirely convinced of your potential and so wanted to keep directions to our current location secret. He's a bit of a hard sell, however let's get on with it. You said you had important information about the Guild yes?" Rook asks. You begin to go into detail about the Thieves Guild and it's location. You also mention you already killed Garrick and Tanya which is why you left. Rook's eyebrow rises at this revelation. "Truly? And how did this come about?" Rook asks. "In my attempt to convince Tanya, things unfortunately turned...violent. I was lucky to get off a headshot before she landed a hit on me. Don't worry, nobody else knows about me and I got rid of the bodies." You say. "Hm, Just as well as you killed that demonkin I suppose. She might have been a bit of a wildcard. In any case you can finish off the rest when you lead the attack tomorrow. "So, you're sending me along to finish the job huh?" you ask. "Did you really expect any less? I mean shouldn't be too hard considering you already killed your girlfriend. Besides, you're still the best one who knows about the place, so it would still be helpful if you were there in person." Rook says. "What're you going to be doing?" "A lot more important things than rolling around in the sewers with some thieves that's for sure. Don't worry; there will be someone to supervise this mission. You won't see them, but you can be sure they'll be there handy with a crossbow when the time comes." "If you're talking about who I think you are, they better not be jamming it into my back considering we're supposed to be on the same side now." You say. "Well do a good job, and you won't ever have to worry about Bolt ever again. Now go prepare yourselves, or whatever you have to do and meet the crew in the sewers tomorrow morning at this location." Rook says pointing at the map. "Okay, sounds like a plan." "Oh one more thing, I want that asshole Sneaks alive. I got unfinished business with him." Rook says tapping his eyepatch. Never occurred to you that Rook was the one Sneaks was talking about when he said he stabbed an EC lieutenant in the eye once. After a few more words, Rook escorts you out of the room and you soon learn you're at a bigger Ebony Claw headquarters that leads up into a warehouse and then eventually between the poor area of Holgard and the merchant district. From there you return to The Lighthouse where you get some rest for tomorrow. Tanya isn't around though, but maybe she really wants to keep a low profile now. The next morning you arrive at the appointed location where other Ebony Claw members are waiting for you. "Took you long enough. Other members are in various places in the sewers ready to ambush any escaping Guild members." One of them says. "Alright, let's do this then." You say. You lead the way, completely surprising several thieves when you arrive. The battle, if you can still call it that isn't much of one. What made you such a vicious killer of Ebony Claw members, has also made you an equally vicious killer Guild members. Combined with the Ebony Claw backup, it's no contest. Without Garrick around there's no organization whatsoever and most of them attempt to flee rather than fight. Garrick himself is still hidden in Tanya's room, you drag out his body and shoot it a couple times as "proof" you killed him earlier. You look all over the place for Sneaks, but you don't find him at all. In fact, when you go to his room, some of his stuff is even gone. You wonder if he sensed something amiss and just quietly left on his own. As you're exiting Sneaks room, a grubby dwarf walks up to you. "Hey, you. You see any more Guild members run this way?" he asks. "No, I think we got all of them that were here. I can't find Sneaks though. He's nowhere to be found." You answer. "Hm. Rook's not going to be happy about that. Oh well, maybe he'll pop up somewhere. Roaches always do. Guess all that's left is the looting which I think the boys are doing a good job of right now. The Syndicate has been thinking of expanding into slave trade here and this place will probably make a good location with some additions. Anyway, we should get back to Rook." You didn't recognize it immediately, but this man's voice is familiar, You then also notice the crossbow he's holding. "You Bolt?" you ask which causes a smirk across his face. "I was wondering when you'd recognize me." You return to Rook who is full of praise and goes on about how you're going to go far in this organization. He tells you he'll be in contact with you again soon for a more permanent future assignment and even hands you a pouch full of gold. "Go ahead, take some of that and celebrate with Naji or something. My cousin's actually been missing you at the brothel. I dare say I think the girl had a genuine crush on you. Maybe you can get a new girlfriend to replace your demonkin one, but you know what they say, you can't turn a whore into a housewife. Hah!" He says before dismissing you. You head back to the Lighthouse where you once again don't find Tanya. When you bed down for the night however, she finds you in your dreams which now are a lot more vivid of her. "Where are you?" you ask. "I'm in a safe place, don't worry, I'll meet with you person when there is need to do so. In the meantime, I think this is one of the best ways for us to communicate don't you think?" "Well I suppose nobody will suddenly catch me talking to you, that's for sure. Anyway, it's done." "I know. We can talk about the next phase of the plan later, right now let us just spend relaxing time together. I know, tell me more about the little village you came from." "Really? That place is so fucking boring." "I imagine it probably was, but from some reason, I find tales of your youthful antics amusing." "Hm, glad someone does, because nobody in Teckleville certainly did at the time, except for maybe for me and my sister. Okay, I guess there's more than a few stories I haven't told yet..." As you and Tanya spend time together in your dream, somewhere else in your mind is concerned with just how much danger you've put yourself in being a mole in the Ebony Claw Syndicate. Never mind the fact that you've got an increasingly more powerful half succubus that can access you in your dreams now. You just hope you never get on her bad side. > Time passes… Year 21 It's amazing what changes can happen in just a year and that's not even counting the fact that Holgard is in complete anarchy right now, though it probably helps quite a bit. With your ongoing information, Tanya has carried out one woman attacks on various ECS locations and been more or less successful in the endeavor. Though perhaps not entirely "one woman" she's been using the chaos and the various factions of the city to her advantage, mostly the remaining disorganized followers of Neroth that have still been skulking around, though she's been luring even the Holgard Watch to do her bidding sometimes. While you haven't brought it up to her, you think Tanya's lost sight of her "original goal" of simply taking down the Ebony Claw Syndicate. She may have even believed that's what she was doing at first, but now? She's just been enjoying the chaos. She's enjoying making people kill and fight. Granted they probably were going to do that anyway, but she's not exactly curtailing what's currently going on right now. Still, she always returns to you excitedly going on about what she's done and what she's planning and everything else. When you meet in person, it's always a special event (If literally draining). You remember how hostile she was towards you for years, but now she only ever looks at you with affection. You must have told your mundane stories about your life in Teckleville more than a few times to her, but for whatever reason she seems to enjoy them. Maybe it's due to her own childhood being less fun since despite everything you didn't really have it all that bad. In fact if you'd just obeyed the rules, you would have had a pretty easy life. (You certainly wouldn't be in this situation) You aren't sure how succubi are supposed to act and granted she's not a full blood one, but it's very strange that despite her obvious descent into morally questionable actions, she's still very attached to you. (Or maybe you're just not used to a very loving girlfriend, your only one before Tanya was Annah) She's also starting to change physically. Her horns for one are a little bigger and her eyes now have a permanent other worldly look. Most obvious though is her wings. They started off as two little lumps on her back that you noticed during one of your intimacy sessions. The next time you saw her, she had two small wings and are probably going to get even larger. As for you, you've basically been just trying to keep a low profile as you go about your ECS duties, which are currently as an enforcer at a profitable Blue Dream house in the poor district. It's a rather lowly position for someone of your talents, but on the plus side, it's so unimportant that Rook doesn't even suspect you of any wrong doing and it helps that at least a few of the top Blue Dream distributors at the place have diarrhea of the mouth due to ongoing sampling of some of the drug and never shut the fuck up about sensitive ECS information. Rook has been trying to keep things together, but he's been obviously losing control. The ECS leadership in the Delantium Kingdom has refused to help with reinforcements any more. They've told him that he needs to work with what he has and if he fails, it's not going to be good for him. You know he's been trying to gain more help from the Temple of Fel, but that's been having mixed results mainly due to the fact that while they may all worship the same God of Shadows, the pure dedicated followers don't necessarily share the same goals as the Ebony Claw. Still, they've been contributing enough help to "lend" Shadow Blades to act as extra protection. Them, along with Bolt and Rook's own shadow magic abilities are going to make him quite formidable. Which is sort of a problem now that Tanya has decided that it's time to actually take out the Ebony Claw leadership for good. Arguably, she probably could have wiped out the Ebony Claw Syndicate with your help (Or at least this increasingly smaller chapter of it) months ago. But she got so distracted with enjoying the bedlam, that it allowed Rook to fortify like he has. Of course Tanya's not at all worried about any of this, but that's easy for her to say when she's got all her new infernal powers now. Even with her help, it isn't like you've got much defense against a bunch of highly trained shadow magic using killers. To her credit, she's told you to stay behind on this one, claiming that she can take care of it herself. You have your doubts though. It would be a tough fight even for her. You'd hate to just stand by while she got herself killed, not to mention if she failed, it would be really obvious that you were involved considering you told Rook you killed her. So you'd have to help anyway, and you still don't fancy your chances. You do have one idea, but it's a long shot and possibly one that could get you killed immediately. You could go try to talk to the head of the Temple of Fel. You don't know exactly what you'd say, but your hope would be to try to convince him that supporting the Ebony Claw, isn't in the best interest of the temple. "What?! No! That's a stupid idea! I told you, I'll take care of it by myself, I don't need your help, let alone the help of my enemies." Tanya shouts. "Tanya, I'm serious. This is a really BAD idea, assaulting Rook's home by yourself. I mean don't you even at least have those cultists you can send, or maybe someone else?" "The last of the Neroth cultists died weeks ago and are probably enduring unimaginable torture right now as their reward and as for sending anyone else, I'm a little tired of acting from behind the scenes, I want to enjoy a bit of hands on mayhem for a change." "Tanya, are you listening to yourself? You're starting to lose control and getting drunk on the chaos. Maybe I should have said something earlier, but you've been this way for quite sometime now. I love you and all, but you REALLY need to get a grip. You're not even thinking strategically anymore." Your defiant words aren't something she hears very often, at first she looks surprised, even slightly hurt, but then that turns to anger very quickly. She grabs you and throws you against the wall very hard. "...shit..." is all you can utter as you hit the stone and slump to the floor. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU QUESTION MY IDEAS! I'm the one in control here! YOU follow MY lead! YOU are only allowed the magnificence of my presence because I allow it and you should be grateful!" Tanya bellows and her voice seems to invade your very mind a bit. You look up from your position and focus on Tanya. She's changed physically again. Her wings are bigger for one thing (you called that one) and now her skin has a reddish hue. If you didn't know better, you'd think her eyes were going to burn a hole in you with how she's staring at you. Reminds of the old days when she used to get pissed at you, though she never slammed you this hard into a wall before. The dominating voice you just heard is also a bit new. As a half succubus she always had a bit of a seductive tone, but this is different. Her voice just now sent a chill of fear within you. Maybe she's not completely embracing her "succubus side" but she's certainly embracing the demonic heritage. Still, this is the girl you chose, so if this is how you're going out then so be it. You struggle to get back up and lean against the wall as you address her. "Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you can take them alone. You're obviously in full control of yourself, what with putting a mere mortal like me in my place and all. No need for my help anymore. I see that now." Tanya's stance towards you softens a bit, but not by much. She doesn't even apologize; she just leaves the ruined house you were meeting her in and takes to the air. She apparently has decided to give absolutely zero fucks about being seen anymore. You don't know how much time you have or even if it's going to matter, but you still feel compelled to help in some way. Maybe she isn't the Tanya that you fell in love with anymore, but for better or worse, you're going to help her whether that means directly or indirectly. > You help directly For all her change, you know that Tanya's probably still considering your last statement to her. Which means she probably isn't going to attack Rook immediately giving you a bit of time to form a plan. Two things you think about first is that she may be right in that going to the Fel Temple is a bad idea. If they were willing to help Rook (no matter how reluctantly) they probably aren't going to listen to someone who isn't actually a follower. The other thing is, Tanya has changed so much now that she probably isn't recognizable anymore, not that she really made her face visible in the first place, but she looks more like a traditional demon now rather than the half breed she actually is. You think you can spin a lie... You go to your "place of work" where the usual group of lowly Ebony Claw thugs stand around keeping the Blue Dream addicts in line. Meanwhile you head to the two assholes who run the place. Dreamweaver and Mr. Dream. The unimaginative idiots must have thought they were being real clever with those names. One of them looks up as he's counting coins while the other is sorting out blue dream vials. Neither one of them particularly likes you, so this will be all the more simple. "The fuck do you want fancy boy? Don't you have addicts to keep in line out front or managing the rest of those other losers?" Mr. Dream asks. "Not today." You say. "The fuck you mean by that? I'm in no mood for your attitude today. I don't even know why the hell you were even allowed in our organization after what you've done. You put several of my friends in the ground you fucker!" "Good news then. Today, you get to join them." "Wha...shit!" Mr. Dream is too late to draw his own flintlock as you plant a bullet in his head and Dreamweaver fairs no better. You've killed the pair of them and predictably the shots draw the attention of some of the others. Using your former bosses' firearms, you take out two EC thugs and then use the remainder of your own bullets to take out three more. A couple of the thugs probably just flat out ran off, so you don't waste much time and cut off the heads of the two Dreams and shoving them in nearby sack holding a bunch of Blue Dream which you dump out first. After helping yourself to some of the gold, you walk out of the office and through the rest of building until you get to the courtyard where several of junkies are still lingering about despite all the gunshots. "Hey...can I go in to get my fix yet? I've been waiting out here for hours!" one remarks. "Actually all of you can go in and help yourself to all the Blue Dream you want, but one of you has to come with me and for that to happen, I need the worst of you lot to do something for a lot of coin, so who's done the most awful thing here?" You ask. The various addicts excited by the prospect of getting free drugs immediately start telling on each other. A couple of them confess what they've done since they apparently are thinking long term and want the coin rather than just the drugs. A lot of them haven't done much except steal or perform sexual favors. A couple of them have killed, but none catch your attention until one of them starts accusing another one of having sex with children. He denies it and so it goes back and forth though a couple of the others back up the accuser. "Enough! Is this even remotely true? I got shit to do and I need to know now. So if everyone here wants to get their free drugs, you need to fucking confess or step aside and let someone else earn this coin. I'm not going to judge you anyway." The one who was accused slowly steps forward. "Well, it was just one time. She was ten and she wanted to know about sex and I figured it was my duty as a parent to..." You don't even wait, you just shoot him. This causes the rest to run a bit or take cover, but they don't go far. You quickly go to the sick fuck's body and cut off his head with your short sword and shove it in your bag of heads. The addict stand around gawking for a moment, but then quickly realize they should go get their free drugs and run inside the house, leaving you to head over to Rook's place. While normally walking about in the open during the day with a bag of heads where the blood is leaking through might cause some issues, but given the state of the city, it just serves as a warning for people not to mess with you. Rook, nowadays rarely leaves his mansion. You aren't sure who had it before he did, but you do know he just took it over soon after the Guild was wiped out. You're stopped at the front gate by one of the Ebony Claw members. "What do you want and what the hell is in the bag?" she asks. "Severed heads of fucking loudmouths and spies. Look, I got important shit to talk to Rook about and I just dragged my ass through riots to get here, so let me the fuck in." you say. "You don't give the damn orders here! Nobody gets in to see Rook without his say so! So you're just going to have wait until one of us goes to see if it's okay first and I don't particularly feel motivated to do so and neither does anyone else, let alone for the likes of you." "I don't have time for this. Bitch, you will LET me in there because if you don't I'm going to do to YOU and the rest of these assholes what I did to these fuckers." At this point you dump out the contents of the bag and bloody heads drop out. "SHIT! That's Mr. Dream!" one of them exclaims. "And that one's Dreamweaver! He fucking killed them!" another exclaims. The female Claw member who was talking to you before now looks a little more concerned by your presence and starts going for her weapon. "Do not even fucking think about it sweetheart. I will fucking shoot you in both tits and then after I'm done killing the rest of these sorry excuses for Syndicate members, I will violate your dying body and the last thing you're going to feel before you leave this shitty earth is me coming inside your ass and laughing while doing it." You threaten. "Shit...fuck man. There's no need for damn rape threats. Fine, you wanna go see Rook you crazy fucker, be my fucking guest. You're still not getting past those Shadow Blade guys though and if you do, Rook's going to be pissed at you for killing some of his top Blue Dream dealers anyway. I hope he fucking cuts your dick and balls off and shoves them down your throat!" The female Claw member says and starts motioning for the others to open the gates while you collect the bloody heads and shove them back the bag. As you walk through the gates and towards the mansion, you shake your head. "Shit, that was a bit dark for me, but hell, no wonder the Syndicate is going to shit, if they're backing down from a threat like that." You say. You get to the front door and you are immediately stopped by some cloaked individuals who just suddenly appear around you. You fight the instinct to immediately go for your weapon, not that you'd be fast enough anyway since two of them have already grabbed your arms, while another takes your bag and all your weapons. "What's you business here?" one of them asks. Taking a politer approach you explain everything or rather you spin your lie which isn't completely a lie since the two Dreams were pair of loudmouth assholes that blabbed shit so freely that's what allowed you to relay most inside information to Tanya in the first place. You add the extra bit that the head of the Blue Dream addict was a Neroth cultist spy and explain that's how come groups of Neroth cultists have been fucking up Ebony Claw interests as of late. The head Shadow Blade whispers to one of his comrades who enters the mansion. "He'll be back in a moment, then we'll proceed from there." He says and then motions for the ones holding your arms to let you go. They don't give you back your weapons (or the bag) though. You wait in silence for a bit, and then eventually the other one comes out and nods. "Okay, looks like you're in the clear for now. Follow him inside and if you survive your meeting with Rook and he okays it, then you'll get your weapons back." The lead Shadow Blade says. As you start to head in, the lead Shadow Blade grabs your shoulder and whispers to you. "All secrets are eventually uncovered by Fel." He says and then lets go of your shoulder. The pair of you look at each other briefly, and its almost like the Shadow Blade is telling you already that he thinks you're lying. It's enough to put some fear into you though you hold it together and go inside the mansion. After following the Shadow Blade through a series of halls and eventually to Rook's office. He sits behind a desk with Bolt on his right side and slightly behind his chair. Rook is talking with another skinny man off to the side that you've never seen before, but judging by all the books on the desk, you guess that he might be some beancounter that tracks the accounts and such. "Rook, we are hemorrhaging coin. We are not going to have enough to kick up to the Syndicate Directors this month. This state of anarchy is really bad for business and the deal you made with the Temple of Fel REALLY took a large chunk out of our treasury." "And what the fuck was I supposed to do Lloyd? We had a manpower shortage, and I was getting no fucking help from the directors! Those fuckers have been sitting on their fat asses in the Delantium Kingdom for so fucking long they don't even know what it's really like to struggle any fucking more. The Temple of Fel is an ally to the Syndicate and apparently the only reliable one I have right now besides Bolt here. And THIS asshole, who I may have put too much trust in, apparently just took it upon himself to waste two of my best distributors!" Rook says turning his attention to you. Rook at this point stands up. "Now I was already told the little story that you told everyone outside in order to get in here, but why don't you go over it again with me directly so I can try to grasp it myself and attempt to understand your logic." You're on the spot and now you suddenly don't feel very sure about this plan, but you're here now so you better be convincing. > You tell the story again with complete confidence Adding more lies is only going to trip you up on details if further questioned. Better to stick with the same story. You tell Rook the same story you told the Shadow Blade outside and try to remain as calm as possible the whole time. You manage, but it's stressful as hell as Rook is studying you the entire time along with Bolt staring at you with that typical grim dwarven expression and even this Lloyd person who occasionally makes a brief frown. Eventually you finish which is followed by some uncomfortable silence. Rook looks over at Bolt who shrugs, then over to Lloyd who is quite vocal. "This guy's talking bullshit. I dunno what his game is, but I don't like his story and I think you should kill him." Lloyd says. "Who the fuck are you to call me a liar!? You weren't there, that's what happened!" you exclaim. "Doubt it. I've seen the best liars in action and you aren't one of them. Your whole story sounds suspicious and given what I already have heard about you, I'm not sure why Rook ever trusted you." This little smug asshole's tone is enough to cause you to nearly go at him, but Rook and Bolt both react in a manner that suggest that you shouldn't even attempt it. "Rook, I'm telling you the damn truth." "Yeah, well I'm not sure if I'm quite convinced. I mean there are some things about your story that feel a little weak and I don't have the luxury of interrogating Mr. Dream or Weaver, because you killed them both. All I got is your word and right now, that's not much." "Well what do you want me to do? Swear to the gods? I mean I'll swear to Fel if that will..." This remark causes Rook to give you a stare that could burn a hole through you. "The fuck did you say?" he asks. Before you can even answer, Rook smashes his fist into your face and begins kicking you on the floor. He also starts ranting at you about disrespecting the name of Fel. Saying that an unbeliever such as yourself attempting to invoke the name in order to gain some sort of leverage because of his own faith is offensive to him. Rook now really doesn't believe anything you have to say, so the only chance you hope to have is to hold out until Tanya gets here. Unfortunately Rook is so mad, that he's intent on killing you now. Before you can beg, fight back or attempt to talk your way out of this, Rook removes his eyepatch revealing a black gem in his eye socket. A solid black beam of dark energy emits from it and hits you in your head. The dark energy liquefies your brain while having the added bonus of creating horrifying visions as you die. You scream and writhe in physical and mental agony for a few minutes before your body gives out completely.

For all her change, you know that Tanya's probably still considering your last statement to her. Which means she probably isn't going to attack Rook immediately giving you a bit of time to form a plan. Two things you think about first is that she may be right in that going to the Fel Temple is a bad idea. If they were willing to help Rook (no matter how reluctantly) they probably aren't going to listen to someone who isn't actually a follower. The other thing is, Tanya has changed so much now that she probably isn't recognizable anymore, not that she really made her face visible in the first place, but she looks more like a traditional demon now rather than the half breed she actually is. You think you can spin a lie... You go to your "place of work" where the usual group of lowly Ebony Claw thugs stand around keeping the Blue Dream addicts in line. Meanwhile you head to the two assholes who run the place. Dreamweaver and Mr. Dream. The unimaginative idiots must have thought they were being real clever with those names. One of them looks up as he's counting coins while the other is sorting out blue dream vials. Neither one of them particularly likes you, so this will be all the more simple. "The fuck do you want fancy boy? Don't you have addicts to keep in line out front or managing the rest of those other losers?" Mr. Dream asks. "Not today." You say. "The fuck you mean by that? I'm in no mood for your attitude today. I don't even know why the hell you were even allowed in our organization after what you've done. You put several of my friends in the ground you fucker!" "Good news then. Today, you get to join them." "Wha...shit!" Mr. Dream is too late to draw his own flintlock as you plant a bullet in his head and Dreamweaver fairs no better. You've killed the pair of them and predictably the shots draw the attention of some of the others. Using your former bosses' firearms, you take out two EC thugs and then use the remainder of your own bullets to take out three more. A couple of the thugs probably just flat out ran off, so you don't waste much time and cut off the heads of the two Dreams and shoving them in nearby sack holding a bunch of Blue Dream which you dump out first. After helping yourself to some of the gold, you walk out of the office and through the rest of building until you get to the courtyard where several of junkies are still lingering about despite all the gunshots. "Hey...can I go in to get my fix yet? I've been waiting out here for hours!" one remarks. "Actually all of you can go in and help yourself to all the Blue Dream you want, but one of you has to come with me and for that to happen, I need the worst of you lot to do something for a lot of coin, so who's done the most awful thing here?" You ask. The various addicts excited by the prospect of getting free drugs immediately start telling on each other. A couple of them confess what they've done since they apparently are thinking long term and want the coin rather than just the drugs. A lot of them haven't done much except steal or perform sexual favors. A couple of them have killed, but none catch your attention until one of them starts accusing another one of having sex with children. He denies it and so it goes back and forth though a couple of the others back up the accuser. "Enough! Is this even remotely true? I got shit to do and I need to know now. So if everyone here wants to get their free drugs, you need to fucking confess or step aside and let someone else earn this coin. I'm not going to judge you anyway." The one who was accused slowly steps forward. "Well, it was just one time. She was ten and she wanted to know about sex and I figured it was my duty as a parent to..." You don't even wait, you just shoot him. This causes the rest to run a bit or take cover, but they don't go far. You quickly go to the sick fuck's body and cut off his head with your short sword and shove it in your bag of heads. The addict stand around gawking for a moment, but then quickly realize they should go get their free drugs and run inside the house, leaving you to head over to Rook's place. While normally walking about in the open during the day with a bag of heads where the blood is leaking through might cause some issues, but given the state of the city, it just serves as a warning for people not to mess with you. Rook, nowadays rarely leaves his mansion. You aren't sure who had it before he did, but you do know he just took it over soon after the Guild was wiped out. You're stopped at the front gate by one of the Ebony Claw members. "What do you want and what the hell is in the bag?" she asks. "Severed heads of fucking loudmouths and spies. Look, I got important shit to talk to Rook about and I just dragged my ass through riots to get here, so let me the fuck in." you say. "You don't give the damn orders here! Nobody gets in to see Rook without his say so! So you're just going to have wait until one of us goes to see if it's okay first and I don't particularly feel motivated to do so and neither does anyone else, let alone for the likes of you." "I don't have time for this. Bitch, you will LET me in there because if you don't I'm going to do to YOU and the rest of these assholes what I did to these fuckers." At this point you dump out the contents of the bag and bloody heads drop out. "SHIT! That's Mr. Dream!" one of them exclaims. "And that one's Dreamweaver! He fucking killed them!" another exclaims. The female Claw member who was talking to you before now looks a little more concerned by your presence and starts going for her weapon. "Do not even fucking think about it sweetheart. I will fucking shoot you in both tits and then after I'm done killing the rest of these sorry excuses for Syndicate members, I will violate your dying body and the last thing you're going to feel before you leave this shitty earth is me coming inside your ass and laughing while doing it." You threaten. "Shit...fuck man. There's no need for damn rape threats. Fine, you wanna go see Rook you crazy fucker, be my fucking guest. You're still not getting past those Shadow Blade guys though and if you do, Rook's going to be pissed at you for killing some of his top Blue Dream dealers anyway. I hope he fucking cuts your dick and balls off and shoves them down your throat!" The female Claw member says and starts motioning for the others to open the gates while you collect the bloody heads and shove them back the bag. As you walk through the gates and towards the mansion, you shake your head. "Shit, that was a bit dark for me, but hell, no wonder the Syndicate is going to shit, if they're backing down from a threat like that." You say. You get to the front door and you are immediately stopped by some cloaked individuals who just suddenly appear around you. You fight the instinct to immediately go for your weapon, not that you'd be fast enough anyway since two of them have already grabbed your arms, while another takes your bag and all your weapons. "What's you business here?" one of them asks. Taking a politer approach you explain everything or rather you spin your lie which isn't completely a lie since the two Dreams were pair of loudmouth assholes that blabbed shit so freely that's what allowed you to relay most inside information to Tanya in the first place. You add the extra bit that the head of the Blue Dream addict was a Neroth cultist spy and explain that's how come groups of Neroth cultists have been fucking up Ebony Claw interests as of late. The head Shadow Blade whispers to one of his comrades who enters the mansion. "He'll be back in a moment, then we'll proceed from there." He says and then motions for the ones holding your arms to let you go. They don't give you back your weapons (or the bag) though. You wait in silence for a bit, and then eventually the other one comes out and nods. "Okay, looks like you're in the clear for now. Follow him inside and if you survive your meeting with Rook and he okays it, then you'll get your weapons back." The lead Shadow Blade says. As you start to head in, the lead Shadow Blade grabs your shoulder and whispers to you. "All secrets are eventually uncovered by Fel." He says and then lets go of your shoulder. The pair of you look at each other briefly, and its almost like the Shadow Blade is telling you already that he thinks you're lying. It's enough to put some fear into you though you hold it together and go inside the mansion. After following the Shadow Blade through a series of halls and eventually to Rook's office. He sits behind a desk with Bolt on his right side and slightly behind his chair. Rook is talking with another skinny man off to the side that you've never seen before, but judging by all the books on the desk, you guess that he might be some beancounter that tracks the accounts and such. "Rook, we are hemorrhaging coin. We are not going to have enough to kick up to the Syndicate Directors this month. This state of anarchy is really bad for business and the deal you made with the Temple of Fel REALLY took a large chunk out of our treasury." "And what the fuck was I supposed to do Lloyd? We had a manpower shortage, and I was getting no fucking help from the directors! Those fuckers have been sitting on their fat asses in the Delantium Kingdom for so fucking long they don't even know what it's really like to struggle any fucking more. The Temple of Fel is an ally to the Syndicate and apparently the only reliable one I have right now besides Bolt here. And THIS asshole, who I may have put too much trust in, apparently just took it upon himself to waste two of my best distributors!" Rook says turning his attention to you. Rook at this point stands up. "Now I was already told the little story that you told everyone outside in order to get in here, but why don't you go over it again with me directly so I can try to grasp it myself and attempt to understand your logic." You're on the spot and now you suddenly don't feel very sure about this plan, but you're here now so you better be convincing. > You take a risk with even more lies Fel might be uncover all secrets, but he can't find you if you keep one step ahead by piling on more bullshit to hide under. "This is Lloyd?" you ask. Your question catches Rook and Lloyd off guard. Bolt just remains stoic. "Yes, that's fucking Lloyd, but how is that fucking relevant t to your situation?" Rook exclaims. "It's very relevant, because apparently this asshole has been skimming money for himself for years." You say. Now Rook and Bolt both look over at hapless Lloyd who is now on the verge of shitting his pants and you haven't even gotten started. "Wha...what?! That's absurd!" Lloyd says. "That's not what Mr. Dream said. He said you've been ripping off the Syndicate for years and just shuffling the book around or whatever it is you do. I don't quite understand all that mathy stuff myself, but I guess you're good at it, if you got away with it for so long..." you say. "This asshole is lying Rook!" "In fact Mr. Dream said he wouldn't have known if you hadn't caved in to take a hit of Blue Dream on a dare two years ago when you were getting the take and they dared you to try a hit of Blue Dream. You ended up caving in and got so high you started bragging to him and Dreamweaver about your genius system. Where upon they blackmailed you into giving them a cut..." "ROOK! You're not seriously listening to this?! This man has told a story about Mr. Dream and Dreamweaver being snitches! Now he's claiming we were all ripping you off!" "No, I never said the Dreams were snitches, I said they were loudmouth assholes that blabbed so much they let a Neroth spy catch wind of all our operations so they could fuck them up. And as for you lot ripping off the Syndicate, well why the hell else would this chapter be hemorrhaging coin as you put it? I work at that Blue Dream House and I know damn well we make more than THIS." At this point you empty your pockets and coin pouch of some of the gold you took from the Blue Dream House and dump in all on the floor. "That is all I found in the safe after I killed those two idiots. I looked all over for a hiding place, thinking they might have it elsewhere, but I guess they weren't dumb enough to hide it on the premises. In any case it's pretty obvious Rook should be getting way more coin than he's been getting and you're obviously trying to get him killed by the directors..." "ROOK! I swear to Fel I am NOT doing that! This..." "Lloyd. Calm yourself and sit the fuck down before you have a heart attack. Have drink or something while you're at it." Rook says. While Lloyd pours himself a glass of some sort of liquor and sits down, Rook steps out from behind his desk and approaches you. "Okay, this is a very elaborate story you're telling. My question is this though. How do you know all this shit in the first place? I mean I only have your word on this. I can't obviously interrogate Mr. Dream or Weaver about this, because you fucking killed them. Lloyd here is obviously hysterical and going to plead his innocence. I'm NOT even saying what you're saying is a lie because we ARE all a bunch of fucking criminals when it comes down to it, but I'm gonna need a little more convincing." Rook says. "Well, I'm not sure what else I can do." "That's not a great start, however let me help you. For instance, if Mr. Dream and Weaver were these loudmouths that you claim they were, why the hell didn't you report any of this sooner?" "Well for one thing, I was always kept in the fucking courtyard for the most part. I didn't really catch wind of a lot of this until recently and I still didn't know what was bullshit and what wasn't. Mr. Dream once bragged that he shut down a brothel once because he wore out all the women that night, and I know damn well that didn't happen because he barely could last five minutes with the Blue Dream whores if the jokes were any indication. I wanted to collect more information first before moving forward on it." "They were potentially fucking stealing money and talking about sensitive information, what the fuck else were you waiting for?!" "Okay fine. I fucked up. Maybe I should have moved sooner. That's on me and I'll take whatever punishment you decide. However as soon as I found out about the Neroth spy skulking about, I acted. I mean maybe I should have come to you first, but I was so pissed after I interrogated that dickhead that I just lost it. I cut off that fuckers feet and hands and he was still laughing about how stupid we were for letting our secrets slip so easily." "Okay, but that's the other part of your story I don't entirely understand. Why the hell are the Neroth cultists have such a damn hard on for us anyway? I mean granted we aren't buddies, but it's not like we've gone out of our way to fuck with them." "From what I can tell they see us as the biggest threat to control over the city. The spy admitted it and I mean their previous actions over the past few months have proven that due to all their attacks. Not to mention the Syndicate is allied with the Temple of Fel which is a rival god, so it makes perfect sense to take out two enemies so closely linked. And I suppose perhaps maybe I am to blame as well. The cult of Neroth and I have sort of a history and it probably doesn't help the Syndicate that they have a personal vendetta against me. I still get the odd cultist trying to assassinate me every now and then." "Hm, I suppose that makes sense. Didn't realize there were that many left though. Figured we killed them all by now." "Um, yeah that's the other bit and the main reason why I came to warn you directly. There aren't many of them left and so they're desperate. One of the things the cultist laughed about before he died was the fact that all this chaos has allowed them to summon a greater infernal or something. He didn't say what it was exactly, just that it was coming to wreak havoc on the Syndicate. And I hate to step out of line here, because I know I've already probably pissed you off, but the more time we waste with trying to determine if I'm a liar or not, is less time we have preparing for this attack." Rook looks at you for a while. You know that he's trying to see if you're lying about all this. You maintain your composure. He looks over at Bolt who seems to shrug, then he looks over at Lloyd who continues to nervously drink. Rook finally turns his attention back to you. "Okay, I'll have more of the members brought here to protect the place." Rook remarks. "No! That's not what you should do!" you exclaim. "Why the fuck not? You just said there's a fucking demon coming to attack us." "There is, but think about it. I mean this is your home, there's no business conducted here or at least not in the direct sense. That demon is probably going to hit our Blue Dream Houses, our brothels, whatever businesses we're collecting protection on and what about that brand new slave market that opened up in the old Thieves Guild?" "So you're saying we need more protection on all of our interests. Well that's great and all, but we don't exactly have that many more people. Any extra we do have are protecting this place." "Well..." "Wait, are you seriously telling me I should lower my own fucking security? What the hell happens if the demon does strike here?!" "Well I mean you're skilled at fighting, you can do all that shadow magic stuff. Bolt here obviously has his talents as a marksman. I mean I'll help too, granted I'm not as good as you two, but I HAVE had experience in fighting a demon before...okay she was a half demon and I got lucky, but who knows I might lucky again. I'm just saying that the three of us are better equipped to fight a demon than the regular Syndicate members at other locations. I think they could benefit with at least some help from a Shadow Blade assigned to them." Rook is rubbing his face at all the information you've been dropping on him. On top of all his other concerns, this is all a bit overwhelming. Meanwhile Lloyd has managed to calm himself down long enough for him to start talking again. "Rook, I don't understand why you're listening to this man. He was KILLING us for years before he joined and he hasn't stopped! He just walked in here with the heads of two of our best people and is accusing me of ripping off the Syndicate! I've dedicated my LIFE to this organization and you should know that because you've known me for a lot longer than you've known this fucking liar!" Lloyd says. "Lloyd, I've honestly only known you only a little longer than I've known this guy. YOU were sent here from the Delantium Kingdom as so called help with the money matters and all that other shit. For all I know you've been sent here to spy on me and setting me up to fail." "You heard me! I get absolutely no fucking support from the directors when I need it the most. You claim we don't have enough money to send back when we should damn well have a surplus! At this point I'm less inclined to trust YOU than I am him." "Rook! I know you're under a lot of stress right now, but listen to reason! I..." "Bolt." Without another word, Bolt shoots Lloyd in the throat, who clutches his neck and gurgles a bit before he slumps down dead. "Bolt, tell our Shadow Blade friends outside that each one of them needs to go to our most profitable locations. Probably not enough of them to cover them all, but we got what we got." Rook says. "What about the members at the gate?" Bolt asks. "Oh, they can stay. If the demon does show up here, maybe they can hurt it a bit before it kills them." "Okay Rook." "And get this man's weapons back while you're at it." Bolt walks out the door and now it's just you and Rook. "As for you, make yourself useful and dispose of Lloyd's body, I don't care what you do with it, just get it out of my office." Rook orders. "You got it." You say. As you're dragging Lloyd's carcass away all you can do is thank Yag that Rook's paranoia was placed in a direction other than yourself. Eventually you dump Lloyd's body somewhere in the backyard and turn around to return to the mansion only to find the Shadow Blade leader standing before you. You try to be taken too much by surprised, but you can't help be a little startled. "Here are your weapons. Bolt told me that Rook said it was okay to give them back to you. I guess you'll be needing them anyway if this place comes under attack by demons and all." He says handing them over to you. You cautiously take them while the Shadow Blade just continues to study you. "I suppose I will be bidding you goodbye and off to defend your distasteful slave market, apparently Rook wants the best of us there. Pity, you seem fairly more interesting now that you're still alive. I can only imagine what story you must have told Rook for him to believe you as well killing one of his top advisors. Very impressive." You don't reply. "Bolt seems to have more doubt judging by his demeanor, but then dwarves tend to be skeptical by nature. Fortunately for you, dwarves are also very loyal and he won't deviate from Rook's orders too much." You continue to not respond and just walk past the Shadow Blade. "Tell me, do you think you could take them both?" he asks. "What?" you ask. "Simple question. Do you think you could take them both? I mean I'm not counting those idiots at the gate, they wouldn't get to the fight in time before you or the other two were dead anyway. But without us here, it would be a perfect opportunity to assassinate them. True, they both weld a bit of shadow magic, but let's be honest...they pale in comparison to a true follower of Fel. And if anything this life has taught me, it's that anyone can be killed at anytime by anyone. Just need the right combination and the perfect time to strike." "Are you trying to tell me something?" "I don't know. Am I? I thought I was merely asking a question." "Your question is accusatory and I don't know what you're talking about with all this assassination business. If you believe that my intentions are not what they seem then why not act?" "Just as Bolt follows his orders loyally, I do as well. Not to Rook, but to the Temple and ultimately to Fel. My immediate superior told me to perform a task and that's to help the Ebony Claw against its enemies wherever possible. It so happens that Rook is the head of the EC so if he wants us elsewhere and for you to stay here, who am I to argue? Perhaps I have misjudged you, if so then apologies my friend." The Shadow Blade leader gives a small bow and leaves. You really don't know what to make of that one. It seems as if he probably knew you were lying, but ultimately didn't give a shit because he doesn't really want to be helping the Ebony Claw anyway. Of course this leave you with the question of whether you SHOULD kill Rook and Bolt now while you have the element of surprise or if you should wait for Tanya because you know it won't be that long before she decides to attack anyway. > You kill Bolt and Rook You still don't know when Tanya's going to arrive and you already dodged one close call. The longer you stick around here, the more likely Rook's going to figure out why you're really here. Time to end this now. You return to Rook who is currently going through a few of Lloyd's books. Bolt is nowhere to be found, though for all you know he's around somewhere in the room. He's going to be the dangerous one, because as soon as you kill Rook, he's going to be firing on you from somewhere. You'll have do some sort of acrobatics when you take Rook by surprise. Meanwhile Rook is just shaking his head as he tosses one of the books aside. "I can't even be bothered to go through this shit right now." Rook says. You don't reply, you just unload several bullets into his chest before he can even react. You then duck and roll to the side hoping that you'll avoid getting hit by Bolt's crossbow. Rook's body drops to the floor and you also hear the noise of a bolt going into Rook's desk. If you hadn't moved, that would have gone right into you. You turn around and fire from your prone position, but Bolt once again blinks out of sight. Having the disadvantage again, you now duck behind Rook's desk and attempt to push his body aside. To your surprise, Rook isn't quite dead yet! "You...(wheeze) fuck..." he utters as he weakly grabs you with one hand and attempts to get his eye patch off with the other. You have no idea why he's doing that, but you hardly care. You briefly struggle with Rook and put another bullet in him, this time to his face, which certainly kills him this time. However your victory is short lived since it gave Bolt just enough time to reload and run over to your location and put a bolt through the back of your neck. You actually manage to survive just long enough to see a winged figure crash through the large window in the room before your vision goes completely black forever.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy] Fel might be uncover all secrets, but he can't find you if you keep one step ahead by piling on more bullshit to hide under. "This is Lloyd?" you ask. Your question catches Rook and Lloyd off guard. Bolt just remains stoic. "Yes, that's fucking Lloyd, but how is that fucking relevant t to your situation?" Rook exclaims. "It's very relevant, because apparently this asshole has been skimming money for himself for years." You say. Now Rook and Bolt both look over at hapless Lloyd who is now on the verge of shitting his pants and you haven't even gotten started. "Wha...what?! That's absurd!" Lloyd says. "That's not what Mr. Dream said. He said you've been ripping off the Syndicate for years and just shuffling the book around or whatever it is you do. I don't quite understand all that mathy stuff myself, but I guess you're good at it, if you got away with it for so long..." you say. "This asshole is lying Rook!" "In fact Mr. Dream said he wouldn't have known if you hadn't caved in to take a hit of Blue Dream on a dare two years ago when you were getting the take and they dared you to try a hit of Blue Dream. You ended up caving in and got so high you started bragging to him and Dreamweaver about your genius system. Where upon they blackmailed you into giving them a cut..." "ROOK! You're not seriously listening to this?! This man has told a story about Mr. Dream and Dreamweaver being snitches! Now he's claiming we were all ripping you off!" "No, I never said the Dreams were snitches, I said they were loudmouth assholes that blabbed so much they let a Neroth spy catch wind of all our operations so they could fuck them up. And as for you lot ripping off the Syndicate, well why the hell else would this chapter be hemorrhaging coin as you put it? I work at that Blue Dream House and I know damn well we make more than THIS." At this point you empty your pockets and coin pouch of some of the gold you took from the Blue Dream House and dump in all on the floor. "That is all I found in the safe after I killed those two idiots. I looked all over for a hiding place, thinking they might have it elsewhere, but I guess they weren't dumb enough to hide it on the premises. In any case it's pretty obvious Rook should be getting way more coin than he's been getting and you're obviously trying to get him killed by the directors..." "ROOK! I swear to Fel I am NOT doing that! This..." "Lloyd. Calm yourself and sit the fuck down before you have a heart attack. Have drink or something while you're at it." Rook says. While Lloyd pours himself a glass of some sort of liquor and sits down, Rook steps out from behind his desk and approaches you. "Okay, this is a very elaborate story you're telling. My question is this though. How do you know all this shit in the first place? I mean I only have your word on this. I can't obviously interrogate Mr. Dream or Weaver about this, because you fucking killed them. Lloyd here is obviously hysterical and going to plead his innocence. I'm NOT even saying what you're saying is a lie because we ARE all a bunch of fucking criminals when it comes down to it, but I'm gonna need a little more convincing." Rook says. "Well, I'm not sure what else I can do." "That's not a great start, however let me help you. For instance, if Mr. Dream and Weaver were these loudmouths that you claim they were, why the hell didn't you report any of this sooner?" "Well for one thing, I was always kept in the fucking courtyard for the most part. I didn't really catch wind of a lot of this until recently and I still didn't know what was bullshit and what wasn't. Mr. Dream once bragged that he shut down a brothel once because he wore out all the women that night, and I know damn well that didn't happen because he barely could last five minutes with the Blue Dream whores if the jokes were any indication. I wanted to collect more information first before moving forward on it." "They were potentially fucking stealing money and talking about sensitive information, what the fuck else were you waiting for?!" "Okay fine. I fucked up. Maybe I should have moved sooner. That's on me and I'll take whatever punishment you decide. However as soon as I found out about the Neroth spy skulking about, I acted. I mean maybe I should have come to you first, but I was so pissed after I interrogated that dickhead that I just lost it. I cut off that fuckers feet and hands and he was still laughing about how stupid we were for letting our secrets slip so easily." "Okay, but that's the other part of your story I don't entirely understand. Why the hell are the Neroth cultists have such a damn hard on for us anyway? I mean granted we aren't buddies, but it's not like we've gone out of our way to fuck with them." "From what I can tell they see us as the biggest threat to control over the city. The spy admitted it and I mean their previous actions over the past few months have proven that due to all their attacks. Not to mention the Syndicate is allied with the Temple of Fel which is a rival god, so it makes perfect sense to take out two enemies so closely linked. And I suppose perhaps maybe I am to blame as well. The cult of Neroth and I have sort of a history and it probably doesn't help the Syndicate that they have a personal vendetta against me. I still get the odd cultist trying to assassinate me every now and then." "Hm, I suppose that makes sense. Didn't realize there were that many left though. Figured we killed them all by now." "Um, yeah that's the other bit and the main reason why I came to warn you directly. There aren't many of them left and so they're desperate. One of the things the cultist laughed about before he died was the fact that all this chaos has allowed them to summon a greater infernal or something. He didn't say what it was exactly, just that it was coming to wreak havoc on the Syndicate. And I hate to step out of line here, because I know I've already probably pissed you off, but the more time we waste with trying to determine if I'm a liar or not, is less time we have preparing for this attack." Rook looks at you for a while. You know that he's trying to see if you're lying about all this. You maintain your composure. He looks over at Bolt who seems to shrug, then he looks over at Lloyd who continues to nervously drink. Rook finally turns his attention back to you. "Okay, I'll have more of the members brought here to protect the place." Rook remarks. "No! That's not what you should do!" you exclaim. "Why the fuck not? You just said there's a fucking demon coming to attack us." "There is, but think about it. I mean this is your home, there's no business conducted here or at least not in the direct sense. That demon is probably going to hit our Blue Dream Houses, our brothels, whatever businesses we're collecting protection on and what about that brand new slave market that opened up in the old Thieves Guild?" "So you're saying we need more protection on all of our interests. Well that's great and all, but we don't exactly have that many more people. Any extra we do have are protecting this place." "Well..." "Wait, are you seriously telling me I should lower my own fucking security? What the hell happens if the demon does strike here?!" "Well I mean you're skilled at fighting, you can do all that shadow magic stuff. Bolt here obviously has his talents as a marksman. I mean I'll help too, granted I'm not as good as you two, but I HAVE had experience in fighting a demon before...okay she was a half demon and I got lucky, but who knows I might lucky again. I'm just saying that the three of us are better equipped to fight a demon than the regular Syndicate members at other locations. I think they could benefit with at least some help from a Shadow Blade assigned to them." Rook is rubbing his face at all the information you've been dropping on him. On top of all his other concerns, this is all a bit overwhelming. Meanwhile Lloyd has managed to calm himself down long enough for him to start talking again. "Rook, I don't understand why you're listening to this man. He was KILLING us for years before he joined and he hasn't stopped! He just walked in here with the heads of two of our best people and is accusing me of ripping off the Syndicate! I've dedicated my LIFE to this organization and you should know that because you've known me for a lot longer than you've known this fucking liar!" Lloyd says. "Lloyd, I've honestly only known you only a little longer than I've known this guy. YOU were sent here from the Delantium Kingdom as so called help with the money matters and all that other shit. For all I know you've been sent here to spy on me and setting me up to fail." "You heard me! I get absolutely no fucking support from the directors when I need it the most. You claim we don't have enough money to send back when we should damn well have a surplus! At this point I'm less inclined to trust YOU than I am him." "Rook! I know you're under a lot of stress right now, but listen to reason! I..." "Bolt." Without another word, Bolt shoots Lloyd in the throat, who clutches his neck and gurgles a bit before he slumps down dead. "Bolt, tell our Shadow Blade friends outside that each one of them needs to go to our most profitable locations. Probably not enough of them to cover them all, but we got what we got." Rook says. "What about the members at the gate?" Bolt asks. "Oh, they can stay. If the demon does show up here, maybe they can hurt it a bit before it kills them." "Okay Rook." "And get this man's weapons back while you're at it." Bolt walks out the door and now it's just you and Rook. "As for you, make yourself useful and dispose of Lloyd's body, I don't care what you do with it, just get it out of my office." Rook orders. "You got it." You say. As you're dragging Lloyd's carcass away all you can do is thank Yag that Rook's paranoia was placed in a direction other than yourself. Eventually you dump Lloyd's body somewhere in the backyard and turn around to return to the mansion only to find the Shadow Blade leader standing before you. You try to be taken too much by surprised, but you can't help be a little startled. "Here are your weapons. Bolt told me that Rook said it was okay to give them back to you. I guess you'll be needing them anyway if this place comes under attack by demons and all." He says handing them over to you. You cautiously take them while the Shadow Blade just continues to study you. "I suppose I will be bidding you goodbye and off to defend your distasteful slave market, apparently Rook wants the best of us there. Pity, you seem fairly more interesting now that you're still alive. I can only imagine what story you must have told Rook for him to believe you as well killing one of his top advisors. Very impressive." You don't reply. "Bolt seems to have more doubt judging by his demeanor, but then dwarves tend to be skeptical by nature. Fortunately for you, dwarves are also very loyal and he won't deviate from Rook's orders too much." You continue to not respond and just walk past the Shadow Blade. "Tell me, do you think you could take them both?" he asks. "What?" you ask. "Simple question. Do you think you could take them both? I mean I'm not counting those idiots at the gate, they wouldn't get to the fight in time before you or the other two were dead anyway. But without us here, it would be a perfect opportunity to assassinate them. True, they both weld a bit of shadow magic, but let's be honest...they pale in comparison to a true follower of Fel. And if anything this life has taught me, it's that anyone can be killed at anytime by anyone. Just need the right combination and the perfect time to strike." "Are you trying to tell me something?" "I don't know. Am I? I thought I was merely asking a question." "Your question is accusatory and I don't know what you're talking about with all this assassination business. If you believe that my intentions are not what they seem then why not act?" "Just as Bolt follows his orders loyally, I do as well. Not to Rook, but to the Temple and ultimately to Fel. My immediate superior told me to perform a task and that's to help the Ebony Claw against its enemies wherever possible. It so happens that Rook is the head of the EC so if he wants us elsewhere and for you to stay here, who am I to argue? Perhaps I have misjudged you, if so then apologies my friend." The Shadow Blade leader gives a small bow and leaves. You really don't know what to make of that one. It seems as if he probably knew you were lying, but ultimately didn't give a shit because he doesn't really want to be helping the Ebony Claw anyway. Of course this leave you with the question of whether you SHOULD kill Rook and Bolt now while you have the element of surprise or if you should wait for Tanya because you know it won't be that long before she decides to attack anyway. > You wait for Tanya Very tempting, but while you think you could get the drop on one, you don't think you'd be able to get both of them, which you suppose answers the Shadow Blade's question earlier. When Tanya is here though, you'll better be able to take advantage of the situation. You just hope you haven't misjudged her and she'll actually rethink her position on attacking Rook, though if enough time passes, you're going to just have to risk acting on your own anyway. You return to Rook who is currently going through a few of Lloyd's books. Bolt is nowhere to be found, though for all you know he's around somewhere in the room. Rook is just shaking his head as he tosses one of the books aside. "I can't even be bothered to go through this shit right now." Rook says. "Probably all bullshit anyway considering Lloyd was stealing from the Syndicate." You answer. "Yeah well at this point I'm starting to think if Lloyd had just cut me in on that deal as well he might still be alive, because I'm seriously starting to wonder why I'm bothering anymore. It's obvious that I am not getting the support I need and it's almost like Holgard is an afterthought for them. I mean if they don't even want a fucking chapter here then fine with me, I got other interests." Rook doesn't elaborate on that, but you stay silent. Rook watches you for a moment and then speaks again. "Fuck it, you've been one of the few that's actually been useful to me. How do you feel about starting something new?" Rook asks. "New how?" you ask. "I'm talking a new organization. I mean this revolution is going to be over eventually and frankly after everything that's gone on, I'm not seeing a good reason to even stay with the Ebony Claw Syndicate anymore." "If we went out on our own, aren't we going to have to worry about retaliation?" "Yeah, but fuck. How is going to be any different than any other rival? They obviously don't even give that much of a shit about this place anyway and we'll have a complete monopoly on the underworld here. We will definitely be entrenched and they'll have to send an army which I don't see them doing." "What about the Temple of Fel? I mean I'm still hazy on how what the ECS and their temple's relationship is, but aren't they allies?" "Not as close as you think and as I am a dedicated follower to Fel, I believe my strong relationship to them would help me more. At worst they would stay neutral. At best, well let's just say I've got very strong ties to the temple here and I know for a fact that being aligned with Fel is going to be the way of the future here in Holgard. I don't take it you're a believer yet though." "Well not as such no, but I certainly wouldn't be one to piss any of his faithful off." "Heh, well that's a start..." Suddenly the large window behind Rook shatters as two small fireballs break through. Still being near the doorway, you're not in immediate danger, but you duck behind the entryway anyway. You peek around the corner and see Rook's desk full of books on fire, and Rook himself has fallen flat on the ground, but otherwise unhurt. Then you see her fly in. It's Tanya and her transformation is now complete. Gone are any vestiges of "modesty" as she's completely naked. Her skin has become a deep red, she has shiny black wings, and her horns are certainly prominent through her long white hair. She has sharp teeth that now accompany her deadly seductress face and sharp talons far superior to any manmade weapon she might've used at one time. Not that she necessarily needs them because apparently she can create little fireballs from her palms and is preparing to throw another at Rook. Rook rips off his eye patch revealing a black gem which he then directs his attention to Tanya and blasts her with a beam of black energy. Halting her fireball attack for a moment. Wasting no time, you enter the room and shoot Rook several times with your pistol. He doesn't even know what hit him as the bullets hit his body and he slumps to the floor. You then feel a bolt going into your back and then another one just narrowly grazing the back of your head. You fall to the floor and you probably would be dead right there if not for Tanya who has already recovered from Rook's attack. You don't see what happens next, but you certainly hear it when a guttural scream is heard followed by the sound of flesh being ripped, bones being cracked and then a piece of arm being tossed over your head. Then you soon feel the bolt in your back being forcefully pulled out, followed by her hand touching the wound and burning it, causing you to yell out. You close your eyes and breathe hard for a moment trying to ignore the pain and then you're suddenly lifted up. "Foolish mortal, you could have gotten yourself killed." Tanya growls and then with you in her arms, she takes flight back out the window. You look down on the city from the sky and it's a surreal feeling. You might even appreciate it if you weren't in a lot of pain right now. You fly around for a bit and eventually she starts her decent downward. Because you're not quite used to this sensation you close your eyes again almost thinking you're going smash in the ground. Instead however, she lands near the abandoned and semi-ruined inn the Lighthouse and places you on one of the empty beds there. "Can you move around? Can you feel anything?" Tanya asks. "Fuck, of course I can feel, my whole fucking body hurts, especially my back. As far as moving around is concerned, yeah, I can, but I don't fucking want to. See? I'm moving my foot!" "Okay, good. At least you're not paralyzed then. I would have hated to have to put you out of your misery." "Wouldn't have been fun for me either. Sheesh. You couldn't just heal me you're your new infernal magic abilities instead?" "As far as I know I don't have that ability and I doubt healing magic is something that most infernals have anyway given their destructive nature." "I suppose you're right." You wince in pain as you attempt to shift position on the bed. Tanya just looks at you with a stare that feels very oppressive. "I'm guessing you're just looking on me with distain of how weak of a human I am right about now." You say. "No...well partly that, but I was thinking more of how this was where we spent our first time of intimacy together. That was such a special moment for me, in more ways than one I think." Tanya says. "What do you mean?" "I dunno, I think it became a turning point in my reluctance to accept my heritage. I started to realize that I really should be embracing my potential not hiding from it. Something definitely changed that's for sure, but I suppose not everything did." Tanya holds your hand, which is very warm to the touch. When you look at her face again, you can still sort of see the old Tanya there. You still feel very close to her, though you're a little worried about what might come next. "I can't stay here." Tanya says. "I can see how a flying demon might very well attract attention in a civilized area." You say. "Not just this city. This...world. I'm feeling very drawn to my roots as it were. Never thought I'd be longing to go to such an awful place, but I feel I must, if only to learn more about myself." "I see. So you're going home then? Can you do that?" "I feel like I should be able to soon. When I do leave, you'll probably experience a bit of a longing, but I think it shouldn't be too crippling. The further away I am from you physically the better you'll be able to get over it and move on." "I didn't get over it when I first saw you. You really think I'm going to now? You said we bonded." "I suppose we did...though I don't believe this is going to impact you as much as it will me. My bond with you is only supposed to be temporary so I can access you better at which point I should be draining your life force and eating your soul, or whatever it is I'm supposed to do. I can't very well go around being a proper succubus if I'm monogamous." "I sort of was afraid you'd say something like that." Tanya's hand releases yours and moves over you to your face. You fully expect her to do something violent, but instead she just caresses your cheek. "You worry too much, I'm severely broken anyway. If I had embraced all this years before when my mother first approached me, then you might have cause for concern. However, there's still too much ugh...mortal in me. I am forever going to be at war with myself, though perhaps it's this internal struggle and late blooming that's causing my rapid transformation and surge in power. I look at you for example and still feel love. I shouldn't, but I do. I even hate myself a little for being so weak, but at the same time I don't care. All these conflicting thoughts and torment are probably helping me be a better infernal because hatred, even self-hatred is a great quality to have as an infernal." "So...you're not going to kill me?" "Not today, probably not ever. I shall learn to live with this weakness and I'll refocus my energy into other worthy endeavors. Fucking men and leading them astray isn't something I find all that appealing anyway. Besides, you're human and your kind have pitifully short life spans. You'll live, what? Sixty more years at most and in your case of being a professional criminal, it is doubtful you'll live to old age. Then after you're dead, there will be no more weakness. I can be patient. It's a good trait for an infernal anyway." You nearly laugh at how matter a factly Tanya says this. "Well I appreciate your patience Tanya, and it's certainly better than the alternative." Tanya sits next to you on the bed and now her eyes look less hard, the non-infernal side is showing. "Our time together wasn't long enough." She says with sadness. "Maybe, but I enjoyed what time there was. Besides, you said it yourself that we're bonded. So our time together isn't really over, it's just different I suppose." You say. Tanya hugs you, and you ignore the pain you feel when she applies her squeeze around you. She then carefully kisses you on the lips. You don't even feel the drain. She then wipes her eyes and stands up. "Move on from me. Goodbye my love." She says and leaves. You continue to lie on the bed mostly motionless just thinking about how she's really gone now and allow yourself to weep a bit. Eventually enough time passes that you get ahold of yourself and you feel a little rested enough to sit up. You reach into your small bag still on your person and check to see if you've still got your water skin or food since you're getting a little hungry and thirsty As you're rummaging through, you find something you definitely didn't put in there. A large black gem. Actually it's a little sticky from blood on it, but this could only be from Rook's eye socket. Tanya must have ripped it out while you had your eyes closed from after she pulled the bolt from your back. You never felt her put anything in your bag though, then again you weren't exactly paying attention. You smile at this parting gift from Tanya. "Goodbye Tanya." > Time passes... Year 23 You take a moment to catch your breath after running from the guards. Warts soon joins you, though he's got more on his mind than just catching his breath. "What da hell? Youz wuz just gonna leave me there?!" he says. "Warts, they didn't even see you, they only saw me, and I figured you'd be fine anyway. And look, I was right, you're here to bitch at me." You say. "Bullshit. Anyways, youz wouldn't have alerted the guards if youz wuz a better thief!" "Fuck you, I'm a fucking fantastic thief! I was part of the Guild AND the Syndicate!" "Yeah? And where are they now?" "Both gone, while I outlasted both organizations." "Hm, from what youz told me, sounds more like you destroyed them both. No wonder nobody else wants to work with you. Youz a jinx." "Then why are you still willing to work with me?" "Cuz I got Yag wit me always. Sides, it's usually more profitable than working with the Spider Fangs nowadays. Idjits too busy warring with da elves rather than simple banditry. Not hangin' around for dat." "What about your guide gig?" "Bah, nobody gets lost like they used to. Dat Baroness has mades effort to chop a lotta trees in da surrounding area and make a road as opposed to the simple dirt path it once had." "Yeah Baroness Varsakken is unfortunately a lot more efficient than her father was. Been a steady increase in security in the city making life harder in general. Miss the days when they wouldn't even bother you or you could easily just bribe them." "Dat's becuz there's no organizations anymore. Without da Syndicate or even the Guild around, the criminal element here is easy pickin' for da guvment. No need to appease or even profit from them. Easier ta just execute or toss 'em in prison." Warts never appears to be bright a lot of times, but it's insight like that which always reminds you that he isn't as stupid as he tries to pretend. He's right of course. The criminal element has been disorganized ever since the city pulled back from anarchy and Baroness Ludmilla Varsakken took power from her father Vlad and brother Farad (And most certainly had a hand in killing them both). The Ebony Claw Syndicate chapter here never regrouped. None of the members who survived (And were mostly the lower ranks anyway), ever tried to reform and seemed to just go their own way. The ECS leadership back in the Delantium Kingdom never came back to "reclaim" their chapter either. You assume that they wrote this place off as a loss and moved on. Initially this all seemed pretty ideal, as you were no longer under their threats or watchful eye and at the time the Holgard Watch was still fairly weak and recovering from the anarchy. In time though, it turned out Ludmilla was far more competent and more pragmatic than her father and started actually focusing on making the city safer and less of pit of crime and disorder that it's become known for. Which in turn is making your profession a bit harder. The more you think about it, you're starting to wonder about what the hell you're doing with your own life and it isn't exactly as good as it could be. This living day to day without thinking about the future was okay before, but now you're starting realize that maybe you should be rethinking your simplistic approach to life. Because even if you're still a good enough thief to evade the law and trouble most of the time, you're getting a little bored of doing it. Something different might be in order. You think again back to just a few years ago and the fact that you were part of not one but two criminal organizations. You didn't give it too much thought at the time, mainly because you were thinking more about Tanya, but sometimes you wondered what it would be like to be running said organizations. Given how Garrick and Rook ended up, you have to believe that you'd do just as good of a job as they did, maybe even better. Maybe YOU could form a new organization. If you did, you'd certainly bring in more money and strengthen the underworld here again. Maybe you could even influence the government like the Ebony Claw Syndicate and the Guild once did. "Warts, I think I should form an organization." You say. "Wut? Dat's a terrible idea." Warts says. "Why?" "Cuz, more people around, more problems, dat's why! I mean you should know dat better than anywun! Besides, I know too, Spider Fang tribe, full of idjits, why you think I stay to myself a lot?" "Because they don't truly accept you from what you told me, and besides didn't you tell me the Spider Fang tribe survived when others didn't because they worked together the best?" "Tru...but they probably gettin' demselves killed by warring with da elves. Sides, ain't nobody gonna follow youz. Youz a jinx remember? Anyone left from the Syndicate isn't likely ta like ya." "Yeah? Well they don't need to like me, they just need to fear and believe in me. You forget, I was known as a Claw killer before I joined. I mean that should still count as a serious reputation." "Maybe...but I dunno...seems like ya just invitin' trouble." "Can't be any worse than what I've already been through." "Hm, so whatcha callin' it?" "Calling what?" "Yer gang, ya idjit. Geez." "Oh. Shit, guess I should come up with a name. Fuck. Can't think of one right now." "Sounds like a great start." "Forget the name for now, what we need to do is gather up everyone." "We? I didn't agree ta dis." "Warts, you'll fucking help me, because I've saved your damn life on more than one occasion." "Sheesh, if I'd known you'd become such a fucking asshole, I woulda left ya ta rot in the woods years ago. Alright, fine. I'll help, but only becuz I ain't got anything better ta do right now. I ain't getting' tied down in dis little organization of yers either, assumin' it even gets off da ground to begin wit. So whatcha need?" Seeing as you don't want to be bothered hunting down every petty criminal in Holgard, you assign Warts that task. As strange as it may seem, he can be fairly convincing to those of similar low status. As for you, you're of the mind that you need to find a suitable headquarters. You suppose you could just "take over" the current inn you're living at. It wouldn't take much to intimidate the owner, though your bigger concern is visibility. Gone are the days where organizations like the ECS could just sit out in the open and the Watch would turn a blind eye. You'd have to be more careful to keep up the appearance of legitimacy. Ideally, you'd like to use the old Thieves' Guild location. The problem with that is it's currently an underground slave market and run by the closest thing to a "criminal organization" still left in Holgard. When word of Rook being dead spread, remnants of ECS members that had been assigned to the slave market just stayed there and went into business for themselves. Some of the other members joined soon after. It's one of the few things that the Holgard Watch has not been efficient in eliminating. Though the location never was known to general law enforcement anyway. From what you know, they're little more than a gang of thugs, but they're organized enough that they've lasted this long and even have ties to certain pirate groups based in Hessla. You can't imagine that convincing them is going to be easy, in fact you might have to wait a bit before trying. Go there when you've built up a bit more muscle as a show of force. Of course you could just go in now and shoot everyone. Probably a lot more dangerous and you'd be depriving yourself of possible followers, but if you're successful, you'd certainly establish yourself as the big swinging dick of the underworld, along with taking over the territory you wanted in the first place. > Patience and Diplomacy If you're really serious about doing this, then going in guns blazing might be counter productive, even fatal if you're attempting to do it alone. Better you should at least make some other alliances first before taking on the slavers. While you're mentally preparing yourself for this potential problem for later, Warts is still around asking you questions. "Ay, youz still with me?" Warts asks. "Huh? Yeah, just deep in thought." You answer. "Hm, never had dat problem. Anywayz I was askin' where ya gonna hold dis meetin' of Holgard's most wanted, an when?" "Oh. Just tell them to come to the Blackheart Inn, where I'm currently staying by the weekend. That should give you enough time to scout the streets, taverns, and wherever else. Oh and let them know that the drinks will be on me, so that should help entice them as well." "Blackheart Inn...why the hell don't these inns ever have invitin' names? Like I dunno, the friendly titties, or sumthin." "Because that name was taken by one of the brothels presumably. Anyway, I leave you to it. I probably should start preparing what I'm going to say. Ugh, wish my sister was here, she'd probably be able to write an inspiring speech for me or something." You leave Warts and head home to the Blackheart Inn. On your way to your room, you toss a bag of coins to the innkeeper stating that you're going to be having a "gathering" on the weekend and you need . He doesn't ask questions since he knows by now what sort of man you are and more importantly all the coin you've given him is understanding enough. Days pass and eventually the time has come for you to convince everyone that they need to join you. You aren't sure if it's going to be entirely successful, but hopefully you can convince most of them if only to mount an assault on the slavers. "Ay, I gotz a lotta people here. Aren't ya comin ta make a speech 'bout a glorious future or sumthin?" Warts says. "Yes, but I'm establishing how things are going to work already. THEY will wait for ME. They're at my beck and call, not the other way around." You reply. "Yeah? Well I still say ya betta hurry up. A lot ain't dat patient." "Duly noted. I'll be there soon. Just let them know." You head to the large back room of the inn, where you're met by several criminal types. A lot of them have already been drinking heavily. Some nod at you with respect, while others not so much. "Oh 'ere he is. Fuckin' thought you'd never show up." One says. "Yeah, you drag us all here sayin' it's important and then don't even show up on time for yer own meeting." Another remarks. "Hell, if it wasn't for him payin' for da ale, I wouldn't even be here. So what's dis all about?" A third says. "Glad you asked. You see, while Warts was inviting you all here in a civilized manner to join me, I was planning for all of our futures." You say before you're interrupted. "Wait a minute, did you say join you?" "Yes, I'm rebuilding an organization for us and you're all invited to join and get richer than you are." This response is met with a lot of derision. "Join you?! I see you've been drinking too!" one laughs. "Not that I'm not flattered by the offer, but weren't you part of the Syndicate AND the Guild? Seems suspicious that both were destroyed while you're still here." Another adds. "Yeah, and I was part of the Syndicate once too. Not for very long, but long enough to remember that you were killing them at one time. Some of those guys were my fucking friends! Okay, maybe not friends, but a couple owed me money which I'll never fucking get back now!" a third says. "You'll get that money back and more if you just follow me. I have a vision for this city and if we unify we could be greater than the Guild or the Syndicate ever was!" "Yeah an maybe the elf queen will let me fuck her in the ass while we're at it. This is a lot of bullshit. I'm doing fine on my own." At this point you try to go into the benefits of uniting, but barely anyone is listening. Even the ones that are more receptive have their issues. "Look, I'm not saying it isn't a nice idea, but I'm still not seeing why we should be following you. I mean I know you've got a bit of a reputation as a skilled killer and I'm certainly not going to fuck with you, but there's a difference between being a killer and a leader. I haven't seen any evidence that you're a leader." One of them says. "Yeah, I mean I'd sooner join up with Elias who runs the slave market. The only reason why I haven't is because he's a fucking asshole." Another remarks. "Glad you brought that up, because Elias' days are numbered. I intend on taking him out." You say. "Oh yeah? You and what army?" "Us! I mean that's what I've been saying this whole time! If we join forces, nobody can stop us! Taking out Elias and taking his wealth and his place is just the first step in getting this new organization up and running. So? Who's with me?" Not many apparently, as most of them don't even bother replying and just leave. "What seriously? We could fucking take him together!" you exclaim in anger. "Maybe, maybe not, but again, I don't see why we should be following you to do it. A lot of us are still going to get killed and for what? There's no profit in this." "I just explained there's a shitload of profit in this!" "Well I'm not convinced and I don't think most of us are either. I mean if you got the balls to go take him out yourself, then I'll be the first one to sign up afterwards." "If I take him out myself, then you might want to worry about your future in this city for rejecting my offer now." "Yeah, well I guess I'll have to deal with that when it comes to pass." "You'll deal with it now!" You pull out your pistol and shoot the man you were speaking to in the back. This is soon followed by several other people pulling their own weapons and others just outright running away. You put down those that attack you and probably scared everyone, but you don't think you convinced anyone. Even Warts apparently ran off during the shooting. You curse that this didn't go better. The owner of the Blackheart is pissed enough that he yells about you ruining his place with a mess of bodies. He surprisingly even has the courage to say you're no longer welcome to stay in his establishment and possibly bringing heat down on his place. You don't bother arguing; you already know what you have to do. You need to just take out Elias and after you do that, you'll have your own place, everyone else will fall in line and that will be that. Patience and diplomacy have failed. You go to your room and pack all your shit. In particular all the firearms you've acquired and head to another inn to get a night's rest before taking on the slavers. The next night, with all your gear, you head to the nearest sewer entrance and descend down. You still remember the way to the Thieves Guild so it doesn't take long. When you get closer to where the entrance would be located you start to wonder where anyone is since surely there would be guards or lookouts posted outside to let people in (or keep people out). You approach the entrance and then you hear footstep behind you. You turn around and open fire managing to hit one of your assailants while the others duck behind the walls. The door to the slave market then opens up and you just narrowly avoid getting blasted with a musket. You fall to the floor and manage to put another attacker down with your pistol, but it's apparent that someone from last night's meeting tipped off Elias because his people were waiting for you. You scramble back to your feet, but you're in a very bad position. You're trapped in a narrow corridor with people shooting at you behind and ahead. Even with your skills, you have no cover and you soon take a couple shots that put you down. Refusing to give up you manage to get off one more shot before Elias' people finally finish you off.

Year 23 You take a moment to catch your breath after running from the guards. Warts soon joins you, though he's got more on his mind than just catching his breath. "What da hell? Youz wuz just gonna leave me there?!" he says. "Warts, they didn't even see you, they only saw me, and I figured you'd be fine anyway. And look, I was right, you're here to bitch at me." You say. "Bullshit. Anyways, youz wouldn't have alerted the guards if youz wuz a better thief!" "Fuck you, I'm a fucking fantastic thief! I was part of the Guild AND the Syndicate!" "Yeah? And where are they now?" "Both gone, while I outlasted both organizations." "Hm, from what youz told me, sounds more like you destroyed them both. No wonder nobody else wants to work with you. Youz a jinx." "Then why are you still willing to work with me?" "Cuz I got Yag wit me always. Sides, it's usually more profitable than working with the Spider Fangs nowadays. Idjits too busy warring with da elves rather than simple banditry. Not hangin' around for dat." "What about your guide gig?" "Bah, nobody gets lost like they used to. Dat Baroness has mades effort to chop a lotta trees in da surrounding area and make a road as opposed to the simple dirt path it once had." "Yeah Baroness Varsakken is unfortunately a lot more efficient than her father was. Been a steady increase in security in the city making life harder in general. Miss the days when they wouldn't even bother you or you could easily just bribe them." "Dat's becuz there's no organizations anymore. Without da Syndicate or even the Guild around, the criminal element here is easy pickin' for da guvment. No need to appease or even profit from them. Easier ta just execute or toss 'em in prison." Warts never appears to be bright a lot of times, but it's insight like that which always reminds you that he isn't as stupid as he tries to pretend. He's right of course. The criminal element has been disorganized ever since the city pulled back from anarchy and Baroness Ludmilla Varsakken took power from her father Vlad and brother Farad (And most certainly had a hand in killing them both). The Ebony Claw Syndicate chapter here never regrouped. None of the members who survived (And were mostly the lower ranks anyway), ever tried to reform and seemed to just go their own way. The ECS leadership back in the Delantium Kingdom never came back to "reclaim" their chapter either. You assume that they wrote this place off as a loss and moved on. Initially this all seemed pretty ideal, as you were no longer under their threats or watchful eye and at the time the Holgard Watch was still fairly weak and recovering from the anarchy. In time though, it turned out Ludmilla was far more competent and more pragmatic than her father and started actually focusing on making the city safer and less of pit of crime and disorder that it's become known for. Which in turn is making your profession a bit harder. The more you think about it, you're starting to wonder about what the hell you're doing with your own life and it isn't exactly as good as it could be. This living day to day without thinking about the future was okay before, but now you're starting realize that maybe you should be rethinking your simplistic approach to life. Because even if you're still a good enough thief to evade the law and trouble most of the time, you're getting a little bored of doing it. Something different might be in order. You think again back to just a few years ago and the fact that you were part of not one but two criminal organizations. You didn't give it too much thought at the time, mainly because you were thinking more about Tanya, but sometimes you wondered what it would be like to be running said organizations. Given how Garrick and Rook ended up, you have to believe that you'd do just as good of a job as they did, maybe even better. Maybe YOU could form a new organization. If you did, you'd certainly bring in more money and strengthen the underworld here again. Maybe you could even influence the government like the Ebony Claw Syndicate and the Guild once did. "Warts, I think I should form an organization." You say. "Wut? Dat's a terrible idea." Warts says. "Why?" "Cuz, more people around, more problems, dat's why! I mean you should know dat better than anywun! Besides, I know too, Spider Fang tribe, full of idjits, why you think I stay to myself a lot?" "Because they don't truly accept you from what you told me, and besides didn't you tell me the Spider Fang tribe survived when others didn't because they worked together the best?" "Tru...but they probably gettin' demselves killed by warring with da elves. Sides, ain't nobody gonna follow youz. Youz a jinx remember? Anyone left from the Syndicate isn't likely ta like ya." "Yeah? Well they don't need to like me, they just need to fear and believe in me. You forget, I was known as a Claw killer before I joined. I mean that should still count as a serious reputation." "Maybe...but I dunno...seems like ya just invitin' trouble." "Can't be any worse than what I've already been through." "Hm, so whatcha callin' it?" "Calling what?" "Yer gang, ya idjit. Geez." "Oh. Shit, guess I should come up with a name. Fuck. Can't think of one right now." "Sounds like a great start." "Forget the name for now, what we need to do is gather up everyone." "We? I didn't agree ta dis." "Warts, you'll fucking help me, because I've saved your damn life on more than one occasion." "Sheesh, if I'd known you'd become such a fucking asshole, I woulda left ya ta rot in the woods years ago. Alright, fine. I'll help, but only becuz I ain't got anything better ta do right now. I ain't getting' tied down in dis little organization of yers either, assumin' it even gets off da ground to begin wit. So whatcha need?" Seeing as you don't want to be bothered hunting down every petty criminal in Holgard, you assign Warts that task. As strange as it may seem, he can be fairly convincing to those of similar low status. As for you, you're of the mind that you need to find a suitable headquarters. You suppose you could just "take over" the current inn you're living at. It wouldn't take much to intimidate the owner, though your bigger concern is visibility. Gone are the days where organizations like the ECS could just sit out in the open and the Watch would turn a blind eye. You'd have to be more careful to keep up the appearance of legitimacy. Ideally, you'd like to use the old Thieves' Guild location. The problem with that is it's currently an underground slave market and run by the closest thing to a "criminal organization" still left in Holgard. When word of Rook being dead spread, remnants of ECS members that had been assigned to the slave market just stayed there and went into business for themselves. Some of the other members joined soon after. It's one of the few things that the Holgard Watch has not been efficient in eliminating. Though the location never was known to general law enforcement anyway. From what you know, they're little more than a gang of thugs, but they're organized enough that they've lasted this long and even have ties to certain pirate groups based in Hessla. You can't imagine that convincing them is going to be easy, in fact you might have to wait a bit before trying. Go there when you've built up a bit more muscle as a show of force. Of course you could just go in now and shoot everyone. Probably a lot more dangerous and you'd be depriving yourself of possible followers, but if you're successful, you'd certainly establish yourself as the big swinging dick of the underworld, along with taking over the territory you wanted in the first place. > Ruthless Aggression Well, shooting people is something you're good at, so it might actually be easier anyway. Though you hope you aren't too rusty at it, you haven't been doing as much shooting as you once did. (And as much as it might be more convenient at times, openly killing Holgard Watchmen on a whim is likely to get you hunted down a lot quicker) Still, you do try to keep in practice in the sewers where nobody gives a shit if you're firing off a weapon you're not supposed to own anyway. You've also acquired a few other firearms over the years as well. You've got a musket, a blunderbuss, and various other one shot flintlocks. You might as well bring them all for this, because you're not going in subtle. While you're mentally preparing yourself for this assault in your head, Warts is still around asking you questions. "Ay, youz still with me?" Warts asks. "Huh? Yeah, just deep in thought." You answer. "Hm, never had dat problem. Anywayz I was askin' where ya gonna hold dis meetin' of Holgard's most wanted, an when?" "Oh. Just tell them to come to the Blackheart Inn, where I'm currently staying by the weekend. That should give you enough time to scout the streets, taverns, and wherever else. Oh and let them know that the drinks will be on me, so that should help entice them as well." "Blackheart Inn...why the hell don't these inns ever have invitin' names? Like I dunno, the friendly titties, or sumthin." "Because that name was taken by one of the brothels presumably. Look, I'm leaving you to it, I gotta go get ready." "Ready for what?" "I got my own shit to do before this meeting. Later." You leave Warts and head home to the Blackheart Inn. On your way to your room, you toss a bag of coins to the innkeeper stating that you're going to be having a "gathering" on the weekend and you need . He doesn't ask questions since he knows by now what sort of man you are and more importantly all the coin you've given him is understanding enough. You go to your room and after moving about furniture to access your items, you check everything and load it all up. You then get some rest, because tomorrow you've got big plans. The next night, with all your gear, you head to the nearest sewer entrance and descend down. You still remember the way to the Thieves Guild so it doesn't take long. No sooner do you get closer to where the entrance would be located and several of the slavers are hanging around. "Shit! He's got..." Before any of them can make a move or sound other than a scream, you've shot your blunderbuss and taken out three of them with the spread. You finish off the fourth severely wounded one on the ground with blade to his neck. You can't be sure if that's already alerted more of them, but you enter quickly. As soon as you do, you've draw attention not from the ones running the market, but from some of the potential buyers. More than a few just run for cover, others foolishly draw on you, which you return in kind. As you get closer to the hub, more of the slavers appear to defend their territory. A few of them are armed with crossbows and their own firearms, so you take a nearby customer and use him as a meat shield. He screams the entire time until he finally takes a shot to his head, splattering part of his brains on you. You toss away the body and shoot several more of your assailants with your pistol. At this point the market is in chaos. People are running everywhere and a couple mini-fights have broke out, including a couple of the livelier slaves that are taking advantage of this situation. Eventually you've shot and stabbed enough people and the rest have either fled or cowering somewhere. All things considered, you haven't been wounded too badly in all this. You guess you never lose your touch on some things. "HEY! HEY! STOP SHOOTING! CAN'T WE COME TO A DEAL?!" a female voice shouts. "Perhaps. You the leader of this lot?" you answer. "No, you shot off half of his fucking face five minutes ago. Though, I guess maybe I am now. I'm Vera. What the hell do you even want?" "I want this place, that's what I want." You answer. "Yeah? Well most of the fucking slaves just got killed thanks to you." "I don't give a shit about the slaves. I want this territory! This whole fucking area and eventually the city. I'm putting together a new underworld organization to be a real force in Holgard again and this would be a good spot for the main base of operations." "Is that so? Well I'm not sure if murdering potential members was a good way to go about it." "An example had to be made and you lot were the strongest. The sad fact of life is our kind only ever really respond to is fear and strength, so this was entirely necessary." "Pretty sure the entire world works that way, still I can't argue with your logic. Look, I know who you are. We actually met when you were working for the Syndicate." "We did?" "Yeah, back at Rook's mansion, you came by with a bag of bloody heads and threatened to rape and kill me if I didn't let you in." "...oh yeah, I remember that. Um, I wasn't really going to rape you, I would have just killed you. I was just trying to be threatening to get my point across." "Yeah, well you're really good at that obviously. Look, you're not getting any problems from me or whoever else you left alive. So you want this place? Fine, I ain't fucking dying for it." Well that was easier than you thought. "Okay. That's good. What about my offer?" you say. "Oh, you mean the one about creating a new criminal empire and joining you? Uh...well do I really have a choice?" "Not really, unless you want to leave the city entirely." "Hm, how generous of you. Fuck it, I guess I'm in, can't speak for anyone else still alive though. I just hope you do as good of a job in a leadership position as you are at killing people." "Guess we'll find out together. In the meantime, clean this place up and sell off whatever remaining slaves you have. If we do get back into that business, it'll have to be done elsewhere. In any case, expect me and a bunch of others to be moving in here by the weekend. I suggest you take second best room you can. That's it for now, but before I go, I need to take something first." After some quick looting of bodies and few other tasks, you give Vera a few more instructions who seems to readily comply to anything you command. She's just glad she survived your attack (Again it would seem). You soon return back to the Blackheart Inn and make a request to the innkeeper before retiring to your room. You take steps in coming up with potential plans and ideas of how to organize all this for the remaining week. While you hope Warts has managed to convince a lot of people to come to this gathering, you're confident that even if that isn't the case, in time many will eventually flock to you. When the night of the gathering comes, you don't make an appearance right away. Eventually Warts comes to get you. "Ay, I gotz a lotta people here. Aren't ya comin ta make a speech 'bout a glorious future or sumthin?" Warts says. "Yes, but I'm establishing how things are going to work already. THEY will wait for ME. They're at my beck and call, not the other way around." You reply. "Yeah? Well I still say ya betta hurry up. A lot ain't dat patient." "Duly noted. I'll be there soon. Just let them know." Warts nods and heads off. Meanwhile you go see the innkeeper about something and he gets a large bag out of his icebox. "Glad to be rid of that thing." He says. With the bag over your shoulder, you head to the large back room of the inn, where you're met by several criminal types. A lot of them have already been drinking heavily. Some nod at you with respect, while others not so much. "Oh 'ere he is. Fuckin' thought you'd never show up." One says. "Yeah, you drag us all here sayin' it's important and then don't even show up on time for yer own meeting." Another remarks. "Hell, if it wasn't for him payin' for da ale, I wouldn't even be here. So what's in da bag?" A third says. "Glad you asked. You see, while Warts was inviting you all here in a civilized manner to join me, I was having a discussion with a group that might be less willing to see reason..." You say before you're interrupted. "Wait a minute, did you say join you?" "Yes, I'm rebuilding an organization for us and you're all invited to join and get richer than you are." This response is met with a lot of derision. "Join you?! I see you've been drinking too!" one laughs. "Not that I'm not flattered by the offer, but weren't you part of the Syndicate AND the Guild? Seems suspicious that both were destroyed while you're still here." Another adds. "Yeah, and I was part of the Syndicate once too. Not for very long, but long enough to remember that you were killing them at one time. Some of those guys were my fucking friends! Okay, maybe not friends, but a couple owed me money which I'll never fucking get back now!" a third says. "And as I said, stick with me and you'll get richer than you are, now don't anyone fucking interrupt again. As I was saying, I was having a discussion with a group that might be less willing to see reason than you lot, so I took it upon myself to take matters into my own hands. Hope none of you were into slaves, because the market might be closed for awhile." You say. You then dump the contents of the bag on the floor and several bloody frozen heads roll out. This is met by gasps, shock, silence and one person surprisingly even throws up. "By fucking Yag's loaded dice. That one's Ellis! He ran the slave market!" one says. "Are you sure? Half of its face is blown off. Ugh." Another remarks. "Either way, he sure killed a lot of people. Fucking hell..." a third says. You clear your throat to call the attention back to you and off the heads you just dropped on the floor. "Yes gentlemen, I did kill a lot of people and if you'd like to not be on that list, you'll either join me or get the hell out my way. Because it's like this; I really want to be in charge. Are there any objections?" Several of the people look at each other in silence wondering if anyone is going to protest, but nobody does. "Very well. Let's get to it then shall we?" And so you take your next steps in building a new criminal organization. (You're still having trouble thinking up a good name though) > Time passes... Year 25 Things could always be better of course, but all things considered the Nocturnal League is doing well under your leadership. You actually managed to surprise yourself. Reminds you of when your father once told you that you could do very well anything if you just applied yourself. Well you did, but you're pretty sure he didn't have this in mind. Of course part of your success isn't just all your own talent. It probably helps that the city is once again experiencing an inner conflict. Not a revolution or anything like that, but more of a religious faction war. Holgard has always had a bit of a problem with religion and it's the fact that there is too much of it in the city. It didn't start off as violent as its become, but its been bad enough that the Holgard Watch has been more focused on breaking up fights between religious factions and members in the streets than keeping an eye on crime and happily, the Holgard Watch has slowly started to revert back to their corrupt ways. Not enough like the old days, but enough that they aren't as much of a problem anymore. As for your organization's role in the current religious squabble, you've managed to keep out of it so far and you've told everyone else to do likewise. This is mainly towards a few ex-Syndicate members that still have leanings towards the Temple of Fel. Though more than a few in your group give a few prayers to Yag too and while you've been known to do the same from time to time, you aren't looking to side with them either. At least not unless there is some profitable reason for doing so. In any case, there are also other areas some of your more enterprising members have been trying to convince you of expanding into. "I'm telling you, we really should bring slave market back. It brought in a lot of coin when it existed and I'm fairly certain I could convince some of those Hessla pirates to bring their business here again." Vera says. "Feh, if it did all that well, why weren't you rich?" Warts asks. "Because Elias was a bastard boss that kept most of the money and then would promptly blow it all on alcohol and Blue Dream. I know with a more levelheaded person like our current boss running things, a new slave market could be even more profitable." "Sheesh, such obvious flattery. Why don't ya just suck his dick while ya at it?" "Fuck off Warts, why the hell is this half breed even still allowed around here? He's always claiming he isn't really part of the League anyway." "Eh, Warts likes to play the role of a freelance outsider, mainly because he's been doing it for so long he's comfortable in that role. Nevermind the fact that deep down inside he wants to be part of a tribe. And that's us, though he'll never admit that, right Warts?" you say. "Right. No wait! I'm not part of the League! Fuck, youz twisted my words! Anyway, slave market is a bad idea, too much upkeep, an' too much trouble ta capture people. Youz should just expand outside the city and send sum people ta rob the merchants on da road." Warts says. "Oh, brilliant idea. Since when the hell did we become a bunch of unsophisticated bandits?" Vera remarks. "Given the lot we have, I don't think sophisticated is exactly the word that would describe most here." You remark. "Well you may be right, but come on, don't you think we're at least above that sort of guileless criminal activity? Besides, you send some of these people out there to do that and it isn't like you can keep as good of an eye on them. If they get successful enough, they may just decide to keep everything and fuck off elsewhere leaving us with nothing." As with most ideas, everything has its pros and cons, you need to think about all this a lot more. You tell Warts and Vera this and while Warts happily leaves your office to go about his own hobbies, Vera stays behind. "Is there something else?" you ask. Vera goes over to the door and locks it, which immediately causes you to draw on her. "Shit! What the hell man?" she exclaims raising her hands up. "What the hell indeed, you're the one locking the door and acting all suspicious." You answer. "I'm not trying to assassinate you if that's what you're thinking, I just wanna talk to you a little more privately so we aren't interrupted." "About what? I told you I'd think about your proposal." "Yes, but I REALLY think I can convince you that my idea is a good one." At this point Vera starts unbuttoning her shirt and unsuccessfully attempting to walk seductively towards you and stumbling in the process. It's pretty embarrassing. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Are you seriously doing what I think you're trying to do?" you ask. "Hey look, I'm not proud. If I gotta suck your dick in order to convince you to set up a new slave market here and make me head slaver, then that's what I'll fucking do." "Head slaver, interesting choice of words considering this situation. And now you don't just want me to go with your idea, you want to be in charge of it. That's pretty presumptuous of you." "It's pretty presumptuous that you won't, after I'm done." Looks like she took Wart's suggestion to heart. At this point Vera's on her knees in front of you and her face is practically making a beeline towards your crotch. While this "offer isn't completely unenticing, you've got some reservations and not just the usual ones. "Vera just stop. This isn't going to work." You say pushing her away a bit. "What? So you wanna fuck me? I mean we can do that too...um you don't want to do it the other way do you? I mean...if I gotta take it in the ass, (sigh) I will, but you can't expect me to fake enjoying that." "No! We're not doing anything Vera. Just put your tits away and get your hands off my dick." While this would probably be enough to give most the hint that one isn't interested, Vera's a little more persistent. "Okay, I'm confused. Based on my observations of how I've seen you look at women, I know damn well you like girls. In fact, I've noticed you even checking me out on occasion and your dick was getting hard when I was touching it so I know it can't be because you find me repulsive. And I doubt if you have any moral objections..." Vera says before you interrupt. "That's exactly it. I like to get to know someone first before being intimate with them. Maybe that sounds weird to someone so free with their...sexual activity, but that's just how I was raised and some things just stuck with me." "You're kidding. We work together, while I don't pretend that we know everything about each other, we're not exactly strangers." "Look, I don't shit where I eat, so if you don't mind, get the fuck out of here and go blow somebody who cares!" Vera isn't exactly buying your excuse, but she's buttoning up her shirt and getting back up. "I know you're the boss and all, but I have to say, sometimes you're a very poor liar. But, whatever just as long as you're not chopping my head off to make a point I guess." Vera lets herself out and you're breathing a sigh of relief that you didn't give in since you're fairly certain you would have, had Vera not left when she did. You've never told anyone this, but you're convinced that having sex results in your partner's death. Not instantly, but there's been too many incidences for it to be a coincidence. For a long time after your parting of ways with Tanya you didn't even show much interest in other women. Indeed you felt a great loss as if she died and you were in mourning. Tanya however, was correct that in time you'd "get over" her. Maybe not mentally (You can't help but think about her still) but physically you definitely did. So it was with no surprise that during your time before forming the League you went with a few other women from time to time. And every single one of them died. In your line of work you tend to bump into the same people and frequent the same places. So you started to get suspicious when women you had been intimate with started always winding up dead... The taverns... "Where's Lucy? Usually she's serving drinks tonight." "Lucy? You didn't hear? She fell off the docks and drowned two days ago. Tragic." The streets... "Any of you lot seen Ophelia around?" "You mean the new up and coming cutpurse with the cute face and nice ass? She got a bolt to the head a week ago. Found dead in an alley. Damn shame, she had a lot of potential. Fucking tragic." And especially the brothels... "I think I'd like Francine tonight." "Francine? Oh, you must not have heard. She was found dead of a Yellow Devil overdose a week ago. It's weird because I made sure none of my girls ever took drugs, let alone that vile stuff. Tragic." "Oh. Sorry to hear it. Um, well I guess I'll take Patricia then." "She's no longer with us either. She was murdered by some unknown assailant nearly a month ago. Very tragic." "Well shit..." "I might as well tell you too, that Helena is also gone. Died in a house fire yesterday. I tell you, it's been a tough time for this place lately, but hey we're always here to please and there are still many lovely girls here. Hey did you want to see Naji? She's free this time and it's been years since you indulged in her services. I bet she'd love to see you again. Always said you used to be the best customer she ever had." "Um, no. I gotta go." While perhaps it is just very bad luck and coincidence that all these ladies that you were intimate with, met tragic deaths, but you feel very certain that this has something to do with being bonded with Tanya. It's your curse as it were. If you were a complete asshole you suppose you wouldn't give a shit and just think with your dick anyway, but even if you just gave into your base desires, Vera's useful enough that you'd hate to lose her help in the organization. Besides all that, you half wonder if Tanya is somehow keeping track of you. Granted you've not seen her in person or even a dream ever since she departed to the infernal realm, but she said she'd always be linked to you. What if every girl you've fucked is just making her madder and madder? What if one day she'll come back to punish your "infidelity"? True, you two were never married and she did tell you to go live your life, but...well she IS a demon and who knows what the hell she's like now. You're starting to wonder that maybe you weren't so much bored when you came up with the idea to form the Nocturnal League so much as you were trying to keep your mind occupied on other things. It actually has worked great in that regard, or it did until Vera was about to pursue promotion via cock sucking. (Well at least taking matters into your own hand is always safe) In any case, you put Vera's inviting mouth out of your mind and refocus on business, which involves going over the ideas that were proposed to you by Vera and Warts in the first place. > Expand outside Holgard Besides your distaste for slavery, Warts' plan sounds a lot simpler to implement and you figure Vera won't be occasionally trying flirt with you for favors (or whatever) if you side with him and hence removing temptation. Vera's right about someone potentially "going rogue" and just fucking off to do their own thing so you'll have to really lay down the punishment implications to everyone about doing such a thing. Which is exactly what you do. You also tell everyone to not create a bloodbath and if they do, they need to take steps in covering their tracks. Last thing you want is to create too much attention. Warts is mildly smug about you choosing his plan over Vera who in turn is obviously perturbed. She makes no pretenses about not wanting to be one of those stumbling about in the woods. You reassure her she can focus on her city activities since reassigning her would just cause unnecessary conflict in the long term anyway. A few months pass and you're making a fair amount on this venture. You weren't sure about it at first, but Warts had a good idea. Surprisingly he has another one. "Hey boss, I got some hobs from da Spider Fangs dat wanna join wit us." Warts says. "Really? Thought you told me the Spider Fangs shun human civilization centers." You say. "Eh, ever since dey got their asses kicked hard by da elves and lost a good portion of the tribe, there's been sum serious re-thinkin' on how things are gonna work now. Anyway, just wunderin' if they can join." "I'm guessing you had something in mind for them to specifically do?" "I figured dey can take part in robbin' da merchants gig we got going now." "Yeah, and I figured that's what you'd suggest. Probably would be the best use of their skills I imagine. I suppose that would free up some of the folks who still aren't exactly thrilled about their new assignment. They can come back to the city and the hobs can take their place. Now do I have to talk to these hobs about how I want things done or are you taking care of it?" "I'll take care of it. Most of dem are teenagers so be better if I speak to dem. I know what ta say." Before you can say anything else, a small ugly green child wanders in behind Warts. You don't know how old it is, but it can't be older than a toddler. "Wargh! blag! Graaah!" it shouts causing Warts to turn around. "Damnit, Gubbins! I told ya ta wait in da corridor!" Warts reprimands the child. "Warts, I'll admit I'm not completely familiar with the growth size of hobgoblins, but I know damn well that's no teenager." "Wut? No! Dis one ain't robbin' merchants, well at least not for another few years anyway. Dis iz my son." Now you're just confused. "Your son? When the hell did you have a kid?" you ask. "Two years ago I guess. Didn't know for an entire year either since I hadn't been back ta visit Snuffit in awhile. Boy wuz she pissed at me when I returned. Anyway, he's sort of with me for awhile since Snuffit says I should be spendin' time him. She's probably right. It's hard growin' up with no father." Warts says with a bit of an introspective look down. "Hm, I suppose you would know about that. You never told me all this about having a family and shit." "Didn't think you'd be interested given how youz got yer mind on other things. Got a daughter too, Zuggins. Twins actually. That's another reason why Snuffit wuz so pissed at me. Hey, didn't youz say you were a twin?" "Yeah. So about these other hobs, you sure they're going to listen to you? Last time I remember you weren't accepted as a true hob with the Spider Fangs." "I told ya, things are different now. Most of da assholes I didn't get along with are dead in dat tribe and it's takin' a new look on things as it were. Most of da young hobs I'm suggestin, are orphans now anyway and like I said, I kinda know what it's like not growin' up with at least one parent so I think dey gonna...I dunno identify wit me more an' youz don't have ta waste yer time." You think about this a few moments. "Alright, you seem to have come up with one good idea that's gone over well, so I'm trusting you on this Warts. Go make the preparations." Warts nods and leaves with his spawn who sticks his tongue at you. You snicker a bit at the thought of Warts having a couple kids, but you suppose he seems happy with them. You're just glad you aren't saddled with any; you've got enough complications in your life. Then again with the curse you have, that isn't likely to ever be a problem. In any case when Vera hears about what you've allowed she doesn't do much but shake her head. "What?" you ask. "Nothing, you're the boss." She says. "But obviously you have issues with this." "Look, if you want to hire more hobs on the payroll fine. I can see them being an asset in a menial manner, and working outside Holgard on the road robbery jobs is probably the best place for them mainly because I won't have to deal with the filthy greenskins." "But?" "But, my issue is you placing so much fucking trust in Warts. I thought you were smarter than that. Mark my words, that little halfbreed is going to get drunk with power and try to betray you." "Warts? I...mean I'd never rule anything out, but Warts really isn't the leader type. I'm surprised he's taken on as much responsibility as he has honestly." "Yeah, well maybe his new family man role is urging the halfbreed to start thinking about his future. Maybe his ugly hob bitch is nagging him to earn more for their equally foul hob spawn." "Sheesh Vera, I didn't know you hated hobs so much." "Yeah well they're a bunch of savages, and I'd watch Warts if I were you. Nothing worse than a mildly intelligent savage with delusions of grandeur." Well Vera's made it quite clear how she feels at any rate. A few more months pass and so far there haven't been any issues with your arrangement and business is doing fine. The religious faction war is still going on, but you're still keeping out of that one. The only thing that's starting to bother you a bit is that Warts has apparently restructured the "bandit parties" outside Holgard without your knowledge. While you replaced some of your less "outdoors" folks with hobs, Warts has been completely segregating the groups so that the hobs are all in one and all the humans are in another. When confronted by this, Warts explains that the hobs just work better together since they all grew up in the same tribe. He also says there's less potential for infighting during slow periods. He then points to how much success they've had with this arrangement. Still, you've got enough to manage and until you see signs of treachery on Warts' part, you'll continue to let him handle the outside operations. You're fairly confident you'll be savvy enough to realize if something is going wrong and even if you don't catch it, Vera's suspicious enough of Warts that she'll probably tell you. Year 26 "I told you this was going to happen!" Vera shouts, as she's running along side you. "Damn it! Don't fucking follow us! Spread out! Spread out! Everyone spread out!" you shout at the various members also running in your direction. You never saw this coming. And despite Vera's comments, she didn't either, or at least not what she assumed. She was so busy worrying that Warts and the hobs were going to fuck you over that she didn't take into consideration that their recklessness and stupidity is what drew more attention by the government, though you think you played a large part in that same stupidity by NOT keeping a better eye on things and just leaving it all to Warts. Now it's everyone for themselves as you're stomping through the sewers trying to evade the Holgard Watch who apparently took a step back from keeping the religious factions from destroying small parts of the city, to focus on the assholes who were severely disrupting trade in the city. It's one thing to rob the odd merchant here and there, but when enough of them were going missing, the Baroness had no choice but to step in. And she stepped hard. Ideally, you could have separated yourself and just placed all the blame on the hobs and claiming that they weren't part of the Nocturnal League, but Ludmilla was unfortunately a little smarter than just sending her troops into the woods and had a series of spies (Some of who you think were probably Felians, since you know she had ties to the church at one point). Hobs, never being the subtlest ended up unwittingly showing the Baroness where the hell your secret tunnels to the city were and practically to your front fucking doorstep as they were dragging goods back. It's actually amazing you managed to fight your way out of this surprise attack like you did. Your headquarters is gone though and you can't imagine that your businesses in the city are going to be around much longer. Eventually you finally evade the law and it's just you and Vera panting heavily ankle deep in shit water. She immediately starts bitching at you about your bad choices while you're attempting to figure out your next move. "Will stop fucking being a massive bitch right now? I know everything's fucked up! I just need a minute to think for a moment!" you say, trying not to shout and possibly alert attention. "Think? You should have been doing that before! This is a fucking disaster! Y'know I actually thought you were someone worth following. I even had a little crush on you even though you kept turning me down, but shit, I can see now that you're a damn jinx at best and a complete fucking idiot at worst and I'm not hanging around you any longer! Have a nice fucking life!" Vera snaps. As Vera starts walking away from you, you realize that you have no more organization and no more followers of any kind and oddly that's what feels more like a loss to you than the massive amount of coin. You were actually stating to just get into your role as an underworld boss and now its over already! Ironically, the only thing you might have left are your people outside of Holgard unless Ludmilla caught up with them too, but given how many of her people came to wipe you out just now, you have to think she focused her forces on the inside of the city rather than the outside. You imagine Warts might be out there somewhere, it's just a matter of tracking him down. Then again, Warts and the hobs are what caused this mess in the first place; maybe you need to just start over somewhere else. Still, you don't want to start completely over. This is a lot easier with help and Vera would still be pretty useful in that regard. She's pretty pissed at you though so you don't know if that ship has sailed. > Convince Vera For all her faults, Vera's your best shot at properly rebuilding a new organization again. You probably should have gone with her plans to get into the slave trade rather than listen to Warts in the first place. You run back to Vera and call out to her. "Vera stop. Stop. Let's talk about this. I apologize for calling you a bitch." You say. "Will you keep your fucking voice down? There are soldiers crawling all over the sewers right now and you're calling attention to our location! And as I said, I don't have anything else to say to you. It's obvious you've never appreciated my advice, so I don't see why I should waste anymore time with you." Vera snaps. When you don't respond immediately, Vera stops walking and stares at you expectantly. "Well?" Vera asks. "Because...because I really do care about you." You say suddenly. "Oh fuck off! You do not! You have gone out of your way several times to make it quite clear that you are NOT interested in me. You're just telling me this shit so I'll join you again and now I'm fucking insulted that you think so low of me that I'll follow you around like some love sick admirer." "No, it's true! I really do have feelings for you, I just was too ...argh, it's a long story. Just you gotta believe me on this." "You're going to have to do a better job at explaining if you want me to believe you." You realize this is going to take a lot of sweet talk to patch this relationship up and in the back of your mind if you're successful, you're still going to have another issue to deal with, but maybe if you explain the curse to her, she'll be sympathetic. "(Sigh) Fine. I've never told this to anyone before, but for you I'll do it. Okay, here it is, I'm fucking cursed." You say. "No shit." Vera remarks. "No, I'm not talking about what happened with the League, that was just...bad management on my part though I suppose the curse played a part in my bad decisions." "Look, if you're cursed, then I REALLY don't want anything to do with you." "Will you listen?! You asked me to explain, so I'm trying to! It's not that sort of curse anyway. It's on my dick and that's why I kept pushing you away." Vera steps back from you. "What you got crotch rot?" Vera asks. "I wish it was that simple. No, what I got is..." Suddenly you hear a loud blast and feel the piercing of a metal object hitting you in the back. You fall down in the filthy water and struggle to breathe, let alone get back up. The shouting of several watchmen is heard followed by Vera shouting back and returning fire. She attempts to pull you up, but the bullet has shattered your spine and you're not going anywhere "Go...just go..." you utter as she gives you a frustrated look mixed with sadness before running off. Dying face down in shit water is one of the less dignified ways to go out, but you don't dwell on it to much before one of Holgard's finest puts you down for good with a bullet to your head.

Besides your distaste for slavery, Warts' plan sounds a lot simpler to implement and you figure Vera won't be occasionally trying flirt with you for favors (or whatever) if you side with him and hence removing temptation. Vera's right about someone potentially "going rogue" and just fucking off to do their own thing so you'll have to really lay down the punishment implications to everyone about doing such a thing. Which is exactly what you do. You also tell everyone to not create a bloodbath and if they do, they need to take steps in covering their tracks. Last thing you want is to create too much attention. Warts is mildly smug about you choosing his plan over Vera who in turn is obviously perturbed. She makes no pretenses about not wanting to be one of those stumbling about in the woods. You reassure her she can focus on her city activities since reassigning her would just cause unnecessary conflict in the long term anyway. A few months pass and you're making a fair amount on this venture. You weren't sure about it at first, but Warts had a good idea. Surprisingly he has another one. "Hey boss, I got some hobs from da Spider Fangs dat wanna join wit us." Warts says. "Really? Thought you told me the Spider Fangs shun human civilization centers." You say. "Eh, ever since dey got their asses kicked hard by da elves and lost a good portion of the tribe, there's been sum serious re-thinkin' on how things are gonna work now. Anyway, just wunderin' if they can join." "I'm guessing you had something in mind for them to specifically do?" "I figured dey can take part in robbin' da merchants gig we got going now." "Yeah, and I figured that's what you'd suggest. Probably would be the best use of their skills I imagine. I suppose that would free up some of the folks who still aren't exactly thrilled about their new assignment. They can come back to the city and the hobs can take their place. Now do I have to talk to these hobs about how I want things done or are you taking care of it?" "I'll take care of it. Most of dem are teenagers so be better if I speak to dem. I know what ta say." Before you can say anything else, a small ugly green child wanders in behind Warts. You don't know how old it is, but it can't be older than a toddler. "Wargh! blag! Graaah!" it shouts causing Warts to turn around. "Damnit, Gubbins! I told ya ta wait in da corridor!" Warts reprimands the child. "Warts, I'll admit I'm not completely familiar with the growth size of hobgoblins, but I know damn well that's no teenager." "Wut? No! Dis one ain't robbin' merchants, well at least not for another few years anyway. Dis iz my son." Now you're just confused. "Your son? When the hell did you have a kid?" you ask. "Two years ago I guess. Didn't know for an entire year either since I hadn't been back ta visit Snuffit in awhile. Boy wuz she pissed at me when I returned. Anyway, he's sort of with me for awhile since Snuffit says I should be spendin' time him. She's probably right. It's hard growin' up with no father." Warts says with a bit of an introspective look down. "Hm, I suppose you would know about that. You never told me all this about having a family and shit." "Didn't think you'd be interested given how youz got yer mind on other things. Got a daughter too, Zuggins. Twins actually. That's another reason why Snuffit wuz so pissed at me. Hey, didn't youz say you were a twin?" "Yeah. So about these other hobs, you sure they're going to listen to you? Last time I remember you weren't accepted as a true hob with the Spider Fangs." "I told ya, things are different now. Most of da assholes I didn't get along with are dead in dat tribe and it's takin' a new look on things as it were. Most of da young hobs I'm suggestin, are orphans now anyway and like I said, I kinda know what it's like not growin' up with at least one parent so I think dey gonna...I dunno identify wit me more an' youz don't have ta waste yer time." You think about this a few moments. "Alright, you seem to have come up with one good idea that's gone over well, so I'm trusting you on this Warts. Go make the preparations." Warts nods and leaves with his spawn who sticks his tongue at you. You snicker a bit at the thought of Warts having a couple kids, but you suppose he seems happy with them. You're just glad you aren't saddled with any; you've got enough complications in your life. Then again with the curse you have, that isn't likely to ever be a problem. In any case when Vera hears about what you've allowed she doesn't do much but shake her head. "What?" you ask. "Nothing, you're the boss." She says. "But obviously you have issues with this." "Look, if you want to hire more hobs on the payroll fine. I can see them being an asset in a menial manner, and working outside Holgard on the road robbery jobs is probably the best place for them mainly because I won't have to deal with the filthy greenskins." "But?" "But, my issue is you placing so much fucking trust in Warts. I thought you were smarter than that. Mark my words, that little halfbreed is going to get drunk with power and try to betray you." "Warts? I...mean I'd never rule anything out, but Warts really isn't the leader type. I'm surprised he's taken on as much responsibility as he has honestly." "Yeah, well maybe his new family man role is urging the halfbreed to start thinking about his future. Maybe his ugly hob bitch is nagging him to earn more for their equally foul hob spawn." "Sheesh Vera, I didn't know you hated hobs so much." "Yeah well they're a bunch of savages, and I'd watch Warts if I were you. Nothing worse than a mildly intelligent savage with delusions of grandeur." Well Vera's made it quite clear how she feels at any rate. A few more months pass and so far there haven't been any issues with your arrangement and business is doing fine. The religious faction war is still going on, but you're still keeping out of that one. The only thing that's starting to bother you a bit is that Warts has apparently restructured the "bandit parties" outside Holgard without your knowledge. While you replaced some of your less "outdoors" folks with hobs, Warts has been completely segregating the groups so that the hobs are all in one and all the humans are in another. When confronted by this, Warts explains that the hobs just work better together since they all grew up in the same tribe. He also says there's less potential for infighting during slow periods. He then points to how much success they've had with this arrangement. Still, you've got enough to manage and until you see signs of treachery on Warts' part, you'll continue to let him handle the outside operations. You're fairly confident you'll be savvy enough to realize if something is going wrong and even if you don't catch it, Vera's suspicious enough of Warts that she'll probably tell you. Year 26 "I told you this was going to happen!" Vera shouts, as she's running along side you. "Damn it! Don't fucking follow us! Spread out! Spread out! Everyone spread out!" you shout at the various members also running in your direction. You never saw this coming. And despite Vera's comments, she didn't either, or at least not what she assumed. She was so busy worrying that Warts and the hobs were going to fuck you over that she didn't take into consideration that their recklessness and stupidity is what drew more attention by the government, though you think you played a large part in that same stupidity by NOT keeping a better eye on things and just leaving it all to Warts. Now it's everyone for themselves as you're stomping through the sewers trying to evade the Holgard Watch who apparently took a step back from keeping the religious factions from destroying small parts of the city, to focus on the assholes who were severely disrupting trade in the city. It's one thing to rob the odd merchant here and there, but when enough of them were going missing, the Baroness had no choice but to step in. And she stepped hard. Ideally, you could have separated yourself and just placed all the blame on the hobs and claiming that they weren't part of the Nocturnal League, but Ludmilla was unfortunately a little smarter than just sending her troops into the woods and had a series of spies (Some of who you think were probably Felians, since you know she had ties to the church at one point). Hobs, never being the subtlest ended up unwittingly showing the Baroness where the hell your secret tunnels to the city were and practically to your front fucking doorstep as they were dragging goods back. It's actually amazing you managed to fight your way out of this surprise attack like you did. Your headquarters is gone though and you can't imagine that your businesses in the city are going to be around much longer. Eventually you finally evade the law and it's just you and Vera panting heavily ankle deep in shit water. She immediately starts bitching at you about your bad choices while you're attempting to figure out your next move. "Will stop fucking being a massive bitch right now? I know everything's fucked up! I just need a minute to think for a moment!" you say, trying not to shout and possibly alert attention. "Think? You should have been doing that before! This is a fucking disaster! Y'know I actually thought you were someone worth following. I even had a little crush on you even though you kept turning me down, but shit, I can see now that you're a damn jinx at best and a complete fucking idiot at worst and I'm not hanging around you any longer! Have a nice fucking life!" Vera snaps. As Vera starts walking away from you, you realize that you have no more organization and no more followers of any kind and oddly that's what feels more like a loss to you than the massive amount of coin. You were actually stating to just get into your role as an underworld boss and now its over already! Ironically, the only thing you might have left are your people outside of Holgard unless Ludmilla caught up with them too, but given how many of her people came to wipe you out just now, you have to think she focused her forces on the inside of the city rather than the outside. You imagine Warts might be out there somewhere, it's just a matter of tracking him down. Then again, Warts and the hobs are what caused this mess in the first place; maybe you need to just start over somewhere else. Still, you don't want to start completely over. This is a lot easier with help and Vera would still be pretty useful in that regard. She's pretty pissed at you though so you don't know if that ship has sailed. > You find Warts Vera's made her point clear and quite frankly you don't really think its worth it to convince her if she's got that much bad feelings toward you. You'd be better off starting from scratch. Hopefully, you won't have to though since again there's a chance some of your people might be still in the woods somewhere. After skulking about in the sewers for an unfortunate length of time, you finally manage to sneak out and away from the city entirely. You think about going to your private stash you have buried, but decide if you really need monetary incentive to convince anyone to still follow you, then it probably won't be worth it or you can do it as a last resort. You try to go to the last known places where your people had camps, but you have to spend most of your time avoiding the Holgard Watch who are patrolling the nearby area a lot more. After having to kill a few of them, you find remnants of one of the League's camps which display signs of battle what with the bloody bodies of your people lying around. It's apparent that the Watch isn't bothering to take prisoners. Doesn't look like they took out the League hob camp though since you don't find them among the dead (you do find some of the Watch dead though). Given that they're probably a lot more experienced outdoors they probably retreated further into the forest. While you're not exactly some wilderness tracker, hobs aren't exactly the cleanest and tend to leave trash around. You begin to follow the trail as best you can. You continue your search, but it's been awhile since you've been stomping about in the wilderness and it's soon apparent that you're not exactly prepared since you get turned around several times. You spend the next few days in the forest getting yourself more lost despite the fact that you thought you were logically following a trail. You imagine they headed to Spiderfang territory but its not like you even know if you're close to there or not. You're tired, dirty, hungry, thirsty and just all around miserable. Eventually you decide to just give up and try to make your way back. You THINK you might know how to get back to the main road and from there you're going to go back to dig up your stash and make your way elsewhere entirely because this has been a complete disaster. You're starting to wonder if you should have just tried to convince Vera to join you. In your haste to try to get your bearings, you're slightly less observant of the little things and unfortunately for you that results in worse than just being lost. You step into a pit trap and fall directly onto several sharpened branches. The pain is excruciating since you weren't lucky enough for the wooden spikes to kill you right away. You howl out in agony for hours, but nobody comes. Eventually the blood loss and organ damage takes enough of a toll on you that you begin to lose consciousness. You're dying and at this point you don't even care anymore. Your last thoughts are how it's an ignoble death to die like some animal out in the middle of the woods, but it's a lot better than continuing to be in pain. You wish you had done a lot of things differently in your life, but it's too late for that now. A day later your body is found by some hobs who were in the League and Warts soon learns of your demise when they bring your body to the hobgoblin village for food where he and the rest retreated to. Apparently you had stumbled into Spiderfang territory after all. Out of respect, Warts insists that you be properly buried rather than eaten. At least there was a little dignity after all.

[Themes: fantasy] Year 25 Things could always be better of course, but all things considered the Nocturnal League is doing well under your leadership. You actually managed to surprise yourself. Reminds you of when your father once told you that you could do very well anything if you just applied yourself. Well you did, but you're pretty sure he didn't have this in mind. Of course part of your success isn't just all your own talent. It probably helps that the city is once again experiencing an inner conflict. Not a revolution or anything like that, but more of a religious faction war. Holgard has always had a bit of a problem with religion and it's the fact that there is too much of it in the city. It didn't start off as violent as its become, but its been bad enough that the Holgard Watch has been more focused on breaking up fights between religious factions and members in the streets than keeping an eye on crime and happily, the Holgard Watch has slowly started to revert back to their corrupt ways. Not enough like the old days, but enough that they aren't as much of a problem anymore. As for your organization's role in the current religious squabble, you've managed to keep out of it so far and you've told everyone else to do likewise. This is mainly towards a few ex-Syndicate members that still have leanings towards the Temple of Fel. Though more than a few in your group give a few prayers to Yag too and while you've been known to do the same from time to time, you aren't looking to side with them either. At least not unless there is some profitable reason for doing so. In any case, there are also other areas some of your more enterprising members have been trying to convince you of expanding into. "I'm telling you, we really should bring slave market back. It brought in a lot of coin when it existed and I'm fairly certain I could convince some of those Hessla pirates to bring their business here again." Vera says. "Feh, if it did all that well, why weren't you rich?" Warts asks. "Because Elias was a bastard boss that kept most of the money and then would promptly blow it all on alcohol and Blue Dream. I know with a more levelheaded person like our current boss running things, a new slave market could be even more profitable." "Sheesh, such obvious flattery. Why don't ya just suck his dick while ya at it?" "Fuck off Warts, why the hell is this half breed even still allowed around here? He's always claiming he isn't really part of the League anyway." "Eh, Warts likes to play the role of a freelance outsider, mainly because he's been doing it for so long he's comfortable in that role. Nevermind the fact that deep down inside he wants to be part of a tribe. And that's us, though he'll never admit that, right Warts?" you say. "Right. No wait! I'm not part of the League! Fuck, youz twisted my words! Anyway, slave market is a bad idea, too much upkeep, an' too much trouble ta capture people. Youz should just expand outside the city and send sum people ta rob the merchants on da road." Warts says. "Oh, brilliant idea. Since when the hell did we become a bunch of unsophisticated bandits?" Vera remarks. "Given the lot we have, I don't think sophisticated is exactly the word that would describe most here." You remark. "Well you may be right, but come on, don't you think we're at least above that sort of guileless criminal activity? Besides, you send some of these people out there to do that and it isn't like you can keep as good of an eye on them. If they get successful enough, they may just decide to keep everything and fuck off elsewhere leaving us with nothing." As with most ideas, everything has its pros and cons, you need to think about all this a lot more. You tell Warts and Vera this and while Warts happily leaves your office to go about his own hobbies, Vera stays behind. "Is there something else?" you ask. Vera goes over to the door and locks it, which immediately causes you to draw on her. "Shit! What the hell man?" she exclaims raising her hands up. "What the hell indeed, you're the one locking the door and acting all suspicious." You answer. "I'm not trying to assassinate you if that's what you're thinking, I just wanna talk to you a little more privately so we aren't interrupted." "About what? I told you I'd think about your proposal." "Yes, but I REALLY think I can convince you that my idea is a good one." At this point Vera starts unbuttoning her shirt and unsuccessfully attempting to walk seductively towards you and stumbling in the process. It's pretty embarrassing. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Are you seriously doing what I think you're trying to do?" you ask. "Hey look, I'm not proud. If I gotta suck your dick in order to convince you to set up a new slave market here and make me head slaver, then that's what I'll fucking do." "Head slaver, interesting choice of words considering this situation. And now you don't just want me to go with your idea, you want to be in charge of it. That's pretty presumptuous of you." "It's pretty presumptuous that you won't, after I'm done." Looks like she took Wart's suggestion to heart. At this point Vera's on her knees in front of you and her face is practically making a beeline towards your crotch. While this "offer isn't completely unenticing, you've got some reservations and not just the usual ones. "Vera just stop. This isn't going to work." You say pushing her away a bit. "What? So you wanna fuck me? I mean we can do that too...um you don't want to do it the other way do you? I mean...if I gotta take it in the ass, (sigh) I will, but you can't expect me to fake enjoying that." "No! We're not doing anything Vera. Just put your tits away and get your hands off my dick." While this would probably be enough to give most the hint that one isn't interested, Vera's a little more persistent. "Okay, I'm confused. Based on my observations of how I've seen you look at women, I know damn well you like girls. In fact, I've noticed you even checking me out on occasion and your dick was getting hard when I was touching it so I know it can't be because you find me repulsive. And I doubt if you have any moral objections..." Vera says before you interrupt. "That's exactly it. I like to get to know someone first before being intimate with them. Maybe that sounds weird to someone so free with their...sexual activity, but that's just how I was raised and some things just stuck with me." "You're kidding. We work together, while I don't pretend that we know everything about each other, we're not exactly strangers." "Look, I don't shit where I eat, so if you don't mind, get the fuck out of here and go blow somebody who cares!" Vera isn't exactly buying your excuse, but she's buttoning up her shirt and getting back up. "I know you're the boss and all, but I have to say, sometimes you're a very poor liar. But, whatever just as long as you're not chopping my head off to make a point I guess." Vera lets herself out and you're breathing a sigh of relief that you didn't give in since you're fairly certain you would have, had Vera not left when she did. You've never told anyone this, but you're convinced that having sex results in your partner's death. Not instantly, but there's been too many incidences for it to be a coincidence. For a long time after your parting of ways with Tanya you didn't even show much interest in other women. Indeed you felt a great loss as if she died and you were in mourning. Tanya however, was correct that in time you'd "get over" her. Maybe not mentally (You can't help but think about her still) but physically you definitely did. So it was with no surprise that during your time before forming the League you went with a few other women from time to time. And every single one of them died. In your line of work you tend to bump into the same people and frequent the same places. So you started to get suspicious when women you had been intimate with started always winding up dead... The taverns... "Where's Lucy? Usually she's serving drinks tonight." "Lucy? You didn't hear? She fell off the docks and drowned two days ago. Tragic." The streets... "Any of you lot seen Ophelia around?" "You mean the new up and coming cutpurse with the cute face and nice ass? She got a bolt to the head a week ago. Found dead in an alley. Damn shame, she had a lot of potential. Fucking tragic." And especially the brothels... "I think I'd like Francine tonight." "Francine? Oh, you must not have heard. She was found dead of a Yellow Devil overdose a week ago. It's weird because I made sure none of my girls ever took drugs, let alone that vile stuff. Tragic." "Oh. Sorry to hear it. Um, well I guess I'll take Patricia then." "She's no longer with us either. She was murdered by some unknown assailant nearly a month ago. Very tragic." "Well shit..." "I might as well tell you too, that Helena is also gone. Died in a house fire yesterday. I tell you, it's been a tough time for this place lately, but hey we're always here to please and there are still many lovely girls here. Hey did you want to see Naji? She's free this time and it's been years since you indulged in her services. I bet she'd love to see you again. Always said you used to be the best customer she ever had." "Um, no. I gotta go." While perhaps it is just very bad luck and coincidence that all these ladies that you were intimate with, met tragic deaths, but you feel very certain that this has something to do with being bonded with Tanya. It's your curse as it were. If you were a complete asshole you suppose you wouldn't give a shit and just think with your dick anyway, but even if you just gave into your base desires, Vera's useful enough that you'd hate to lose her help in the organization. Besides all that, you half wonder if Tanya is somehow keeping track of you. Granted you've not seen her in person or even a dream ever since she departed to the infernal realm, but she said she'd always be linked to you. What if every girl you've fucked is just making her madder and madder? What if one day she'll come back to punish your "infidelity"? True, you two were never married and she did tell you to go live your life, but...well she IS a demon and who knows what the hell she's like now. You're starting to wonder that maybe you weren't so much bored when you came up with the idea to form the Nocturnal League so much as you were trying to keep your mind occupied on other things. It actually has worked great in that regard, or it did until Vera was about to pursue promotion via cock sucking. (Well at least taking matters into your own hand is always safe) In any case, you put Vera's inviting mouth out of your mind and refocus on business, which involves going over the ideas that were proposed to you by Vera and Warts in the first place. > Expand inside Holgard Everything else aside, Vera did have point about Wart's plan which doesn't seem very efficient. If anything engaging in more banditry on the roads to Holgard might cause the government to increase security so trade isn't hampered. Better you should stick to things that won't directly fuck with the government too much directly and Vera already has experience in the whole slave market thing so you're confident she'll know how to run it properly. The only thing you do have concerns about is...well the whole slavery thing. You don't profess to be a saint of Joachim, but this seems a bit too far even for you. You aren't even sure where you're going to be getting these slaves from in the first place. Since she's the expert, you decide to have another discussion with Vera about all this before making a final decision, but not right now. You figure after what happened you probably should wait a bit before seeing her again. The next day you meet with her in your office again and she seems surprised that you're entertaining her idea. "Wow, I just thought after yesterday, you weren't interested. Well this is great, you'll see!" Vera remarks. "Well I'm still going to need convincing if this is something we need to get into. So you'll need to persuade me why this is worth pursuing AND I don't mean with your body." You say. "Very well. What did you have concerns with exactly?" "Warts mentioned that keeping captives costs coin. I mean how much are we going to be spending to keep them before selling them?" "Oh, not that much. Really all you have to do is provide the bare minimum most of the time." "But doesn't that sort of decrease the quality?" "Yes if enough time passes, but that's why you try to sell as quickly as possible. Obviously women typically sell for a lot more than men and they sell faster." "So where are we getting these slaves anyway?" "Well back when I was working for Elias, we usually nabbed people off the street. Get 'em drunk at a tavern. Trick 'em into a dark alley. Y'know like robbing someone except instead of taking just their money, you take them too. Sometimes we bought them off of Hessla pirates and sold them for a higher profit to someone else. I'll have to get re-connect with my Hessla contacts before we can do that though." You look down a bit and frown. "What's wrong?" Vera asks. "I dunno, maybe this is just not something I feel comfortable with." "Wait a minute. You've got a moral quandary about THIS too? If I didn't know any better I'd start thinking I had joined Joachim's church!" "Look, I told you that YOU needed to convince me. So convince me." "Okay so what are you having a problem with exactly? Wait, let me guess. It's the whole sex thing isn't it? Geez, you got some weird hang ups about sex." "Well that IS what these women are going to be sold for right?" "How is that different than the brothels we run?" "It's a big fucking difference! For one, the whores at least have a say in things." "Does it make a difference that some of the guys are probably used for fuck holes too?" "Not really." "Okay, then would it make a difference if ALL the slaves were just being used to go get worked to death in some iron mine?" "Well...at least I'd feel like we were at least contributing to the economy in some way as opposed to just feeling like we're running one big rape factory." "Oh and I suppose our protection rackets and our Purple Wish dens are great contributions to society as well." "Call it my own twisted sense of honor, but at least our extortion of businesses isn't completely one sided. I mean we ARE offering protection. Also we're not shoving Purple Wish down anyone's throat. If people want to get high, we're providing a product. If people want to be idiots and get addicted well that's on them. Our gambling places work the same way. Nobody is forcing anyone to go into debt." "Hmm, maybe not, but I still think we should re-open a slave market. Sex slaves are just too profitable to not get into." "Well wait a minute. What about fighting slaves? Y'know slaves that fight each other and people bet on who wins." "You mean like for underground gladiator matches? Eh...yeah we bought a few of pit slaves once and it didn't go so well. You want to talk about upkeep, those bastards need upkeep because you need to keep them in good condition for a potential buyer. Not to mention on almost every occasion they tried to escape or kill one of us. One of them actually succeeded in killing four people under Elias before being subdued. I don't think it's worth it and I find it funny that you're perfectly okay with that brand of slavery as opposed to the sexual kind. You really are a prude aren't you?" "Maybe I am, but I'm also still not entirely convinced of the upkeep costs being low. I mean if we're going to go into this, I would prefer our slaves to be known as being good quality and not half starving and dirty." "Well if you're worried about that, we could always stick to children." "Children?!" "Sure! We used to sell more than a few back in the old days and they're really low upkeep and easy to nab as well." You're done. "No. We are NOT capturing and selling fucking kids! THAT is where I'm drawing the damn line. In fact I'm thinking this whole thing is a bad idea." You say. "So...what then? You're going to go with Wart's idea?" Vera asks. "No, that's retarded for different reasons. I'm going with my own idea. We're going to hold underground gladiator matches." "I thought you said we weren't getting into slaves." "We aren't, this will all be voluntary. Plenty of stupid assholes that are willing to try to prove they're tough for a bit of coin. If they get themselves killed, well that's on them and either way, we don't need to worry about keeping anyone in good condition, unless we're fixing a particular fight. Hell, we could also use people that are falling behind in their debts to participate rather than breaking their legs. So no slaves needed." "I dunno, if we're pressing potential deadbeats into fights, that's sort of like enslaving them isn't it?" "Okay, maybe it is, but at least we're just trying to make our money back from said deadbeat as opposed to snatching some hapless girl off the streets." "Well we could always apply this to our brothel whores too. I mean if a whore doesn't make enough money for the month then she gets her ass thrown into slavery for slacking off." You never knew that Vera is REALLY into this whole slave trade business. Though you suppose given that she worked as one for so long, it makes sense she wants to stick with it. You're not going to hold it against her, but you've definitely realized that you've still got some scruples, scant though they may be. "We're not peddling sex slaves of any kind, Vera. That's it." You say. "You sure you're in the right business, boss?" Vera asks. "I could always cut your head off and let you decide." "Okay, okay, no need for threats, I know you're a badass. It's just that I'm finding out that you're strangely principled in ways that I'm not used to in our line of work. I guess maybe that's a good thing. Shows you aren't some complete psycho I suppose." "Oh, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion, but at least you can take comfort in the fact that IF you ever fail me, I'm not going to have you stripped naked and sell your ass to pirates." "Well that's one less thing to worry about at least." After going over some more details, you tell Vera to gather up a crew and start setting things up. It isn't what she exactly envisioned she'd be doing, but then she's not running things. A few months pass and you're making a good amount of coin with this new venture and you can take a little relief that there's still some things you aren't going to do even in your position... "Hey boss, I got some hobs from da Spider Fangs dat wanna join the fights tonight." Warts says. "Really? Thought you told me the Spider Fangs shun human civilization centers." You say. "Eh, ever since dey got their asses kicked hard by da elves and lost a good portion of the tribe, there's been sum serious re-thinkin' on how things are gonna work now. Anyway, just wunderin' if they can join." "Well sure, we always got room. In fact why are you coming to me about it, and not Vera anyway?" "Well I did, an' she told me to come ta youz cuz youz might object to sum of dem." "What would I object to, I'm no racist." "Nah, not dat. It's just a few of dem are young teenagers and Vera said youz might have a problem with dat." "Oh." Before you can give a more thorough answer a small ugly green child wanders in behind Warts. You don't know how old it is, but it can't be older than a toddler. "Wargh! blag! Graaah!" it shouts causing Warts to turn around. "Damnit, Gubbins! I told ya ta wait in da corridor!" Warts reprimands the child. "Warts, I'll admit I'm not completely familiar with the growth size of hobgoblins, but I know damn well that's no teenager." "Wut? No! Dis one ain't fightin', well at least not for another few years anyway. Dis iz my son." Now you're just confused. "Your son? When the hell did you have a kid?" you ask. "Two years ago I guess. Didn't know for an entire year either since I hadn't been back ta visit Snuffit in awhile. Boy wuz she pissed at me when I returned. Anyway, he's sort of with me for awhile since Snuffit says I should be spendin' time him. She's probably right. It's hard growin' up with no father." Warts says with a bit of an introspective look down. "Hm, I suppose you would know about that. You never told me all this about having a family and shit." "Didn't think you'd be interested given how youz got yer mind on other things. Got a daughter too, Zuggins. Twins actually. That's another reason why Snuffit wuz so pissed at me. Hey, didn't youz say you were a twin?" "Yeah. So about these other hobs..." "Um, yeah, they're fighting age to be sure. An' remember these are hobgoblin children that have been livin' in da wild all their lives. I guarantee they've all probably killed already." "I suppose that's true. Do their parents know about this?" "I think most of dem are orphans due to the feud with da elves an' they're here to either start a new life or tryin' ta make some coin for da tribe." You think about this a few moments and then throw up your hands. "Fuck it, if they wanna fight. Not gonna stop them. Anyway, go talk to Vera about the match details of who to pair them up against." Actually you should get her to set them up with an elven opponent if possible. Should incite a little more bloodthirst." Warts nods and leaves with his spawn who sticks his tongue at you. You snicker a bit at the thought of Warts having a couple kids, but you suppose he seems happy with them. You're just glad you aren't saddled with any; you've got enough complications in your life. Then again with the curse you have, that isn't likely to ever be a problem. > Time passes... Year 27 While conflict can be good for business, there sometimes is a point when it starts becoming a hindrance. Especially when the wrong side is winning. "The Joachimites are starting to break this stalemate and win this religious war you know. The Yagites are gone and so are the followers of Karn. The Dornans are still around, but they've decided to just put up a force field around their temple and ride it all out. That just leaves the Temple of Fel and rumors are that they expended a lot of their power taking down the Karnites." Vera says. "Dey ain't gonna last long against dem purity fanatics. They're worse than those Neroth cultists were and there is a lot more of dem." Warts adds. "Yeah, an' more people are starting to join. Maybe not in their fighting ranks, but that isn't our problem. What IS our problem is these folks are the same ones preaching for purity and living a clean life to everyone. We're going to start having serious complications if they win and have complete influence over the city as the only religion." The concerns that Vera and Warts both bring up aren't lost on you, in fact you've been having them yourself. You've already been seeing a drop in profit in most of your business ventures. You were hoping to avoid getting involved and you certainly didn't anticipate the Joachimites being so violently fanatical as they've been. Then again nobody really did. What you don't understand is why the hell they've even been allowed to get this far. There was always the rumor that Baroness Varsakken herself was a worshipper of Fel so you would have thought she might have intervened in some direct way. But maybe it was just rumors. You can't help but wonder if the Ebony Claw Syndicate was still around if the Temple of Fel would be doing much better than they are. It might be a case that you're going to have to be the ones to help instead. You're not exactly on friendly terms with the Felians, but you've never really had any problems with them either. Your issues with them are just like you have with any religion and that's that you find them to be too restrictive. Honestly, if you had it to do over again, you might have sided with the Yagites since they seemed the least fanatical, though even Warts didn't think much of them claiming that people shouldn't organize to worship Yag in the first place. In any case, you aren't even sure if the Felians will be receptive to an alliance or what it might even entail. You have to try though because you can't afford to just sit by and do nothing anymore. "Guess I need to have a meeting with whoever is the head of the Temple of Fel. Do we have any actual information on that?" Vera remarks. "Um, not really boss. You know the Felians, they're a pretty secretive bunch. In fact, don't even know where they're all holding out at actually now ever since their temple was directly attacked and partially destroyed." "Mm, well put the word out that I want to talk with the high priest or whoever. I'm sure it'll get back to them eventually." Your orders are carried out and life continues as usual for you. Weeks pass and for a while you think you're probably not going to get an answer. In fact you start to wonder if the Joachimites already succeeded in wiping them all out. However, one night when you're in bed you awaken and sit up with your pistol drawn from under your pillow. A dark figure that you can barely make out sits in the corner of the room. "Not sure why you're bothering with that thing. I could have killed you several times over already and that's even before you actually woke up. My name is Shade." The figure says. "Appropriate name. Was wondering when one of you lot would show up." You say, lowering your weapon. "We've been a little pre-occupied as of late. Defending the faith of Fel is a tireless cause, but one we take very seriously." "I suppose its even more tiring when you're on the losing side." "It may appear that way to the ignorant faithless, but I assure you that is not the case. We are merely biding our time and will strike when the time is right." "Sure you are. And that's why you're here wondering what I might have to say to help quicken that wait time." "You presume much for a petty criminal." "Pet...okay, you know what. I'm sick of this. We can sit here all night and verbally kick each other in the balls, but the point is, I wanted to speak with you about a mutual enemy, which are those fanatical Joachimites. Now they haven't been a direct threat to me and mine yet, but I imagine when they finally are through with you, we'll be next in their purity crusade. Since I'd rather not have to deal with them by myself, I reached out to you for a possible alliance. I figured since you once had a similar set up with the Ebony Claw Syndicate, you wouldn't be opposed to the idea." You hear a snort of laughter when you mention the ECS. "Something funny?" you ask. "Yes, irony is always funny." Shade says. "What do you mean?" "Not everyone was keen on our alliance with the Syndicate. In fact I was very vocal against our alliance with them. I felt it sullied our faith to associate with such criminals. Allowing some of them into our shadow magic secrets. It was a disgrace to Fel's name. Joachimite's foolishly believe they have the cornerstone on the concept of purity. Let me tell you, purity isn't only found in the so called light." "Well I can see that you have some strong feelings on all this." "Damn right I do. Which is why I didn't kill you immediately even though I could tell you had your own agenda against the Ebony Claw Syndicate the first time I met you. Now here I am dealing with you again despite our temple's break from alliances with the unworthy." You pause and realize who you're talking to exactly. You remember at the time after everything that happened with the ECS you wondered if you'd have to deal with this man again. You never thought it would be in this capacity though. "So, you were sent by the Fel leadership to deal with yet another criminal group. Yeah, I can see where that would piss you off." You say. "It's even worse since I AM the Temple's leadership this time. Shortly after the ECS started to collapse with the death of their boss which I have no doubt you had a hand in, there was another debate on whether or not help. It was then when I decided that our temple should seize the chance to discard our alliance and go back to basics. Let's just say the disagreement with the leadership at the time got heated and I took our temple back to what it should be focusing on." Shade says. "And it looks like that worked out real well for you." "It did. At least for a time. In any case, all of my actions would seem to have been for naught since I'm here. While perhaps I believe outside influences are a corrupting influence on our faith, I must also be pragmatic if our faith is to survive in this city." "What I don't understand is how you lot let yourselves get in this position in the first place. I mean you fuckers sneak about silently, turn invisible, and are one with the shadows. I mean arguably that's why the Ebony Claw was so feared in the first place, due to your alliance along with its top leaders being practitioners of Shadow magic, and I imagine they couldn't even do everything your top followers could. What about other Fel temples elsewhere? You can't just call on help from them? Not to mention I thought you lot even had government influence. I mean I always heard the rumor that Baroness Ludmilla was a follower of Fel." "Well the part of that is easy to answer, because it relates back to my break away from outside influence. You see, the next closest chapter, which exists in the Delantium Kingdom where they still maintain close ties to the ECS, doesn't exactly approve of THIS particular chapter. Hence I can expect no help from them. As for the Baroness, well let's just say she's a politician first and even more of a dabbler than a typical ECS lieutenant. It probably doesn't help that I cut most ties with her on our temple other than bare minimum cordial tolerance for her superficial intrigue on our faith." "If you hadn't been so much of a fanatic, you might have had a few more friends to help you now." "I remind you, that if I hadn't been so much of a fanatic, I would have killed you a long time ago. However, you are right of course unfortunately. Lately I've been wondering if all of this that has happened is Fel's way of punishing me for my hubris and past transgressions. I suppose it is equally amusing that my own rigid fanaticism caused my temple's downfall, while that same rigid fanaticism is causing the Joachimites' churches resurgence. Their god has been blessing them not just in the martial ways, but of magic as well. Our own shadow magic is practically rendered useless when faced with their light magic. Can't even get anyone close enough to stealthily assassinate their known top priests. Let alone the one who's actually leading them." "Who is leading them anyway? I mean we've only got a few rumors and names." "A bit of an enigma. So much so, it would actually make Fel proud. All we know is they call themselves The Inquisitor." "That's the same name I've heard a few times." "Yeah and that's about all that's known about him, assuming it's a guy. Have no real clue since whenever there have been sightings of the Inquisitor; the person is wearing a white mask along with a long white robe. Could be anything under there." "You can't assassinate him?" "Besides the fact that he moves around a lot, we've tried several times and we can't get close enough. He's also got some sort of magical protection that deflects projectiles of any kind. I suppose if we had more people maybe we could try to overwhelm him, but those damn Joachimites...they do not go down easy. Some of them rival a Karnite priest in their stubbornness to die and I should know because I've had to fight several of each. Yes, they are definitely not the peace and love pacifists they once were. I guess perhaps the Neroth cultists that were plaguing the city years ago lit that spark of hate back in them." While all this is mildly fascinating, you think it's time to get to business. "Shit, I was hoping this might be easier if we aligned. The way you're talking you make it sound like this Inquisitor is nigh invulnerable." You say. "I'm sure he's not invulnerable. Peel away all that protection and I'm sure he bleeds like everyone else. It's just getting through it, that's all. As much as I'm loathed to admit, your help WOULD probably go a long way in the Joachimites' eventual defeat. For one thing they aren't expecting an attack from your group. Set it up right and you could probably do a lot of damage with your first attack. Be prepared for the retaliation though, because it will be fierce. Hope you're ready to take some personnel losses." Shade says. "I'm more concerned by financial losses, but better to take a big loss now than a complete loss later if we don't help at all. Just wish there was another way rather than the slog that's going to ensue. If we could take out this Inquisitor leader immediately, I would imagine the rest might lose some of their fight." "Don't be so sure. Remember, all of these people are motivated by their love and faith of Joachim, not this Inquisitor. He's just leading the charge. However, you may have a point in that if he was out of the picture quicker, then perhaps those of lesser conviction may indeed be shaken enough to no longer be a concern. While our attempts at breaking through the Inquisitor's magic defenses have failed, I can think of one group who might be able to and that's the Dornans." "And I take it you're not on good terms with them either." "No, however you are a neutral party and if you're willing, you might be able to talk with them. Of course there's a bit of a danger though. The Dornans as you might know have taken a cocoon like approach to this whole event with their protective barrier around their own temple. Only Holgard Watchmen who patrol through the area at times are allowed anywhere near the place. The Joachimites attempted an attack on it once and they were incinerated almost instantly. Even they haven't dared to do it again." "So if I go to talk with them, at best they'll probably ignore me, at worst they'll turn me into ash." "Essentially, yes. Up to you though if you want to take that risk. If you do and assuming you're successful, I believe on my end we can track down the latest where abouts of the Inquisitor and hit him hard. This brings me to my question to you. Regardless of what approach we go with, what exactly is it that you want of the Temple of Fel in exchange for your assistance in this matter?" "Oh that. Well I haven't made up my mind on that exactly yet. Don't worry though, I have no intention on insisting that you teach me or any Nocturnal League members shadow magic or otherwise intertwine our two organizations. All I ask for is if there comes a day where I need a really need a big favor, I expect you to honor it." You say. "How big exactly?" Shade asks. "Oh not bigger than saving an entire organization from extinction I assure you. In any case, I know you're obviously a man of great faith so I expect you to make this promise to Fel that you will help me whenever that day comes. Do this and I will take your word as true." You hear nothing for a moment followed by a loud sigh. This has to be killing Shade, but better his pride dies tonight than the meager remains of his temple. "Very well. Assuming you succeed in helping us, I swear by the purity of the shadows provided by Fel that give us protection against our enemies that I will help you when you call upon it in the future and extend that protection to you. Now, do you have an idea of which way you want to go with the attack?" > War of attrition While there may be more Joachimites than Felians, you know there aren't more of them than the Nocturnal League. It'll just be a matter of keeping up the pressure and whittling them down. Eventually there won't be enough of them to defend this Inquisitor properly and that's when you'll make the killing strike. When you explain this to Shade however, he's less than enthusiastic about your rather laid back plan. "Honestly I had hoped you had a better idea than just simply trying to wear them down." Shade remarks. "Well all your attempts at going in for the kill immediately have failed so maybe a new approach is what is needed." You reply. "If you haven't noticed, my organization is fighting for its survival and we don't have time to sit on our hands and wait for the enemy to overwhelm us!" "They won't now, you've got our help. With our forces together the Joachimites will eventually crumble. I don't care who this Inquisitor asshole is, he won't be shit after all his buddies start dying." Shade doesn't look convinced, but he reluctantly agrees with your plan. You don't wait too long before you put your plan into action. Also doesn't take long before the Joachimites are on the defensive. Your first few attacks are particularly devastating to their ranks. This isn't without cost however. As time goes on, the Joachimites manage to drum up more support in the form of their non-combative followers. All those regular Joachim fearing Holgard citizens that weren't directly involved are now becoming more of a problem as several start openly standing up to Nocturnal League members in the streets preaching about how the League is a blight on this godless city and divine justice will soon be upon you. This never goes well for them of course, but it's not doing wonders for you either. With so many standing up to the League, it's harder to maintain the natural fear you were instilling in the population. Relying on more brutal methods to keep people in check works, but unfortunately you can't collect money from the dead and the violence from your organization is getting so bad that even the normally corrupt Holgard Watch has to step in to maintain some semblance of order and you begin to lose business. In fact it gets to a point where the Baroness demands that ALL hostilities between the religious factions come to a halt or she'll be sending in soldiers to deal with everyone involved. This goes about as well as you might expect. The Inquisitor, still as zealous as ever makes a rare public appearance calling for a holy crusade on the city itself and that anyone who truly believes in Joachim's light, should follow or be cast down into darkness like the rest of the infidels. It is during this speech that the Felians, attempt to launch one more direct attack upon him. Shade himself even leads the charge. You would have helped had you known about it, but coordinated efforts between you and Shade haven't been the best since you agreed to join him in the first place. You weren't there to witness it first hand, but the assassination attempt is a failure. Shade is even killed in the process, brought down by some sort of divine light that utterly melted him. The sight was so impressive that anyone who was on the fence about joining the Joachimites became a believer that day. With the Felians broken, any of them alive after that point flee their temple and the city itself. Which ultimately leaves you and the Baroness to combat this religious mad man. (The Dornans continue to remain fiercely neutral and refuse to see anyone, remaining behind a magical barrier around their temple. The Nocturnal League isn't out of the fight, but many of the members are seriously starting to question your leadership since nobody is making as much coin with religious fanaticism taking root and your businesses no longer being the draw they used to. A couple foolishly attempt to challenge you (which results in their death) but more of them are just thinking about leaving the city for better pickings. Warts ends up being one of those since he just disappears one day and doesn't return. It's possible he's dead, but you remember he did this before during the last major Holgard conflict. Vera's pissed and you are too to a small degree, but you aren't excessively surprised. You continue your fight with the Joachimites and fortunately get a little relief from the government since Ludmilla finally calls a halt to ongoing hostilities towards the League since the Joachimites are a greater threat. However your activities are severely limited to just running brothels and gambling. Other activities such as extortion or dealing drugs are to no longer be tolerated. You don't have much choice in the matter since much like the government; you can't fight a war on two fronts and are just managing to keep the League from collapsing internally. After a few months, you maintain a more defensive posture and focus on consolidation of your own forces while Ludmilla spares no expensive in stomping out the Joachimite religion in the city. Eventually enough oppressive laws along with Ludmilla somehow coming to a deal with the Dornans to provide minor assistance the Inquisitor's last holdout with his most fanatical followers are tracked down and defeated. All religion save for the temple of Dorna are outlawed and anyone holding Joachimite beliefs is sentenced to death, putting a final end to the religious faction war in the city once and for all. As for you and the League, it's been a war of attrition indeed and you curse the fact that you allowed yourself to get wrapped up in this in the first place, but then again who knows if this wouldn't have happened eventually anyway and at least the Joachimites will no longer plague the city. You're in a much weaker position now, but you imagine that you can hopefully bounce back from it. You just need time. Year 28 "Maybe the halfbreed really is dead if he hasn't returned yet. I certainly hope that's the case." Vera remarks. "Possibly, but it's only been a year and things still aren't really settled yet in this city. He's probably just waiting it all out a little longer. In any case, what was it that you wanted to suggest?" you ask. "I was going to suggest that maybe it's time we start looking to better opportunities because Holgard in its current state isn't getting any better for us. That baroness bitch has become miss law and order all of a sudden and she's even employing more magic in this task now thanks to her new alliance with the Dornans!" "Well last I heard Klyton isn't exactly that great for rogues like us and Hessla is a piss poor pirate town. The Delantium Kingdom is Ebony Claw territory, so that doesn't give many options to expand." "I was thinking of Jicol." "Where?" "Jicol is a port city on an island west of Hessla. They've got a large enough navy to fend off pirates, but as far as I know, they don't really focus on their land based security as much." "How do you know this?" "I got some pirate contacts who tell me shit from time to time. Honestly, I'm thinking we should just take the whole operation there, but I'm guessing you might be a little reluctant to just leave Holgard entirely." "Well yeah, but I've always trusted your judgement and you've stuck with this organization through some rough times, so if this Jicol is open like you're claiming, then maybe we should check it out. I guess I'd send you with some people to get started." Vera smiles a bit when you approve of her idea so quickly. You try not to think about it too much, but you're pretty certain that Vera is genuinely attracted to you and not just on a physical or "career" level. You don't really want to ever think about it due to the whole fact that you're cursed. Something you haven't really had time to think about too much, but you need to fix it someday if you ever want to have any sort of relationship again. Maybe you could try to go see the Dornans about getting it lifted or something. In the meantime, Vera also springs some extra news on you that you weren't expecting. "Oh, some man with a shaved head and several burn scars on his face and hands was asking about you by name at one of our brothels. He said he knew you from the old days." Vera says. "Oh? Wait, this wasn't an older guy was it?" you ask, suddenly wondering if it was Sneaks. (You never did learn what happened to him) "No, this guy said his name was Yinen. Said he used to do some business with you...name sounds familiar." "Yinen? Yeah I know him! He was a fence for the Thieves Guild. Well for the Syndicate too really, maybe that's why the name sounds familar, but in any case the last time I saw him was when I rescued him from a Neroth torture cell. Never did know what happened to him either, where the hell has he been?" "I dunno, this is second hand info I got from some of our people. All I know is he wants to speak with you about settling some debts." "Debts? The only one I can think of between us is him repaying me for saving his life." "Well maybe that's what he wants to do. Here." Vera gives you a small piece of parchment with some writing on it. "He gave this to our people and this apparently is an address of where he's currently staying at and said you can meet him there at anytime. You want me to just have some people bring him here though?" "Nah, I can make the trip down there. He's not Nocturnal League anyway, so he doesn't need to know our hideout. Though who knows, maybe we'll have a new member. Could use the help right about now. Anyway, why don't you start making the arrangements for your trip to Jicol." As Vera sets out to follow your orders, you decide to go visit Yinen now while you've got the time. You're sort of wondering what Yinen's meeting is all about. Last time you saw him, it wasn't under the best circumstances and he was ranting like a madman after his torture by the Neroth cult. Hopefully he's gotten over all that. You soon arrive at a run down house in a lower class district. The house itself looks like it suffered through the recent conflicts in the city. Wouldn't be the only property in this city to do so. You knock on the door and soon it opens and that's when you see Yinen. "Yinen? What the hell happened to you?" you say remarking about several things applying to him. "Hello old comrade, as for what happened to me, that's a long story. First though, come on in and let me say I want to apologize for attacking you that day you saved me from that wretched cell." "It's fine. It was a long time ago...but I don't remember the Nerothians burning you. Where did you get all these burn marks on your hands and face?" "That's an even longer story and I'll tell you about that too, but rest assured, what you see on my hands and face is just a fraction of what is practically all over. Doesn't matter though, I healed and grew stronger. I had far greater losses than any superficial physical appearance." You step inside and Yinen closes the door before walking into a humble living area. "You'll have to excuse the mess and disrepair of this place. Used to be my parents until they died." Yinen says. "Oh. Didn't know your parents lived here." You answer. "Why would you? I tended to keep my old business life as private as possible. They were good Joachim fearing folks that didn't have much to do with me anyway. Of course that's also what got them killed. Ludmilla didn't show much mercy to any of those faithful to Joachim and my parents while peaceful would never willingly give up their faith. You can guess what happened." "Yeeah...I imagine that would suck. So they died during that conflict?" "Yes, last year towards the end of it, before the Inquisitor was finally brought down by Ludmilla's troops. I only heard about my parents a few months after everything had died down. I was a little pre-occupied with something else at the time, but I rushed back here to this accursed city as soon as possible to take care of various affairs." Yinen at this point goes over to a small box and pulls a couple ornamental objects out of it. They look like symbols dedicated to Joachim. "Careful with those, you get caught with them and it's the death penalty rather than just a fine and jail time. Sort of surprised those objects weren't destroyed when your parents were...killed." You say. "Oh these didn't belong to them. These are mine. This house was either filled with broken furniture or garbage until I moved in. Apparently the government didn't bother repurposing it or even seizing the property for housing someone else. Just left abandoned." Yinen says. "Your stuff and you snuck it in here? Are you crazy?" "I suppose to many I am. I have even questioned my own sanity at times, but then I remember, Joachim has given me his guidance and holy mission. And no matter what, I will not fail in that mission. I have learned from my failures and will follow a new path to bring his divine justice." At this point Yinen's voice sounds more fanatical even if it remains calm and you get a very uneasy feeling. So uneasy in fact that you go for your weapon. Yinen turns around and before you know it, your pistol burns so hot in your hand that you drop it. You go for your blade, but once again you burn your hand. "Joachim's will cannot be stopped and this city WILL learn this. I regret that I must destroy you who once saved my life. Indeed if not for you, I would not be on my holy path that I am today. For that I thank you, but you are one of the many symptoms of wickedness in this city. Perhaps if you had not attacked my flock so brutally a parley might have been possible, but then I should know that one cannot suffer a sinner. One can only cleanse them." Yinen says raising his hands, which are emanating a white glowing light. "Shit...it was you. You were the..." "When the baroness' men tried to kill me by setting my last church on fire and barricading me inside, they should have known that fire only purifies and will never kill those on the right path or those whose work is not yet done. All that happened in my near death experience was my focus became even clearer with the will of Joachim. I give you the only mercy I can to an infidel. I give you a quick death and may Joachim forgive you." You attempt to run out the door, but before you even reach it, your whole body spontaneously combusts into flames. You scream in agony as the fire completely engulfs your body.

[Themes: fantasy, serious] Year 27 While conflict can be good for business, there sometimes is a point when it starts becoming a hindrance. Especially when the wrong side is winning. "The Joachimites are starting to break this stalemate and win this religious war you know. The Yagites are gone and so are the followers of Karn. The Dornans are still around, but they've decided to just put up a force field around their temple and ride it all out. That just leaves the Temple of Fel and rumors are that they expended a lot of their power taking down the Karnites." Vera says. "Dey ain't gonna last long against dem purity fanatics. They're worse than those Neroth cultists were and there is a lot more of dem." Warts adds. "Yeah, an' more people are starting to join. Maybe not in their fighting ranks, but that isn't our problem. What IS our problem is these folks are the same ones preaching for purity and living a clean life to everyone. We're going to start having serious complications if they win and have complete influence over the city as the only religion." The concerns that Vera and Warts both bring up aren't lost on you, in fact you've been having them yourself. You've already been seeing a drop in profit in most of your business ventures. You were hoping to avoid getting involved and you certainly didn't anticipate the Joachimites being so violently fanatical as they've been. Then again nobody really did. What you don't understand is why the hell they've even been allowed to get this far. There was always the rumor that Baroness Varsakken herself was a worshipper of Fel so you would have thought she might have intervened in some direct way. But maybe it was just rumors. You can't help but wonder if the Ebony Claw Syndicate was still around if the Temple of Fel would be doing much better than they are. It might be a case that you're going to have to be the ones to help instead. You're not exactly on friendly terms with the Felians, but you've never really had any problems with them either. Your issues with them are just like you have with any religion and that's that you find them to be too restrictive. Honestly, if you had it to do over again, you might have sided with the Yagites since they seemed the least fanatical, though even Warts didn't think much of them claiming that people shouldn't organize to worship Yag in the first place. In any case, you aren't even sure if the Felians will be receptive to an alliance or what it might even entail. You have to try though because you can't afford to just sit by and do nothing anymore. "Guess I need to have a meeting with whoever is the head of the Temple of Fel. Do we have any actual information on that?" Vera remarks. "Um, not really boss. You know the Felians, they're a pretty secretive bunch. In fact, don't even know where they're all holding out at actually now ever since their temple was directly attacked and partially destroyed." "Mm, well put the word out that I want to talk with the high priest or whoever. I'm sure it'll get back to them eventually." Your orders are carried out and life continues as usual for you. Weeks pass and for a while you think you're probably not going to get an answer. In fact you start to wonder if the Joachimites already succeeded in wiping them all out. However, one night when you're in bed you awaken and sit up with your pistol drawn from under your pillow. A dark figure that you can barely make out sits in the corner of the room. "Not sure why you're bothering with that thing. I could have killed you several times over already and that's even before you actually woke up. My name is Shade." The figure says. "Appropriate name. Was wondering when one of you lot would show up." You say, lowering your weapon. "We've been a little pre-occupied as of late. Defending the faith of Fel is a tireless cause, but one we take very seriously." "I suppose its even more tiring when you're on the losing side." "It may appear that way to the ignorant faithless, but I assure you that is not the case. We are merely biding our time and will strike when the time is right." "Sure you are. And that's why you're here wondering what I might have to say to help quicken that wait time." "You presume much for a petty criminal." "Pet...okay, you know what. I'm sick of this. We can sit here all night and verbally kick each other in the balls, but the point is, I wanted to speak with you about a mutual enemy, which are those fanatical Joachimites. Now they haven't been a direct threat to me and mine yet, but I imagine when they finally are through with you, we'll be next in their purity crusade. Since I'd rather not have to deal with them by myself, I reached out to you for a possible alliance. I figured since you once had a similar set up with the Ebony Claw Syndicate, you wouldn't be opposed to the idea." You hear a snort of laughter when you mention the ECS. "Something funny?" you ask. "Yes, irony is always funny." Shade says. "What do you mean?" "Not everyone was keen on our alliance with the Syndicate. In fact I was very vocal against our alliance with them. I felt it sullied our faith to associate with such criminals. Allowing some of them into our shadow magic secrets. It was a disgrace to Fel's name. Joachimite's foolishly believe they have the cornerstone on the concept of purity. Let me tell you, purity isn't only found in the so called light." "Well I can see that you have some strong feelings on all this." "Damn right I do. Which is why I didn't kill you immediately even though I could tell you had your own agenda against the Ebony Claw Syndicate the first time I met you. Now here I am dealing with you again despite our temple's break from alliances with the unworthy." You pause and realize who you're talking to exactly. You remember at the time after everything that happened with the ECS you wondered if you'd have to deal with this man again. You never thought it would be in this capacity though. "So, you were sent by the Fel leadership to deal with yet another criminal group. Yeah, I can see where that would piss you off." You say. "It's even worse since I AM the Temple's leadership this time. Shortly after the ECS started to collapse with the death of their boss which I have no doubt you had a hand in, there was another debate on whether or not help. It was then when I decided that our temple should seize the chance to discard our alliance and go back to basics. Let's just say the disagreement with the leadership at the time got heated and I took our temple back to what it should be focusing on." Shade says. "And it looks like that worked out real well for you." "It did. At least for a time. In any case, all of my actions would seem to have been for naught since I'm here. While perhaps I believe outside influences are a corrupting influence on our faith, I must also be pragmatic if our faith is to survive in this city." "What I don't understand is how you lot let yourselves get in this position in the first place. I mean you fuckers sneak about silently, turn invisible, and are one with the shadows. I mean arguably that's why the Ebony Claw was so feared in the first place, due to your alliance along with its top leaders being practitioners of Shadow magic, and I imagine they couldn't even do everything your top followers could. What about other Fel temples elsewhere? You can't just call on help from them? Not to mention I thought you lot even had government influence. I mean I always heard the rumor that Baroness Ludmilla was a follower of Fel." "Well the part of that is easy to answer, because it relates back to my break away from outside influence. You see, the next closest chapter, which exists in the Delantium Kingdom where they still maintain close ties to the ECS, doesn't exactly approve of THIS particular chapter. Hence I can expect no help from them. As for the Baroness, well let's just say she's a politician first and even more of a dabbler than a typical ECS lieutenant. It probably doesn't help that I cut most ties with her on our temple other than bare minimum cordial tolerance for her superficial intrigue on our faith." "If you hadn't been so much of a fanatic, you might have had a few more friends to help you now." "I remind you, that if I hadn't been so much of a fanatic, I would have killed you a long time ago. However, you are right of course unfortunately. Lately I've been wondering if all of this that has happened is Fel's way of punishing me for my hubris and past transgressions. I suppose it is equally amusing that my own rigid fanaticism caused my temple's downfall, while that same rigid fanaticism is causing the Joachimites' churches resurgence. Their god has been blessing them not just in the martial ways, but of magic as well. Our own shadow magic is practically rendered useless when faced with their light magic. Can't even get anyone close enough to stealthily assassinate their known top priests. Let alone the one who's actually leading them." "Who is leading them anyway? I mean we've only got a few rumors and names." "A bit of an enigma. So much so, it would actually make Fel proud. All we know is they call themselves The Inquisitor." "That's the same name I've heard a few times." "Yeah and that's about all that's known about him, assuming it's a guy. Have no real clue since whenever there have been sightings of the Inquisitor; the person is wearing a white mask along with a long white robe. Could be anything under there." "You can't assassinate him?" "Besides the fact that he moves around a lot, we've tried several times and we can't get close enough. He's also got some sort of magical protection that deflects projectiles of any kind. I suppose if we had more people maybe we could try to overwhelm him, but those damn Joachimites...they do not go down easy. Some of them rival a Karnite priest in their stubbornness to die and I should know because I've had to fight several of each. Yes, they are definitely not the peace and love pacifists they once were. I guess perhaps the Neroth cultists that were plaguing the city years ago lit that spark of hate back in them." While all this is mildly fascinating, you think it's time to get to business. "Shit, I was hoping this might be easier if we aligned. The way you're talking you make it sound like this Inquisitor is nigh invulnerable." You say. "I'm sure he's not invulnerable. Peel away all that protection and I'm sure he bleeds like everyone else. It's just getting through it, that's all. As much as I'm loathed to admit, your help WOULD probably go a long way in the Joachimites' eventual defeat. For one thing they aren't expecting an attack from your group. Set it up right and you could probably do a lot of damage with your first attack. Be prepared for the retaliation though, because it will be fierce. Hope you're ready to take some personnel losses." Shade says. "I'm more concerned by financial losses, but better to take a big loss now than a complete loss later if we don't help at all. Just wish there was another way rather than the slog that's going to ensue. If we could take out this Inquisitor leader immediately, I would imagine the rest might lose some of their fight." "Don't be so sure. Remember, all of these people are motivated by their love and faith of Joachim, not this Inquisitor. He's just leading the charge. However, you may have a point in that if he was out of the picture quicker, then perhaps those of lesser conviction may indeed be shaken enough to no longer be a concern. While our attempts at breaking through the Inquisitor's magic defenses have failed, I can think of one group who might be able to and that's the Dornans." "And I take it you're not on good terms with them either." "No, however you are a neutral party and if you're willing, you might be able to talk with them. Of course there's a bit of a danger though. The Dornans as you might know have taken a cocoon like approach to this whole event with their protective barrier around their own temple. Only Holgard Watchmen who patrol through the area at times are allowed anywhere near the place. The Joachimites attempted an attack on it once and they were incinerated almost instantly. Even they haven't dared to do it again." "So if I go to talk with them, at best they'll probably ignore me, at worst they'll turn me into ash." "Essentially, yes. Up to you though if you want to take that risk. If you do and assuming you're successful, I believe on my end we can track down the latest where abouts of the Inquisitor and hit him hard. This brings me to my question to you. Regardless of what approach we go with, what exactly is it that you want of the Temple of Fel in exchange for your assistance in this matter?" "Oh that. Well I haven't made up my mind on that exactly yet. Don't worry though, I have no intention on insisting that you teach me or any Nocturnal League members shadow magic or otherwise intertwine our two organizations. All I ask for is if there comes a day where I need a really need a big favor, I expect you to honor it." You say. "How big exactly?" Shade asks. "Oh not bigger than saving an entire organization from extinction I assure you. In any case, I know you're obviously a man of great faith so I expect you to make this promise to Fel that you will help me whenever that day comes. Do this and I will take your word as true." You hear nothing for a moment followed by a loud sigh. This has to be killing Shade, but better his pride dies tonight than the meager remains of his temple. "Very well. Assuming you succeed in helping us, I swear by the purity of the shadows provided by Fel that give us protection against our enemies that I will help you when you call upon it in the future and extend that protection to you. Now, do you have an idea of which way you want to go with the attack?" > Decisive Strike If you have a chance to take down the Joachimites in an expedient manner then you're going to take it. Last thing you want is this to drag out any longer than you have to. You tell Shade that you're going to try to meet with the Dornans. Shade sounds a bit surprised when you tell him but agrees that it is worth a try along with saying that they probably won't kill you just for asking for an audience. (You sure hope he's right.) He goes on to tell you that their high priest is Elder Flynn and he tends to be a bit aloof and always involved in some magic experiment so you might not even get to speak to him directly as he prefers to let one of his subordinates take care of things. Shade also mentions if you've got anything magical laying around, that might help you get a meeting with any of them since they love collecting magic items. Shade then tells you he'll be preparing things on his side and in the unlikely event that you actually manage to get Dornan help and depending on how much help, you two can plan out your next move at that time. With those last words, Shade seemingly disappears into the darkness completely. The next day you explain the situation to Vera and Warts. Neither one is exactly enthused about the idea, but they're just glad you're not asking either of them to do it. "Hope Yag's rolling in yer favor." Warts says. "If he is, I hope he does better than he did for his loyal worshippers. Just wish I had something more than this pair of dried unicorn balls as a possible offering...Warts are you even sure this shit is magical?" You say. "Itz from a unicorn ain't it? Itz magic trust me. Witch doctors grind dem up and make inta potions dat make yer dick HARD. Youz can last fer hours let me tell ya. One time wit Snuffit, I..." "That's okay, don't need to hear the details. Anyway, guess it'll have to do." "At the risk that you'll take me with you, are you sure you should go attempt to do this alone?" Vera asks. "I'm literally going to speak to a bunch of people that practically eat, sleep and shit magic. If they decide to kill me, there is little anyone else in the League is going to be able to do to help so there's really no point in anyone else getting potentially disintegrated. That's probably not going to happen, but in case shit does go south and I don't come back, I guess it'll be up to you lead this organization." "What seriously?" "Well you and Warts are the closest thing I have to seconds and I doubt if Warts wants the commitment. So you're the obvious choice." "Got dat right. Barely wanna do the shit I hafta." Warts interjects. "Wow, that's a huge responsibility and a lot of trust in me. I'm not sure what to say, thanks I guess." Vera says responding to you. "Well I'm not dead yet, so don't start sweating or celebrating prematurely. Okay, I'm off." You set off to the temple of Dorna. Along the way you see several groups of Joachimite fanatics preaching their faith to passersby. Most of the citizens are just trying to go about their day and are meekly just accepting the various pamphlets the Joachimites are aggressively distributing. Your own League members should be so intimidating. Yep, their ranks definitely need to be whittled down severely. You're just hoping the Dornans will help. That's what you're most concerned about, because if you don't get their help in some meaningful way, you know full well you'll be taking some losses if it turns into a straight up fight with the Joachimites. The closer you get to the area of Dorna's temple, the less people you see around in general. The force field that shimmers in and out of existence and surrounds the temple has certainly done its job in keeping everyone away. When you get so close to the place that you could actually touch the field if you wanted to, you notice that beyond the field there is a robed individual sitting on steps to the entrance and reading a book. 'Hello?" you say in order to get their attention. The robed individual looks up and you see it's a woman. She puts her books aside to address you. "Oh hello. Not many people even walk this way anymore let alone get this close. Last ones who tried were those silly Joachimites. They learned the hard way of course. So anyway, my name is Heather and what brings the leader of the infamous Nocturnal League here?" she says. "You know who I am?" "Oh yes of course! We're the worshippers of Dorna! Goddess of not just magic but of knowledge! We try to make it a point of knowing everything and everyone that might be important for one never knows when the knowledge may come in handy." "Hm, never realized I actually was all that important really." "You're an underworld boss who not only orchestrated the downfall of the Thieves Guild, but also the Ebony Claw Syndicate chapter in this city. THEN you created your own organization, which has quickly started to gain the same influence as the ECS once did here. You are also known to be very dangerous with firearms, particularly your custom made one. While you're probably not important in the grand scheme of the world, you're definitely important in this city at least." You chuckle at that brief history of yourself. "Well I suppose that's all true, though I had good reasons for everything." You say. "Of course you did. And I imagine you're also here for another good reason. So what is it that you want?" Heather asks. "To cut to the chase, I wish to speak to your Elder Flynn as I'm seeking your help in taking down the Joachimites. I believe it is in everyone's best interest that they aren't allowed to spread in this city. Plus, I figure your group of all people would finally want to put an end to this religious war." "Hm, well seeing as we've already made it impossible for the Joachimites or anyone else for that matter to attack us, the war is already over as far as we're concerned." "But if the Joachimites win, they'll be coming for you next and just because they were turned back by your barrier before doesn't mean they won't try when they have no more opponents left. Hell, if they become very influential they may even gain the help of the government to kick you out." "I do not believe that will happen. You are allied with the Felians are you not?" "We came to an understanding, yes." "Then the predictions came true. Elder Flynn was correct in predicting that eventually your group would get involved and side with what's left of the worshippers of Fel. He also predicted that such an alliance would result in your side's victory. So with that in mind, I don't believe the Elder would have any more to speak on the matter. The Joachimites will be destroyed. The Felians will be in no condition to do anything to us assuming they survive at all and your organization will be so weakened that even if you were any sort of rival to us, you wouldn't be able to do anything either." "Look, I'm not asking you to put your asses on the line at all. I was just told that you'd have something to help take down this Inquisitor asshole who seemingly has almost as much magical protection as you lot do. I mean I can pay you guys." "You have anything magical on you?" Heather asks. "I got these!" you say and hold up a large leather pouch containing the unicorn testicles. Meanwhile Heather stands behind the barrier doing something with her hands. When you realize she might be casting a spell, you get nervous. "What're you doing?" you ask. "Checking something. Hmm, interesting. Very interesting. Perhaps Elder Flynn will be interested in helping you after all." Heather says and suddenly an opening in the barrier appears. "Well? Come on in, I'm not supposed to leave this open for very long!" Wasting no time, you enter and the barrier closes behind you. Heather tells you to follow her. "Did you want these now?" you ask shoving the leather pouch at her. "What? No and Elder Flynn isn't going to want those things either. In fact, just put those away." "Then why did you let me in?" "Because you've got something far more magical than a pair of glorified horse balls. You've got ties to the infernal realm! You were marked by a succubus!" "...um...oh. Uh..." is about all you can spit out since you're taken off guard by the statement. Also you're not exactly sure what this means exactly. Heather seems pretty excited though. "And it appears that you've been marked for quite awhile. Succubi aren't known for keeping their mortal mates alive for very long. Maybe a year a most and most non-magical humans can't withstand the drain for extended periods of time. How did you pull this off? Nevermind, you can tell Flynn all about it when I bring you to him, he'll be just as interested in all this as I am." Heather leads you into the temple which almost resembles more of a library than a place of worship. Several other Dornans see Heather and you and disapproval already ensues. "Heather! What the hell are you doing?!" one yells "Why have you let an infidel inside our sanctum?" another adds. "Guys relax! He's no threat to us and I have a good reason! Elder Flynn will want to meet this one!" Heather says. "Oh? I will, will I?" another voice says before a set of double doors opens up. There you see an old man in robes. He looks very much like what you'd think a wizard would look like, or in his case priest-wizard. Heather wastes no time in telling him (and everyone else) that you've been marked by a succubus and also how you want help against the Joachimites. Elder Flynn does a similar thing with his hands that you saw Heather do and he comes to the same conclusion. "I see. Well our criminal friend here certainly does have a unique condition. I would be very interested in learning how this came about exactly." Elder Flynn remarks. "May I sit in on this Elder?" Heather asks. "Very well, you may observe, but do not speak. As for the rest of you, return to your tasks. I will call upon you when needed. Now then you, follow me into my chambers and tell me your tale. Then perhaps we can come to some sort of deal." You and Heather follow Elder Flynn into his chambers which contains a lot of tables filled with bottles, jars, and other laboratory equipment. More books of course and several strange markings on the floor. Elder Flynn motions you to take a seat and you do so before explaining "your tale" as it were. You talk about Tanya for quite awhile. Honestly, it's kind of nice to talk about her as you've never done so before. Not even to Warts, even though you know he's aware about what occurred between you two. Flynn sits and listens very intently, never interrupting and just writing notes on parchment. Heather on the other hand looks like she wants to ask you all sorts of questions and is doing her best to not speak. While talking about Tanya is nice, you also remind yourself of the loss you feel without her around. You explain that it's not as bad as it was when you first parted ways, but every now and then you have that empty feeling. You also mention "the curse" which peaks Flynn's interest even more. He asks you several questions on that, which you answer. "Interesting. It would seem that despite your girlfriend going against her nature she still managed to leave behind something that ultimately causes harm, even if it wasn't to you directly. Anyway, fascinating tale and I believe this is your lucky day." Flynn remarks. "It is?" you ask. "Yes, how would you like my help AND get rid of your curse?" "You can do that?" "I believe it is possible, however you'd have to undergo a ritual first." "Um, what sort of ritual?" "You're bonded with a demon. Doesn't matter if she wasn't born a pure blood anymore because she's obviously embraced her heritage fully now. That bond might be dormant and perhaps even non-malignant, but it exists. Which means at any time she can reach you, but it also means YOU can reach her. You of course don't have the means, but I on other hand do. I'm proposing that we perform a ritual to bring this Tanya back here." This proposal is getting strange and giving you all sorts of mixed feelings. On one hand you'd like nothing more than to see her again, but on the other... "Um, okay so when Tanya is brought back here, then what?" you ask. "Well I bind her of course." Flynn remarks. "What?!" "Properly bound infernals can be very useful sources of knowledge as well as servants. She'll be a good addition to the temple. Also when I bind her, her hold on you will also be broken and you'll be free." At this point you stand up and have to do everything within your power to not attack Flynn. You know he'd probably easily disintegrate you before you could even do anything, but the temptation is still there. However you aren't adverse to verbal abuse. "No, fuck you and fuck this plan." You say as calm as you can. "(Sigh) I thought you might say that. You're missing the big picture." Flynn remarks. "What big picture?! You're talking about enslaving my fucking girlfriend! You didn't think I might get pissed about that?" "Please just calm down. We were getting along before." Heather remarks. "Yeah? Well that's probably because you lot weren't talking about imprisoning my girlfriend before and having me play a role in that! How would you like it if you had to be part of a magic ritual you didn't want any part in?" "If it was in pursuit of greater knowledge and wisdom, I'd be willing to make that sacrifice." "Glad to hear you say that Heather, because I will need your assistance in this ritual." Flynn remarks. "Huh?" "I need something to help call the demon back to this realm just to give the spell a little more power. Usually for most demons this requires a sacrifice of some sort, however given that Tanya is a succubus, I don't think blood will be necessary, so fortunately I just need you to have sex with him inside the circle." Heather's face looks completely dumb struck. She has no words. You on the other hand are just shaking your head and giving a cynical laugh about it all. "This just gets better and better. Tell me, are you going to be jacking your old wrinkled dick the whole time too?" Your crude remark is enough to finally set off Elder Flynn's temper. "Look, you glorified cut throat, just THINK for a moment! The Tanya you knew is GONE. She left you for the infernal realm a LONG time ago and probably forgotten about you. In fact you're very lucky she has because I guarantee that she is NOT the same woman you knew. She has most likely become a being of pure evil, no matter what she might have told you before she left. Any concept of love would be gone by now along with any affection for you." Flynn rants. "You don't know that." You say. "No, I DO know that! I've done far more studies and forgotten more about infernals than you'll ever know and there is one constant, they always...ALWAYS become creatures of mayhem, chaos and destruction in one way or another, and have no affection for ANYONE, let alone anyone far weaker than themselves." Elder Flynn says this with such conviction that you don't respond and are just wondering if you're going to be able to get out of here alive. "Now I know this is all very emotional for you, but I think you're smart enough to see that I know what the hell I'm talking about on this subject. And if that doesn't convince you, then consider this. By participating in this ritual, you'll be free of Tanya's grip on you. No longer will you feel the loss of her presence and better yet, you'll be able to love another without putting their life in danger. Doesn't that alone sound worthwhile? And I'm not even counting the help I will give you against the Joachimites. So you see, there is no downside to this deal." You have to admit, Flynn is making a pretty sound argument. There have been many times you'd like to "move on" but it's obvious that you can't unless you go through with this ritual. > You do the ritual Not exactly ideal circumstances but if this is what it's going to take to break the curse along with gaining help from the Dornans then this is what you need to do. Part of you still feels bad about betraying Tanya like this and you're not looking forward to when you "meet" her again. Still, Flynn is probably correct in that she is most likely not the same girl anymore. "Very well, if this is the only way." You say. "Glad to see you're finally thinking rationally. Okay, let's not waste anymore time, I'm going to have my acolytes prepare the summoning room. Heather can take you to it in about ten minutes or so. Since she's going to be directly involved in this ritual, I would recommend that you take that time to start getting yourself ready. I trust you like girls and I assume that Heather is attractive enough for you. However, I understand if these conditions are making you feel a little under pressure so if Heather's physical charms aren't enough, we can resort to magic means if necessary. I'd rather we didn't though since these types of things always work better under natural conditions." Elder Flynn remarks. "Um, I think I can manage, but what about Heather? I mean are you fine to go along with this?" you ask. "We all make sacrifices in the pursuit of Dorna's wisdom." Heather says and looks a little embarrassed and resigned by this whole situation. "Indeed. I'll see you both soon." Flynn says and leaves. You look at Heather as she looks at you. "Heather we really don't have to if..." you start to say before she's all over you. You don't really resist at this point though you do have to eventually stop her. "Okay, okay, I'm suitably in the mood if that was what you were trying to accomplish, I think we better get to the summoning room before the magic happens prematurely." You say. Heather just acknowledges the obvious and tells you to follow her. She seems to be trying to maintain a certain detachment about all this. You can honestly say if you were her, you certainly wouldn't be doing it, then again you've never had that much dedication to a deity either which seems to be her main motivation and perhaps intimidation by Flynn. When you get to the summoning room, Flynn is already there with some of his people. Flynn nods when he sees you and Heather. "Ah, there you are, if you two can get undressed and get in that circle, you can commence with the consummation." Flynn says. "Um, is there anything else we have to do?" "No. You two just focus on the physical part of this ritual and we'll be doing the rest. Though it is going to be vital that you last at least more than two minutes." "Yeah, yeah, I'll manage. Sheesh." "Very well. Also, and I feel I need to stress this again, when your succubus appears, it is vital that you DO NOT LISTEN to ANYTHING she has to say! In fact, you should just get the hell out of the room as soon as possible. You can wait elsewhere in the temple while we finish binding the demon." You almost want to say something, specifically argue with Flynn, but you know that's not going to help and will be useless. You need to let Tanya go even if it is hard to do. This is going to be for your own good. It's also going to get you help with the Joachimites, which is sort of the main reason why you came here in the first place, but that seems more like a secondary concern now. As you're getting undressed, Heather briefly says that she'd like to be on top during all this. You see no reason to disagree since it's all going to get the job done and you figure maybe it eases her mind that she at least is going to have some "control" over the situation. (Or maybe she's just more comfortable that way) Soon you and Heather are in position and it's almost like she's read your mind about the awkwardness of an audience since she whispers in your ear... "It's just me and you here, just relax and ignore everything else except me, I'm your whole world right now." She then follows that up with a fairly passionate kiss and rhythmic motion of her body. You don't know if Heather is using some sort of magic on you after all, or she's just that good, either way she knows what the hell she's doing and you're completely at ease and able to ignore the weird chanting of Flynn and his people. Time passes and eventually in-between the moaning and grunting, suddenly Heather begins to cough and she starts to wheeze. "You okay?" you ask. "Yeah...I'm...fine..." Heather remarks. "You don't seem fine, maybe...OW SHIT!" Heather suddenly starts to dig her nails into your arms and is actively holding you down. It's enough for you to try to resist, but somehow she's a lot stronger than she appears. Not to mention she is putting all her weight on you and got you in locked in quite securely with her lower body. In fact it almost feels like she's crushing you. "Heather, what the fuck! This is really fucking hurting! Get the hell off me! FLYNN!" Flynn does absolutely nothing and just continues chanting, meanwhile Heather continues to look unwell and go on with her task. She starts to cough up blood on you. "Oh fuck, we need to stop this right now!" you shout. "Can't...gotta...finish...ugh...I feel...insides are on fire." And at this point blood is no longer just coming out of her mouth and given some of the other orifices, it isn't all blood either. You are covered in blood, shit and vomit from nearly head to toe and that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is whatever is happening to Heather isn't just expressing itself with bodily excretions, Heather's magical powers are also starting to go wild. Her nails that were digging into your flesh now feel like hot coals as you can see her hands starting to glow a red color. Fighting the urge not to vomit yourself, you desperately try to get Heather off of you, but again she's firmly wrapped around you and pinning you down. You call for Flynn to help you and even Heather starts to scream for assistance as it seems she is not completely in control of her own body. No help comes though and it's apparent that Flynn doesn't give a shit about either one of you at this point. You manage to finally get one of your arms free, but it's a little late since now part of your own flesh is in flames. Punching Heather in the face a few times only results in her instinctively retaliating with blast of lightning to YOUR face. You collapse back to the floor as Heather's screams get fainter to your ears and your last sight before your vision fades, is Heather's body literally ripping and exploding into bloody chunks of gore and now a different form looms over you. You can't make any detail out except the outline of a much taller impressive demonic looking figure. "Tanya...I'm...sorry..." you utter before you pass the world.

If you have a chance to take down the Joachimites in an expedient manner then you're going to take it. Last thing you want is this to drag out any longer than you have to. You tell Shade that you're going to try to meet with the Dornans. Shade sounds a bit surprised when you tell him but agrees that it is worth a try along with saying that they probably won't kill you just for asking for an audience. (You sure hope he's right.) He goes on to tell you that their high priest is Elder Flynn and he tends to be a bit aloof and always involved in some magic experiment so you might not even get to speak to him directly as he prefers to let one of his subordinates take care of things. Shade also mentions if you've got anything magical laying around, that might help you get a meeting with any of them since they love collecting magic items. Shade then tells you he'll be preparing things on his side and in the unlikely event that you actually manage to get Dornan help and depending on how much help, you two can plan out your next move at that time. With those last words, Shade seemingly disappears into the darkness completely. The next day you explain the situation to Vera and Warts. Neither one is exactly enthused about the idea, but they're just glad you're not asking either of them to do it. "Hope Yag's rolling in yer favor." Warts says. "If he is, I hope he does better than he did for his loyal worshippers. Just wish I had something more than this pair of dried unicorn balls as a possible offering...Warts are you even sure this shit is magical?" You say. "Itz from a unicorn ain't it? Itz magic trust me. Witch doctors grind dem up and make inta potions dat make yer dick HARD. Youz can last fer hours let me tell ya. One time wit Snuffit, I..." "That's okay, don't need to hear the details. Anyway, guess it'll have to do." "At the risk that you'll take me with you, are you sure you should go attempt to do this alone?" Vera asks. "I'm literally going to speak to a bunch of people that practically eat, sleep and shit magic. If they decide to kill me, there is little anyone else in the League is going to be able to do to help so there's really no point in anyone else getting potentially disintegrated. That's probably not going to happen, but in case shit does go south and I don't come back, I guess it'll be up to you lead this organization." "What seriously?" "Well you and Warts are the closest thing I have to seconds and I doubt if Warts wants the commitment. So you're the obvious choice." "Got dat right. Barely wanna do the shit I hafta." Warts interjects. "Wow, that's a huge responsibility and a lot of trust in me. I'm not sure what to say, thanks I guess." Vera says responding to you. "Well I'm not dead yet, so don't start sweating or celebrating prematurely. Okay, I'm off." You set off to the temple of Dorna. Along the way you see several groups of Joachimite fanatics preaching their faith to passersby. Most of the citizens are just trying to go about their day and are meekly just accepting the various pamphlets the Joachimites are aggressively distributing. Your own League members should be so intimidating. Yep, their ranks definitely need to be whittled down severely. You're just hoping the Dornans will help. That's what you're most concerned about, because if you don't get their help in some meaningful way, you know full well you'll be taking some losses if it turns into a straight up fight with the Joachimites. The closer you get to the area of Dorna's temple, the less people you see around in general. The force field that shimmers in and out of existence and surrounds the temple has certainly done its job in keeping everyone away. When you get so close to the place that you could actually touch the field if you wanted to, you notice that beyond the field there is a robed individual sitting on steps to the entrance and reading a book. 'Hello?" you say in order to get their attention. The robed individual looks up and you see it's a woman. She puts her books aside to address you. "Oh hello. Not many people even walk this way anymore let alone get this close. Last ones who tried were those silly Joachimites. They learned the hard way of course. So anyway, my name is Heather and what brings the leader of the infamous Nocturnal League here?" she says. "You know who I am?" "Oh yes of course! We're the worshippers of Dorna! Goddess of not just magic but of knowledge! We try to make it a point of knowing everything and everyone that might be important for one never knows when the knowledge may come in handy." "Hm, never realized I actually was all that important really." "You're an underworld boss who not only orchestrated the downfall of the Thieves Guild, but also the Ebony Claw Syndicate chapter in this city. THEN you created your own organization, which has quickly started to gain the same influence as the ECS once did here. You are also known to be very dangerous with firearms, particularly your custom made one. While you're probably not important in the grand scheme of the world, you're definitely important in this city at least." You chuckle at that brief history of yourself. "Well I suppose that's all true, though I had good reasons for everything." You say. "Of course you did. And I imagine you're also here for another good reason. So what is it that you want?" Heather asks. "To cut to the chase, I wish to speak to your Elder Flynn as I'm seeking your help in taking down the Joachimites. I believe it is in everyone's best interest that they aren't allowed to spread in this city. Plus, I figure your group of all people would finally want to put an end to this religious war." "Hm, well seeing as we've already made it impossible for the Joachimites or anyone else for that matter to attack us, the war is already over as far as we're concerned." "But if the Joachimites win, they'll be coming for you next and just because they were turned back by your barrier before doesn't mean they won't try when they have no more opponents left. Hell, if they become very influential they may even gain the help of the government to kick you out." "I do not believe that will happen. You are allied with the Felians are you not?" "We came to an understanding, yes." "Then the predictions came true. Elder Flynn was correct in predicting that eventually your group would get involved and side with what's left of the worshippers of Fel. He also predicted that such an alliance would result in your side's victory. So with that in mind, I don't believe the Elder would have any more to speak on the matter. The Joachimites will be destroyed. The Felians will be in no condition to do anything to us assuming they survive at all and your organization will be so weakened that even if you were any sort of rival to us, you wouldn't be able to do anything either." "Look, I'm not asking you to put your asses on the line at all. I was just told that you'd have something to help take down this Inquisitor asshole who seemingly has almost as much magical protection as you lot do. I mean I can pay you guys." "You have anything magical on you?" Heather asks. "I got these!" you say and hold up a large leather pouch containing the unicorn testicles. Meanwhile Heather stands behind the barrier doing something with her hands. When you realize she might be casting a spell, you get nervous. "What're you doing?" you ask. "Checking something. Hmm, interesting. Very interesting. Perhaps Elder Flynn will be interested in helping you after all." Heather says and suddenly an opening in the barrier appears. "Well? Come on in, I'm not supposed to leave this open for very long!" Wasting no time, you enter and the barrier closes behind you. Heather tells you to follow her. "Did you want these now?" you ask shoving the leather pouch at her. "What? No and Elder Flynn isn't going to want those things either. In fact, just put those away." "Then why did you let me in?" "Because you've got something far more magical than a pair of glorified horse balls. You've got ties to the infernal realm! You were marked by a succubus!" "...um...oh. Uh..." is about all you can spit out since you're taken off guard by the statement. Also you're not exactly sure what this means exactly. Heather seems pretty excited though. "And it appears that you've been marked for quite awhile. Succubi aren't known for keeping their mortal mates alive for very long. Maybe a year a most and most non-magical humans can't withstand the drain for extended periods of time. How did you pull this off? Nevermind, you can tell Flynn all about it when I bring you to him, he'll be just as interested in all this as I am." Heather leads you into the temple which almost resembles more of a library than a place of worship. Several other Dornans see Heather and you and disapproval already ensues. "Heather! What the hell are you doing?!" one yells "Why have you let an infidel inside our sanctum?" another adds. "Guys relax! He's no threat to us and I have a good reason! Elder Flynn will want to meet this one!" Heather says. "Oh? I will, will I?" another voice says before a set of double doors opens up. There you see an old man in robes. He looks very much like what you'd think a wizard would look like, or in his case priest-wizard. Heather wastes no time in telling him (and everyone else) that you've been marked by a succubus and also how you want help against the Joachimites. Elder Flynn does a similar thing with his hands that you saw Heather do and he comes to the same conclusion. "I see. Well our criminal friend here certainly does have a unique condition. I would be very interested in learning how this came about exactly." Elder Flynn remarks. "May I sit in on this Elder?" Heather asks. "Very well, you may observe, but do not speak. As for the rest of you, return to your tasks. I will call upon you when needed. Now then you, follow me into my chambers and tell me your tale. Then perhaps we can come to some sort of deal." You and Heather follow Elder Flynn into his chambers which contains a lot of tables filled with bottles, jars, and other laboratory equipment. More books of course and several strange markings on the floor. Elder Flynn motions you to take a seat and you do so before explaining "your tale" as it were. You talk about Tanya for quite awhile. Honestly, it's kind of nice to talk about her as you've never done so before. Not even to Warts, even though you know he's aware about what occurred between you two. Flynn sits and listens very intently, never interrupting and just writing notes on parchment. Heather on the other hand looks like she wants to ask you all sorts of questions and is doing her best to not speak. While talking about Tanya is nice, you also remind yourself of the loss you feel without her around. You explain that it's not as bad as it was when you first parted ways, but every now and then you have that empty feeling. You also mention "the curse" which peaks Flynn's interest even more. He asks you several questions on that, which you answer. "Interesting. It would seem that despite your girlfriend going against her nature she still managed to leave behind something that ultimately causes harm, even if it wasn't to you directly. Anyway, fascinating tale and I believe this is your lucky day." Flynn remarks. "It is?" you ask. "Yes, how would you like my help AND get rid of your curse?" "You can do that?" "I believe it is possible, however you'd have to undergo a ritual first." "Um, what sort of ritual?" "You're bonded with a demon. Doesn't matter if she wasn't born a pure blood anymore because she's obviously embraced her heritage fully now. That bond might be dormant and perhaps even non-malignant, but it exists. Which means at any time she can reach you, but it also means YOU can reach her. You of course don't have the means, but I on other hand do. I'm proposing that we perform a ritual to bring this Tanya back here." This proposal is getting strange and giving you all sorts of mixed feelings. On one hand you'd like nothing more than to see her again, but on the other... "Um, okay so when Tanya is brought back here, then what?" you ask. "Well I bind her of course." Flynn remarks. "What?!" "Properly bound infernals can be very useful sources of knowledge as well as servants. She'll be a good addition to the temple. Also when I bind her, her hold on you will also be broken and you'll be free." At this point you stand up and have to do everything within your power to not attack Flynn. You know he'd probably easily disintegrate you before you could even do anything, but the temptation is still there. However you aren't adverse to verbal abuse. "No, fuck you and fuck this plan." You say as calm as you can. "(Sigh) I thought you might say that. You're missing the big picture." Flynn remarks. "What big picture?! You're talking about enslaving my fucking girlfriend! You didn't think I might get pissed about that?" "Please just calm down. We were getting along before." Heather remarks. "Yeah? Well that's probably because you lot weren't talking about imprisoning my girlfriend before and having me play a role in that! How would you like it if you had to be part of a magic ritual you didn't want any part in?" "If it was in pursuit of greater knowledge and wisdom, I'd be willing to make that sacrifice." "Glad to hear you say that Heather, because I will need your assistance in this ritual." Flynn remarks. "Huh?" "I need something to help call the demon back to this realm just to give the spell a little more power. Usually for most demons this requires a sacrifice of some sort, however given that Tanya is a succubus, I don't think blood will be necessary, so fortunately I just need you to have sex with him inside the circle." Heather's face looks completely dumb struck. She has no words. You on the other hand are just shaking your head and giving a cynical laugh about it all. "This just gets better and better. Tell me, are you going to be jacking your old wrinkled dick the whole time too?" Your crude remark is enough to finally set off Elder Flynn's temper. "Look, you glorified cut throat, just THINK for a moment! The Tanya you knew is GONE. She left you for the infernal realm a LONG time ago and probably forgotten about you. In fact you're very lucky she has because I guarantee that she is NOT the same woman you knew. She has most likely become a being of pure evil, no matter what she might have told you before she left. Any concept of love would be gone by now along with any affection for you." Flynn rants. "You don't know that." You say. "No, I DO know that! I've done far more studies and forgotten more about infernals than you'll ever know and there is one constant, they always...ALWAYS become creatures of mayhem, chaos and destruction in one way or another, and have no affection for ANYONE, let alone anyone far weaker than themselves." Elder Flynn says this with such conviction that you don't respond and are just wondering if you're going to be able to get out of here alive. "Now I know this is all very emotional for you, but I think you're smart enough to see that I know what the hell I'm talking about on this subject. And if that doesn't convince you, then consider this. By participating in this ritual, you'll be free of Tanya's grip on you. No longer will you feel the loss of her presence and better yet, you'll be able to love another without putting their life in danger. Doesn't that alone sound worthwhile? And I'm not even counting the help I will give you against the Joachimites. So you see, there is no downside to this deal." You have to admit, Flynn is making a pretty sound argument. There have been many times you'd like to "move on" but it's obvious that you can't unless you go through with this ritual. > You refuse to do the ritual Maybe you're not thinking rationally and you're also still holding on to lingering feelings for Tanya, but that doesn't also stop you from being suspicious of this ritual anyway. The fact that you have to fuck one of Flynn's disciples for this is already enough to raise an eyebrow from you, but even if this is all on the level and Flynn is being completely truthful, you can't bring yourself to do this only for Tanya to be enslaved to this asshole. Tanya may very well be a creature of evil that's doing horrible things and no longer cares about you, but that doesn't negate the memories that you have of her. You remember that one of her stronger traits is that she cherished her freedom. If you sentenced her to magical enslavement, you'd feel pretty damn shitty about yourself and you're fairly certain you'd just replace your sense of loss with a bigger sense of guilt. Hell, it probably would be better just to kill her. (You also never realized how very against slavery you are no matter what form or who it is. You suppose love of freedom is something) There is also the fact that you have no idea if Flynn's spell is going to keep her imprisoned forever or if it's even going to work. If you go ripping Tanya from wherever she is into a magical prison, you can bet that you're going to be right near the top of her shit list if she ever escapes and you don't fancy your chances if Flynn turns out to be no match for her. So you're not doing this for various reasons. Still, you have your concerns about getting out of here so you calm yourself down and address Flynn in a civil manner again. "Elder Flynn, I apologize for my outburst towards you earlier. Out was out of line, but as you can tell my feelings in all this are very intertwined. I can't easily separate them even if I know it would be rational to do so. I loved and still love Tanya no matter what she's become. Maybe...maybe I just need more time to think about it, but I cannot bring myself to do this thing. At least not now." Elder Flynn stares at you a bit, strokes his beard and then finally answers you. "Very well. I believe you are being foolish about all this, but then those that do not follow Dorna are often mere babes in their cribs when it comes to greater wisdom. I certainly hope you do change your mind, but if you do come here again, you had best make sure you are VERY certain to go through with it. I will not be so understanding on a second intrusion. Heather, escort our guest out." Heather motions you towards the door quietly and you nod once more at Flynn before exiting. Your walk to the temple entrance is silent as a few acolytes watch you leave, but say nothing. Finally when you're outside, Heather speaks. "You're not coming back are you?" Heather says. "If you were in my position, would you?" you replies "Probably not. I want to say though it was very wise of you to address Elder Flynn in a respectful manner and I even understand your feelings on this matter." "Hm, for all the good it's going to do. Oh well, I'm at least getting out of here in one piece, and I'm sure you're glad you don't have to fuck a complete stranger." Heather makes a nervous laugh. "Yes, well there is that. Not that you're unattractive mind you, but...well it was a bit awkward. Under different circumstances it might have been fun, but I suppose you're forever bound to another." Heather says. "Looks that way." You answer. Heather opens a hole in the barrier, which you step through. Before you make your way back home, Heather asks if you can wait a moment and then runs back inside the temple. You're not exactly sure what Heather is up to, but you put some space between you and the barrier in the meantime. She comes back out fairly quickly and after making another hole in the barrier she hands you a solid black glass sphere through it. "What's this?" you ask. "It's an null orb and it's from my own personal collection." Heather says. "What's it do?" "When you break it, it will completely nullify all magic in the immediate area for a time. I'm fairly certain it should take down whatever the magic defenses that the Joachimite Inquisitor might have. You'll still have to get in close and you've got one shot, but you've got a chance." You look at the orb for a moment as if you're going to see something other than utter blackness before putting it away. "Thank you Heather. This is more than I expected. I'll remember this." You say. Heather nods and you finally put this whole odd meeting behind you. When you get back to the League Lair, Vera looks like she's relieved that you made it back. You guess she was still sort of overwhelmed by the idea that she might be running things. "You made it back alive, so I'm guessing you were successful?" Vera asks. "Well, I wasn't unsuccessful. I've got something that supposedly will help against this Inquisitor, but it's a one shot deal. The next step is speaking with Shade again though and how we're going to set up this attack." You say. In the next few days Shade finally manages to get around to speaking with you again. He tells you he's been placing what little remains of his manpower in gathering information and has determined exactly where the Inquisitor is currently staying which apparently is a humble house where a normal Joachim fearing couple lives. He says nothing is special about this couple and has no idea why the Inquisitor is staying there, but that's where he's been. Shade also mentions that looks are very deceiving however on the external security front. Shade says it took all of his willpower to keep up his shadow magic to remain undetected (And apparently years off his life given that he looks older than he should now), but he learned that the Inquisitor has been using similar illusionary magic to make Joachimite fanatics invisible as well. Several of these invisible holy warriors are just laying in wait in case of an attack. "Now, I doubt either side is going to remain hidden for very long from each other but as soon as we attack, t

he Inquisitor will soon intervene directly and then we'll be at a complete disadvantage." Shade says. "It's okay, I've got something that's going to make magic in general completely useless to everyone." You say. "So you were successful then. Mind telling me what you have?" "It's an item that you need to break within the vicinity of the Inquisitor. You just need to get in close enough to do it though. As long as that happens however, his defenses will go down and he'll be vulnerable to everything. Here." You say and hand the orb to Shade. Shade doesn't take it and instead gives you a bit of a suspicious look. "What? It's not a trick." You exclaim. "Maybe not, but forgive me if I'm less trusting of the Dornans than you are." "Shade, YOU told me to seek their aid if possible and I got it. What more do you want?" "Nothing, but I have no idea if that thing strips magic ability permanently or what. For all I know Flynn is setting us all up." "He's not, because I didn't get this from fucking Flynn, I got this from a different Dornan." "Oh, that makes me feel even better. You got it from one of his lessers. To be honest, IF this IS indeed the powerful item you believe it to be, I'm a little leery that you're so freely giving it to me, rather than keeping it for yourself." You know this isn't going to help matters, but given what you've been through already... "I'm giving it to you because your weak ass magic is already going to be fucked by the Inquisitor so you don't have anything to lose. Not to mention that between the pair of us, YOU are the close combat expert so you'll most likely get in closer than I'll be able to since we still have to fight through all those fanatics. Fucking hell Shade, I'm doing YOU a fucking favor, so stop being a paranoid asshole and take the damn orb in the spirit of our fucking alliance that its being offered!" Shade's stare softens a bit and he even smirks a bit before taking the orb. "Very well, you've made your point. Let it be known though if something goes wrong and we both survive it, I'm going to kill you." Shade says. "Fair enough. Anyway I'll be hand picking my own people for the attack along with still being there in person since it'll be the only way I'll feel comfortable that my orders are going to be carried out. We probably should look at a map of this area to go over the details better." You say. You spend a couple more days planning and preparing. Despite his magic going to be rendered impotent, Shade still wants to attack at night since he feels his people are still going to hold advantage over the Joachimites during that time. Since you don't have any real preference, you agree. The night of the attack comes and you lie in wait from a distance with your people. You soon hear the scuffles and shouts of battle. Unlike the faithful of Fel, the faithful of Joachim aren't exactly the most quiet when they fight. You soon join the fight and find that there are indeed a lot of Joachimites that seem to be coming out nowhere. They are screaming their deity's name and how they're going to purge all unbelievers, still they seem a little take off guard when you arrive. Shade so far is holding the advantage due to him and his people teleporting all over the place, but you imagine that won't last long. In the meantime, you order your people to stay together and not get surrounded. After about twenty minutes of combat, the streets are starting to pile up with bodies. You half expect the Watch to arrive with all the noise going on, but then the government has for the most part taken a slightly hands off approach to the religious conflict since it started, which explains why it's gone on as long as it has. And then the Inquisitor finally makes his arrival. You've never seen the guy before, but he certainly makes an impression especially since he emanates a white light from his person making him visible to all even in this darkness. He looks exactly like how Shade described him, though he's also carrying a mace in his hand. "FOUL FOLLOWERS OF FEL! LET TONIGHT BE YOUR LAST!" his voice booms and then suddenly several beams of light from the sky seem to target every Felian in the street, as soon as you see this, you tell your own people to find cover wherever they can. Shade's people are unable to simply teleport or even turn invisible. A few barely manage to find cover before the beams of light completely ignite the unfortunate ones that couldn't escape. Shade himself is unfortunate enough to not react in time before being caught in this light. He is set aflame, however fortunately for you he has enough in him to take out the null orb and throw it to ground. It shatters and suddenly the white light surrounding the Inquisitor disappears and so do the beams of white light coming from the sky. The Inquisitor starts screaming prayers to Joachim, but nothing happens, the rest of his people seem confused by this sudden "disappearance" of their divine weapon, but you're not confused and you urge your people to press the advantage since Shade is obviously no longer in any shape to do so. You keep your eyes on the Inquisitor (Who is still pretty visible in the dark due to his white robes) and unsurprisingly realizing he doesn't have his magic advantage anymore, he runs away. Though you were expecting him to just start running down the street, instead he runs back in the house he was staying at. You waste no time in following him, fighting and dodging along the way. You kick the door in and you find the Inquisitor standing in the middle of the room with his mace held ready for battle. An old couple stands further behind, frightened out of their minds and holding each other. "YOU! I knew you were an infidel, but I didn't know you'd thrown your lot in with the blasphemous shadow worshippers! No matter, you too shall face the righteous justice of..." While the Inquisitor is giving a monologue, you take the opportunity to end this by shooting him several times. He falls backwards crashing into a table and knocking over several other items as well. The old woman screams and begins sobbing. You walk over to the Inquisitor's body to make sure he's dead and see that he is indeed still alive, but he won't be for long. In between his gasping and wheezing he tries to speak. "Don't...ki...please...not..." he says. "Little late for that." You reply reloading your pistol. "Not me...par...ents...for...old times...please..." You look over at the old couple and guess the Inquisitor means them. You suppose you know why he came running back in here now. What you don't get is that he seems to know you and not just by reputation. At this point the Inquisitor's parents run over and kneel by him. Both are sobbing and his mother lifts his head a bit and removes the white mask he was wearing. "I'm...coming home...Joachim...I see his light..." Yinen remarks and then he dies. You did not see that one coming. Of course you never knew his parents either. You aren't even sure how you feel about it. What caused this radical transformation? You can somewhat guess that perhaps Yinen never quite got over his experience of getting captured by the Neroth cultists. His return to his Joachimite upbringing to the point of zealotry was the result. You wish you had known Yinen was the inquisitor the whole time. Maybe you could have spoke to him. Maybe not. Doesn't matter now, it's done. You leave Yinen's parents to their grief and dead son. As for the battle outside, it's winding down with your side winning, but you've suffered more than few losses. Still, could have been worse. The few Felians still left have managed to bring Shade back from the brink of death, but he's a mess, what with burns all over his body and the fact he previously pre-maturely aged himself. This war has cost him quite dearly. You actually don't think he'll live too much longer or if he does, he's going to be spending the rest of his days as a cripple. However, apparently he's pleased that this was a "win." He even manages to say a genuine statement of gratitude. Saying that the Temple of Fel will come to the aid of the Nocturnal League if you ever need it. You imagine this "war" won't entirely be over just by the events tonight, but this was definitely a big turning point and probably in a few months, it'll be over completely and then you can refocus back on business. > Time passes... Year 29 Lot can change in just a few years, some things you predicted, others not so much. The Church of Joachim being outlawed in the city wasn't too surprising given all the trouble that was caused and how Holgard in general tends more towards embracing sin and vice rather than moving away from it. Still, sort of funny that the faith is now in the company of it's eternal enemy, Neroth as far as being illegal. As for the other faiths, only the temples of Dorna and Fel maintain any presence in the city and in the Felians case, that's thanks to Shade dying soon after the war was over and the new leader Gloom, making an effort to strengthen their relationship with the upper echelons of the government, namely Baroness Ludmilla. Gloom has also extended a hand to the Nocturnal League, stating that the temple would be more than willing to come to an understanding like it had with the Ebony Claw Syndicate and train your members in shadow magic. You declined that offer though. You've always said members are free to pray to whoever they want, but if they're going to be wrapped up in Fel (or whoever) that hardcore then they can go take up some black robes and start living in their temple's meditation rooms. The less religion you have in your organization the better. Still, your cordial relationship with the temple has had benefits you hadn't intended. Due to the Felians being on better terms with the Baroness, some of that "understanding" has inadvertently trickled down towards you. As a result the Nocturnal League has freer reign over the city than it once did. Possibly similar to what the ECS once had. So things are going good for the Nocturnal League and business couldn't be better. You haven't had any decisions of the major kind lately, but for whatever reason this has caused you to sometimes over think the minor ones now that do crop up. Like right now for instance. "You were invited to the Baroness' yearly costume party? How the hell did that happen and why aren't you immediately making preparations to go?!" Vera asks. "Just one of the perks of being allied with the temple of Fel I suppose. Gloom had one of his members deliver this letter to me a week ago. Apparently Baroness Ludmilla has heard interesting things about me and would like me to show up at her party so she can see for herself." You say. "She thinks yer intresstin'? She really doesn't know youz at all." Warts snarks and chuckles at his own attempt at a joke. "Well, you have to go right? I mean it's the Baroness." Vera says. "I dunno. I mean I suppose I see why I should, just don't really feel up to it." You reply. "What? When the Baroness of Holgard calls you to court, you have to go!" "Never knew you were such a supporter of our dear ruler. You secretly harboring royalist admiration?" "No. It's not like that! I mean yeah she's royalty, but not really. I mean... I dunno, I've always sort of admired how she took power from her father and brother I guess. She's a very powerful independent woman and has remained that way. I guess that's what I admire." "Hm. Well I guess I just see her as another corrupt aristocrat that used her position of power to gain even more power. Not that that's a bad thing, but nothing special. Lot harder to do when you aren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth." "Yes, yes, we all know. You cleverly lied, cheated, stole and murdered your way to your position. You're the epitome of a self made man. We're all very impressed. Truly. I'm wet just thinking about it. Still, I really think you should go to this party, if only so you don't inadvertently offend her which then will cause our current friendly relationship with the law to become unnecessarily complicated." "Yeah, I already took that into consideration. (Sigh) I suppose I'm going, though the letter also says I should bring one more person with me since that's apparently the rule of this event." As soon as you've said that, Vera's eyes light up. "Me! You gotta take me! Seriously I will seriously suck your dick if you take me to this party." Vera exclaims. "You mean aren't already?" Warts responds. "Wha? Why is that your go to action with me?" you say. "I'll do whatever you want to do then, look I don't care! I just really gotta go to this thing!" "Why? Wait a minute, you don't have a crush on the Baroness do you? I mean you were praising her pretty hard a moment ago." "No! This ain't about pussy bumpin! Its just...(sigh) nevermind you'll just make fun and if you don't I know damn well this ugly half breed will." "Oh fuck you, Vera." "Warts, step out of here. While there won't be any dick sucking involved, I am sort of interested in why Vera wants to go so badly." "Gruh, fine by me. I certainly don't wanna go. I gotta go see my kids anywayz, later." After Warts leaves you motion Vera to speak which she does though she's still a bit hesitant to do so, fearing that you'll make fun. Vera suddenly goes into more of her life story than you ever thought to ask of her. She mentions that her mother was once very briefly employed as a maid during the Baron's reign of the city. She goes on to say that her mother always told her that she once had a brief fling with him while she was cleaning one of the guest bedrooms. Unfortunately the Baron being the asshole he typically was, he had all the maids, including Vera's mother, replaced a week later because he claimed his palace wasn't getting clean enough. In any case, Vera said that shortly afterwards, her mother discovered she was pregnant and claimed to the day she died that Vera's real father was really the Baron. "Wait a minute...you're telling me you're actually bastard royalty?!" you ask. "I knew you'd make fun or not believe me." Vera says. "Honestly, it's not really that far fetched given what I've always heard about the old Baron. Though I'm just surprised you've never mentioned it before. Seems like something you'd brag about." "And get myself fucking killed?! No thanks! One of the big reasons my mother never told anyone or even tried to get financial support from the Baron is the fear of some assassin coming in to kill her and me. I mean I'm hardly the only illegitimate child the baron probably had and his son Farad was notorious for having suspected bastards killed. And if he didn't do it, I can't imagine Ludmilla was any different. Especially now." "I guess that makes sense." "Honestly, you're the ONLY person I've told about this and now that I've done it, I feel a little weird and vulnerable." "Well, I'm not going to say anything. Not like there would be anything to gain. Though I guess this is why you want to go to this party so badly huh? Experience what might have been? Possibly even briefly speak with your older half sister?" "...sort of. I know it's silly, but...sometimes I do think of a life that is different than this one." Vera's thoughtful words are a little out of the ordinary, but not lost on you. Not like you don't have similar thoughts on your own life at times. "Okay, I guess we'll go together then. Not like I can think of anyone else to take anyway. Says it'll be in three days so I suggest you prepare yourself." You say. "I will! Thank you for this boss!" Vera beams. "Don't mention it, princess." You mock. "So, what are you going to be wearing?" "I dunno. Some mask of some sort I imagine since it's a costume party. Which makes me wonder, how the hell is the Baroness going to know it's me if I'm wearing a mask?" "I imagine she's got some way of figuring it out. Make sure you dress nice though! I've heard about these things and if we go in looking like we crawled out of the sewers, they'll turn us away, invitation or not." "Yeah, yeah, I'll take a trip to the tailor's or something." A few days and a trip to the tailor's later, you're dressed and ready to go to this thing. You're not exactly comfortable in this type of clothing, but many League members compliment you on your new threads. Warts of course has something to say. "Oh well la de da, if it ain't da duke of da undaworld." Warts say. "Don't even start, where the hell is Vera, she's the one that made a bigger deal of all this?" "You ain't seen her yet? She's even fancier than you are right now. If it gets anymore highbrow here, we're gonna hafta forge all dat gold and silver we got inta fancy eatin' utensils." "Yeah, well this is a one time thing. So where's Vera again?" "She's in her room I think...um don't tell her I said so, but she iz sorta pretty. I mean she wouldn't be MY type, but y'know dressed like she iz right now, she looks like of doze princesses or sumthin. Hah, Vera a princess, dat's funny." "Yeah...hysterical. Later Warts." You shake your head and go get Vera. You don't even bother knocking on the door, you just enter and that's when you see Vera who turns around from her mirror to face you. She does indeed look a lot different than you're used to seeing her. "Wow. You look, really different." You say. "Good different or bad different?" Vera asks. "Neither...I mean good of course. Look, I'm just saying you could easily blend in with the rest of the aristocratic types. You're very pretty, like a princess and I'm not just saying that." "Thank you. You look...appropriate too." "The hell's that mean? I'll have you know I got a lot of compliments!" "Well of course you did, you're the boss. They're hardly going to tell you, you look like shit. Not that you do. You're fine. I guess we should get going, do you have your mask?" "Yeah, got one of those half masks. Don't really feel like struggling to breath with a full mask on that covers my mouth and nostrils. Still covers most of my face so I figure I'm good." You say and put it on. "I think most people will be wearing those so, you'll fit in fine. I got one too." Vera says and puts on her her mask and the pair of you are soon on your way. When you get to the palace you're sort of relieved since you half expect that you're going to get robbed on your way there. A guard stops you at the gates and you show your personalized invitation at which point you're waved through. You and Vera take a moment to sort of absorb the fact of where you actually are for a moment. The seat of rulership, the palace! The grounds are certainly well taken care of and it's obvious that every effort has been spared to make it look as festive as possible. The closer you get to the palace the more grandiose everything is. You also notice the increase in guards and you and Vera are patted down more than once. You get inside the palace and the elegance of the interior is about what you expect. Vera is practically enamored by everything. Right now, she's probably imagining herself as that princess you ribbed her about being. As for you, you're a bit more of a harder sell on being impressed by such things, but if you could run your organization from a place like this instead, you certainly wouldn't turn it down. You and Vera spend a bit of time just looking around until Vera wonders if you should start actively mingling with some of the other guests. You're of course against this idea, but you soon are forced into doing so anyway by someone you weren't expecting to talk to, or at least not so early. "Well, if it isn't the head of the Nocturnal League. Glad you could make it, I was hoping you would." And there you are standing before Baroness Ludmilla Varsakken. She wears no mask and at this close range you get a good look at her. She almost looks like she could be a vampire what with her skin on the paler side and the black hair accentuating it. She's beautiful of course, but just looking into her eyes a bit you can see a very ruthless woman before you. You also take a good look at her in general and then glance over at Vera. Now that you're looking at them both, there could very well be a family resemblance. "Well, you certainly like to stare." Ludmilla says, noticing your examination. "Oh, um, apologies. Just sort of...overwhelmed you know. Never thought I'd be before royalty." You say. "Hah, not the complete uncouth rogue I've heard our mutual Felian acquaintances tell me about I see. Good." "How did you know it was me anyway?" "I make it a point of knowing all my guests as they arrive. Not to mention your clothing isn't exactly shall we say refined enough. While I'm sure you thought it was very upscale looking, but the workmanship is obviously from one of the mediocre tailors in the city. Only a crimelord with no care for such extravagant airs would believe it to be sufficient for this party. Not to worry though, I will not hold it against you. You tried." "I appreciate that, and your invitation." "You quite welcome, and who is your companion here? She certainly seems to have a better grasp on the dress code. I dare say this dress is better than a few of the boring nobles here." "Thank you! I had it custom made a long time ago. Always knew I'd get to wear it some day!" Vera says a bit excitedly. "Now that's what I like to hear. A woman that plans in advance." At this point Ludmilla begins speaking to Vera and you excuse yourself to get a drink. While you don't normally do so, you get the impression you're going to need a bit of extra help to get through the night. You can't believe you're even in this situation, let alone acting the way you are. Still, you suppose it makes for an interesting change. Still, you really don't want to be here all night. You made your appearance and now you'd like nothing more than to leave. Vera however

looks like she's having a good time and to be honest you don't want to ruin that. She does help you a lot with the League. So you go back to Vera and Ludmilla and stand nearby in an attempt to be social. Ludmilla goes back and forth speaking to you and Vera, though she surprisingly is more talkative to Vera. The Baroness seems to like to talk and can already guess that you're not exactly the most gregarious. Ludmilla and Vera talk for quite awhile, it's actually pretty amazing since it's about absolutely nothing. Or at least nothing you're much interested in. Ludmilla is mostly talking about herself and the troubles of being of noble birth. Goes on about how Vera's lucky to not have to worry about such things. Condescending of course, but if Vera noticed it, she's not fussed or at least not letting it show. It's sort of ironic anyway since Vera could very well HAVE had such problems if fate swung a different way. Eventually though Ludmilla tells the pair of you that while she was pleased to meet you both, she has other guests to see, even though they probably won't be as interesting you are. And the pair of you are left on your own. "Well that was interesting." You say. "Hm. Certainly was. Never thought I'd ever be directly in the presence of royalty before. Well not without my hands and feet in chains at least." Vera remarks. "Hah! Same here. So, you ready to go?" "What? Already? The party's just started and you want to leave?" "Well, I mean I dunno what else there really is to do here. I mean we came, we saw, we met the baroness. I mean we covered all the important shit. Not like I really have any desire to talk to any of the other assholes around here." "But, I wanted to stay a bit longer though. However, if you want to leave, I guess that's fine with me. You're the boss after all." "Alright, we can stay a little longer, but I'm going to find someplace away from most of these people. You can do what you like. I'll come looking for you in a while I guess." "Thanks boss, I'll see you later." Vera says and suddenly kisses you on the cheek before walking off to enjoy living the "high society life" for a little longer. As for you, you decide to just look around to waste time. You grab another drink and try to stick to less "populated" areas of the palace. Though obviously you're still limited to where you're allowed to go. Guards standby keeping an eye on everything. Time passes and while a few people attempt to speak to you, and few others seem to be talking about you (Mostly about your clothes) you basically ignore them all and just keep to your plan of moving about and sticking to areas where there are less people. While you're doing that however, you're also studying some of the lay out of the palace, or at least what you're able to. You also take notice of what valuable objects would be easy to take. You briefly flirt with the idea of stealing something from this place, but common sense soon wins out. Last thing you want to do is even risk pissing off the Baroness, especially since you're on good terms with her. Still, sometimes you miss the days of when you just stole things for a living. After wandering a bit more and entertaining the idea of pilfering the palace, you discard your usual procedure of avoiding the crowds and walk towards a room where you hear some music followed by a lot of clapping. You arrive just in time to see a crowd disperse before a group of musicians that apparently have just finished performing. Shame, from what little you heard, it sounded pretty good. You go and get yourself another drink and that's when you start to feel a little odd. Whatever this stuff is, it's apparently stronger than the taste would indicate. Still, it's a party right? Might as well try to loosen up. You realize you're not nearly as fun loving as you used to be when you were younger. In fact, you're downright stodgy at times. All you practically do is fucking work. Being a criminal isn't fun anymore, it's actually not even dangerous at this point, it's just well... mundane. How the hell did it come to this? If you wanted to be mundane, you might as well have stayed in Teckleville and followed in your dad's footsteps. Maybe he was right after all. No. You've seen and done much in your life thanks to leaving that boring town. After all, you're here in baroness' palace! You're just in a rut that's all. When you get back, you're going to shake things up within the League. Maybe expand again, maybe even to a new city like Hessla or Klyton. Still, it's all pretty pointless without someone to share it with. You couldn't go back home and say "Look mom and dad, look at what I've done!" It sucks. Your sister would probably be impressed, but who knows where she is. You hope she's having more fun than you are right now. You miss her sometimes. Simpler times. Happier times. Fuck it, you need another drink. As you go to get another you bump into a couple that are making out. "Excuse me." You say. "Mmm..." the woman says and strokes your arm as you pass by. The guy she's kissing takes no notice; he's too focused on her. You briefly think of Vera and how she kissed you not too long ago. Makes you wonder if she's got more than a bit of attraction toward you. You know she's always making these sexual offers toward you, but as far as you know she's not really known to be the "good time" girl within the Nocturnal League. So it makes you wonder if she actually feels affection towards you on some level. Sometimes you think about her too, since you work so closely together. It's almost like you're an old married couple. Of course it could be a case that she's perfectly fine being a potential whore if it's going to benefit her in the long run. Since you're the boss, and the only one above her in rank, makes sense that she'd only be offering you such extra "benefits." Regardless, you probably would have made a move on her if it wasn't for your condition. You nearly bump into another couple also making out. By the time you grab your drink, you realize there are a lot of people kissing and hugging each other. And some of them are getting pretty hot and heavy. Now you think of Tanya. You wish Tanya was still around. You'd love to share your success with her, but you guess that she moved on a long time ago. She claimed you'd move on, but you haven't. How could you? She was everything to you. If it wasn't for her, it's debatable that you would have even did any of this. You probably would have fucked around in Holgard for a few years and then just left when the Ebony Claw Syndicate started taking notice of you. She kept you around and made you fall in love with her. But you can't hate her for that. It wasn't her fault. It just was her nature. You look around and now you see several people doing more than just kissing now. "What the fuck?" you say to yourself and get up to leave. You must have wandered into some weird orgy room. You make it to a hallway and that's when you're starting to feel really...excited. You've got an erection right now that you could stab someone to death with and you are about ready to murder the closest woman available and worse, they're just about ALL available. Hell, with the way you're feeling, you're starting to worry if you aren't going to just fuck everyone on your way to the exit because it's been YEARS since you've had sex and right now your dick isn't caring. It has to be the drinks. You're sure of it. This whole party is probably just an excuse for rich people to have decadent orgies anonymously with each other. You need to get out of here before you kill everyone at this party with your cursed dick. The problem is you aren't sure if you're even going to make it that far. The best you might be able to do is find a place with no people about and stay there until the effects of the drink wear off. (Whenever that is) > You run to the exit You need to just get the hell out of here, because staying is surely going to doom someone. You continue your trip to the exit, trying not to look at any of the people having sexual encounters along the way. Several times you have to push people away after they grab at you. Eventually you just start punching them, and for a couple of them that just turns them on even more. "Uhn yeah, beat me harder! I like it like that!" "This is fucked." You mutter. You try to think of the most unattractive and least erotic things you can think of like the Holgard sewers, and similar things. You also hit yourself in crotch a few times and unlike the masochist freaks, that works to lessen your arousal. Doesn't get rid of it entirely though and you're not doing that too much more because it hurts like a sonofabitch. Eventually you make it out of the palace. The guards don't even react when they see you and just shrug as you continue to run from the palace and out the gates into the city. As soon as you're in the public area of the city again, you realize now you've got another problem. Instead of having a strong sexual desire around a bunch of other people who are also suffering the same condition, you're now potentially around a bunch of people who aren't suffering it at all. You try to walk down the more isolated street with nobody about, but you need to get off them entirely before you potentially start molesting someone or worse. You'd go to a brothel, but if you did, you'd just end up killing all your employees. "Hey, didn't expect to bump into you. I didn't realize you left the party too. Figured you were bedding some aristocrat or something." You spin around and see Vera. "Vera, what the hell are you doing here?" you ask. "I was on my way back home. Shortly after we separated I wandered and talked to a few people and even looked around seeing if I could steal anything, but there really wasn't a good opportunity, and then something weird happened." Vera says. "Let me guess, everyone got all friendly?" "Yeah, REALLY friendly. Didn't know it was going to be that kind of party. Guessing something was in the drinks. Glad I hadn't drank anything while I was there. Still, I might have paired up with one of the horny aristocrat guys if it had just been a one on one thing, but then Ludmilla was around and she started hitting on me too and I got really creeped out. I mean she didn't know of course, but she could potentially be my half sister, and that just really put me out of the mood entirely. I ran out as soon as I could." "Yeah, potentially fucking a sibling, I can see where that would put a damper on things..." you say barely able to contain yourself "Um, what's wrong with you? You're fidgeting and sweating. You keep putting your hand on your crotch...wait a minute. Did you have the drinks?" "Vera, I'm telling you, you need to leave me right now, because I'm having a REALLY hard time here." Vera smiles a bit and grabs at the obvious bulge in your pants. You nearly don't back away. "Shit. You ARE having a hard time. Well hell, come on let's put that to good use." "Vera, you need to seriously stop!" you say. "Oh come on! I don't see what the hell is wrong with me! I mean shit; you act like I got the fucking plague! You're a real fucking asshole you know that?" "Vera..." "No! I'm going to say some shit that YOU need to hear! I know all about your ex-girlfriend. Warts mentioned that you were really head over heels for a demonkin once when he suggested that I was banging my head up against a wall with you. Said that's probably the real reason why you don't have any relationships at all because you're still in love with the infernal bitch." "Yeah well Warts don't know the whole fucking story." "What's to know? You're obviously still holding a candle for her like a fucking idiot. You think she gives a shit about you? No. She was a DEMON. They don't give a shit about anything! And here you are still being faithful for a girl that isn't around meanwhile you outright continue to ignore people who ARE here and do care for you. Someone who knows your likes and dislikes. Someone who has done more than she would normally do and would probably do a lot more stupid shit because for some fucked up reason she really likes you." Vera at this point looks down a bit and rubs her eyes. "No. LOVES you. More than you'll ever damn well know." You don't really know what to say. You always knew Vera had some attraction to you, but you didn't think it extended this far. Even with everything that's going on with your body right now, this information has made you focus on something other than sex. "Vera, I really don't know what to say, except if you believe that I haven't ever thought about us, well you don't know me as well as you think. Hell, tonight I even enjoyed pretending a bit that we were going out on some fancy date, well until the drugged drinks that is." "Then what the hell's the problem?" "The problem is, I'll fucking kill you! My dick is fucking cursed!" "What?!" "Look, I'm having a difficult time as it is trying not to be all over you right now, so here's the short version." You quickly explain how you came to learn about your unfortunate condition and everything else relating to it. When Vera asks about a cure, you explain that the cost is too high from what you know about the one time it was offered to you. "So you see? I haven't been avoiding a relationship with you for no damn reason. I've been trying to keep you alive! And if you want to stay that way, I'd suggest you fucking leave right this minute. I need to go jerk off or something in an alley right now." You say. Vera is silent for a moment "Okay, well why don't I at least help you with that?" Vera suddenly says. "What?" you say. "Why don't you at least let me jerk you off? I mean it's not sex right? You're not penetrating me. I'm just going to be lending a helping hand as it were." "Vera, while I appreciate the offer, I'm still not sure if that's a good idea." "Look, you know how I feel about you. And you're saying you have feelings for me, so isn't this the type of shit couples are supposed to do for one another? Help each other out?" You aren't sure if it's the drink that's breaking down your willpower or Vera's fairly convincing argument, but you can't hold back anymore. "Okay. Okay. I guess maybe you make a solid point. I'm still really worried about you though." "Don't worry about me. You just try to relax as I take care of everything. Let's go over there, that looks like a secluded spot." You and Vera duck into an alleyway and soon Vera is helping you out directly. And then again. And then a third and FOURTH time and you're still not sated. "What the hell did they put into those drinks? Ground up unicorn testicles?" Vera says wiping her hands. "Shit, this isn't working. Fuck what if its permanent?" "No, this has to wear off eventually. We're just going to have to do something else." Vera begins to lower herself. "What the hell are you doing?!" you exclaim. "What does it look like?" she asks "You can't do that! You'll die!" "It's not sex right? I mean not really. I'll be fine." "I'm pretty sure it counts, some of those other women blew me too." "Yeah, but you also fucked them, and we're not doing that, so again just relax and let me take care of it." "But...oh shit..." You can't even argue anymore as you feel the glory that is Vera's oral skills. Given how many times she's offered this to you in the past, this has got to be a major fantasy for her or something. Soon... "Fuck. That was a lot. You good?" Vera says wiping off her mouth a bit. "I really wish I could say I was, but you're going to have to stay down there a little longer." "Yeah, as much fun as that was, I'm not sucking your dick all night. You're putting that thing to better use." At this point Vera begins lifting her dress up and grinding herself into you. "Vera! Shit! We REALLY can't do this! You WILL die!" you say, but still holding on to her body tightly. "Y'know what I've been thinking? I think you're fucking imagining things. I think all those girls were just a bad coincidence and you jumped to conclusions because as I said, you're still holding a torch for your ex and felt guilty about it." Vera responds. "What? Where do you get that idea from?" "I get that idea from the fact that you have no damn proof that your dick is cursed from what you've told me. I mean if it really was cursed, I'd think those women would have melted shortly after or something, not died from common shit like drug overdoses or fires. You just had a string of bad luck and made assumptions." "Vera, you can't know that." "Yeah, well I've never been one to play it too safe, so if this is it for me, there are worse ways. Might as well at least be because you fucked me. Now let's do this already." "Right here in this dirty ass alley?" "You didn't seem to have any objections before when your dick was in my mouth." "I still think this is a really bad idea..." "I guess we'll see, now fuck me like it's my last night here, because it might very well be." Against your better judgment (or any judgment really) you finally give what Vera's always wanted from you. "Oh... shit. Fuck, this is going to be good." She says as you enter inside her. You've barely gotten started fucking her up against a nearby wall and she's already trying not to make a lot of noise and failing at it. This session quite unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's raw; it's dirty and it almost feels violent. As you're giving it to Vera hard, she still manages to surprise you. "Put your hands around my throat." She suddenly says. "What?!" you ask. "Oh and call me a whore too. I want to imagine you're raping me in this alley. Y'know like when you pretend threaten to do when we first met?" "That's...sort of fucked up Vera" "I'm attracted to the likes of you, are you really all that surprised that I'm a little fucked up?" You're starting to get the impression that Vera's love for you is a little more twisted that you originally believed. You sort of wonder if it's been borderline obsession and she's just done a good job of keeping it together. You're just not sure if this is such a good idea given that the women you have sex with tend to die afterwards. > You decline the request As horny as you are, there some things you don't really want to risk doing. "Vera, I'm not going to start choking you. I practically feel like I'm killing you already." You say. "Not stopping you though is it? Come on, just choke me a little, I can take it." "Vera I really don't want to, can we just get on with this..." Vera suddenly slaps you. "Vera..." Vera then slaps you again harder. "Okay stop that!" Vera doesn't and instead leans in and bites your ear so hard she draws blood. "VERA WHAT THE FUCK!? THAT FUCKING HURT!" you exclaim holding your ear. "Help! I'm being raped!" Vera shouts. "Shhhh! What the fuck are you doing!? You trying to get me..." At this point you slam Vera against the wall and put your hand to her mouth. "Shut the fuck up! You trying to get the Watch to arrest us? Ow! My fingers!" you exclaim as Vera manages to bite your fingers. At this point you're genuinely angry. Under normal circumstances, you'd probably just completely disengage, but seeing as you're still aroused, you decide to give into Vera's obvious kink. "Fine, I'll give you what you want if only to shut you up!" "Well stop talking lover and just do it...ulp...yeah...just like that..." You place your hands around Vera's throat and begin choking her. At first it's only light, but as your thrusting gets quicker and harder, you begin tightening your grip. "Okay...you can...loosen up...a bit..." Vera gasps. But you don't. In fact your mind has gone into a very dark place. You start seeing images of death. Not just hers though. You see the deaths of all the other women you had sex with since Tanya. "St...op..." Vera says and begins to struggle. You don't even reply, you just continue strangling her. Vera now is fighting for her life, but despite kneeing you in the crotch several times, you're not even fazed. Even your desire for sex has been muted over your desire to kill her. "You'll never replace her! NEVER!" you start to shout. You are then suddenly smashed in the back of the head by something, causing you to collapse. "Lady are you alright? We were watching over there and saw him getting too rough!" someone says, meanwhile someone else is still kicking you. While Vera is recovering and coughing, you pull your pistol. "Watch out!" Vera barely manages to utter before you blast the asshole that's currently kicking you. The bum falls to the ground, and then the other tries to run, but you easily shoot him as well. Vera, realizing that she can't run, tries to appeal to you. "Please, you have to stop this!" she says. You are really not thinking straight however. The drugs in your body combined with being pushed into aggressiveness and some unknown factor that's really causing you to have bloody thoughts, and it's a volatile combination. Still, it's almost like you aren't completely yourself. Part of you feels like you've done something like this before, and that you always tried to stop it, but couldn't. There is a brief moment of clarity and then only overwhelming guilt followed by rage. "Why? This is what you wanted and I warned you of the consequences. You thought you were going to be different. YOU thought you were going to steal me away from Tanya! But YOU were wrong! They ALL were! I made sure of that!" you exclaim and point your pistol at Vera. Now you've completely lost it. A loud shot is heard, but it isn't from your pistol. It's from the musket of a Holgard watchman who overheard all the noise and came running. In typical Holgard Watch fashion he shot first and didn't even bother asking questions. You fall to the ground a final time with a bloody hole in the side of your head.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] You need to just get the hell out of here, because staying is surely going to doom someone. You continue your trip to the exit, trying not to look at any of the people having sexual encounters along the way. Several times you have to push people away after they grab at you. Eventually you just start punching them, and for a couple of them that just turns them on even more. "Uhn yeah, beat me harder! I like it like that!" "This is fucked." You mutter. You try to think of the most unattractive and least erotic things you can think of like the Holgard sewers, and similar things. You also hit yourself in crotch a few times and unlike the masochist freaks, that works to lessen your arousal. Doesn't get rid of it entirely though and you're not doing that too much more because it hurts like a sonofabitch. Eventually you make it out of the palace. The guards don't even react when they see you and just shrug as you continue to run from the palace and out the gates into the city. As soon as you're in the public area of the city again, you realize now you've got another problem. Instead of having a strong sexual desire around a bunch of other people who are also suffering the same condition, you're now potentially around a bunch of people who aren't suffering it at all. You try to walk down the more isolated street with nobody about, but you need to get off them entirely before you potentially start molesting someone or worse. You'd go to a brothel, but if you did, you'd just end up killing all your employees. "Hey, didn't expect to bump into you. I didn't realize you left the party too. Figured you were bedding some aristocrat or something." You spin around and see Vera. "Vera, what the hell are you doing here?" you ask. "I was on my way back home. Shortly after we separated I wandered and talked to a few people and even looked around seeing if I could steal anything, but there really wasn't a good opportunity, and then something weird happened." Vera says. "Let me guess, everyone got all friendly?" "Yeah, REALLY friendly. Didn't know it was going to be that kind of party. Guessing something was in the drinks. Glad I hadn't drank anything while I was there. Still, I might have paired up with one of the horny aristocrat guys if it had just been a one on one thing, but then Ludmilla was around and she started hitting on me too and I got really creeped out. I mean she didn't know of course, but she could potentially be my half sister, and that just really put me out of the mood entirely. I ran out as soon as I could." "Yeah, potentially fucking a sibling, I can see where that would put a damper on things..." you say barely able to contain yourself "Um, what's wrong with you? You're fidgeting and sweating. You keep putting your hand on your crotch...wait a minute. Did you have the drinks?" "Vera, I'm telling you, you need to leave me right now, because I'm having a REALLY hard time here." Vera smiles a bit and grabs at the obvious bulge in your pants. You nearly don't back away. "Shit. You ARE having a hard time. Well hell, come on let's put that to good use." "Vera, you need to seriously stop!" you say. "Oh come on! I don't see what the hell is wrong with me! I mean shit; you act like I got the fucking plague! You're a real fucking asshole you know that?" "Vera..." "No! I'm going to say some shit that YOU need to hear! I know all about your ex-girlfriend. Warts mentioned that you were really head over heels for a demonkin once when he suggested that I was banging my head up against a wall with you. Said that's probably the real reason why you don't have any relationships at all because you're still in love with the infernal bitch." "Yeah well Warts don't know the whole fucking story." "What's to know? You're obviously still holding a candle for her like a fucking idiot. You think she gives a shit about you? No. She was a DEMON. They don't give a shit about anything! And here you are still being faithful for a girl that isn't around meanwhile you outright continue to ignore people who ARE here and do care for you. Someone who knows your likes and dislikes. Someone who has done more than she would normally do and would probably do a lot more stupid shit because for some fucked up reason she really likes you." Vera at this point looks down a bit and rubs her eyes. "No. LOVES you. More than you'll ever damn well know." You don't really know what to say. You always knew Vera had some attraction to you, but you didn't think it extended this far. Even with everything that's going on with your body right now, this information has made you focus on something other than sex. "Vera, I really don't know what to say, except if you believe that I haven't ever thought about us, well you don't know me as well as you think. Hell, tonight I even enjoyed pretending a bit that we were going out on some fancy date, well until the drugged drinks that is." "Then what the hell's the problem?" "The problem is, I'll fucking kill you! My dick is fucking cursed!" "What?!" "Look, I'm having a difficult time as it is trying not to be all over you right now, so here's the short version." You quickly explain how you came to learn about your unfortunate condition and everything else relating to it. When Vera asks about a cure, you explain that the cost is too high from what you know about the one time it was offered to you. "So you see? I haven't been avoiding a relationship with you for no damn reason. I've been trying to keep you alive! And if you want to stay that way, I'd suggest you fucking leave right this minute. I need to go jerk off or something in an alley right now." You say. Vera is silent for a moment "Okay, well why don't I at least help you with that?" Vera suddenly says. "What?" you say. "Why don't you at least let me jerk you off? I mean it's not sex right? You're not penetrating me. I'm just going to be lending a helping hand as it were." "Vera, while I appreciate the offer, I'm still not sure if that's a good idea." "Look, you know how I feel about you. And you're saying you have feelings for me, so isn't this the type of shit couples are supposed to do for one another? Help each other out?" You aren't sure if it's the drink that's breaking down your willpower or Vera's fairly convincing argument, but you can't hold back anymore. "Okay. Okay. I guess maybe you make a solid point. I'm still really worried about you though." "Don't worry about me. You just try to relax as I take care of everything. Let's go over there, that looks like a secluded spot." You and Vera duck into an alleyway and soon Vera is helping you out directly. And then again. And then a third and FOURTH time and you're still not sated. "What the hell did they put into those drinks? Ground up unicorn testicles?" Vera says wiping her hands. "Shit, this isn't working. Fuck what if its permanent?" "No, this has to wear off eventually. We're just going to have to do something else." Vera begins to lower herself. "What the hell are you doing?!" you exclaim. "What does it look like?" she asks "You can't do that! You'll die!" "It's not sex right? I mean not really. I'll be fine." "I'm pretty sure it counts, some of those other women blew me too." "Yeah, but you also fucked them, and we're not doing that, so again just relax and let me take care of it." "But...oh shit..." You can't even argue anymore as you feel the glory that is Vera's oral skills. Given how many times she's offered this to you in the past, this has got to be a major fantasy for her or something. Soon... "Fuck. That was a lot. You good?" Vera says wiping off her mouth a bit. "I really wish I could say I was, but you're going to have to stay down there a little longer." "Yeah, as much fun as that was, I'm not sucking your dick all night. You're putting that thing to better use." At this point Vera begins lifting her dress up and grinding herself into you. "Vera! Shit! We REALLY can't do this! You WILL die!" you say, but still holding on to her body tightly. "Y'know what I've been thinking? I think you're fucking imagining things. I think all those girls were just a bad coincidence and you jumped to conclusions because as I said, you're still holding a torch for your ex and felt guilty about it." Vera responds. "What? Where do you get that idea from?" "I get that idea from the fact that you have no damn proof that your dick is cursed from what you've told me. I mean if it really was cursed, I'd think those women would have melted shortly after or something, not died from common shit like drug overdoses or fires. You just had a string of bad luck and made assumptions." "Vera, you can't know that." "Yeah, well I've never been one to play it too safe, so if this is it for me, there are worse ways. Might as well at least be because you fucked me. Now let's do this already." "Right here in this dirty ass alley?" "You didn't seem to have any objections before when your dick was in my mouth." "I still think this is a really bad idea..." "I guess we'll see, now fuck me like it's my last night here, because it might very well be." Against your better judgment (or any judgment really) you finally give what Vera's always wanted from you. "Oh... shit. Fuck, this is going to be good." She says as you enter inside her. You've barely gotten started fucking her up against a nearby wall and she's already trying not to make a lot of noise and failing at it. This session quite unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's raw; it's dirty and it almost feels violent. As you're giving it to Vera hard, she still manages to surprise you. "Put your hands around my throat." She suddenly says. "What?!" you ask. "Oh and call me a whore too. I want to imagine you're raping me in this alley. Y'know like when you pretend threaten to do when we first met?" "That's...sort of fucked up Vera" "I'm attracted to the likes of you, are you really all that surprised that I'm a little fucked up?" You're starting to get the impression that Vera's love for you is a little more twisted that you originally believed. You sort of wonder if it's been borderline obsession and she's just done a good job of keeping it together. You're just not sure if this is such a good idea given that the women you have sex with tend to die afterwards. > You fulfill the request Never let be said you won't honor a lady's request. You put your hands around Vera's neck, but are very aware of not to actually choke her (Even if she is telling you to squeeze a little harder at times). As fucked up as Vera might be for requesting this, you're definitely thinking that you're probably worse since you're starting to enjoy this. Your thoughts even goes to a dark place during this and you partially struggle to keep in mind that you shouldn't actually be trying to strangle her to death. In any case you and Vera continue your sexual activities and even though you're the weakly choking her a bit, you're the one that starts feeling delirious and out of breath. At one point you actually blurt out: "I love you." "Shut up, you're breaking the fantasy." Vera replies. "Um, I mean you dirty whore, you're fit only to be fucked and killed!" While this seems to really do it for Vera, you still think this is a really bad idea considering that she may very well really die after all this. Doesn't stop you though and you continue until you (and her) are completely spent. At which point you collapse nearly directly on top of her and lose consciousness right there in the alley. When you wake up you surprisingly find yourself back at headquarters in your bed. You feel very drained and thirsty. Reminds you of when you were with Tanya. You look over to your right and nearly jump when you find Vera lying next to you just staring. "What the hell?! How did we get here?" you ask. "Well after you collapsed, I paid some bums who apparently had been watching us the whole time to help me drag you to the nearest brothel, from there I found some of our people and they carried you the rest of the way here." "Great. Now I have to worry about my reputation along with you as well." "I hardly think some bums are going to be a concern, and so some of the gang carried you home, big deal. It's not like you got the shit kicked out of you. You just passed out from a mixture of alcohol and wild sex. In fact I went on about how you were giving it to me really good last night. If anything your reputation just increased a bit. Even better, because I wasn't even lying." Vera remarks and moves in to caress your body. "And you?" "And me what? Oh you still worried about the whole curse thing? Obviously I'm still here and doing fine, so obviously your concern is misplaced. I told you that you've probably been living like a monk for years for no reason and there is no curse. We could've been having fun a long time ago, but better late than never right?" "Vera, I told you, the curse doesn't work like that. You could die tomorrow or even a month from now." "Yeah, and I could also die a year from now. You going to blame that on a so called curse as well? Shit happens. And that's exactly what happened to those girls. I mean none of the ones you told me about were exactly in the safest of positions. Whores, tavern wenches, one was another thief. I mean it's a cruel world and living in Holgard doesn't make it any easier. Just because they happened to die shortly after you fucked them, doesn't mean your dick is cursed." You don't answer, but you don't look convinced. "I mean I know you. You typically think things out before making any major decisions, surely you must have considered that this was just in your head and you weren't cursed?" Vera says. "Yeah I did. Several times in fact, but there were just too many coincidences for me to not come to the conclusion I did. Not to mention I still think about Tanya from time to time. I mean it's certainly not as strong as it once was, but she's still there. And if she's still in my head, what else was left behind?" you ask. "Well of course you're still going to think about her. From what I can tell, she had fucking demon powers that aided in fucking with your head. Not to mention it sounds like you had a genuine relationship with her. Those things mixed together are going to cause some lingering feelings. I mean shit, I remember this asshole boyfriend I had back when I was a teenager. He wasn't even a demon and he knew how to say all the right shit to me and I was fool enough to fall for it most of the time. And despite the fact he's no longer in my life, there's still a part of me that remembers the few really good times with him." "What happened to him?" "Got himself killed by being a dumb ass during a robbery. I cried over him for days, and like I said sometimes I still even think about him but my point is I got over him and moved on. And I think that's what you're having a hard time doing. You got some sort of weird loyalty going on with this demon chick. Reminds me of those widows that wear black forever after their husbands die. Life's too damn short to live in the past, which is why I'm not going to fucking worry about a curse and YOU shouldn't either. We should have gotten together a long time ago." You know Vera made a brief argument last night about this. At the time you weren't really thinking straight to really take it into proper consideration and you half believed she just really wanted your dick. And while that still might be true, it doesn't mean she isn't wrong. Even if she doesn't necessarily believe everything she's saying and is just hedging her bets that you aren't cursed, she must REALLY be into you if she's risking potential death. You can't help but be pretty attracted to that sort of dedication. In fact, if you weren't still feeling so drained you'd probably have with Vera again right now. "You're right, I have been hanging on to a memory and making excuses. Time put everything from the past aside and see what happens." You reply. After getting something to drink, you muster up as much energy you can to get around to dictating orders for everyone today, though you end up letting Vera taking over those duties for the most part today while you're still recovering from yesterday. (Which she's happy to do) As much as you're trying to put the past aside and focus on your new relationship with Vera which is seemingly going well, it's not entirely simple. For whatever reason Tanya keeps popping up in your head. Actually more frequently that she has in quite awhile. Like when you weren't with anyone you only thought about her briefly once every month or so. Now? She's passing through your mind at least once a day. Sometimes more. You continue to try to ignore it, but then your mind starts going to a darker place. You begin to see the images of the women you had sex with in the past after Tanya and their deaths. Honestly before recently when you started explaining all this Vera you hadn't given them much thought. You never actually saw them die when you were informed of their deaths, yet now you're seeing their deaths quite clearly, like you were actually there. Worse, now you're starting to visualize Vera's death and it all comes to a head when you have very real nightmare involving you stabbing her to death. "Argh! Fuck!" you exclaim waking up. "What the hell?" Vera says waking up next to you. "Oh shit. Thank the gods, you're still alive!" you say and immediately hold her tight. "Of course I'm still alive. Wait, have you still been worrying about that curse I told you was bullshit?" "Yeah, for awhile now. But I don't think its bullshit. For the past month I've been having these really dark thoughts and I keep seeing the deaths of those girls and the worst part about all of that is I'm starting to think that I killed them." "I told you, you didn't. Those were all accidents or coincidences, not a fucking curse!" "No! That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying, the girl that died in the fire? I SAW myself light the place up! The other that died of an overdose of Yellow Devil? I fucking injected her with it! And now I've been seeing myself stab you to death! This is worse that I thought! Before I thought maybe it was just demonic forces doing their work independently, but now it's ME directly! I mean I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that maybe there's a curse on me causing me to kill these women OR something is fucked up in my head and it's just been me the whole time! Either way, you're not safe around me!" Despite this revelation and you being obviously upset, Vera is silent and doesn't move from her spot. "Okay. We can still work through this." She replies calmly. "Are you serious?" "Fuck yes I'm serious! As far as I know all couples have their issues, yours just happens to be more complicated. Okay first thing you need to do is go fuck some whores." "What?!" "You heard me. I want you to go fuck a bunch of whores. Pick a brothel we own and fuck as many as you can. I mean I know you didn't do it before because you didn't want to put their lives in jeopardy and that's very sweet of you. One of your endearing qualities, but we need to see if any of this is true once and for all. Obviously if they start dying off then maybe this curse business has some merit and if it IS you doing it, then it's going to be really obvious soon enough. I mean maybe you'll get some of them, but no way in hell you're going to be able to kill them all without getting caught." This is insane. "But, what if I target you first? I mean I'm already thinking about it!" "You're not going to kill me. And if you try I think you know I can take care of myself. And even in the off chance you do, well then it's not going to matter because I'll be dead." "But what about me?! Don't you think I'll feel really bad about killing you?!" Vera touches your face. "I'm sure you will. You'll probably even cry over me for a while. The sadder thing is, it'll still be more emotion than anyone else has ever shown me. I told you I'm in this for the long haul. So if that means you if I have to temporarily let you fuck other women and all this still possibly resulting in my death, then so fucking be it." Vera's unbelievably fanatical devotion to you is really starting to reach a level that you didn't think was possible. Whatever "condition" is fucking with your head, it's going to have a really difficult time in getting you to actually kill her "Now you want me to go with you to the brothel? Will it help if I'm there?" Vera asks. "Um, no. I'll go there by myself. Um, what if this all turns out to be true?" you ask. "Well, then I guess you'll have to get the priests of Dorna to cure you. I know you said you declined before since it all felt a little sketchy and you didn't feel right about the ritual, but desperate times and all that." "Yeah, I suppose it'll be the only way. Shit..." "Hey, we'll get through this." Vera kisses you and you're soon on your way to one of the brothels. When you arrive, you're greeted warmly since it's been a long time since you've been to it and not just because you own the place. And so begins "the test." The first time, it takes awhile for you to get into it mainly because now you feel like you're not just cheating on Tanya, but that you're also cheating on Vera! Then again, it's not cheating at all is it? Tanya isn't in the picture anymore and hasn't been for years and Vera gave you permission. Once you settle that in your mind you're able to get on with it, with fewer issues. You still end up having some thoughts about those dead women, and even Vera and the whores you were with today. Except it wasn't quite as vivid. You repeat the process and by the time a week passes you're experiencing the thoughts even less. Now Vera isn't even showing up. Oddly some of the whores still are, but again it's very minor. You aren't thinking about Tanya either. A month passes and you haven't had any dark thoughts and nothing has happened to any of the whores or Vera. The dead women however are still with you. The images of you being there now feel more like a faint memory. You get the terrible feeling you DID kill them. You aren't sure if it's due to a curse or some mental break down you had after the break up with Tanya, but they aren't going away. You're going to just have to try to rebury those thoughts again. Vera's been pretty understanding through all this so that's certainly helping, but you're wondering if maybe it would help even more if you weren't in Holgard any longer. "Expansion? Where?" Vera asks. "I dunno, but besides all the other shit going on in my head, I have been thinking about business matters too." You say. "Okay, so were you thinking about starting a League chapter in the Delantium Kingdom? "No. For whatever reason the Ebony Claw Syndicate has not fucked with us. If we start going into their territory, that could change. Besides this this isn't really expansion so much as relocation. I really think for my own mental health I need a change of location. Too many fucked up memories and baggage here." "Hm, I see. Well you ever heard of Jicol?" "Think I've heard some of the Hessla pirates we deal with mention it sometimes. Don't know much though." "It's a port town west of Hessla and from what I've heard it's wide open like a whore's legs. Nobody has tried to organize anything there and the city focuses so much on defending against potential pirate attacks that it doesn't have the heightened security like say Klyton does in recent years. I say we start there." "That sounds good." "Okay, so are we not keeping a presence at all here?" "I thought about it, but again, I don't want too many ties to this place. I mean I'd keep Warts in charge of a chapter here, but I doubt that he'll want the headache of running it. I figure I'll just pass the businesses off to the next most qualified person who can start a new organization and we'll take the half of the treasury and whoever wants to come with us to relocate." "What if nobody comes?" "Well we'll still have the coin and we can still restart in Jicol with all new people. Or it can just end up being just us. I don't care. My mental well being and my relationship with you is more important than coin." "More important than coin? Wow, you really do care about me." "Of course I do, why would you doubt that?" "Well I know how I feel, and I can make good guesses on your feelings, but it's never a sure thing you know? But I'm happy to have confirmation. In any case, I go where you go. We'll start over in Jicol and be successful, in fact I've already got my own ideas about what can get us a good head start..." With Vera by your side, a new prospect on the horizon and your "condition" either subdued or gone completely you're feeling more positive about the future. > Time passes... Year 30 Properly getting with Vera and relocating is the best decision you could have made you think. You definitely feel more at ease and not as stressed out all the time. And more importantly you've finally shaken off the effects of whatever it was that was fucking with your head before. Still, there always problems that crop up in your line of work. Nothing that can be done to eliminate that. "These Black Hooks are dumb ass snot nosed kids." You say. "Perhaps, but you know those type tend to be very eager to prove themselves." Vera says. "Maybe so, but I'm just not sure I want that lot incorporated into our organization." "Well the only other option is to wipe them out then, because I think you know from direct experience that two major criminal organizations in one city tends to lead to a whole lot of conflict." "Hah, I'd hardly call the Black Hooks a major anything. They're a gang of wannabes, but I guess you do have a point and everyone does have to start somewhere. Yeah, probably should try to recruit them now when they're young and moldable. Might be good to have some more local people and bolster our ranks a bit more." "Okay, so how do you want to do this?" "Talk to the leader and his lieutenants I guess. Martin is his name?" "Marco actually." "Whatever. Have some of our people go to one of their little hangouts to set up a meeting and explain to them if they don't accept the invitation then I'll have my answer of how to deal with them. Now are we certain that they are the only other organization in the city?" "Yeah, all other criminal activity in the city is mostly by independents and unorganized." "Okay, well we probably should start gathering them too in time, but we'll deal with the Black Hooks first. Vera kisses you goodbye to go perform her regular duties and get things rolling on the Black Hooks situation. A couple days pass and you've finally gotten your answer from the Black Hooks and apparently despite some tough talk by Marco, he's agreed to meet with you, just outside the city. Given what you know of him and the Black Hooks, they're a gang of youths that engage in a lot of petty crime such as punching old ladies and taking their coin bags. You're also aware that more than a few of them though are getting hooked on Purple Wish so that might play a part in negotiations. Though as far as you're concerned, this isn't going to be much of a negotiation, it's going to be you telling these wannabes if they want to be continue along their path of delinquency, they're going to have to start falling in line. You naturally get to the meeting a little early and have some of your people hiding nearby in case something happens, but honestly you're not worried. Eventually Marco and three of his people of them arrive. Two of them look a little jittery. Another one is female and given that she's hanging on Marco's arm, it must be his little trashy girlfriend. Marco gives you the hard stare to which of course you're quite unimpressed by. "I trust you know who I am." You say. "Yeah, you run that new gang called the Nocturnal League." "Oh, we're a lot more than just a gang." "Okay, whatever. So we're here. What the fuck did you want to talk about?" Marco says. "Hm, I'll ignore the bluster and chalk it up to nerves." "Hey! I'm not nervous! There's four of us out here and just one of you!" Marco exclaims, not knowing just how close he is to death at anytime. "Relax, it wasn't an insult, but tell me Marco, where do you see the Black Hooks in five years?" "Five years?" "Yes, that's what I said. Where do you see yourself and your gang in that time? What's the plan? Do you have a plan?" Marco just looks at you and then at his buddies with a blank expression. Predictable. Stupid ass teenager doesn't have a plan. "Well? Come on boy think! I know you lot engages in minor thievery and pointless vandalism. Were you planning on moving into drugs and whores? Get into the Qweepa fights perhaps? Unite all the criminals in the city into your little gang and take over all of Jicol's underworld?" "Um..." "Um? Um is not a plan you halfwit. Am I just wasting my time here?" "Okay! Fuck! I dunno! I mean I guess we want to be pirates." You shake your head. "Okay, you lot want to be pirates. Alright, do you own a ship?" "No." "You have no ship. Are you saving coin to buy one?" "Um..." "I'll take that as a no. Do you know how to sail?" "No." "Fucking hell, do any of you losers at least KNOW any fucking pirates?" "I do!" the girl says. "Hm, I bet you do." You reply. "Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Marco asks. "It means your little girlfriend is the only one here that at least has any connections, and since I'm a gentleman I won't elaborate any further since it's none of my concern anyway. My point is you fuckers have no damn ambition. You lot probably haven't even left this island have you?" The four of them again look down and at each other. "I thought so. When I was your age I had already killed several men, left home and was travelling the world!" Travelling the world might be pushing it, but travelling to Holgard is still more than these little shits have done. At this point you begin lecturing Marco about how their criminal activity is petty and amateur along with bringing unnecessary heat down by the Jicol Watch. Something about this seems familiar... "Hey! Get off our fucking asses! What gives you the right to yell at us? You're not our fucking dad!" And yep, that's what seemed familiar. Shit, you never thought you'd sound like your father, but you guess the old man's personality is there after all. In any case, you hope you're a little more successful than he was in getting some unruly teenagers in line. "Yeah, I'm not your dad, but here's the thing, I AM in charge. From now on, the Nocturnal League is taking over everything and you can either be part of that, or you can get the hell out of the way. The choice is yours. What you don't want is to be IN our way. Now I'm telling you lot this first because you're closest thing to an organization in this city so you're officially the biggest competition, as laughable as that is. You're also getting the chance to join a REAL one along with better training for all your youthful activity that the law disapproves of. So, you with me or not?" "So what happens if I say no?" Marco asks. "You're free to leave. Though I'd suggest that you go get a regular job like a barrel maker or go try to be a cabin boy on a pirate ship and pursue that dream because as I said, the Black Hooks as of now are a thing of the past." You reply. "So we have no choice." "Sure you do, just not the one you want. Look, I get that this is going to be the hardest for you since you're in a leadership position and you probably don't like people telling you what to do and all I can say to that is well tough shit. You're either going to have to suck it up or as I said, get the hell out of my way. Now if it'll lessen the sting to your pride, I can say, you may retain some of your leadership role in a limited capacity. I'm going to need help in assimilating the rest of your people and the smoother this goes down, the better off we'll ALL be." This ultimatum is met with some silence and then the four of them begin whispering amongst themselves. It's actually sort of amusing to you. Marco turns to you and speaks. "Fuck you. We're not joining." Marco says. You just sigh thinking that this was going so well too. "Oh? And that's what all of you have decided?" you say. "That's what I'VE decided." "Funny, because I could have swore I saw you conversing with your friends which signifies to me that maybe you AREN'T the leader you claim if you have to speak with anyone before making a final decision as important as this." "I AM the leader and I'm not following some asshole that's trying to scare me. I know some shit about you. You only just got here and only have a handful of people. The Black Hooks have WAY more than you. You don't look so tough and if you didn't have that pistol, I'd kick your ass." "Is that right?" Well you expected some resistance, but you figured it would be half assed negotiation, not Marco finding the balls to stand up to you. The simple thing would be to shoot him and get this over with since you're fairly sure the rest are going to fall in line, but you'll make greater point by actually humoring this asshole. Besides, he's annoyed you enough that you'll take some delight in kicking his ass. "Okay then, but first." You say and whistle for your people to come out of hiding. Marco and his people look a little surprised which just proves how dumb they really are if they thought you were out here alone. "Since I'm fairly certain as soon as I'm kicking Marco's ass, he's going to call for help, I want you two to make sure this is indeed a fair fight. Shoot anyone who interferes." "Wait, how do I know they won't shoot us, if I win?" "Don't worry, you won't win." You say and hand your pistol over to one of your people. Marco pulls a knife and begins to look for an opening to which to attack. You just watch him. "I want you three to pay attention, because what I do to Marco, I'll also do to you if you choose to follow him...well not you. You can have a position in the brothel." You say to Marco's buddies. Predictably this enrages him and he swings wildly at you with his knife, you easily dodge his clumsy attacks and with a few punches to his face, he's already on the ground. You then step on his wrist and take the knife from him. "Too fucking easy." At this point Marco attempts to punch you in the balls with his other hand, but instead you stomp him in the face. You then proceed to break his arm, he screams in pain and his girlfriend looks away while his buddies look like they've just realized how serious this is. You point Marco's own knife at his face and he's already crying and begging for his life. "No! (sob) Please! I don't wanna die! I apologize! I... (sob)" Marco screams. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up. YOU brought this on yourself. Up until now, you've just been playing, but this is what happens when you make bad fucking choices. There are consequences." you say as you prod the knife into his face so it bleeds. "However, you're fortunate that today those consequences aren't fatal." You stand up and step back while Marco's people slowly go see to him. "You change your mind?" Marco of course says he does and his people do as well. "Good, now go back and tell the rest of your gang about the change in leadership. Also assure them that they all stand to make more coin and who knows maybe you lot will actually scrape enough to buy a ship one day. In the meantime Marco, I'm going to be counting on you to make this transition smooth. I don't want to have to straighten out the rest of your gang the way I had to with you, I don't have the fucking time. Understand?" Marco nods his head and thanks you for not killing him. "Yes, well I am the nice one. Now get the hell out of here." Marco and his crew leave as quick as they can and head back to Jicol. After chuckling a bit with your own people and taking your pistol back, you do start to do likewise. Or at least you try to. You're not used to stomping about the jungle area outside Jicol and unfortunately you end up getting turned around and lost. You begin cursing as your two underlings try not to anger you any further by staying silent. As you're still wandering through the jungle you stumble upon a ruined structure. Looks like a temple and by its design it looks like one dedicated to Fel. Seeing as it's starting to get dark, you half wonder if you shouldn't just take shelter in here for the night and start fresh tomorrow. Not to mention there could be something of value in there. > You take shelter You've always hated the wilderness. You still have the bad memories of when you had to trounce about the forests on your way to Holgard. It's so easy to get lost, especially at night. Better to stay in a structure until day break when you can at least see better. You can only imagine how concerned Vera is right now. Hell, she might have even declared war on the Black Hooks believing them to have killed you, but there isn't much you can do about that at the moment. You tell your two people you're going to take shelter in the temple and you all head inside. After lighting a couple torches, you get a better look at your surroundings and the place looks about like what you'd expect, though it's obviously much bigger than the temple in Holgard. It's also covered in spiderwebs. It's a long shot, but you think about the possibility of some valuable items still here. Temples usually have that sort of thing lying around. You might as well take a look given that you'll be spending the night here. "Let's have a look around. Grab anything that looks like it might have some value." You say. You all search the immediate nearby rooms and areas, but don't find much save for a lot more cobwebs. You enter one room, you find a couple of old vases that look like they might hold value. As you're looking at those, one of your people ends up finding a stairway leading down. "Hey boss. Found something." "Hm, I suppose if there is anything of value, it might be down there. Of course who knows what might be down there, so we should be careful. I wouldn't be surprised if there were traps." You and your two people slowly head down the steps, when suddenly you start to hear squeaking. At first you think it might be rats, but the squeak is a bit of a lower tone. You soon see several sources of the squeaking running at you from the darkness of the bottom of the stairwell. "Shit, there's a fucking shitload of qweepas!" Your underling instinctively starts swinging his torch at them, but qweepas tend to be a bit more fearless than normal rats especially in a large pack like this and merely just avoid the flames by running around his swing radius. Doesn't take long before one of them has managed to get to his legs and bite him. He shouts in pain and slips down the stairs. While this wasn't enough to kill him, the old traps that were at the bottom of said stairs well and you see a swinging spike impaling him. Meanwhile there are more qweepas coming up from the stairs. A lot of them. You and your other underling immediately run back up the stairs, while qweepas are biting at your heels the whole time. Some of them are even managing to leap on your back. You both get to the top of the stairs and have to stop to get the damn things off of you before they gnaw through your clothes and your body. You start stabbing, burning and throwing the oversized rats against the walls. You've got bites all over you and you're bleeding all over, but that's nothing compared to your surviving underling who isn't quite so lucky when a qweepa manages to bite into his neck, puncturing an artery. Flailing and crying out, he falls to the floor mobbed by several qweepas who are eager to finish him off. You manage to get away, but the qweepas haven't given up yet. You end up getting a couple more leaping on you, which causes you to have to slow down your pace again to get them off. In the process, you drop your torch and fumble around in a corridor desperately trying to avoid an ignoble fate of getting eaten by these things. As you're doing this, you've moved far enough away from your dropped light source that you can't even see what's around you clearly. In your thrashing you've stumbled down a corridor you didn't explore and specifically into a larger gathering of spiderwebs. You were pretty careful about avoiding those before and burning the smaller patches that were in your way earlier, but now you've fallen into right into one big patch. The webbing is incredibly sticky, and now you're having a hard time even moving at all. Despite this impediment, you manage to get rid of the last of the qweepas, and fortunately for you, there doesn't seem to be any more qweepas attacking you. Unfortunately that's because even most qweepas know better than to go near the spider webs. As you're trying to pull yourself free, you soon find out that these webs weren't just made by multitudes of little spiders, or even several big ones. A vibration on the web is felt as you're still fumbling around in the dark and you look just in time to see a very large mass descend upon you. You can't see it clearly, but fear over takes you since you know what it could only be. And much like spiders of the smaller variety, it injects a poison, which paralyzes you, but it doesn't bother wrapping you up and save you for later. It's hungry now and just decides to eat you alive right then and there.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, humor, fantasy, serious] Year 30 Properly getting with Vera and relocating is the best decision you could have made you think. You definitely feel more at ease and not as stressed out all the time. And more importantly you've finally shaken off the effects of whatever it was that was fucking with your head before. Still, there always problems that crop up in your line of work. Nothing that can be done to eliminate that. "These Black Hooks are dumb ass snot nosed kids." You say. "Perhaps, but you know those type tend to be very eager to prove themselves." Vera says. "Maybe so, but I'm just not sure I want that lot incorporated into our organization." "Well the only other option is to wipe them out then, because I think you know from direct experience that two major criminal organizations in one city tends to lead to a whole lot of conflict." "Hah, I'd hardly call the Black Hooks a major anything. They're a gang of wannabes, but I guess you do have a point and everyone does have to start somewhere. Yeah, probably should try to recruit them now when they're young and moldable. Might be good to have some more local people and bolster our ranks a bit more." "Okay, so how do you want to do this?" "Talk to the leader and his lieutenants I guess. Martin is his name?" "Marco actually." "Whatever. Have some of our people go to one of their little hangouts to set up a meeting and explain to them if they don't accept the invitation then I'll have my answer of how to deal with them. Now are we certain that they are the only other organization in the city?" "Yeah, all other criminal activity in the city is mostly by independents and unorganized." "Okay, well we probably should start gathering them too in time, but we'll deal with the Black Hooks first. Vera kisses you goodbye to go perform her regular duties and get things rolling on the Black Hooks situation. A couple days pass and you've finally gotten your answer from the Black Hooks and apparently despite some tough talk by Marco, he's agreed to meet with you, just outside the city. Given what you know of him and the Black Hooks, they're a gang of youths that engage in a lot of petty crime such as punching old ladies and taking their coin bags. You're also aware that more than a few of them though are getting hooked on Purple Wish so that might play a part in negotiations. Though as far as you're concerned, this isn't going to be much of a negotiation, it's going to be you telling these wannabes if they want to be continue along their path of delinquency, they're going to have to start falling in line. You naturally get to the meeting a little early and have some of your people hiding nearby in case something happens, but honestly you're not worried. Eventually Marco and three of his people of them arrive. Two of them look a little jittery. Another one is female and given that she's hanging on Marco's arm, it must be his little trashy girlfriend. Marco gives you the hard stare to which of course you're quite unimpressed by. "I trust you know who I am." You say. "Yeah, you run that new gang called the Nocturnal League." "Oh, we're a lot more than just a gang." "Okay, whatever. So we're here. What the fuck did you want to talk about?" Marco says. "Hm, I'll ignore the bluster and chalk it up to nerves." "Hey! I'm not nervous! There's four of us out here and just one of you!" Marco exclaims, not knowing just how close he is to death at anytime. "Relax, it wasn't an insult, but tell me Marco, where do you see the Black Hooks in five years?" "Five years?" "Yes, that's what I said. Where do you see yourself and your gang in that time? What's the plan? Do you have a plan?" Marco just looks at you and then at his buddies with a blank expression. Predictable. Stupid ass teenager doesn't have a plan. "Well? Come on boy think! I know you lot engages in minor thievery and pointless vandalism. Were you planning on moving into drugs and whores? Get into the Qweepa fights perhaps? Unite all the criminals in the city into your little gang and take over all of Jicol's underworld?" "Um..." "Um? Um is not a plan you halfwit. Am I just wasting my time here?" "Okay! Fuck! I dunno! I mean I guess we want to be pirates." You shake your head. "Okay, you lot want to be pirates. Alright, do you own a ship?" "No." "You have no ship. Are you saving coin to buy one?" "Um..." "I'll take that as a no. Do you know how to sail?" "No." "Fucking hell, do any of you losers at least KNOW any fucking pirates?" "I do!" the girl says. "Hm, I bet you do." You reply. "Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Marco asks. "It means your little girlfriend is the only one here that at least has any connections, and since I'm a gentleman I won't elaborate any further since it's none of my concern anyway. My point is you fuckers have no damn ambition. You lot probably haven't even left this island have you?" The four of them again look down and at each other. "I thought so. When I was your age I had already killed several men, left home and was travelling the world!" Travelling the world might be pushing it, but travelling to Holgard is still more than these little shits have done. At this point you begin lecturing Marco about how their criminal activity is petty and amateur along with bringing unnecessary heat down by the Jicol Watch. Something about this seems familiar... "Hey! Get off our fucking asses! What gives you the right to yell at us? You're not our fucking dad!" And yep, that's what seemed familiar. Shit, you never thought you'd sound like your father, but you guess the old man's personality is there after all. In any case, you hope you're a little more successful than he was in getting some unruly teenagers in line. "Yeah, I'm not your dad, but here's the thing, I AM in charge. From now on, the Nocturnal League is taking over everything and you can either be part of that, or you can get the hell out of the way. The choice is yours. What you don't want is to be IN our way. Now I'm telling you lot this first because you're closest thing to an organization in this city so you're officially the biggest competition, as laughable as that is. You're also getting the chance to join a REAL one along with better training for all your youthful activity that the law disapproves of. So, you with me or not?" "So what happens if I say no?" Marco asks. "You're free to leave. Though I'd suggest that you go get a regular job like a barrel maker or go try to be a cabin boy on a pirate ship and pursue that dream because as I said, the Black Hooks as of now are a thing of the past." You reply. "So we have no choice." "Sure you do, just not the one you want. Look, I get that this is going to be the hardest for you since you're in a leadership position and you probably don't like people telling you what to do and all I can say to that is well tough shit. You're either going to have to suck it up or as I said, get the hell out of my way. Now if it'll lessen the sting to your pride, I can say, you may retain some of your leadership role in a limited capacity. I'm going to need help in assimilating the rest of your people and the smoother this goes down, the better off we'll ALL be." This ultimatum is met with some silence and then the four of them begin whispering amongst themselves. It's actually sort of amusing to you. Marco turns to you and speaks. "Fuck you. We're not joining." Marco says. You just sigh thinking that this was going so well too. "Oh? And that's what all of you have decided?" you say. "That's what I'VE decided." "Funny, because I could have swore I saw you conversing with your friends which signifies to me that maybe you AREN'T the leader you claim if you have to speak with anyone before making a final decision as important as this." "I AM the leader and I'm not following some asshole that's trying to scare me. I know some shit about you. You only just got here and only have a handful of people. The Black Hooks have WAY more than you. You don't look so tough and if you didn't have that pistol, I'd kick your ass." "Is that right?" Well you expected some resistance, but you figured it would be half assed negotiation, not Marco finding the balls to stand up to you. The simple thing would be to shoot him and get this over with since you're fairly sure the rest are going to fall in line, but you'll make greater point by actually humoring this asshole. Besides, he's annoyed you enough that you'll take some delight in kicking his ass. "Okay then, but first." You say and whistle for your people to come out of hiding. Marco and his people look a little surprised which just proves how dumb they really are if they thought you were out here alone. "Since I'm fairly certain as soon as I'm kicking Marco's ass, he's going to call for help, I want you two to make sure this is indeed a fair fight. Shoot anyone who interferes." "Wait, how do I know they won't shoot us, if I win?" "Don't worry, you won't win." You say and hand your pistol over to one of your people. Marco pulls a knife and begins to look for an opening to which to attack. You just watch him. "I want you three to pay attention, because what I do to Marco, I'll also do to you if you choose to follow him...well not you. You can have a position in the brothel." You say to Marco's buddies. Predictably this enrages him and he swings wildly at you with his knife, you easily dodge his clumsy attacks and with a few punches to his face, he's already on the ground. You then step on his wrist and take the knife from him. "Too fucking easy." At this point Marco attempts to punch you in the balls with his other hand, but instead you stomp him in the face. You then proceed to break his arm, he screams in pain and his girlfriend looks away while his buddies look like they've just realized how serious this is. You point Marco's own knife at his face and he's already crying and begging for his life. "No! (sob) Please! I don't wanna die! I apologize! I... (sob)" Marco screams. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up. YOU brought this on yourself. Up until now, you've just been playing, but this is what happens when you make bad fucking choices. There are consequences." you say as you prod the knife into his face so it bleeds. "However, you're fortunate that today those consequences aren't fatal." You stand up and step back while Marco's people slowly go see to him. "You change your mind?" Marco of course says he does and his people do as well. "Good, now go back and tell the rest of your gang about the change in leadership. Also assure them that they all stand to make more coin and who knows maybe you lot will actually scrape enough to buy a ship one day. In the meantime Marco, I'm going to be counting on you to make this transition smooth. I don't want to have to straighten out the rest of your gang the way I had to with you, I don't have the fucking time. Understand?" Marco nods his head and thanks you for not killing him. "Yes, well I am the nice one. Now get the hell out of here." Marco and his crew leave as quick as they can and head back to Jicol. After chuckling a bit with your own people and taking your pistol back, you do start to do likewise. Or at least you try to. You're not used to stomping about the jungle area outside Jicol and unfortunately you end up getting turned around and lost. You begin cursing as your two underlings try not to anger you any further by staying silent. As you're still wandering through the jungle you stumble upon a ruined structure. Looks like a temple and by its design it looks like one dedicated to Fel. Seeing as it's starting to get dark, you half wonder if you shouldn't just take shelter in here for the night and start fresh tomorrow. Not to mention there could be something of value in there. > You get back to Jicol You need to get back home as soon as possible; you really don't want to be out in the jungle after dark, especially in some ruined temple. Who knows what the hell is living in that thing. After a big of retracing and thinking, you and your people eventually remember the way back to Jicol and you're breathing a sigh of relief since it truly would have been a silly thing to get yourself lost and killed in the wilderness. When you get back to Vera she asks what the hell happened since you were gone so long. She nearly called the rest of the League to go attack the Black Hooks. You explain everything. "You let him live? You sure he's not going to try to get revenge someday?" Vera asks. "He might, but I'm not particularly worried that he will. Right now he's got proper fear in him and he'll get the rest of the Black Hooks in line with the League. They've been following him this long so they'll listen and in time his influence will be less as we split them up and have them work with other people. I mean yeah I could have shot him, but I think not killing him was the better play in the long run." You say. "I guess we'll see." In the months to follow, the Black Hooks do indeed fall in line and you've expanded the League greatly as far as membership is concerned. Of course there's a lot of training involved, but thankfully many of them are quick learners after all. It's also one of the major competitors out of the way and when you get better consolidated you'll be able to move on to the independent folks as well. You'll soon have this city's entire underworld under the Nocturnal League's control at this pace. Year 31 "What the fuck, I thought nobody else here was organized!" you exclaim. "They weren't, but I guess when word got around about what happened with the Black Hooks, the independents formed a loose alliance. They call themselves the Jicol Coalition of Rogues." Vera remarks. "They can't actually believe they'll win." You say. "Maybe not, but I believe that they at least think they'll make things harder. Maybe even to the point that you'll give up." Vera remarks. "Yeah, that's not happening." "Well that means war then, but I have to remind you, we can't just start stabbing people in the streets. The Jicol Watch isn't as corrupt as the Holgard Watch was, in fact they've been starting to become a pain in the ass and I'm getting concerned that they're going to actually raid our headquarters one day." "Yeah, I know. It's been a concern of mine too. Now that the League is bigger, we're probably attracting a lot more attention. "Maybe we need to relocate." "Well we could do that, but the city is only so big. Eventually we'll have to relocate again. (Sigh) One of the things I didn't think I'd miss is the spacious sewers of Holgard." "Didn't you say you saw a structure outside the city, in the jungle?" "Yes after meeting with Marco, when I got lost I found that ruined temple. We didn't explore it really though. Actually always meant to go back to give it a proper look though. I believe it was dedicated to Fel." "Oh. Well I was going to suggest that we make our base there. I mean regardless of what they do in the city, the Jicol Watch are definitely not going to harass us out there, but I'm not sure if I want to do that if it was a temple dedicated to Fel." "Hm, that's not a bad idea though. I mean it might it be a bit of a trip and take some work in cleaning up, but having something defensible like that would be a lot better than the current tavern front we're operating out of." "That sounds fairly labor intensive, not to mention dangerous and I'm still leery about making Fel Temple our base. I was part of the Syndicate and saw some of the shit Rook could do with Fel's divine power. I wouldn't want to piss off a god." "Yeah I've seen shadow magic as well by EC members and the actual priests, but honestly, I'm more concerned with more corporal trouble than divine right now." "Again, I suppose it's up to you and I'll support your decision, but I feel like this is also going to take time away from combating the JCR." For all the issues with this, you're convinced that this is going to be better in the long run. "We're taking that temple and as for the JCR, there hasn't been any real aggression yet. I mean from what you've said, they aren't really united except in defense against assimilation. Unless they attack, we'll hold off for now, and perhaps in time, we can lure some over without the need for combat. There will be a day of reckoning though." The month clearing out the ruined temple is a grueling process. It fortunately isn't inhabited by anything worse than some over sized spiders and a shitload of qweepas. You mostly use the ex-Black Hooks to do a lot of the grunt work, even if they grumble a lot. Marco's keeps the louder ones in line, but eventually even he has to complain when it turns out there are a lot of traps in the lower passages of the temple that have killed a few of them. After a bit of going back and forth of explaining that disarming traps is part of their training, you ultimately give them a break by stepping in and helping out directly. When you get down to the lower passages, you can sort of see their complaints, considering it's like a maze down here. You nearly trip some of the traps yourself, but thanks to your years of skill, you avoid any injury (and impress some of these ex-Hooks all the more) What is more interesting to you however is when you stumble upon rooms still filled with a few objects. Mostly vases and such, but you do find some more valuable items as well. Soon you've got a bunch of teenagers arguing over treasure and you have to remind them... "Not sure what you lot are arguing about, all this shit is going to me first, especially since I was the one who disarmed most of these traps in the first place. In any event we can probably get a good price for most of this stuff and the League could always use more coin in the general treasury." You say. At this point you tell everyone that they can finally head back to the city to return to their former duties, which they seem relieved about. You spend the next day just you by yourself in your new future headquarters as you go through the various valuable objects trying to appraise how much you should be able to get for them. As you're putting a vase aside, you suddenly hear something and you draw your pistol. "Before you start shooting, it's just me. I see I came just in time to see you giving the children a break." Vera says slowly entering the room. "Vera? Didn't expect you to come here so soon." You remark. "Yeah, well I figured I needed to get over my fears if this is going to be our new headquarters. I have to say, it is a lot better than that front we're currently using. I still have my concerns though. Are you really sure we're not pissing off some divine being doing this?" "I dunno, but I'm guessing if Fel really didn't like it, he would have already killed all of us with shadow monsters by now." "Not necessarily, he could just do it over time. He is a god after all." "True, but I remember something you said. We could all die randomly at anytime, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's any curse or greater reason behind it. Just means shit happens." "I suppose that's true. Still, if we do start seeing shadow monsters, I think we should just get the hell off the island and not look back." "Works for me. So any information of what's going on with this new coalition of independent rogues? Like maybe who the leader is? "Nothing new. Still can't figure out who is the leader yet. Then again it's supposed to be a defensive alliance against us, not a proper organization." "Yeah and that's bullshit. The Thieves' Guild was supposed to be a so called alliance of independent rogues as well and they definitely had a leader. Someone always has to be calling the shots at the top of the pyramid. The fact that we haven't found this person yet indicates to me that they got much more in mind than simple defense. My other concern is the Jicol Watch. While this temple will keep us from getting completely fucked over if they ever come down hard on us, it still doesn't change that all of our businesses could still be fucked in the city." Vera starts to speak and then stops. "Seems like you have something to say. Out with it, I think we've gotten to a place in our relationship where we can talk about anything now." You say. "Well I was just thinking, I over heard some of the Black Hooks saying once that there was an abandoned dock not far from this temple that nobody uses anymore. We could probably fix it up. Strong arm some carpenters and wood workers to do it and get some of our people to do any extra needed labor." Vera says. "Hmmm, I see where you're going with this. You're saying we wouldn't have to rely on Jicol's docks to trade with pirates, smugglers and some corrupt merchants if shit really went bad for us. Good idea, but I can't imagine the government is going to just let us get away doing that." "The Jicol's government is fairly hands off at times. Considering they let pirates dock in the city as long as they aren't pillaging or causing trouble, they probably aren't going to care about what we're doing out here. I mean that's why we're setting up a base out here right? In fact, I'd say they'd probably prefer it if those type came over here instead. In time we could probably build up a small trading outpost and move some of our businesses out of Jicol entirely." "Sounds like you're talking about building a city." "Maybe nothing so grand as a city, but something like a smaller version of Hessla except with us in charge." "That's a nice idea, but this all seems pretty damn expensive and keep in mind we still don't even have control over all the criminal activity here." "Yeah I was thinking about other potential avenues of revenue too and while I know you were against it before, I REALLY think we should go into it now..." You already know what Vera is suggesting. "Slave trade." You say. "Look, I know how you feel about this and back in Holgard it didn't matter as much since it was a bigger city with more options, but here? We're in a perfect position to take advantage of the thriving slave trade in this area." Vera remarks. "Thriving slave trade? As far as I know there aren't any slave rings in Jicol." "Exactly! There has never been enough organization to do it right here. We could set up shop and as I said, slaver and pirate ships come here all the time for supplies or rest and he Jicol government doesn't give a shit as long as they aren't trying to pillage the place. If we have our own dock, we could easily start selling slaves without even the hassle of potentially getting shit from the Jicol government." "So where are we getting these slaves again?" "Well we are at war with the independents right? I figure we can start with them. We got this big new base now, plenty of places to keep them in chains." Vera's suggestion solves a few issues you suppose. Maybe it's due to recently discovering that you murdered several innocent women and blacked it out that's changed things, but for whatever reason engaging in slave trade just doesn't seem to repulse you so much anymore. If word gets out that you're selling your enemies into slavery that could scare a lot of folks into joining. Getting killed is one thing, but getting turned into a slave might be enough to give some people pause. "Okay Vera, I can see some advantages for us going into this business and since you've got all the expertise, I'm going to hand this task for you to oversee." you say. "Great. I'll start letting my pirate contacts know that we're in the slave trade business. Word will spread and I can't wait to get started!" "Hm, well I guess we better get started on getting all this up and running. I guess I should ask though, what is it with you and the slave trade anyway? Not that I would ever profess to be a Jochim saint, but I can't say I'm going to necessarily enjoy this." "I dunno, I guess because when I did it before I was really good at it." "Well you're good at a lot of other things

too, but you're not volunteering for a position at a whore house." "Ha ha. Fortunately for you, I enjoy doing that for free." "Pfft, not that free. I'm paying half of everything everyday." "Best coin you'll ever spend. Anyway as I was saying, I wasn't just good, I dare say I was damn near the best. I could talk of some of those so called master slavers from Hessla into a deal in my favor. Always felt a great sense of accomplishment when I took advantage of one of those fat bastards. I think I never got a chance to truly shine though because Elias was a controlling asshole, but with you I know this will be different. Everything is different now that we're finally together." Without another word, Vera hugs and kisses you lovingly, which then leads to sex. You can't help but think that the whole slave trade subject must turn her on in some way which is another reason for her enthusiasm, but it's hardly surprising given what you know about her. Vera's got some fucked up sexual quirks. You really know how to pick 'em. You went from a demonkin who tried to turn you away at every opportunity to a woman who practically adores you so much that she gets off on you "raping" her. Maybe you just weren't meant to have an average girlfriend, let alone an average relationship. Makes sense given that you don't lead an average life either. However that magical moment of passion in the ruins of a structure dedicated to a deity of shadows, leads to a very average outcome. Soon... "WHAT?! How the hell did that happen?!" you exclaim. "The usual way I suspect." Vera remarks. "I know that, I just mean...I thought you couldn't get pregnant! Something about your lady innards being barren." "Well I thought so to, I mean I've had sex tons of other times with other guys before you and then we've had it a lot when we got together and nothing. I can't imagine what changed." "Well I mean are you sure? I mean your belly isn't big." "It's still too early for me to start looking like an ogre after feeding time at the halfling trough, but I have been feeling nauseous and peeing a lot more. Also my tits feel tender sometimes." "Well that explains why you bitched at me so much when went up and suddenly squeezed them a couple days ago." "I mean just to be really sure I actually saw a physician in Jicol and he pretty much confirmed it." "Shit, well how much does he charge to solve the problem?" "What? No! I don't want to get rid of it!" "What seriously? You want to keep it?" "Well I admit, I never really saw myself as a mother, but I mean...I dunno...we already got roots in place, we might well have a family." "But...but what about the slave trade? You said you were going to be in charge of that!" "And I still will be. Nothing's changed on that front. I'll just have a midwife or some shit nearby. Y'know I think one our people has some experience in that matter. Apparently she was the oldest of fifteen siblings and had to help deliver most of them. Can you imagine? I'm telling you right now, we are NOT having fourteen more of these fuckers." Right now you're having difficulty even imagining having one! Your mind is going all over the place and you're having a hard time coming to grips with this. You certainly never saw yourself as a father. Should you even be bringing up a kid in this sort of life? While being a criminal and having a family isn't something new, it rarely works out well as enemies see it as an added potential weakness to pounce on. Vera can see you're having some problems with this and tries to calm you. "It's going to be okay you know. I mean so far we've been making a lot of progress with little resistance so far. I mean I know there is the Jicol Coalition of Rogues that needs to be dealt with, but there are already whispers of some of them about to jump ship. If you're worried about me, don't be. I'll be fine to do my job. If anything I'll be safer by being closer to our headquarters since the slave shit is going to just be run from here directly and to the rebuilt docks. I won't even have to travel to Jicol." Vera says. "I suppose that's true." "And after I actually have the baby? Again, it's not going to be a problem. Even if we're in the middle of a gang war, I'll strap the little bugger on my back and fight off potential assassins if I have to. My point is, I'm in this with you all the way. Motherhood isn't going to change me drastically." Well even if you were going to try to talk Vera out of this, you doubt if you'd succeed or at least you doubt you'd succeed without a lot of drama which might very well result in something pretty devastating for everyone. Not that you were going to though since Vera's words have convinced you that everything will indeed be fine, or at least manageable. You aren't sure what sort of father you're going to make, but you suppose you'll find out. You end the conversation on a positive note of looking forward to this unexpected upcoming event. You suppose since Vera's going to need extra help, you have more of the ex-Black Hooks help her with getting the docks fixed and ready and tell some of your old veterans to start capturing these Coalition fuckers and bringing them back to the temple in chains. You also tell them that if the opportunity presents itself and it isn't going to cause a lot of problems, to capture a few pretty ladies as well. You may not be the smooth talker or have the expertise that Vera has, but you know pretty females are always in demand somewhere and they should give Vera a good start on this venture. All this dwelling on you starting a new family makes you think about your pre-existing one and how they're all doing. It's strange you suppose, but you get the urge to write to your parents. You don't give them all the details, but you tell them that you're doing okay and that you're finally "settling down" with a family of your own. You also apologize for how events unfolded that caused you to leave in the first place and that you know that they both tried to raise you the best they could and were lucky to have them for parents. You finish the letter by telling them you love them and if they see sis, that you love her too. You send the letter off and have no idea if it'll ever actually reach them and even if it does, you probably won't ever get an answer back, but you feel better about making the attempt. > Time passes... Year 32 "Okay, we're heading out to finish these assholes for good. You stay here and keep things running here as you do." You say. "Oh sure, keep me at home, to look after the kids while you go out and have fun." Vera says. "Well, it's important that you know your place as a woman. Speaking of kids, where's Kol?" "Gertrude is currently looking after him." "I swear I don't really like you leaving our son with her." "He's fine and she's been nothing but helpful. I mean hell, she's probably one of the few people I'd trust with him." "Dangerous to go around trusting the lot we associate with, but something about her bothers me." "You didn't even know who the hell she was until she was promoted to midwife and babysitter. Which is amazing since she's one of our older members that stuck with us since Holgard." "Alright, alright, if you trust her then I guess that's good enough for me." "No it isn't." "Yeah, probably not, but I don't have time to worry about it right now." "Why are you even going on this task? You said you had people in Jicol located at the docks to make sure he didn't try to get away and there are more than enough people to attack where the JCR are making their headquarters." "I want to make sure everything goes right. I can't just sit around barking orders while getting old and fat. That's how crime bosses assassinated. I need to keep in practice and my skills sharp." "Hm, I suppose that makes sense, but I'd say you're not really in any danger of being perceived as weak by any of our underlings right now." "And I intend to keep it that way." "I'd prefer it if you took less risks, besides if anyone was going to challenge your position you'd be dead before you even knew what was going on since I'd just poison your food and the shit would be over with." "Poison? Really? I would have thought if it was going to be you, you'd probably stab me while in the middle of sex." "Mm, too risky. Besides, that would just be foreplay not murder." "Well let's not do that either." "You're always so reserved. But if you're really insisting on going, be careful and don't lead the charge." Vera has been overly concerned with your safety ever since she had Kol. You suppose you get why she is now due to you being the father of her child and all, but sometimes it's a bit too much. "I'll be fine Vera, stop fussing!" you exclaim. "You sure you're not also going out of revenge?" Vera asks. "Revenge?" "Yeah, Revenge tends make people a little reckless and I mean this has been sort of personal since you learned who the leader of JCR is." "Mm, I mean it certainly was unexpected when I found out. Perhaps less unexpected when he wouldn't even hear me out, but I can't say this is out of revenge. I imagine he would be more motivated by revenge than I would, hence why he stuck around to fight. I'd say if anything I'm more motivated by tying up an old loose end that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass in the future." "I suppose that makes sense. Okay then, apologies for my fussing as you put it.." You kiss Vera goodbye and say one more thing before leaving. "Gotta say though when Sneaks ran away all those years ago, I never expected it was to Jicol." You head to Jicol to go meet Marco and the rest. Along the way you think about how history is sort of repeating itself here. A larger criminal organization crushing a smaller one. The only difference is you're the leader of the larger one this time. You have to wonder why Sneaks didn't just take off like he did last time. Unless he really is that pissed at you, which you assume he is, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with all this and you would have easily taken over long before now. When you get to the simple home that the JCR was using as a main headquarters, you find that your people are currently arguing with some of the Jicol Watch. Great. "Keep talking to me like that you little shit, and I'll just run all of your assess in. I still remember you and your gang of hooligans breaking several windows and punching old people in the face a couple years ago!" one of the guards says. "Yeah well things are different now and YOU don't tell us what to do anymore!" Marco exclaims. You smack Marco upside the head when you arrive. "Yeah, but I do. Now shut the fuck up Marco, and what's the problem here?" you ask. "The problem is, your little crime war was supposed to be kept to a dull fucking roar and for the past couple months you lot have been murdering each other in the streets and scaring the shit out of the civvies! You also got gangs of thugs like these loitering around. Now I know we have an agreement that will keep most of the scum out of this city for good, but the mayor is getting very weary of this conflict and is wondering if he shouldn't just have all parties involved executed." The watchman captain says. "The same mayor that allows pirates and the like to use his docks? Please, the mayor is no fucking Joachimite saint. We moved all of our shit out of Jicol and now we're doing the job that YOU lot couldn't. We're almost done with finishing off these assholes, we just need to clean out this place and get their leader." "And we're here to see it gets done thoroughly because this needs to be finished TODAY." The watchman captain at this point signals to his platoon that all draw their weapons and then turns back to you as if daring you to argue. "Fine. If you want to help, I'm not going to stop you, but stay out of our way." "Oh I wouldn't worry about that, because you lot will be taking the lead anyway. Not about to have you bunch sneaking about behind us." Marco starts to say something, but you stop him. "But boss..." Marco says. "Shut up Marco. Alright, let's finish these fuckers for good." You say to your people and motion to enter the place. No sooner has one of your people stepped into the front door and they nearly get beheaded by a swinging axe trap. Unfortunately, they still get skewered by the spear trap when they ducked and dodged to the left. You shake your head. "For fuck's sake people, this place is going to have traps up the ass, keep alert!" you shout. For at least the next hour, you search the house disarming traps and uncovering secret doors. You don't find anyone though. Meanwhile the Jicol Watch is still standing in the front room getting impatient. "Well?" the captain remarks. "Well what?" you answer. "I thought you said the leader was here and so far this place is empty." "Yeah well I imagine there's a hidden trapdoor that we haven't uncovered yet. They're probably either hiding underground, or maybe even escaped through a tunnel." "Underground tunnel? There isn't much they could dig without risking hitting water and flooding said tunnels. In case you didn't realize, we're on a fucking island." "I'm aware, but that doesn't mean they still didn't do it. Besides all that, the leader has experience with underground dwellings that are half submerged in water." Before you can have any further discussion, Marco comes back to you. "Hey boss, we found a trapdoor, looks like it goes down into a cellar. Um, we also lost Orin. Got a bunch of spikes in the face when he opened the trap door." "Idiot. Anyway, see? I told you there was going to be a trapdoor." You say. "Hm, well you're still leading the way." The Watchman captain says. After a few more of your people check out the immediate room below, you descend down the ladder. You give a quick look and see that this room wasn't dug out recently. It was actually part of the original house since it actually has solid walls and a solid floor. However, to your left, is where you start to see the construction. You examine the entrance of the dug out tunnel in an attempt to detect any traps but find nothing. Your people go a little further and soon discover that there are tunnels going in several different directions. "Well, have to hand it to you Sneaks, you didn't just sit on your hands. You literally dug in deep to make it difficult to root the last of you fuckers out." You think to yourself. Given the extensive amount of tunnels, you're actually surprised he didn't end up flooding Jicol with a misplaced dig like the Watchman captain was talking about. You briefly go down one of the tunnels and soon find that you're ankle deep in water. This is going to be a mess hunting Sneaks and whoever else down here. In fact, you're starting to wonder if Vera was right and you shouldn't even bother being here. Especially with the Jicol Watch being involved as well. > You Leave Yeah, fuck this. You start walking down these tunnels and who knows what the hell is in store for you. For all you know Sneaks has traps set to collapse the damn things. "Marco, we're getting the hell out of here. We're also getting all of our people that we got posted at the docks, I got a better idea." You say. "What about this Sneaks asshole?" Marco asks. "Oh, I haven't forgotten about him, but running through this little rat maze he's created isn't in my game plan. The JRC at this point is dead and he's not going to resurrect it in any capacity. Even if he tries, the Jicol Watch is so fed up with all of us, they'll crack down hard on them and we won't have to do shit. No, Sneaks is going to either try to escape off the island OR possibly try to assassinate me eventually. If it's the first one, I have a better idea of how to prevent that. If it's the second, he better hope he gets it right." You and your people turn back and proceed to climb back up to the ground floor where the Jicol Watchmen are still milling about. "What are you lot doing? Don't tell me you finished them off already." The Watchman captain remarks. "No, but I doubt that they're going very far. We'll get the rest of them later." You respond. "What?! Maybe we weren't clear, but this shit is ending TODAY." "Okay, well you lot go down there and end it today then. Isn't that why you're here? I never said I was going to stand in your way." You attempt to leave, but the captain stands in your way. It's obvious now that there were other plans in play here. "Okay, I see and I get it. You saw an opportunity and you were going to take advantage. Well, that opportunity is gone now, and there are enough of us to make this a problematic fight. Killing me won't bring down the Nocturnal League anyway. My wife is more than able to handle the leadership position and she's not going to spare any expense in getting revenge. Not to mention, regardless of the outcome, I am more than fast enough to take YOU out. You sure you want to do this?" The captain thinks about going for his own flintlock, while you're confident that you'll take him and at least a couple of his people out before you get mobbed. If you're lucky, your people will move in quick enough that you'll be able to fight your way through the chaos and run your ass out of Jicol. It's not the best odds, but you've been in worse situations. However, the captain isn't exactly eager to risk his own life this day. "Get your people out of this city and back to that fucking broken down temple in the jungle you call home. I never want to see you or your kind in this city again. If I do, you'll be executed on sight. The Nocturnal League and whatever other gang of criminal cutthroats that tries to form in Jicol are through here. Understand?" the captain warns. "Sure. You have your clean law abiding city and that will always be he case. No need to ever worry about the likes of us again." You say sarcastically. At this point the captain and his people let you pass and you immediately tell Marco and the rest to go contact your other League members milling about at the Jicol docks to go back home. Meanwhile you'll going to speak to some of the pirate contacts you have that might be currently in port. Not long after you conclude your last remaining business in Jicol, an explosion is heard followed by a loud rumble. Sounds like it's coming from the direction you just came from. Doesn't take long before people are running and screaming about the city sinking since whatever happened, the streets are being filled with water. You can probably guess what happened though. The Jicol Watch went ahead and fumbled down in Sneaks' rat maze and probably triggered a trap, which collapsed the tunnels just like you figured they would. It probably also caused enough water to flood everything and rise high enough to start flooding the nearby area as well. While it probably isn't going to cause the city to sink like how everyone is currently shouting and panicking about, it's certainly going be a lot of damage to repair. Also a big positive is the fact that in times of disasters, crime usually goes up. You imagine that some of the Jicol Watch is now down quite a few people too, so you predict that the League's forays into Jicol will still go relatively unscathed as long as you keep a low profile. When you get back home, you explain what happened, though Vera is just pleased to see you and says she's doesn't know why she worried in the first place. "Well, your words did help rein me in a bit. You were right, no need to take unnecessary chances if I don't need to, hence why I just left." You say. "Glad to hear it, but what about Sneaks? You think he's dead?" "Oh I imagine he had an escape plan in all this. We'll catch up to him again sooner or later, I'm not worried. I made preparations." "Okay then, if you say it's handled then I guess it is." Two months later... "Yeah, he's in there boss. Hasn't been too roughed up, like you said." Marco says. "Okay, good." You say and then enter the room. Upon entering you see an old defeated looking man in a chair, though not completely broken. Sneaks looks at you without hate, but more with an attitude of "Let's just get this over with already." However, you're not quite done yet. "I was starting to wonder when you'd ever try to get off the island. There was a bet going on that you would come here to try to assassinate me, but I always knew you'd try to run. It was the smartest play after what happened of course. What took you so long?" "Well if you hadn't noticed. I'm not just a wanted criminal for being the ex-leader of the JRC, but also for causing severe destruction to Jicol. Was a little difficult raising the coin to bribe my way onto a merchant ship since I knew you probably had all your pirate and smuggler buddies on the look out for me. Even trying to sneak aboard a ship was impossible. Maybe if I had been younger...fucking old age." "Yeah it sucks." "I should have known that you had connections everywhere, but I couldn't scrounge a damn living in the half drowned remnants of Jicol anymore. So I took a risk and got captured by a opportunistic merchant rather than a pirate or slaver, the result is the same I suppose." "If you had been smart, you would have left long before this even happened rather than forming the JRC in the first place. Shit, I didn't even know you were here until that happened. Why'd you bother? You usually always played things smart. Did revenge cloud your judgment?" "That was part of it I suppose. Imagine my surprise that I found out it was you of all people starting up a new organization here. All my old thoughts of remembering how you and Tanya betrayed all of us...well that made me feel like something needed to be done to stop you. If you had just been some random asshole, I wouldn't have bothered." "I guess I should be flattered." "I also really thought we could win. Wasn't like you were the ECS after all." "True, but you're forgetting that I also brought down the ECS in Holgard." "So I heard. I gotta admit, when I first met you, I thought you might go far in this profession...but I didn't see you quite as ruthless as all this. I mean maybe you aren't ECS, but you're sure copying their rulebook. What exactly did we DO to you anyway? Weren't we always good to you in the Guild? I mean I know Garrick was an asshole to you about Tanya but was betrayal really necessary? Couldn't you just let her go?" "At the time, I couldn't. Tried. Couldn't." "So basically Tanya is your excuse for your actions?" "No. Tanya's in the past. Has been for a long time. She left me long ago to seek her destiny in hell. This, is all me, though perhaps I am being influenced by another woman in my life, but then I have a son with her, so you could say I'm securing a future with my family." "Well it certainly is a legacy to be proud of. Slave trading ...even that's something I wouldn't have thought you capable of. Then again you already proved to be a traitor without any honor so I guess it isn't too surprising." At this point you're getting annoyed with Sneak's disappointed routine. Especially when it's meaningless. "You have no idea of what I'm capable of Sneaks. Honestly, I wouldn't even rank slave trading as the worst thing I've ever done. But since you're pointing the finger and moralizing like a Joachimite priest, let's turn this back on you for a moment. The day before I helped wipe out the Thieves Guild, YOU were gone. You must have already known the shit was going to get hot really quick and you turned tail and fled. You talk about how I betrayed everyone, but what about you? I was only a member for a few years and not even liked by Garrick. Why the fuck would I stay loyal? Tanya? She was a demonkin, you know demons can't be trusted. YOU were supposed to be Garrick's best friend and dedicated to his organization. Where the fuck were YOU?" Sneaks looks down and doesn't answer. "Did you even warn anyone that there might be an attack soon? Or did you just pick up your shit and run as fast

as you could as soon as you figured it out? In fact aren't YOU the one who said Garrick was a fool for having too much of a moral code?" you say. "Yes, you're right of course. There is no real honor among rogues. I ran like the preverbal thief in the night to save my own ass, and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I should have done it again as soon as I learned about you being here instead of letting sentimentality of my old friend and wounded pride cloud my judgment." Sneaks snorts and chuckles. "Thought that MAYBE I could even get some redemption for at least not dying with my friends years ago. Guess I finally get to make good on that now...unless you're planning on selling me into slavery like you have with so many others." You draw your pistol as you walk over to Sneaks. "No. I figure I at least owe you a quick death for old times sake. Not to mention you wrecking Jicol the way you did, you've given me even less to have to worry about since now that place doesn't even have the strong law enforcement numbers it once did, meaning the Nocturnal League's influence on it isn't even gone. Besides, I doubt even Vera would be able to talk a slaver into buying you for much anyway." You point your pistol right at Sneak's forhead as he looks up at you. "Any last words?" you ask. "Just a question. If I hadn't run all those years ago, would you have still killed me during the attack on the Guild?" Sneaks asks. You pause for a moment. You've gone over this scenario in the past a few times and you already know the answer. "Yes." "Hm, I guess this was worth it then." You shoot Sneaks causing his body to jerk back with enough force that he falls back on his chair to the floor. Never thought he'd be a loose end you'd have to tie up, but life is always full of surprises. In any case, the JCR is finally finished and with Jicol still trying to rebuild, you're in a stronger position than ever. Which is good, because you've recently heard news that the Ebony Claw Syndicate has recently retaken it's position back in Holgard by either re-assimilating the "Holgard League" (As your splinter group called itself) or crushing those that opposed the re-assimilation. You can only imagine that it's just a matter of time before they come sniffing around here eventually. Maybe it won't happen, but better that you be prepared so you don't end up like the Thieves' Guild or the JRC since that would be quite the ironic fate indeed. > Time passes... Year 33 You've had to deal with many struggles during your life and not all of them of the mundane criminal variety. If that were the case, your life would have probably been a lot simpler. The worst you believe was whenever you had to deal with magic shit. Specifically that time when you had to deal with the Neroth cultists. You really thought you were dead that night. If it hadn't been for Tanya, you would have. Hell, you would have been dead without her when you dealt with that bushwacking shadow magic using asshole Bolt as well. Then there was the time you had to deal with the Joachimites and while Tanya wasn't there for that, you still had some magical assistance of your own to take out Yinin. The point is, you always at least had a way to deal with magical threats. This however you have no idea... "Are you absolutely sure?" you ask. "Yes. I was sitting there watching Kol playing on the floor with some blocks and stacking them. Then I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because it looked like he was interacting with the shadows cast by the blocks due to the candle light. Then I realized that's exactly what he was doing." Vera remarks and she holds on to Kol who looks fairly unfazed by any of what you're discussing. He just smiles at you. You rub your hands on your head. "I told you making our home in a fucking Fel temple wasn't going to be a good idea." Vera remarks. "Duly noted, but that's not really helpful right now. What we need to do is go find someone with more magical knowledge than you or I to look at Kol." "Well who might that be? This island doesn't exactly have a lot of priests or wizard types." "There's that witch that runs that shop in Jicol." "Didn't her place get destroyed during the flood? Even if it didn't I'm not sure what some witch could do if Fel cursed our son." Suddenly a voice speaks causing you both to look toward the entryway of the room. "Your son hasn't been cursed by Fel, quite the opposite in fact. Your son has actually been blessed by him and he's now displaying the affects." Gertrude says. If you didn't like Gertrude acting as a "babysitter" on occasion before, the way she's speaking doesn't make you like her any better. You immediately start to move towards her. Meanwhile Gertrude immediately puts her hands up and backs away. "Boss! I'm not the enemy! Honest!" she quickly says as Vera grabs your shoulder to stop you. "Very well Gert, but you need to speak quickly NOW." Vera says. Gertrude breathes a sigh of relief and starts talking. "Okay, don't get mad, but I thought I saw the signs that your son had the shadow gift a few times before." Gertrude says. "Wait, you KNEW and didn't fucking tell us?!" you exclaim. "I wasn't sure! Like your wife, I thought maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me or I was overly tired. However a couple days ago something happened that couldn't possibly be the case. I saw Kol making shadows on the wall with his hands. At first it just seemed to be him trying to figure out what was going on and not realizing it was the candlelight causing it, but then the shadows began acting independent of what his hands were doing. Soon they became little figures which he watched and was amused by, and then they disappeared altogether. I would have told you sooner, but...I dunno I was sort of shook up myself about it and I couldn't figure out how to approach it and I kept going over..." "Alright, alright, fine, Gert. Does anyone else know?" Vera says. "Not to my knowledge. But again, this isn't a bad thing! This is a good thing! Your son obviously has natural shadow magic ability." "You seem to know a lot of about this, why is that exactly?" you say once again moving towards Gertrude. "Well, as I told your wife before, I came from a large family and my one of my younger brothers became a Felian priest. Oscar displayed similar signs of having shadow magic abilities, as he grew older. Bit more of a late bloomer than your son though, but they were still present. He of course went to the temple in Holgard, where they started training him immediately, but I guess he was really showing some talent because he ended up getting transferred to the main temple in the Delantium Kingdom. Haven't really spoken to him since, but I always figured that didn't hurt my own standing in the ECS at the time seeing as the two organizations were allies." "Okay, that explains a few things, but do you know how this happened exactly? I mean is it just because we're inhabiting a Fel Temple?" "I don't know. I mean I'm not an expert on the whole will of the gods thing. I imagine it probably is playing a part. When Oscar was born my mom went into labor right in front of the Fel Temple in Holgard, so I assume maybe something similar is going on here. Maybe infants just catch Fel's attention, but as I said, I'm no expert. We'd need to contact a priest of Fel to gain further information on all this stuff. In fact, you're probably going to want to do that anyway since his abilities are probably going to get stronger and he'll need the guidance. Don't really know any Fel priests on this island though." Gertrude says. You start shaking your head. "No, I'm not having my son joining a bunch of fanatics." You say. "Okay, but his powers might become uncontrollable without proper guidance and I think you both know just how dangerous shadow magic can be. He's obviously been chosen by Fel, so I don't think you have choice." Gertrude remarks. "That's bullshit, there's always a choice." "Gert, can you excuse us for a moment?" Vera asks. "Oh. Yeah sure." Gertrude leaves while Vera goes to put Kol (Who has fallen asleep during all this) in his basket. "Look Vera, I know you're close with Gertrude and she's been helpful, but I'm NOT inviting religious fanatics here, let alone having my son join them." You say. "Not sure why you're yelling, considering I agree, but I'm still leery about seeing some witch. I almost feel like we should just try to handle this ourselves." Vera remarks. "Well, it doesn't hurt to have a non-aligned magic user give their opinion, but if I feel like things are shady there, like her demanding his blood or something, then I'll be walking out of there as well." "Okay, but I'm still concerned about this." The next day, you gather up Kol and prepare to head to Jicol. You ask if Vera wants to come, but she says she has a bunch of slaves she needs to sell and besides all that she says if something goes wrong and you are both killed, she'll still be around to take revenge. Walking through the jungle nowadays is a lot safer nowadays, though that probably can't be said for Jicol. Ever since the city got half flooded, it's been having criminal activity problems, though not really coming from your end of things, since you've practically got your own small town now (Still trying to think of an official name for it). It's more along the lines of people who lost everything in the disaster are preying upon each other and other citizens in general. Between trying to still keep a strong naval force to ward off pirates and cleaning up after the disaster, Jicol's order attempts have been lack luster. So much for their plans of having a "clean city." You're not really concerned though since you're still capable of taking care of yourself and three of your people have offered to come with you, which seems wise just in case the desperate think about messing with you. Even the Jicol Watch isn't going to hassle you when they got people killing each other over qweepa meat. When you get to Jicol, it's looking about as well as it did the last time you bothered to come here. It's a bit of a chore to get to your destination since it's right around where most of the flooding occurred so you have to take a small boat to the area. One thing that's on the strange side is probably Kol. You were sort of expecting him to make a lot of noise or otherwise be lively during this whole thing, especially since this is his first real trip outside the temple, but he's been fairly quiet. Then again he's thankfully never been a loud child. Makes you wonder if his quietness also has something to do with Fel. You still haven't seen any of the evidence of shadow magic like your wife or Gertrude have though. You eventually find the shop you're looking for "Elegant Elixirs." You tell your people to wait outside and you open the door and you're immediately assaulted by the strong smell of herbs and who knows what else. It actually causes you to cough a bit. "Hm? Who is that? Better not be you Timothy, I told you I wouldn't have that endurance potion ready until tomorrow. The whores will just have to wait..." an old lady says as she comes out from another room. She sees you and she looks a bit surprised, but not overly so. "Oh. Well haven't seen you in here before. What brings the head of the Nocturnal League to my humble shop?" "You know who I am?" "Doesn't everyone? You're arguably better known than the Mayor of Jicol, ol' whatshisname. Probably more popular at this point too. Surprised you haven't just taken this city over, or what's left of it anyway." "Eh, I'm good with what I got right now. Anyway, I'm here to see you since you're the closest person I know to a wizard on this island." "Am I now? Funny, I usually get called a hedge witch at best and a charlatan that sells distilled goblin dung at worst...well I suppose that last bit is true, but I save that for the asshole customers." "Well as I said, I'm not here for potions, I'm here to see if you can assist me with my son's condition which I doubt if any potion is going to cure and a doctor isn't going to be able to help either." "Hm, I did notice you carrying a little one on you back. Son huh? Well sit him on the table over there and tell me what's going on then." You sit Kol on the table and being your tale, while the old witch begins studying him. As you're telling your tale, the witch does some sort of motion with her hands which briefly causes her to turn invisible. She then smiles and tells Kol to make the same hand gesture. "What are you doing?" You ask. "Shh, quiet." The witch says. Kol smiles back and he seems to understand what the witch wants him to do. After a couple of fumbled tries, he repeats the same thing the witch did and sure enough he too very briefly blinks out of existence. Then he laughs about it. "Well that checks out." "Shit. That's the first time I've actually seen Kol do any shadow magic stuff. So should I be concerned?" "About what exactly? Your son just happens to be the lucky few, that has natural magical talent. Just happens to be shadow oriented, though with a little training, he could probably become skilled in other types as well. I imagine some place like the magic university in Delantium would be a good place to send him if he really wants to take advantage of his abilities. Though I suppose the one in Klyton is okay if you want to save money." "But what about Fel?" "What about him? Oh you worried that your son is some chosen one or something? Let me tell you about Fel, he's like all the rest of the gods, doesn't really give a shit about any of us except as a source of amusement. You worship him or something?" "Not really, just wondered if we pissed him off by using his temple for something other than worship." "Unless you're openly cursing Fel name, I doubt if he's concerned. You would have certainly known by now. I mean I do agree that you probably caught his attention in some manner since your son is definitely skilled. Was he conceived in that temple by any chance?" "Uh, yeah. The timing is about right. It was odd too since my wife didn't think she was fertile." "She might not have been, Fel might have seen fit to give her a little help, hence why the boy has powers." You suddenly get a horrible thought. "Wait...you saying Fel fucked my wife and this is actually his son?" you ask. "No! Sheesh, you can't tell that the kid looks like you? My eyesight is shit and even I see the resemblance. I'm saying Fel just provided a little magical or in this case divine assistance as far as the baby process is concerned. Your intimacy caught Fel's attention since it probably was the first time in decades anything like that went on in the place. Why you might ask? Well because it's a little known fact that Fel gets bored very easily and he probably did it just to amuse himself. Seriously, if most of the Felians knew what Fel was REALLY like, that would change the whole damn religion forever. Or maybe some of them do, but don't care since it's convenient to keep the hierarchy structure in place." "You seem to know a lot about the Felians." "That's because I used to be one. In fact I was a member of that very temple you're currently using when I was young and foolish. Even had one of those silly names they all like using. Grayhaze. I suppose it was better than my original name at least. Don't ask." "Wait, before we moved in, hasn't that temple been abandoned for at least over a couple hundred years?" "Yeah?" Grayhaze says as if you're going to ask her age next. "Um, never mind. So you're saying Fel isn't going to bother us at all?" Grayhaze exhales a bit, scratches her brow before answering. "Well...I wouldn't necessarily say that. However, it's not going to be in the form of shadow demons or anything like that. That's actually not how he works despite what the reputation might be. Now once again, do you two worship Fel or acknowledge him in small some way?" "As I said, no. My wife didn't even like the idea of making the temple a headquarters." "Okay, good, then he's not going to fuck with either of you directly through your dreams. Though honestly Fel is more of a voyeur most of the time anyway. It's his minions that do all the heavy lifting so you'll want to avoid them. In fact, I'd say you shouldn't involve ANY Fel worshippers at all in this shit. They'd probably try to take your son away or something. Speaking of your son, now Fel MIGHT take more of a direct interest in him since he is linked to shadow magic, but again it's mostly going be in the form of petty mind games of manipulation. Still, that might be concerning since he's an impressionable child and all." "Great." "Could be worse. I mean Fel's an asshole, but at least it's not Neroth right? However, I think I can help you. It's going to cost you though." "Money's no object." "Oh well money's certainly nice, but I don't really need any. I do however need ingredients for my potions. Lots of useful stuff out in the jungle, but I don't get out much anymore, especially with this place being half submerged nowadays. I got a garden, but just can't grow certain things in these conditions you know?" "So you want me to gather plants for you?" "Well you can send your underlings to do it for all I care, but what I want is a free lifetime supply of alchemy supplies and the like. I know you're a man of means so should be pretty easy for you. Again, I don't care where you get them from, but I'm going to make a list and that's what I want. And when I run out or need something else, I'm going to want you to provide it for free." "This better be some really good help if you're making all these demands." "Oh it is, I assure you. I don't get much call for enchantments, probably because nobody bothers to ask, but I got a medallion lying around that I can enchant for your son to wear so when he goes to sleep it should block out any potential mental meddling." You look at Kol and you look at Grayhaze and you can't help but have more questions. "What about his magical powers?" "What about them? I mean he'll continue to have those. That's a separate issue." "Should he have training so he doesn't accidently blow something up?" "Well I hope you aren't asking me to train him, I'm far too old and like my free time too much. Honestly, he's probably not going to display too much power until he's a little older than he is right now. However, I suppose I do have an old magic tome I can sell you. I don't need it anymore and I have a few more, but he should probably start off with something simple when it looks like his abilities are getting a bit out of hand. While you may not be magical yourself, you can still assist him. Don't worry, it's in common so you or your wife can at least read the words in it, assuming you're both literate." "Yes we can read." You say with annoyance. "I'll take the book too." "Very good. Okay, so our deal for the medallion and a hundred gold for the book. It'll take me some time to enchant the medallion so come back in an hour unless you want to wait." "Nah, I'll come back, I have to go get the coin anyway. Come on Kol." You take Kol and head back outside. You wonder where your people are since they're nowhere to be found. Since you know that they know better than to just fuck off while they're supposed to be helping you, you can only imagine one possibility... "Don't move." You turn and see Gertrude standing nearby with the people you came with and all of them are pointing flintlocks at you. "Knew you were untrustworthy." You say. "Well a good leader tends to have good instincts. If it's any consolation, I really didn't want it to go down this way and it's nothing personal." Gertrude remarks. "Nothing personal? Not sure if I believe that given that you're pointing a pistol at me." "Look, I was part of the Ebony Claw and you know how powerful they are. When they dissolved in Holgard I could hardly believe it. When I learned that you had a hand in that to some degree and you stepped in with building the Nocturnal League, I thought that maybe you were definitely a man worth following. I even thought relocating was a good idea than staying in Holgard." "Is this the part where you tell me why exactly you decided to be a traitorous piece of shit? Because if it is, then hurry up." Gertrude laughs. "Traitor? You're calling ME a traitor? What the fuck did you do? You betrayed not only the Thieves Guild, but the Ebony Claw Syndicate as well! All of which I might add is ALL catching up with you. Your old pal that escaped the Guild purge recently opposed you and now the Syndicate has retaken Holgard. How long is it going to be, before THEY decide they want revenge on you as well? Fuck that, I'm making a deal before they send in the assassin squad and murder us all in that temple." Gertrude says. "You really think the Syndicate is going to just accept you back into its ranks?" you respond. "I don't see why not actually. I never actually betrayed them, however, your son is going to be a nice bonus. If I take him to my brother, I'm pretty sure I can get him to pull some strings so I don't just get accepted but also a higher position in the Syndicate as well. So you see, this isn't being a traitor, this is improving my situation in life, that's what you did right?" "The difference is you're not going to live to see the results because if you think I'm going to just hand my son over, you're fucking delusional." "You put up a fight and you may not be the only casualty. Hand Kol over and I can assure you that your son will most likely have a better life than he would with you. The priests will probably see him as a chosen of Fel or something. Surely you would rather have your son be in his own position of power some day rather than a dead brat at the bottom of the Jicol bay." > You shield Kol from harm You're not handing Kol over and you sure as hell aren't going to let any harm come to him. You immediately turn with Kol in your arms and duck down while trying to run back into the store. And you are not quick enough as two shots go right into your back causing you to fall but somehow you miraculously manage to shift your weight so you don't completely crush Kol in the process, though he's definitely under you and not happy about it because he's crying quite loudly. You almost want to join him given how much pain you're currently in. "What the fuck are you idiots doing!? You could have hurt the baby! We need him alive!" you hear Gertrude remark "Sorry Gert." One says. "Don't be sorry, just fucking get the baby and let's...shit he's not dead!" You interrupt their little spat by managing to turn over and barely sitting yourself up. You manage to fire off your pistol, killing two of them. Gertrude fires and the last one however manage to hit you again just before your last shots bring them both down as well. Your body once again falls back to the ground in pain causing you to shout out. Though the pain now is only in your upper body since the lower half has gone numb, you can't even move your legs. Your son cries nearby and you don't think you're surviving this one. Probably due to the shooting, nobody is around of course. You feel like all the strength is leaving your body and lacking any other ideas, you call out Grayhaze's name in the hopes that maybe she can help you. You do this for quite some time, but she doesn't arrive, neither does anyone else and you're starting to get sleepy. You try to calm Kol down with an increasingly weaker voice. Just as you're starting to lose consciousness, Grayhaze comes out of her store. She sees you and shakes her head. "Shit. I was hoping I was hearing things when I heard my name being called. Especially when not that many know it. I can't do anything for you. Your wounds are too severe and there isn't enough time." Grayhaze says. "Just...t...ake Kol...conta...ct...Vera...in the...League..." That's your last request, you can only hope that Grayhaze follows it.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] Year 33 You've had to deal with many struggles during your life and not all of them of the mundane criminal variety. If that were the case, your life would have probably been a lot simpler. The worst you believe was whenever you had to deal with magic shit. Specifically that time when you had to deal with the Neroth cultists. You really thought you were dead that night. If it hadn't been for Tanya, you would have. Hell, you would have been dead without her when you dealt with that bushwacking shadow magic using asshole Bolt as well. Then there was the time you had to deal with the Joachimites and while Tanya wasn't there for that, you still had some magical assistance of your own to take out Yinin. The point is, you always at least had a way to deal with magical threats. This however you have no idea... "Are you absolutely sure?" you ask. "Yes. I was sitting there watching Kol playing on the floor with some blocks and stacking them. Then I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because it looked like he was interacting with the shadows cast by the blocks due to the candle light. Then I realized that's exactly what he was doing." Vera remarks and she holds on to Kol who looks fairly unfazed by any of what you're discussing. He just smiles at you. You rub your hands on your head. "I told you making our home in a fucking Fel temple wasn't going to be a good idea." Vera remarks. "Duly noted, but that's not really helpful right now. What we need to do is go find someone with more magical knowledge than you or I to look at Kol." "Well who might that be? This island doesn't exactly have a lot of priests or wizard types." "There's that witch that runs that shop in Jicol." "Didn't her place get destroyed during the flood? Even if it didn't I'm not sure what some witch could do if Fel cursed our son." Suddenly a voice speaks causing you both to look toward the entryway of the room. "Your son hasn't been cursed by Fel, quite the opposite in fact. Your son has actually been blessed by him and he's now displaying the affects." Gertrude says. If you didn't like Gertrude acting as a "babysitter" on occasion before, the way she's speaking doesn't make you like her any better. You immediately start to move towards her. Meanwhile Gertrude immediately puts her hands up and backs away. "Boss! I'm not the enemy! Honest!" she quickly says as Vera grabs your shoulder to stop you. "Very well Gert, but you need to speak quickly NOW." Vera says. Gertrude breathes a sigh of relief and starts talking. "Okay, don't get mad, but I thought I saw the signs that your son had the shadow gift a few times before." Gertrude says. "Wait, you KNEW and didn't fucking tell us?!" you exclaim. "I wasn't sure! Like your wife, I thought maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me or I was overly tired. However a couple days ago something happened that couldn't possibly be the case. I saw Kol making shadows on the wall with his hands. At first it just seemed to be him trying to figure out what was going on and not realizing it was the candlelight causing it, but then the shadows began acting independent of what his hands were doing. Soon they became little figures which he watched and was amused by, and then they disappeared altogether. I would have told you sooner, but...I dunno I was sort of shook up myself about it and I couldn't figure out how to approach it and I kept going over..." "Alright, alright, fine, Gert. Does anyone else know?" Vera says. "Not to my knowledge. But again, this isn't a bad thing! This is a good thing! Your son obviously has natural shadow magic ability." "You seem to know a lot of about this, why is that exactly?" you say once again moving towards Gertrude. "Well, as I told your wife before, I came from a large family and my one of my younger brothers became a Felian priest. Oscar displayed similar signs of having shadow magic abilities, as he grew older. Bit more of a late bloomer than your son though, but they were still present. He of course went to the temple in Holgard, where they started training him immediately, but I guess he was really showing some talent because he ended up getting transferred to the main temple in the Delantium Kingdom. Haven't really spoken to him since, but I always figured that didn't hurt my own standing in the ECS at the time seeing as the two organizations were allies." "Okay, that explains a few things, but do you know how this happened exactly? I mean is it just because we're inhabiting a Fel Temple?" "I don't know. I mean I'm not an expert on the whole will of the gods thing. I imagine it probably is playing a part. When Oscar was born my mom went into labor right in front of the Fel Temple in Holgard, so I assume maybe something similar is going on here. Maybe infants just catch Fel's attention, but as I said, I'm no expert. We'd need to contact a priest of Fel to gain further information on all this stuff. In fact, you're probably going to want to do that anyway since his abilities are probably going to get stronger and he'll need the guidance. Don't really know any Fel priests on this island though." Gertrude says. You start shaking your head. "No, I'm not having my son joining a bunch of fanatics." You say. "Okay, but his powers might become uncontrollable without proper guidance and I think you both know just how dangerous shadow magic can be. He's obviously been chosen by Fel, so I don't think you have choice." Gertrude remarks. "That's bullshit, there's always a choice." "Gert, can you excuse us for a moment?" Vera asks. "Oh. Yeah sure." Gertrude leaves while Vera goes to put Kol (Who has fallen asleep during all this) in his basket. "Look Vera, I know you're close with Gertrude and she's been helpful, but I'm NOT inviting religious fanatics here, let alone having my son join them." You say. "Not sure why you're yelling, considering I agree, but I'm still leery about seeing some witch. I almost feel like we should just try to handle this ourselves." Vera remarks. "Well, it doesn't hurt to have a non-aligned magic user give their opinion, but if I feel like things are shady there, like her demanding his blood or something, then I'll be walking out of there as well." "Okay, but I'm still concerned about this." The next day, you gather up Kol and prepare to head to Jicol. You ask if Vera wants to come, but she says she has a bunch of slaves she needs to sell and besides all that she says if something goes wrong and you are both killed, she'll still be around to take revenge. Walking through the jungle nowadays is a lot safer nowadays, though that probably can't be said for Jicol. Ever since the city got half flooded, it's been having criminal activity problems, though not really coming from your end of things, since you've practically got your own small town now (Still trying to think of an official name for it). It's more along the lines of people who lost everything in the disaster are preying upon each other and other citizens in general. Between trying to still keep a strong naval force to ward off pirates and cleaning up after the disaster, Jicol's order attempts have been lack luster. So much for their plans of having a "clean city." You're not really concerned though since you're still capable of taking care of yourself and three of your people have offered to come with you, which seems wise just in case the desperate think about messing with you. Even the Jicol Watch isn't going to hassle you when they got people killing each other over qweepa meat. When you get to Jicol, it's looking about as well as it did the last time you bothered to come here. It's a bit of a chore to get to your destination since it's right around where most of the flooding occurred so you have to take a small boat to the area. One thing that's on the strange side is probably Kol. You were sort of expecting him to make a lot of noise or otherwise be lively during this whole thing, especially since this is his first real trip outside the temple, but he's been fairly quiet. Then again he's thankfully never been a loud child. Makes you wonder if his quietness also has something to do with Fel. You still haven't seen any of the evidence of shadow magic like your wife or Gertrude have though. You eventually find the shop you're looking for "Elegant Elixirs." You tell your people to wait outside and you open the door and you're immediately assaulted by the strong smell of herbs and who knows what else. It actually causes you to cough a bit. "Hm? Who is that? Better not be you Timothy, I told you I wouldn't have that endurance potion ready until tomorrow. The whores will just have to wait..." an old lady says as she comes out from another room. She sees you and she looks a bit surprised, but not overly so. "Oh. Well haven't seen you in here before. What brings the head of the Nocturnal League to my humble shop?" "You know who I am?" "Doesn't everyone? You're arguably better known than the Mayor of Jicol, ol' whatshisname. Probably more popular at this point too. Surprised you haven't just taken this city over, or what's left of it anyway." "Eh, I'm good with what I got right now. Anyway, I'm here to see you since you're the closest person I know to a wizard on this island." "Am I now? Funny, I usually get called a hedge witch at best and a charlatan that sells distilled goblin dung at worst...well I suppose that last bit is true, but I save that for the asshole customers." "Well as I said, I'm not here for potions, I'm here to see if you can assist me with my son's condition which I doubt if any potion is going to cure and a doctor isn't going to be able to help either." "Hm, I did notice you carrying a little one on you back. Son huh? Well sit him on the table over there and tell me what's going on then." You sit Kol on the table and being your tale, while the old witch begins studying him. As you're telling your tale, the witch does some sort of motion with her hands which briefly causes her to turn invisible. She then smiles and tells Kol to make the same hand gesture. "What are you doing?" You ask. "Shh, quiet." The witch says. Kol smiles back and he seems to understand what the witch wants him to do. After a couple of fumbled tries, he repeats the same thing the witch did and sure enough he too very briefly blinks out of existence. Then he laughs about it. "Well that checks out." "Shit. That's the first time I've actually seen Kol do any shadow magic stuff. So should I be concerned?" "About what exactly? Your son just happens to be the lucky few, that has natural magical talent. Just happens to be shadow oriented, though with a little training, he could probably become skilled in other types as well. I imagine some place like the magic university in Delantium would be a good place to send him if he really wants to take advantage of his abilities. Though I suppose the one in Klyton is okay if you want to save money." "But what about Fel?" "What about him? Oh you worried that your son is some chosen one or something? Let me tell you about Fel, he's like all the rest of the gods, doesn't really give a shit about any of us except as a source of amusement. You worship him or something?" "Not really, just wondered if we pissed him off by using his temple for something other than worship." "Unless you're openly cursing Fel name, I doubt if he's concerned. You would have certainly known by now. I mean I do agree that you probably caught his attention in some manner since your son is definitely skilled. Was he conceived in that temple by any chance?" "Uh, yeah. The timing is about right. It was odd too since my wife didn't think she was fertile." "She might not have been, Fel might have seen fit to give her a little help, hence why the boy has powers." You suddenly get a horrible thought. "Wait...you saying Fel fucked my wife and this is actually his son?" you ask. "No! Sheesh, you can't tell that the kid looks like you? My eyesight is shit and even I see the resemblance. I'm saying Fel just provided a little magical or in this case divine assistance as far as the baby process is concerned. Your intimacy caught Fel's attention since it probably was the first time in decades anything like that went on in the place. Why you might ask? Well because it's a little known fact that Fel gets bored very easily and he probably did it just to amuse himself. Seriously, if most of the Felians knew what Fel was REALLY like, that would change the whole damn religion forever. Or maybe some of them do, but don't care since it's convenient to keep the hierarchy structure in place." "You seem to know a lot about the Felians." "That's because I used to be one. In fact I was a member of that very temple you're currently using when I was young and foolish. Even had one of those silly names they all like using. Grayhaze. I suppose it was better than my original name at least. Don't ask." "Wait, before we moved in, hasn't that temple been abandoned for at least over a couple hundred years?" "Yeah?" Grayhaze says as if you're going to ask her age next. "Um, never mind. So you're saying Fel isn't going to bother us at all?" Grayhaze exhales a bit, scratches her brow before answering. "Well...I wouldn't necessarily say that. However, it's not going to be in the form of shadow demons or anything like that. That's actually not how he works despite what the reputation might be. Now once again, do you two worship Fel or acknowledge him in small some way?" "As I said, no. My wife didn't even like the idea of making the temple a headquarters." "Okay, good, then he's not going to fuck with either of you directly through your dreams. Though honestly Fel is more of a voyeur most of the time anyway. It's his minions that do all the heavy lifting so you'll want to avoid them. In fact, I'd say you shouldn't involve ANY Fel worshippers at all in this shit. They'd probably try to take your son away or something. Speaking of your son, now Fel MIGHT take more of a direct interest in him since he is linked to shadow magic, but again it's mostly going be in the form of petty mind games of manipulation. Still, that might be concerning since he's an impressionable child and all." "Great." "Could be worse. I mean Fel's an asshole, but at least it's not Neroth right? However, I think I can help you. It's going to cost you though." "Money's no object." "Oh well money's certainly nice, but I don't really need any. I do however need ingredients for my potions. Lots of useful stuff out in the jungle, but I don't get out much anymore, especially with this place being half submerged nowadays. I got a garden, but just can't grow certain things in these conditions you know?" "So you want me to gather plants for you?" "Well you can send your underlings to do it for all I care, but what I want is a free lifetime supply of alchemy supplies and the like. I know you're a man of means so should be pretty easy for you. Again, I don't care where you get them from, but I'm going to make a list and that's what I want. And when I run out or need something else, I'm going to want you to provide it for free." "This better be some really good help if you're making all these demands." "Oh it is, I assure you. I don't get much call for enchantments, probably because nobody bothers to ask, but I got a medallion lying around that I can enchant for your son to wear so when he goes to sleep it should block out any potential mental meddling." You look at Kol and you look at Grayhaze and you can't help but have more questions. "What about his magical powers?" "What about them? I mean he'll continue to have those. That's a separate issue." "Should he have training so he doesn't accidently blow something up?" "Well I hope you aren't asking me to train him, I'm far too old and like my free time too much. Honestly, he's probably not going to display too much power until he's a little older than he is right now. However, I suppose I do have an old magic tome I can sell you. I don't need it anymore and I have a few more, but he should probably start off with something simple when it looks like his abilities are getting a bit out of hand. While you may not be magical yourself, you can still assist him. Don't worry, it's in common so you or your wife can at least read the words in it, assuming you're both literate." "Yes we can read." You say with annoyance. "I'll take the book too." "Very good. Okay, so our deal for the medallion and a hundred gold for the book. It'll take me some time to enchant the medallion so come back in an hour unless you want to wait." "Nah, I'll come back, I have to go get the coin anyway. Come on Kol." You take Kol and head back outside. You wonder where your people are since they're nowhere to be found. Since you know that they know better than to just fuck off while they're supposed to be helping you, you can only imagine one possibility... "Don't move." You turn and see Gertrude standing nearby with the people you came with and all of them are pointing flintlocks at you. "Knew you were untrustworthy." You say. "Well a good leader tends to have good instincts. If it's any consolation, I really didn't want it to go down this way and it's nothing personal." Gertrude remarks. "Nothing personal? Not sure if I believe that given that you're pointing a pistol at me." "Look, I was part of the Ebony Claw and you know how powerful they are. When they dissolved in Holgard I could hardly believe it. When I learned that you had a hand in that to some degree and you stepped in with building the Nocturnal League, I thought that maybe you were definitely a man worth following. I even thought relocating was a good idea than staying in Holgard." "Is this the part where you tell me why exactly you decided to be a traitorous piece of shit? Because if it is, then hurry up." Gertrude laughs. "Traitor? You're calling ME a traitor? What the fuck did you do? You betrayed not only the Thieves Guild, but the Ebony Claw Syndicate as well! All of which I might add is ALL catching up with you. Your old pal that escaped the Guild purge recently opposed you and now the Syndicate has retaken Holgard. How long is it going to be, before THEY decide they want revenge on you as well? Fuck that, I'm making a deal before they send in the assassin squad and murder us all in that temple." Gertrude says. "You really think the Syndicate is going to just accept you back into its ranks?" you respond. "I don't see why not actually. I never actually betrayed them, however, your son is going to be a nice bonus. If I take him to my brother, I'm pretty sure I can get him to pull some strings so I don't just get accepted but also a higher position in the Syndicate as well. So you see, this isn't being a traitor, this is improving my situation in life, that's what you did right?" "The difference is you're not going to live to see the results because if you think I'm going to just hand my son over, you're fucking delusional." "You put up a fight and you may not be the only casualty. Hand Kol over and I can assure you that your son will most likely have a better life than he would with you. The priests will probably see him as a chosen of Fel or something. Surely you would rather have your son be in his own position of power some day rather than a dead brat at the bottom of the Jicol bay." > You use Kol as a shield This is probably the biggest risk that you are EVER going to take, or at least one of the most questionable ones. You can't even believe you're considering it, but given that Gert and the rest have the drop on you, it might be your only chance. You're going to bet that despite her threat, Gertrude is NOT going to risk shooting your son. Besides wanting him to advance her own status, she probably did develop some form of connection while she was baby-sitting and you're not convinced she's going to be that ruthless anyway. You hold Kol close who doesn't know quite what's going on and to your surprise... "Dada!" Kol says. "Fucking great. Your first words. Look, if we both get out of this alive, never tell your mother about this." You say, and kiss his forehead. You then crouch down and stretch your arms out to place Kol in front of you and begin moving back and forth in a jerky motion. Gertrude's expression would almost be funny if this wasn't so serious. "Wha...SERIOUSLY? You are fucked up! NO, DON'T!" Gertrude shouts and prevents one of the other traitors from firing at you, or rather pushes his arm so the shot goes wild. While they're arguing amongst themselves, this gives you the split second you need to drop Kol (Which since you're crouching, isn't far at all) and pull your own pistol. "SHIT!" Gertrude shouts and at this point loses all of her confidence and tries to run. You shoot the two traitors that didn't fire yet and then on the one that did. Then you shoot Gertrude in the back. With all your assailants down, you immediately check on Kol who isn't physically hurt, but is upset by all the loud noise. "Yeah, I know, the bad people made a lot of loud noise. Shhhh, it's okay. It's over now. Well actually let's make sure." You pick Kol up in one arm and walk over to the bodies of the traitors who are indeed dead. A little further up though you see Gertrude still moving a little and groaning. You quicken your pace and stop her from trying to get in a shot at you as her last act. "Shit...fuck...agh..." Gertrude utters as you step on her wrist, take away her weapon and kick her over. "Good, you're not dead yet. Now, you need to tell me who else was involved in this little scheme or I'm going to pop into that hag's shop and buy something to keep you alive so I can torture the shit out of you until you DO tell me everything." You threaten. "Please...no..." "Start talking then bitch." "But...how do I know you won't believe me and torture me anyway?" "You don't! But if you don't start talking, I'm going to keep you alive for years to torture on general principle! Each day will be a living hell and you'll be praying to ALL the gods for the merciful release of death!" "Okay! There's nobody else! I barely even trusted these fuckers enough to follow me with this plan." "You in contact with the Felians or the ECS?" "No...I was planning on...agh...doing that when I got to the mainland." "Anything else?" "Nothing else, I swear!" "You know what Gert?" "...what?" "I believe you." Gertrude closes her eyes, and grits her teeth, bracing for her death as you put two in her head. No sign of the Jicol Watch, in fact no sign of anyone. You use this opportunity to loot the bodies of whatever valuables they might have had on them since you need the coin for the book anyway. Happily Gertrude seemed to have a nice sized sapphire on her, which should definitely cover the cost in addition to the gold you do have. Since it's one less thing for you to worry about, you figure you'll go in and just wait in Grayhaze's shop for the remainder of your time here. You head back into Grayhaze's shop as you continue to attempt to calm Kol down. Doesn't take long before she comes out of the back to see what's going on. "If you expect me to get this enchantment finished in a timely manner, you're going to have to keep the noise down." Grayhaze says. "Apologies, I've almost got him quiet." You respond. "I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about whatever it is that happened outside. I might be old, but my hearing isn't. I heard shouting and several gunshots. I'm guessing that you had something to do with that. Hope you didn't leave a mess right outside my door because the Jicol Watch rarely comes out this way to clean up anything." "Well the bodies aren't exactly outside your front door, more like just near your shop. One of them is just outside the butcher's shop a few doors down though." "Great, I'll have to remember to go get my meat from elsewhere for the next month, because I know what the cheapskate owner's going to do. Though I suppose things are tough all over...if you could, drag those bodies that ARE outside my shop in here. I'll knock off a few coins for the book." "Uh, sure I suppose I can do that. I won't overlook a chance to get a discount." "Glad to hear it. And because I can already see it running through your mind, no I am NOT going to eat the bodies. I'm going to harvest some of the organs for potion ingredients." "Hey, I don't care what you do with them, though aren't you really just making other people into cannibals if you're using corpse parts to make potions?" "Eh, by that time, it'll be a diluted mixture filled with so much other stuff that it's not worth even considering. Besides, it's really no worse than what I put into some of my potions. If some of these customers knew what I used in my sexual prowess potions, I guarantee they'd probably rather go lacking in that area." After a period of dragging bodies, keeping Kol entertained and general waiting around, eventually Grayhaze is finished with her task and comes back with a small black medallion and a small book. "It's finished. This chain is small enough that it should go around the boy's neck without it falling off in his sleep. However, I'm not a blacksmith so if you're concerned with it breaking, you might want to get a better one made. Obviously the boy is going to grow, so you'll obviously have to get a bigger chain eventually anyway. It's the medallion that's enchanted though

, so no need to worry about losing the magic." "Okay, do I need to bring this in to recharge it at some point?" "You shouldn't need to. However, I can do this enchantment on any item. So if you brought in a ring, which might be a more secure item for your son to wear in the future, it won't cost anything as long as you stick to the deal. You don't however and you can forget about me doing you any sort of business with you ever again." "Sounds good to me." "Good, here's the book, the list of the various ingredients I'll be needing is in it." "And here's the coin, hope you'll accept a sapphire." "Yeah that's fine." After a few more moments of Grayhaze explaining when Kol should probably start actively training from the book and how you can assist in this manner, you take your leave. It isn't until night that you finally get back to which Vera is relieved to see you both. Kol actually fell asleep on the journey. "I was about to send some people to Jicol to go after you guys. What's this around Kol's neck?" Vera says as she takes Kol from you. "Protection, in fact we've a lot to discuss. However, I think things are going to be fine." "Glad it turned out well then. Tell me all about it. But first, things have been busy here and I think Marco and the rest of his immediate crew wanted to see you tomorrow to ask about building their own ship or something. Says he's got an idea that will make us bunch of coin. Who knows though. I've also got some slavers coming in so I'll be busy as well tomorrow." "It's fine. I'll take Kol with me." "You will? Um, okay. Usually you don't." "It's fine. I probably should spend more time with him anyway." Vera smiles a bit. "Well this is a nice side to see of you. Still, you sure? I mean I'm sure Gertrude can look after him if you find that you've got more to do than you planned." Vera says. "Yeah, I'm sure because I just fired Gertrude." You say. "Fired? Wait...really?" Vera says suddenly coming to the understanding of your words very quickly. "Yep, just one of the many changes that were needed for Kol's future well being. That one was probably the most fun though." > Times passes… Year 34 "I gotta say Marco, I was skeptical when you first brought the idea to me and going by the story you're telling me, I'd say I was completely right. Fortunately for you Yag smiles on fools and it worked out anyway." You remark. "Yeah...I suppose so." Marco says standing before you looking completely disheveled. "What I don't understand is why you came so clean with everything. I mean given the haul you brought in, I wasn't even going to bother asking you too many in depth questions." "Uh, yeah I know, but I was afraid if you thought everything went completely well, you would have sent us out again." "Hm, I suppose that was a bit of forward thinking on your part then, because you're probably right. Guess this is one of those rare cases where honesty was the best policy after all. Well I guess you and your little friends have finally gotten your pirate dreams out of your heads now." "Yeah, it sucks. Months out at sea, nothing to do. Rationing food and water. And the worst is getting lost. As I said, it was a good thing that merchant ship came when it did, our boat was starting to sink." "Certainly an unconventional way of taking over a ship. Signaling for help legitimately, being invited aboard as an act of mercy and then when you were feeling slightly better, you just held them all at gunpoint. Still, not only did you bring back an entire new ship intact, you brought back most of the crew as slaves, as well as all the loot. Not sure what we're going to do with crates of scrolls with Nichan writing all over them, but I'm sure someone is going to have an interest in this stuff. Always a market for something." Marco just nods silently, he's obviously just glad you aren't punishing him and he's back on dry land. You didn't think much of Marco and his "gang" when you first met them, and to be honest you still don't, but you suppose they've come a long way since those days or at least the ones that have survived have. "Alright Marco, I guess you and what's left of your group friends can go take some time or whatever for the next couple days. Don't go too far though, never know when some extra bodies might be needed." You say. "Thanks boss." Marco replies and takes his leave. With Marco's shit out of the way, you go about inspecting the latest expansions around the temple, which is now starting to resemble a "town hall" since there are separate buildings popping up all around it. These aren't just criminal types either opening up brothels or gambling centers. You've actually got a some ex-Jicol citizens opening up legitimate businesses since Jicol is on the downturn and they've lost their homes and businesses in that city thanks to the flooding disaster that the city STILL hasn't completely recovered from. Doesn't really hurt to have cooks, blacksmiths and the like around so you've assured that they will not be harassed as long as they pay the usual "protection tax." While it's not exactly a proper town, already people are starting to give it the name of Nightfall. You imagine the name is related to the Nocturnal League's name as well as the deity that the temple was once dedicated to. Speaking of Fel, you've been checking to make sure Kol hasn't been having any odd dreams or anything. So far so good, and Grayhaze's medallion is obviously working. He still casts his little shadow tricks every now and then, but again nothing major. You figure in another couple years he'll be ready to start learning from Grayhaze's book proper. As for you, the only concerns you've been having, as of late is the Ebony Claw Syndicate and to a lesser extent, the Jicol government. The ECS is always a looming threat in the back of your mind. You know there is going to be a reckoning with them soon and it's probably going to initially come in the form of intimidation first. So far they haven't even contacted you, though you imagine when they do it's probably going to be in the form of several shadow magic trained assassins. If they're feeling benevolent, they'll try to intimidate you first into paying them a cut of your profits and then get rid of you later. You suppose you could be big enough and out of the way enough that a take over might be considered costly for them and not worth it, but you can't help but believe that they'll try anyway. Your more immediate concern however is the Mayor of Jicol who has implemented draconian measures in rebuilding Jicol due to the fact that people were starting to leave the city and even coming to Nightfall. He's completely shut the gates to the city and not allowing anyone in or out unless it's by ship and even then it's only legitimate trade as Jicol has now banned all pirates and the like from using their harbor anymore. In fact if they come within a certain range of the city, they'll be fired upon. This has put a bit of a crimp in your own businesses a bit. Your own "habor" isn't nearly big enough to accommodate all the visitors you might get. You're trying to expand, but there is so much else to do. Not to mention slaver ships and pirates now have to sail all the way around the island to dock at Nightfall so they don't get fired on now. It's a pain in the ass for everyone involved. Getting Grayhaze's supplies to her is also a concern, you'll need to get those to her somehow and with the city locked down, the only option is to somehow sneak in which means either digging a tunnel and risking another flood, or taking a small boat and trying row around to one of the open areas where the sea and the city have no barrier, but that would be incredibly risky given the heightened security. Using swimmers would probably be less risky, but not much better. It was suggested a few times in the past that the League should just try to take over Jicol, but honestly it's not like that would have been really feasible or cost effective to even attempt. However, it's starting to look like you might have to do something though. You envision that it would be possible to have your people sneak in during the night and employ hit and run assassination tactics against the Jicol Watch, and ultimately open the gates to let the rest of your people in. Still, your numbers still aren't overwhelming enough to make the potential victory to not be costly. This isn't even counting the small fortress that the mayor of Jicol never leaves which again isn't a problem to get into, but who know what the hell is in store for you inside. Even if you take Jicol, you're still left with its naval forces. Who knows if they'll just surrender or not. Any plan to attack Jicol is going to come at a cost. Since you aren't sure what to do, you ask the only person you trust about all this. "I don't know." Vera says. "Great, I was hoping for some enlightenment on this situation." You remark. "Well I mean you've explained the pros and cons of everything and I more or less agree with everything, including not being sure of what the best approach is." "Well in any case, I gotta get the supplies to Grayhaze. Last thing I need is to piss off an old witch on top of everything." "Sneaking in the city shouldn't be an issue should it?" "Eh, it's going to be a pain in the ass, but it can be done. It's also possible that this is going to just be temporary and even if it isn't, it probably won't hurt our business too much and we'll survive." "Yeah, but...wait a minute. What about that merchant ship that Marco just brought in?" "What about it?" "Couldn't we use it to get into the Jicol harbor?" "Maybe once, and then they'd probably execute everyone on board. Our people aren't exactly the most subtle, if you were thinking about having them masquerade as merchants." "I dunno, Marco managed to do it and he's an idiot." "Marco and his crew were also genuinely in danger at the time so it was a lot more believable that they needed help." "Well why don't we do that?" "Do what?" "Put the ship in danger?" "What are you suggesting then?" "I'm saying we hire some pirates to attack our ship as it approaches Jicol. Naturally the Jicol navy is going to go into action and our ship safely gets in the harbor while they're distracted." "And then?" "Well then our people come screaming out of it and start wreaking havoc in the city." "Hm, certainly a different idea I had about infiltrating the city which involved sending a few to scale the walls or swim around and attack silently over the course of a few days." "Could work too. I mean if we did attack, we probably should go all the way with it so employing both tactics would be best. Also if we were going this route, with hiring pirates to provide back up, I think I can convince one I know Zamed, to lead." "Hm. I know who you're talking about. Never trusted him." "Well he's a pirate, of course he's not trust worthy, but he's had the most experience with doing privateer work for the Delantium Kingdom, so he'd probably be able to organize a small group of ships to harass our enemies effectively. Of course it would be very expensive to secure their reliability." "I dunno. I mean the plan with the merchant ship sounds okay, but I'm not sure if I want to pay out any more coin for pirate assistance. Also I don't see them lasting too long against the Jicol navy and that seems like a waste." "Well you wouldn't pay them all of it obviously and you could promise them some of the spoils. Either one of two things is going to happen. Either none of them survive and you won't have to pay them or some of them survive which means they turned out to be a better investment after all and you still probably won't have to pay much since I can't imagine there will be that many survivors." Well there's a couple ways you could go if you did decide to take over Jicol, though maybe the best solution is to just leave it be. > You attack Jicol with assistance Vera's right, if you're going to do this, you need to exploit every resource you can. "Alright, you have any idea if Zamed is coming around anytime soon?" you ask. "I believe he's probably due in a week or so. He's been getting sort of predictable as of late." Vera says. "Hate waiting, but fine. I suppose in the meantime I'll start getting shit ready on our side of things, since even if Zamed falls through, we're still doing this. Guess I better inform Marco that his days at sea aren't quite finished yet since he'll be the one to take the merchant ship seeing as he's got the most experience with it and nobody else here is much of a sailor." "Neither is Marco apparently from what you mentioned on his attempt to be a pirate." "Hm, I'm confident that he'll have at least enough experience to pull this off, since that's not going to be the hard part anyway, it's getting off the ship and out of the harbor area alive as soon as he enters it." Later when you inform Marco, (who was just starting to enjoy his time off) he is indeed not happy about hearing what his latest task is going to be, but you don't need him to be happy about it, just compliant. Which of course he is. He does carouse extra harder though for the remainder of the time off you've given him though. You inform the rest of the League of your plan and assign your most skilled to start finding ways (or making ways) of sneaking into the city now. You tell them not to engage anyone and to keep a low profile while they're scouting the security and such. You then tell them you want a report on everything within the next few days. Eventually the large dark skinned pirate known as Zamed comes into dock and you have a meeting with him as soon as he gets off the ship. He's a little surprised, but intrigued. "I have to say, I'm wondering what this is all about, you don't usually speak with me like Vera has in the past. How is she anyway? Last time I saw her she looked pretty fit. Glad to see having a child did not ruin her figure." Zamed says obviously trying to prod you. "Yep, she is and still as limber too. I'm very lucky man, but enough about her, let's talk about business. Sit." You say not even blinking an eye. Zamed snorts and sits down and you go into your plan and his place in it. Already he takes umbrage to the fact that you're including him even though he hasn't agreed to anything. "Wait a second, you're making a lot of assumptions here. I haven't agreed to this little plan of yours and I'm not sure what makes you think that I'm going to." Zamed remarks. "Because you like coin and you're not adverse to great risk. Why else would you have hired yourself out as a privateer for the Delantium Kingdom and getting in the middle of their war with Nichan? You could have easily made a comfortable living robbing fat merchant ships. Given all that, with my plan you stand to make a lot of coin and for significantly less risk." "I'm not so sure about that. I wasn't ever directly attacking a single Nichan city or facing the full might of their fleet. I just harassed and plundered their isolated ships, not to mention I planned out ambushes. Attacking Jicol is greater risk and you know it is, otherwise you wouldn't even be asking for help from the likes of me." "You're right. It IS a risk, but you're not doing this alone. The entire Nocturnal League is going to be assaulting the city at the same time you and whoever of your grog swilling buddies you can muster up for this task. As I said, there will be a sizable amount of coin for all of you in addition to whatever plunder you wish from the town itself...well except Elegant Elixirs." "Hrm. Why is that shop run by that old hag off limits?" "I have a deal with her." "Okay...well not really interested in such things anyway. And while your offer is interesting, I'm still not convinced going up against the Jicol navy is a good use of my time. You still haven't given an amount you intend to pay me and while plunder is nice, Jicol isn't exactly the most booming trading port anymore. They're having their own economy issues and stealing from poor cities that can put up a good fight isn't exactly profitable." "You're right about Jicol of course, but that's another reason why this isn't going to be as dangerous as you believe. While Jicol certainly has enough ships to still look impressive, I don't think you've been around lately to know what condition their fleet is truly in. They've had to forego their expensive upkeep and in some cases even downsize their crews. Jicol's small flotilla is a hollow version of its former self." "Is that right? I had heard that rumor a few months ago." "It's been a fact even before they closed their gates and tightened their security. Last gasp of a frightened government that knows its days are numbered. I mean it hasn't even fought anyone is quite sometime, how ready are they really without ongoing conflict to keep the skills sharp? You and I both know if you want to stay at the top of your field, you have to practice." "True." "And if you want to know the exact amount I'm ready to pay you, twenty thousand in gold coin. And that's just for you personally. Every captain you get under your command for this will get ten. However we both know there is going to be casualties, so YOU will get half of any dead captains' share. Now I'm sure you can do the math and realize that will be a shitload of riches correct?" Zamed's eyes glaze over at the fortune he stands to make from all this. "I suppose...with that sort of reward, the risk is worth it. However, I'd like to have half of my payment now." "Yeah and you not show up at all? Not risking that. The best I can do is give you a thousand for hearing me out as your taste of the rewards to come." "Well I had to try. So is there an exact timeframe for this assault?" You continue your discussion of your plan... A few months pass and eventually Zamed returns with six more ships, Marco and his crew are about as ready as they're going to be and your spies that have been sneaking in and out of Jicol, have made steps in opening the gates along with just creating as much havoc for ground forces as possible during the actual attack. As far as your involvement, you're going to take a lesson from the last time you led one of these attacks. Meaning you're not going to put yourself on the front lines and going to stay at a camp a mile away from Jicol's gates. The day of the attack within the first hour you can hear cannons going off even from your position further in the jungle. With any luck Marco's crew will manage to make it to the Jicol harbor without getting sunk in the crossfire. In another couple hours, a runner comes to you with news that your people have opened the gates and fighting is going on all over the city. Marco and his crew successfully entered the harbor and managed to fool the Jicol Watch long enough to break through, meanwhile Zamed's force has drawn away most of the Jicol ships, which are now fighting, in the open sea. No sooner has this runner given you this information when a loud explosion is heard along with a visible black cloud in the distance of the city, you surmise that Marco's merchant ship that was also full of explosives was set off in the harbor. A few days pass and you finally step foot into Jicol proper. The Jicol navy has been either put out of action at the bottom of the sea or sailed away. Zamed and his own people have already begun pillaging the city. There is resistance still of course, but so far things are looking completely in your favor and apparently the Mayor of Jicol's small fortress has already been breached. You head there immediately and find Marco standing outside giving orders though he looks almost as bad as he did when he came back from his foray as a pirate. "Marco! This may surprise you, but I am actually glad to see you're alive." You say. "Thanks boss, um we've almost taken the city, just trying to make our way to the mayor's inner sanctum." "Good, you remember the order was to keep him alive right?" "Yeah boss." "Okay. I heard Zamed lives, but do you know of the other pirate captains?" "Um, not sure. At least one of them I suppose." "Alright, you take some people and go find all those sea dogs and tell them I want to see them as soon as possible, I'll take it from here with the mayor here." Marco nods and you begin overseeing the final death knell of Jicol's government...at least as it currently exists. After forty five minutes of observing the chaos around you and waiting, eventually the Mayor of Jicol is presented before you. He's about as unimpressive as his title. An overweight older man with spectacles. On the paler side of things, which makes sense given how reclusive he was. Obviously more of a planner and bureaucrat than any sort of fighting ruler. And yet a stare of defiance still exists in his eye as he's being hauled out to you. "I should have had the Watch stomp out your organization years ago while you were in your infancy." He says. "I certainly would have. To be fair though this probably wouldn't have been possible if not for that flooding disaster. Never did quite recover from that." You say and then look at the destruction around you. "Wonder if this place will recover from this, going to take a lot to rebuild this place. I guess we'll see." You remark. "Just get it over with." "No, no, no, this isn't how we're playing this. At least not yet. We're both going to just stand here and talk while we wait for some of my people to come back." Since the mayor is in no mood to be talkative, you start things off by mentioning that it was a major mistake closing off his city in the way he did. You understand the reasoning, but by that time it just caused more enemies that might not have otherwise been. Like the pirates for one example. "Being a friendly harbor to pirates and the like made you fairly safe from them. I dare say it was a bigger deterrent than your navy in some respects. Changing what wasn't broken was foolish." You say. "Guess I'll remember that for the next city I oversee." The mayor remarks. "Glad you're staying optimistic." You talk to the mayor for a little while longer about how you've come to understand the struggles of running a town of sorts and how even though taking control of this place, you are not looking forward to the operations of it. The mayor just looks at you with a continued defiance until a couple of your people bring a woman in her late middle age to you. She probably was prettier back when she was younger. Now the mayor's eye betray him slightly as a glint of concern crosses his face before returning to defiance. "We all have someone we care about mayor. It's a weakness, but an unavoidable one for most I think. You're not married and this one is one of the few non military and non government people that had been seen entering this place on many occasions. So guessing this woman is a long time girlfriend? Perhaps even a daughter? Not both I hope..." "Whatever you have planned, I'm not playing your game." "This isn't a game mayor, but I think we're about to see one. Marco! You're back with Zamed and whoever these other people are." You say turning your attention away from the mayor and the woman for a moment. Marco and the people with him nod and stand back as Zamed and two other scruffy looking men stand before you. All three of them look annoyed that you've taken them away from whatever else they were doing. "I hope this is about our payment." Zamed says. "Oh it is. So out of the seven ships, you three are what's left huh? Didn't catch your names." You say. "Captain Elias of the Kraken." A fat bearded man slightly shorter than Zamed says. "Captain Nimi of the Seadragon." A weathered looking elf with odd coral looking armor says. "Wow, those are some impressive names for ships. Bet you lot gave hell to the Jicol navy." "Damn straight we did and those that we didn't sailed away like scared guppies!" Elias laughs. "As I recall, YOU nearly ran away like a scared guppy until I saved your fat ass." Nimi remarks. "I should cut yer tongue out for saying such lies, ya pointy eared boy lover!" "Gentlemen! I'm sure you both played your role." "Yes, but I'M the lead commander here! And I think it's time to pay the coin, have you brought it with you on a baggage cart somewhere?" "Oh I would never bring such a large sum with me. It can be picked up when you dock your ship at Nightfall. Let's see, four dead captains means you get an extra ten on top of the twenty you're already getting Zamed. And you two get ten apiece...now which one of you two nearly sailed away from battle again?" Nimi immediately says Elias who once again protests to the point where he's looking like he'l get violent. Meanwhile Zamed tells them both to shut up. "I saw the entire battle from the deck of my own ship and Elias you WERE about to sail away. In fact your ship and crew took the least damage out of everyone here! You oughta be glad that I'm not shooting you and taking half your share!" Zamed says. "Now that's a grand idea there Zamed. Marco..." you say. Zamed's eyes widen and he goes for his weapon. "N..." is all he gets out before you outdraw him and put three in his face. Meanwhile marco has killed the elf captain with a shot to the back of his head making his armor useless. Captain Elias stands there in shock as two of your men disarm him. He really is a big coward. "Shit! Don't..." Elias utters. "Shut up. Now I trust twenty thous

and gold is enough for you and enough to throw at your crew and the crews of these dead captains to ensure their loyalty under your new command of two more ships now?" you ask. "Um...sure! Yeah! That's more than enough for me and my...larger crew now!" "Glad to hear it. I suggest you go tell everyone of your good fortune and meet me at Nightfall in a day for your payment." Captain Elias and grovels gratitude before leaving. You snort a bit of laughter before walking over to the mayor and the woman who have been watching the entire time. "Now as I was saying, this isn't a game. You think I really want to run the boring day to day shit of a city, even a half destroyed one? I barely like doing it for the little town I run. No, better to leave that in the hands of someone with experience, someone like you. Of course this place will have to have new security now that all yours are dead, but I can provide that. Of course if you don't want the job..." you say and then look at the woman. "Fine. I'll do it." The mayor says probably rethinking everything after what everything he's seen. "Glad to hear it and don't worry, you'll have as much help as you need to rebuild this place. Come to think of it, we do have a surplus of slaves. Maybe Jicol could start using such cheap labor on a regular basis. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to see an old woman who has probably been wondering where her supply shipment has been for months." People have been suggesting it for years, but Jicol is finally under the grip of the Nocturnal League, meaning this entire island is under your control. If the Ebony Claw Syndicate sets foot on here now, you'll be in a stronger position to deal with them. At least that's the general idea. > Time passes... Year 35 Talking to two Syndicate representatives isn't exactly what you want to be doing right now, but this day was coming one way or another. The well-dressed man with a thin mustache is Percy and has been the more talkative of the two. The other by the name of Toz is some sort of greenskin halfbreed also well dressed. Probably of orc heritage since he's much bigger than Warts was. He also doesn't talk much and mainly just stands around looking intimidating. Unsurprisingly the pair of them have shadow magic powers. However you anticipated that which why you had Grayhaze enchant something that would at least even up the odds. A ring. Not quite an anti-magic field, but something to dull the shadow magic around you. Probably wouldn't be enough to stop them if they really wanted to kill you, but along with all your more mundane security, it's enough to give them pause if they tried. However if that were the intent, you probably wouldn't be having a conversation at all. "I have to say, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when the Syndicate sent me here, but I am a little impressed with what your organization has accomplished in such a short amount of time. You certainly have not just carved out this little island for yourself, but much of sea paths on this side of the world. You're practically like your own nation." Percy remarks. "Never thought about it that way, but I suppose you might be right. I also suppose I should be wondering if the Delantium Kingdom will be declaring war on me to put an outpost here." You say with a mild chuckle. "I believe they have their hands quite full still with Nichan, though I hear you're starting to have more trouble with Hessla nowadays. I imagine you would be major competition for their once near monopoly on business for this part of the world." "Hm, I guess you could say relations are strained with Hessla, but we offered them a fair deal. Their Governor is the one that decided to be greedy and reject it. His unwillingness to embrace in a positive manner change is what is causing people to do less business there. He probably fears that I'm going to come there with a fleet and take his city like I did with Jicol, but it's not even the same situation. The Nocturnal League doesn't seek to expand past our reach. This island is more than enough territory for us." "They say it's a wise man who knows his limitations. Perhaps by making your home in an old temple once dedicated to Fel has resulted in him providing that wisdom. Ah, tis a shame that the Syndicate only just started sending people this way. Reclaiming a lost temple to his great shadow would have been not just a boon to the Syndicate, but to the glory of Fel." You always hate how intertwined the Syndicate is with the whole Fel religion. Makes dealing with them always uncertain. Are they interested in profit or are they interested in spreading faith? "Oh well, the Syndicate's loss for being too slow when opportunity called I suppose. Doesn't happen often, but we hope to correct that by hopefully having a working relationship with your organization." Percy remarks. "Well I certainly want an amicable relationship with the Syndicate and as I said, I have no intention on expanding into your territory." "Yes, so you've said. However, your island is becoming very popular in terms of the slave trade. It's just one of the big reason why Hessla is so angry with you. The Syndicate has never relied on the slave trade as our main source of income, indeed for whatever reason it's just never been a cornerstone. One of the few things we're just dabblers in. We're trying again however, and while Hessla in the past has always been a stubborn partner in such thing in the past, we're hoping the League's rising status in this part of the world will be more open in such matters." "So basically what you're saying is instead of you having to deal with independent slavers all the time, you want to just deal with us." 'We find that it's always better to deal with a single reliable source rather than all these unwashed disorganized types. We would of course bring our own ship here for pick up. Also we've notice that the drug of choice here on this island is either Green Lotus or that very poor substitute of Blue Dream, Purple Wish. As part of our new arrangement we could provide Blue Dream for you to distribute here. Makes a lot of money, we should know after all." And here it is, the Syndicate trying to get their foot just enough in the door. "Yes, I suppose you've given me a lot to think about as far as business is concerned." You say. "Oh sure, we understand. We're going to be in Jicol for awhile so we can sort out details then. Honestly, I'd prefer to stay here in Nightfall closer to the temple, but Toz here is a little on the paranoid side and doesn't wish to sleep in the heart of... let's just say, an unproven ally's home, but I'm sure that will change soon! Besides, Fel's shadow is everywhere after all and his dark blessing is with his faithful always." Percy remarks. At this point Percy says a few more pleasantries and then remarks about looking forward to the meeting with you in a few days. Toz on the other hand just stares at you with the typical hostile greenskin eyes and follows Percy. After they leave, several of your people escort them out of the room and anyone else left, seems to relax slightly. "So that's the average Syndicate member, boss?" Marco asks. "Not the average. They wouldn't send their average. They send their more threatening to talk to someone like me. They also sent an extra one, which I guess means I'm really special. Lucky me." You say. "So you think we should just kill them?" "Ideally that would be the safest move in the short term, but not in the long term and if we are going to war with them, I'd like to be sure that it's necessary. So far they haven't given any indication that they're planning anything other than an aggressive business exchange that would have them visiting here on occasion...which granted could lead to problems in the future. In any case, we'll wait for now." You tell Marco to keep everyone extra alert while the Syndicate is visiting and then go see Vera who is down in the slave den as usual. Right now she's speaking with one of her overseers. "What the hell have you been doing with these elves, Halford? They look like shit and nobody wants elven bitches that look like shit, they want them to look like they just came out of the fairy kingdom farting rainbows and sunshine." Vera remarks. "Apologies Countess, some of the new recruits thought to take advantage of a few of them last night. They've already been dealt with, even sold the ringleader this morning." Halford replies. "Hrm, well release the rest then, and remind them that these slaves are not their personal fuck toys unless they're actually going to be paying for them out of pocket. As for these elves, well have them cleaned as much as you can and hopefully some of the buyers aren't picky about bruises." Halford nods and complies with Vera's orders and as he's leaving he also nods in respect to you. "I see you weren't joking about wanting to be called countess." you remark. "Well we do run an entire island, seems perfectly reasonable to declare ourselves the rulers of it." Vera says. "True, though interesting you've picked a royal title though." "Well I don't know about you, but a title like governor or mayor doesn't sound nearly as impressive. Besides if you remember I do have royal blood in my veins." "Ah yes. Your father may have been the late Baron Varsakken. Still, even if true, you've given yourself the title of countess rather than baroness." "Well unlike the rest of that Varsakken clan, I'm actually in control of an entire island rather than just a city. I think that calls for a higher title status." "Heh, well why not queen then?" "Too predictable and self-important. I'm still grounded enough to know who and what I am." "Well glad to see you're staying grounded. Where is Kol?" "He's studying from that book you got him in my office and Layla is watching him." You shake your head especially since this seems very familiar. "I know you spoke to me about this before, but I'm not convinced having a slave looking after our son is the best idea." "Well you said, you had to meet with those ECS assholes and didn't want Kol around during that. And I couldn't supervise Kol's studies. This isn't like Gertrude, Layla was from some well to do family that Elias' crew apparently slaughtered on a transport ship. From the moment she was brought here she's basically been willing to do anything from getting sold as a fuck hole to some rich pervert or something similar." "Sort of surprised Elias didn't use her as a personal fuck hole if he was the one that brought her here." "Elias likes dick." "Really? Huh, didn't know that. Well anyway, compliant frightened slave girl or not, I'm wary about this." "Fine, if you're that concerned they're in the next room, you go speak with them both and get a feel for her. And when I say feel, I don't mean fucking her." "What?" "Oh relax. I know you aren't really going to fuck her! She's a slave after all not royalty like me. She is very pretty though and the image of fucking her is probably going to pass through your mind. I'll be expecting you to lay it down really good tonight." "Uh...okay..." "In any case, as I said speak with her yourself and if you still don't think she's a suitable sitter then we can sell her ass. Anyway tell me about your meeting with the ECS afterwards, I'll be free soon. Just have to check on one more slave shipment." Vera kisses you goodbye and heads off to the next group of cages while you head to her office. Upon opening the door, you see your son fidgeting in his seat his in front of his spell book. He looks up and over at you before quickly returning to his book. Glad to see he knows that you really want him to focus on his studies. The girl who you're guessing is Layla doesn't look that old. She looks to be in her late teens and is probably from some far off land given her darker complexion and some of her facial features. She's also still dressed in clothing that doesn't match her current slave status. (At least for most of them around here) Vera was right though, she is pretty. "Um, you're the Count right?" Layla utters. "Count? Oh. Right, Vera, Countess, whatever. No, unlike my wife, I see no need for formal titles. You're my son's new sitter from what she's told me." "Yes, I have been doing my best in seeing to it that Kol here is practicing his...erm, shadow magic." "Can I play with my shadow creatures dad?" Kol asks. "Has it been three hours yet?" "I don't know..." "You know that it hasn't. You have to learn other magic, not just the shadow stuff even if you find it easier. Layla, has he been practicing?" you ask, while Kol goes back to his book. "Um, yes I think so." "You think so? Either he has or hasn't." "Erm, I just mean I don't know much about this magic stuff. I've just been making sure he's been reading this book. I did see him create a small ball of light briefly though." "Hm, okay. So Layla, do you have any other family? I mean besides the ones that those pirates killed?" "Yes, I have an uncle back in Harazan." "Where the hell is that?" "Far to the south and west." "He rich?" "I imagine he is now. He's wanted my father's business and fortune for years. With everyone dead, and me stuck here, he's next in line to get everything." "I'm guessing he won't be looking for you anytime soon." "...no..." Layla says looking downward. "So tell me Layla, what is your plan?" "My plan?" "Yes, I mean surely you're not content on being a slave. Who would be? And I can tell even in your less than perfect condition, you obviously came from wealth. You certainly look more royal than my wife. You're probably at least of noble birth. In any case, you are definitely not cut out to be a slave of any kind." "What you say is partly true I suppose. I very much would not like to be a slave, but I fear I have little choice in the matter. I was raised...not sheltered, but very much protected. I don't have many skills that would be of practical use. I suppose its of some blessing that the pirate captain who spared me saw me as fetching a good price rather than to be something passed around by his crew." "Hm, Yag certainly threw a seven for you." "Your wife probably would have sold me until I noticed how she was struggling with looking after your son while conducting her business. I quickly begged to help her by explaining I looked after my own little brother many times. I'm still not sure how I convinced her, but here we are." "Yes, here we are." "If you're concerned that I'm plotting to escape, I'm not sure how I could without you knowing and I do not believe I'd make it very far. I fear that this is my life now and can only hope that you and your wife are merciful masters." "You're surprisingly resigned and calm about all this." "I have already mourned over my family and continue to do so in the night when I cry myself to sleep. However, it is said that Ahamed has a reason for every event. I am hoping that I might see and understand this one and from there gain greater wisdom. My own family owned a few slaves for basic tasks, perhaps I am to learn how they felt." "Ahamed?" "Yes, he who burns brighter than the sun and shows the way of peace." "Oh, a god." "The only true god." "Yeah, I've heard that one before, just not that particular one. Great. Well at least you aren't a Felian I guess." "Did you say Fel?" "Felian, followers of Fel, god of shadows." "Are you a worshipper of this...god?" "No. I just said I was glad that you weren't, why the hell would I be?" "Oh, because your son was telling me before you came in that this Fel was speaking with him and..." Your eyes immediately widen and your whole body tenses up. "WHAT?!" you exclaim causing Layla to cringe in her chair, but your attention is towards Kol. You immediately start interrogating the boy and her. After five minutes Kol and Layla are both in tears from your demanding questioning, however you have learned a few things. Apparently Kol's medallion has been coming off in the middle the night and for the past week Fel has been speaking to Kol. Not to a great extent, but he's definitely been visiting your son and remarking about how great shadow magic is compared to all other forms of magic. He's also been trying to convince Kol of keeping the medallion off as soon as he goes to sleep. However the most alarming part is Fel asking your son if he would like to go be with Felians as he could see to it that they treat him very well. He even mentions possibly having agents that would come get him. Now you're wondering if this means Percy and the other one are here to take away your son...or is Fel referring to other agents that he hasn't sent yet? Kol was apparently afraid to tell you or Vera this since he thought you'd both be angry, but he opened up to Layla since she seemed nice. Meanwhile your mind is racing on how to handle all this. > Have the ECS representatives killed You've got all the information you need. No need to prolong this and besides, this was always a possibility anyway. Looks like you'll be going to war with the Syndicate. You figure it'll take them at least a month or two before they figure out something has gone wrong when they don't return. You'll have time to prepare at least. In the meantime you need to calm your son (and Layla) down. "Alright, alright, Kol. I'm not mad. Calm down. In fact, you calm down as well, you're not getting sold anytime soon Layla." You say addressing the both of them. "Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you or mom. I'll make sure the medallion is around my neck good." Kol says. "Actually might be time to get you a ring, but don't worry about that right now. Just go back to your studies for now." You then turn to Layla. "And I trust you aren't going to speak of this." You say. "Of course not! I don't even talk much with the other slaves! I swear to Ahmed as I do not want my situation to become even worse." Layla remarks. "Good, that's the proper way to feel." You immediately leave and call for Marco who arrives shortly. "I want you to gather the best and most skilled assassin types we have and send them to kill those two ECS fuckers. Then I want you to send a group of twenty more of the next best along with them. I don't care how they're killed, just do it quickly. Also I want all ships to not leave this fucking island until they're dead. We are not fucking this up." "We're going to war with the Syndicate? I thought everything was going well, boss." "Shit changes. Now do what I tell you. Oh and I want their heads as proof." "Okay boss, I'll get right on it. Um, what if any of them are currently helping the Countess?" "I don't give a shit, you reassign them anyway, if my wife has a problem she can come talk to me." Marco takes his leave and you begin to mentally make preparations of how you're going to have to prepare your defenses. You figure you'll have a few months before the Syndicate realizes something has happened to their people and get their shit together to send a force after you. Doesn't take long before Vera comes to see you. "What the hell is going on? Marco just came in and took a few of my best slave minders and said if I had any complaint, I need to see you because he's just following orders." Vera says. You explain the situation to Vera who is probably more concerned about Kol than any war with the Syndicate. She even asks you where Kol is and how he's doing. After giving your answer about that, she gets a little pissed that you haven't made the arrangements to get a ring enchanted for him and goes off to see Kol immediately. Doesn't take long before the task is underway. You eventually get a report from Marco that unfortunately despite the unexpected attack and all the people you sent, you only managed to get one of them, and it was the orc since they tried to take him out first believing he'd be a tougher target, turned out to be true since he killed most of the people you sent before succumbing to the multiple shots to his body and head in the initial attack. Percy apparently didn't even try to help his friend and just ran off. He still cut down a few people along the way, but nobody can guess where he is now. Being more paranoid than ever, you order that everyone from Nightfall to Jicol be on the look out. You also make sure Kol is kept under watch as all times. A few days pass and several of the pirates, merchants, slavers and sailors begin to protest that you won't let them leave the island, but in order to somewhat alleviate their complaints you wave any costs they might have. This helps somewhat, but many of them still aren't very happy. The slavers especially since they feel like they're being held captive and of course they know all about doing that to others. Meanwhile you're getting increasingly agitated with the fact that Percy still hasn't been found. He could be anywhere. You even order searches of the deeper jungle areas, which doesn't do much except get some of your people killed by dangerous wildlife. Even if he was hiding in the jungle, they probably wouldn't find him anyway. You insist on Kol being kept locked up in his room at all times. Vera isn't sure if that's the best idea, but she doesn't have a better one. She's mainly just as frustrated about this situation as you are and you're both lashing out at each other a lot. Another week passes and still no sign of him at all. There haven't even been any "mysterious" deaths. However, you soon get some not so mysterious deaths when a couple of the pirate captains kill some of your people while leaving the island. You manage to sink one of the ships, but one manages to sail away. This situation is getting bad for business because opening fire on your usual partners is a sure way to have them never come back or worse seek revenge. Though you half wonder if Percy eventually got to these folks anyway. Perhaps promising a reward from the Syndicate if they got him off the island. If that's the case, you can only hope he was on the ship you managed to sink. With things also starting to get restless in Jicol, you don't really have much choice but to ease up on the restrictions. One way or another he's probably getting off the island if he hasn't already and you'll just have to be prepared quicker. A month passes and the entire island feels like it's under the shadow of the Syndicate. Everyone is on edge expecting a Syndicate attack even if it is a little too early. You still keep Kol locked up for his own safety, but he's obviously not happy about it. At this point he's wearing an anti-magic ring to nullify any potential contact with Fel since the last thing you need is a god whispering in your son's ear. Vera becomes concerned about you and tells you that you need to relax even if the situation isn't ideal because the last thing the Nocturnal League needs right now is an unstable leader. You take her words under advisement, which is much more reasonable than she hoped for. You know she's right after all; it isn't going to do anyone any good if you're in the state you're in now. Another month passes and things have settled down slightly. You constantly ask for news updates from the mainland, but nothing of major importance is reported. No rumors of the Syndicate preparing for an attack or anything. By the middle of the year, things are almost back to normal on the island. You've still got a lot of extra security around the temple, but restrictions have loosened a bit to the point where you're not keeping Kol locked up anymore. You still have not heard a single thing about the Syndicate. No threats, no rumors, nothing. Or at least nothing concerning you. True they could be playing it close to the vest, but you think you would have gotten at least something by now. Either the Syndicate is just making you sweat or they've decided it wouldn't be worth their time or resources in going to war with you. While things are still pretty tense, you continue to try to get on with your business. While you're going over some of your expenses, you hear a knock at your office door. "Marco, I told you just come in if you got something important to report." You remark. "It's not Marco, he's been killed!" a voice says from the other side of the door. "What?!" "He's been killed! A lot of people have, you need to come this! I think it's an attack!" "Are Vera and Kol safe!?" you say starting to get up. "I'm not sure about Vera, but Kol is definitely safe." "Hold on...fuck..." you mutter realizing that today must be the fucking day that the entire Syndicate declares war. However, you were wrong. You open the door and immediately you see a familiar face staring at you and before you can do anything a blade strikes quickly across your throat. You manage to raise your pistol before Percy easily grabs it from your hand as you fall to the floor choking on your own blood. It was just one. "You know, it would have been easy to kill you months ago, but I think my time here in hiding has provided me with all the necessary information to give to the Syndicate to best effectively attack your organization. Well that and it was nice to see the shocked look on your face when you saw me again. Didn't have to be this way, but you can take solace in the fact that your son will not be harmed. His destiny with Fel is greater than what fate will befall the rest of this island." With that last cold response of a man who was determined to take away everything important to you, your vision goes dark.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, humor, fantasy] Year 35 Talking to two Syndicate representatives isn't exactly what you want to be doing right now, but this day was coming one way or another. The well-dressed man with a thin mustache is Percy and has been the more talkative of the two. The other by the name of Toz is some sort of greenskin halfbreed also well dressed. Probably of orc heritage since he's much bigger than Warts was. He also doesn't talk much and mainly just stands around looking intimidating. Unsurprisingly the pair of them have shadow magic powers. However you anticipated that which why you had Grayhaze enchant something that would at least even up the odds. A ring. Not quite an anti-magic field, but something to dull the shadow magic around you. Probably wouldn't be enough to stop them if they really wanted to kill you, but along with all your more mundane security, it's enough to give them pause if they tried. However if that were the intent, you probably wouldn't be having a conversation at all. "I have to say, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when the Syndicate sent me here, but I am a little impressed with what your organization has accomplished in such a short amount of time. You certainly have not just carved out this little island for yourself, but much of sea paths on this side of the world. You're practically like your own nation." Percy remarks. "Never thought about it that way, but I suppose you might be right. I also suppose I should be wondering if the Delantium Kingdom will be declaring war on me to put an outpost here." You say with a mild chuckle. "I believe they have their hands quite full still with Nichan, though I hear you're starting to have more trouble with Hessla nowadays. I imagine you would be major competition for their once near monopoly on business for this part of the world." "Hm, I guess you could say relations are strained with Hessla, but we offered them a fair deal. Their Governor is the one that decided to be greedy and reject it. His unwillingness to embrace in a positive manner change is what is causing people to do less business there. He probably fears that I'm going to come there with a fleet and take his city like I did with Jicol, but it's not even the same situation. The Nocturnal League doesn't seek to expand past our reach. This island is more than enough territory for us." "They say it's a wise man who knows his limitations. Perhaps by making your home in an old temple once dedicated to Fel has resulted in him providing that wisdom. Ah, tis a shame that the Syndicate only just started sending people this way. Reclaiming a lost temple to his great shadow would have been not just a boon to the Syndicate, but to the glory of Fel." You always hate how intertwined the Syndicate is with the whole Fel religion. Makes dealing with them always uncertain. Are they interested in profit or are they interested in spreading faith? "Oh well, the Syndicate's loss for being too slow when opportunity called I suppose. Doesn't happen often, but we hope to correct that by hopefully having a working relationship with your organization." Percy remarks. "Well I certainly want an amicable relationship with the Syndicate and as I said, I have no intention on expanding into your territory." "Yes, so you've said. However, your island is becoming very popular in terms of the slave trade. It's just one of the big reason why Hessla is so angry with you. The Syndicate has never relied on the slave trade as our main source of income, indeed for whatever reason it's just never been a cornerstone. One of the few things we're just dabblers in. We're trying again however, and while Hessla in the past has always been a stubborn partner in such thing in the past, we're hoping the League's rising status in this part of the world will be more open in such matters." "So basically what you're saying is instead of you having to deal with independent slavers all the time, you want to just deal with us." 'We find that it's always better to deal with a single reliable source rather than all these unwashed disorganized types. We would of course bring our own ship here for pick up. Also we've notice that the drug of choice here on this island is either Green Lotus or that very poor substitute of Blue Dream, Purple Wish. As part of our new arrangement we could provide Blue Dream for you to distribute here. Makes a lot of money, we should know after all." And here it is, the Syndicate trying to get their foot just enough in the door. "Yes, I suppose you've given me a lot to think about as far as business is concerned." You say. "Oh sure, we understand. We're going to be in Jicol for awhile so we can sort out details then. Honestly, I'd prefer to stay here in Nightfall closer to the temple, but Toz here is a little on the paranoid side and doesn't wish to sleep in the heart of... let's just say, an unproven ally's home, but I'm sure that will change soon! Besides, Fel's shadow is everywhere after all and his dark blessing is with his faithful always." Percy remarks. At this point Percy says a few more pleasantries and then remarks about looking forward to the meeting with you in a few days. Toz on the other hand just stares at you with the typical hostile greenskin eyes and follows Percy. After they leave, several of your people escort them out of the room and anyone else left, seems to relax slightly. "So that's the average Syndicate member, boss?" Marco asks. "Not the average. They wouldn't send their average. They send their more threatening to talk to someone like me. They also sent an extra one, which I guess means I'm really special. Lucky me." You say. "So you think we should just kill them?" "Ideally that would be the safest move in the short term, but not in the long term and if we are going to war with them, I'd like to be sure that it's necessary. So far they haven't given any indication that they're planning anything other than an aggressive business exchange that would have them visiting here on occasion...which granted could lead to problems in the future. In any case, we'll wait for now." You tell Marco to keep everyone extra alert while the Syndicate is visiting and then go see Vera who is down in the slave den as usual. Right now she's speaking with one of her overseers. "What the hell have you been doing with these elves, Halford? They look like shit and nobody wants elven bitches that look like shit, they want them to look like they just came out of the fairy kingdom farting rainbows and sunshine." Vera remarks. "Apologies Countess, some of the new recruits thought to take advantage of a few of them last night. They've already been dealt with, even sold the ringleader this morning." Halford replies. "Hrm, well release the rest then, and remind them that these slaves are not their personal fuck toys unless they're actually going to be paying for them out of pocket. As for these elves, well have them cleaned as much as you can and hopefully some of the buyers aren't picky about bruises." Halford nods and complies with Vera's orders and as he's leaving he also nods in respect to you. "I see you weren't joking about wanting to be called countess." you remark. "Well we do run an entire island, seems perfectly reasonable to declare ourselves the rulers of it." Vera says. "True, though interesting you've picked a royal title though." "Well I don't know about you, but a title like governor or mayor doesn't sound nearly as impressive. Besides if you remember I do have royal blood in my veins." "Ah yes. Your father may have been the late Baron Varsakken. Still, even if true, you've given yourself the title of countess rather than baroness." "Well unlike the rest of that Varsakken clan, I'm actually in control of an entire island rather than just a city. I think that calls for a higher title status." "Heh, well why not queen then?" "Too predictable and self-important. I'm still grounded enough to know who and what I am." "Well glad to see you're staying grounded. Where is Kol?" "He's studying from that book you got him in my office and Layla is watching him." You shake your head especially since this seems very familiar. "I know you spoke to me about this before, but I'm not convinced having a slave looking after our son is the best idea." "Well you said, you had to meet with those ECS assholes and didn't want Kol around during that. And I couldn't supervise Kol's studies. This isn't like Gertrude, Layla was from some well to do family that Elias' crew apparently slaughtered on a transport ship. From the moment she was brought here she's basically been willing to do anything from getting sold as a fuck hole to some rich pervert or something similar." "Sort of surprised Elias didn't use her as a personal fuck hole if he was the one that brought her here." "Elias likes dick." "Really? Huh, didn't know that. Well anyway, compliant frightened slave girl or not, I'm wary about this." "Fine, if you're that concerned they're in the next room, you go speak with them both and get a feel for her. And when I say feel, I don't mean fucking her." "What?" "Oh relax. I know you aren't really going to fuck her! She's a slave after all not royalty like me. She is very pretty though and the image of fucking her is probably going to pass through your mind. I'll be expecting you to lay it down really good tonight." "Uh...okay..." "In any case, as I said speak with her yourself and if you still don't think she's a suitable sitter then we can sell her ass. Anyway tell me about your meeting with the ECS afterwards, I'll be free soon. Just have to check on one more slave shipment." Vera kisses you goodbye and heads off to the next group of cages while you head to her office. Upon opening the door, you see your son fidgeting in his seat his in front of his spell book. He looks up and over at you before quickly returning to his book. Glad to see he knows that you really want him to focus on his studies. The girl who you're guessing is Layla doesn't look that old. She looks to be in her late teens and is probably from some far off land given her darker complexion and some of her facial features. She's also still dressed in clothing that doesn't match her current slave status. (At least for most of them around here) Vera was right though, she is pretty. "Um, you're the Count right?" Layla utters. "Count? Oh. Right, Vera, Countess, whatever. No, unlike my wife, I see no need for formal titles. You're my son's new sitter from what she's told me." "Yes, I have been doing my best in seeing to it that Kol here is practicing his...erm, shadow magic." "Can I play with my shadow creatures dad?" Kol asks. "Has it been three hours yet?" "I don't know..." "You know that it hasn't. You have to learn other magic, not just the shadow stuff even if you find it easier. Layla, has he been practicing?" you ask, while Kol goes back to his book. "Um, yes I think so." "You think so? Either he has or hasn't." "Erm, I just mean I don't know much about this magic stuff. I've just been making sure he's been reading this book. I did see him create a small ball of light briefly though." "Hm, okay. So Layla, do you have any other family? I mean besides the ones that those pirates killed?" "Yes, I have an uncle back in Harazan." "Where the hell is that?" "Far to the south and west." "He rich?" "I imagine he is now. He's wanted my father's business and fortune for years. With everyone dead, and me stuck here, he's next in line to get everything." "I'm guessing he won't be looking for you anytime soon." "...no..." Layla says looking downward. "So tell me Layla, what is your plan?" "My plan?" "Yes, I mean surely you're not content on being a slave. Who would be? And I can tell even in your less than perfect condition, you obviously came from wealth. You certainly look more royal than my wife. You're probably at least of noble birth. In any case, you are definitely not cut out to be a slave of any kind." "What you say is partly true I suppose. I very much would not like to be a slave, but I fear I have little choice in the matter. I was raised...not sheltered, but very much protected. I don't have many skills that would be of practical use. I suppose its of some blessing that the pirate captain who spared me saw me as fetching a good price rather than to be something passed around by his crew." "Hm, Yag certainly threw a seven for you." "Your wife probably would have sold me until I noticed how she was struggling with looking after your son while conducting her business. I quickly begged to help her by explaining I looked after my own little brother many times. I'm still not sure how I convinced her, but here we are." "Yes, here we are." "If you're concerned that I'm plotting to escape, I'm not sure how I could without you knowing and I do not believe I'd make it very far. I fear that this is my life now and can only hope that you and your wife are merciful masters." "You're surprisingly resigned and calm about all this." "I have already mourned over my family and continue to do so in the night when I cry myself to sleep. However, it is said that Ahamed has a reason for every event. I am hoping that I might see and understand this one and from there gain greater wisdom. My own family owned a few slaves for basic tasks, perhaps I am to learn how they felt." "Ahamed?" "Yes, he who burns brighter than the sun and shows the way of peace." "Oh, a god." "The only true god." "Yeah, I've heard that one before, just not that particular one. Great. Well at least you aren't a Felian I guess." "Did you say Fel?" "Felian, followers of Fel, god of shadows." "Are you a worshipper of this...god?" "No. I just said I was glad that you weren't, why the hell would I be?" "Oh, because your son was telling me before you came in that this Fel was speaking with him and..." Your eyes immediately widen and your whole body tenses up. "WHAT?!" you exclaim causing Layla to cringe in her chair, but your attention is towards Kol. You immediately start interrogating the boy and her. After five minutes Kol and Layla are both in tears from your demanding questioning, however you have learned a few things. Apparently Kol's medallion has been coming off in the middle the night and for the past week Fel has been speaking to Kol. Not to a great extent, but he's definitely been visiting your son and remarking about how great shadow magic is compared to all other forms of magic. He's also been trying to convince Kol of keeping the medallion off as soon as he goes to sleep. However the most alarming part is Fel asking your son if he would like to go be with Felians as he could see to it that they treat him very well. He even mentions possibly having agents that would come get him. Now you're wondering if this means Percy and the other one are here to take away your son...or is Fel referring to other agents that he hasn't sent yet? Kol was apparently afraid to tell you or Vera this since he thought you'd both be angry, but he opened up to Layla since she seemed nice. Meanwhile your mind is racing on how to handle all this. > You gather more information first Again, if you're going to move to make war on the ECS, you're going to be absolutely sure. Also you've now just upset your son and while this is very serious, you might need to employ less aggressive tactics. "Alright, alright, Kol. I'm not mad. Calm down. In fact, you calm down as well, you're not getting sold anytime soon Layla." You say addressing the both of them. The pair of the them begin to calm down and cease crying while you're coming up with a risky idea. "Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you or mom. I'll make sure the medallion is around my neck good." Kol says. "Actually might be time to get you a ring, however maybe not right away. Tell me more about Fel son. How is he exactly towards you? Does he scare you?" you ask. "Um, he's kinda scary. I've never seen him. It's just like...I dunno...a voice. It's loud, but it's like whispery. I don't know if he means to be scary though." "What do you mean?" "He's not mean to me. He just talks to me. It's just really dark and his voice is creepy and that's scary. He says he wants to be my friend." "Hmm, do you talk to him back?" "Yes, I asked him if he had a mom and dad, but he just laughed and said a god has no parents. I asked him if he had any friends, and he said he just had followers in places like this temple, but said they weren't nearly as amusing as you and mom." "Amusing? Why does Fel find us so amusing?" "Um, he said he thinks what you did with the temple is a lot more fun than his other temples because of all those people you put in cages." "I see. Glad we could entertain I guess." "Fel also says that he wishes he could speak to me more often." "And I'll just bet he wants you to go to sleep without the medallion. Tell you what, when you go to sleep tonight don't wear the medallion." "Really?" "Yes, you have my permission, however, and this is very important. When you talk to Fel tonight, I want you to ask him who is going to take you away so you know what they look like." "But dad I don't want to go away! I want to stay here with you and mom! Honest!" "Yes, I know son and I won't let anyone take you away. But this is just pretend and I want you to ask Fel anyway okay?" "Okay." "Kol, I think that's been enough studying for today, you can go play. Don't forget to put away your spell book though." Kol nods and runs off with his book. "Hope I know what the hell I'm doing." You mutter to yourself before turning your attention to Layla who is still sitting quietly and wondering what you're going to do next. "I trust you know to keep your mouth shut about this." You say to Layla. "Yes, of course! Who would I even tell? I don't even understand what exactly is going on." Layla remarks. "I dunno, you might talk casually with your fellow slaves." "I'm not exactly friends with anyone here. Ever since your wife had me looking after your son, she keeps me isolated from the rest of the slaves. If anything they probably dislike me more for having better living conditions. Sir, I swear to Ahmed I will not say anything you say or do if you don't wish it. My situation is very dire compared to my previous life, but I certainly don't want it to get any worse by angering you or your wife." "Hm, well see that you continue with that line of thinking. In any case, you can go tell my wife that I want to talk with her and that you'll do as a sitter for Kol when needed. At least until further notice." "Very well." Layla remarks obediently and leaves. You wait for Vera still pondering your decision. When Vera arrives and you explain everything, she of course has her own strong opinions on it. "What?! After everything you said and did to prevent Fel from contacting Kol, you're now saying it's perfectly fine?" Vera remarks. "No! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying...gah...look it's already happening and unfortunately it's probably going to happen from time to time anyway. Even if I get that enchanted ring for Kol, I can almost guarantee he's going to take it off at some point when we aren't around. Maybe he'll be curious, maybe he'll be pissed and do it to spite us. I'm already envisioning what a problem he's going to potentially be when he gets older what with his magic abilities. I'm just thinking that MAYBE restricting him too much is an exercise in failure. I know it obviously was with my parents." You say. "Okay, I get what you mean on that, but this plan of yours still seems pretty dangerous. Not only are we risking war with the ECS, the Felians, but the god itself." "Might as well go big. If Kol is going to speak with Fel, we might as well try to use it to our benefit. According to Kol, Fel finds what we've done with the temple to be amusing, so we can't be completely on his bad side. Look, I'm going to speak with Kol again before he goes to bed and really, this isn't going to be a regular thing. If Kol gets the information he needs, then the enchanted medallion or ring when I get it is going right back on the next time he sleeps." Vera has a bit of apprehension in the eyes, but as usual she tend to side with your decision, which is good since you don't need to be second guessing yourself anymore than you already are in your head. Later that night when Kol goes to bed, you and Vera both speak with him and say generally positive things to him. You also go on about the plan and to remember that no matter what Fel says, he will never love Kol as much as you and Vera will. This seems to put the Kol at ease and he goes to sleep fairly quickly. You and Vera however definitely don't that night. The pair of you can't sleep so you both engage in the usual intimate pastime, but after that fails to completely distract you, you both go check on Kol, who is actually sleeping pretty soundly. The pair of you watch over him for some time, though eventually you start getting a little restless and tell Vera you're going to get some work accomplished. Vera however, insists on staying with Kol. When morning arrives, you're still awake and you check on Kol, and find that Vera has fallen asleep in a chair next to Kol, who is still sleeping. Your arrival wakes her up though. "Wha? You're back. How long was I asleep?" Vera asks rubbing her eyes. "I dunno, this is the first time I've checked on you both. You son wakes up hearing both your voices. "Mom? Dad? What are you both doing in my room?" he asks. You immediately ask him how did he sleep and about his dreams. Naturally the boy is still groggy, but he soon answers your questions since he thankfully remembers his conversation with Fel who did indeed visit him. Kol tells you that he asked Fel about being taken away by Fel's agents, to which he asked further questions if he was sure that was what he wanted and why. Kol tells you he didn't really know how to answer other than "I don't know" You grimace a bit, thinking that this plan of yours probably didn't work, but apparently Fel indulged the boy anyway explaining the benefits of such a thing, oddly he also explained the benefits of staying here too. Then he told Kol that if he was really serious, he should contact a well dressed man with a thin mustache and he will be able to get him off the island before anyone figures it out since he knows what to do already. The description already sounds like Percy. "Kol, is that the only agent that Fel described to you? Didn't say anything about an orc?" you ask. "No dad. Just the man." Kol says. "That's odd. Wouldn't he have sent both of them?" Vera remarks. "Have no idea. I can't know the mind of a god. For all we know he could be lying about everything." You say. "Should we really start second guessing ourselves? I mean wasn't the whole plan to learn this information and act on it?" "Yes, but...argh...this is really...fuck it, let's do this. I want those two summoned back here and tell them I'm ready to talk about a deal. I also want you to take Kol away from here and go to the armory or something with several of our best and wait until this is over." "Do you really think you need to handle this directly? I mean we've got several people; surely it would be just a simple matter of having one of them sneakily pop them in the back of the head with a single shot. Or shit, we could just send a bunch of people to overwhelm them right now where they're staying. I mean it just seems safer for all of us." Vera might have a point, though part of you finds this pretty personal enough that you'd rather take care of this directly. "I...I don't want to leave you guys. I want to stay here." Your son suddenly says. "You will son. You win." You answer reassuringly. "We're not taking any chances with them somehow escaping, I want to see this done right. I'm going to have enough people with me that the odds are going to be heavily in my favor though." Vera reluctantly agrees to your plan, though she says she'd prefer to just ambush the pair of them. You set things in motion and have some of your people go fetch the ECS reps. You aren't exactly sure how this is going to play out, but you put on extra body armor and armed yourself with a couple extra blades and pistols and have Marco and everyone that's going to be with you do likewise. Honestly, you aren't sure how good your ring is going to be, but you hope it's good enough to keep you alive. If nothing else, they aren't surviving this. Time passes and eventually Percy and Toz arrive. Percy looks as jovial as he has since he got here, while Toz looks about as grim serious as he always has. You still aren't sure what to do about him. Fel didn't mention him, but you can't imagine that you aren't going to have to kill him as well. Looks like you'll be going to war with the ECS and you'll be firing the first shot. Really wish you could have avoided this, but that's no other way. Percy looks at his surroundings and with a smile he begins to speak. "I'm getting the impression, you don't want to talk about a deal with the Syndicate after all." Percy says, which causes Toz to immediately stand a little straighter and the rest of your people to put their hands to their weapons. You don't even bother to make the pretense and pull your pistol immediately and point it at Percy. Percy doesn't seem bothered though and even puts his hand on Toz to keep him from attacking. "You realize you're killing yourself right? And I don't mean starting a war with the Syndicate, because you aren't going to live to see that anyway. Even with your advantage and weak anti-magic ring, I...WE have more than enough power and skill to overcome what's just in this room. True, we probably won't survive, but we'll do enough damage to this entire place that when our absence is noticed, the Syndicate WILL assume the worst and send people to mop up what's left. Terrible way to do business." Percy says. "That's a possibility I considered long before you ever showed up. However, this isn't business. This is personal." You remark. "Oh? Interesting. Have I offended you directly in some way? Perhaps Toz here has? I know he's a little on the impersonal side, but..." "Cut the shit. You're here to steal my son. You know about him and you're here to take him to back to your main temple. Not happening." Percy seems surprised to hear you accuse him of this, but he soon returns to his smiling self. Toz on the other hand is showing a stone face looking like he really wants to get on with the fighting. "Alright. Well, I can see this IS personal. On both sides. I mean I can't very well disobey a direct order from my god can I? I can only guess you must have found this out from your son who is also in contact with our shadowy lord. I wouldn't expect a godless heathen like you to understand, but if Fel is speaking to the boy then that only PROVES that he's destined for greatness! Think of it, your son is one of Fel's chosen! Surely you want what's best for your son. No harm would come to him." Percy says. "You seriously expect me to just hand him over?" you ask. "Yes! Because it's your ONLY logical move. I am willing to forget all this as...an over protective parent outburst. Completely understandable. I will even work out a better deal between you and the Syndicate. Your son will no doubt rise in the ranks of our order. Just think, YOU will have a powerful ally on the inside, close to the Temple of Fel in the years to come. If you ever have trouble with the Syndicate, you will able to get support from our order to smooth anything over. It seems like a winning situation for all of us." "Perhaps, but that's still not happening." Finished with talking, you open fire and nearly instantly you feel like everything is slowing down in front of you. You see your first bullet actually hanging in the air and then Percy moving to the left. What torchlight there was in the room, goes out completely. You begin swearing and shouting orders, desperately trying to adjust your eyes to the darkness. You already hear noises of men being killed and unfortunately they sound like yours. All you can make out is a bunch of dark figures struggling with each other. You suppose you could just fire blindly and hope you get them or maybe try to retreat out the exit where there is more light. > Fire You're probably going to hit some of your own people, but oh well. You fire the remainder of your shots and from the sound of things you probably hit at least a couple people. The problem is you can't be sure who so you take this opportunity to head towards the nearest exit and at least get to a better lit area. The entire temple to on alert anyway, so you should be getting reinforcements soon. While your ring might not seem like it's helping, you're actually moving at your own speed rather than suffering from whatever slow effects that were cast. Unfortunately for you, not fast enough as you feel several sharp objects go into your back before you even make it out the room. You fall to the floor face first and then attempt to crawl towards the better-lit corridor, but the last thing you hear is Percy whispering "Could have settled this a lot easier, but take solace that your bad choices will not affect your son." Then he slits your throat.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, fantasy] Again, if you're going to move to make war on the ECS, you're going to be absolutely sure. Also you've now just upset your son and while this is very serious, you might need to employ less aggressive tactics. "Alright, alright, Kol. I'm not mad. Calm down. In fact, you calm down as well, you're not getting sold anytime soon Layla." You say addressing the both of them. The pair of the them begin to calm down and cease crying while you're coming up with a risky idea. "Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you or mom. I'll make sure the medallion is around my neck good." Kol says. "Actually might be time to get you a ring, however maybe not right away. Tell me more about Fel son. How is he exactly towards you? Does he scare you?" you ask. "Um, he's kinda scary. I've never seen him. It's just like...I dunno...a voice. It's loud, but it's like whispery. I don't know if he means to be scary though." "What do you mean?" "He's not mean to me. He just talks to me. It's just really dark and his voice is creepy and that's scary. He says he wants to be my friend." "Hmm, do you talk to him back?" "Yes, I asked him if he had a mom and dad, but he just laughed and said a god has no parents. I asked him if he had any friends, and he said he just had followers in places like this temple, but said they weren't nearly as amusing as you and mom." "Amusing? Why does Fel find us so amusing?" "Um, he said he thinks what you did with the temple is a lot more fun than his other temples because of all those people you put in cages." "I see. Glad we could entertain I guess." "Fel also says that he wishes he could speak to me more often." "And I'll just bet he wants you to go to sleep without the medallion. Tell you what, when you go to sleep tonight don't wear the medallion." "Really?" "Yes, you have my permission, however, and this is very important. When you talk to Fel tonight, I want you to ask him who is going to take you away so you know what they look like." "But dad I don't want to go away! I want to stay here with you and mom! Honest!" "Yes, I know son and I won't let anyone take you away. But this is just pretend and I want you to ask Fel anyway okay?" "Okay." "Kol, I think that's been enough studying for today, you can go play. Don't forget to put away your spell book though." Kol nods and runs off with his book. "Hope I know what the hell I'm doing." You mutter to yourself before turning your attention to Layla who is still sitting quietly and wondering what you're going to do next. "I trust you know to keep your mouth shut about this." You say to Layla. "Yes, of course! Who would I even tell? I don't even understand what exactly is going on." Layla remarks. "I dunno, you might talk casually with your fellow slaves." "I'm not exactly friends with anyone here. Ever since your wife had me looking after your son, she keeps me isolated from the rest of the slaves. If anything they probably dislike me more for having better living conditions. Sir, I swear to Ahmed I will not say anything you say or do if you don't wish it. My situation is very dire compared to my previous life, but I certainly don't want it to get any worse by angering you or your wife." "Hm, well see that you continue with that line of thinking. In any case, you can go tell my wife that I want to talk with her and that you'll do as a sitter for Kol when needed. At least until further notice." "Very well." Layla remarks obediently and leaves. You wait for Vera still pondering your decision. When Vera arrives and you explain everything, she of course has her own strong opinions on it. "What?! After everything you said and did to prevent Fel from contacting Kol, you're now saying it's perfectly fine?" Vera remarks. "No! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying...gah...look it's already happening and unfortunately it's probably going to happen from time to time anyway. Even if I get that enchanted ring for Kol, I can almost guarantee he's going to take it off at some point when we aren't around. Maybe he'll be curious, maybe he'll be pissed and do it to spite us. I'm already envisioning what a problem he's going to potentially be when he gets older what with his magic abilities. I'm just thinking that MAYBE restricting him too much is an exercise in failure. I know it obviously was with my parents." You say. "Okay, I get what you mean on that, but this plan of yours still seems pretty dangerous. Not only are we risking war with the ECS, the Felians, but the god itself." "Might as well go big. If Kol is going to speak with Fel, we might as well try to use it to our benefit. According to Kol, Fel finds what we've done with the temple to be amusing, so we can't be completely on his bad side. Look, I'm going to speak with Kol again before he goes to bed and really, this isn't going to be a regular thing. If Kol gets the information he needs, then the enchanted medallion or ring when I get it is going right back on the next time he sleeps." Vera has a bit of apprehension in the eyes, but as usual she tend to side with your decision, which is good since you don't need to be second guessing yourself anymore than you already are in your head. Later that night when Kol goes to bed, you and Vera both speak with him and say generally positive things to him. You also go on about the plan and to remember that no matter what Fel says, he will never love Kol as much as you and Vera will. This seems to put the Kol at ease and he goes to sleep fairly quickly. You and Vera however definitely don't that night. The pair of you can't sleep so you both engage in the usual intimate pastime, but after that fails to completely distract you, you both go check on Kol, who is actually sleeping pretty soundly. The pair of you watch over him for some time, though eventually you start getting a little restless and tell Vera you're going to get some work accomplished. Vera however, insists on staying with Kol. When morning arrives, you're still awake and you check on Kol, and find that Vera has fallen asleep in a chair next to Kol, who is still sleeping. Your arrival wakes her up though. "Wha? You're back. How long was I asleep?" Vera asks rubbing her eyes. "I dunno, this is the first time I've checked on you both. You son wakes up hearing both your voices. "Mom? Dad? What are you both doing in my room?" he asks. You immediately ask him how did he sleep and about his dreams. Naturally the boy is still groggy, but he soon answers your questions since he thankfully remembers his conversation with Fel who did indeed visit him. Kol tells you that he asked Fel about being taken away by Fel's agents, to which he asked further questions if he was sure that was what he wanted and why. Kol tells you he didn't really know how to answer other than "I don't know" You grimace a bit, thinking that this plan of yours probably didn't work, but apparently Fel indulged the boy anyway explaining the benefits of such a thing, oddly he also explained the benefits of staying here too. Then he told Kol that if he was really serious, he should contact a well dressed man with a thin mustache and he will be able to get him off the island before anyone figures it out since he knows what to do already. The description already sounds like Percy. "Kol, is that the only agent that Fel described to you? Didn't say anything about an orc?" you ask. "No dad. Just the man." Kol says. "That's odd. Wouldn't he have sent both of them?" Vera remarks. "Have no idea. I can't know the mind of a god. For all we know he could be lying about everything." You say. "Should we really start second guessing ourselves? I mean wasn't the whole plan to learn this information and act on it?" "Yes, but...argh...this is really...fuck it, let's do this. I want those two summoned back here and tell them I'm ready to talk about a deal. I also want you to take Kol away from here and go to the armory or something with several of our best and wait until this is over." "Do you really think you need to handle this directly? I mean we've got several people; surely it would be just a simple matter of having one of them sneakily pop them in the back of the head with a single shot. Or shit, we could just send a bunch of people to overwhelm them right now where they're staying. I mean it just seems safer for all of us." Vera might have a point, though part of you finds this pretty personal enough that you'd rather take care of this directly. "I...I don't want to leave you guys. I want to stay here." Your son suddenly says. "You will son. You win." You answer reassuringly. "We're not taking any chances with them somehow escaping, I want to see this done right. I'm going to have enough people with me that the odds are going to be heavily in my favor though." Vera reluctantly agrees to your plan, though she says she'd prefer to just ambush the pair of them. You set things in motion and have some of your people go fetch the ECS reps. You aren't exactly sure how this is going to play out, but you put on extra body armor and armed yourself with a couple extra blades and pistols and have Marco and everyone that's going to be with you do likewise. Honestly, you aren't sure how good your ring is going to be, but you hope it's good enough to keep you alive. If nothing else, they aren't surviving this. Time passes and eventually Percy and Toz arrive. Percy looks as jovial as he has since he got here, while Toz looks about as grim serious as he always has. You still aren't sure what to do about him. Fel didn't mention him, but you can't imagine that you aren't going to have to kill him as well. Looks like you'll be going to war with the ECS and you'll be firing the first shot. Really wish you could have avoided this, but that's no other way. Percy looks at his surroundings and with a smile he begins to speak. "I'm getting the impression, you don't want to talk about a deal with the Syndicate after all." Percy says, which causes Toz to immediately stand a little straighter and the rest of your people to put their hands to their weapons. You don't even bother to make the pretense and pull your pistol immediately and point it at Percy. Percy doesn't seem bothered though and even puts his hand on Toz to keep him from attacking. "You realize you're killing yourself right? And I don't mean starting a war with the Syndicate, because you aren't going to live to see that anyway. Even with your advantage and weak anti-magic ring, I...WE have more than enough power and skill to overcome what's just in this room. True, we probably won't survive, but we'll do enough damage to this entire place that when our absence is noticed, the Syndicate WILL assume the worst and send people to mop up what's left. Terrible way to do business." Percy says. "That's a possibility I considered long before you ever showed up. However, this isn't business. This is personal." You remark. "Oh? Interesting. Have I offended you directly in some way? Perhaps Toz here has? I know he's a little on the impersonal side, but..." "Cut the shit. You're here to steal my son. You know about him and you're here to take him to back to your main temple. Not happening." Percy seems surprised to hear you accuse him of this, but he soon returns to his smiling self. Toz on the other hand is showing a stone face looking like he really wants to get on with the fighting. "Alright. Well, I can see this IS personal. On both sides. I mean I can't very well disobey a direct order from my god can I? I can only guess you must have found this out from your son who is also in contact with our shadowy lord. I wouldn't expect a godless heathen like you to understand, but if Fel is speaking to the boy then that only PROVES that he's destined for greatness! Think of it, your son is one of Fel's chosen! Surely you want what's best for your son. No harm would come to him." Percy says. "You seriously expect me to just hand him over?" you ask. "Yes! Because it's your ONLY logical move. I am willing to forget all this as...an over protective parent outburst. Completely understandable. I will even work out a better deal between you and the Syndicate. Your son will no doubt rise in the ranks of our order. Just think, YOU will have a powerful ally on the inside, close to the Temple of Fel in the years to come. If you ever have trouble with the Syndicate, you will able to get support from our order to smooth anything over. It seems like a winning situation for all of us." "Perhaps, but that's still not happening." Finished with talking, you open fire and nearly instantly you feel like everything is slowing down in front of you. You see your first bullet actually hanging in the air and then Percy moving to the left. What torchlight there was in the room, goes out completely. You begin swearing and shouting orders, desperately trying to adjust your eyes to the darkness. You already hear noises of men being killed and unfortunately they sound like yours. All you can make out is a bunch of dark figures struggling with each other. You suppose you could just fire blindly and hope you get them or maybe try to retreat out the exit where there is more light. > Retreat While your enemies are distracted, you need to get to a better location. The entire temple to on alert anyway, so you should be getting reinforcements soon. While your ring might not seem like it's helping, you're actually moving at your own speed rather than suffering from whatever slow effects that were cast. You run to where you know the closest exit to be and run towards the better-lit corridor. Already several of your people are heading in your direction. "The fuckers are in there and...SHIT!" The torches go out leaving you in complete darkness again. You instinctively duck down and sure enough you hear the whizzing of several things, followed by the gurgling of the men near you in the corridor. One of them falls on you as you try to fire blindly in the dark towards the direction behind you. Other footsteps run off, retreating from your position and you're about to do the same when you suddenly feel a strong grip on your wrist and slamming your hand against the wall causing you to drop your pistol. You swing at your assailant, who you now can see is Percy, but your punch is blocked and you're knocked to the floor. You manage to see the glint of a blade in the darkness and then Percy drops hi knees in your stomach, knocking the air out of you and attempts to stab you. He's quick, but despite your state of gasping for air you're just quick enough to grab ahold of the knife-wielding arm from stabbing you in the face, though it's now just inches from it. You attempt to roll and kick, but all of Percy's weight is on you. "Your fucking ring still won't save you. Could have settled this a lot easier, but take solace that your bad choices will not affect your son. Now...ugh..." You hear the sound of a sharp object going into flesh, but it isn't yours. Even in this dark, you can see the dead expression of Percy whose mouth now hangs open slack jawed and dripping blood all over you. His neck is also dripping blood and his body is even heavier on you. At first you think one of your people saved you, but then the torches suddenly light again and there you see standing over you and Percy's corpse is Toz in the process of removing his blade from Percy's neck. You go for your pistol, but Toz immediately sees this. More of your people arrive at the end of the corridor ready to open fire. Even with shadow magic, he's bound to get hit without much space to dodge in. "Call off your men, or this will not end well." Toz says. "Maybe not, but I'm not handing over my son to you." You remark. "I don't want him. That's not why I'm here. Now call off your people, I've killed your enemy as you can see." You wave a hand down in the direction of your people from your prone position. "Yeah, why did you do that?" you ask. "As I said, that's not why I'm here. I'm here on behalf of the Ebony Claw Syndicate, not the Order of Fel. I was given no instructions by them or their god, and even if I was, my loyalty is always with the Syndicate first. They really do want a deal. Any past animosity you may or may not have had with them has been waved. This is business and everyone involved can make lots of money." Toz says. "That's very pragmatic of the Syndicate, but unusual for the Order of Fel. I mean you guys that are heavily into the shadow magic side of things tend to follow that first." "And orcs tend to be brutish thugs that speak in short sentences, but there are exceptions as you can see." "Alright, I suppose we can talk more. Just let me get this corpse off of me." You verbally order your men to stand down, but approach slowly as you push Percy's body off of you. Toz stands back and keeps his guard up. Eventually you both return to the original room where you find everyone dead. You also see Marco lying near another body face down. "Damn Marco." You say and go over to him. "I trust you realize that I was just defending myself during the chaos." Toz says. "Yes, we've already established all that. But still, he was a valued employee. Improved much since the first time I met him...wait a minute...he's breathing." You quickly turn Marco over and he's moaning about being in pain, which is probably true since his face has a hole in it where you guess he was stabbed. Fortunately it just missed his eye and the blade went into his upper cheek instead. "Boss...ugh...dying..." he utters spitting up a little blood. "You are not fucking dying. This isn't a fatal wound you sissy. Get up and get yourself patched up." You say and start motioning him to get up. "K...ooogh...hurts..." Marco slowly gets up holding the side of his face and is helped by a couple others out the room. You turn your attention to Toz. "Let's get on with this deal which I hope you know isn't going to be the same one that Percy first proposed when you both first got here, however it'll still be good for the Syndicate." After only an hour of discussion you and Toz come to an acceptable deal. You don't think Toz wanted to stay any longer than he needed to since he says he'll be leaving right away. You can't help but ask though... "Won't the Order of Fel be pissed at you and in general?" you say. "I don't see why. Percy died on the way here when the ship was attacked by mermaids and he jumped overboard when hearing their deadly song." "Hm, well I suppose that's one way to explain away everything. Will it work?" "The Syndicate won't care as long as the this deal is pleasing to them which it should be. As for the Order, well the goals and the Syndicate's goals clash at times. It's an ongoing struggle, but I believe with this deal, your son will not be whisked away in the middle of the night or something similar." Toz replies. "I'll be on guard nonetheless." "Well that's wise anyway. Though Percy never even told me this plan. I only learned about it the moment it was revealed in this room. I do not even believe the Order gave this command as Percy claimed he heard it directly from Fel himself. Though your words indicated that Fel spoke to your son as well. I cannot know why a god would give one a command, but only to sabotage it. Seems contradictory, but I've never pretended to be the most fanatical follower. I worship purely for the extra power that the god gives me for whatever reason and use that power to support the Syndicate." Toz at this point bids you goodbye and soon you go find Vera in the armory where she waits with several of your best fighters and your son. The pair of them are pretty happy to see you, even if Kol doesn't quite know everything that's going on. "You okay dad?" Kol asks coming up to you. "Yes, I'm fine son. And you don't need to worry anymore either." You reply and give him a pat on the head. Vera approaches you. "I heard fighting and wanted to help, but you insisted I stay here." Vera says. "Yeah, glad you listened, it got a little closer than I thought it would, but it's all worked out now." You answer. "You sure?" "Well you can never be completely sure about these things, but we'll keep our guard up as usual and keep an extra special eye on Kol just in case. Maybe Grayhaze has something for that. We need to go to her anyway and get a ring enchanted to block out Fel again." "You don't think that we've angered a god by thwarting his plans?" "Well from what I can tell, Fel's plans mainly consist of him amusing himself. That was probably satisfied today from what I've heard of him. Anyway, can't rage against the gods, just can only hope they don't fuck you up too much. Still a pain in the ass though." "Sometimes I wonder if maybe our lives got more complicated after we left Holgard." "Perhaps in some ways, but its all been worth it. No point in wondering what if. In fact, given where I was mentally before we actually got together, I'm glad this is where choices led me." You give Vera an embrace and a kiss, which she returns. With today's crisis averted, everyone soon goes back to their routines, though you take the rest of day off to spend time with your family. It'll be a brief break, but at least a pleasant one and given the life you've chosen it's best you cherish those when you can. Long gone are the days of being a simple rogue. You've risen to a station even you never imagined. > Epilogue Epilogue 9: Rogue Nation Year 36 "If the Governor of Hessla doesn't like it, he can go get fucked. He doesn't own the fucking ocean. In fact up until recently he practically had free reign on this part of the world. Not my damn fault that he just sat around getting fat and thinking his monopoly would never end. That's why his shithole of his is starting to become a ghost town." You say. "Um, so what message did you want to send?" Marco asks. "Same one I always send Marco, continue to do what the fuck I want. If the infamous governor has a problem with my activities then he can either declare war or he can come up with some sort of reasonable deal as opposed to limp wristed threats." "He's really not going to do anything. He's just whining in the hopes to prove to his people that he's still got some balls." Vera adds. "Yeah, that's what I figure too. Anyway Marco, don't bother having anyone send a response, everyone has more important shit to do than worry about Hessla." "As you say boss, oh um...Countess, are you visiting the news mines that we're operating now?" Marco asks. "Huh? No. Why the hell would I do that?" Vera replies. "Well you said you wanted to make sure the slaves we assigned there were being carefully supervised and all security measures were in place." "Oh right. That was a concern. Yeah I'm going, I'll be there later. Don't bother forwarding my arrival though; it'll be a nice surprise for anyone I find slacking." "Very good, I take my leave Countess...and boss..." Marco says and leaves. After Marco leaves, Kol who is in the room suddenly speaks up. "Dad? Why don't people call you Count like they call mom Countess?" Kol asks. "Well son, it's because titles don't mean anything; it's the power you have that matters. I mean you just heard about a man that calls himself Governor of Hessla. Sounds pretty important right? Certainly sounds more important than boss. Except in the scheme of things he doesn't have much power at all. He's running a dying town, meanwhile I'm in charge of an entire island." "You still could start using the title, it's very awkward and weird when I'm addressed as Countess, while you're still going by something so...mundane." Vera says. "Well maybe it's a little paranoid of me, but most of the time when someone like me achieves something far beyond his status and then begins calling himself stuff like king or emperor, very bad things happen to him." "What about me? I'm still here. You think something bad is going to happen to me?" "It's different with you. You've got royal blood, so it's at least more fitting for you." "Dad can I start calling myself a prince?" Kol asks. "I don't think that's exactly how the royal titles work, but hey you've got some of your mother's blood in you so sure when you start running a few things around here, you can ask to be called whatever crazy royal title you like. Anyway, isn't it time for your lessons?" "Yeah I suppose it is." Kol answers. "Okay, well off you go with Layla then." Layla who has been standing nearby silently the whole time walks forward towards Kol who again doesn't seem enthused until she takes his hand and smiles at him. "Come, my little prince, we'll make a game out of it today." She says. "That's sounds fun!" Kol exclaims and happily walks off with her. As you watch the pair of them leave together, Vera speaks up. "He's gonna end up fucking her when he's a teenager." She says. "What?" You remark. "I'm telling you, he's already developing a little crush on Layla and that's probably not going to go away any time soon." "But she's much older than him." "By the time he's a teenager, Layla's still not going to be an old hag. I mean she's barely an adult herself right now. So I imagine he'll still physically attracted to her, to say nothing of the emotional attachment he'll have." "Yeah, I guess you're right." "I know I'm right, I should reassign her." "What for? He's happy with her and she's good with him when we're not around. Breaking them up right now isn't exactly going to do anyone any favors. So what if he fucks her later?" "While I'm sure you'll be very proud of your son becoming a man and all that other macho shit, I don't think you're think of the possible ramifications. I mean crushes can turn into love. We can't have him falling in love with a slave girl." "Hmm...go on." "This isn't even counting the possibility that Layla might even be playing the long game here. I mean what if she's counting on him falling in love with her? I mean he's got magical powers, if push came to shove he start rebelling against us if we didn't approve of her. Which we wouldn't of course." "I don't have anything against Layla. In fact you were the one who told me she was a good idea and I eventually agreed with you! You didn't even freak out about this until I brought it up just now." "Yeah well, now it's a concern. I mean I just don't see it ending well if he falls in love with her. I mean either we have to get rid of her permanently which might end badly. Or we'd have to accept her and even free her which again might be her plan." "Well to be honest, if she IS planning that I can't say as I'm too mad about it. I mean she's pretty much doing the only thing she can in her position which admittedly better than most, but still a slave nonetheless." "I don't know how you aren't worried about this! I mean she might be planning to bump us all off and become queen of the island!" "Mm, I like to think at least ONE of us would stop her before it got that far. Look, I think you might be overreacting, but I suppose it's always better to be a little cautious on these thing, so I'll have a talk with Kol later about Layla and explain how things need to be. Don't reassign her though, I mean she's still doing a good job otherwise." "Well, okay..." Suddenly Marco comes walking back in. "Boss, there's a lady out here that wants to see you. Even called for you by name. She says she come about the bard position, but as far as I know we didn't have one of those." Marco says. "Bard position? We didn't...wait a minute. What does she look like?" Marco goes into a physical description of the woman, her demeanor, her clothing, everything. You instantly smile. "Yeah send her in right away." You say. "Okay boss." Marco says and leaves. "Who is it?" Vera asks. "Someone from the past. You'll see." Soon your guest arrives. Time has passed, but the face is one you could never forget. "Sis! It's damn good to see you after twenty years!" you say and immediately go to her and give her a hug. "It's good to see you too. Hey don't squeeze too tight, I got my mandolin on my back and it's pretty unique." Your sister says. "Well you look good anyway, not sure about your clothing though, a little too colorful for my tastes, but then you always were the flashy one." "And I see even with being in charge of an island you're still dressing like you just got out of bed." "It's one of the perks of being in charge of an island. You can dress anyway you want. Come, let me introduce you my wife!" You go over to Vera who stands waiting. "So, you're the twin sister I've heard about over the years. Were you planning on staying for a long stretch of time?" "Um, yes I was planning on sticking around a little while. Why?" "Oh, I just have some important matters to attend to so I'll be happy to speak with you when I have more time. Nice meeting you though." Vera kisses you goodbye and remarks about heading over to the slave mines. After she leaves its just you and your sister. "Um, I get the impression your wife doesn't like me already." Your sister says. "Eh, she's been taking her self appointed title of Countess a little too seriously lately. Acts like she was born in a palace made of gold with only the finest silk to wipe her ass with. I still love her all the same mind you." You remark. "Well as long as you do right? So if she's a Countess, does that mean you're..." "No, I've chosen not to go by any silly ego driven titles, I'm just me. I already had a talk with my son about that. You can meet him later, he's busy with his lessons right now. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to show his aunt his magic skills." "Magic...wow, I have so many question and I've only just stepped in the door!" "Speaking of questions, how did you even know I was here?" "You're joking right? You're in charge of a new nation that's currently making waves in the underworld circles. You're getting pretty infamous, however you also sent a letter to mom and dad years ago, so even if you hadn't achieved all this, I still would have assumed you were at this location." "So you've seen them?" "Yep, they showed me your letter when I was visiting not too long ago. Mom kept it." "Good old mom, never quite giving up on me. Okay now I got questions too, let's go over some place to sit and talk." You and your sister head to a more comfortable room where you both can relax while addressing each other's questions. Your sister goes first and briefly goes into some of the places she's been. She says she actually passed through Holgard at one point, but apparently you must have just missed each other at the Baroness' party! Apparently she was invited there by some aristocrat and was even playing somewhere in the palace, but left as soon as everyone got all grabby and she started feeling really weird. "Yeah, they put some sort of fucked up drug in the drinks. I was glad I got out of there myself." You say. "You're not kidding. I mean I've always been a bit of a free spirit, but I like them one at a time, not as a mass of bodies." Your sister says with a bit of a chuckle. She also goes back to how she recently visited your parents and besides being glad to see her, they also told her what happened with you a few months after she left. What's fascinating to you though is apparently you were cleared of murder months after you left! Your father managed to save Annah's life and with her statement and a few others who saw everything reluctantly stepped up to tell the truth, your actions were considered a justified crime of passion rather than outright murder. "So wait, am I still wanted there?" You say. "Well...a lot of time has passed and that sheriff who hated you is long dead now. Klint's father also isn't there anymore, so I think you're in the clear legally, but I wouldn't exactly say you're wanted if you know what I mean. Though Annah apparently still thinks highly of you." "Heh, glad she survived. What about mom and dad?" "They're fine. I suppose this would be a good time to tell you, we got a new brother." "WHAT?! They had another child?! When?!" You exclaim. "I guess shortly after we both left. I think he's about twenty or around that age. He's okay, a bit on the straight-laced side. Guess mom and dad finally got the well behaved child they always wanted." "I guess so...sheesh...well I guess it's just as well. Not like they're going to ever see me again." "Well news of what happened on this island hasn't quite reached Teckleville yet, but even if it did, I'm sure Mom would probably still want to see you. Not sure about Dad, but I doubt he'd throw you out on your ear right away, especially if you brought a grandchild with you." "Yeah, I just don't think it's a good idea, but maybe if you ever visit them again, could you tell them that I'm doing okay?" "Of course." "Thanks sis. And again, I've really missed you. Wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again either. I mean I know I wasn't...we both weren't Joachim saints, but I think you can see I moved on to some rather hardcore shit. Compared to the simple pickpocketing and thievery I was doing before." "Well I don't deny, your new status is a bit intimidating on a certain level. The slave trade part is especially a bit of grim business, but you're my brother and no matter what, I'll be by your side." Your sister says touching your hand. You and your sister look at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that some bonds never die. "Hey, if you're not going to by any special titles, can I at least add one to myself? I mean I am your sister. I mean I'm actually royalty now and I didn't even have to marry someone to do it!" Your sister says. "Sure, if you want. Not like I could stop you from doing so if I wanted to anyway." You say "I'll think of something later, but anyway, now that I've filled you in on some of my journeys, it's time for you to do likewise! Give me all the details because I trust that this will definitely be a very interesting story!" your sister says. "Well, you might be surprised how dull day to day life can still be for a tyrant. Still, I'm sure there will be more than a few bits that will interest you. Some of which happened before I became one. I warn you though, it's a long story." You say. "Best ones usually are." Your sister responds. You begin your tale...

Year 34 "I gotta say Marco, I was skeptical when you first brought the idea to me and going by the story you're telling me, I'd say I was completely right. Fortunately for you Yag smiles on fools and it worked out anyway." You remark. "Yeah...I suppose so." Marco says standing before you looking completely disheveled. "What I don't understand is why you came so clean with everything. I mean given the haul you brought in, I wasn't even going to bother asking you too many in depth questions." "Uh, yeah I know, but I was afraid if you thought everything went completely well, you would have sent us out again." "Hm, I suppose that was a bit of forward thinking on your part then, because you're probably right. Guess this is one of those rare cases where honesty was the best policy after all. Well I guess you and your little friends have finally gotten your pirate dreams out of your heads now." "Yeah, it sucks. Months out at sea, nothing to do. Rationing food and water. And the worst is getting lost. As I said, it was a good thing that merchant ship came when it did, our boat was starting to sink." "Certainly an unconventional way of taking over a ship. Signaling for help legitimately, being invited aboard as an act of mercy and then when you were feeling slightly better, you just held them all at gunpoint. Still, not only did you bring back an entire new ship intact, you brought back most of the crew as slaves, as well as all the loot. Not sure what we're going to do with crates of scrolls with Nichan writing all over them, but I'm sure someone is going to have an interest in this stuff. Always a market for something." Marco just nods silently, he's obviously just glad you aren't punishing him and he's back on dry land. You didn't think much of Marco and his "gang" when you first met them, and to be honest you still don't, but you suppose they've come a long way since those days or at least the ones that have survived have. "Alright Marco, I guess you and what's left of your group friends can go take some time or whatever for the next couple days. Don't go too far though, never know when some extra bodies might be needed." You say. "Thanks boss." Marco replies and takes his leave. With Marco's shit out of the way, you go about inspecting the latest expansions around the temple, which is now starting to resemble a "town hall" since there are separate buildings popping up all around it. These aren't just criminal types either opening up brothels or gambling centers. You've actually got a some ex-Jicol citizens opening up legitimate businesses since Jicol is on the downturn and they've lost their homes and businesses in that city thanks to the flooding disaster that the city STILL hasn't completely recovered from. Doesn't really hurt to have cooks, blacksmiths and the like around so you've assured that they will not be harassed as long as they pay the usual "protection tax." While it's not exactly a proper town, already people are starting to give it the name of Nightfall. You imagine the name is related to the Nocturnal League's name as well as the deity that the temple was once dedicated to. Speaking of Fel, you've been checking to make sure Kol hasn't been having any odd dreams or anything. So far so good, and Grayhaze's medallion is obviously working. He still casts his little shadow tricks every now and then, but again nothing major. You figure in another couple years he'll be ready to start learning from Grayhaze's book proper. As for you, the only concerns you've been having, as of late is the Ebony Claw Syndicate and to a lesser extent, the Jicol government. The ECS is always a looming threat in the back of your mind. You know there is going to be a reckoning with them soon and it's probably going to initially come in the form of intimidation first. So far they haven't even contacted you, though you imagine when they do it's probably going to be in the form of several shadow magic trained assassins. If they're feeling benevolent, they'll try to intimidate you first into paying them a cut of your profits and then get rid of you later. You suppose you could be big enough and out of the way enough that a take over might be considered costly for them and not worth it, but you can't help but believe that they'll try anyway. Your more immediate concern however is the Mayor of Jicol who has implemented draconian measures in rebuilding Jicol due to the fact that people were starting to leave the city and even coming to Nightfall. He's completely shut the gates to the city and not allowing anyone in or out unless it's by ship and even then it's only legitimate trade as Jicol has now banned all pirates and the like from using their harbor anymore. In fact if they come within a certain range of the city, they'll be fired upon. This has put a bit of a crimp in your own businesses a bit. Your own "habor" isn't nearly big enough to accommodate all the visitors you might get. You're trying to expand, but there is so much else to do. Not to mention slaver ships and pirates now have to sail all the way around the island to dock at Nightfall so they don't get fired on now. It's a pain in the ass for everyone involved. Getting Grayhaze's supplies to her is also a concern, you'll need to get those to her somehow and with the city locked down, the only option is to somehow sneak in which means either digging a tunnel and risking another flood, or taking a small boat and trying row around to one of the open areas where the sea and the city have no barrier, but that would be incredibly risky given the heightened security. Using swimmers would probably be less risky, but not much better. It was suggested a few times in the past that the League should just try to take over Jicol, but honestly it's not like that would have been really feasible or cost effective to even attempt. However, it's starting to look like you might have to do something though. You envision that it would be possible to have your people sneak in during the night and employ hit and run assassination tactics against the Jicol Watch, and ultimately open the gates to let the rest of your people in. Still, your numbers still aren't overwhelming enough to make the potential victory to not be costly. This isn't even counting the small fortress that the mayor of Jicol never leaves which again isn't a problem to get into, but who know what the hell is in store for you inside. Even if you take Jicol, you're still left with its naval forces. Who knows if they'll just surrender or not. Any plan to attack Jicol is going to come at a cost. Since you aren't sure what to do, you ask the only person you trust about all this. "I don't know." Vera says. "Great, I was hoping for some enlightenment on this situation." You remark. "Well I mean you've explained the pros and cons of everything and I more or less agree with everything, including not being sure of what the best approach is." "Well in any case, I gotta get the supplies to Grayhaze. Last thing I need is to piss off an old witch on top of everything." "Sneaking in the city shouldn't be an issue should it?" "Eh, it's going to be a pain in the ass, but it can be done. It's also possible that this is going to just be temporary and even if it isn't, it probably won't hurt our business too much and we'll survive." "Yeah, but...wait a minute. What about that merchant ship that Marco just brought in?" "What about it?" "Couldn't we use it to get into the Jicol harbor?" "Maybe once, and then they'd probably execute everyone on board. Our people aren't exactly the most subtle, if you were thinking about having them masquerade as merchants." "I dunno, Marco managed to do it and he's an idiot." "Marco and his crew were also genuinely in danger at the time so it was a lot more believable that they needed help." "Well why don't we do that?" "Do what?" "Put the ship in danger?" "What are you suggesting then?" "I'm saying we hire some pirates to attack our ship as it approaches Jicol. Naturally the Jicol navy is going to go into action and our ship safely gets in the harbor while they're distracted." "And then?" "Well then our people come screaming out of it and start wreaking havoc in the city." "Hm, certainly a different idea I had about infiltrating the city which involved sending a few to scale the walls or swim around and attack silently over the course of a few days." "Could work too. I mean if we did attack, we probably should go all the way with it so employing both tactics would be best. Also if we were going this route, with hiring pirates to provide back up, I think I can convince one I know Zamed, to lead." "Hm. I know who you're talking about. Never trusted him." "Well he's a pirate, of course he's not trust worthy, but he's had the most experience with doing privateer work for the Delantium Kingdom, so he'd probably be able to organize a small group of ships to harass our enemies effectively. Of course it would be very expensive to secure their reliability." "I dunno. I mean the plan with the merchant ship sounds okay, but I'm not sure if I want to pay out any more coin for pirate assistance. Also I don't see them lasting too long against the Jicol navy and that seems like a waste." "Well you wouldn't pay them all of it obviously and you could promise them some of the spoils. Either one of two things is going to happen. Either none of them survive and you won't have to pay them or some of them survive which means they turned out to be a better investment after all and you still probably won't have to pay much since I can't imagine there will be that many survivors." Well there's a couple ways you could go if you did decide to take over Jicol, though maybe the best solution is to just leave it be. > You attack Jicol without assistance You think you need to keep this all in the family so to speak. No need to hire a bunch of pirates who might not be reliable anyway. "We're doing this ourselves. I don't want to rely on outside help, also we can get this plan underway a lot quicker with just us involved." You say. "Well if you think that's best." Vera remarks. "I think it is. Guess I better inform Marco that his days at sea aren't quite finished yet since he'll be the one to take the merchant ship seeing as he's got the most experience with it and nobody else here is much of a sailor." "Neither is Marco apparently from what you mentioned on his attempt to be a pirate." "Hm, I'm confident that he'll have at least enough experience to pull this off, since that's not going to be the hard part anyway, it's getting off the ship and out of the harbor area alive as soon as he enters it." Later when you inform Marco, (who was just starting to enjoy his time off) he is indeed not happy about hearing what his latest task is going to be, but you don't need him to be happy about it, just compliant. Which of course he is. He does carouse extra harder though for the remainder of the time off you've given him though. You inform the rest of the League of your plan and assign your most skilled to start finding ways (or making ways) of sneaking into the city now. You tell them not to engage anyone and to keep a low profile while they're scouting the security and such. You then tell them you want a report on everything within the next few days. A month passes and Marco and his crew are about as ready as they're going to be and your spies that have been sneaking in and out of Jicol, have made steps in opening the gates along with just creating as much havoc for ground forces as possible during the actual attack. As far as your involvement, you're going to take a lesson from the last time you led one of these attacks. Meaning you're not going to put yourself on the front lines and going to stay at a camp a mile away from Jicol's gates. The day of the attack within the first hour you wait anxiously for a report. With any luck Marco's crew will manage to make it off their ship before they're all slaughtered. In another couple hours, a runner finally comes to you with news that your people have opened the gates and fighting is going on all over the city. Marco and his crew successfully entered the harbor and managed to fool the Jicol Watch long enough to break through and start joining the attack on the city. No sooner has this runner given you this information when a loud explosion is heard along with a visible black cloud in the distance of the city, you surmise that Marco's merchant ship that was also full of explosives was set off in the harbor. A few days pass and the fighting is still going on and it's not going well. The Jicol forces have managed to maintain a stalemate. Marco has apparently died in the fighting as well. You're still at the camp, not having set foot in the city yet and you're starting to wonder if this was a good idea. You might have to hire pirates and mercenaries to finish this job if things continue to go this way. Suddenly you hear several loud explosions, but this time coming from the direction of Nightfall! You immediately start running back in that direction and bump into one of your people along the way. "Boss! Boss! Jicol has mounted a counter attack! They're blasting us with cannons from their ships and we can't do shit about it!" he says. "Are their no pirates docked in our harbor?" "No, and the one slaver ship was sunk during the initial volley." "Why the fuck wasn't I informed soon..." More explosions are heard and now you're seeing chunks of stone flying overhead. "Shit!" you say and push your underling aside and continue to run towards Nightfall. When you arrive, you find several dead bodies and people running about in panic. Some of your men ask you for further instructions, but you're not even paying attention, you're just looking at the temple, which is half in ruins. You don't see Vera or Kol and you're sure they would be out of the temple by now. You run towards the temple even though some are telling you not to go in since its being targeted, but you don't listen or care. You run through the increasingly unstable temple which is already starting to collapse from weakened structure in an attempt to find your wife and child. And you do, but no longer alive. You find the pair of them not far apart from each other. Their broken bodies are partially covered by several large stones, which you assume killed them instantly. You collapse in despair and begin to weep, ignoring the several new explosions causing more of the temple to crumble around you. You brought all of this on them. While you probably could get out in time, you don't bother, choosing to die along side your family in the same manner they died.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, serious] Year 32 "Okay, we're heading out to finish these assholes for good. You stay here and keep things running here as you do." You say. "Oh sure, keep me at home, to look after the kids while you go out and have fun." Vera says. "Well, it's important that you know your place as a woman. Speaking of kids, where's Kol?" "Gertrude is currently looking after him." "I swear I don't really like you leaving our son with her." "He's fine and she's been nothing but helpful. I mean hell, she's probably one of the few people I'd trust with him." "Dangerous to go around trusting the lot we associate with, but something about her bothers me." "You didn't even know who the hell she was until she was promoted to midwife and babysitter. Which is amazing since she's one of our older members that stuck with us since Holgard." "Alright, alright, if you trust her then I guess that's good enough for me." "No it isn't." "Yeah, probably not, but I don't have time to worry about it right now." "Why are you even going on this task? You said you had people in Jicol located at the docks to make sure he didn't try to get away and there are more than enough people to attack where the JCR are making their headquarters." "I want to make sure everything goes right. I can't just sit around barking orders while getting old and fat. That's how crime bosses assassinated. I need to keep in practice and my skills sharp." "Hm, I suppose that makes sense, but I'd say you're not really in any danger of being perceived as weak by any of our underlings right now." "And I intend to keep it that way." "I'd prefer it if you took less risks, besides if anyone was going to challenge your position you'd be dead before you even knew what was going on since I'd just poison your food and the shit would be over with." "Poison? Really? I would have thought if it was going to be you, you'd probably stab me while in the middle of sex." "Mm, too risky. Besides, that would just be foreplay not murder." "Well let's not do that either." "You're always so reserved. But if you're really insisting on going, be careful and don't lead the charge." Vera has been overly concerned with your safety ever since she had Kol. You suppose you get why she is now due to you being the father of her child and all, but sometimes it's a bit too much. "I'll be fine Vera, stop fussing!" you exclaim. "You sure you're not also going out of revenge?" Vera asks. "Revenge?" "Yeah, Revenge tends make people a little reckless and I mean this has been sort of personal since you learned who the leader of JCR is." "Mm, I mean it certainly was unexpected when I found out. Perhaps less unexpected when he wouldn't even hear me out, but I can't say this is out of revenge. I imagine he would be more motivated by revenge than I would, hence why he stuck around to fight. I'd say if anything I'm more motivated by tying up an old loose end that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass in the future." "I suppose that makes sense. Okay then, apologies for my fussing as you put it.." You kiss Vera goodbye and say one more thing before leaving. "Gotta say though when Sneaks ran away all those years ago, I never expected it was to Jicol." You head to Jicol to go meet Marco and the rest. Along the way you think about how history is sort of repeating itself here. A larger criminal organization crushing a smaller one. The only difference is you're the leader of the larger one this time. You have to wonder why Sneaks didn't just take off like he did last time. Unless he really is that pissed at you, which you assume he is, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered with all this and you would have easily taken over long before now. When you get to the simple home that the JCR was using as a main headquarters, you find that your people are currently arguing with some of the Jicol Watch. Great. "Keep talking to me like that you little shit, and I'll just run all of your assess in. I still remember you and your gang of hooligans breaking several windows and punching old people in the face a couple years ago!" one of the guards says. "Yeah well things are different now and YOU don't tell us what to do anymore!" Marco exclaims. You smack Marco upside the head when you arrive. "Yeah, but I do. Now shut the fuck up Marco, and what's the problem here?" you ask. "The problem is, your little crime war was supposed to be kept to a dull fucking roar and for the past couple months you lot have been murdering each other in the streets and scaring the shit out of the civvies! You also got gangs of thugs like these loitering around. Now I know we have an agreement that will keep most of the scum out of this city for good, but the mayor is getting very weary of this conflict and is wondering if he shouldn't just have all parties involved executed." The watchman captain says. "The same mayor that allows pirates and the like to use his docks? Please, the mayor is no fucking Joachimite saint. We moved all of our shit out of Jicol and now we're doing the job that YOU lot couldn't. We're almost done with finishing off these assholes, we just need to clean out this place and get their leader." "And we're here to see it gets done thoroughly because this needs to be finished TODAY." The watchman captain at this point signals to his platoon that all draw their weapons and then turns back to you as if daring you to argue. "Fine. If you want to help, I'm not going to stop you, but stay out of our way." "Oh I wouldn't worry about that, because you lot will be taking the lead anyway. Not about to have you bunch sneaking about behind us." Marco starts to say something, but you stop him. "But boss..." Marco says. "Shut up Marco. Alright, let's finish these fuckers for good." You say to your people and motion to enter the place. No sooner has one of your people stepped into the front door and they nearly get beheaded by a swinging axe trap. Unfortunately, they still get skewered by the spear trap when they ducked and dodged to the left. You shake your head. "For fuck's sake people, this place is going to have traps up the ass, keep alert!" you shout. For at least the next hour, you search the house disarming traps and uncovering secret doors. You don't find anyone though. Meanwhile the Jicol Watch is still standing in the front room getting impatient. "Well?" the captain remarks. "Well what?" you answer. "I thought you said the leader was here and so far this place is empty." "Yeah well I imagine there's a hidden trapdoor that we haven't uncovered yet. They're probably either hiding underground, or maybe even escaped through a tunnel." "Underground tunnel? There isn't much they could dig without risking hitting water and flooding said tunnels. In case you didn't realize, we're on a fucking island." "I'm aware, but that doesn't mean they still didn't do it. Besides all that, the leader has experience with underground dwellings that are half submerged in water." Before you can have any further discussion, Marco comes back to you. "Hey boss, we found a trapdoor, looks like it goes down into a cellar. Um, we also lost Orin. Got a bunch of spikes in the face when he opened the trap door." "Idiot. Anyway, see? I told you there was going to be a trapdoor." You say. "Hm, well you're still leading the way." The Watchman captain says. After a few more of your people check out the immediate room below, you descend down the ladder. You give a quick look and see that this room wasn't dug out recently. It was actually part of the original house since it actually has solid walls and a solid floor. However, to your left, is where you start to see the construction. You examine the entrance of the dug out tunnel in an attempt to detect any traps but find nothing. Your people go a little further and soon discover that there are tunnels going in several different directions. "Well, have to hand it to you Sneaks, you didn't just sit on your hands. You literally dug in deep to make it difficult to root the last of you fuckers out." You think to yourself. Given the extensive amount of tunnels, you're actually surprised he didn't end up flooding Jicol with a misplaced dig like the Watchman captain was talking about. You briefly go down one of the tunnels and soon find that you're ankle deep in water. This is going to be a mess hunting Sneaks and whoever else down here. In fact, you're starting to wonder if Vera was right and you shouldn't even bother being here. Especially with the Jicol Watch being involved as well. > You finish the job You're here now, you might as well finish it. Besides, it would be best if you saw to eliminating Sneaks because you sure as hell don't want him escaping somehow to give you grief later. You tell your people to extra careful for traps and to keep alert, you then proceed to hunt down the last of the JCR. Things go very slowly, but initially at least people aren't getting themselves killed. Trouble comes when you actually come up against the remnants of the JCR who have made several cubbyholes and the like to launch ambush attacks. Not to mention you're practically waist deep in water now and as far as the Jicol Watch is concerned, there is no sign of them. Apparently they've all just decided to stay up top and let you take the beating. On top of all that, you still haven't found Sneaks. With only you, Marco and a couple others left, you're finally done. "Fuck this Marco, we're going back. This has been a fool's errand and we're done with it." You say. "But Boss, what about..." Marco starts to say before a loud explosion from one of the corridors suddenly interrupts him. You soon look on in horror as a surge of water starts coming at you. You don't even have time to run. More explosions are heard and then the water hits you hard. You struggle to swim as the torrent takes you, but with now water seemingly rising and pouring in from everywhere, you can't even find an air pocket. Several minutes pass and you eventually can't hold your breath any longer giving into a watery death.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, fantasy] Year 29 Lot can change in just a few years, some things you predicted, others not so much. The Church of Joachim being outlawed in the city wasn't too surprising given all the trouble that was caused and how Holgard in general tends more towards embracing sin and vice rather than moving away from it. Still, sort of funny that the faith is now in the company of it's eternal enemy, Neroth as far as being illegal. As for the other faiths, only the temples of Dorna and Fel maintain any presence in the city and in the Felians case, that's thanks to Shade dying soon after the war was over and the new leader Gloom, making an effort to strengthen their relationship with the upper echelons of the government, namely Baroness Ludmilla. Gloom has also extended a hand to the Nocturnal League, stating that the temple would be more than willing to come to an understanding like it had with the Ebony Claw Syndicate and train your members in shadow magic. You declined that offer though. You've always said members are free to pray to whoever they want, but if they're going to be wrapped up in Fel (or whoever) that hardcore then they can go take up some black robes and start living in their temple's meditation rooms. The less religion you have in your organization the better. Still, your cordial relationship with the temple has had benefits you hadn't intended. Due to the Felians being on better terms with the Baroness, some of that "understanding" has inadvertently trickled down towards you. As a result the Nocturnal League has freer reign over the city than it once did. Possibly similar to what the ECS once had. So things are going good for the Nocturnal League and business couldn't be better. You haven't had any decisions of the major kind lately, but for whatever reason this has caused you to sometimes over think the minor ones now that do crop up. Like right now for instance. "You were invited to the Baroness' yearly costume party? How the hell did that happen and why aren't you immediately making preparations to go?!" Vera asks. "Just one of the perks of being allied with the temple of Fel I suppose. Gloom had one of his members deliver this letter to me a week ago. Apparently Baroness Ludmilla has heard interesting things about me and would like me to show up at her party so she can see for herself." You say. "She thinks yer intresstin'? She really doesn't know youz at all." Warts snarks and chuckles at his own attempt at a joke. "Well, you have to go right? I mean it's the Baroness." Vera says. "I dunno. I mean I suppose I see why I should, just don't really feel up to it." You reply. "What? When the Baroness of Holgard calls you to court, you have to go!" "Never knew you were such a supporter of our dear ruler. You secretly harboring royalist admiration?" "No. It's not like that! I mean yeah she's royalty, but not really. I mean... I dunno, I've always sort of admired how she took power from her father and brother I guess. She's a very powerful independent woman and has remained that way. I guess that's what I admire." "Hm. Well I guess I just see her as another corrupt aristocrat that used her position of power to gain even more power. Not that that's a bad thing, but nothing special. Lot harder to do when you aren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth." "Yes, yes, we all know. You cleverly lied, cheated, stole and murdered your way to your position. You're the epitome of a self made man. We're all very impressed. Truly. I'm wet just thinking about it. Still, I really think you should go to this party, if only so you don't inadvertently offend her which then will cause our current friendly relationship with the law to become unnecessarily complicated." "Yeah, I already took that into consideration. (Sigh) I suppose I'm going, though the letter also says I should bring one more person with me since that's apparently the rule of this event." As soon as you've said that, Vera's eyes light up. "Me! You gotta take me! Seriously I will seriously suck your dick if you take me to this party." Vera exclaims. "You mean aren't already?" Warts responds. "Wha? Why is that your go to action with me?" you say. "I'll do whatever you want to do then, look I don't care! I just really gotta go to this thing!" "Why? Wait a minute, you don't have a crush on the Baroness do you? I mean you were praising her pretty hard a moment ago." "No! This ain't about pussy bumpin! Its just...(sigh) nevermind you'll just make fun and if you don't I know damn well this ugly half breed will." "Oh fuck you, Vera." "Warts, step out of here. While there won't be any dick sucking involved, I am sort of interested in why Vera wants to go so badly." "Gruh, fine by me. I certainly don't wanna go. I gotta go see my kids anywayz, later." After Warts leaves you motion Vera to speak which she does though she's still a bit hesitant to do so, fearing that you'll make fun. Vera suddenly goes into more of her life story than you ever thought to ask of her. She mentions that her mother was once very briefly employed as a maid during the Baron's reign of the city. She goes on to say that her mother always told her that she once had a brief fling with him while she was cleaning one of the guest bedrooms. Unfortunately the Baron being the asshole he typically was, he had all the maids, including Vera's mother, replaced a week later because he claimed his palace wasn't getting clean enough. In any case, Vera said that shortly afterwards, her mother discovered she was pregnant and claimed to the day she died that Vera's real father was really the Baron. "Wait a minute...you're telling me you're actually bastard royalty?!" you ask. "I knew you'd make fun or not believe me." Vera says. "Honestly, it's not really that far fetched given what I've always heard about the old Baron. Though I'm just surprised you've never mentioned it before. Seems like something you'd brag about." "And get myself fucking killed?! No thanks! One of the big reasons my mother never told anyone or even tried to get financial support from the Baron is the fear of some assassin coming in to kill her and me. I mean I'm hardly the only illegitimate child the baron probably had and his son Farad was notorious for having suspected bastards killed. And if he didn't do it, I can't imagine Ludmilla was any different. Especially now." "I guess that makes sense." "Honestly, you're the ONLY person I've told about this and now that I've done it, I feel a little weird and vulnerable." "Well, I'm not going to say anything. Not like there would be anything to gain. Though I guess this is why you want to go to this party so badly huh? Experience what might have been? Possibly even briefly speak with your older half sister?" "...sort of. I know it's silly, but...sometimes I do think of a life that is different than this one." Vera's thoughtful words are a little out of the ordinary, but not lost on you. Not like you don't have similar thoughts on your own life at times. "Okay, I guess we'll go together then. Not like I can think of anyone else to take anyway. Says it'll be in three days so I suggest you prepare yourself." You say. "I will! Thank you for this boss!" Vera beams. "Don't mention it, princess." You mock. "So, what are you going to be wearing?" "I dunno. Some mask of some sort I imagine since it's a costume party. Which makes me wonder, how the hell is the Baroness going to know it's me if I'm wearing a mask?" "I imagine she's got some way of figuring it out. Make sure you dress nice though! I've heard about these things and if we go in looking like we crawled out of the sewers, they'll turn us away, invitation or not." "Yeah, yeah, I'll take a trip to the tailor's or something." A few days and a trip to the tailor's later, you're dressed and ready to go to this thing. You're not exactly comfortable in this type of clothing, but many League members compliment you on your new threads. Warts of course has something to say. "Oh well la de da, if it ain't da duke of da undaworld." Warts say. "Don't even start, where the hell is Vera, she's the one that made a bigger deal of all this?" "You ain't seen her yet? She's even fancier than you are right now. If it gets anymore highbrow here, we're gonna hafta forge all dat gold and silver we got inta fancy eatin' utensils." "Yeah, well this is a one time thing. So where's Vera again?" "She's in her room I think...um don't tell her I said so, but she iz sorta pretty. I mean she wouldn't be MY type, but y'know dressed like she iz right now, she looks like of doze princesses or sumthin. Hah, Vera a princess, dat's funny." "Yeah...hysterical. Later Warts." You shake your head and go get Vera. You don't even bother knocking on the door, you just enter and that's when you see Vera who turns around from her mirror to face you. She does indeed look a lot different than you're used to seeing her. "Wow. You look, really different." You say. "Good different or bad different?" Vera asks. "Neither...I mean good of course. Look, I'm just saying you could easily blend in with the rest of the aristocratic types. You're very pretty, like a princess and I'm not just saying that." "Thank you. You look...appropriate too." "The hell's that mean? I'll have you know I got a lot of compliments!" "Well of course you did, you're the boss. They're hardly going to tell you, you look like shit. Not that you do. You're fine. I guess we should get going, do you have your mask?" "Yeah, got one of those half masks. Don't really feel like struggling to breath with a full mask on that covers my mouth and nostrils. Still covers most of my face so I figure I'm good." You say and put it on. "I think most people will be wearing those so, you'll fit in fine. I got one too." Vera says and puts on her her mask and the pair of you are soon on your way. When you get to the palace you're sort of relieved since you half expect that you're going to get robbed on your way there. A guard stops you at the gates and you show your personalized invitation at which point you're waved through. You and Vera take a moment to sort of absorb the fact of where you actually are for a moment. The seat of rulership, the palace! The grounds are certainly well taken care of and it's obvious that every effort has been spared to make it look as festive as possible. The closer you get to the palace the more grandiose everything is. You also notice the increase in guards and you and Vera are patted down more than once. You get inside the palace and the elegance of the interior is about what you expect. Vera is practically enamored by everything. Right now, she's probably imagining herself as that princess you ribbed her about being. As for you, you're a bit more of a harder sell on being impressed by such things, but if you could run your organization from a place like this instead, you certainly wouldn't turn it down. You and Vera spend a bit of time just looking around until Vera wonders if you should start actively mingling with some of the other guests. You're of course against this idea, but you soon are forced into doing so anyway by someone you weren't expecting to talk to, or at least not so early. "Well, if it isn't the head of the Nocturnal League. Glad you could make it, I was hoping you would." And there you are standing before Baroness Ludmilla Varsakken. She wears no mask and at this close range you get a good look at her. She almost looks like she could be a vampire what with her skin on the paler side and the black hair accentuating it. She's beautiful of course, but just looking into her eyes a bit you can see a very ruthless woman before you. You also take a good look at her in general and then glance over at Vera. Now that you're looking at them both, there could very well be a family resemblance. "Well, you certainly like to stare." Ludmilla says, noticing your examination. "Oh, um, apologies. Just sort of...overwhelmed you know. Never thought I'd be before royalty." You say. "Hah, not the complete uncouth rogue I've heard our mutual Felian acquaintances tell me about I see. Good." "How did you know it was me anyway?" "I make it a point of knowing all my guests as they arrive. Not to mention your clothing isn't exactly shall we say refined enough. While I'm sure you thought it was very upscale looking, but the workmanship is obviously from one of the mediocre tailors in the city. Only a crimelord with no care for such extravagant airs would believe it to be sufficient for this party. Not to worry though, I will not hold it against you. You tried." "I appreciate that, and your invitation." "You quite welcome, and who is your companion here? She certainly seems to have a better grasp on the dress code. I dare say this dress is better than a few of the boring nobles here." "Thank you! I had it custom made a long time ago. Always knew I'd get to wear it some day!" Vera says a bit excitedly. "Now that's what I like to hear. A woman that plans in advance." At this point Ludmilla begins speaking to Vera and you excuse yourself to get a drink. While you don't normally do so, you get the impression you're going to need a bit of extra help to get through the night. You can't believe you're even in this situation, let alone acting the way you are. Still, you suppose it makes for an interesting change. Still, you really don't want to be here all night. You made your appearance and now you'd like nothing more than to leave. Vera however looks like she's having a good time and to be honest you don't want to ruin that. She does help you a lot with the League. So you go back to Vera and Ludmilla and stand nearby in an attempt to be social. Ludmilla goes back and forth speaking to you and Vera, though she surprisingly is more talkative to Vera. The Baroness seems to like to talk and can already guess that you're not exactly the most gregarious. Ludmilla and Vera talk for quite awhile, it's actually pretty amazing since it's about absolutely nothing. Or at least nothing you're much interested in. Ludmilla is mostly talking about herself and the troubles of being of noble birth. Goes on about how Vera's lucky to not have to worry about such things. Condescending of course, but if Vera noticed it, she's not fussed or at least not letting it show. It's sort of ironic anyway since Vera could very well HAVE had such problems if fate swung a different way. Eventually though Ludmilla tells the pair of you that while she was pleased to meet you both, she has other guests to see, even though they probably won't be as interesting you are. And the pair of you are left on your own. "Well that was interesting." You say. "Hm. Certainly was. Never thought I'd ever be directly in the presence of royalty before. Well not without my hands and feet in chains at least." Vera remarks. "Hah! Same here. So, you ready to go?" "What? Already? The party's just started and you want to leave?" "Well, I mean I dunno what else there really is to do here. I mean we came, we saw, we met the baroness. I mean we covered all the important shit. Not like I really have any desire to talk to any of the other assholes around here." "But, I wanted to stay a bit longer though. However, if you want to leave, I guess that's fine with me. You're the boss after all." "Alright, we can stay a little longer, but I'm going to find someplace away from most of these people. You can do what you like. I'll come looking for you in a while I guess." "Thanks boss, I'll see you later." Vera says and suddenly kisses you on the cheek before walking off to enjoy living the "high society life" for a little longer. As for you, you decide to just look around to waste time. You grab another drink and try to stick to less "populated" areas of the palace. Though obviously you're still limited to where you're allowed to go. Guards standby keeping an eye on everything. Time passes and while a few people attempt to speak to you, and few others seem to be talking about you (Mostly about your clothes) you basically ignore them all and just keep to your plan of moving about and sticking to areas where there are less people. While you're doing that however, you're also studying some of the lay out of the palace, or at least what you're able to. You also take notice of what valuable objects would be easy to take. You briefly flirt with the idea of stealing something from this place, but common sense soon wins out. Last thing you want to do is even risk pissing off the Baroness, especially since you're on good terms with her. Still, sometimes you miss the days of when you just stole things for a living. After wandering a bit more and entertaining the idea of pilfering the palace, you discard your usual procedure of avoiding the crowds and walk towards a room where you hear some music followed by a lot of clapping. You arrive just in time to see a crowd disperse before a group of musicians that apparently have just finished performing. Shame, from what little you heard, it sounded pretty good. You go and get yourself another drink and that's when you start to feel a little odd. Whatever this stuff is, it's apparently stronger than the taste would indicate. Still, it's a party right? Might as well try to loosen up. You realize you're not nearly as fun loving as you used to be when you were younger. In fact, you're downright stodgy at times. All you practically do is fucking work. Being a criminal isn't fun anymore, it's actually not even dangerous at this point, it's just well... mundane. How the hell did it come to this? If you wanted to be mundane, you might as well have stayed in Teckleville and followed in your dad's footsteps. Maybe he was right after all. No. You've seen and done much in your life thanks to leaving that boring town. After all, you're here in baroness' palace! You're just in a rut that's all. When you get back, you're going to shake things up within the League. Maybe expand again, maybe even to a new city like Hessla or Klyton. Still, it's all pretty pointless without someone to share it with. You couldn't go back home and say "Look mom and dad, look at what I've done!" It sucks. Your sister would probably be impressed, but who knows where she is. You hope she's having more fun than you are right now. You miss her sometimes. Simpler times. Happier times. Fuck it, you need another drink. As you go to get another you bump into a couple that are making out. "Excuse me." You say. "Mmm..." the woman says and strokes your arm as you pass by. The guy she's kissing takes no notice; he's too focused on her. You briefly think of Vera and how she kissed you not too long ago. Makes you wonder if she's got more than a bit of attraction toward you. You know she's always making these sexual offers toward you, but as far as you know she's not really known to be the "good time" girl within the Nocturnal League. So it makes you wonder if she actually feels affection towards you on some level. Sometimes you think about her too, since you work so closely together. It's almost like you're an old married couple. Of course it could be a case that she's perfectly fine being a potential whore if it's going to benefit her in the long run. Since you're the boss, and the only one above her in rank, makes sense that she'd only be offering you such extra "benefits." Regardless, you probably would have made a move on her if it wasn't for your condition. You nearly bump into another couple also making out. By the time you grab your drink, you realize there are a lot of people kissing and hugging each other. And some of them are getting pretty hot and heavy. Now you think of Tanya. You wish Tanya was still around. You'd love to share your success with her, but you guess that she moved on a long time ago. She claimed you'd move on, but you haven't. How could you? She was everything to you. If it wasn't for her, it's debatable that you would have even did any of this. You probably would have fucked around in Holgard for a few years and then just left when the Ebony Claw Syndicate started taking notice of you. She kept you around and made you fall in love with her. But you can't hate her for that. It wasn't her fault. It just was her nature. You look around and now you see several people doing more than just kissing now. "What the fuck?" you say to yourself and get up to leave. You must have wandered into some weird orgy room. You make it to a hallway and that's when you're starting to feel really...excited. You've got an erection right now that you could stab someone to death with and you are about ready to murder the closest woman available and worse, they're just about ALL available. Hell, with the way you're feeling, you're starting to worry if you aren't going to just fuck everyone on your way to the exit because it's been YEARS since you've had sex and right now your dick isn't caring. It has to be the drinks. You're sure of it. This whole party is probably just an excuse for rich people to have decadent orgies anonymously with each other. You need to get out of here before you kill everyone at this party with your cursed dick. The problem is you aren't sure if you're even going to make it that far. The best you might be able to do is find a place with no people about and stay there until the effects of the drink wear off. (Whenever that is) > You find a secluded room You aren't making it to the exit and even if you did, you still have to make it out the front gates, and through the streets of the city before you get home. Your "condition" isn't going allow you to get that far, you need to isolate yourself NOW. You quickly start opening doors to rooms in the hopes that at least one of them is completely empty. After stumbling into a couple rooms that are in the process of being used, you finally find a small guest room that seems to be empty since apparently people are dispensing with notions of privacy and content on fucking in public. You quickly enter and try to get over your condition. It's no use though, you had quite a few of those drinks and the urge is overwhelming. Since it isn't going away anytime soon, you do the only thing you can think of... And then you do it again immediately after. ...and then a third AND fourth time. "What the fuck did they put in the damn drinks, ground up unicorn testicles?" you mutter. At this point the excitement still hasn't subsided, and you still don't think you'd make it outside. And if you bumped into Vera on the way, well you'd definitely be taking her up on all those blowjobs she's offered you in the past. (In fact you were thinking about her the second time around) Just as you're about to start round five, the door opens! You forgot to lock it and suddenly it's like that time you were a teenager and your sister walked in on you accidently. (Man, that was awkward) "Shit! Get out of here!" you say, though your eyes are already drawn to this woman's body, which is still covered up, but only by a very colorful form-fitting outfit. She wears a half mask similar to the one you're wearing and her long hair is freely flowing behind her and partially on her shoulders. It's not white, but it's blonde enough to vaguely remind you of Tanya. (Though at this point she's dominating your thoughts) While you're busy making mental images, you've neglected to cover yourself and this woman has been doing the same to you. "Shit." You say attempting to cover up with a pillow and then once again telling her to get out. "If I step out of this room I'm gonna end up fucking every person out there! Granted I'm usually up for a good time, but I still like them ONE at a time. There is some seriously decadent shit going on out there and I was THIS close to joining in on it. If I knew they were going to put something in the drinks here, I never would have agreed to come to this damn thing!" the masked woman says. "Well we're in agreement there." "What?!" "As soon as I started feeling weird I put down some of my belongings and left them elsewhere. One of particular importance too! Fuck, I can't go get it now. Argh, I guess it'll be safe. Probably won't get stolen, but I sure hope somebody doesn't destroy it in an attempt to shove it up their ass or something. Look, I just need a place to hide for a while. At least until the effects wear off." "I don't think that's a good idea because if you haven't noticed, this is MY hiding spot! As for when the effects are going to wear off I have no idea. I just jerked off four times in a row and I'm still hard as a rock." "Four times? Fuck, that is fucking sexy..." The masked woman says and begins to touch herself while looking over your direction. "Hold on! Easy there girl!" you say backing up a bit on the bed. "Shit...this isn't going to work. We can't both stay here, or least we can't both stay here and not be fucking each other. To hell with it..." Without another word, the masked woman begins to take her clothes off. "What the hell?! This is NOT a good idea!" you shout. "Maybe not, but I can't take this feeling any longer. My plan was similar to yours, but apparently that hasn't worked for you either. We might as well alleviate the pressure and have some fun. And at least I'm not going to feel too bad about fucking a complete stranger as long as it's a one on one deal." The top part of her costume is off and you're about ready to go fondle her tits. In fact you're already standing up from the bed and walking towards her to do just that. "I seriously CAN'T do this." You say, barely stopping yourself. "And are you seriously telling me, you don't want THIS?" she says and forcefully puts your hands on her tits. As you caress her breast, you can feel the temptation overwhelming you. Her body is just...perfect to you right now. "Oh trust me, I want nothing more than to get you on all fours and thrust into you until you're crying from so much pleasure." "Well let's get on with that then, because that actually sounds like a lot of fun." "I...I can't! I really can't do this!" you say and pull your hands away, the woman's hands however go immediately to your crotch. "Your dick says otherwise. Come on, I'm fucking ready and I know you are." She says. "It would be dangerous." You say as you enjoy the scent of her this close up. "I sure hope so." Without another word, the woman kisses you and shoves her tongue in your mouth. You manage to briefly stop the grinding of your bodies long enough and pull your lips apart to speak. "Stop, stop! Seriously, this could be dangerous for you!" you say. "What? Wait, you don't have the fucking crotch rot do you?" she asks. "No, nothing like that, it's just...it's complicated and I don't have time to explain. You see, my girlfriend's a..." "Mmmm, I won't tell her if you don't." the woman says and begins going down on you. And it feels sooooooo good. You tried. You really tried. But you can't. You just can't any longer. The temptation is too great and this woman is too damn skilled, along with being very pretty. (At least from what you can tell, she's still partially covered with her mask) "Hold on, hold on, stop." You say one more time gently pushing her head away. "Fucking kidding me? What the hell now?" the woman asks. "If we're gonna do this...go lock the door at least. Last thing we need is more people wandering in and before we know it, it's not just us any longer." "Yeah, you got a point. Okay." As you watch her walk away, some guilt wells up inside you. You're going to kill this girl and you just don't have the willpower to stop yourself. The worst of it, is that guilt quickly goes away as you walk up behind her while she's locking the door and quickly strip off her panties before taking her on all fours on the bed like you promised. "Oh... fuck yeah. That's what I'm talking about." She pants as you enter inside her. The session is quite unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's raw; it's passionate and practically animalistic. And that's saying something considering you used to have sex with a succubus. Somehow though, it's much different. With Tanya, she was always still dominant in some way. With this woman, it's...well hard to describe. Maybe you've just longed for intimacy for so long, maybe it's the drugged drinks enhancing the pleasure to an unnatural degree, maybe it's the anonymity, maybe this girl is actually a magical fairy with a magical vagina, or maybe it's a combination of several factors. In any case it's almost like your bodies are in perfect sync with each other. Like it feels so natural and right that you're achieving some sort of emotional and even spiritual fulfillment as well as a physical one. You're so damn delirious that at one point in between the huffing and puffing and panting and dirty talk you suddenly blurt out: "I love you." And to your equal surprise: "I love you too...don't stop." She replies, followed by a pleasured moan. Needless to say, you don't until you (and her) are completely spent. At which point you collapse nearly directly on top of her and fall asleep or rather lose consciousness. You don't know how long you're out for, but when you wake up you're by yourself and there is no sign of the woman you were with. You half wonder if you hallucinated her, but you see that there is a discarded mask so you're guessing she was actually here. You slowly get up and rip your own mask off your face and look around for your clothes. While you're getting dressed you start feeling a sight ache all over your body. You feel drained in fact, almost reminds you of how you used to feel with your sessions with Tanya. But that woman wasn't Tanya. Last night was just you and some beautiful stranger under the effects of a powerful aphrodisiac that pushed the limits of your endurance. And of course that beautiful stranger will soon be dead. Just as well as you never learned her name or even saw her face. Makes the fact that you just condemned her to death a lot easier to cope with. Not much that can be done anyway. At least she had fun; at least you believe she did given her squeals of ecstasy. You stumble out of the room and find that several servants are cleaning up everywhere along with several disheveled noble types walking around half dressed and hung over. Nobody pays much attention to you and just goes about their own business as you make your way to exit the palace. As you get to the front door of the palace you see Baroness Ludmilla standing nearby saying goodbye to all her guests that are staggering out. The baroness doesn't look any worse for wear. Either she didn't drink what everyone else did or she's got amazing recuperative powers. When she sees you, she waves you over. "Hello again! I was hoping to catch you before you left! And by your appearance, it looks like you had quite the experience last night! Hope it was fun for you!" Ludmilla says. "It was different I can say that much. Have you seen Vera?" you ask. "Hm? Oh you mean the girl you came here with? No, I haven't seen her since the festivities were just getting started." "Okay then, guess I'll see her back home then." "I'm sure that's where she is. Goodbye and again I'm glad you came. I'm just sorry we didn't get a chance to talk more, but you know what? We should meet again sometime. Just us two. Talk about life and shit." "Um, sure I guess. Goodbye." You give a small bow to the Baroness, believing that you probably should show some sort of deference to her station. She seems to like that, and then you turn to leave because honestly you can't get out of there fast enough. It's a long walk back home and you're thirsty as hell. Probably dehydrated from all the wild sex you had. Along the way you stop inside a tavern and order a drink. Nothing alcoholic this time though. When the tavern keeper pours you a cup of apple cider, you go to pay for it and find what little coin you had in your pocket is gone! You check you other pockets and still nothing. "I don't fucking believe this...she fucking robbed me? Bitch!" you exclaim. "Um, sir?" the tavern keeper says. "What?" you say still distracted by the fact that you can't believe you got robbed. "I...um... know who you are sir, and um, there's no charge." "Oh, thanks." Well at least reputation has its benefits and now you're just irritated that you even spent any amount of energy feeling guilty about having sex with that thieving bitch. After drinking your fill and resting a moment, you eventually make your way back to the League headquarters where business is going on as usual. You ask various members if they've seen Vera, eventually you bump into her and she answers herself. She doesn't look any worse for wear. "Hey boss. There you are. Guess you found the party a lot more interesting than I did after all. What happened to you?" Vera remarks. "Never mind all that. What happened to you?" you ask. "Oh shortly after we separated I wandered and talked to a few people and even looked around seeing if I could steal anything, but there really wasn't a good opportunity, and then something weird happened." "Let me guess, everyone got all friendly?" "Yeah, REALLY friendly. Didn't know it was going to be that kind of party. Guessing something was in the drinks. Glad I hadn't drank anything while I was there. Still, I might have paired up with one of the horny aristocrat guys if it had just been a one on one thing, but then Ludmilla was around and she started hitting on me too and I got really creeped out. I mean she didn't know of course, but she could potentially be my half sister, and that just really put me out of the mood entirely. I ran out as soon as I could." "Yeah, potentially fucking a sibling, I can see where that would put a damper on things. Wish a damper was put on me last night." "So what DID happen to you? Did you get caught up in an orgy?" Vera asks with a grin. "No, but I did spend the entire night fucking some woman who apparently robbed me after I passed out." Vera starts immediately laughing at how someone like you fell prey to something like that. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." You grumble. "I'm sorry, but the fact you got caught like that is just hilarious." Vera says. "Yeah well, she's not getting too far." "Oh, you know who she is?" "Huh? Nah, I just have a strong feeling that fate is going to catch up to her. Anyway, I don't want to dwell on it anymore, let's just get to work. In fact before shit happened yesterday, I was thinking about potential expansion." "Where exactly? You thinking about getting a League chapter in the Delantium Kingdom?" "Maybe...but probably not. For whatever reason the Ebony Claw Syndicate has not fucked with us. If we start going into their territory, that could change. However I was thinking we could physically expand where isn't a strong organized criminal presence." "I suppose it's worth looking into, I've got a suggestion of where we should." "Oh?" "You ever heard of Jicol?" "Think I've heard some of the Hessla pirates we deal with mention it sometimes. Don't know much though." "It's a port town west of Hessla and from what I've heard it's wide open like a whore's legs. Nobody has tried to organize anything there and the city focuses so much on defending against potential pirate attacks that it doesn't have the heightened security like say Klyton does in recent years. I say we start there." Looks like you've got a new prospect. > Time passes... Year 31 "When are they supposed to arrive again?" you ask. "Um, lesee... the ECS rep is supposed to be here tomorrow by carriage." Warts says. "Okay. It's been what, like a decade that they haven't taken an interest in this place ever since they lost their chapter here, now all of a fucking sudden I'm receiving letters and having to meet with their reps." "Better dat den assassin blades." "I guess. Just wondering why now all of a sudden." "Maybe itz our expansion inta Jicol? We's startin' ta get bigger, dat shit kinda draws tenshun. Probably shoulda stayed small." "It was a risk, I suppose. Then again they might have fucked with us anyway. At least now we're a little stronger. Speaking of which, maybe we should get some of Gloom's people here tonight as extra security until this visit is over. Might as well put that alliance we have to good use." "Grh, I still don't trust dem shadow guyz. Dey used ta be allied wit da Syndicate." "Yeah. I know their faith is for the most part still chummy with the Syndicate, but ever since Shade split from the main faith, this particular temple seems to be independent and follow its own agenda. I guess we can get a feel of where their alliances lie at least. Sort of wish Vera was still around sometimes as an extra pair of hands and eyes, but she's more useful in Jicol. I think she needed the change of scenery anyway." "How iz things dere anyway?" "Last message I got from her she said there weren't any problems. Even starting to recruit a few of the locals there, which is good so we don't have to send any more people from here. Not to mention the profit she sent last month was the biggest yet." "You ever think she's skimmin'?" "Vera? Nah, but I'm sure she's probably running something on the side for herself. Which is fine by me if she is. I'd rather have her overlooking things there than anyone else." Later you go to the Temple of Fel to speak with Gloom about extra back up. Gloom as usual is always willing to assist you. You've always felt Gloom was way too friendly to be a Felian (Even his name is ironic) but better cordial than hostile you suppose. One thing you have noticed is that over the years, the Felians aren't quite the disciplined shadowy priests they once were. Not to say they wouldn't be formidable in a fight, but they definitely aren't like how they were under their previous leadership. Gloom wasn't even aware that the Syndicate was visiting. For a group that's generally known for being masters of secrets and such, they seem a bit out of the loop nowadays. After coming to an agreement with Gloom, you leave the temple and make your way back to your headquarters. The next day the ECS representative arrives. As mentioned in the correspondence to you, you meet in a "neutral" location at a tavern called the Bloody Bandit (Warts was right, why don't more of these places have inviting names?) You arrive with a few of the larger hobgoblins by your side. You weren't sure at first, but letting some of Wart's "buddies" from the Spiderfang tribe join was a good idea. They aren't as big as an ogre or as muscular as an orc but they're just as ugly and mean enough to intimidate most. You look around and notice that at least one of Gloom's people is here. There might be more, but if they are, they must be better at hiding themselves. In any case, you're satisfied that you have an advantage if it comes to a fight. Then you see who can only be who you're supposed to meet. A well dressed man with a thin mustache sitting all by himself and not looking very concerned about his surroundings. The fact that he's here by himself speaks of his confidence that he's either powerful enough to survive whatever you might have in store, or the consequences of him will be so severe that you won't even try. He's not drinking anything, but when he sees you he nods and waves you over. You tell your hobgoblin retinue to wait nearby and mentally prepare yourself. You sit down and the man briefly smiles. "Well, right on time. Always a good sign when someone is punctual. When I noticed the shadow blades come in here, I thought for a moment you were using some sort of weak psychological intimidation tactic and try to make me sweat while you came in late. Though I suppose you're just more concerned with security given your green buddies over there. Hobs are an unusual choice though. We usually use ogres or orcs, but then you use the savages you got access to right? I can appreciate a man who improvises. In any case, my name is Percy and I'm sure you want to get to it." "I do like to be direct." "So I've heard. Oh I've heard a lot about you actually. Don't know everything about you of course, but that's okay, a little mystery is always welcome. What do you say about mystery?" "Not a fan of it. I sort of prefer to know everything I can, so I'm not caught off guard." "Heh, and I knew that about you too! Maybe you're not so mysterious, but that's okay too!" Percy pats your hand from across the table in his enthusiasm. Honestly, you don't know if the guy is flirting with you at this point. Maybe it's a tactic to try to make you uncomfortable, whatever it is, you stay stoic. "So what is it that the Syndicate wishes of the Nocturnal League?" you ask. "Ah that is the question isn't it? What DOES the Syndicate want? I bet ever since you heard from us, you've been wondering. Is this a threat? Is this a deal? Is this an alliance? Is it a prelude to an attack? What COULD it be? Why has the Syndicate suddenly taken an interest in Holgard again after it abandoned it a decade ago? Well? Do YOU have any ideas?" Percy asks. "I'm a cynic so I'm guessing you're here to say you're taking over and this is my one warning to get out of the way. At best, you'll want me to still stick around. At worst, you've probably already poisoned me when you touched my hand." Percy laughs out loud. "You my friend have a very interesting imagination! I assure you, if we wanted you dead, we wouldn't even be talking right now. You are partially correct though." Percy says. "You're taking over." You remark. "No. Well not directly. We DO want you to stick around though. You see, we have done a little research on you. We know you came here years ago, we also know you were part of the Thieves' Guild here before that and were instrumental in its destruction which THEN led to you being part of the Syndicate chapter here. Before Rook apparently blundered and cocked everything up. During all that time though, up until you created this Nocturnal League, you at your core were a thief. A good one though from what I've heard." "Don't get to do it much anymore." "Mm, so to sum up, we have a simple thief who survived the destruction of not one, but two organizations that held the most sway in the underworld here. You then went on to create your own organization, which is now the only game in town. You also apparently managed to leverage an alliance with the Temple of Fel here. That is an interesting one considering the faithful of Fel and the Syndicate have been allies for many decades. Intertwined one might even say." "This group is a little different." "Indeed. I believe the High Shadow back in Delantium has had some issues with this particular branch in general, but that's an internal matter on their end. In any case back to you, it's all very impressive for someone of humble origins and very unusual how it all seemed to work out in your favor. One might even think you planned everything... well either that or you had the gods on your side." "Never really planned to be in the position I'm currently in and the only god I've ever gave a few words to is Yag and even then not much." "Well, then he must be rolling well for you every time. Perhaps it is luck that drives success in this city after all. Strategy, logic and even simple might seem to eventually fail in this city. This place is has always been problematic ever since the late Baron Vlad Varsakken declared his independence from Delantium. Even when we had a chapter here, it was always the least profitable of all of our holdings even with all the corruption going on, so when the leadership finally collapsed here and the rest of the lower ranks scattered to the winds. People higher than myself decided to wash their hands of the whole thing, not unlike the Delantium Kingdom did before I guess. However, things change and one of those changes is you sharing in your obvious success." And here it is, the shakedown. "I can see by your face you aren't pleased with that last statement, but I think you should look upon it as a compliment. Just think, YOU managed to do what the Syndicate could not. You made a success here with no competition and you built it all from the ground up. Granted you did use some of our people and even altered our product...Purple Wish? Come on, we all kno

w that's just an inferior version of Blue Dream, but it's probably for the best that you didn't try to rip us off directly. We might have very well sent assassins in that case." Percy says. "I had considered that, hence why I suggested changing the formula." You say. "See always thinking! Which is why a direct take over wouldn't be as efficient. I mean why come in here and stomp about establishing our dominance and wasting manpower and resources when you're here? A perfectly reasonable and intelligent man more than capable of running things and knowing to give us our due." "Also knowing I don't have choice in the matter either." "But there is ALWAYS choice! I just know you'll make the right one! I'm going to give you a sum and you can tell me if it's fair or rip it up. What you can't do is negotiate though. I'm afraid I'm not here to do that." With this statement, Percy suddenly takes a small piece of parchment out of his pocket and moves it across the table. You take it and look at it. It's not unreasonable, but it's not exactly something you'd be looking forward to paying every month. Especially when you're already kicking bribes to the Holgard government. Still, you're getting a lot of leeway all things considered. For now you're going to accept. You can always figure something out later. "Very well I accept." You say. "Good! I knew you would! You didn't get where you are by being an idiot! Now that business is over, I'm going to be in the city a few more days before coming to see you again for the first payment. Now I know you're a busy man with busy people, so I don't expect you lot to see to me and I'm more than capable of protecting myself. However, I would like some suggestions on where all the good spots to have fun and unwind are here." After giving Percy some suggestions he shakes your hand and thanks you before leaving. As for you, you don't feel like going back to work right away either. You dismiss your hob crew and tell the Felians to just go back to whatever it is they do since you just want a moment by yourself (Even if you are still in a tavern) While you're racking your brain on how to deal with this new situation, you get another visitor. "Tough day in the underworld?" You look and see a woman in Dorna robes. It's been awhile, but you recognize her immediately. It's Heather. "Heather? This is unexpected. How did you know I was even here?" You say. "Magic is a very handy thing to be skilled in when locating someone. I've been meaning to see you for a while now. In fact I was coming to see you today and I'm glad I caught you when I did since it seems like you've been meeting with others. Like that man from the Syndicate." Heather remarks. "You seem to have a lot of interest in me all of a sudden. Is this personal, or did Elder Flynn send you on behalf of your temple?" "Oh this is temple business, but Elder Flynn didn't send me. In fact he's no longer in charge. I am." "I see. Did you..." "Kill him? Oh no. There was a large magical disturbance last year at a known wizard's home miles outside Holgard. An old acquaintance of the Elder actually. Flynn, myself and several other high ranking members went to investigate and let's just say it didn't go well and I was the only survivor. However it did mean there was now need of a new leader and since I still was the most experienced. I took charge. Well, took charge of the few that remained of our order at least." "Hm. Didn't know that. Then again you lot are always insular so I just assumed you were being bookworms as usual and never leaving your temple. I'm surprised you told me that your temple isn't as strong as it once was. Still, I would have thought the Felians would at least have knowledge of this and been all over it, but then they're hardly the order they once were too." "You're right about that one, in fact that's why I'm proposing you need a new ally and abandon your old ones." "New ally...wait...what, your people?" "Why not? We've worked together before and obviously I trust you enough to reveal my temple's status to you." "Yes, which is why I'm less than enthused. I mean no offense, but if your order only mainly consists of you and a few acolytes now, why would I abandon the Felians for you lot? This seems like you're just wanting to wipe out the Felians and you need my numbers to help you do it. And why now anyway? You two haven't had any problems. Even during the faith war here, you two didn't have any trouble." "Because the Felians DO know that we're currently weak and they've already been conspiring to finish us off. Why they haven't revealed such info to your organization I couldn't say. Perhaps they felt that this didn't concern you or you wouldn't care. However, the shadow lurking fools are as you say, definitely not the order they once were. Even with our lesser strength we've already fought off several assassination attempts. Still, it's only a matter of time before they DO ask for assistance and that's most likely going to be you...or the Syndicate. They are back in this city are they not?" Now this meeting just became a little more serious. Heather seems to know a lot about your situation, but then given that she's got magic coming out her ass, you aren't that surprised. "Yes, they are. What are you exactly proposing Heather?" you ask. "The Fel temple is rogue in many ways. I don't propose to be an expert on their beliefs, but even I know that by breaking with its long time Syndicate alliance, it is only a matter of time before they are reabsorbed back into their faith's proper doctrine. That's either going to happen because we will eventually manage to do enough harm that they'll beg for help from their father temple in Delantium or they'll slowly be forced back into submission when the Syndicate eventually starts pushing their weight here. That is what they're doing aren't they?" Heather says. "Somewhat...yes." "My proposal is this. WE ally against the Felians. They aren't going to expect an attack from you and you probably know when and where best to strike. We will provide back up of course to minimize the losses. In return you get allies that are much more powerful in the ways of magic and aren't likely to backstab you in the future. Our goal aren't the same, but don't conflict either, so I'd say that already makes us better than the Felians." "For the sake of argument, let's say I agree to this. I still don't see how this helps me all that much. I'm going to be taking most of the risk and damage and if anything the Syndicate might get a little suspicious if I start wiping out former allies." "I think you and I both know they're going to be suspicious of you anyway, but if this helps, I will personally assist you in anyway I can in any matter. I mean maybe I never said this properly years ago, but I did appreciate that you turned down Elder Flynn's ritual suggestion. Not something I ever forgot." Heather looks at you with a mixture of anticipation and hopefulness. Perhaps even a bit of desperation. The fact that she's asking you at all says to you that she's not exactly confident that she'll win without your help. Honestly, you aren't sure about all this. While Heather has brought up some concerning points. The Felians ARE your allies and granted in this business such things can be fleeting, you start stabbing them in the back and where does it end? You also aren't so sure about replacing a solid known ally with an uncertain one, especially if they aren't exactly any better than the ones you have. Gloom also hasn't really ever given you any reason to suddenly turn on him. Unless you're going to count the fact that his people never said they were waging a private war to finish off the Dornans. Then again, maybe Gloom considered it an internal matter and didn't feel the need to bother you with it. And the Syndicate just complicates matters. How are they going to react or will they even care at all? Percy did mention the temple here was frowned upon by the faithful in Delantium. Maybe it wouldn't matter if you wiped them out. > Ally with Heather The more you think about it, the more this makes sense in a ruthless pragmatic sort of way. The temple of Fel here could very well become an arm of the Syndicate again, maybe not today or tomorrow, but when it happens, you're going to be in a much more dangerous position. You still aren't exactly sure about the Dornans, but you're willing to give Heather the benefit of the doubt that she has genuine intentions. This still could all backfire of course, but you'll have to take that chance too. However, being an ally is a two way street and Heather did say she would help you in any way she could. "Okay Heather, I'm going to risk this, but as a show of good will I'm going to need something from you too." You say. "Of course. What is it?" Heather asks. "There's a representative from the Syndicate here as you know. Now I have to pay him an amount of coin that I don't particularly want to before he leaves in a few days." "Wait, so you want me to kill him?" "Well, you probably would be better equipped since I do have reason to believe that he's probably highly skilled in shadow magic. While maybe with a bit of preparation my people could take him since he's alone, but it wouldn't be pretty. However, that wouldn't really solve my problem. The Syndicate would just rightfully assume I killed him and then have good reason to be pissed at me and that wouldn't be good." "So what are you asking exactly?" "Any way you could alter his mind or something similar?" "Well there are spells that can do all sorts of things, but again, did you have an idea of what you wanted exactly?" You and Heather start to discuss each other's plans. Your situation with Percy is easy enough Heather says, and assures you that she will be able to implement something with the help of her people. Gloom and his people will be a little more difficult, but the pair of you come up with something that should work. It'll just require a little bullshit on your part, but you've been doing that for so long that you're definitely an expert in it. In any event, you're going to go meet with Gloom while Heather plans to ambush Percy. The next day you head to the Temple of Fel. Several Felians don't even seem to be bothered by your intrusion, which would be a much different story if Shade or his predecessors were running things. When one of them asks what your business is at the temple, you simply tell them that you wish to see Gloom at which point they go check to see if he's available and fortunately he is so you can get this over with today hopefully. (Along with it going smoothly) You walk through the dark temple and eventually to Gloom's chambers where he sits writing something. When you enter he smiles and greets you. (You've always found his general friendly personality to not quite match his name, let alone his faith) "Come in, come in, I was just finishing up my latest sermon. Have my faithful been providing an adequate job with your extra security? There haven't been any issues have there?" Gloom asks. "No, not at all. In fact I was going to tell you I won't be needing them after all, seems I overreacted with the Syndicate visit." You answer. "Ah, I see. Well better safe than sorry. So how did your meeting with the Syndicate go?" "Better than I hoped. Worse than I feared. So has the Syndicate been to see you?" "Us? No. I don't see why they would. Why do you ask?" "Oh, I figured while the Syndicate isn't making a direct threatening presence, I figure they might still be snooping about and trying to stir up animosity between allies." "Ah, yes I can see where that would be a concern, but I assure you we have no dealings with them even if the Temple of Fel has been considered the Syndicate's traditional ally. As you know while we are faithful to Fel, we believe in following our own path. We are your allies, not the Syndicate." "Yes, this particular temple has been engaged in the concept of flexibility for quite some time now. And I appreciate your dedication to our partnership, which is why I'm puzzled that you did not ask for our help on your own matter." "Our matter?" "Well your attempt to wipe out the Dornans of course." Gloom drops his friendly persona, though not to a hostile expression, but more of a serious one. "I considered that as a private conflict between faith and saw no reason to bother you with it, I know you're very busy and all. Though I do wonder how you found out about it, since we've very good about keeping this quiet. The Baroness would come down on everyone if the two remaining religious factions in the city were openly fighting in the streets." Gloom says. "Because the leader of the Dornans came to me yesterday begging for an alliance. She wants me to turn on you. She even gave me one of these again." You pull out a solid black orb causing Gloom's eyes to widen. He remembers a similar magic object was used during the final battle with the Joachimites. You continue to speak quickly before Gloom makes any rash moves. "Don't worry my friend, obviously I'm not here for treachery. Besides, I'm here by myself. Even without your magic I would never succeed so it would be a pretty poor plan indeed. I am however giving it to you. Just like I gave this to Shade when we fought the Inquisitor. Here you go." Gloom warily looks at you as he slowly takes the orb. When he finally grabs it, he seems to relax a little more, but he's definitely not comfortable. Still he hasn't killed you yet, so that's a good sign. Meanwhile you're doing your best to remain calm yourself under these conditions, so you continue to speak. "I have to say I was a little surprised that the Dornan high priestess came to me though. I figured with all their magic they would be more than able to take care of themselves." You say. "They're in a vulnerable state so they need all the help they can get right now. However, they're still very dangerous. In fact I thought that with their new leadership, they would soon collapse altogether, but as it turned out they have proved more resilient than I thought. They're attempting to rebuild and I'm not just talking about their numbers, I'm talking about their influence in this city." Gloom remarks. "What do you mean?" "The Dornan high priestess or matriarch as her followers call her now, has made steps in meeting with Baroness Varsakken over the past few months. She obviously intends on gaining favor with Ludmilla and eventually get rid of us and that can't happen." "Wow. Didn't know that, but isn't the Baroness a dedicated follower of Fel?" "Eh, the Baroness has always been a dabbler. Her faith in Fel isn't the most dedicated. Indeed she probably has always been more interested in learning shadow magic rather than revering Fel. Still, it was useful to have ruler that was friendly towards us. Unfortunately the new Dornan leadership seems have opened their own doors to teaching the ways of magic and Ludmilla is all too eager to jump on such an offer even if it means paying lip service to both gods." "Won't one of these divine beings eventually punish Ludmillia for her fickle nature?" you say mildly jokingly. "Perhaps, but it my experience the gods do things in their own time and as a mortal I can't wait that long. In any case it would seem that perhaps Fel has assisted in the more direct destruction of the immediate threat that are the Dornans." Gloom examines the orb in his hand after his statement before continuing. "So what exactly was the plan anyway? How did she even trust you enough?" Gloom asks. "Oh, she was trying to prey upon my paranoia with the Syndicate, claiming that you would eventually turn against me and other shit. Also during that whole getting Dornan help against the Joachimites, I fucked her once." You say. "Truly?" "Yeah, the Elder at the time was being sort of a dick to her and I bumped into her crying about it. Seeing an opportunity, I sort of reassured her of her worth and well you know how women fall for that sort of thing. One thing lead to another and I think she's always been a little sweet on me after that. As for the plan, I was supposed to just come in here with my people, break the orb so you couldn't use any magic and then make sure all of you were dead." "Hm, she might as well have placed her faith in Dorna rather than you for all good either would do her. The Dornans do have powerful magic to be sure, but they are poor fighters. Evening the odds with this object and they stand no chance. I'm going to personally enjoy this I believe and you've proven that our alliance is indeed a strong one. We will strike their temple in force. I want to make sure none escape, then we'll destroy it." "Did you want the League's assistance?" "Well, you've done enough already and I never even asked for it. I see now that I probably should have though. I believe we can do this ourselves, however if you still wish to help, I will not turn it down." "I'll be there with a few of my people. Couldn't hurt." Gloom tells you that he'll organize an attack in a few days, you tell him that works for you since you have some other business to attend to. A couple days pass and that other business finally comes to pass and this is what you've been more concerned about. You meet Percy at the same tavern with the payment. Once again he's very friendly. "On time as usual. Very glad that you value promptness as I am in a bit of a hurry. I believe I may have had too much fun here and I should be getting back. I thank you for your suggestions on where to go." Percy says. "No problem, so will you be back next month at this time?" you ask. "Probably not me, but someone will. Probably of much lesser importance of course. I was just here this time to extend the hand and make the deal as it were. Still glad we came to one." "Yes, I agree. Better for business all around." "Yes! Yes exactly!" "Anyway, I have your payment. Um, just so we're clear how much was it again?" "Oh come on now. You trying one last try at lowering the price? I told you I wasn't here to haggle. You know it was a thousand gold pieces." "Yes, I knew, and I have it here. Just a poor attempt at a joke I suppose." "Hm, well jokes are fine, but never about the Syndicate business. I hope you remember that." "I will." You have two of your hobgoblin muscle show Percy a large chest of gold to which he nods and you tell them to load it on the carriage outside. "And with that, our business is concluded. I bid you good day and wish you well in your future endeavors, especially if it's going to make the Syndicate money!" Percy stands up, shaking your hand and leaves. You can't believe that worked. You don't know what the hell Heather did to him, but he actually believed he only asked you for a thousand gold monthly payment as opposed to the much larger sum he asked before. You can imagine his superiors are going to be upset, but it won't be at you, it'll be at him for fucking up a deal that they're stuck with now. Well at least you hope they won't try to re-negotiate immediately. You've bought yourself a little more time at least. Meanwhile, you still have to go stab the Felians in the back though you're sort of wondering about still going through with that now what you've heard about Heather cozying up to the Baroness. Seems like now more than ever she's attempting to use you as a pawn. Granted she was allying with you for mutual benefit before, but this seems a little different now. What exactly is she planning? Then again, if she is getting friendly with the Baroness, is it really going to make a difference to you? And Heather did just come through for you on the Syndicate thing. > You stick with the deal One double cross is enough for now, no need to complicate matters. Besides, regardless of Heather's own agenda, she's probably not wrong about the Felians. Going to be interesting when you see the look on Gloom's face when he realizes the orb you gave him doesn't work. The night of the attack comes and you meet with Gloom just a few blocks away from the Dornan Temple, you have your usual hob retinue with you. (You're really getting used to having these guys around nowadays) Gloom is with a few of his own people, but even without magic powers you can sense some are probably nearby in the shadows. "Once again, glad that this is a joint effort though I don't think it was necessary to bring as many people with you as you did. The orb is going to nullify all magic and when that happens, those Dornan priests aren't going to be much match for us." Gloom says. "Yeah, well I want to be on the safe side. My people are going to remain outside anyway, you know just in case any try to escape. I'll come in with your people. Speaking of which are you really bringing them all?" you ask. "Yes, this is something that's been a long time coming and nobody who is a true follower of Fel should miss out on. Honestly, it was foolish to believe they wouldn't be a problem. Shadow Master Shade warned me to always watch them you know, just before he died. A few of his interpretations of the faith may have been a bit too restrictive, but he had his own wisdom on practical matters." "Well, after tonight, you won't need to worry about watching them ever again." With those last words all of you march towards the temple. The few wanderers still outside in the area immediately go find shelter when they see a group of mean looking hobgoblins and Felians walking down the street. The Dornan Temple doesn't even have their usual lookout standing outside, though you imagine the Dornans have some sort of magical detection going on and this plan has already been expected. Gloom blasts the temple's doors off their hinges with a dark magic bolt of some sort. Then he takes the lead, you tell your hobgoblins to stand guard outside and kill anyone who tries to escape. They faithfully obey and you enter with the crowd of Felians that are entering the temple, staying close to the back of course. Heather and her much smaller group are already there to meet the Felians. "It ends today and the faith of Fel will rule supreme in the city at last!" Gloom shouts and throws down the orb. A bit more dramatic than you'd expect from a Felian, but then Gloom's whole attack tonight is a bit more theatrical than a typical Felian would go about this. Good thing too, since if he behaved more like his predecessors he wouldn't be going in so recklessly like this. No sooner has Gloom made his announcement, a white light washes over the room and suddenly all of Gloom's previously shadow cloaked people are now visible. Naturally Gloom just assumes this is just the effects of the orb, but he's soon very surprised to learn that the Dornans have not lost any of their magic abilities at all. Several of them are incinerated instantly by Dornan spells. Gloom himself manages to cut down a single acolyte before he's finally brought down by some spell that causes him to age rapidly and then fall over dead. They may be a small group, but this temple is where their magic is the most powerful and you're getting to witness a lot of it first hand, you're just glad you're not on the receiving end. While the remaining Felians realize that this is a lost cause and attempt to run, you do you part in shooting a few of them while your hob crew enthusiastically cuts down these lesser Felians that have more fear than fight left in them. A Holgard watch patrol shows up, but doesn't intervene, instead they just turn right back around, probably thinking they don't get paid enough to deal with this level of conflict. Soon, it's all over and the Felians are no more as a force in this city and you're just hoping you made the right choice in allies. Heather commands her people to start cleaning up the bodies before she goes over to speak to you. She looks a little worn and tired, but then you guess magic takes its toll just as much as regular combat. "Told you the plan would work as long as you got them in here." Heather remarks. "Yeah, thankfully Gloom was a trusting fool and practically a heretic of his own faith which generally goes about things in a much subtler manner." You answer. "I suppose that did make things easier. Thanks again for you help on this. The expression on Gloom's face was priceless when he realized the orb didn't work!" "Mm, didn't see it, I was just concerned about not getting caught in the cross fire of a stray magic missile or possible a Felian blade after realizing they had been had." "Oh, you never in any true danger. Even if you had gotten wounded we could have easily fixed you up with healing magic." "As you say...well in any case I certainly hope you're as chummy with the Baroness as you're supposed to be, because this little fight did attract attention and last I heard any open fighting between the religious faiths was frowned upon. Not to mention the League was involved and I certainly down want repercussions of this to cause my organization to suffer for it." Heather looks at you as if you weren't supposed to know her dealings with the Baroness. "Know about that do you?" she asks. "Gloom might have mentioned it. He never elaborated and what you were talking about with her, but I get the impression he didn't know and just feared a power grab and wanted to strike first before you had the whole city worshipping Dorna." You answer. "I see. His sudden attacks make a lot more sense now, though if he had come to me directly, we probably could have even come to an agreement." "Doubt it. He was still very dedicated to Fel even if he wasn't a stickler for doctrine." "But that's just it, my conversations with the Baroness weren't about religious faith. They were about magic in general. I was urging that she should seriously consider setting up a magic school here. Especially since I know she's very interested in the subject." "A magic school?" "Why not? The Delantium Kingdom has a very well established university; even Klyton has a small one. Surely a city as large as Holgard is worthy of one." "I guess? Little bit out of my area of expertise. So wait, you aren't planning on making Dorna the only goddess to worship in the city?" "Not really. I mean that seems to be a side effect of all this, but honestly I don't care who worships what. I believe the pursuit of keeping magic alive is more important than worship at this point. I'm not sure if you realize it, but magic isn't exactly a common thing nowadays and has been in decline. In a couple hundred years after the last few powerful wizards die out, what then? Dorna is a the goddess of magic and knowledge, I can better serve her through teaching rather than just worship." Sort of an interesting goal you weren't expecting from Heather. Not really one that directly interferes with your own business either, perhaps it could even be a new opportunity, if it ever gets off the ground. Heather goes on to say that she will of course smooth all this over with Ludmilla and more importantly make sure there are no repercussions for the League. A couple weeks pass and sure enough, you haven't been harassed by the Holgard Watch (Well within reason). After a month rolls around a Syndicate collector comes by and asks for the thousand, very no-nonsense and anxious to be on his way. When you name drop Percy, just to see if you can get any information on what might have happened to him, the rep says he doesn't even know the man. You pay him with the chest full of coin and he's on his way. Nothing else is mentioned or happens. Meanwhile one of the requests to Heather is asking if she can figure out a way to lift your curse. She says she doesn't know other than the ritual Elder Flynn suggested that time and apparently he never did give the exact details about what it all entailed as far as the words to say and such. (And she's not exactly keen on bringing up the other known detail you both know about) However, she says she still has a lot of his notes and writing to go through, so she will try to find out how to do it and perhaps maybe there are other ways to lift it as well. Looks like you picked your new allies wisely. Hopefully this all proves to be even more useful in the future. > Time passes... Year 32 It's been awhile, but it's good to see Vera again even if she's just here for a visit. She's got some strong opinions on some of the changes that have happened recently though. "I still can't believe the Felians are gone completely. I mean I just remember them always being here. Then again, so were a lot of groups I suppose. Still, sort of surprised you managed to gain an alliance with the Dornans." Vera remarks. "Don't see why it's really all that surprising. Heather helped us in the past and she's running things now. The Dornans aren't even very religious anymore; they turned their temple into a school of sorts. Don't think they've got many takers yet though." You say. "Hm. I'm also still a little concerned about what you did with the Syndicate though. Might have been better in the long run to just pay their price." "Are you kidding me Vera? You didn't see what they were trying to extort from us. Besides, we've been okay so far and they haven't even suddenly tried to raise the rate." "I dunno. I know you have a lucky habit of getting over on the Syndicate, but I feel like this is pushing it. I have to think they must know something, but they're biding their time to lull you into a false sense of security before they strike." "Oh trust me, ever since I stepped foot into this city, I've been on my guard constantly. Don't really know any other way to live at this point. However I'm going to soon be hiring a lot of cheap muscle in the form of all the hobgoblins, so I'm slightly less concerned about the Syndicate." "What? You can't seriously be considering recruiting MORE hobs." "Why not? They'll actually be perfect for this. Most of them either come here just itching to break someone's legs or they go join the fight arena. Though a few odd ones join the Holgard Watch instead, go figure." "Maybe, but I've noticed a severe increase in hobs in this organization since I came back to Holgard. Just don't want this place turning into the Roach Leg Tribe." "It's Spiderfang Tribe actually and they're still far outnumbered for that to happen. Well, for now at least. In any case, most of them have been migrating to Holgard quite a bit over the years. I guess most are learning that city life isn't all that bad and you can still be just as much of a violent asshole here as you can out in the wild and get routinely paid for it. Hmm, actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it makes sense that a few of them join the Holgard Watch after all." "Well your call I guess, at least I don't have deal with them. Dealing with Warts was enough for me. Though I'm not convinced a bunch of unruly hobs are going to be the end all of extra protection." "Hence why we're also close allies to a group of wizards." "You seem pretty confident in our new wizard allies. Just how friendly are you with this Heather? I mean are you fucking her or something?" "No I'm not actually." "Ah, so you're TRYING to fuck her." "Actually I'm not, but I'm not sure what difference it would make to you if I was." "None I suppose, though I was just trying to figure out what might have been the motivator to throw your lot in with trusting this sorceress and her adepts. But if you say it was purely a practical and strategic move for the good of the League, then that's good enough for me." "Speaking of fucking, who was that big dark skinned guy who you were reluctant to leave when you were getting off the ship?" "Oh, that's Zamed. He's the captain of the Traveler. He's a Hessla pirate, we tend to have business with a lot of them in Jicol, but Zamed's been about the only one I've really taken a shine to lately. Still, it's just as well as he's a pirate. Don't think I'd want him around ALL the time. Best to keep these sort of things free and flexible." "Interesting. Though I thought Jicol was supposed to be pirate free." "Eh, it's pirate free in that the city doesn't have to worry about them ever attacking the place, but that doesn't mean they can't stop there for supplies as long as they behave. Besides, Zamed's been more of a privateer recently, though I suppose it's a thin line. He's been doing a lot of work for the Delantium Kingdom in their war against Nichan. Which is something I sort of want to bring up with you because it could possibly affect the League." "Well guess I better hear it then." Vera takes a drink of the rum she's brought with her from Jicol before continuing. "Okay, I guess I'll start at the beginning. Let's see...what do you know of Peter Varsakken? Youngest son of Vlad." Vera asks. "Um, nothing actually. Didn't know there was another one of Vlad's spawn running around. Wait, is this another one of his bastards, like you?" you ask with a smirk. "Oh no. He's very much legitimate. It's just that after he had a disagreement with his father and fled the city, all records were pretty much erased of him. He's basically been living in exile in the Delantium Kingdom. Peter's disagreement with his father involved the whole breaking away from the Delantium Kingdom in the first place. Peter was the only one who saw it as treason and remained loyal to Delantium. Over the years Peter has been trying to amass an army to take back the city." "It's my understanding that the Delantium Kingdom hasn't exactly been in a big hurry to retake this place. I mean it's been decades hasn't it?" "Well they've been sort of busy with other things, like their recent war with Nichan for example. While the ruling class over there doesn't want to spend their resources and treasury to take this place back, they certainly won't turn down someone else willing to do the job, and that's where Peter comes in. He's of noble birth, loyal to the kingdom and would be an excellent governor for this city and absorb it back into Delantium's fold." "I see, and how do you know all this?" "As I said Zamed has been privateering for the Delantium Kingdom and he was contacted by Peter who is still trying to amass a conquering force of men and ships to take back his birthright. In fact Zamed is supposed to be organizing the majority of a flotilla of Hessla privateers" "And you trust this pirate?" "Of course not, but I trust the fact that I know how to lay it down good enough that he told me all this stuff in the bedroom without me even asking." "Okay, I don't need details on that part." "Anyway, Peter's been at this for years ever since he got exiled. He's suffered many set backs in his quest to retake Holgard. Every time he's been on the verge of being ready, something has happened. This was partially thanks to the Ebony Claw Syndicate sabotaging his efforts in Delantium, and sometimes even the Temple of Fel would hinder his efforts as well. However, since things have changed drastically over the years in this city, he's in the best position he's ever been in to retake this place." "What makes you think he won't get sabotaged again by either group? I mean the Ebony Claw might not have a direct presence here, but they're still making some coin from us. Same is some what true of the Felians, though different reasons. They're allies with the ECS, so they tend to help them." "I don't think they care this time. I mean thanks to your magical shenanigans they don't make enough from us for it to make much difference either way I suppose. If the League suffers severely from this invasion, the ECS will most likely just come in directly and finish it off." "Well that's presumptuous that we're going to get the shit kicked out of us. As long as we don't stand toe to toe with an invading force and stay out of the damn way, I imagine we'll get through it. Hell, it isn't like we don't have routes out of the city if need be. Honestly though unless this Peter is bringing the full force of the Delantium army, I don't see him winning. Ludmilla counts wizards among her allies and has a strong fleet of her own, so I question if this Peter is even going to succeed. And say Peter does win, then what? Is this guy some law and order fanatic? He's a Varsakken and from what I can tell every single one of their family members are corrupt. So it would just be a matter of coming to an understanding with him so business continues as usual." "Well that might be easier to do if we dealt with him now then. In fact I sort of wanted to address that idea." "Oh?" Vera goes into the explanation that from the information she's gathered from Zamed, Peter is most likely going to win. While he doesn't have the Delantium army at his command, he does have several orc mercenary companies along with a few wizards that he's managed to make friends with from the Delantium magic university. She also has heard that while Peter isn't exactly a Joachimite purity zealot, his time in the Delantium Kingdom has probably given him more of an appreciation for a more orderly society as opposed to one that embraces rampant corruption so readily. So he's most likely not going to look favorably upon the Nocturnal League. However, he's still pragmatic enough that he'd probably give leniency to a group that actively helped him and a deal could very well be made as you said. Vera goes on to say she truly believes that this is the best chance for the Nocturnal League to survive in Holgard. "You seem to have given this some thought, and while I do often appreciate your input on things, the one problem I have in this case is you're getting all of this information second hand from a pirate. Now I know you said your vertical smile caused the guy to go all stupid over you, so you're certain he's on the up and up. However, HIS information might also be mixed with rumors, half-truths and outright lies that he's overheard. I mean if you were fucking Peter Varsakken himself and getting this information from him, I might believe the situation is as hopeless as you're saying." You say. "I thought you might feel that way, so how about this then...Peter Varsakken is meeting Zamed. We could go to this meeting as well and we could hash out our demands." Vera remarks. "Wait. You're telling me that you were planning on going to meet with this Peter without me?" "No! Of course not! I came here first because I wanted to see what your decision would be on this. I mean look, I understand what you're saying, but based on everything I've learned, the outcome seems grim even if we managed to keep our head down during the initial invasion. But, you're right too, I am getting all this information second hand, so maybe it would be a good idea to actually talk with this Peter in person, before coming to any sort of decision. If we did, you and I could both make an assessment of whether to throw our lot in or not." "I dunno...(Sigh) yeah I suppose it couldn't hurt, though I'm just wondering about the people we already have alliances with. I mean pissing off the Holgard magic school isn't something I exactly want to do, also you mentioned the ECS has been thwarting this guy's efforts for a long time, and I'm still not convinced that they won't still do that even if they haven't done it yet. By siding with Peter, we could piss them off which wouldn't be any good either." "Well...it's your call I suppose boss. I just don't want us to get swept away in the flood of this upcoming conflict. I want to see us survive." "Pretty sure we all want that." You swear if it isn't a rebellion or faction war, it's a fucking invasion in this city. It's enough to make you want to pick up and just leave everything behind rather than deal with this shit. However, you've built something here, so you're not doing that until all else fails. Whether or not you can strike a good deal with Peter or not, there is one very personal reason you'd prefer to stay loyal to your current allies and that's the fact that so far Heather is your only sure lead on getting fixed from your curse. If you backstab them and live, you're still fucked because there goes a potential cure. It's selfish, but it's a pretty strong motivator. While Vera has said that Peter has wizard connections as well, that's not a sure thing that you can get help from them. They're assisting Peter and have no reason to do the same for you. About the only thing you can do is try to see if Heather and her people might join Peter's invasion. Hell, if that's the case then you'd definitely be willing to help Peter as well. Of course doing that might not go over well either and you'd tip your hand pretty severely. Might be better to talk to Peter first and get all the information from him and then go speak to Heather so you'd at least have something that might be useful to her if worse came to worst in your meeting. > You talk to Heather first Maybe you're a little paranoid but you don't feel comfortable going to a meeting in unfamiliar territory with someone who you know virtually nothing about save for what Vera's managed to tell you. Peter could see this as an opportunity to take you out as a potential obstacle to his conquest. Vera by herself on the other hand is less of a target, not to mention she's got a pirate boyfriend with her. "I'm not going to this meeting, however since you're so friendly with this Zamed and he's going anyway, you can continue to accompany him. Then you can come back here and tell me what you think." You say. "You don't want to go yourself? I would have thought this would be something so important that you'd want to directly deal with it." Vera says. "While it would be nice to just have unlimited power to deal with everything directly, I've got a bunch of shit to take care of here. I trust that you'll be fine and I trust you'll be able to assess the situation and give me proper feedback of our best options." "Okay. That's a lot of confidence in me, boss." "Well, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have put you in charge of our chapter at Jicol, which obviously has been thriving under your management. You've always been an asset to the Nocturnal League...and hell you're probably one of the few people I consider a friend." Vera looks a bit moved by your words. Honestly, you didn't really plan to say something like that, but it felt right under the circumstances. Vera nods and agrees with your words and then moves in to hug you which you return. It's a bit of a longer than average hug and it's pretty obvious that there has always been a little something there between the two of you, but thanks to your curse you've never tried to pursue it. Vera herself probably believes that you're just not interested in her that way at this point. What might have been you suppose, but then again who knows? You still hold out hope that you'll get cured one day so the future isn't set in stone yet. But first things first and that's preparing for this invasion and how you're going to go about it. After seeing Vera off, you go to the Temple of Dorna, which of course has now been transformed, into a school. Still looks practically the same and there still aren't many people in the place. Seems that not many have taken advantage of the chance to learn magic, or more likely, nobody in this scum-ridden city has the talent for it. (Or the money) You don't get far before you're stopped by two teenagers. "Hey you, this isn't a fucking Purple Wish Den! This place is for wizards only!" a pimply faced young man says. The young woman with him gives you a dirty look with an amused sneer. "It is? I thought it was a brothel. Good thing it isn't though because I don't need a blowjob that badly." You say, then you look over at the girl with him. "Well, maybe you'd be okay after a couple ales." "HEY! That's my girlfriend, you asshole!" "Oh? Well I'm sure she'll appreciate someone taking longer than two minutes for a change." "Ew! Fucking perv! You think you're funny? You won't be so funny after I set your balls on fire." The young woman says. "Ah, you've got the crotch rot then, okay then I'll pass. Look, while all this has been amusing, I'm not here for either one of you snotnosed brats, I'm here to see Heather." "That's Grand Matriarch to you and I don't see why she'd want to see you at all." Before you can respond, the

pimply man suddenly points a finger at you and zaps you in the chest with a lightning bolt! Well lighting bolt isn't exactly the right word, since you aren't exactly knocked on your ass, but it is a tiny jolt that catches off guard and it did hurt. "OW!" you shout. "Yeah! How ya like that goblin fucker? You mess with us an, SHIT! AAARGH!" the young man starts to say before you grab his finger which he was still pointing at you and break it. Like the sissy he is, he breaks down crying on the floor clutching his broken finger, meanwhile you've already drawn your pistol on the teenage girl. "Don't even think about it sweetheart. I can pull this trigger before you can utter an incantation." You say. "What in Dorna's name is going on here?" a voice shouts. You look away briefly and see Heather with a couple of other wizard behind her. "Apologies Heather, but...well fuck, these two pissed me off and I didn't have time for their bullshit." You say. "Obviously. Cooper! Gwen! Step away from that man. I told you two before to never mistake your magic for invincibility. And that mindset works even more against you when you insist on being within reach of the head of the Nocturnal League. He could have very well killed the pair of you before I even showed up." Heather says. "Shit, you're the leader of the infamous League? Um, we're sorry we didn't mean anything!" Gwen says. "Gwen, stop groveling and take your boyfriend to go practice your healing magic for a change." As Gwen picks her sniveling boyfriend off the floor, Heather tells the other wizards behind her to return to their lessons and approaches you. "I swear, I could make life a living hell for that girl and she apologizes to you rather than me." Heather says shaking her head. "Well she probably knows you aren't going to kill her, meanwhile I was pointing a gun at her head." You say. "Meh, knowing that one, she'll probably develop a fantasy about you. She's got a thing for bad boys." "And the one with the broken finger is a bad boy?" "Closest thing to one around here I suppose. Anyway, thanks for not doing any major damage to them, I don't have many students as it is. Now I assume you're here to see me, so let's head to my office." You follow Heather to her office, which of course resembles more of a lab, however its kept in a much more organized manner than when you were in Elder Flynn's lab. Heather sits down and moves some papers and books around on her desk while addressing you. "I haven't forgotten you and our deal, just so you know. I just haven't made much progress on searching for a way to lift your curse. I did find Elder Flynn's notes on the subject when you came in here, but honestly he was a little sketchy on the details concerning the curse part. Though I imagine once your ex was called in and bound, she would be able to be commanded to lift whatever curse she put on you. Still, he was probably more concerned with capturing a demon than curing you and after reading what would have happened to me, I'm even happier that you declined the ritual." "Yeah, I know. You wouldn't want sex with me." "That's actually not the part I'm talking about. In fact if it were JUST that, I'd be willing to get naked with you while my highly trained assistants performed the incantations for the ritual right now. However, what the Elder neglected to mention is the fact that this ritual would result in the poor girl's death." "What?" "Yeah, your succubus ex, wouldn't just be summoned forth into this world, she'd be brought forth into the body of the girl you'd be having sex with." "You mean like possession?" "I mean like the girl would literally explode into chunks gore and blood, when your ex arrived and chances are your ex wouldn't be too happy with you either and you probably wouldn't have much time to get out of her immediate vicinity before she killed you too." "Shit...that's fucked up." "Yeah. And I would have been willing to just go along with it, not knowing shit. By Dorna was I a fucking fool back then. Anyway, I hope this news isn't too disappointing for you." "Well...it's a bit disheartening...however I wasn't even here about that." "Oh?" "Yeah, and since there's no other way to say it, I'm going to just be right up front with you, like you were up front with me." You explain everything you've learned about Peter Varsakken's invasion, which immediately catches Heather's attention. You don't go into detail about sending one of your people to meet with Peter, but you do ask the direct question if she's supporting Ludmilla. "Well, appreciate you coming to me with this. When the invasion comes, it will be important for us to coordinate." Heather remarks. "So I take it you're not worried about this and siding with Ludmilla?" "Worried? Hmm...perhaps a little cautious, but the situation isn't nearly as grim as your sources told you which you said was from a pirate captain he hired?" "That was the source, yes. Wait, you seem like you know something about this." "I do and so does Ludmilla. I mean she might be a bit flakey at times, but the woman is not dim. She's been making her own preparations and so have we. Honestly I'm sort of surprised given your new connections to the Ebony Claw, you would have learned of this plan long ago." "They aren't exactly forth coming with information. Our relationship isn't the most open. I don't even know if they're planning on sabotaging Peter this time like I've been told they have in the past." "Mm, that's always a possibility. Though our own information says Peter's come to some sort of understanding with them this time and they won't interfere, however that doesn't matter. Peter's invasion isn't going to succeed." "You seem very sure and very well informed on this. Have you increased your telepathic powers or something?" "Hah! I wish. No, but I have been in contact with the Delantium Kingdom's magic University and made a couple friends there while trying to get this school up and running. I've been told the TWO wizards he's hired were drop outs from the university and while I wouldn't suggest that you go up against them, I'm secure that my people will be able to handle them. So no, he doesn't even have a squad of wizards at his command. If anything his orc mercs are going to be a bigger problem assuming they even make it to the fight that is. A lot can happen between Delantium and Holgard." "Okay...well that does sound less hopeless than I heard." "Make no mistake, this city IS going to suffer some shit, but I can't imagine that it's going to be any worse than the last time the Varsakken's had it out with each other. Reports say he'll probably be ready next year. So let me ask you, were you considering joining Peter's invasion then?" You chuckle at the thought of saying "yes" at this point. "Well let's just say I was keeping my options open based on which way you were going." You say. "Aw, that's sweet, upholding our alliance. And who says there isn't honor in the underworld." Heather says. "Yeah, well I can't backstab everyone, it might hurt my reputation." "Indeed. You're already responsible for the demise of the Thieves' Guild, an ECS chapter, the Joachimites and the Felians." "Hey, I was never affiliated with the Joachimites." "True. You had better sense than that. Well if that's all, I should be getting back. Have to train these folks in battle magic after all, I assume if you come across and new information, you'll share it." You bid Heather goodbye and make your way back home where you get back to business. Though you're a little concerned about Vera getting back okay. A month passes and she does indeed make it back of which you're most relieved. She tells you that you were right all along and that siding with Peter isn't the best way to go on this based on the meeting she had. Vera tells you that his terms weren't even very good, just basic amnesty for anything done before he takes back the city and perhaps a bit of leniency on softer criminal activity, but not continued free reign like you have now. However she said that she was given permission to accept Peter's deal for you, so as far as he knows, you're on his side. "Good, nice thinking Vera." You say. "Well I figured it shouldn't be a wasted trip. So what have you been up to?" "Speaking with our magical allies. Seems they got more information on Peter than we do. The guy only has two wizards at his command for example and the Baroness is well aware of Peter's plans." "I see. Well guess all that's left now is for us is the year to prepare, what do you need me to do?" "I need you back in Jicol where you can keep an eye on things there. Also, I want to make sure if shit goes really bad here, this organization will still exist in some form at least and there will be somewhere to retreat to. If possible try to convince some of those pirates you deal with not to join Zamed's flotilla. I hope you weren't too attached to him." "Meh, I was done with him anyway. I suppose I'll be taking another ship back to Jicol though." After spending a few more days in Holgard, Vera finally takes her leave and she's gone again. You'll definitely miss her being around, you hope the next time you see her it'll be under better circumstances. In fact you just hope you'll actually survive to see her again, or hell just survive period. While Heather did reassure you of some of your concerns, there is still an invasion to "look forward to." You've survived a lot in this city and sometimes you wonder if it really is Yag rolling well for you, but you're hoping that you really are just that good at all this. > Time passes... Year 33 "Shit, these fucking orcs don't die like they should." You say after putting two more shots in a large greenskin trying to get back up. "Don't think it matters boss, this brothel's fucked, and not in a good way. Just bout every whore in here is dead." Warts says. "All of them?" "Well there were a couple survivors, but I think their whorin' days are over." "Damnit, that's another one destroyed." "An wez lost a few purple wish houses and sum gambling dens too. Hopefully we can save da rest before we don't have anything left." You look around at the destruction of the brothel you're currently in and try to temporarily ignore the loud chaos going on outside as you gather your thoughts on what to do next. "Damnit." You say seeing a familiar woman on the floor with an axe wound in her head. "Wat?" Warts asks. "I know this whore or rather I did. Name was Naji. She was that girl that I rescued back when you talked me into ripping off Reginald's house." "Sheesh, dat wuz a long time ago boss. Yer memory iz good if you can member whores. I can't even member when my weddin' anniversary is, though I wuz drunk at the time an' Snuffit reminds me anyway." "Well she was a bit special for awhile, but as you might know my heart always really belonged to Tanya. I knew Naji was still whoring, and after we got the Nocturnal League set up I made sure she always had a job in one of our brothels, but I never did speak with her again in person. Always thought about it sometimes, but just figured I could get around to it when I wasn't busy. Guess it's too late now. Seems rather pointless that I even rescued her given that she just wound up dead anyway." "Well look on da bright side boss, it looks like she got a cleaner death with a quick axe strike as opposed to wat dose cultist fuckers woulda did." "I suppose. She also was Rook's cousin, which probably saved me from him killing me. In any case, I'm having serious concerns about this attack." "Well yeah boss, da whole cities goin' ta shit again." "No, I mean why the fuck are we even being attacked? I mean yeah I get orcs tend to be enthusiastic about their marauding, but something about the fact that OUR businesses are getting attacked like they were military targets seems really fucking suspicious." "Mebbe dat Peter knew we weren't really gonna help him." "Well that's definitely possible, but it still doesn't explain why we would be targeted so much and so accurately. I would think he'd want to focus his forces on taking the palace or taking out the mage school. Also his invasion force was a lot larger than first reports mentioned." "I guess Vera wasn't too successful in convincin' other pirates to not join her ex-boyfriend." "I'm a little concerned about her too, since the last message we got was six months ago from her and she said she was having some success in her endeavors." "Well she must be okay, because we wuz still gettin' da cut from her even last month." "I suppose, but at the rate shit is going down here, we might not even be able to pay the pittance that the ECS asks for every month." "You sayin' you don't have a secret personal stash?" "Of course, but I'll be damned if I'm going to part with my shit to pay the damn ECS. I'm sure you'd feel the same way about your stash." "Pfft, I ain't got no personal stash. Snuffit takes it all. Speakin' of her, I think I'll be getting back to her. Seems like this city is a lost cause an' if you're smart you should just get the hell out too." "What the fuck Warts. You're just gonna abandon everything?" "Well yeah. I don't exactly have some bond with dis place. I mean it wuz fun while it lasted, but looks like its come to an end. I mean maybe dis place will be better again in a couple years or so. An' didn't you make plans to retreat to Jicol is shit started to go wrong?" "Yeah, but again, I'm still not sure if everything there is okay." "Bah, Vera's fine, she's probably just really fuckin' busy. I mean you know how it is. Look dis iz the ways I sees da situation..." Warts steps over a couple bodies before addressing you again. He gives you a more serious look than he normally does. "Youz gotta be the luckiest Yag blessed bastard I know, beside myself. You shoulda died so many times, Yag musta been rollin' loaded dice. However, an' don't say dis offen but dere iz a time ta step away from da table and dis iz one o' dem times. I myself have stayed alive as long as I have cuz I knew when ta walk away." Warts says. "And you think this is one of those times, you don't think there's still a chance to turn this around?" you ask. "Well yeah, there's always a chance, such are the whimsical ways of Yag, but the odds just ain't lookin' good enough for me to take da risk, so I'm off whether you're sticking around or not, but I'd rather you leave with me, because..." Warts coughs a bit and looks away. You hear a sniffle. "Warts...are you crying?" you ask. "NO! I'm not cryin' like sum sissy elf! It's all dis dust bein kicked up due to da battle! Anyway, we've known each other a long ass time, made a lotta coin, did a lotta stupid stuff, an' in sum cases even saved me from getting' killed. Sometime youz waz an asshole, but you still were better than most an' especially anyone in da Spiderfang Tribe. Yer, the closest thing I've had to a friend, an I'd rather our parting of ways go with me knowing dat yer on yer way ta Jicol rather than dying here over nuthin'." Warts says. "So you wouldn't be coming to Jicol?" "Nah, too far. I'll probably just find work in Spider Fang territory, open a tradin' post maybe. Most of da folks dat hated me are dead now anyway so it ain't like I gotta worry bout bein' a halfbreed anymore. I should be closer to my family anyway. In fact dat's another reason youz should go to Jicol. Start a family with Vera, I know you likes her. Forget dat demon girl that's still plaguin' yer mind, she's gone." Warts doesn't really know the whole story to that of course, and you don't really have time to go into it right now, but despite all that, Warts does raise some good points. You're not out of the fight yet though and you've been through two city upheavals already, you can easily survive a third as long as you're smart about all this. You ran away from home once before, you're not doing it again, especially not now when you've built a life here. Might not be ideal to most, but it's yours. "Warts, you do what you gotta do, but I'm gonna do what I gotta do. Just remember whether the Nocturnal League survives or not, I'm still going to be here if you want to work with me again the future." Warts shakes his head while giving a slight broken tooth grin. "Suppose I shouldn't expected any less from ya. Youz haz a death wish. Always haz fightin' dangerous groups of cutthroats, goin' head ta head with religious fanatics, fucking demon bitches... youz gonna get yerself killed one day and it ain't gonna be a pretty death when it happens. But guess I gotta respect all dat. I hope Yag's still usin' loaded dice, cuz yer gonna need 'em." Warts says. "We'll see each other again Warts." You respond. Warts nods at your confidence which you return before he takes his leave. Now alone, you briefly check the rest of the brothel for any remaining survivors. You don't find any, but you do tell the couple that Warts mentioned to go find a better place to hide if they can. While you could just start jumping back into the action, you'd still rather have some back up and the only place you're going to be certain to find some is back at the Nocturnal League's headquarters where you're probably going to find the rest of your remaining members hiding or attempting to wait this out. Good thing you're already not in the greatest of moods because you don't imagine it getting any better when you have to deal with your "employees." When you get back, most of them are a bit on edge, but others are just lazing about playing cards or just generally doing nothing. "Oh, uh hey boss. You're alive." "Yeah well I can see you're really glad that I am. Why the fuck are you assholes sitting around playing cards, you do realize there is a siege going on and our businesses are getting all fucked up right?" you say. "You said we should guard this place." "I said SOME of you and as I remember, you weren't one of them. In fact, most of you should be up there defending our interests. I'm not even asking you to be a fucking hero or defend the city because I know damn well that's a pointless endeavor." "Boss, I don't see why we should risk our lives when we can just wait shit out down here." And there it is. The excuse you've been expecting. "Oh this should be good. Go on about why you feel this way...whatever the fuck your name is." "I'm really not trying to be disrespectful boss, but it seems like we can just pick up the pieces after all this is over. If anything we'll be in a stronger position since the populace won't be in any condition to oppose us and it'll take awhile before the new ruler imposes any sort of order. And this Peter is another Varsakken right? He's probably not going to be any better than his sister, so it'll be business as usual." "That's a nice thought. I see you really thought this out while sitting on your chair playing cards and drinking your ale. Here's another thought though. While we're sitting here playing cards, telling jokes and jerking each other off, all of our business interests are getting fucked up. All our Purple Wish dens? Destroyed. That's a shitload of our income right there and it can't be easily made up. Our whores? Slaughtered. Again can't easily be made up, unless you lot are gonna start selling your asses to make up the loss and I guarantee it wouldn't. Our protection rackets? Well you can't extort corpses, and that's what A LOT of them are right now thanks to orcs just killing everything in sight. I mean fuck, we ARE supposed to be protecting these hapless suckers if not out of the goodness of our hearts then at least for our own pockets! Shit, that's the whole damn point!" Your voice continues to rise as you walk around the room admonishing your people. "This idea that we'll just pick up everything after everything is over is laughable, because there won't be that much left and what IS left, Peter Varsakken is going to be establishing order over, and I'm telling you right now, whether he's as corrupt as the rest of his family or not isn't the issue. The issue is, we DON'T have a good working relationship with him like we do with his sister. Shit like that takes time and trust, both of which we are in short supply of. And to top it all off the ECS is going to still be breathing down our necks telling us we better pay up by the end of the month. How are we going to fucking do that if all of our income has turned to fucking rubble? Is ANY of this getting through or am I talking to a bunch of fucking retards?" Suddenly another one stands up. "Well gee boss, why don't you get your precious hobs to fucking do all this shit?" "Because most of the hobs are fucking dead that's why, which is another loss since a lot of them were our best pit fighters. And I highly recommend you take it way down, before I take YOU down." Now several others stand up to join the troublemaker. Though a few of them look unsure. Some don't take a side and just quietly slink back into a place where they might be safe from the fighting. One thing you are noticing is nobody seems to be siding with you. This is worse than you thought. You already have your hand on your weapon. "No! You've been bossing us about for months getting prepared for this fucking invasion and none of us see why we should even be involved. You do this ALL the damn time, dragging us into these unnecessary conflicts instead of just staying the fuck out of it. You did this with the religious faction war, you did this with the Felians, who were supposed to be our allies and now you're doing it here. And who is on the losing end of all of this shit? US! That's who! We're the ones fucking dying! Well no fucking more! We're all staying down here and riding this out, and if you don't like it, tough shit, because if you haven't noticed by now, you're fresh outta friends and you don't even have your filthy hob scum to protect your ass anymore." "Seriously, you ALL feel this way? You fuckers are the most short sighted assholes ever if you've decided that right now would be the best time to pull a double cross and MORE fool you that you didn't kill me right away." "Well we can take care of that right now, and you don't have enough bullets to kill us all." "I don't need to kill you all, I'm just gonna kill you and I don't need hobs to do my work." The troublemaker's eyes widen and he goes for his own flintlock, but he's too slow of course and you've already killed him and three others before everyone has taken cover. Nobody else is returning fire or attempting to attack, which means you've probably asserted your dominance once again. "That's what I thought. Now contrary to this dead fucker's words, I've been risking my ass more than ANY of you since day fucking one! Who the hell was it that was leading the damn charge when we took out the Joachimites and Felians? As I remember it was me. And what the hell have I been doing while you lot were hiding like cowards, I've been trying to keep this organization together by defending our shit! So don't give me this bullshit that I've been leading from the back. Maybe the real problem is you shitheads have all gotten lazy because you have no regular opposition. Scared of a real fight. Y'know what? Fuck all of you. I'm going back up there to try to salvage what this organization still has left. The rest of you can either help or get the fuck out of the way, but what you can't do is stay here. Because when I come back, I find ANYONE still here, you'll be joining these troublemakers on the floor." With those last words you leave. You have no idea if you're even going to have an organization left if you survive all this, but that doesn't matter right now. Right now you're going to do something even more foolish and find out what the hell's going on with Heather and her crew of wannabes because if you can get the wizards to help you in this chaos, staying here will have at least been worth the effort. Tracking them down is fairly easy because it's the part of the city that EVERYONE is avoiding, lot of explosions, debris flying in the air, fire, strange lights and even stranger noises in general. When you arrive in the general vicinity, you finally get a good look at what's going on. You see several creatures that remind you of some sort of demonic dwarves since they're about the same height, and pretty stocky. They're attacking a group of wizards wearing purple robes which you're guessing are Heather's people though you don't see her. Heather's people are holding their own, but the problem is the demons don't stay dead or rather as soon as one is killed another one materializes. They can't possibly keep this up forever. A little bit in the distance you also catch sight of a man in a shabby brown robe. You're guessing this is the one summoning the demons. He must have some strong protection up, because demons aren't known to enjoy being summoned by mortals. You also see two figures battling it out on top of one of the few standing buildings left in the area. You see all manner of magic being thrown about and most of it hitting nearby parts of the city. You can't quite make out the figures, but you're guessing one of those might be Heather. The way you see it, you can either climb up the building to try to help Heather or try to help her students. > You help Heather Honestly, Heather is still your best chance at getting cured, so if she's dead then you might as well have left Holgard when this all happened. Besides, you don't fancy your chances against multiple demons and a wizard. You figure if you're quiet and careful enough you'll be able to sneak up to the top of the building and just shoot the wizard opposing Heather in the back. Well that's the ideal plan anyway. You duck into the building that Heather and her opponent are fighting on top of and avoid the demon-wizard battle completely. Surprisingly the inside of the building (which you think is Holgard's hall of records. Some sort of government building anyway, you have no idea, never been here or paid attention to it before) isn't too torn up by the fighting, though it looks like the people hiding here didn't fair too well since you're seeing a lot of dead bodies that look like they have the life drained out of them. You on the other hand are feeling a little weird. Not like your life is suddenly being drained out of you, but more like a feeling of energy around you. Almost like your hair is starting to stand on end. Must be all the magic being thrown about. You're just about to head up to the second floor and that's when you hear a groaning noise. You look back, but you already know what you're going to see. Several of the corpses you just passed are now getting up and they're all making their way towards you. "Of course. Shit." You say and quicken your pace and the corpses do likewise. With a bunch of undead now chasing you, it's a very good thing that government buildings tend to have the same layouts making it at least easy for you to keep finding the next flight of stairs. This is counter balanced by more corpses of the government officials stirring whenever you reach a new floor. By the time you make it to the top floor, you've got a horde chasing you. You scramble up the ladder to the roof and fling open the hatch. There upon the roof, you see Heather and her antagonist throwing bolts of magic and blocking each other's attacks. It would seem they're evenly matched and neither one is paying any attention to you. Meanwhile, corpses are making their way up the ladder. You shoot the first one in the head and then slam the hatch down and stomp on it a couple times. It's not going to hold them for long, and you can't stand here forever keeping all your weight on it. The noise of your pistol now causes the opposing wizard to take notice of you. He doesn't waste any time in throwing a bolt of energy at you. You try to get out of the way, but you still get hit with a blast strong enough to cause you to go flying backwards. You ignore the pain in your chest as you desperately attempt to not fall off the side of the roof. The top half of your body hangs over the edge as you struggle to move from your precarious position. You manage to sit up just in time to see the wizard throwing another magic bolt your way. This probably would have been the end of you had the hatch not opened back up and corpses crawling out of it. Instead of hitting you, the bolt hits a couple of the corpses instead and you scramble out of the way so as not to get hit by flying body parts heading your way. As the horde continues to pour onto the roof, your visibility of the other wizard and Heather is starting to be blocked by said horde. You desperately shoot at the horde, but unlike your previous experience back at the League headquarters, you're not going to intimidate them by killing a few. There's nowhere to go either. The closest building isn't close enough that you could easily jump to it, even if it was still intact. At best, from this height you MIGHT survive a fall with several broken bones and given what else is going on down in the streets, you probably wouldn't survive too much longer. "Fuck. Looks like Warts was right. Yag's crapped out." You say to yourself, drawing your blade for a final stand. Just as one of the slack jawed dead eyed corpses gets within reach of you, you're suddenly floating upward! After lingering in the air for a moment, you slowly start floating over the street causing the rest of the corpses to follow and go right over the side of the building. It's fascinating and scary as hell at the same time since you could easily be dropping to your own death right now. From your position, you see Heather on the far side of the building with one raised hand in your direction. You also see the other wizard lying on the roof smoldering and still burning. You didn't see it because you were too occupied with fighting corpses, but it would appear your arrival was enough distraction that allowed Heather to get the upper hand over her opponent. With all the undead now a pile of splattered bodies on the street (Well most of them anyway) and no longer a threat, Heather pulls you forward and gently places you back on the rooftop where upon you walk over to her. "Thanks." You say. "Thank you for the distraction. Shit, I'm fucking exhausted dealing with asshole." Heather says and indeed looking very worn. In fact, she even looks a bit older. "I was actually coming to do more than just be a distraction, but suddenly I was getting attacked by a hundred dead bean counters." "Yeah, the repercussions of wild dark magic being thrown around. This building might have some strong magic protection, but it didn't do shit for the people inside." "It does?" "Well yeah. It's where all the records to the city are held. Last thing the government wants is stuff like that getting destroyed. I put the protection wards up myself when Ludmilla requested it months ago. Why do you think the building is still more or less intact?" "Hm, thought it was unusual. Anyway, your students are having their own problem with demons that they're fighting in the streets right now. I think the other wizard keeps summoning them." "Of course he is. Y'know, that's probably why these idiots got themselves kicked out of the Delantium University in the first place, dabbling with necromancy and demonology. That shit could potentially destroy a world if used as reckless as it has been here. Well guess I better sort this out, before taking a break." You tell Heather where you saw the fighting going on and she goes over to the right side of the building and sees for herself. It's still a stalemate from what you can tell and fortunately Heather says this will be easy to take care of. She conjures up a fireball and directs it towards the other wizard in the street below. He's not even looking in that direction so he takes the hit. You then see a figure screaming and burning which is then followed by one of the demons leaping on him and ripping him apart. Heather's people take advantage of the situation and blast the demons with all they have. Without the other wizard up keeping the spell, they aren't materializing any longer and stay permanently dead. Though you do see one leap away from the battle and out of sight. Looks like that will just be one more evil thing brought into this world. (Not that it's going to make much of a difference) With the immediate threat over with, you and Heather head back down the ladder where thankfully there aren't anymore walking dead lurking about. Heather's students soon meet up with the both of you. They look even more tired than she does and you notice there are significantly less of them than the last time you remember. "Grand Matriarch! Are you hurt!? I can heal you!" Gwen asks. "I'm fine Gwen, see to our friend though, maybe he's hurt, I saw him take a magic bolt to the chest." Heather remarks. Gwen goes over to you and starts to check you out, but you don't feel like you really need any tending to either. "Thanks, but I'm really okay." You say. "Let me just cast a minor healing spell, you look like you could use it. Were you fighting before you got here?" Gwen remarks and starts casting something over you. "Yeah, mostly orcs, some humans. All assholes." "Wow, orcs huh? That takes some courage to go toe to toe with the likes of those big green guys." "Eh, I had some green guys of my own. A little on smaller side though. Hm, starting to feel a lot better. At least not aching in pain anymore. Guess I did need that after all. Thanks." "You're welcome!" Gwen's attitude is a lot different than you last remember. "Where's your boyfriend?" "Huh? Oh Cooper? He's not my boyfriend anymore, he ran off a couple months ago. He didn't want to stick around during the invasion. He was a big coward after all, not like you." "Um, yeah. I think I'm okay right now Gwen." "You sure?" "Yeah, thanks." "The man said he doesn't need any more attention so stop hovering over him and go back over there with the rest of your class." Gwen gives you a small smile before leaving you to go back to the rest of her, causing Heather to make an eye roll. "Called it." Heather says. "Hm, well I guess better that she's friendly now." You say. "She's still fucking annoying. If she didn't show such natural talent for magic, I'd probably just throw her ass out of the school." "Wow, I would think you'd want everyone you could get. I mean there aren't many of you after all." "Yeah well you don't have to deal with her on a daily basis. However, you are correct in that pragmatism did also influence the decision to keep her around. I'm about the last very experienced wizard in this city now anyway. The few remaining true Dornans either left when I first got the school started or died during this invasion. Still it'll be enough to turn back the tide. It's just really taking its toll on me. Pretty sure you can already tell." "Well I wasn't going to say anything." "You didn't need to. Magic has a habit of making you old before your time. That's why whenever you someone talks about wizards; the stereotype is some decrepit old person. It's not that far off, except the old person usually isn't all that old in years at least. But such is the price we pay for being skilled in the gift that Dorna bestowed upon this world." Heather, yourself and her group take this moment to rest up and talk a bit of strategy. The current situation is bad, but not entirely unwinnable. You just have to make one major attack to turn the tide. Heather is in favor of helping what little remains of Ludmilla's defenses at her palace. Heather says breaking up the attack going on there should destroy the rest of Peter's forces or at least the majority of them. At that point he won't have enough people to take the city, let alone hold it given that Ludmilla will still be alive at that point. When you ask if there is any other alternative, Heather says, you all could attack Peter directly since he's probably still aboard his ship. The problem with that is, there is still a good-sized fleet near the Holgard docks. Heather says casting magic at the ships might bring a few of them down, but not before the rest of them start firing cannonballs back, and who knows if you're going to get Peter or not. Still, if you take out Peter then it isn't like you're going to have to worry about him ever trying this in another five to ten years and having to deal with it again. > You defend the palace What Peter may or may not do in the future is something you'll just have to face then, but right now it's probably best to make sure Ludmilla is still in power after all this. "Let's go bail out the baroness I guess. Though it's not exactly like I got magic to throw around like the rest of you, not sure how much help I'll be." You say. "Well since it's an incredibly bad idea to summon demons or raise corpses for protection, it can't hurt for you to provide a little extra protection. Where is the rest of your crew anyway?" Heather asks. "Don't ask, in fact after this is all over I might not even have one anymore. Anyway, let's get on with this." With as much rest as you're going to get under these conditions, you and the wizards are soon on your way to the palace. You actually don't have many problems on the way there, but you do come across a few unexpected faces. It's some of the Nocturnal League. They look like they've already been in a few scrapes. "There you are boss! We've been looking all over for ya!" one of them remarks. "Well, you've found me, and I hope for your sake, you've come to help." You say. "We have! Um, we've managed to save couple of our brothels from getting too fucked up. We've also been having people take the whores back to headquarters and stay there until it's safe." "Glad to hear we're making Holgard safe for whores again at least. Come on, you've all got a new task. We're heading to the palace and making sure to keep these spell slingers safe along the way because they need to save their strength for what lies ahead." Not questioning your leadership again, your people follow you. As you get closer to the palace, you start coming across more of the fighting again. This must be where the rest of the orc mercs were sent when they weren't tearing up your shit. Ludmilla's people have been holding out pretty well all things considering. The orcs haven't even breached the palace yet thankfully. If you hadn't come along when you did though, they might have. Seeing as you're not actually soldiers you stick to your plan of just protecting Heather and her students while they do the heavy lifting. Dozens of orc and human mercs go down by magical means be it fire, lightning, frost, or even giant weasel. (Somehow one of the Heather's people summoned giant hostile weasel in the middle of the battle area, certainly was an unexpected sight) As for you, you do your best in keeping skirmishers from getting in close. Several of your League underlings don't survive though and after it's all said and done, you're pretty much the last man standing from your group, but the day is won and what little remains of the invasion force flees. You aren't sure if they're going to regroup later, but there probably isn't enough for them to do so at this point. Peter will probably have to abandon his plans of retaking his "birthright" and try again another day. Hopefully not anytime soon. You look over at your wizard allies and all of them are alive or more importantly Heather is still alive. She's looking even worse now though. She's roughly around your age, and now she looks about fifteen years older. You ask her if she's okay and she snaps at you which is slightly out of character for her, but you suppose this all has really taken a toll on her. With the immediate threat gone, the battered palace doors are finally opened up and you're all urged to enter since the baroness wishes to speak with you all When you enter, you surprisingly see Baroness dressed for battle; no fancy royal robes, she's wearing finely made armor. A sword even hangs by her side. Apparently she was fully prepared to not go quietly if need be. First thing she does is address Heather and her people and going on about how she is thankful for their help. Heather is doing her best to look cordial, but it's obvious that she barely even wants to be here anymore. Doesn't help when Ludmilla mentions Heather's obvious aging through magic use and mentions that she made sure to use her own magic sparingly so as not to over exert herself. You can imagine that if this was anyone else but the baroness, Heather would be igniting her on fire for her words since Ludmilla's coming off like she's just as knowledgable about magic as Heather is. After a brief discussion about sweeping up the remainder of the invasion force she finally turns her attention to you. Heather and the rest leave since they more work to do and Heather looks anxious to get out of there in the first place. "So, we meet again nocturnal one. Glad to see even our criminal element has a sliver of patriotism in them to defend this great city as opposed to just taking advantage of the chaos." Ludmilla remarks. "Well, honestly, it was probably more stubbornness and pragmatism on my part rather than patriotism." You answer. "Hm, well whatever works I say. Your service here will not be forgotten whatever your reasons may be. You can be assured that this government's relationship with your organization will continue to be a positive one after all this is finally over." "Glad to hear it, but I don't think I've got an organization anymore. Most of them are dead, and the rest that are still alive I don't even want to be bothered to manage anymore." "Truly? Are you going into a new line of work then?" "Probably not, I wouldn't know what else I could use my skills for anyway." "You ever thought about working for me directly?" You didn't expect that. "Work for you? Doing what exactly?" you ask. "Well it occurs to me, the intel that I received on this invasion wasn't completely accurate. And this inaccuracy could have easily resulted in a loss. I need a better intelligence system, The Felians were good at this, but Heather convinced me that their...departure would make things better. I've mostly relied on her divination and contacts within the Delantium Kingdom University. However, I feel this may be putting too much pressure on her since I'm sure you agree, all of this has been an ordeal for her." Ludmilla remarks. "Looks that way." "Indeed, so I believe some of the burden should go to someone that obviously has more flexibility and hands on skill in spying and lurking about and I have to believe someone like you has experience in shadowy works and underhanded ways of gathering vital information when necessary." "I suppose my skills would come in handy for such a task." "Yes, I'm glad you see it that way and I would also remind you that while perhaps many of your numbers have been decimated, not all of them have and you already have a great system in place to draw from. I mean your brothels alone should be a beacon of information." "Those always did come in handy for blackmail." "And just think, you will now have MORE resources at your disposal and no longer need to worry about the law...not that you did before, but that specter still loomed over you even if it was a friendly one." Ludmilla takes your hand, though you don't get an impression of an attempt at seduction or attraction, just more of a way of getting your attention. It's working. "But even a friendly dragon can crush a village whenever it feels like it. I know someone like you probably cherishes the freedom that most living outside the law come to embrace. But I tell you now that living outside the law is nothing compared to using it to rule over others. Bending it to your will as you see fit and never having to answer for it. Why? Because you make the rules and they're completely legitimate. Don't be a villager living near a friendly dragon, BE the dragon." You smile a bit. The baroness certainly has a way with words. "I understand what you're saying baroness, however even if I take you up on your offer, I don't think I'm the friendly dragon in the scenario. That would still be you." You say,

causing her to laugh a bit. "Well, this is why you'd make a good spymaster. You're a realist that doesn't have delusions of grandeur! You're right of course, I am the friendly dragon, but you at least wouldn't have to worry about the friendly dragon's minions because you'd indirectly be in charge of them, to a limited degree of course. Better to stand with the dragon than be under its talons." This is just so surreal to you right now. Never in your life did you ever think you'd get an offer like this. Then again never in your life did you ever think you would ever do this much fighting either, but you guess on that day when you took your first life and had to run your ass out of Teckleville, it's been a path of increasing bloodshed ever since. Why should Ludmilla's offer be any stranger? Sure it's shady and corrupt, but actually working for a government with a "real job" it's a scenario ALMOST what your parents always wanted and at this point, why not? Might make a nice change of pace. "Well...when you put it like that, I suppose how can I say no?" In the weeks to come, you settle into your new job without much difficulty. Your main task at first is helping in reinforcing order in the city after the invasion since there is a decrease in Holgard soldiers that can patrol the streets. Establishing spies and informants about the various goings on in the city is fairly easy since the few Nocturnal League folks that remained loyal (and were still alive) are practically begging you for a chance to join. While you still aren't sure what happened to Vera, you write a letter to her, informing her of the situation. Telling her that she's in charge of the Nocturnal League now or whatever she wants to call it as you have moved on. You also tell her you'd like to meet with her in person if possible since you believe you still need to hammer out some details. Eventually the ECS representative comes calling for their cut (with back interest), they find that the Nocturnal League is no more in the city and they can't do shit to you about it because you're practically the right hand of the baroness. You aren't sure what the repercussions though might be. You take it for granted that assassination might always be a possibility, but you're about as prepared for that as you're going to be. You're more of the mind that they may just start leaning on Vera directly. Within the next two months, you've ironically eliminated most of the random crime in the city thanks to your secret police system. It's probably the most orderly the city has ever been. Ludmilla certainly approves and gives you praise for being so efficient in your new position. You also finally get a response back from Vera though it's brief. She tells you that everything is fine, but she herself has been preoccupied lately with a power struggle from some upstarts trying to start a new organization and the Jicol law enforcement being more vigilant as of late. She also says that she will watch out for the ECS and will visit Holgard as soon as she is able and wishes you well in your new position. Nothing else is said. No personal thoughts on the new situation, just facts and explanations. You half wonder if it's even her, but the terrible handwriting is unmistakable. You chalk it up to her being perhaps very surprised by everything combined with being busy. In any case you know she's alive. In between your new job and your concerns about your past comrade. You've also been thinking a lot about your family. You can imagine that your parents wouldn't exactly be thrilled about your new position even if you did officially "go legit. While it would be easy to just forget about them, as you haven't seen them in nearly two decades now, you can't just dismiss them completely. After all, despite everything your mother probably still loves you and your father...well he DID bail you out of trouble for years. You decide to write a letter to them. You're going to keep it short and vague and you don't expect any attempt at contact back, but at least they'll know that you're alive and doing well. (Even if they're skeptical about how you explain things in your letter to them) You'd like to send a letter to your sister too, but who knows where she is, so you end the letter to your parents saying you send your love to your sister as well and to let her know if they ever see her. > Time passes... Year 34 Ever since the invasion last year, Heather's demeanor has changed considerably, though you imagine her premature aging and heavy task load don't help... "No, I still haven't found a way to undo your curse I've been really fucking busy lately in case you haven't noticed." Heather says. "Okay! No need to snap at me. I just thought I'd ask since it's been awhile since we were in the same location." You say. "Yeah well I got other shit to do. Not only do I have the thankless AND hopeless task of training what pathetic remnants of what passes for wizards nowadays, but I also have a lot of tasks from the baroness who wants protection spells all over the walls of this fucking city." "Hm, Ludmilla is very big on defense nowadays. Understandable though given what happened." "I thought that's what she had you for. Sneaking about snatching dissidents and potential threats off the streets." "I can snatch malcontents off the streets all I want or even send assassins out, but it's never going to be enough for Ludmilla. She really wants to be safe and your magic spells greatly enhance that." "Safe. Pfft. I could fry her brain inside her skull with minimal effort and all her protection would be for naught." "Watch it there, treasonous words. Though any particular reason why you haven't?" "Because I went to so much damn effort to keep her in power and ally with her, it seems pretty counter productive to just kill her now." "Well you could take over." "Hah. Funny guy. I'd rather fry my own brain than have the even more thankless task of running a city. I have enough on my hands running a school." "Ludmilla seems to enjoy rulership of this city." "She would. Look, I'd love to stand around and just bullshit with you, but as I said, I'm fucking busy today and I'd like to get in a nap first." "Okay, fine. But you really haven't found ANY way to dispel my curse yet?" "No, unless you want to go through Flynn's ritual and go get yourself an unsuspecting girl to sacrifice." "(Sigh) I know it might seem really weird, but I'm just not THAT much of a bastard yet." "Suit yourself. Though if you ever change your mind and you really want to do me a favor, ask Gwen to help. She doesn't have any knowledge of what will happen and I'm almost certain that she'd jump at the chance to fuck you." "Sheesh, what did that poor girl do to you now?" "She's fucking annoying and that's enough. I curse the fact that she's so naturally talented, so I'm reluctant to do anything worse than just verbally abuse her." "But...you just offered to sacrifice her to cure me." "Yeah well, if Elder Flynn thought it was good enough for me, it's good enough for her." "Wow. Okay then. I'll leave you be." Heather doesn't even acknowledge your goodbye and just turns away to leave, walking a lot slower than she used to. She has truly become a very bitter woman. You're a little concerned about her talking so freely killing the baroness. Not really because you have some great love of serving the baroness, but more the fact that such talk and your knowledge of it without doing anything about it could potentially get you in trouble if it somehow got overheard by someone else. Not to mention her general more miserable attitude nowadays puts you on less comfortable footing with her. Nothing worse than a cranky wizard. Still, you guess she's fine for now. In any case you're looking forward to finally meeting up with Vera in another day or so. She's finally had time from her busy schedule of being a crime boss to come to Holgard. You're sort of interested in learning more about what's going on in Jicol since your new position has gotten a bit slow in Holgard, you've started sending out agents to various other places to keep apprised of the events going on there. So far you've only sent one to Klyton and a few to Delantium. You figured there was no immediate point in sending one to Jicol since in the few letters Vera sent back she's given you brief reports herself and says that everything has been going better there and she's suffered no visits from the ECS, which you're glad to hear since you were sure she would. Seeing as you have nothing else to do today you decide to go relax for a few hours at the Unwavering Unicorn which is the only known tavern in Holgard that has managed to survive every form of major strife that's occurred in this city. It wasn't actually called that though until after this latest attack though. You guess the owner decided a name modification was in order. Makes a change from picking the usual unwelcoming violent names like Bloodbath Inn though. You take a seat in the back with your drink and enjoy the musicians currently on the stage. In the old days you probably would have preferred to spend your off time at a brothel, but you're starting to get to a point where you're not even missing sex any more. Which is a bit worrying on a certain level. Maybe you need to seek out new help on this situation. Maybe give your agents a new side mission of contacting the magic schools. Delantium and Klyton both have one after all. While your feelings for Tanya have certainly diminished over time, she's certainly always going to be in your thoughts thanks to this curse. While you're thinking about that, a man dressed in a dark hooded cloak nearly sneaks up on you and you're just quick enough to pull your pistol out on him before he reaches your table. Given that you didn't see him until the last minute, you can only imagine that he's a shadow blade from the temple of Fel and most likely here on the orders of the ECS. You quickly look around. "Oh don't worry. It's just me and I'm not here to harm you. I doubt if I would be in any condition to do so anymore even with my magic now. Couldn't even sneak up on you." The man says. The chipper voice is familiar and now when you get a good look at the figure so is the face, even if it is partially disfigured now on one side. The man places a small box on the table with a hand that has two missing fingers. "Percy." You say, though you don't put your weapon away. "Glad you recognized me, even though I'm a little less than I originally was when we first met. But then I have you or more specifically your little wizard allies to thank for that don't I? Ugh, I'm sitting down, feel free to keep your weapon on me though if it makes you feel better. Fucking wooden leg..." Percy sits down and you're wondering what all this is about. "In that box you will find the noses of your agents you sent to Delantium. While the ECS recognizes that you are obviously a hard to kill man with powerful enough allies to cause more trouble than it's worth to keep fucking with you, they will NOT tolerate you spying on their territory. Do it again, and it won't matter who your friends in high places are. Consider this a respectful warning." Percy says shoving the box a little closer to you. "Well, that was certainly generous of them. Were they generous enough to keep my agents alive?" you say. "After they were done with them, I'd say they were generous enough to put them out their misery. Sometimes I wish they'd done the same to me, but I guess I was just too important. Lucky me." "At least you still have your nose." "The physical deformities you see and even the some you don't pale in comparison to the mental scars I have along with the ongoing headaches and nightmares thanks to you and your wizard bitch. The Ebony Claw leadership in conjunction with the Temple of Fel spent months probing and prodding my brain to learn what exactly happened to me during my first trip here. I wish every fucking day they had just killed me for incompetence. At least then I would have died in ignorance. But hey, I'm not bitter and it's all in the past." At this point Percy calls a waitress over and orders a drink. "So they knew." You say. "Of course they knew! Did you really think you got away with it?" Percy says. "Well I figured if they ever learned the truth they would waste no time in getting their revenge." "Oh the ECS is good at being patient when it wants to be. Revenge was planned, but they wanted to come up with something suitable. Now of course the standby for a less direct approach at revenge was doing something horrible to your family and loved ones..." You remain deadpan and show no expression when this is brought up, but a deep anxiety wells up inside you and you fear the worst. "However after asking around at that backwards little town you grew up in, it seemed that you left not on the best of terms anyway. Apparently you were a complete disappointment to your parents. Hell, from what I heard, not a single person spoke well of you, except for some trashy barmaid that claimed to be your girlfriend at one time." Huh. You guess your father DID manage to save Annah. You'd show more expression of being happy to hear that, but you know you can't right now. "In any case, killing your parents that you never seemed to give a shit about and some old ex that you fucked as a teenager hardly seemed like revenge at that point and certainly wouldn't have meant much to you. Now your sister on the other hand was a slightly different story. It would appear that you got along very well with her since most from Teckleville said as much. Partners in crime during your youth from what I heard." You don't know if you can keep up this stonewall face much longer... "However, she was fortunate enough to have at one time save the life of someone currently in the top ECS leadership. He apparently has always been a little smitten with her too. So thanks to all that she was safe." You now relax a little. Your worst fears are now over though Percy still hasn't finished his story of revenge so you know SOMETHING bad must still be coming. "Other loved ones, friends or family of note were looked into, but the only other major one we ever learned about was a demonkin girl by the name of Tanya." Percy says as he takes his drink from the returning waitress. "Good luck with that one." You say barely able to contain a smile. "Hm, Indeed. You keep interesting allies. Also explains how you've survived so long. In any case, about this time a plain old assassination attempt was planned, but then that ongoing failure Peter Varsakken was slowly starting to gather enough forces to invade Holgard. In the past ECS had problems with him doing this, but at that time? Not so much, and it was looking like maybe an agreement could be reached. Peter was just happy we wouldn't be sabotaging him this time." You start nodding. "I knew those orcs were specifically targeting Nocturnal League businesses." You say. "Well tearing down everything you had built before you died was only part of it. The next part was supposed to be the stinger, but it wasn't anticipated that you'd actually STAY in this forsaken city and fight to the bitter end rather than run off to Jicol. And it certainly wasn't anticipated that you'd move up in status. After it was all said and done the ECS leadership decided everything evened out and they washed their hands of it. You were out of their hair as far as business competition anymore." "Okay, but the Nocturnal League still exists and if I had retreated to Jicol I would have just been running it there, unless you had assassins waiting for me on the way." At this point Percy takes a big drink from his mug and gives you a big smug smile. "Y'know it's probably too late at this point for it to matter and the Syndicate would probably prefer this to remain a secret just in case they want to use this person in the future, but given all the shit I had to go through because of you AND the Syndicate, I'm giving a big fuck you to both and telling you because at this point what is the worst either of you could do to me?" And here it comes... "There was one other person that we found that you seemed to have a bit of affection for, though killing her wouldn't have really changed much. Sure you would have been pissed, maybe a little upset, but it wouldn't have devastated you. If anything you would have just tried to retaliate, wasting more of our time." "Vera." You say. "Yes, your once second in command and dare I say...friend? Maybe even a little more? In any case, we had an interesting discussion with her and it didn't even take much for her to agree to betray you when the time came. Guess once Ebony Claw, always Ebony Claw. She works with us now, indirectly of course, but we're making more profit from her than we ever were with you that's for sure." "Bullshit." "Is it? Think about it. Wasn't Peter's fleet just a little bigger than you planned despite all of Vera's promises that she was going to convince Hessla pirates otherwise?" "That doesn't prove anything." "Didn't she also try to convince you that siding with Peter would be a good idea and that you should go talk with him? That was actually the first bait, which you obviously didn't take. The original plan was to try to kill you while aboard the ship. Second plan was when you retreated to Jicol, she would have killed you there, but as usual you've got the luck of Yag constantly with you. I sometimes think maybe that's who I should have picked as a deity instead. I might not be all fucked up now." Considering you thought your family might be dead or in danger, this information isn't nearly as bad, but it's still pretty hard hitting and half of the problem is you don't know if Percy isn't just telling you this to fuck with you. The other half is you can't dismiss it either. In fact, his story is more plausible than you'd care to admit. Vera's letters to you since the invasion have always been a bit vague and come off less "close" than they did in the past and Peter's large fleet is something you always wondered about since you know Vera could be convincing when she wanted to be. It just might have been in the wrong way. Plus even the fact that she hasn't told you that she's been dealing with the ECS is suspect. While you're pondering all this, Percy finishes up his drink. "Well I can see you got a lot to think about. Whatever it is you decide to do isn't going to matter to the ECS. So kill her if you wish, there's probably someone even more pliable in the Nocturnal League that's more than willing to continue working with us. If I were you though? I'd do something worse than kill her because as you can see with me, there are worse things than dying." With those words Percy gets up, wincing in a bit of pain as he does. "Remember, no more of your people in Delantium." As Percy hobbles away, you briefly consider opening the small box he left, but don't bother, instead throwing it away. You also briefly consider shooting Percy, but given the pathetic state he's already in and potential problems it could bring, you decide against it. He's just the messenger anyway. It isn't until you get home that you allow yourself an emotional release. Within your explosive rage of breaking a few things and yelling, you eventually calm down. > Confrontation Maybe it's paranoia and maybe you're feeling the emotional effects of possibly being betrayed, but as far as you're concerned, even if you find out that you're wrong and she gets pissed about you even accusing her and never speaks to you ever again, you're still going to feel better about all this. You're going to find out one way or another after she gets off that ship. You're a bundle of energy until the day Vera arrives. When she does its all smiles and hugs like you're both so happy to see each other. Maybe she's even being sincere, you don't know yet. "Glad to finally see you here. How are things in Jicol?" you ask. "Oh you know, it's the same old thing. Some good days, some bad, but can't complain. The Nocturnal League isn't the same without you though." Vera remarks. "I'll bet. So is there any place you wanted to go first?" "You a tour guide for Holgard now too? Well, I suppose after all the shit that happened during the invasion resulted in a lot of damage and rebuilding, so I'm almost betting my favorite tavern isn't even standing anymore." "The Blackheart? Nah. Totally destroyed. I think there's a new weapon shop there now." "Oh well. I suppose the old Nocturnal headquarters is gone now too?" "Not gone, but it's currently under construction. Trying to turn it into a proper place to train any future agents. Bunch of dwarves there right now, and they aren't fond of anyone getting in the way of their work. Warts suggested getting goblins since it would be much cheaper, but I figured the extra money would be worth sturdier construction." "Wow, really taking your new job seriously huh? Well in any case I don't have any preference on where to go, so whatever you decide, we can do that." "Well I was thinking of taking you back to my place." Vera looks at you with a smile. "Well that's very forward of you. You didn't even offer me dinner first." Vera remarks. "I didn't ask if you if you were currently with anyone either." You say. "Would it really matter to you if I was?" "Not really." "Well I guess let's go then." Vera takes your arm and the pair of you walk to your home. Along the way you and her talk about some of changes in the city. The discussion is fairly light and superficial, though Vera's demeanor is pretty affectionate. You went into this with a flirty approach since you wanted to see if there was a complete personality change with her. So far though, she's acting about how you've always known her to. You're getting the impression that she might not be faking all of it or if she is, she's doing a very good job. Whether she is or not though doesn't matter, you're still learning the facts today. When you get to your home, you show her around a bit makes a lot of comments about how nice the place is and that it's better than her own current dwelling. "Ah the bar, I'll just help myself if you don't mind." Vera says pouring herself a drink. "Go ahead." You answer. "Is that a real Daquala head on the wall?" "Yeah, Warts gave me that as a house warming gift. Didn't like the ugly thing at first, but eh, it's sort of grown on me now." "So how is the halfbreed anyway?" "He's fine. Runs some trading post with his family in Spiderfang territory. He exchanges information for coin with me from time to time." "Sheesh, Warts a family man with a regular job, you working for the government. So much has changed here and it all seems so odd." "In some ways I suppose it is, but then Holgard was never a beacon of justice. I mean I'm still involved in a lot of shady dealings. I just got legal permission to do it now." "Hah, I suppose that's true." "So how about you?" "How about me what?" "I've been going on and on about myself and you haven't told me about what's going on with you." "Oh, like I said, nothing much. Just dealing with smugglers and pirates, staying a step ahead of the law when I have to, trying to keep the organization together and keep turning a profit. You know the routine, you had to do it." "Mm, and you said you haven't had any trouble from the Ebony Claw Syndicate?" "Nope. Not a peep from them. Guess they just don't care about the League since it's so small and not really a threat to them." "I suppose not, but still I thought for sure they would pay you a visit after they found out, the League's only remaining holdings were in Jicol and under new management." "I dunno. Maybe they're preoccupied with other things...hey so since you work directly for Ludmilla now, have you been invited to any more of her fancy parties?" Okay. She was pretty quick to change the subject... You entertain some more of Vera's questions and the pair of you also proceed to talk about the "old days. The pair of you laughs about various events that occurred while you two worked together. You're having such a good time reminiscing that you almost forget that you're probably talking to someone who betrayed you. However, it's always still in the back of your mind and you haven't forgotten. You suppose as much as you want to find out, you're trying to enjoy "what once was" while you still can. Meanwhile Vera's gotten a little tipsier and a whole lot flirtier. "So. We finally gonna fuck or what?" Vera asks, moving in a little closer on you. "Now who's being forward?" you say. "Well I mean you invited me over, you're showing off your big house and you're plying me with alcohol. You don't need to wait until I pass out, I'm more than willing right now." "Hm, I can tell. Though you actually started drinking without me giving it to you." "I suppose I did. I guess I always have taken the initiative in our relationship." "You always did have a thing for me didn't you?" "I'd tell you not to flatter yourself, but I think you know I have always found you quite attractive. Don't even know why exactly, considering the first time we met you threatened me with rape." "Oh come on, I told you a long time ago that I wasn't actually going to do that." "I know, but I'm fucked up enough to find that enticing in some weird way, but only if it was you of course." "Wow, that is fucked up. Maybe I should wait until you're passed out then." Vera laughs a bit. "No, I want to be fully awake for when you ravish me." "Sure I'm not going to be pissing off any pirate boyfriends of yours?" "None that matter. And if you meant Zamed, I'm pretty sure he's not going to object since I heard he died pissing off the Governor of Hessla months ago. Not like I'd seen him since we went with your idea to side with Ludmilla anyway. Seems like it was the right choice given the circumstances." Vera moves in to kiss you, and you slightly move away. "Funny you should bring that up since I heard an interesting story about all that recently." You say. "Oh?" Vera asks with a mild annoyance that you didn't kiss her back. "Yeah, a Syndicate member paid me a visit recently. Said you've been dealing with them. Said you've been dealing with them for awhile now." Vera sits back and you look at her face. It's like all the color has drained from it and it's at that moment you know, no matter what she tells you, she's betrayed you. You're just wondering if she's going to admit to it. "Well?" "Um...shit...I didn't want to tell you. I thought you'd be mad. But..." Vera exhales deeply and then continues. "I have had dealings with the ECS, but I sort of had to. I mean they still wanted a cut of the profits, what could I do? I know you would understand that part, but I'm guessing you're not too pleased to find out I was slave trading again." Your eyes briefly widen and go back to normal when she admits to that. You didn't actually know about the slave trading, though you suppose you aren't too surprised. It's what she did before she joined with you and you imagine that it's pretty lucrative what with all the pirate types she has to do business with. She probably was doing it the whole time she was sent to Jicol. Honestly you don't really give a shit though. What is more telling is she's admitting to it now meaning that she's trying to admit a "lesser" offense to distract from a greater one she's hiding. It's one of the oldest criminal tricks in the book. You look at Vera and it's very apparent she's hoping that you'll believe this partial truth and let it go. You won't though, and she probably knows that too. "Vera. Before we continue, I'm going to have to ask you to disarm. I know that..." Before you can get another word in, Vera suddenly throws the rest of her drink in your face and springs from your couch and tries to run for the front door. She doesn't get far though thanks to her balance not being the best due to her alcohol intake. She trips and slams hard on the floor and then promptly throws up as well. Meanwhile all you've done is stand up and drawn your pistol. You walk over to her, as she crawls away from the liquid mess she's left on the floor. She turns over and sits on the floor with her knees to her chest and her back against the wall. She looks at you and then starts to cry. You can hardly believe this is the same woman you once trusted with your life. "(Sob) You...you know (sob) don't you?" Vera says. "Well I know what the smug asshole ECS rep told me and you've pretty much confirmed it with your actions. In fact I sort of figured you'd outright deny everything or put up more of a fight. Didn't think it would be this easy. Guessing you must feel guilty about all this on some level. Again before we continue, I'm going to have to ask you disarm." Vera nods and slowly throws away her blades and her own flintlock far enough away that she wouldn't reach them in time. You thought you were going to be far angrier about all this, but now you're almost feeling pity, but maybe that'll change when you question her. "Okay, so here's the ultimate question. Why?" you ask. "I...don't know." Vera says. "You're REALLY going to have to do better than that Vera." "I don't know! I guess I was pissed at you okay?" "You were pissed at me? For what?! I thought we got along really well!" "Yeah as friends. You always KNEW I wanted to be more than that and instead of being direct, you just sent me away to a fucking island while you were fucking that wizard chick." "Vera...what the hell? This isn't even making any sense! I was direct with you multiple times if you recall. As I remember I never even lead you on in any way. And for the record I was not fucking Heather. In any case I hardly see how that's an excuse for you trying to have me killed!" "I didn't try to have you killed! I just wanted us to be close again! You were supposed to retreat back to Jicol, not stay here and be the fucking hero of Holgard!" "Okay, some of this still isn't making any sense. Actually a lot of it, but this is a much different version of what was going to happen to me when I got back to Jicol. I was told you were going to kill me." "I wasn't going to kill you! And I would have stood up to the ECS if they tried!" "That's not what I heard." "And you believe the ECS about everything? Don't you think that they might be lying about some of it just to fuck with you? To turn us against each other?" "Well, yeah I considered that, but considering some of their story has already been confirmed as true, I'm finding it a little easier to believe an organization that has made no pretenses of being pissed with me than a woman who is obviously more mentally unstable than I ever could have known. And they already turned us against each other when you agreed to deal with them! Either you're so delusional that you believed working with the ECS would somehow bring us together, and I'm really struggling to believe you're that stupid, or you're just lying about everything. At this point either one wouldn't surprise me." Vera makes one last outburst. "Why didn't you just let this go? (sob) There was no more danger to you any more and I certainly wasn't going to conspire against you again. I felt sick the first time I did it. Obviously I STILL feel sick about it. I felt this way ever since I realized how deep I was getting. I was just so...I don't know.... (sniffle) I would always think about that time we got to go to the baroness' party. I remember mentally believing myself to be a princess and you a prince. How I wished it were you and me that night instead of you and some random whore. I really think things could have been different between us. We could have been more than friends. Even now, I wish we could just forget everything and just live in this house together as husband and wife. I don't understand, I did everything for you. Why couldn't you just...love me? (Sob)" As Vera breaks down again into tears, you're almost at a loss for words at this point. Your relationship with women has always been "complicated" but this is a new one on you. You never realized just how damn deep Vera's feelings were for you and honestly it's still a bit of a mystery to you. Especially given that she betrayed you. And she did betray you. No matter what her twisted logic may dictate, you can't forget that. And you can't forgive it. Even if you are genuinely feeling sorry for Vera right now. The ECS may not have gotten the most hurtful revenge on you, but they didn't exactly fail. You can't even be mad at them. Maybe in some weird way this is finally all your good luck crapping out on you. You have done a lot of treacherous shit yourself after all. In any case, you also remember Percy's advice about doing something worse than killing her. You aren't sure if it'll make you feel any better about this, but you're fairly certain it isn't going to make you feel any worse. > Mercy Whatever Vera has done to you, you're not going to torture her anymore. What's done is done and there is no need in drawing this out. You put away your pistol and crouch down besides Vera who is still upset and probably expecting you to kill her. "Vera...Vera...shhhhh...calm down..." you say. Vera still doesn't look in your direction still crying. You run your hand briefly over her hair and then move in closer to hug her. Vera immediately hugs you back, you feel her squeeze you as if her life depended on it. "Don't let go...don't let go...just hold me forever..." she says in between the tears. "I got you Vera." You say. "(sob) I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." "I know." Vera mumbles more things about how she wishes you both could do everything all over. She then feels something against the side of her head. She moves her head back enough and looks at you with tears in her eyes. "I love you..." she says. You pull the trigger, blowing Vera's brains out the other side of her head onto the wall and also getting blood on you in the process. You sit with Vera's body for a moment saddened that this was necessary at all. You wipe your own eyes and eventually stand up and compose yourself. You get some of your people to dispose of Vera's body making some comment that she was an enemy to Holgard. (Not that they were going to question you anyway) And that's it. There's nothing more to it. You'd like to forget about this dark day as soon as possible, but you know that's going to take a bit of time. To get your mind off it, you focus on your other problem, which is the curse you're still dealing with. Honestly, if it hadn't been for that, things might have been different with Vera in the first place. Since Heather doesn't seem to be very helpful right now, you go back to wondering if you should seek help from other magic types which again makes you consider sending someone to ask around Klyton or the magic University in Delantium. You already got an agent that reports on Klyton so that's no problem. Delantium however is another story since Percy just said the ECS killed everyone you sent there. While you don't want to piss off the ECS severely, you also don't like being told where you can't go. You decide to hold off on sending anyone to Delantium until you get word back from your agent in Klyton. Based on his report, you can make your decision to risk sending some to Delantium or not. A month passes and eventually you get word from your agent in Klyton. She mentions that the Klyton magic school is barely better than the one in Holgard and the only main difference is they have a nicer looking school and tend to be more "scholarly" as opposed to "battle ready." Your agent says that they were interested in based on the sealed letter you had her deliver to them. However it would require you to take a trip to Klyton. A bit unusual for you considering you haven't left Holgard in...well since you got here nearly twenty years ago. You imagine you could get the time to leave though if you wanted. This brings you back to pondering if you should still send an agent to the Delantium magic university. Chances are, if they're interested they're going to just ask you to do what the robes in Klyton want you to do. Namely go there yourself and that's probably even going to be even more dangerous than just sending an agent there. > You send an agent to Delantium You might as well explore all your options and you really don't feel like being intimidated. You'll just pick your most competent agent and tell him to be extremely careful and to not linger there anymore than he has to or he's going to suffer a horrible fate After sending your agenr off, once again you play the waiting game. During this time you're pretty paranoid, expecting ECS assassins to strike at any moment. You increase security and generally don't get much sleep. On the plus side, it's kept your mind off Vera completely. Eventually in a month your agent returns to you none the worse for wear. He explains he had no problems whatsoever. Also says that he delivered your message and explains to you that a wizard going by the name High Mage Teklis says he's interested in your situation and will meet with you in a week since he was supposed to visit the Holgard magic school anyway for a potential exchange of ideas. Your agent then gives you a sealed letter saying Teklis provided details for you within it. You open it up and it just explains that he'll be bringing various objects to detect and dispel any curses you might have brought on by infernal creatures. He goes on to assure you that he's studied infernals and has all the confidence that he can fix it. Of course he also gives you a price too for his time. It's actually a pretty high number, and you're sort of surprised that a wizard would be interested in such "mundane" rewards, but in any case, it's doable and certainly no object for getting rid of a curse. You spend the time before he arrives going about your regular business and squeezing a little extra money from the citizens under the guise of a mandatory "defense tax" so you don't lose most of your current savings paying the wizard. You have your people tell you when Teklis arrives in the city, though to your surprise when he finally does, he comes directly to your home escorted by one of your people. You see a very well dressed older man in a suit rather than wizard robes standing before you. He also carries a satchel with him. After he greets you, you return the greeting and dismiss your agent who escorted him. "You seem surprised to see me, you were expecting me correct?" Teklis says. "Yes, however I was also told that you were meeting with the head of the wizard school here and I figured that would be your first priority of your trip." You say. "I can already tell how that's going to go. A lot of attempts by the one in charge trying to convince me that they are an upstanding place of learning when it's probably going to consist of a group little more than organized hedge mages or a large coven." "Wow. Don't mince words do you?" "Just telling you what I'm expecting." "Far be it from me to get involved in your wizard standards, but the head of the school and her students did protect this city not too long ago." "Oh I don't mean to say they won't have talent at all, but I can imagine in a place like this that they won't be the most disciplined of magic users. It's really not their fault and at least they have practical experience rather than that dying school in Klyton where all they seemingly do is read old dusty books and argue about theory all day." Apparently the Delantium Kingdom wizards think very highly of themselves. "However, apologies if I have insulted your friend. My understanding is that you are friends with...Heather is it?" "Well nowadays I'd say that wouldn't exactly be the term I'd use, but yes we do have a working relationship. In any case, your views on her school are not my concern; you can take that up with her. I'm just glad that you agreed to meet me." "Yes, when your agent came to the university asking questions and I caught wind of it, I was intrigued and then when I found out a little bit more of your situation in the letter I was even more interested. So hence why I'm here to meet you first. We can actually get started right away as long we aren't going to be disturbed." "No I can't imagine we will be. Do we need to clear furniture for you to make a circle on the floor or something?" Teklis laughs as he puts his satchel on a table and pulling out objects. "Oh no. None of that. Well at least not yet since I don't know how back this curse you say is. Now I know you went over some of it your condition in your letter, but I get the impression you didn't tell me everything and I'm going to need to know everything if I'm going to properly help you." You begin to explain in the shortest detail possible about your relationship with Tanya and the after effects. While you're doing that, Teklis occasionally holds up some strange objects at you, some of which glow. He also says a few words and does a lot of hand motions in front of you, occasionally telling you to just continue your story and not to worry about what he's doing. Eventually you complete your tale and Teklis completes whatever it is he was doing. "Well?" you ask. "Well, I got good news and bad news." Teklis says. "Well, give me the good since I haven't had much of that lately." "Okay, well you aren't cursed." "What?" "You aren't cursed. I detect no curses on you. Infernal or otherwise." "Are you sure?" "Quite sure. I've studied infernals long enough to know that you haven't been cursed by one. Now I do detect traces of infernal presence on you, but given what you told me about your relationship with this Tanya girl, that's hardly surprising and that's always going to be there." "Well...maybe she gave me a disease? Like demon crotch rot or something?" Teklis laughs again. "Trust me m'boy if you had demon crotch rot, you would know immediately and we wouldn't be having this pleasant conversation. No, you don't have anything. I mean I can't explain why those women died after you had sex with them. Maybe it was just bad coincidence and you jumped to conclusions because somewhere in your mind you missed Tanya so much and it was easier for you not to pursue someone else. If you got a curse, it's just the one you made up in your mind." Well this is a bizarre outcome. You almost can't believe it. "I have to say, never met someone who had a relationship with a succubus and gone on to live a relatively normal life. Usually they're either killed by said succubus or less common, they commit suicide after an extended period time of separation. Of course I guess it helped you met her before she completely transformed. I imagine your short lived relationship with her was very special." Teklis says. "Yeah...it was. It's been years now and for the most part I do get on with my life, but there really isn't a day that goes by that an image of her doesn't briefly pop up in my mind. I don't necessarily always feel the loss, but she's there in my head you know?" you say. Teklis nods and puts away a couple of his magic objects. "So is that the bad news? That I'll always have a vague sense of loss that won't ever go away?" you ask. "No, the bad news is much worse than that." Teklis says. "Shit, what is it? Am I going to start feeling a greater sense of loss as time goes on? Am I going to die of a broken heart in a few years or something?" "Oh you're going to die, but not in a few years and certainly not of a broken heart." Suddenly Teklis waves his hand and everything seems to slow to a crawl and the room begins to darken. You instinctively go for your pistol, but every move you make is a snails pace compared to Teklis who is now directing his hands towards you. You are hit by a solid black beam of dark energy and feel your life force not just draining, but being ripped from you. Every part of you feels like its being eaten alive which might be somewhat true as your body begins to shrivel and you collapse to the floor, too weak to stand up any longer, let alone hold your weapon. "The Syndicate should have done this years ago." Teklis says. Those words are the last you hear before everything goes black forever.

Whatever Vera has done to you, you're not going to torture her anymore. What's done is done and there is no need in drawing this out. You put away your pistol and crouch down besides Vera who is still upset and probably expecting you to kill her. "Vera...Vera...shhhhh...calm down..." you say. Vera still doesn't look in your direction still crying. You run your hand briefly over her hair and then move in closer to hug her. Vera immediately hugs you back, you feel her squeeze you as if her life depended on it. "Don't let go...don't let go...just hold me forever..." she says in between the tears. "I got you Vera." You say. "(sob) I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." "I know." Vera mumbles more things about how she wishes you both could do everything all over. She then feels something against the side of her head. She moves her head back enough and looks at you with tears in her eyes. "I love you..." she says. You pull the trigger, blowing Vera's brains out the other side of her head onto the wall and also getting blood on you in the process. You sit with Vera's body for a moment saddened that this was necessary at all. You wipe your own eyes and eventually stand up and compose yourself. You get some of your people to dispose of Vera's body making some comment that she was an enemy to Holgard. (Not that they were going to question you anyway) And that's it. There's nothing more to it. You'd like to forget about this dark day as soon as possible, but you know that's going to take a bit of time. To get your mind off it, you focus on your other problem, which is the curse you're still dealing with. Honestly, if it hadn't been for that, things might have been different with Vera in the first place. Since Heather doesn't seem to be very helpful right now, you go back to wondering if you should seek help from other magic types which again makes you consider sending someone to ask around Klyton or the magic University in Delantium. You already got an agent that reports on Klyton so that's no problem. Delantium however is another story since Percy just said the ECS killed everyone you sent there. While you don't want to piss off the ECS severely, you also don't like being told where you can't go. You decide to hold off on sending anyone to Delantium until you get word back from your agent in Klyton. Based on his report, you can make your decision to risk sending some to Delantium or not. A month passes and eventually you get word from your agent in Klyton. She mentions that the Klyton magic school is barely better than the one in Holgard and the only main difference is they have a nicer looking school and tend to be more "scholarly" as opposed to "battle ready." Your agent says that they were interested in based on the sealed letter you had her deliver to them. However it would require you to take a trip to Klyton. A bit unusual for you considering you haven't left Holgard in...well since you got here nearly twenty years ago. You imagine you could get the time to leave though if you wanted. This brings you back to pondering if you should still send an agent to the Delantium magic university. Chances are, if they're interested they're going to just ask you to do what the robes in Klyton want you to do. Namely go there yourself and that's probably even going to be even more dangerous than just sending an agent there. > You just head to Klyton After all you've been through, maybe some time away from Holgard is exactly what you need right now. Plus you're not exactly anxious to go pissing off the Ebony Claw Syndicate again after they basically left you off with a warning. So you write a letter back to the Klyton magic university and explain that you'll be heading that way as soon as possible. You also write a letter to your agent there saying that you want her to meet you and make arrangements for when you arrive next week. You then pack a few things and give notice to the baroness that you're leaving for Klyton making something up about rumors that her brother Peter is potentially working with the Klyton government in order to form his next invasion. Being the paranoid sort she is, she's perfectly fine with you going there personally to check things out. Of course as you predicted, you still have to stick around a bit to take care of some of your current business. After a few days of taking care of your mundane tasks you catch the next carriage out of Klyton and you're soon on your way. The trip to Klyton is uneventful, but it gives you plenty of time to think and even appreciate the countryside somewhat. You haven't left the city in so long, you almost forgot what wilderness looked like. A lot of the wooded area that used to surround Holgard is gone now thanks to years of Ludmilla expanding the roads and building the fleet to protect the city. Just as well as Warts runs his trading post now as he won't get many offers as a guide anymore. By nightfall, the woods disappear completely and become more open field. It's at this point you drift in and out of sleep a bit. You see a few random homes and eventually you see the city. Much like Holgard, great walls surround it and the tops of tall structures can be seen looming above, though such structures already look fancier than any in Holgard. When you're within the gates it's dawn and you can see that the city is a lot cleaner and organized looking than Holgard. Granted since you've risen in status, Holgard has gotten a bit better about this, but this is definitely a city that has never undergone the same struggles Holgard ever has. Also unlike Holgard there are a lot more carriages not only going in and out of the city, but also within it. Public transportation was never a high priority in Holgard for various reasons, you're wondering though if it should start. Your parents differed on speaking about their old home to you and your sister. Your mother sometimes would talk about fond memories in Klyton, but your father not so much. As far as he was concerned the best thing about the city was meeting your mother. Makes you wonder though how things might have been different if you'd run to Klyton instead of Holgard. In any case, you're not here to sight see; you're here in the hopes that your condition can get cured or dispelled or whatever they have to do. You exit the carriage and your agent is soon there to greet you. "Hello sir. Your trip was without trouble I trust?" she asks. "It was." You answer. "Good to hear. I have you booked at the Galloping Mare Inn. It's one of the better places in this city." "That's fine. Just as long as it isn't infested with vermin. I'd rather get a bit of rest without potentially getting bitten. (Yawn) So how far is it...apologies what's your name again?" "I'm Claire, and it's not far sir, we can take a carriage to there quicker. It's also fairly close to the university so when you're rested I can take you over there." You nod and soon the pair of you are in another carriage and heading over to your inn. You arrive at the Galloping Mare where Claire leads you to your room and you immediately head over to the bed and get some rest. You figure you won't sleep too long since you already slept a little on the ride to Klyton. You wake up in a few hours and fortunately its still light outside. Probably afternoon by now though. After preparing yourself, you leave your room and find Claire downstairs having a drink with some merchant type. When she sees you approach she excuses herself and immediately goes to see you. "You're awake sir, are you ready to go?" Claire asks. "Yes, who was that?" you ask. "Oh just one of my contacts for information sir. I can give you a full report of what's been going on here after you've completed your business with the wizards if you like." "Sure, might as well. Okay let's go." Doesn't take long for you to get there and soon you're at your dad's old place of higher learning. You never thought you'd ever be here. Claire then takes you to the magic school area of the campus and that's where you part ways with her. She tells you she'll be back at the inn. You step inside one of the magic university buildings and expect to be stopped or "greeted" much like how you were in Holgard by Heather's underlings. Instead you encounter nobody and walk down several empty corridors almost wondering if the place has been abandoned. Eventually you see some old guy in a robe and figure he must be someone of importance. You call out and he slowly turns to you and making motions with his hands. "Hold on! Hold on! I'm not here to do anything sinister! I'm the director of Holgard security and I'm here about a curse. I have one on me. I sent two letters to this place and my agent gave them both to your people. I was told you agreed to meet me and could help." "Hm, must have been High Mage Thomas. He tends to like to speak for the rest of us whether we want him too or not. The man for some reason believes magic should mainly be used for altruistic reasons. The man might as well be a Joachimite Priest if he's going to believe such nonsense." The grumpy wizard says, but puts down his hands. "Isn't this a school? Where is everyone?" "It is a school, but I'm not sure what you were expecting. Magic isn't exactly a common force in the world that it used to be so you're not going to find with place overflowing with people. If it were, things would be severely different in this city. Not to mention the government isn't exactly the most keen on supporting it. If it wasn't for one of our own on the Klyton Council, I dare say this place would have been shutdown entirely." "That's rather short sighted, wizards can be useful allies in case of an attack." "Hm, well glad to see you have some sense at least from a pragmatic standpoint, which is more than can be said for those fools on the Klyton Council. Though there's currently a man running for a spot on there. He seems to be more in favor of relaxing the magic restrictions in this city. I might actually vote for him. Anyway you said had a curse or some such bother?" "Yes." "Well, I guess since you're here, might as well take a look at you. Indeed I'm currently the only one here to do so. Come with me." The old wizard motions you to follow him and mentions that his name is Ahmed. When you ask where are all the other wizards, he says that most of the staff are at some conference and as for any students, the few that they do have are currently out performing their field assignments for classes so they wouldn't really be lingering around here. "I'm sure there are a couple of other staff actually around, but probably locked up in their labs either performing experiments or reading. That's how it usually is for us nowadays though. Seems like we're all just studying magic rather than actually using it for any real purpose." "But you said you send the students on field assignments." "And depending on the wizard, even that could be fairly easy. Personally I send them to at least bring down a beast of some sort, but many staff member have gotten so complacent they usually just tell them to go hunt down various plants. Honestly it'll probably be the most excitement they'll ever get if they stay in Klyton. And if they do stay, they'll probably become staff and they'll send their students on some piss easy task, because hey that's what they had to do so why break the cycle? Feh, it's really fucking pathetic of what this institution has become." Ahmed sounds really bitter. Makes you wonder why he's still here Soon you enter a small lab and he motions you to sit in a chair and asks you to tell him exactly about your condition and how it's affecting you and how you acquired it. You go into your story about Tanya and most of what that entails. While you're speaking Ahmed occasionally holds up a glowing magic object to you and mumbles a few incantations. He just ignores you whenever you ask what he's doing and finally he speaks. "You don't have a curse on you." Ahmed says. "What?" you say. "I detect no curses. Infernal or otherwise." "Are you sure?" "I'd take that as an insult if I actually thought you knew what you were questioning. However, yes I am quite sure." Well maybe it's not a curse, maybe it's a magic disease like demon crotch rot or something." "Trust me, if THAT was your problem, you wouldn't even be here right now." "But...but all those girls. They all died." "Yeah, well shit happens. Look, I can't explain that since I wasn't there. All I can tell you is you don't have any curses on you. As for the girls, well it sounds like you weren't exactly going with the most morally upstanding ones and violent death is usually a common one amongst the lower class and lesser born. I'd chalk it up to bad coincidence." Well this is a bizarre outcome. You almost can't believe it. "However, there IS something." Ahmed adds. "Shit, I knew it." You respond. "Well calm down it's not actually bad, or at least not actively bad." "What is it?" "Your relationship with a succubus is extremely unusual and while she didn't curse you, she DID leave a mark on you. Now most of the time when this happens, the victim usually dies after the succubus finally tires of them and kills them personally or in a much rarer case, the victim falls into a deep depression and commits suicide after an extended period time of separation because the succubus has abandoned them." "So is that going to happen to me?" "Well, you've already lived much longer than someone marked by a succubus. Now I imagine in your case it helped immensely that you developed a loving relationship with this Tanya before she fully changed, but I'm sure you still feel the loss correct?" "It is still there from time to time. Yes." "Mm. Well I wouldn't want to assume that you're going to be fine just because you've severely beaten the odds. You're still marked and who knows what that could do if it ever really kicked in. However, we can purge that from you. If we did you probably wouldn't feel as bad and a great weight would be lifted." "That can be done? Wait, do I have to have sex with some girl in a circle while you perform the ritual to summon Tanya?" "What?! No! Where did you get that idea? We don't need to summon anything, but it's still going to take a little prep work on my end first. I would like you to come back here in a couple days and see me if possible." You think about it at first wondering if you should go through with it. Then you think that that's pretty much why you came here in the first place and it would be good to finally rid yourself of all of Tanya's "presence" even if you were fond of her. Plus now this sounds even less risky than it did before. "Sure. Might as well have a clean slate." "Good, glad to hear it. Okay, you can leave now, I should start preparing." You part ways with Ahmed and feeling slightly more upbeat you rush out of the magic school and head back to the inn where you find Claire speaking with a couple people. "Claire! Where's the nearest brothel in this city?!" you ask. "Um, a couple blocks south of here sir. The Fancy Tickler" Claire responds. "Thanks!" Before she can even respond back, you're gone and already on your way. When you get to the Fancy Tickler, you immediately start throwing coin around so that the ladies can start throwing their pussy your way. You spend practically the whole night at the place. Then the next day you do it all over again. It truly is a wonderful thing to be free! Third day in Klyton and you figure Ahmed should have his shit together by now and you're ready to get this taken care of completely. You enter the magic school which is still relatively empty and head to Ahmed's lab. When you arrive, you see Ahmed speaking with a very well dress man with a goatee. They both turn towards you. "I'm here. What's going on and who is this?" you ask. "This is Mr. Reynolds. I believe I mentioned him the last time we spoke. He's running for a spot on the Klyton Council." Ahmed says. "Oh." Mr. Reynolds begins to move closer towards you, studying you even. "You...you look very familiar. Almost like someone I once did business with...tell me someone in your family ever own an inn here?" Mr. Reynolds asks. "Um...yeah my grandparents, though my dad also worked there." You say. "Hah! Yes! That's where you looked familiar. I loaned your grandfather money which your father ended up paying off. Well, this is a nice coincidence, or perhaps fate?" Searching your memory, you remember in one of your mother's stories about the inn she mentioned a Mr. Reynolds before. You never knew much detail though since you never really paid much attention. Mr. Reynolds flashes a smile at you, which really puts you at unease. In fact you're starting to smell something not unlike brimstone. And that smell can only mean one thing. "Fuck! Infernal!" you shout and before you can even get your pistol out, Ahmed's already cast a spell that's frozen you in place. Mr. Reynolds sniffs the air around you a bit and then speaks. "Yes, this one certain does have a tether to the infernal realm and I can certain use such a thing for the upcoming election, though hardly need the entire body, just the heart will do." You look on helplessly as Mr. Reynolds slowly puts his hand into your chest and pulls out your still beating heart. He then thanks Ahmed for this and says he will definitely honor his agreement to push magic as a greater force in this city. As for you, your body slumps lifelessly to the floor and will play no more role in world events whatever those may be.

Maybe it's paranoia and maybe you're feeling the emotional effects of possibly being betrayed, but as far as you're concerned, even if you find out that you're wrong and she gets pissed about you even accusing her and never speaks to you ever again, you're still going to feel better about all this. You're going to find out one way or another after she gets off that ship. You're a bundle of energy until the day Vera arrives. When she does its all smiles and hugs like you're both so happy to see each other. Maybe she's even being sincere, you don't know yet. "Glad to finally see you here. How are things in Jicol?" you ask. "Oh you know, it's the same old thing. Some good days, some bad, but can't complain. The Nocturnal League isn't the same without you though." Vera remarks. "I'll bet. So is there any place you wanted to go first?" "You a tour guide for Holgard now too? Well, I suppose after all the shit that happened during the invasion resulted in a lot of damage and rebuilding, so I'm almost betting my favorite tavern isn't even standing anymore." "The Blackheart? Nah. Totally destroyed. I think there's a new weapon shop there now." "Oh well. I suppose the old Nocturnal headquarters is gone now too?" "Not gone, but it's currently under construction. Trying to turn it into a proper place to train any future agents. Bunch of dwarves there right now, and they aren't fond of anyone getting in the way of their work. Warts suggested getting goblins since it would be much cheaper, but I figured the extra money would be worth sturdier construction." "Wow, really taking your new job seriously huh? Well in any case I don't have any preference on where to go, so whatever you decide, we can do that." "Well I was thinking of taking you back to my place." Vera looks at you with a smile. "Well that's very forward of you. You didn't even offer me dinner first." Vera remarks. "I didn't ask if you if you were currently with anyone either." You say. "Would it really matter to you if I was?" "Not really." "Well I guess let's go then." Vera takes your arm and the pair of you walk to your home. Along the way you and her talk about some of changes in the city. The discussion is fairly light and superficial, though Vera's demeanor is pretty affectionate. You went into this with a flirty approach since you wanted to see if there was a complete personality change with her. So far though, she's acting about how you've always known her to. You're getting the impression that she might not be faking all of it or if she is, she's doing a very good job. Whether she is or not though doesn't matter, you're still learning the facts today. When you get to your home, you show her around a bit makes a lot of comments about how nice the place is and that it's better than her own current dwelling. "Ah the bar, I'll just help myself if you don't mind." Vera says pouring herself a drink. "Go ahead." You answer. "Is that a real Daquala head on the wall?" "Yeah, Warts gave me that as a house warming gift. Didn't like the ugly thing at first, but eh, it's sort of grown on me now." "So how is the halfbreed anyway?" "He's fine. Runs some trading post with his family in Spiderfang territory. He exchanges information for coin with me from time to time." "Sheesh, Warts a family man with a regular job, you working for the government. So much has changed here and it all seems so odd." "In some ways I suppose it is, but then Holgard was never a beacon of justice. I mean I'm still involved in a lot of shady dealings. I just got legal permission to do it now." "Hah, I suppose that's true." "So how about you?" "How about me what?" "I've been going on and on about myself and you haven't told me about what's going on with you." "Oh, like I said, nothing much. Just dealing with smugglers and pirates, staying a step ahead of the law when I have to, trying to keep the organization together and keep turning a profit. You know the routine, you had to do it." "Mm, and you said you haven't had any trouble from the Ebony Claw Syndicate?" "Nope. Not a peep from them. Guess they just don't care about the League since it's so small and not really a threat to them." "I suppose not, but still I thought for sure they would pay you a visit after they found out, the League's only remaining holdings were in Jicol and under new management." "I dunno. Maybe they're preoccupied with other things...hey so since you work directly for Ludmilla now, have you been invited to any more of her fancy parties?" Okay. She was pretty quick to change the subject... You entertain some more of Vera's questions and the pair of you also proceed to talk about the "old days. The pair of you laughs about various events that occurred while you two worked together. You're having such a good time reminiscing that you almost forget that you're probably talking to someone who betrayed you. However, it's always still in the back of your mind and you haven't forgotten. You suppose as much as you want to find out, you're trying to enjoy "what once was" while you still can. Meanwhile Vera's gotten a little tipsier and a whole lot flirtier. "So. We finally gonna fuck or what?" Vera asks, moving in a little closer on you. "Now who's being forward?" you say. "Well I mean you invited me over, you're showing off your big house and you're plying me with alcohol. You don't need to wait until I pass out, I'm more than willing right now." "Hm, I can tell. Though you actually started drinking without me giving it to you." "I suppose I did. I guess I always have taken the initiative in our relationship." "You always did have a thing for me didn't you?" "I'd tell you not to flatter yourself, but I think you know I have always found you quite attractive. Don't even know why exactly, considering the first time we met you threatened me with rape." "Oh come on, I told you a long time ago that I wasn't actually going to do that." "I know, but I'm fucked up enough to find that enticing in some weird way, but only if it was you of course." "Wow, that is fucked up. Maybe I should wait until you're passed out then." Vera laughs a bit. "No, I want to be fully awake for when you ravish me." "Sure I'm not going to be pissing off any pirate boyfriends of yours?" "None that matter. And if you meant Zamed, I'm pretty sure he's not going to object since I heard he died pissing off the Governor of Hessla months ago. Not like I'd seen him since we went with your idea to side with Ludmilla anyway. Seems like it was the right choice given the circumstances." Vera moves in to kiss you, and you slightly move away. "Funny you should bring that up since I heard an interesting story about all that recently." You say. "Oh?" Vera asks with a mild annoyance that you didn't kiss her back. "Yeah, a Syndicate member paid me a visit recently. Said you've been dealing with them. Said you've been dealing with them for awhile now." Vera sits back and you look at her face. It's like all the color has drained from it and it's at that moment you know, no matter what she tells you, she's betrayed you. You're just wondering if she's going to admit to it. "Well?" "Um...shit...I didn't want to tell you. I thought you'd be mad. But..." Vera exhales deeply and then continues. "I have had dealings with the ECS, but I sort of had to. I mean they still wanted a cut of the profits, what could I do? I know you would understand that part, but I'm guessing you're not too pleased to find out I was slave trading again." Your eyes briefly widen and go back to normal when she admits to that. You didn't actually know about the slave trading, though you suppose you aren't too surprised. It's what she did before she joined with you and you imagine that it's pretty lucrative what with all the pirate types she has to do business with. She probably was doing it the whole time she was sent to Jicol. Honestly you don't really give a shit though. What is more telling is she's admitting to it now meaning that she's trying to admit a "lesser" offense to distract from a greater one she's hiding. It's one of the oldest criminal tricks in the book. You look at Vera and it's very apparent she's hoping that you'll believe this partial truth and let it go. You won't though, and she probably knows that too. "Vera. Before we continue, I'm going to have to ask you to disarm. I know that..." Before you can get another word in, Vera suddenly throws the rest of her drink in your face and springs from your couch and tries to run for the front door. She doesn't get far though thanks to her balance not being the best due to her alcohol intake. She trips and slams hard on the floor and then promptly throws up as well. Meanwhile all you've done is stand up and drawn your pistol. You walk over to her, as she crawls away from the liquid mess she's left on the floor. She turns over and sits on the floor with her knees to her chest and her back against the wall. She looks at you and then starts to cry. You can hardly believe this is the same woman you once trusted with your life. "(Sob) You...you know (sob) don't you?" Vera says. "Well I know what the smug asshole ECS rep told me and you've pretty much confirmed it with your actions. In fact I sort of figured you'd outright deny everything or put up more of a fight. Didn't think it would be this easy. Guessing you must feel guilty about all this on some level. Again before we continue, I'm going to have to ask you disarm." Vera nods and slowly throws away her blades and her own flintlock far enough away that she wouldn't reach them in time. You thought you were going to be far angrier about all this, but now you're almost feeling pity, but maybe that'll change when you question her. "Okay, so here's the ultimate question. Why?" you ask. "I...don't know." Vera says. "You're REALLY going to have to do better than that Vera." "I don't know! I guess I was pissed at you okay?" "You were pissed at me? For what?! I thought we got along really well!" "Yeah as friends. You always KNEW I wanted to be more than that and instead of being direct, you just sent me away to a fucking island while you were fucking that wizard chick." "Vera...what the hell? This isn't even making any sense! I was direct with you multiple times if you recall. As I remember I never even lead you on in any way. And for the record I was not fucking Heather. In any case I hardly see how that's an excuse for you trying to have me killed!" "I didn't try to have you killed! I just wanted us to be close again! You were supposed to retreat back to Jicol, not stay here and be the fucking hero of Holgard!" "Okay, some of this still isn't making any sense. Actually a lot of it, but this is a much different version of what was going to happen to me when I got back to Jicol. I was told you were going to kill me." "I wasn't going to kill you! And I would have stood up to the ECS if they tried!" "That's not what I heard." "And you believe the ECS about everything? Don't you think that they might be lying about some of it just to fuck with you? To turn us against each other?" "Well, yeah I considered that, but considering some of their story has already been confirmed as true, I'm finding it a little easier to believe an organization that has made no pretenses of being pissed with me than a woman who is obviously more mentally unstable than I ever could have known. And they already turned us against each other when you agreed to deal with them! Either you're so delusional that you believed working with the ECS would somehow bring us together, and I'm really struggling to believe you're that stupid, or you're just lying about everything. At this point either one wouldn't surprise me." Vera makes one last outburst. "Why didn't you just let this go? (sob) There was no more danger to you any more and I certainly wasn't going to conspire against you again. I felt sick the first time I did it. Obviously I STILL feel sick about it. I felt this way ever since I realized how deep I was getting. I was just so...I don't know.... (sniffle) I would always think about that time we got to go to the baroness' party. I remember mentally believing myself to be a princess and you a prince. How I wished it were you and me that night instead of you and some random whore. I really think things could have been different between us. We could have been more than friends. Even now, I wish we could just forget everything and just live in this house together as husband and wife. I don't understand, I did everything for you. Why couldn't you just...love me? (Sob)" As Vera breaks down again into tears, you're almost at a loss for words at this point. Your relationship with women has always been "complicated" but this is a new one on you. You never realized just how damn deep Vera's feelings were for you and honestly it's still a bit of a mystery to you. Especially given that she betrayed you. And she did betray you. No matter what her twisted logic may dictate, you can't forget that. And you can't forgive it. Even if you are genuinely feeling sorry for Vera right now. The ECS may not have gotten the most hurtful revenge on you, but they didn't exactly fail. You can't even be mad at them. Maybe in some weird way this is finally all your good luck crapping out on you. You have done a lot of treacherous shit yourself after all. In any case, you also remember Percy's advice about doing something worse than killing her. You aren't sure if it'll make you feel any better about this, but you're fairly certain it isn't going to make you feel any worse. > Revenge It would be much kinder to just kill Vera now and be done with it and perhaps you would under normal circumstance. However, you have another problem that doesn't seem to be getting solved another way anytime soon and as grim as the current solution is, this is probably about the only time you're going to feel someone is deserving of it. You put away your pistol and crouch down besides Vera who is still upset and probably expecting you to kill her. "Vera...Vera...shhhhh...calm down...I'm not going to hurt you." "(sniffle) You're...you're not?" "No...I mean you REALLY fucked up. Like seriously fucked up. But I guess in your own warped way you thought you were doing something good. Actually I don't even understand it all, but it really doesn't matter since maybe some of this is my fault. I should have told you a long time ago." "Wait, what? Tell me what?" "(Sigh) Well while I tried my best to never lead you on, you would be correct in thinking that I did have some affection for you as well. I mean how could I not? We were practically like an old married couple at times." Vera's expression begins to change from one of despair to one of hope. "You did? I knew it! But, why didn't you ever return it? Why didn't you ever tell me?" Vera asks. "Because I'm fucking cursed that's why and that's what I should have just told you. If I had maybe this could have all been avoided." You say. "Cursed? How?" "It's a long story..." And so you finally explain to Vera starting at the beginning when you first met Tanya. You tell her about your odd relationship with the demon girl you fell in love with. Vera never interrupts much except to say that Warts did tell her about Tanya very briefly once, but not in too much detail since he never paid much attention to your love life. Vera seems genuinely fascinated by it all. She's even sympathetic. You suppose in some ways your obsession with Tanya mirrors her obsession with you a bit. (Though obviously in a vastly different way) Part of you wonders if things really would have been different if you told Vera this before. Too late now you guess. While you're telling the stories of Tanya to Vera, you're also partially reliving some of the good times you experienced with her. You actually haven't thought about those in awhile seeing as you were trying to keep her "out of your head" as much as you could. Finally you get to when you finally parted ways with Tanya, along with what you soon discovered whenever you were intimate with another girl. Vera now looks very stunned. "Shit. I never knew. I mean... fuck. You've been trying not to kill me for years." Vera says. "Yeah. Shame you couldn't return the favor." Vera looks away after your comment and goes silent. Her face is one of guilt and shame. "Okay, maybe that was unnecessary. But I can't just forget what you did. However, I do think I know how you can make it right, but it might be a little too weird for you." You say. "What, weirder than this?" Vera asks. "Yeah, it's a possible cure and I think you can help." "A cure? Of course I'll help! What is it that you need? I'll do it! It's the least I can do after what I put you through." "Well you do this for me, and you can consider us even. We can even have a fresh start." You take Vera's hand and look into her eyes. "Together." Vera probably just got really wet right now as she grabs your hand with her other one. "As I said. I'll do it. What do you need?" You explain that one of the reasons you were so friendly with Heather wasn't because you were fucking her, but because she could potentially lift the curse. It just was taking her awhile to research it. You then explain that she recently discovered that it can be lifted only by performing a ritual that involves an act of intimacy with one that loves you. "Wait, so are you saying we have to be fucking during this spell?" Vera asks. "We have to be fucking inside a magic circle to be precise. That's to keep us safe. Heather's going to be there the whole time doing her magic thing of lifting my curse. I know it's weird, but that's how the spell works I guess." "And after that you'll be cured? You won't be cursed anymore?" "Yes." "Okay then. If this is the last thing that needs to be done for us to be together then let's do it. I mean it's the least I can do after all the shit I did anyway." "Let's not dwell on the past any more okay? Let's just dwell on the future." With those words you move in and finally kiss Vera on the lips. She embraces the kiss and grabs your head as you do so as if this is all she's ever wanted. And it probably is. It probably would be more enjoyable for you as well if things were different. (And if she hadn't just vomited) You explain that the pair of you should head to the magic school right away so you can get on with your lives together so that's exactly what you both do. When you get to the school, you're not stopped by rebellious teenage wizards this time. Though you are stopped by... "Hey! It's me Gwen! Remember me? I healed you up during the invasion! Do you need healing again?!" Gwen beams. "Hi Gwen, ah no healing today, but I really do need to see Heather, is she around?" "Yes, but she's very cranky." "When isn't she cranky? Tell her I'm here I'm about that thing she was researching for me and I'm here to go through with it. She'll know what I'm talking about." "Oh. Um, hadn't heard much about this, but then the Grand Matriarch doesn't tell everyone everything I suppose. I'll go get her." While Gwen walks away to get Heather, Vera squeezes your hand a bit. The pair of you wait in silence and soon you see Heather slowly walking towards you both, yelling at Gwen about something who goes running off elsewhere. "Wait, is that Heather? I remember seeing her a couple times and she didn't look like that! What the fuck happened to her?" Vera asks. "Magic is a bitch to the aging process apparently." You say. Eventually Heather gets to you both giving you both the stink eye. "So. You're going through with the ritual huh?" Heather asks you. "Yes. Vera and I have finally realized after all these years that we love each other and thanks to that love, the necessary last element is in place for you to perform this ritual so that you may lift the curse." You answer. "I see...is this true?" Heather asks Vera. "Yes. Our relationship hasn't always been the most stable, but I know I've loved this man for quite sometime and I know with his self sacrificing actions of turning me away and suffering in silence for years, that he loves me as well." Vera says. Heather is silent for a moment. You think she's trying to stifle a laugh, which would probably be the first time she's done that in awhile. Gwen soon comes back saying she's prepped the room. "Okay then. Vera, you go with Gwen who will take you to the summoning room and give you a couple of other instructions. We'll be there shortly, I just need to speak to you about something unrelated that the Baroness brought up first." Heather remarks. "Um, okay. I'll see you soon Vera." You say. "We'll be seeing a lot more of each other after this." Vera says and gives you another kiss before her and Gwen leave. Heather is just shaking her head the whole time and then turns to you with a smile. "I gotta say, I did not see that one coming. That was your second in command at one time right?" Heather asks. "Yes." You answer. "Shit. I mean after all your talk about not wanting to sacrifice some unsuspecting girl, you pick her? A woman that obviously loves you?" "Yes." "Fuck, that is some cold blooded ruthless evil shit that a Neroth cultist would be proud of. I can't imagine what she did exactly to piss you off. She did piss you off right?" "Yes, are we going to get on with this?" "Alright, alright, yeah. I just want to make sure this is something you REALLY want, because once I start this ritual I can't have you having second thoughts in the middle of it. It would be bad for ALL involved." "Trust me, I'm made my decision and she deserves this and I fucking deserve my freedom." "Alright I'm going to explain a few things before hand. First off I suggest you fuck Vera from behind, because I'm not sure exactly how pissed your ex is going to be when she's transported from her dimension and you're going to want to be getting out of their as soon as you can. What you don't want is Vera to start grabbing you tightly and preventing you to leave as she dies horribly from the inside out desperately holding on to the only thing she loves and then suddenly you're covered in blood and gore and face to face with your pissed off demon ex instead. In fact I highly recommend you get out of there when Vera starts screaming and convulsing and not in the good way." "Got it." "Also, this ritual is going to still take a little time, so I really hope you can last longer than two minutes. It's not going to work at all if you're releasing before I can even get the first incantation out." "Thanks for your confidence, but I think I can manage." "I hope so. Lastly I don't give a shit what you your feelings were for your ex, you NEED to remember that she's a fucking demon. So don't fucking listen to ANY thing she says. You just let me take care of her." "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to be holding her at bay and hopefully sending her back because if I can't then we're all going to be fucked. Anyway, let's do this." You and Heather proceed to the summoning room and when the door is opened there you see Gwen standing near a table with a few books and Vera in all her naked glory standing in a large circle with symbols in it. Never seen her like this before and it's a bit of a surprise. "Undress please, we'll be starting soon." Heather says to you before addressing Gwen. "Gwen did you make the other circles?" "Yes Grand Matriarch, perfect just like you said." "Better damn well be. Well? Get in your circle if you want to assist!" "But I'm not even familiar with what's going on exactly." "(Sigh) Yeah sometimes spontaneity happens in magic. Look, just grab that top book on the table, turn to page thirteen and recite the words when I give you the signal. You won't have much to do and it's a simple enough task even for you." "Yes, Grand Matriarch." As you're getting undressed, you're mentally preparing yourself for all this. Sex in front of an "audience", sacrificing a former friend, summoning your demon ex, lifting a curse...it's a lot to all process. If anything you're slightly concerned not so much of finishing to quick, but getting started! When you're naked you step into the circle with Vera who immediately begins to embrace you. "Okay, you two can start anytime now." Heather says. "I guess we better get to it then. Um, I guess I'll help you out." Vera remarks. And like that, Vera immediately does what she's offered to do to you several times before in the past. It doesn't take long before you're more than ready for the main act, and given how good she apparently is, you need to stop her anyway. You spin Vera around and as you caress her body, and then suddenly pulling her hair you whisper in her ear. "You deserve this." You say. "Mmmm...yes...I do...give it to me hard lover." And so the hate fucking begins. Though Vera is blissfully unaware of this and just thinks it's all to heighten the experience. While you're thrusting in and out of Vera, Heather and Gwen are reciting a bunch of words that you're trying to drown out so you can focus on the task at hand. It's funny because you're actually giving Vera what she's always wanted; it's just that she's not going to like the end result. It's almost like you're stabbing her to death considering you're practically killing this woman with your cock right now. And as fucked up as that all sounds, it's actually helping in keeping you in the mood and making you more enthusiastic. (The combo of going this long without sex and under these circumstances you think have really warped you) Time passes and eventually in-between the moaning and grunting, suddenly Vera begins to cough and she nearly collapses to the floor, but you prevent that by holding her up, though you can tell it's starting. "You need to finish now! Hurry!" Heather suddenly shouts before returning to her chanting. Following instructions, you do just that, though at this point Vera is definitely beginning to not feel well and suddenly coughs up blood. "Shit...ugh something's wrong! My entire body feels like its on fire! (Sob) Please...I..ARGH!" It's a good thing you finish right at that moment, because Vera's own release was not just from her mouth this time. Your mid to lower half is now covered in a mixture of blood and shit causing you to recoil in horror and disgust. You promptly scramble away from Vera and puke your own guts out, though fortunately in your case it isn't blood. Gwen, always the helpful one casts some sort of spell on you that cleans you off, causing Heather to snap. Vera at this point has collapsed completely inside the circle and she begins making horrible screams and wails as her body begins to bleed not just from every orifice, but also from her pores. You watch a little dumbfounded. Partially still recovering from being sick and what you're witnessing. Vera's cries and pleads for you to help her, but there isn't much you'd be able to do anyway. You force yourself to watch this brutal spectacle and you even shed a few tears thinking that maybe she didn't deserve this. Vera's body eventually contorts into an unnatural state and she unleashes a shriek that is definitely not human sounding. She can take no more and with that, her body splits and explodes. You manage to avoid getting pelted by gore again by hiding behind an alchemical counter. When you look again, that's when you see her. Tanya. And she's much different looking now. Even before when she transformed here in this world there was still a human quality about her. Now? She's at least a foot taller than you and her wings along with her horns even bigger and more impressive. She has hooves rather than proper feet. Her body looks more muscular and athletic looking rather than traditionally curvy and sexy. In fact she's not even naked, she's wearing some sort of form fitting armor and a wicked looking sword hangs by her side. She looks more like a demonic knight of some sort rather than her succubus origins would imply. One of the few things though that remains recognizable to you is her long white hair and her face. And once she gets the general idea of her new surroundings, her eyes finally meet yours. "You." She says in a voice slightly deeper than you remember. "Hello Tanya." You reply, not quite sure of how to react. > Reunion While you're fumbling to at least get your underwear and pants back on, Tanya looks around again, still staying in the circle of course. She examines the gory chunks of flesh that once were Vera and reaches down with a taloned hand. She tastes some of the blood and then pops the whole thing into her mouth. "If you're going to get rid of your curse, you best do it now while she's trapped. While she's in that circle you can command her to release you and she has no choice but to do so. So get on with it!" Heather exclaims. With your pants now back on, you approach Tanya, who stares at you from the circle. She doesn't look pleased, but then you aren't sure if that's just here natural look now. "Tanya, I command you to take off this curse you put on me." You say trying to be as authoritative as you can, but honestly you're scared shitless. And Tanya knows it. In fact she just steps closer to the edge of the circle. "You command ME? Have you grown so arrogant in your meager mortal life that you believe you can even do that?" Tanya asks. "No, but..." you start to say before you're interrupted. "Then you've just grown stupider." "Tanya..." "That isn't even my name anymore worm. I have become something much greater and I have long shed any connection to my pathetic mortal years." "Even me?" Tanya doesn't answer you, but instead just gives a huffing growl. "The one on the floor who I tasted. This one loved you, yet you obviously sacrificed her to summon me. Why?" Tanya asks. "I told you, I want you to lift the curse that..." you begin to answer. "No! I mean why did you sacrifice her?" "She betrayed me." "I see. And you felt that she deserved this horrible fate?" You're about to answer yes, but then on reflection you stop yourself. "No. She probably didn't, but I made a pragmatic decision because I needed something and she was the best way to get it." Tanya nods at your answer, meanwhile Heather is getting impatient. "For fuck's sake stop talking so much and just COMMAND it to lift the fucking curse! The more you talk, the more it's going to beguile you into doing something stupid, like stepping into the circle with it!" Heather yells. "Silence wizard! I will deal with YOU later. If my former...human wishes to speak with me, then he will do so until our business is done. Now then, before we move on to this curse you speak of, I wish to ask more questions about you, one of which is why have you not moved on from me? I asked you to do so." Tanya says. "I can't! You put a curse on me that prevents me from having sex with any other woman! Anytime I do, they wind up dead a few days later!" you answer. "So why blame me? I haven't been anywhere on this world until you summoned me." "Well who else would it be? Yag fucking around with his magic dice? I mean I have a hard time believing its coincidence; there were too many women that died! I mean maybe you didn't mean to place it on me, maybe it was some sort of after effect of your power of something." "Oh I assure you human, I'm fully aware of my powers, but placing curses? Not my style and never will be. I learned a long time ago, even when I was here in my last remaining years tethered to this world that I enjoy direct bloodshed." "But...it had to be you...I mean...wasn't it?" "Maybe it was YOU." This accusation causes you to step back a bit. "Me? That's absurd." You say. "Is it? Think hard now." Tanya replies. "I think I'd know if I had killed all those women and some of those were accidents!" "Or maybe you made them look like they were. It's Holgard, not like the Watch was going to double check for barmaids and whores." "I can't believe it." "Okay...if it makes you feel any better, perhaps I AM to blame indirectly. Obviously you didn't get over me the way I told you too and were still obsessed with my magnificence. I suppose I can't fault you, after all a mere mortal woman would pale in comparison. But those women? I had no direct hand in causing their deaths. That was ALL you. Even now I can see it in your mind." "What?!" "I can see into your mind. We're bonded remember? Now granted that bond was severely weakened when I left this realm, but now? You're like an open book. I can see shit in your mind that you've blocked out which is exactly what you did when you were on your whore killing spree." "But..." "Why? Because you love me madly obviously and you always will. You killed those women out of fear that you were betraying that love. However, you have a strange morality about you and that caused you to block it out. How you did it so easily, well that's probably thanks to our bond and you gaining a very tiny bit of my mental powers. Except you didn't even realize you were using it of course." "But if all this is true, I must have moved on because I stopped doing it." "Well yes, but that's mainly because your conscious mind came to the conclusion that I must have put a curse on you so you used THAT as an excuse to not get involved with another woman again. Even this Vera woman, that you obviously had a lot of affection for. I dare say if you had actually given it a chance you might have even broke the cycle. Enough time had passed between us by then and your feelings for Vera were much stronger than they were for the other women. But your love for me just proved too strong. Think about it. Even though she betrayed you, you could have just killed her or even forgave her if you so desired. Instead, you sacrificed her to summon me." "But I did it because I HAD to see you!" Tanya folds her arms and smiles a bit. "And there it is...and here I am." Tanya says. "By the gods..." you say suddenly coming to an epiphany. "You are a fool to listen to this demon and when she eats your soul, I am not going to be able to help you." Heather interjects. You might be a fool, but unfortunately Tanya's words are proving correct. Your memories are all suddenly flooding back. You see the murders as clear as yesterday now. You see what you did and how you even enjoyed doing it at times. It was you. It was you the entire time and you blacked it all out. You slowly slump to the floor trying to process everything and you can't do it. You just stutter a couple of words and trail off. "You cannot command me to lift a curse that I never placed on you mortal. The only curse you have is your love of me and I can't help you with that. I wish I could, but you didn't listen to me when I told you not to pursue me in the first place and this is where we are now." Tanya says with a bit of sympathy in her voice. While you're coming to grips with your uncovered memories, Heather is done with this whole thing. "Enough! We've apparently solved your problem, now we're moving on. Demon, I command YOU to transfer the life essence of that woman over there to me." Heather yells. "WHAT?! Grand Matriarch you can't mean that!" Gwen answers. "Oh shut up! This shouldn't even be a surprise to you, never liked you anyway. I'm tired of looking and feeling like an old bat while I'm only in my thirties!" Give me this woman's youth and then you may return to your own realm." Gwen attempts to leave her circle but soon learns that she's trapped within it. Attempts at casting a spell to escape or even attack Heather similarly fail. Lacking any other means of freedom, Gwen panics and begins to plead for her life. "You keep interesting female company since we parted mortal. Based on the mewling waif, the old hag over there and the meat chunks on the floor apparently they've all been a bunch of treacherous backstabbing bitches, pathetic naïve weaklings or both. No wonder you still long for me. At least even with my infernal heritage I never lied to you." Tanya says. "Demon! I AM in charge here! I COMMAND YOU in Dorna's name to perform my task!" Tanya starts to laugh. "I don't recognize your gods and that's not how it works! That's not how ANY of this works!" Tanya says. "What?!" Heather remarks. "Someone isn't up on their guide to infernals because you can't command me to do shit for you. This one probably isn't in most books about us because it isn't a common occurrence, but you cannot command an infernal whose heart belongs to someone. And my heart unfortunately belongs to this mortal until he dies or purposely breaks it. And in any case, this circle you made to hold me doesn't even have the correct symbols on it..." And with those words Tanya slowly steps out of the circle to Heather's horror. "Oh shit! Gwen you fucking idiot!" Heather shouts and quickly begins to call for help, along with casting a beam of frost at Tanya. Tanya blocks the beam with one hand and then waves her other arm and suddenly most of the furniture in the room is thrown against the door to barricade it. Meanwhile you get out of the way so you don't get hit by Heather's magic or get stepped on by Tanya's cloven hooves. You look on in slight awe as you see Tanya draw her sword, which is now on fire and Heather just barely blocking it from cleaving her in two by casting a magic shield. "Please! Help me out of this circle!" you suddenly hear. You forgot all about Gwen who out of everyone here is innocent in all this. You aren't sure how this magic circle shit works, but you can't think of anything else to do except try to pull Gwen out of it. And to your amazement it actually works. "Come on, we need to get the hell out of here." You say and rush to the barricaded door, though some books on the floor suddenly distract Gwen. "What the fuck are you doing?! We gotta get out of here before those two bring this whole place down on our heads!" you shout. "If Heather doesn't win, then we're going to need something to stop your ex, I'm looking for some sort of spell. Just focus on unbarricading the door. Hopefully the other students are working on the other side to get in here." Gwen says as she hastily goes through book pages. Lacking any other plan, you go with Gwen's and start trying to move the various desks, tables, chairs and cabinets agaist the door. You can hear shouting on the other side to which you yell back for them to blow the damn door open and get their asses in here. You've moved and thrown aside exactly one large desk and that's when you hear a scream. You slowly turn your head and see that Tanya has broken through whatever magical defenses Heather had and cut her in half. Heather was no slouch as a wizard, for Tanya to have easily killed her like that...it just defies words of how powerful she's gotten. Be that as it may, it would seem that Gwen found something to harm Tanya because she unleashes a blast of magic energy straight into her back causing a monstrous howl. It slows her down, but not much as she's already spun around to face Gwen. She stomps on the ground causing the floor to crack and forcing Gwen to jump out of the way lest she fall into the Holgard sewers, though maybe that would have been a better idea. At least then there would have been multiple escape routes. At this point some of the other students have manages to blast part of the door open. Several begin trying to climb over the furniture still in the way. "BURN." Tanya utters and you jump back just in time to see all of the furniture barricade go up in flames along with unfortunate wizards that were climbing over it at the time. The screams of burning wizards are soon drowned out by another bellow of pain by Tanya when Gwen hits her with another blast of whatever magic she's using. This time Tanya falls to one knee briefly, but it isn't enough and now she's heading straight for Gwen like an angry charging minotaur. Gwen however is surprisingly holding her ground and preparing another magic blast. You spy your pistol on the floor and you grab it, but as strange as it may be, you aren't sure who to use it on. The whole time during Tanya's arrival, you've had a stirring within you again. Namely your obsessive love for Tanya. Even this monstrous demonic form, she is still the object of everything you desire in heart and you don't want to see her hurt no matter how well she's able to defend herself. But you'll never be free if you hang on to the idea of a relationship that can never be. > You aim for Tanya It's time to be free, no matter what the cost. You empty your pistol at Tanya. You know you hit her at three times in the head and that's enough to cause her charge at Gwen to halt temporarily when she collapses on the floor. Gwen doesn't miss a step and unleashes her magic. Tanya once again makes an unearthly scream as she's hit by the blast. It's enough to shake the room a bit and hurt your ears. Gwen looks exhausted, but unfortunately despite her wounds, Tanya is just getting started Tanya suddenly gets back up and even with one eye left and a broken horn from your bullets, she flat out ignores the pain of having a hole burned straight through her armor and body as Gwen attempts to stop her second charge at her. Gwen attempts to put up some sort of magic protection, but Tanya picks her up with ease and smashes her into the wall several times like a rag doll. There is no scream, just the flopping about of a bloody broken body. You are attempting to reload your pistol, but you already know it's not going do any good when Tanya is finally done tormenting Gwen's body in death and tosses it aside to turn her attention towards you. You can't even run as there is a barrier of fire blocking the exit. The best you can do is get off one more shot before Tanya is upon you and breaks your arm in two and then ripping part of it off. The physical pain is unlike anything you've ever experienced before, but perhaps it still pales in comparison to the inner you still have for a love that could never be and is now gone forever. Tanya picks you up by the other good arm and dangles you above the ground like a slab of meat. You look into her one good eye and see a fury that isn't just one of normal hate or even demonic rage. It's the stare of one who has been betrayed by their one true love. This is the end you know it. "I...I'm sorry Tanya..." is all you can say. And somewhere even now you see a spark of what Tanya once was. "No. Thank you mortal. You've freed us both." Tanya replies. With no more feelings left for you, Tanya appropriately pulls your heart from you chest and eats it before your eyes. You die just before Tanya drops you back to the floor again.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, anti-hero, humor] While you're fumbling to at least get your underwear and pants back on, Tanya looks around again, still staying in the circle of course. She examines the gory chunks of flesh that once were Vera and reaches down with a taloned hand. She tastes some of the blood and then pops the whole thing into her mouth. "If you're going to get rid of your curse, you best do it now while she's trapped. While she's in that circle you can command her to release you and she has no choice but to do so. So get on with it!" Heather exclaims. With your pants now back on, you approach Tanya, who stares at you from the circle. She doesn't look pleased, but then you aren't sure if that's just here natural look now. "Tanya, I command you to take off this curse you put on me." You say trying to be as authoritative as you can, but honestly you're scared shitless. And Tanya knows it. In fact she just steps closer to the edge of the circle. "You command ME? Have you grown so arrogant in your meager mortal life that you believe you can even do that?" Tanya asks. "No, but..." you start to say before you're interrupted. "Then you've just grown stupider." "Tanya..." "That isn't even my name anymore worm. I have become something much greater and I have long shed any connection to my pathetic mortal years." "Even me?" Tanya doesn't answer you, but instead just gives a huffing growl. "The one on the floor who I tasted. This one loved you, yet you obviously sacrificed her to summon me. Why?" Tanya asks. "I told you, I want you to lift the curse that..." you begin to answer. "No! I mean why did you sacrifice her?" "She betrayed me." "I see. And you felt that she deserved this horrible fate?" You're about to answer yes, but then on reflection you stop yourself. "No. She probably didn't, but I made a pragmatic decision because I needed something and she was the best way to get it." Tanya nods at your answer, meanwhile Heather is getting impatient. "For fuck's sake stop talking so much and just COMMAND it to lift the fucking curse! The more you talk, the more it's going to beguile you into doing something stupid, like stepping into the circle with it!" Heather yells. "Silence wizard! I will deal with YOU later. If my former...human wishes to speak with me, then he will do so until our business is done. Now then, before we move on to this curse you speak of, I wish to ask more questions about you, one of which is why have you not moved on from me? I asked you to do so." Tanya says. "I can't! You put a curse on me that prevents me from having sex with any other woman! Anytime I do, they wind up dead a few days later!" you answer. "So why blame me? I haven't been anywhere on this world until you summoned me." "Well who else would it be? Yag fucking around with his magic dice? I mean I have a hard time believing its coincidence; there were too many women that died! I mean maybe you didn't mean to place it on me, maybe it was some sort of after effect of your power of something." "Oh I assure you human, I'm fully aware of my powers, but placing curses? Not my style and never will be. I learned a long time ago, even when I was here in my last remaining years tethered to this world that I enjoy direct bloodshed." "But...it had to be you...I mean...wasn't it?" "Maybe it was YOU." This accusation causes you to step back a bit. "Me? That's absurd." You say. "Is it? Think hard now." Tanya replies. "I think I'd know if I had killed all those women and some of those were accidents!" "Or maybe you made them look like they were. It's Holgard, not like the Watch was going to double check for barmaids and whores." "I can't believe it." "Okay...if it makes you feel any better, perhaps I AM to blame indirectly. Obviously you didn't get over me the way I told you too and were still obsessed with my magnificence. I suppose I can't fault you, after all a mere mortal woman would pale in comparison. But those women? I had no direct hand in causing their deaths. That was ALL you. Even now I can see it in your mind." "What?!" "I can see into your mind. We're bonded remember? Now granted that bond was severely weakened when I left this realm, but now? You're like an open book. I can see shit in your mind that you've blocked out which is exactly what you did when you were on your whore killing spree." "But..." "Why? Because you love me madly obviously and you always will. You killed those women out of fear that you were betraying that love. However, you have a strange morality about you and that caused you to block it out. How you did it so easily, well that's probably thanks to our bond and you gaining a very tiny bit of my mental powers. Except you didn't even realize you were using it of course." "But if all this is true, I must have moved on because I stopped doing it." "Well yes, but that's mainly because your conscious mind came to the conclusion that I must have put a curse on you so you used THAT as an excuse to not get involved with another woman again. Even this Vera woman, that you obviously had a lot of affection for. I dare say if you had actually given it a chance you might have even broke the cycle. Enough time had passed between us by then and your feelings for Vera were much stronger than they were for the other women. But your love for me just proved too strong. Think about it. Even though she betrayed you, you could have just killed her or even forgave her if you so desired. Instead, you sacrificed her to summon me." "But I did it because I HAD to see you!" Tanya folds her arms and smiles a bit. "And there it is...and here I am." Tanya says. "By the gods..." you say suddenly coming to an epiphany. "You are a fool to listen to this demon and when she eats your soul, I am not going to be able to help you." Heather interjects. You might be a fool, but unfortunately Tanya's words are proving correct. Your memories are all suddenly flooding back. You see the murders as clear as yesterday now. You see what you did and how you even enjoyed doing it at times. It was you. It was you the entire time and you blacked it all out. You slowly slump to the floor trying to process everything and you can't do it. You just stutter a couple of words and trail off. "You cannot command me to lift a curse that I never placed on you mortal. The only curse you have is your love of me and I can't help you with that. I wish I could, but you didn't listen to me when I told you not to pursue me in the first place and this is where we are now." Tanya says with a bit of sympathy in her voice. While you're coming to grips with your uncovered memories, Heather is done with this whole thing. "Enough! We've apparently solved your problem, now we're moving on. Demon, I command YOU to transfer the life essence of that woman over there to me." Heather yells. "WHAT?! Grand Matriarch you can't mean that!" Gwen answers. "Oh shut up! This shouldn't even be a surprise to you, never liked you anyway. I'm tired of looking and feeling like an old bat while I'm only in my thirties!" Give me this woman's youth and then you may return to your own realm." Gwen attempts to leave her circle but soon learns that she's trapped within it. Attempts at casting a spell to escape or even attack Heather similarly fail. Lacking any other means of freedom, Gwen panics and begins to plead for her life. "You keep interesting female company since we parted mortal. Based on the mewling waif, the old hag over there and the meat chunks on the floor apparently they've all been a bunch of treacherous backstabbing bitches, pathetic naïve weaklings or both. No wonder you still long for me. At least even with my infernal heritage I never lied to you." Tanya says. "Demon! I AM in charge here! I COMMAND YOU in Dorna's name to perform my task!" Tanya starts to laugh. "I don't recognize your gods and that's not how it works! That's not how ANY of this works!" Tanya says. "What?!" Heather remarks. "Someone isn't up on their guide to infernals because you can't command me to do shit for you. This one probably isn't in most books about us because it isn't a common occurrence, but you cannot command an infernal whose heart belongs to someone. And my heart unfortunately belongs to this mortal until he dies or purposely breaks it. And in any case, this circle you made to hold me doesn't even have the correct symbols on it..." And with those words Tanya slowly steps out of the circle to Heather's horror. "Oh shit! Gwen you fucking idiot!" Heather shouts and quickly begins to call for help, along with casting a beam of frost at Tanya. Tanya blocks the beam with one hand and then waves her other arm and suddenly most of the furniture in the room is thrown against the door to barricade it. Meanwhile you get out of the way so you don't get hit by Heather's magic or get stepped on by Tanya's cloven hooves. You look on in slight awe as you see Tanya draw her sword, which is now on fire and Heather just barely blocking it from cleaving her in two by casting a magic shield. "Please! Help me out of this circle!" you suddenly hear. You forgot all about Gwen who out of everyone here is innocent in all this. You aren't sure how this magic circle shit works, but you can't think of anything else to do except try to pull Gwen out of it. And to your amazement it actually works. "Come on, we need to get the hell out of here." You say and rush to the barricaded door, though some books on the floor suddenly distract Gwen. "What the fuck are you doing?! We gotta get out of here before those two bring this whole place down on our heads!" you shout. "If Heather doesn't win, then we're going to need something to stop your ex, I'm looking for some sort of spell. Just focus on unbarricading the door. Hopefully the other students are working on the other side to get in here." Gwen says as she hastily goes through book pages. Lacking any other plan, you go with Gwen's and start trying to move the various desks, tables, chairs and cabinets agaist the door. You can hear shouting on the other side to which you yell back for them to blow the damn door open and get their asses in here. You've moved and thrown aside exactly one large desk and that's when you hear a scream. You slowly turn your head and see that Tanya has broken through whatever magical defenses Heather had and cut her in half. Heather was no slouch as a wizard, for Tanya to have easily killed her like that...it just defies words of how powerful she's gotten. Be that as it may, it would seem that Gwen found something to harm Tanya because she unleashes a blast of magic energy straight into her back causing a monstrous howl. It slows her down, but not much as she's already spun around to face Gwen. She stomps on the ground causing the floor to crack and forcing Gwen to jump out of the way lest she fall into the Holgard sewers, though maybe that would have been a better idea. At least then there would have been multiple escape routes. At this point some of the other students have manages to blast part of the door open. Several begin trying to climb over the furniture still in the way. "BURN." Tanya utters and you jump back just in time to see all of the furniture barricade go up in flames along with unfortunate wizards that were climbing over it at the time. The screams of burning wizards are soon drowned out by another bellow of pain by Tanya when Gwen hits her with another blast of whatever magic she's using. This time Tanya falls to one knee briefly, but it isn't enough and now she's heading straight for Gwen like an angry charging minotaur. Gwen however is surprisingly holding her ground and preparing another magic blast. You spy your pistol on the floor and you grab it, but as strange as it may be, you aren't sure who to use it on. The whole time during Tanya's arrival, you've had a stirring within you again. Namely your obsessive love for Tanya. Even this monstrous demonic form, she is still the object of everything you desire in heart and you don't want to see her hurt no matter how well she's able to defend herself. But you'll never be free if you hang on to the idea of a relationship that can never be. > You aim for Gwen That's it; you'll always be a slave to loving Tanya. You were doomed when you first laid eyes on her. You've also learned that you did a bunch of terrible shit because of it and what you did to Vera was terrible too despite what she did to you. You're not a virtuous person and you most likely never will be, but never let it be said that you're all bad. You aim for Gwen, but not a kill shot, instead you shoot just so the bullet whizzes in front of her face causing her to break her concentration and even stumble back a bit. Then you quickly address Tanya. "TANYA STOP! DO NOT KILL THIS WOMAN! I COMMAND YOU!" you shout. Just a few paces away from Gwen with her sword in hand, she manages to stop herself from trampling over her. She snorts and turns a scowling face towards you. "Why do you stop me mortal?! Do you love this woman?" Tanya asks. "No. I don't, but she doesn't deserve to die either." You say and walk towards the pair of them. You see Gwen attempting to cast another spell and that's when you really point your pistol at her. "Gwen, you will NOT harm Tanya. If you continue to attack, I'll kill you myself." You say. "But...but we've got her! She can't do shit right now! I can kill her and then you'll finally be free, isn't that what you wanted?" Gwen remarks. "No. I love this woman. Why would I want to be free of that?" "Because she's a demon that is incapable of it?" "If that were true she would be ripping my head off right now. Gwen, I saved your life twice today, you can do me this favor." Gwen backs off and nods. "Very well, but I'm not sticking around and I suggest you and your...love leave as soon as possible, because I doubt the Holgard Watch is going to be as understanding when they arrive." Gwen replies and quickly runs over to the burning barricade and casts a spell to put it out before proceeding out the destroyed door opening. Now you're alone with Tanya who doesn't look pleased with you. You're about to speak when she suddenly grabs you and suddenly jumps in the air and takes to flight. Using her wings as a shield she envelopes herself (and you) as she breaks through the ceiling of the school. Afterward, she spreads her wings our again and flies high above the city. You never thought you'd see Holgard from this view again. Tanya is silent the whole time as she holds you close to her body and flies away from Holgard and eventually landing in a spot not far outside it, but away from anyone else. She drops you to the ground when you're close enough and finally she speaks when she lands near you. "You're a fool. A complete and utter fool. You always were." Tanya says. "I know." You answer. "I wish you had shot at me instead, then you would have ended both of our torment when I ripped you apart for breaking my heart." "Couldn't do that." "If you REALLY loved me as much as you claim, you would have! Do you realize how hard it is for me to ignore my feelings for you? Why do you think I look like a soldier of war rather than a seductress now? I tried to eliminate everything and anything that even reminded me of intimacy. I had to fight and struggle not only to block you out of my mind and the weakness that entailed with it, but also endure the taunts and challenges of other infernals who refused to see me as anything other than a succubus with human blood in my veins." "But you proved them wrong didn't you?" "Yes! I proved them all wrong. I thrived on the hate, their hate, my hate, all of it. I used it to achieve greatness. I am now a general in the Infernal Legions! I have personally beheaded and carved up celestials and won battles against seemingly impossible enemies. I am no mere succubus. I am a personification of rage, war, and hate." "I always knew you'd do well." "And you know what I really hate? YOU. I hate the day I ever met you. I hate that you were instrumental in my current status. I hate that you summoned me back to this pathetic world. I HATE the fact that I love you." "But without it, where would you be?" Your last words are too much and Tanya takes a step towards you and backhands you across the face. She probably wasn't even using half of her strength either and you go sprawling to the ground in a daze. After spitting a bit of blood and rubbing your head a bit, you slowly get back up and that's when you hear quiet sobbing. You look and you see Tanya sitting on the ground with her knees tucked in and her head buried in her arms. Except this isn't the demon of war form that you've been seeing. This isn't even her succubus form. It's the form of the girl you fell love with. Even her clothes are the same. "Tanya..." you say and walk over to her, but she pulls away a bit when you go to touch her. "But what I hate...(sob) most of all... is...that we can't be together..." You don't know what to say. There isn't anything you can say. She's right and it sucks. Instead you just sit next to her and hold her. She holds on to you back, finally giving in to her human feelings for you, no matter how buried they were. "I have to go back." Tanya says with a sniffle. "I know, but you could stay, just for a little while. Let's just enjoy what we have right here. Right now. Hey, we never watched the sunset together, why don't we do that?" You say. Tanya wipes her eyes and nods. "Okay." The pair of you just sit and hold each other in silence for quite awhile as you watch the sunset and then later the stars. One of the benefits of being bonded is not even having to speak. Sometimes one of you remembers a fond moment from your collective past and you both give a smile at each other, even an occasional laugh. During one of those moments, you both look deep into each other's eyes and you finally move in to kiss. From there, you both do what lovers tend to do. And for those moments of intimacy under the night sky, the pair of you has blocked out everything else and it's just you two. Afterwards, the pair of you fall asleep under the stars. The next day you wake up. You feel some of the aches from yesterday's events, but you're not too bad off. You look and Tanya isn't next to you and you expect her to be gone, but after looking around a bit, you see her standing by herself (still in her human form) over looking a small cliff by the sea. You walk over to her. "I sort of figured you'd be gone when I woke up." You say. "Couldn't leave it like that. You deserve a proper goodbye." Tanya says still looking at the ocean. "No way you can stay a little longer I guess." "As nice as last night was, it's best I don't get used to it. The longer I stay here, the more I'll lose myself. I can't afford that weakness. I know to you I'll always be that girl you fell in love with, but I assure you I am much more now and very different. I have responsibilities that you couldn't hope to know." "Well I can imagine leading hell armies is pretty taxing." Tanya turns to you. "You really don't judge do you?" Tanya says. "Isn't that what unconditional love is all about?" you say. "I suppose. But it's one thing to love someone despite them being say a thief. It's quite another to love someone who has committed genocide on a whole populace." "I'm guessing they had it coming." Tanya chuckles at your remark. "You always did know how to make me laugh despite my best efforts not to." Tanya says. "Besides, you just informed me that I murdered a bunch of innocent women that I had sex with and blocked it out. I'm hardly in a position to judge you." You reply. "Oh you didn't kill all of them." "What?!" "You didn't kill all of them. You missed one, but I sort of get the weird impression that you wouldn't have anyway. It's odd. You had some real harmony with that one and it was just a one-night stand. I dare say you didn't even get to that level with that Vera girl and you knew her quite well." You think for a moment of who Tanya could even be talking about. At first you think it might be Naji, but you only had sex with her before Tanya left. Then you remember. "Wait. That masked blonde at the baroness' party? Fuck! If I wanted to kill any of them, it would have been her! That bitch fucking picked my pockets while I was asleep and ran off!" you exclaim. "Heh, smart girl. In any case, I never saw in your mind that you killed her, so who knows, maybe if you ever meet her again you should hang on to her, she might just be the one that allows you to get over me." "I don't think there's going to ever be a girl that does that." Tanya strokes your face with her hand and gives a faint smile. "No. Probably not." She says and then kisses you one last time. "Please do not summon me ever again. Goodbye my love." She steps away from you and before your eyes you see her disappear in a small red flash. And she's gone again. This time forever. You sit on the ground and stare at the ocean for awhile. You weep a bit at your loss and a sense of depression hangs over you. You even briefly consider heading over the cliff, but you dismiss that idea pretty quickly. Suicidal thoughts have never been something you've dwelled on and you can only imagine how disgusted Tanya would be with you if you did. She'd want you to move on not give up and that's what you'll try to do. You eventually get back up and decide you probably should be making your way back to Holgard, you can only imagine the shitstorm that's going on there right now. Though you guess that Gwen will take the initiative and blame everything on Heather (Which is sort of true anyway; you didn't expect that twist) and take over what's left of the school. You sort of wonder if maybe you should follow up on Gwen's flirting now, but then would she even be interested any more given what she's learned about you? You suppose the best way to find out is to just go for it. If she isn't then you'll move on to someone else. If she is, well you'll have to remember not to try to kill her and blackout about it. With a new positive attitude in mind, you set off towards Holgard. "Goodbye Tanya." You say. > Epilogue Epilogue 10: "Hero" Year 36 "Well I'm glad you gave this information to me Warts. The Baroness will definitely want to know about the elven camp that's been fucking up the logging operations in the area." You respond "Anything to undamine doze arrogant tree fuckers. Um, youz gonna need mercs? Cuz, Spiderfang tribe haz got da numbas again an' dey know the area ya know." Warts says. "Nah. Ludmilla will probably just tell me to send a few assassins to take them out. Training of the Silent Ones has been going well and they should be ready for outside jobs. No shadow magic tricks, but they don't need tricks when they got pure skill. In any case I imagine goodwill between Holgard and the Spiderfang tribe will be continued." "Hrm. Glad ta hear it. Business is good fer me when Holgard isn't in fucking chaos." "Everything is good when Holgard isn't in fucking chaos. I give it a few more years before the next crisis, but until then just enjoying the relative calm. So was that it Warts?" "Yeah, guess so. I should be gettin' back fore Gubbins an' Zuggins run my tradin' post inta da ground. Plus Snuffit's wit child again so can't be away too long anywayz." "Another one? What's that like six now? You keep that up and the entire Spiderfang Tribe is going to be related to you in some way." "Bah, dat's average fer hobs. How do ya think we replenished da tribe's numbers so quick? So youz ever gonna get started on a family now dat youz got a proper job and home now?' "I don't think it's really for me Warts." "What about dat magic girl I thought you waz with?" "Oh, Gwen? Eh, we just sort of have fun sometimes, but it's not really serious. I kind of think she's hesitant to get too involved anyway. Probably just as well given my general grim outlook on relationship of any kind." "Grm. You still pinin' over yer demon girl?" "Eh, occasionally. But that's not really what I meant. I was more talking about how almost everyone except you that's played a major role in the events of my life are dead. I mean I'm just thinking about some of them Naji, Yinen, Garrick, Rook, Shadow, Gloom, Heather..." "Vera." You stop for a moment when Warts says that name. You still have mixed feelings, but you eventually nod. "Yeah, her too. Anyway, even though I know I don't have some curse on me or anything of the sort, sometimes it feels like I do." You say. "Hey, whatever happen ta Sneaks? He didn't die did he?" Warts asks. "No. Actually don't know what ever happened to him. He just disappeared when the Thieves Guild got destroyed. Guess he could still be dead though." "Maybe its just humans. I mean I'm still alive and so is yer demon girl." "So is the Baroness, though there is that bullshit rumor that she's a vampire. She's not though she just uses shadow magic to keep herself younger looking. If Heather hadn't been such a purist for Dorna, she could have done that instead." "Hm, well you know what I say bout all dose people dat died..." "They shoulda prayed ta Yag more!" you both say in unison and laugh. You walk with Warts to the front door and bid him goodbye. It's strange to think that when you met that halfbreed in the woods twenty years ago that he'd wind up as practically your only friend. Of course twenty years ago, you wouldn't have believed that you'd wind up as head of one of the most powerful organizations in a major city state either. You're far from being the simple rogue you once were. Holgard's Silent Ones keep order better than the Watch ever could. Ironic that Holgard has never been safer than it has under your eye. Even the Ebony Claw Syndicate knows better than to try to set up shop here again. And the funniest thing is that Holgard citizens are happy about how oppressive things have gotten. Baroness Ludmilla currently enjoys the most popularity she's ever had and it's all thanks mainly because of you. The man took down the Thieves Guild and drove out the Ebony Claw Syndicate. The man who eliminated the disruptive warring religious factions. The man who helped defend Holgard from the Usurper Peter Varsakken. The man who "killed" a demon summoned by a rogue mage seeking to destroy the city. There are so many lies and propaganda now, that it's far easier to just keep piling more bullshit on top of it rather than even keeping it all-straight anymore. "Hero of Holgard" you're called and it's probably the biggest lie of them all. As you're about to go over some reports, you hear a knock on your door. At first you think its Warts who forgot something, but when you open the door you see someone else entirely and it's a big surprise. "Sis?" you ask. "I better be otherwise mom's got some explaining to do!" your sister says with a smile. "How did you even get past the front gate with the...oh nevermind, I don't care it's you!" you say and immediately give her big hug which she returns. "Damn it's really good to see you! It's been too long!" you exclaim. "You too bro. Hey don't squeeze too tight, I got my mandolin on my back and it's pretty unique." Your sister remarks. "Your clothing as usual is also pretty unique. A bit too colorful for my tastes, but then again you always were the flashy one." "Flashy one? You're the one with the big fancy house! And you got a job with the government now? I've even heard Hero of Holgard used by some people in this city! Never thought I'd ever hear your name and hero used in the same sentence." "Trust me it's even weirder for me, so is that how you found me? By reputation?" "Nah, I was visiting mom and dad recently and they said you wrote a letter to them a couple years ago saying you had a new job assisting the baroness here. Even showed it to me. I think they were both pretty skeptical, but I had to see for myself, so here I am!" "Well as I said, I'm really glad to see you. Come on in and sit down." You and your sister sit down in your living area and prepare to catch up. Your sister goes first and briefly goes into some of the places she's been. She says she actually passed through Holgard at one point, but of course she didn't know you were living at the time. "If you passed through here around that time, it was during my less respectable pre-hero days." You laugh. "I wasn't here that long anyway. Let's see...spent some time at sea with a nice crew of lesbian pirates..." your sister says. "Okay, I think you need to elaborate on that one." "It's not as much fun as you'd think, trust me. I got some songs and a few stories out of it though. Spent some time in Delantium...and as I said I eventually made my way back to Teckleville. I'm guessing since you bothered to write mom and dad you might like to hear an update, since I know they never wrote you back." "Well I actually heard from another source a couple years ago that I'm still not very well liked at the old homestead." "Nope, you aren't. Though you aren't considered a cold blooded murderer there anymore. After dad saved Annah's life she told everyone what happened and there were a couple other reluctant witnesses that stepped up and cleared your name a few months after you left." "Wow, surprised anyone else defended me. But yeah, I heard Annah lived, I was glad to hear it too. She wasn't the best girlfriend, but she didn't deserve that asshole Klint stabbing her." You shake your head just thinking about how long ago that was. "So wait, am I still wanted there?" You say. "Well...a lot of time has passed and that sheriff who hated you is long dead now. Klint's father also isn't there anymore, so I think you're in the clear legally, but I wouldn't exactly say you're wanted if you know what I mean. Though Annah apparently still thinks highly of you if you want to rekindle that relationship." Your sister says. "Hah. No. I don't have the best track record with barmaids. So what about mom and dad? I heard they were doing okay a couple years ago, I trust that's still the case?" "Yes they're fine...wait. You know about our new brother don't you?" "WHAT?! Now THAT I didn't know! They had another child?! When?!" You exclaim. "I guess shortly after we both left. I think he's about twenty or around that age. He's okay, a bit on the straight laced side. Guess mom and dad finally got the well behaved child they always wanted." "I guess so...sheesh...well I guess it's just as well. Not like they're going to ever see me again." "Oh come on, you could still go visit them. I mean this job...it's legit right?" "Oh it's as legit as they come, it's just probably not the most ethical. In fact, it's probably way worse than being a common rogue." "Yeah well, I think as long as you didn't go into too much detail about it, they would be fine. Mom would just do her usual mom thing of deliberately not dwelling on the potential negative and be overjoyed to see you. While dad would probably at least be civil and just glad that you're not in prison and asking him to bail you out." "Heh. Guess it is a step up. I dunno. perhaps one day. In any case, I'm really happy to see you again sis. I missed you a lot. I was just thinking not too long ago about how almost everyone that played an important role in my life, good and bad, was either dead or gone. Glad to that you're one of the few that are still around. "Hey, you're my brother and no matter what, I'll always be by your side." Your sister says touching your hand. You and your sister look at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that despite your years apart, some bonds never die. "Well now that I've filled you in on some of my journeys, it's time for you to do likewise! Give me all the details because I trust that this will definitely be a very interesting story!" your sister says. "Well, you might be surprised how dull things are for me right now. A lot of the more interesting stuff happened in the past. I warn you though, it's a long story." You say. "Best ones usually are." Your sister responds. You begin your tale... > Hey where do you think you're going? You ain't done yet! Times passes... "Wow, there are almost no words. I mean... that is some story. You have certainly had some adventures." Your sister says in awe. "Well so have you. I mean didn't you mention earlier that you traveled to another world briefly? Isn't that how you got your magic mandolin?" you say. "Yeah, and I mean you're right, that I did travel a lot more and had a lot of interesting encounters of my own...but your story about Tanya. That part of the story just really hit me. It's just so fucking tragic. I mean I think you noticed I cried a bit, during your last meeting with her. I can't believe you managed to get through the story without breaking down." "Well, I sort of live with it every day so I just sort of deal with it. Trust me, after you leave I'll probably be crying like an elf over a chopped up tree." "Oh come on, you don't need to be a tough guy in front of me." "I know, but I'm just too manly to cry in front of anyone." You say with a deflective laugh. "Okay. Okay. I'll change the subject, but I will say I'm really sorry you had to go through that." "Thanks sis." "Anyway my point was, you didn't even travel after you got to this city and you still had quite the experience. I'm definitely making multiple songs about the Hero of Holgard." "Well I certainly trust they'll be better than some of the other bards that have made up ones about me." Your sister writes some things down on some parchment she has. She's actually been doing that all night as you've been speaking about your time in Holgard. "Now I'm guessing you probably just told me a shortened version of everything that happened. You don't mind if I stick around a few more days to get some extra details for my work do you?" your sister asks. "Sure! Stay as long as you like, I'm really enjoying having you around. You can stay in the second bedroom." You say. "Thanks." "Speaking of details, I wanted some details of my own on some of your stories." "I'll tell you all about the lesbian pirates tomorrow." Your sister laughs. "Well I'll look forward to that, but I was actually interested of when you were here, since I'm sort of surprised we never bumped into each other." "Well it is a big city and you also said it was before you were a big hero." "True, but I was still sort of infamous for being head of the Nocturnal League organization at the time. Even then I had connections to the baroness." "Yeah, you did mention that. I dunno, if I'd been here longer maybe we would have bumped into each other. Honestly, I didn't plan on staying here as long as I did since Captain Yan was just here to pick up some extra crew and do a little trade. However I spent the time playing at semi-respectable inn that I managed to get a gig at and there was some noble there that I guess was slumming and he loved my music so much that he insisted that I play at a party at the palace." "What seriously?" "Yeah, you'd be surprised how many nobles I've met slumming and then inviting me back to palaces and other fancy places." "No not that, you said you went to play at the baroness' palace for a party? Was everyone wearing masks?" "Yeah! It sounded like fun and I figured why not? I mean high class people tend to have the most decadent shit going on and this was no exception." "Yeah I know! I was AT that fucking party!" "You were? Maybe we DID bump into each other. I mean everyone was wearing a mask so who knows right? Well then you know that the whole place started becoming a fucking mass orgy." "Um...yeah. I tried to get out of there as soon as possible." "Yeah me too, it was sort of gross. I mean you know me, I'm a free spirit and all, but I still like 'em one at a time, not in a mass of flesh." You suddenly start to feel a little odd as your sister continues to speak. "Unfortunately I couldn't find the damn exit, and whatever the hell they put in the drinks was having a real effect on me." "Uh..." "I ended up ducking into this room where I met some guy in the process of jerking off. Reminded me of the time I walked in on you when we we're teenagers, remember that? Man, that was awkward!" "...yeah..." "Anyway, I guess he wasn't too keen on the whole orgy scenario either and since the pair of us had to get that sexual energy out of the body somehow, so well you can imagine what happened." You shake your head rubbing your face with your hand. "Oh I got a pretty good idea..." you say. "I'm sorry bro for getting so graphic about this, but I just gotta say it was the best sex I ever had. Seriously, like I dunno maybe it was the drugs in the drink, or the mystery of anonymity or the fact I just spent too much time at sea with a bunch of lesbian pirates that should have been eating more lemons than pussy to cure their scurvy, but I felt like I was just totally in sync with this man. It was just so raw and passionate. It just felt right. Like it was on a whole other plane of existence." "Certainly one way to describe it..." "I actually said I love you to this man. I mean he said it first, but I guess he couldn't help it and I also got caught up in the moment. Though all fun things have to come to an end and eventually he passed out and fortunately my own needs had been met by that point and I still needed to go get my mandolin that I left. Fortunately it was still where I left it and I managed to get out the palace while most of the other people were also spent. Got back aboard with Captain Yan and we were soon off again." "Well, I got just one question." "What's that?" You look at your sister in all seriousness. Part of you ponders if you should tell her since it seems to be a positive memory, but this has always irritated you long enough that you feel comfortable breaking the reality. "You said you had a great time with this guy, and at the time he also had a great time with you. In fact he was concerned with your well being the whole time. However, if you had that good of a time was there any particular reason you robbed him blind afterwards?" "Wait, how did you..." You look at your sister who suddenly comes to the dreaded realization. "Oh." She says. "Oh indeed." You say. There's some silence for a moment followed by... "Why the hell didn't you say anything?!" you sister says. "I didn't know it was you at the time! You had a mask on remember? Not to mention all I kept visualizing was Tanya and had sex dominating my mind and body! I even tried to stop you, but fuck, a guy can only take so much before he gives in! What's your excuse? You were usually more observant of shit than I am!" you say. "You had a fucking mask on too! I told you, I was under the influence of the drinks too and just spent months at sea with a bunch of women! I can honestly tell you that I NEEDED fucking dick by that point! A REAL one, and not some poor substitute that Captain Yan tried to use on me once! My original plan was going to go with the first guy that struck my fancy after my set at the inn, then I got invited to this party, and then I figured I find a higher class guy there to get with and then well you know what happened. I wasn't thinking properly either!" "Yeah well...I still dunno why you felt the need to pick my pockets." "You said you were a fucking crime lord at this point, that had to be a drop in the bucket for you!" "And you were sailing aboard a ship and obviously fucking the captain! Wasn't like you needed my coin to pay for passage!" "I wasn't fucking her! We just made out a few times and touched each other a bit." "Whatever! In any case it's not the money, it's the principle of it all." "Okay, okay, I'm really am sorry about that. I just...well I couldn't resist an easy target." Another moment of silence until you gather the words. "Yeah I guess I get that. I really was easy that night." You say. "Pretty sure we both were." Your sister says attempting to make a joke about the situation. "Yeah...ha ha...um so uh...I think you should leave this bit out of your songs." "Yes. Yes I will. I most definitely will." "I mean you know, it's nobody's business." "I agree, it isn't. It's just between us." "Um...but I just want to say I'm not really ashamed of what happened. I mean it was just circumstance, it wasn't like we planned it." "True. And honestly, who did we really hurt? Nobody right?" "Right. I mean if anything it's probably something we probably both thought about on several occasions and now it's done so it's out of mind now." "Uh, you thought about us in that way several times? When was this?" your sister asks. "Um... when I was teenager and did I say several? It was more like once or twice and it was dreams! You know how crazy dreams are! Anyway you wanna go to bed?" "What? No! No! Shit! Not that! I mean I'm tired! And I'm heading to MY bed, I mean you gotta be tired too and head to YOUR bed! It's been a long...weird...night." "Oh, yeah I think maybe that's best right now." You and your sister both stand up from your chairs and back away from each other like you've got diseases. As you head to your room you suddenly turn and call out. "Sis?" you say. "Yeah?" she answers. "Look I really don't want things to be weird between us because of this. I mean I'm sort of sorry I said anything now." "No. It probably was for the best. I mean you would have still known since you realized what happened when I started talking about it and it would have been unfair for you to solely carry that secret. You already have enough shit on your mind and having to deal with that in your head too." Your sister exhales and continues. "Look, don't worry anymore about it. I mean it happened, it was fun and as far as I'm concerned it will just be another pleasant memory of something we did together once. Nothing has changed and it'll be a new day tomorrow." Your sister says. "I'm glad to hear it." You answer. "And if makes you feel any better and less alone, okay I admit, I thought about you a couple time too as a teenager. Actually now I'm starting to wonder if we were doing little affectionate things unconsciously in public given all the rumors that the Teckleville citizens spread about us." You chuckle a bit at that statement. "Okay. Goodnight sis." "Night bro." You head into your bedroom and settle with a few thoughts before you go to sleep. "Hang on to that one if you ever meet her again. She might just be the one that let's you get over me. And of course even Tanya's suggestion ends up having a catch. Typical. Who says I'm not cursed?" You close your eyes keeping a motivated mindset as you drift off. "Oh well. Moving on..."

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy] Honestly, Heather is still your best chance at getting cured, so if she's dead then you might as well have left Holgard when this all happened. Besides, you don't fancy your chances against multiple demons and a wizard. You figure if you're quiet and careful enough you'll be able to sneak up to the top of the building and just shoot the wizard opposing Heather in the back. Well that's the ideal plan anyway. You duck into the building that Heather and her opponent are fighting on top of and avoid the demon-wizard battle completely. Surprisingly the inside of the building (which you think is Holgard's hall of records. Some sort of government building anyway, you have no idea, never been here or paid attention to it before) isn't too torn up by the fighting, though it looks like the people hiding here didn't fair too well since you're seeing a lot of dead bodies that look like they have the life drained out of them. You on the other hand are feeling a little weird. Not like your life is suddenly being drained out of you, but more like a feeling of energy around you. Almost like your hair is starting to stand on end. Must be all the magic being thrown about. You're just about to head up to the second floor and that's when you hear a groaning noise. You look back, but you already know what you're going to see. Several of the corpses you just passed are now getting up and they're all making their way towards you. "Of course. Shit." You say and quicken your pace and the corpses do likewise. With a bunch of undead now chasing you, it's a very good thing that government buildings tend to have the same layouts making it at least easy for you to keep finding the next flight of stairs. This is counter balanced by more corpses of the government officials stirring whenever you reach a new floor. By the time you make it to the top floor, you've got a horde chasing you. You scramble up the ladder to the roof and fling open the hatch. There upon the roof, you see Heather and her antagonist throwing bolts of magic and blocking each other's attacks. It would seem they're evenly matched and neither one is paying any attention to you. Meanwhile, corpses are making their way up the ladder. You shoot the first one in the head and then slam the hatch down and stomp on it a couple times. It's not going to hold them for long, and you can't stand here forever keeping all your weight on it. The noise of your pistol now causes the opposing wizard to take notice of you. He doesn't waste any time in throwing a bolt of energy at you. You try to get out of the way, but you still get hit with a blast strong enough to cause you to go flying backwards. You ignore the pain in your chest as you desperately attempt to not fall off the side of the roof. The top half of your body hangs over the edge as you struggle to move from your precarious position. You manage to sit up just in time to see the wizard throwing another magic bolt your way. This probably would have been the end of you had the hatch not opened back up and corpses crawling out of it. Instead of hitting you, the bolt hits a couple of the corpses instead and you scramble out of the way so as not to get hit by flying body parts heading your way. As the horde continues to pour onto the roof, your visibility of the other wizard and Heather is starting to be blocked by said horde. You desperately shoot at the horde, but unlike your previous experience back at the League headquarters, you're not going to intimidate them by killing a few. There's nowhere to go either. The closest building isn't close enough that you could easily jump to it, even if it was still intact. At best, from this height you MIGHT survive a fall with several broken bones and given what else is going on down in the streets, you probably wouldn't survive too much longer. "Fuck. Looks like Warts was right. Yag's crapped out." You say to yourself, drawing your blade for a final stand. Just as one of the slack jawed dead eyed corpses gets within reach of you, you're suddenly floating upward! After lingering in the air for a moment, you slowly start floating over the street causing the rest of the corpses to follow and go right over the side of the building. It's fascinating and scary as hell at the same time since you could easily be dropping to your own death right now. From your position, you see Heather on the far side of the building with one raised hand in your direction. You also see the other wizard lying on the roof smoldering and still burning. You didn't see it because you were too occupied with fighting corpses, but it would appear your arrival was enough distraction that allowed Heather to get the upper hand over her opponent. With all the undead now a pile of splattered bodies on the street (Well most of them anyway) and no longer a threat, Heather pulls you forward and gently places you back on the rooftop where upon you walk over to her. "Thanks." You say. "Thank you for the distraction. Shit, I'm fucking exhausted dealing with asshole." Heather says and indeed looking very worn. In fact, she even looks a bit older. "I was actually coming to do more than just be a distraction, but suddenly I was getting attacked by a hundred dead bean counters." "Yeah, the repercussions of wild dark magic being thrown around. This building might have some strong magic protection, but it didn't do shit for the people inside." "It does?" "Well yeah. It's where all the records to the city are held. Last thing the government wants is stuff like that getting destroyed. I put the protection wards up myself when Ludmilla requested it months ago. Why do you think the building is still more or less intact?" "Hm, thought it was unusual. Anyway, your students are having their own problem with demons that they're fighting in the streets right now. I think the other wizard keeps summoning them." "Of course he is. Y'know, that's probably why these idiots got themselves kicked out of the Delantium University in the first place, dabbling with necromancy and demonology. That shit could potentially destroy a world if used as reckless as it has been here. Well guess I better sort this out, before taking a break." You tell Heather where you saw the fighting going on and she goes over to the right side of the building and sees for herself. It's still a stalemate from what you can tell and fortunately Heather says this will be easy to take care of. She conjures up a fireball and directs it towards the other wizard in the street below. He's not even looking in that direction so he takes the hit. You then see a figure screaming and burning which is then followed by one of the demons leaping on him and ripping him apart. Heather's people take advantage of the situation and blast the demons with all they have. Without the other wizard up keeping the spell, they aren't materializing any longer and stay permanently dead. Though you do see one leap away from the battle and out of sight. Looks like that will just be one more evil thing brought into this world. (Not that it's going to make much of a difference) With the immediate threat over with, you and Heather head back down the ladder where thankfully there aren't anymore walking dead lurking about. Heather's students soon meet up with the both of you. They look even more tired than she does and you notice there are significantly less of them than the last time you remember. "Grand Matriarch! Are you hurt!? I can heal you!" Gwen asks. "I'm fine Gwen, see to our friend though, maybe he's hurt, I saw him take a magic bolt to the chest." Heather remarks. Gwen goes over to you and starts to check you out, but you don't feel like you really need any tending to either. "Thanks, but I'm really okay." You say. "Let me just cast a minor healing spell, you look like you could use it. Were you fighting before you got here?" Gwen remarks and starts casting something over you. "Yeah, mostly orcs, some humans. All assholes." "Wow, orcs huh? That takes some courage to go toe to toe with the likes of those big green guys." "Eh, I had some green guys of my own. A little on smaller side though. Hm, starting to feel a lot better. At least not aching in pain anymore. Guess I did need that after all. Thanks." "You're welcome!" Gwen's attitude is a lot different than you last remember. "Where's your boyfriend?" "Huh? Oh Cooper? He's not my boyfriend anymore, he ran off a couple months ago. He didn't want to stick around during the invasion. He was a big coward after all, not like you." "Um, yeah. I think I'm okay right now Gwen." "You sure?" "Yeah, thanks." "The man said he doesn't need any more attention so stop hovering over him and go back over there with the rest of your class." Gwen gives you a small smile before leaving you to go back to the rest of her, causing Heather to make an eye roll. "Called it." Heather says. "Hm, well I guess better that she's friendly now." You say. "She's still fucking annoying. If she didn't show such natural talent for magic, I'd probably just throw her ass out of the school." "Wow, I would think you'd want everyone you could get. I mean there aren't many of you after all." "Yeah well you don't have to deal with her on a daily basis. However, you are correct in that pragmatism did also influence the decision to keep her around. I'm about the last very experienced wizard in this city now anyway. The few remaining true Dornans either left when I first got the school started or died during this invasion. Still it'll be enough to turn back the tide. It's just really taking its toll on me. Pretty sure you can already tell." "Well I wasn't going to say anything." "You didn't need to. Magic has a habit of making you old before your time. That's why whenever you someone talks about wizards; the stereotype is some decrepit old person. It's not that far off, except the old person usually isn't all that old in years at least. But such is the price we pay for being skilled in the gift that Dorna bestowed upon this world." Heather, yourself and her group take this moment to rest up and talk a bit of strategy. The current situation is bad, but not entirely unwinnable. You just have to make one major attack to turn the tide. Heather is in favor of helping what little remains of Ludmilla's defenses at her palace. Heather says breaking up the attack going on there should destroy the rest of Peter's forces or at least the majority of them. At that point he won't have enough people to take the city, let alone hold it given that Ludmilla will still be alive at that point. When you ask if there is any other alternative, Heather says, you all could attack Peter directly since he's probably still aboard his ship. The problem with that is, there is still a good-sized fleet near the Holgard docks. Heather says casting magic at the ships might bring a few of them down, but not before the rest of them start firing cannonballs back, and who knows if you're going to get Peter or not. Still, if you take out Peter then it isn't like you're going to have to worry about him ever trying this in another five to ten years and having to deal with it again. > You attack the fleet Cut off the head and the rest is going to follow. "We need to take out that fleet. If Peter gets away, turning back this invasion isn't going to matter." You say. "And if Ludmilla dies, then what?" Heather remarks. "Well I dunno, but worst case scenario, one of us picks up the pieces and takes over the city instead. Not like we'd do any worse." Heather's a little surprised to hear you say that, though you just sort of came up with it in the moment. "I still feel very strongly that we should help the baroness. However I guess you have a point about Peter. It's not ideal, but I guess we'll have to split up." "Split up?" "Yes, seeing as my students held their own against a trained diabolist I'd hope they'd be able to handle some mundane orcs." "That's a terrible idea, we're going to need all the firepower we can get!" "Don't worry, I can handle it myself. Besides, it'll be a lot harder for them to focus on a single smaller target rather than a group. You should go with my students however. They probably should have someone to back them up for protection. I mean there's not much you can do to help against a bunch of ships anyway. Speaking of crews, where is the rest of your people?" Heather asks. "Don't ask, in fact after this is all over I might not even have any people. Anyway, I still think splitting up is a bad idea, but I guess if you say you can handle it yourself, I trust you." With as much rest as you're going to get under these conditions, you and the student wizards are soon on your way to the palace. Heather parts ways with you, but you really wish she didn't. She still looked very tired for one thing and you're not entirely convinced that you shouldn't focus on one thing instead of splitting up. You don't have many problems on the way there, but you do come across a few unexpected faces. It's some of the Nocturnal League. They look like they've already been in a few scrapes. "There you are boss! We've been looking all over for ya!" one of them remarks. "Well, you've found me, and I hope for your sake, you've come to help." You say. "We have! Um, we've managed to save couple of our brothels from getting too fucked up. We've also been having people take the whores back to headquarters and stay there until it's safe." "Glad to hear we're making Holgard safe for whores again at least." You get an idea. "Okay, you lot are going with these wizards to the palace. I want you to do everything in your power to protect them. Seriously, it's the most important thing in the world right now." You say and start walking off. "Wait, where are you going boss?" "I got protection of my own to do. Don't worry about me. Just do what I tell you!" Not questioning your leadership again, your people follow your orders and you run off towards the docks. You just hope Heather managed to get there since your own trip to the docks isn't without struggle. When you finally get within sight of the docks you see several ships burning and sinking into the water. Looks like Heather is already getting to work as you see a lone figure running about casting magic into the bay area. You run towards her and then immediately have to take cover as the sounds of several cannons are fired in Heather's (and your) direction. The area was already half destroyed from the initial attack and pillaging, but with Heather's recent attack on his fleet, Peter is determined to destroy the entire harbor and then some. As you hide behind a partially destroyed building. Deafening explosions are all around you. Temporary loss of hearing aside, you're otherwise fine. You look out from the rubble and still see Heather encased in a glowing blue shield of some sort. However, you also see several smaller boats rowing towards docks. Heather's putting up a good fight, but you need to go help her. You run towards Heather and another cannon explosion hits not far from you. The force is enough to throw you to the ground and you're pelted by bits of debris. With your head now bleeding and feeling dizzy, you slowly stand back up only for another nearby explosion to knock you back down again. This time you struggle to push yourself up and look up just in time to see Heather fighting off some of the sailors that have managed to get to the docks (or what's left of them). You stand up and begin firing wildly at the sailors though Heather is easily destroying them with a chain lightning spell. With the wave of Peter's men dead, Heather takes a quick breather and it's at that moment she finally notices you. She nods. You nod. And then another volley of cannons fires off and completely obliterates everything in front of you. You fly backwards and eventually slam into something made of harder stuff than you are and you go unconscious. You're out for who knows how long, but by the time you wake up it's dark and the sounds of battle have died down though your hearing still isn't very good and your head is throbbing. You stagger around a bit before getting your bearings. In this darkness several burning fires provide most of the nearby illumination. It's nothing but destruction everywhere. "Hey! Hey you!" a voice calls out. You spin around and see five men dressed for battle. They don't look like Holgard Watch either. You nearly go for your pistol and that's when you realize you don't have it anymore. The only weapon you currently have on you is a dagger still in its sheath and you're not likely to succeed a confrontation in your condition. You could run, but you're still a bit dazed and they're already almost on you. "Who are you? We're trying to clear the streets of people right now and don't need anyone skulking about! Where is your home?" one of them says. "Huh? I...I live...um...in Teckleville." You say desperately trying to find the words to get out of this. "Teckleville? Never heard of it! What the hell are you doing out here then?" "I was... I was visiting my sister." "Visiting your sister? Was she a whore here?" the man laughs along with his fellows. "No...I look...my head really hurts and I'm a little dizzy..." The man suddenly grabs you by the shirt and slams you up against a nearby destroyed wall. "More than your head is going to hurt if you don't start answering my questions! You say you were here to visit your sister, but that smells like bullshit to me! You look like a common thief trying to take advantage of the chaos! Well that shit ain't gonna pass now that Baron Peter Varsakken is in charge!" "Peter Varsakken?" you ask. "Yeah! He visited his sister too and decided he liked the city so much that he took it in the name of the Delantium Kingdom!" Well that's it. The struggle has been lost and you need to get the hell out of here somehow. "Please, I'm no thief! I'm just a bard and I was just here visiting my sister when the...liberation began. The baroness' men wouldn't let anyone leave and killed anyone who tried! Not to mention my sister was scared so of course I stayed with her. When the fighting got really bad even her home wasn't safe and looters...(choke) took her. I tried to fight, but I'm not a fighting man and it was just luck that I was only smashed in the head and left for dead. I later got up and tried to find her, but...the violence...I never saw so much violence before...I thought of my sister...and...(Sniffle)." The man that grabbed you relents slightly with his grip. "I just sort of got lost trying to hide from the bloodshed and before I knew it there was an explosion and I woke up here. Now I don't know where my sister is and I fear the worst...(sob)." You say really trying to put on the tears by rubbing your eyes a lot. The military soldiers look at each other and the one that grabbed you pulls you off the wall and begins motioning you to go. "Fine. Get out of here. Go on back to your village or wherever you come from bard. And remember to sing the song of Peter Varsakken's glorious victory here today!" the man shouts and give you one last shove before moving on. Now free, you hurry along the way and find the quickest sewer entrance and enter. You figure you can move around down there with less hassle and get out of the city quicker. You briefly wonder if you should go back to your headquarters to check if there is anyone there, but really it's still better to just get the hell out as quickly as possible. Besides, the Nocturnal League has practically got to be dead here now. Might as well move on to your back up plan, which is to head to Jicol. You eventually get out of Holgard and with your hands you dig up your private stash that you hid in the nearby wilderness. You figure you got enough coin for a trip to Jicol though you're going to have to walk to the nearest city which Klyton. It's a long walk too, but fortunately the route from Holgard is no longer impeded as much by a lot of woods and roads are much more prominent now. With any luck, you'll run into a Klyton carriage on its way to Holgard and you can tell them the news and get a ride back. One month later... "Jicol huh? Yeah I guess I can take you along, but not for free obviously." The trader says. "Will this suffice?" you reply and show him a few platinum coins. "Yeah, that will do it. You'll have to sleep in the cargo hold though and if I find out you've messed about with any of the goods down there, well if you aren't familiar with the term keelhauling, you'll become very familiar. We leave tomorrow morning. Don't be late." You leave the trader and head back to where you've been currently staying in Hessla. You thought you'd never get a ship to take you to Jicol. Less ships have been coming through Hessla lately thanks to the invasion at Holgard. Also all known pirates have been banned from entering Jicol. You guess that's why not many ships from here are currently allowed to travel there. The next day you board the trader ship and make your way to the cargo hold which contains mostly spices and cloth material that you'd have no interest in stealing anyway. You imagine it's going to be months before you actually arrive in Jicol, and it's probably not going to be a comfortable trip either. On the plus side, you'll be glad to eventually see Vera after this miserable time. Days pass into weeks and you more or less keep to yourself and just eat with the rest of the crew when its time then go back to your place in the cargo hold. Then as you're sleeping one day... "Oh come on! This is bullshit! I'm a fucking registered citizen of Hessla you can't fucking rob me!" a voice says. Sounds like the trader. "Apologies, but shit is tough all over nowadays. Besides you need to relax, we're not taking all of it. Just a little bit." A deeper voice says. "The Governor of Hessla is going to hear about this Zamed! There are certain laws in place for a reason!" "Telling the Governor of Hessla? You think that's a wise thing to be threatening me with Flint given the circumstances?" You hear the name Zamed and your immediately sit up and accidently hit your head, cursing in the process. "Who else is down here Flint?!" Zamed says "Just some extra passenger that paid coin." Flint responds. Before you know it, you see Zamed and some of his people along with the trader. You aren't sure how this is going to go, but you're ready to pull your pistol. You just wish it was multiple shots like your old one. Zamed squints a little and then speaks. "Wait a minute. I know you. Shit, thought you died in Holgard." Zamed says. "Almost did." You answer. "Well Flint, this is your lucky day. You can keep all your cargo, I'll just be taking this one." "I thought pirates were currently banned from Jicol." "Jicol? Oh wait, you actually think I was going to take you there? To Vera?" "Call me an optimist." "Wrong day for optimism, friend. No, gonna take you to the Syndicate. They'll pay a nice price for you. Not sure what you did to piss them off, but they really got it in for you." "I figured those orcs weren't just wrecking my businesses on accident." "Indeed. Well we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours." "Not gonna be the easy way I can tell you that, and if you attempt to do this the hard way, you'll have a bullet in your head before you can make another step." "Pfft, Vera always went on about how great you were with a pistol. She always bragged about you. The way I see it, if you were so great then why the hell did she betray you?" "What the hell are you on about?" "Clueless idiot. Vera's been in cahoots with the Syndicate for a long time now. She was also in on the whole invasion. If anything I'm saving you time because if you got to Jicol, she would have only turned your ass in to the Syndicate herself." "What? I don't believe you. Vera would never betray me, let alone hand me over to the Syndicate!" "It's of minor importance. However, you may be right about her not turning you in, she always was a little too sweet on you. Talking about you even after we...y'know what? Fuck this, I can just bring in your head..." Zamed pulls his pistol and you fire landing one right between his eyes as promised. However this isn't enough to deter the rest of his men who rush at you. You fight with your sword as best you can, but eventually you are cut down.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] Year 33 "Shit, these fucking orcs don't die like they should." You say after putting two more shots in a large greenskin trying to get back up. "Don't think it matters boss, this brothel's fucked, and not in a good way. Just bout every whore in here is dead." Warts says. "All of them?" "Well there were a couple survivors, but I think their whorin' days are over." "Damnit, that's another one destroyed." "An wez lost a few purple wish houses and sum gambling dens too. Hopefully we can save da rest before we don't have anything left." You look around at the destruction of the brothel you're currently in and try to temporarily ignore the loud chaos going on outside as you gather your thoughts on what to do next. "Damnit." You say seeing a familiar woman on the floor with an axe wound in her head. "Wat?" Warts asks. "I know this whore or rather I did. Name was Naji. She was that girl that I rescued back when you talked me into ripping off Reginald's house." "Sheesh, dat wuz a long time ago boss. Yer memory iz good if you can member whores. I can't even member when my weddin' anniversary is, though I wuz drunk at the time an' Snuffit reminds me anyway." "Well she was a bit special for awhile, but as you might know my heart always really belonged to Tanya. I knew Naji was still whoring, and after we got the Nocturnal League set up I made sure she always had a job in one of our brothels, but I never did speak with her again in person. Always thought about it sometimes, but just figured I could get around to it when I wasn't busy. Guess it's too late now. Seems rather pointless that I even rescued her given that she just wound up dead anyway." "Well look on da bright side boss, it looks like she got a cleaner death with a quick axe strike as opposed to wat dose cultist fuckers woulda did." "I suppose. She also was Rook's cousin, which probably saved me from him killing me. In any case, I'm having serious concerns about this attack." "Well yeah boss, da whole cities goin' ta shit again." "No, I mean why the fuck are we even being attacked? I mean yeah I get orcs tend to be enthusiastic about their marauding, but something about the fact that OUR businesses are getting attacked like they were military targets seems really fucking suspicious." "Mebbe dat Peter knew we weren't really gonna help him." "Well that's definitely possible, but it still doesn't explain why we would be targeted so much and so accurately. I would think he'd want to focus his forces on taking the palace or taking out the mage school. Also his invasion force was a lot larger than first reports mentioned." "I guess Vera wasn't too successful in convincin' other pirates to not join her ex-boyfriend." "I'm a little concerned about her too, since the last message we got was six months ago from her and she said she was having some success in her endeavors." "Well she must be okay, because we wuz still gettin' da cut from her even last month." "I suppose, but at the rate shit is going down here, we might not even be able to pay the pittance that the ECS asks for every month." "You sayin' you don't have a secret personal stash?" "Of course, but I'll be damned if I'm going to part with my shit to pay the damn ECS. I'm sure you'd feel the same way about your stash." "Pfft, I ain't got no personal stash. Snuffit takes it all. Speakin' of her, I think I'll be getting back to her. Seems like this city is a lost cause an' if you're smart you should just get the hell out too." "What the fuck Warts. You're just gonna abandon everything?" "Well yeah. I don't exactly have some bond with dis place. I mean it wuz fun while it lasted, but looks like its come to an end. I mean maybe dis place will be better again in a couple years or so. An' didn't you make plans to retreat to Jicol is shit started to go wrong?" "Yeah, but again, I'm still not sure if everything there is okay." "Bah, Vera's fine, she's probably just really fuckin' busy. I mean you know how it is. Look dis iz the ways I sees da situation..." Warts steps over a couple bodies before addressing you again. He gives you a more serious look than he normally does. "Youz gotta be the luckiest Yag blessed bastard I know, beside myself. You shoulda died so many times, Yag musta been rollin' loaded dice. However, an' don't say dis offen but dere iz a time ta step away from da table and dis iz one o' dem times. I myself have stayed alive as long as I have cuz I knew when ta walk away." Warts says. "And you think this is one of those times, you don't think there's still a chance to turn this around?" you ask. "Well yeah, there's always a chance, such are the whimsical ways of Yag, but the odds just ain't lookin' good enough for me to take da risk, so I'm off whether you're sticking around or not, but I'd rather you leave with me, because..." Warts coughs a bit and looks away. You hear a sniffle. "Warts...are you crying?" you ask. "NO! I'm not cryin' like sum sissy elf! It's all dis dust bein kicked up due to da battle! Anyway, we've known each other a long ass time, made a lotta coin, did a lotta stupid stuff, an' in sum cases even saved me from getting' killed. Sometime youz waz an asshole, but you still were better than most an' especially anyone in da Spiderfang Tribe. Yer, the closest thing I've had to a friend, an I'd rather our parting of ways go with me knowing dat yer on yer way ta Jicol rather than dying here over nuthin'." Warts says. "So you wouldn't be coming to Jicol?" "Nah, too far. I'll probably just find work in Spider Fang territory, open a tradin' post maybe. Most of da folks dat hated me are dead now anyway so it ain't like I gotta worry bout bein' a halfbreed anymore. I should be closer to my family anyway. In fact dat's another reason youz should go to Jicol. Start a family with Vera, I know you likes her. Forget dat demon girl that's still plaguin' yer mind, she's gone." Warts doesn't really know the whole story to that of course, and you don't really have time to go into it right now, but despite all that, Warts does raise some good points. You're not out of the fight yet though and you've been through two city upheavals already, you can easily survive a third as long as you're smart about all this. You ran away from home once before, you're not doing it again, especially not now when you've built a life here. Might not be ideal to most, but it's yours. "Warts, you do what you gotta do, but I'm gonna do what I gotta do. Just remember whether the Nocturnal League survives or not, I'm still going to be here if you want to work with me again the future." Warts shakes his head while giving a slight broken tooth grin. "Suppose I shouldn't expected any less from ya. Youz haz a death wish. Always haz fightin' dangerous groups of cutthroats, goin' head ta head with religious fanatics, fucking demon bitches... youz gonna get yerself killed one day and it ain't gonna be a pretty death when it happens. But guess I gotta respect all dat. I hope Yag's still usin' loaded dice, cuz yer gonna need 'em." Warts says. "We'll see each other again Warts." You respond. Warts nods at your confidence which you return before he takes his leave. Now alone, you briefly check the rest of the brothel for any remaining survivors. You don't find any, but you do tell the couple that Warts mentioned to go find a better place to hide if they can. While you could just start jumping back into the action, you'd still rather have some back up and the only place you're going to be certain to find some is back at the Nocturnal League's headquarters where you're probably going to find the rest of your remaining members hiding or attempting to wait this out. Good thing you're already not in the greatest of moods because you don't imagine it getting any better when you have to deal with your "employees." When you get back, most of them are a bit on edge, but others are just lazing about playing cards or just generally doing nothing. "Oh, uh hey boss. You're alive." "Yeah well I can see you're really glad that I am. Why the fuck are you assholes sitting around playing cards, you do realize there is a siege going on and our businesses are getting all fucked up right?" you say. "You said we should guard this place." "I said SOME of you and as I remember, you weren't one of them. In fact, most of you should be up there defending our interests. I'm not even asking you to be a fucking hero or defend the city because I know damn well that's a pointless endeavor." "Boss, I don't see why we should risk our lives when we can just wait shit out down here." And there it is. The excuse you've been expecting. "Oh this should be good. Go on about why you feel this way...whatever the fuck your name is." "I'm really not trying to be disrespectful boss, but it seems like we can just pick up the pieces after all this is over. If anything we'll be in a stronger position since the populace won't be in any condition to oppose us and it'll take awhile before the new ruler imposes any sort of order. And this Peter is another Varsakken right? He's probably not going to be any better than his sister, so it'll be business as usual." "That's a nice thought. I see you really thought this out while sitting on your chair playing cards and drinking your ale. Here's another thought though. While we're sitting here playing cards, telling jokes and jerking each other off, all of our business interests are getting fucked up. All our Purple Wish dens? Destroyed. That's a shitload of our income right there and it can't be easily made up. Our whores? Slaughtered. Again can't easily be made up, unless you lot are gonna start selling your asses to make up the loss and I guarantee it wouldn't. Our protection rackets? Well you can't extort corpses, and that's what A LOT of them are right now thanks to orcs just killing everything in sight. I mean fuck, we ARE supposed to be protecting these hapless suckers if not out of the goodness of our hearts then at least for our own pockets! Shit, that's the whole damn point!" Your voice continues to rise as you walk around the room admonishing your people. "This idea that we'll just pick up everything after everything is over is laughable, because there won't be that much left and what IS left, Peter Varsakken is going to be establishing order over, and I'm telling you right now, whether he's as corrupt as the rest of his family or not isn't the issue. The issue is, we DON'T have a good working relationship with him like we do with his sister. Shit like that takes time and trust, both of which we are in short supply of. And to top it all off the ECS is going to still be breathing down our necks telling us we better pay up by the end of the month. How are we going to fucking do that if all of our income has turned to fucking rubble? Is ANY of this getting through or am I talking to a bunch of fucking retards?" Suddenly another one stands up. "Well gee boss, why don't you get your precious hobs to fucking do all this shit?" "Because most of the hobs are fucking dead that's why, which is another loss since a lot of them were our best pit fighters. And I highly recommend you take it way down, before I take YOU down." Now several others stand up to join the troublemaker. Though a few of them look unsure. Some don't take a side and just quietly slink back into a place where they might be safe from the fighting. One thing you are noticing is nobody seems to be siding with you. This is worse than you thought. You already have your hand on your weapon. "No! You've been bossing us about for months getting prepared for this fucking invasion and none of us see why we should even be involved. You do this ALL the damn time, dragging us into these unnecessary conflicts instead of just staying the fuck out of it. You did this with the religious faction war, you did this with the Felians, who were supposed to be our allies and now you're doing it here. And who is on the losing end of all of this shit? US! That's who! We're the ones fucking dying! Well no fucking more! We're all staying down here and riding this out, and if you don't like it, tough shit, because if you haven't noticed by now, you're fresh outta friends and you don't even have your filthy hob scum to protect your ass anymore." "Seriously, you ALL feel this way? You fuckers are the most short sighted assholes ever if you've decided that right now would be the best time to pull a double cross and MORE fool you that you didn't kill me right away." "Well we can take care of that right now, and you don't have enough bullets to kill us all." "I don't need to kill you all, I'm just gonna kill you and I don't need hobs to do my work." The troublemaker's eyes widen and he goes for his own flintlock, but he's too slow of course and you've already killed him and three others before everyone has taken cover. Nobody else is returning fire or attempting to attack, which means you've probably asserted your dominance once again. "That's what I thought. Now contrary to this dead fucker's words, I've been risking my ass more than ANY of you since day fucking one! Who the hell was it that was leading the damn charge when we took out the Joachimites and Felians? As I remember it was me. And what the hell have I been doing while you lot were hiding like cowards, I've been trying to keep this organization together by defending our shit! So don't give me this bullshit that I've been leading from the back. Maybe the real problem is you shitheads have all gotten lazy because you have no regular opposition. Scared of a real fight. Y'know what? Fuck all of you. I'm going back up there to try to salvage what this organization still has left. The rest of you can either help or get the fuck out of the way, but what you can't do is stay here. Because when I come back, I find ANYONE still here, you'll be joining these troublemakers on the floor." With those last words you leave. You have no idea if you're even going to have an organization left if you survive all this, but that doesn't matter right now. Right now you're going to do something even more foolish and find out what the hell's going on with Heather and her crew of wannabes because if you can get the wizards to help you in this chaos, staying here will have at least been worth the effort. Tracking them down is fairly easy because it's the part of the city that EVERYONE is avoiding, lot of explosions, debris flying in the air, fire, strange lights and even stranger noises in general. When you arrive in the general vicinity, you finally get a good look at what's going on. You see several creatures that remind you of some sort of demonic dwarves since they're about the same height, and pretty stocky. They're attacking a group of wizards wearing purple robes which you're guessing are Heather's people though you don't see her. Heather's people are holding their own, but the problem is the demons don't stay dead or rather as soon as one is killed another one materializes. They can't possibly keep this up forever. A little bit in the distance you also catch sight of a man in a shabby brown robe. You're guessing this is the one summoning the demons. He must have some strong protection up, because demons aren't known to enjoy being summoned by mortals. You also see two figures battling it out on top of one of the few standing buildings left in the area. You see all manner of magic being thrown about and most of it hitting nearby parts of the city. You can't quite make out the figures, but you're guessing one of those might be Heather. The way you see it, you can either climb up the building to try to help Heather or try to help her students. > You help her students Heather's a powerful wizard and can probably take care of herself. Her students on the other hand you're not so sure of and you're going to need all the magic help possible if you're going to turn back this invasion. If you can take out the opposing wizard, that would probably break the stalemate and then you all can help Heather if still necessary. You figure if you can sneak in range and get off a shot, you'll kill the wizard and dispel the demons he keeps warping in. Well that's the ideal plan anyway. You sneak around a few buildings trying to stay away from the direction of the fighting and getting closer hoping the whole time nobody notices you. Eventually you go into a partially destroyed building and get to the third floor of it to take your shot since you figure you'll at least be out of immediate danger of the demons suddenly turning around and attacking you. Taking aim, your pull the trigger and shoot the wizard in the back. You were aiming for his head, but it seems to have done the trick anyway as the wizard goes down. All that magic and you figured he neglected a protection spell against more mundane dangers. Whether the bullet killed him or not doesn't really matter since the demons warping in aren't under his control anymore and instead of immediately getting themselves killed by the students, a couple of them attack the easy prey on the ground instead. You watch a couple of them take chunks from the wizard and go bounding away. The students make quick work of most of the remaining demons that do insist on continuing their attack. Meanwhile, you're making your way back down to go meet up with the students now that the demon threat is over with. You exit the partially destroyed building and still see that Heather is fighting her opponent on the roof of the intact building. She needs help fast and you begin shouting at the students when you get closer to them. "Hey! Hey! I'm on your side! Heather needs help! Look!" you shout pointing up and towards the roof. No sooner have you done that, when they start shouting back and it looks like they're prepping spells. "What the fuc...shit!" Feeling in danger you immediately start firing at the students. A couple of them go down, cuasing the rest to scatter a bit and a few magic bolts go wild in your direction missing you. Unfortunately they also miss the demons they were trying to hit behind you. Your shouting caused the escaped demons that you thought left the area to come back for seconds on another easy target. You hear the growls and turn around just in time for one of them to almost be on you. The last thing you see are inhuman jaws enclosing on your face followed by a sickening crunch sound.

Year 32 It's been awhile, but it's good to see Vera again even if she's just here for a visit. She's got some strong opinions on some of the changes that have happened recently though. "I still can't believe the Felians are gone completely. I mean I just remember them always being here. Then again, so were a lot of groups I suppose. Still, sort of surprised you managed to gain an alliance with the Dornans." Vera remarks. "Don't see why it's really all that surprising. Heather helped us in the past and she's running things now. The Dornans aren't even very religious anymore; they turned their temple into a school of sorts. Don't think they've got many takers yet though." You say. "Hm. I'm also still a little concerned about what you did with the Syndicate though. Might have been better in the long run to just pay their price." "Are you kidding me Vera? You didn't see what they were trying to extort from us. Besides, we've been okay so far and they haven't even suddenly tried to raise the rate." "I dunno. I know you have a lucky habit of getting over on the Syndicate, but I feel like this is pushing it. I have to think they must know something, but they're biding their time to lull you into a false sense of security before they strike." "Oh trust me, ever since I stepped foot into this city, I've been on my guard constantly. Don't really know any other way to live at this point. However I'm going to soon be hiring a lot of cheap muscle in the form of all the hobgoblins, so I'm slightly less concerned about the Syndicate." "What? You can't seriously be considering recruiting MORE hobs." "Why not? They'll actually be perfect for this. Most of them either come here just itching to break someone's legs or they go join the fight arena. Though a few odd ones join the Holgard Watch instead, go figure." "Maybe, but I've noticed a severe increase in hobs in this organization since I came back to Holgard. Just don't want this place turning into the Roach Leg Tribe." "It's Spiderfang Tribe actually and they're still far outnumbered for that to happen. Well, for now at least. In any case, most of them have been migrating to Holgard quite a bit over the years. I guess most are learning that city life isn't all that bad and you can still be just as much of a violent asshole here as you can out in the wild and get routinely paid for it. Hmm, actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it makes sense that a few of them join the Holgard Watch after all." "Well your call I guess, at least I don't have deal with them. Dealing with Warts was enough for me. Though I'm not convinced a bunch of unruly hobs are going to be the end all of extra protection." "Hence why we're also close allies to a group of wizards." "You seem pretty confident in our new wizard allies. Just how friendly are you with this Heather? I mean are you fucking her or something?" "No I'm not actually." "Ah, so you're TRYING to fuck her." "Actually I'm not, but I'm not sure what difference it would make to you if I was." "None I suppose, though I was just trying to figure out what might have been the motivator to throw your lot in with trusting this sorceress and her adepts. But if you say it was purely a practical and strategic move for the good of the League, then that's good enough for me." "Speaking of fucking, who was that big dark skinned guy who you were reluctant to leave when you were getting off the ship?" "Oh, that's Zamed. He's the captain of the Traveler. He's a Hessla pirate, we tend to have business with a lot of them in Jicol, but Zamed's been about the only one I've really taken a shine to lately. Still, it's just as well as he's a pirate. Don't think I'd want him around ALL the time. Best to keep these sort of things free and flexible." "Interesting. Though I thought Jicol was supposed to be pirate free." "Eh, it's pirate free in that the city doesn't have to worry about them ever attacking the place, but that doesn't mean they can't stop there for supplies as long as they behave. Besides, Zamed's been more of a privateer recently, though I suppose it's a thin line. He's been doing a lot of work for the Delantium Kingdom in their war against Nichan. Which is something I sort of want to bring up with you because it could possibly affect the League." "Well guess I better hear it then." Vera takes a drink of the rum she's brought with her from Jicol before continuing. "Okay, I guess I'll start at the beginning. Let's see...what do you know of Peter Varsakken? Youngest son of Vlad." Vera asks. "Um, nothing actually. Didn't know there was another one of Vlad's spawn running around. Wait, is this another one of his bastards, like you?" you ask with a smirk. "Oh no. He's very much legitimate. It's just that after he had a disagreement with his father and fled the city, all records were pretty much erased of him. He's basically been living in exile in the Delantium Kingdom. Peter's disagreement with his father involved the whole breaking away from the Delantium Kingdom in the first place. Peter was the only one who saw it as treason and remained loyal to Delantium. Over the years Peter has been trying to amass an army to take back the city." "It's my understanding that the Delantium Kingdom hasn't exactly been in a big hurry to retake this place. I mean it's been decades hasn't it?" "Well they've been sort of busy with other things, like their recent war with Nichan for example. While the ruling class over there doesn't want to spend their resources and treasury to take this place back, they certainly won't turn down someone else willing to do the job, and that's where Peter comes in. He's of noble birth, loyal to the kingdom and would be an excellent governor for this city and absorb it back into Delantium's fold." "I see, and how do you know all this?" "As I said Zamed has been privateering for the Delantium Kingdom and he was contacted by Peter who is still trying to amass a conquering force of men and ships to take back his birthright. In fact Zamed is supposed to be organizing the majority of a flotilla of Hessla privateers" "And you trust this pirate?" "Of course not, but I trust the fact that I know how to lay it down good enough that he told me all this stuff in the bedroom without me even asking." "Okay, I don't need details on that part." "Anyway, Peter's been at this for years ever since he got exiled. He's suffered many set backs in his quest to retake Holgard. Every time he's been on the verge of being ready, something has happened. This was partially thanks to the Ebony Claw Syndicate sabotaging his efforts in Delantium, and sometimes even the Temple of Fel would hinder his efforts as well. However, since things have changed drastically over the years in this city, he's in the best position he's ever been in to retake this place." "What makes you think he won't get sabotaged again by either group? I mean the Ebony Claw might not have a direct presence here, but they're still making some coin from us. Same is some what true of the Felians, though different reasons. They're allies with the ECS, so they tend to help them." "I don't think they care this time. I mean thanks to your magical shenanigans they don't make enough from us for it to make much difference either way I suppose. If the League suffers severely from this invasion, the ECS will most likely just come in directly and finish it off." "Well that's presumptuous that we're going to get the shit kicked out of us. As long as we don't stand toe to toe with an invading force and stay out of the damn way, I imagine we'll get through it. Hell, it isn't like we don't have routes out of the city if need be. Honestly though unless this Peter is bringing the full force of the Delantium army, I don't see him winning. Ludmilla counts wizards among her allies and has a strong fleet of her own, so I question if this Peter is even going to succeed. And say Peter does win, then what? Is this guy some law and order fanatic? He's a Varsakken and from what I can tell every single one of their family members are corrupt. So it would just be a matter of coming to an understanding with him so business continues as usual." "Well that might be easier to do if we dealt with him now then. In fact I sort of wanted to address that idea." "Oh?" Vera goes into the explanation that from the information she's gathered from Zamed, Peter is most likely going to win. While he doesn't have the Delantium army at his command, he does have several orc mercenary companies along with a few wizards that he's managed to make friends with from the Delantium magic university. She also has heard that while Peter isn't exactly a Joachimite purity zealot, his time in the Delantium Kingdom has probably given him more of an appreciation for a more orderly society as opposed to one that embraces rampant corruption so readily. So he's most likely not going to look favorably upon the Nocturnal League. However, he's still pragmatic enough that he'd probably give leniency to a group that actively helped him and a deal could very well be made as you said. Vera goes on to say she truly believes that this is the best chance for the Nocturnal League to survive in Holgard. "You seem to have given this some thought, and while I do often appreciate your input on things, the one problem I have in this case is you're getting all of this information second hand from a pirate. Now I know you said your vertical smile caused the guy to go all stupid over you, so you're certain he's on the up and up. However, HIS information might also be mixed with rumors, half-truths and outright lies that he's overheard. I mean if you were fucking Peter Varsakken himself and getting this information from him, I might believe the situation is as hopeless as you're saying." You say. "I thought you might feel that way, so how about this then...Peter Varsakken is meeting Zamed. We could go to this meeting as well and we could hash out our demands." Vera remarks. "Wait. You're telling me that you were planning on going to meet with this Peter without me?" "No! Of course not! I came here first because I wanted to see what your decision would be on this. I mean look, I understand what you're saying, but based on everything I've learned, the outcome seems grim even if we managed to keep our head down during the initial invasion. But, you're right too, I am getting all this information second hand, so maybe it would be a good idea to actually talk with this Peter in person, before coming to any sort of decision. If we did, you and I could both make an assessment of whether to throw our lot in or not." "I dunno...(Sigh) yeah I suppose it couldn't hurt, though I'm just wondering about the people we already have alliances with. I mean pissing off the Holgard magic school isn't something I exactly want to do, also you mentioned the ECS has been thwarting this guy's efforts for a long time, and I'm still not convinced that they won't still do that even if they haven't done it yet. By siding with Peter, we could piss them off which wouldn't be any good either." "Well...it's your call I suppose boss. I just don't want us to get swept away in the flood of this upcoming conflict. I want to see us survive." "Pretty sure we all want that." You swear if it isn't a rebellion or faction war, it's a fucking invasion in this city. It's enough to make you want to pick up and just leave everything behind rather than deal with this shit. However, you've built something here, so you're not doing that until all else fails. Whether or not you can strike a good deal with Peter or not, there is one very personal reason you'd prefer to stay loyal to your current allies and that's the fact that so far Heather is your only sure lead on getting fixed from your curse. If you backstab them and live, you're still fucked because there goes a potential cure. It's selfish, but it's a pretty strong motivator. While Vera has said that Peter has wizard connections as well, that's not a sure thing that you can get help from them. They're assisting Peter and have no reason to do the same for you. About the only thing you can do is try to see if Heather and her people might join Peter's invasion. Hell, if that's the case then you'd definitely be willing to help Peter as well. Of course doing that might not go over well either and you'd tip your hand pretty severely. Might be better to talk to Peter first and get all the information from him and then go speak to Heather so you'd at least have something that might be useful to her if worse came to worst in your meeting. > You talk to Peter first Vera's usually got good instincts, if she's saying that you should at least speak with Peter, then you probably should do it. You can always speak to Heather after you come back depending on how the meeting goes. "Alright Vera, I'll meet with Peter. However, I want you to stay here." You say. "Wait, why?" Vera asks. "Because if anything happens I want to make sure someone competent is still in charge of the League. I trust Zamed will be fine in taking just me correct?" "Yeah, I'll talk to him, though I really think it would be better if we both went." "Again, as I said, I want someone in charge around here. I certainly can't entrust it all to Warts can I?" "Hah, guess not. Okay, I'll speak to Zamed that went he leaves, you'll be coming with him and he can come pick me up when you return." "Yeah, and tell him to make room for ten hobs as well. No way in hell I'm going without at least some back up even if this Peter's got a whole army behind him." Vera nods and leaves to go presumably talk to Zamed. Meanwhile you've got to get ready for your first trip aboard a ship. When you finally board the Traveller, Zamed greets you and shows you to where you'll be staying on his ship. "This will be fine." You say. "I should certainly hope so, these are the quarters of some of my own crew. As a favor to Vera, I have allowed you to bring aboard your...greenskins and provided comfortable accommodations. I certainly hope your savages don't get sick all over my ship." Zamed's comments are enough to draw some mean looks from your hobs. "I'd watch your choice of words if you want the greenskins to remain less savage." You say. "Pfft. This is MY fucking ship. I'll speak how I please. You all had best remember that." Zamed replies. "And YOU had best remember that if anything out of the ordinary should happen to me on this trip, you're not going to survive long enough to enjoy it." Zamed now gives you a look like he wants to do something, but instead spits near your feet and walks away. You tell your hobs to keep close to you and be ready for anything. You certainly hope your meeting with Peter goes better. Your time aboard the Traveller goes by slowly as there isn't much to do except wait. You don't interact much with Zamed and the rest of the crew for obvious reasons. The only thing Zamed tells you is you're heading towards an island with a small fishing town called Seabreeze which is under Delantium dominion. Peter apparently wants to keep major meetings with criminals away from the mainland for whatever reason. Hobs are great at protection, but not much for conversation (And unfortunately most of them DO get sick on the trip, apparently hobs don't take well to sailing), so you mainly just do a lot of thinking about what you're going to say to Peter when you finally meet him. After a couple weeks pass you finally get to your destination. An even larger ship is in the all too small harbor of Seabreeze. That one must be Peter's. Between his ship and the Traveller, there's barely any room for the small fishing boats to squeeze in. Eventually you disembark and several armored men equipped with muskets and swords meet you and Zamed. "You are Zamed, correct?" one of the higher ranking looking ones asks. "Yes." Zamed answers. "The rightful Baron Peter Varsakken has half of your payment ready. You will receive the other half afterwards as agreed. If you follow these men, they will take you to it. Your men will stay here." Zamed doesn't look too concerned about going by himself and just shrugs and follows the Delantium soldiers. The one who was speaking now turns to you. "You can return to your ship. Your captain will be back shortly." "He's not my captain. I came here on behalf of the Nocturnal League organization in Holgard." You say. The man is taken aback. "I see. I did not know that such a meeting had been arranged." The man says. "Neither did I, this was sort of sprung on me at the last second. I was however told by a subordinate that Peter..." you start to say before you're interrupted. "...the Baron...was looking for all the allies he could get in his quest to take back what was rightfully stolen from him." "Hmm, indeed he was seeking out potential allies on the inside. I was not however aware that it was more criminals. We have enough of that lot with these pirates masquerading as privateers. Still, Baron Peter Varsakken is a pragmatic man and will listen to what you have to say. Your greenskins will have to stay here and you will turn your weapons over to me obviously." You really don't like this idea, but you're here now so you might as well go all the way with it. However, you're not giving your weapons over to this Delantium tight ass. You instead hand them to one of your hobs and tell them to go back to the ship. This is fine with the Delantium solder and he tells you to follow him. You take a brief walk through the small town of Seabreeze which seems like this is the most attention it's received in a long time. The inhabitants watch everything. Soon, you stop at a run down little tavern called the Jolly Lobster. (A much happier sounding name than taverns in Holgard that's for sure) Surprisingly the place is filled with more Delantium soldiers not doing much of anything except enjoying their drink. Among them is a regal looking man who is probably about your age. You're guessing that's probably Peter. He doesn't look quite how you expected. He seems like he would be more than capable in a fight. The soldier who escorted you here explains to Peter the situation and his attention is immediately caught. He tells the rest of the soldiers at his table to clear so that you may sit and talk. As you do so, Peter is already studying you. Delantium soldiers sitting nearby also stare at you. "You nervous?" Peter asks. "I'd be a fool if I didn't have some concerns about my current situation. Though I wasn't really here to insult you or show disrespect, I was here about a potential alliance. My intentions are nothing but positive." "Your intentions are nothing but self serving. You sense change is coming and you want to be on the right side when it comes. It's perfectly understandable. You are the leader of the infamous Nocturnal League correct?" "Yes." Peter nods. "I don't have much information on you, but I do have enough to know that you have an uncanny knack of survival. The Ebony Claw Syndicate provided some of that information." "Hm, from what I heard, you weren't exactly friendly with them." "Well, let's just say things change. Sometimes old antagonists can be new allies, or at least non-antagonists. In fact you happen to be one reason why the Syndicate isn't actively sabotaging me this time. Indeed, when I liberate Holgard, some of the orc mercenaries that the Syndicate provided will be actively targeting the Nocturnal League. They aren't exactly happy with you for some reason." Well this is news. You aren't sure if you should be happy or uneasy that Peter is so freely admitting this. "I have an idea of why, but what I don't understand is why you would tell me directly." "Because I have no real love for the Syndicate. Honestly, I'm just using them for their help in taking back Holgard. I really don't care if they succeed in their petty revenge against you. That being said, I don't care about you either. Your organization, if it survives will be a thorn in the Delantium law I intend to re-establish in Holgard and will be dealt with eventually anyway. With this information you could stay and fight which will result in your death either during or after the liberation or you could leave to save yourself. Either way, your organization will not plague Holgard." "Sounds like you've made up your mind." "Not at all. You're here so I figure you have something to say. Perhaps you can convince me of your worth." Peter looks at you and leans in. "So convince me." You take a moment to gather up some of the things you thought about saying to Peter and then throw out most of it before you speak. You tell Peter that a criminal element will always exist in some way in a city as large as Holgard. Better that he deal with a friendly crime lord who can maintain order over it rather than wasting time attempting to stomp it all out. You also remind him that without you around, the Syndicate will definitely attempt to re-establish a presence back in the city and they engage in activities much worse like slave trading than your organization does. You also say you can easily provide skirmish support as your group is very familiar with the city and the sewers in particular. You'd be able to help pick off Ludmilla's troops. Peter seems in intrigued by your arguments, but he doesn't show any positivity in your favor until you mention that you might be able to get the mages in Holgard on his side. "If you manage to do that, I will certainly take your organization's right to exist in Holgard into consideration." And that's about the best you do with Peter. The rest of the discussion is mainly him going on about what he intends to change and similar things. He surprisingly doesn't ask you much about Ludmilla even though you mention that you met her. Soon, he says that he has more important business to attend to and dismisses you at which point several soldiers escort you out and most of the way to the Traveller. The only thing going through your mind during this is that you'd probably be better off not allying with Peter. Even if Heather is receptive to the idea of switching sides, it's still no safety guarantee for you. The question remains if you're going to stay in Holgard and fight or just run off to Jicol and run things there. It's certainly the easier and safer solution. When you finally board the Traveller, you're getting harder stares than you normally are by Zamed's crew. You also notice a few of them look a little beat up and their clothing is torn. You chalk it up to perhaps some internal squabble and then when you return to your quarters that's when you realize what's happened. The quarters where you and the hobs were staying at is a wreck. While there aren't any bodies it's obvious what happened with all the blood everywhere. You immediately search the quarters hoping that you can find a weapon of some sort. "It's a good thing your hobs still weren't feeling their best, might have been a more difficult fight. Looking for this?" Zamed says. You turn around and see him holding your repeating pistol. "Excellent workmanship. Not sure how you came across it, but rest assured it will be in better hands, much like Vera." Zamed says. "Is this what this is about? I've never even fucked Vera and never made a move on her!" you say. "Perhaps not, but she talks about you constantly. Always goes on about how great you are. The way I see it, if you were so great then why the hell did she betray you?" "What the hell are you on about?" "Clueless idiot. Vera's been in cahoots with the Syndicate for a long time now. In fact that's what this is really about anyway. I'm turning your ass in to the Syndicate for a shitload of coin." "What? I don't believe you. Vera would never betray me!" "It's of minor importance. However, you might be right, she might still be a little too sweet on you and I doubt if she'll believe any story I come up with. Better to just not bother picking her up. Oh well. It was good while it lasted, but as for you, you're on your way out." Zamed points your pistol at you and fires hitting you in the chest. You fall backwards and struggle to breathe for a moment until Zamed walks over and finishes the job by putting two shots more in your head.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, anti-hero, fantasy] The more you think about it, the more this makes sense in a ruthless pragmatic sort of way. The temple of Fel here could very well become an arm of the Syndicate again, maybe not today or tomorrow, but when it happens, you're going to be in a much more dangerous position. You still aren't exactly sure about the Dornans, but you're willing to give Heather the benefit of the doubt that she has genuine intentions. This still could all backfire of course, but you'll have to take that chance too. However, being an ally is a two way street and Heather did say she would help you in any way she could. "Okay Heather, I'm going to risk this, but as a show of good will I'm going to need something from you too." You say. "Of course. What is it?" Heather asks. "There's a representative from the Syndicate here as you know. Now I have to pay him an amount of coin that I don't particularly want to before he leaves in a few days." "Wait, so you want me to kill him?" "Well, you probably would be better equipped since I do have reason to believe that he's probably highly skilled in shadow magic. While maybe with a bit of preparation my people could take him since he's alone, but it wouldn't be pretty. However, that wouldn't really solve my problem. The Syndicate would just rightfully assume I killed him and then have good reason to be pissed at me and that wouldn't be good." "So what are you asking exactly?" "Any way you could alter his mind or something similar?" "Well there are spells that can do all sorts of things, but again, did you have an idea of what you wanted exactly?" You and Heather start to discuss each other's plans. Your situation with Percy is easy enough Heather says, and assures you that she will be able to implement something with the help of her people. Gloom and his people will be a little more difficult, but the pair of you come up with something that should work. It'll just require a little bullshit on your part, but you've been doing that for so long that you're definitely an expert in it. In any event, you're going to go meet with Gloom while Heather plans to ambush Percy. The next day you head to the Temple of Fel. Several Felians don't even seem to be bothered by your intrusion, which would be a much different story if Shade or his predecessors were running things. When one of them asks what your business is at the temple, you simply tell them that you wish to see Gloom at which point they go check to see if he's available and fortunately he is so you can get this over with today hopefully. (Along with it going smoothly) You walk through the dark temple and eventually to Gloom's chambers where he sits writing something. When you enter he smiles and greets you. (You've always found his general friendly personality to not quite match his name, let alone his faith) "Come in, come in, I was just finishing up my latest sermon. Have my faithful been providing an adequate job with your extra security? There haven't been any issues have there?" Gloom asks. "No, not at all. In fact I was going to tell you I won't be needing them after all, seems I overreacted with the Syndicate visit." You answer. "Ah, I see. Well better safe than sorry. So how did your meeting with the Syndicate go?" "Better than I hoped. Worse than I feared. So has the Syndicate been to see you?" "Us? No. I don't see why they would. Why do you ask?" "Oh, I figured while the Syndicate isn't making a direct threatening presence, I figure they might still be snooping about and trying to stir up animosity between allies." "Ah, yes I can see where that would be a concern, but I assure you we have no dealings with them even if the Temple of Fel has been considered the Syndicate's traditional ally. As you know while we are faithful to Fel, we believe in following our own path. We are your allies, not the Syndicate." "Yes, this particular temple has been engaged in the concept of flexibility for quite some time now. And I appreciate your dedication to our partnership, which is why I'm puzzled that you did not ask for our help on your own matter." "Our matter?" "Well your attempt to wipe out the Dornans of course." Gloom drops his friendly persona, though not to a hostile expression, but more of a serious one. "I considered that as a private conflict between faith and saw no reason to bother you with it, I know you're very busy and all. Though I do wonder how you found out about it, since we've very good about keeping this quiet. The Baroness would come down on everyone if the two remaining religious factions in the city were openly fighting in the streets." Gloom says. "Because the leader of the Dornans came to me yesterday begging for an alliance. She wants me to turn on you. She even gave me one of these again." You pull out a solid black orb causing Gloom's eyes to widen. He remembers a similar magic object was used during the final battle with the Joachimites. You continue to speak quickly before Gloom makes any rash moves. "Don't worry my friend, obviously I'm not here for treachery. Besides, I'm here by myself. Even without your magic I would never succeed so it would be a pretty poor plan indeed. I am however giving it to you. Just like I gave this to Shade when we fought the Inquisitor. Here you go." Gloom warily looks at you as he slowly takes the orb. When he finally grabs it, he seems to relax a little more, but he's definitely not comfortable. Still he hasn't killed you yet, so that's a good sign. Meanwhile you're doing your best to remain calm yourself under these conditions, so you continue to speak. "I have to say I was a little surprised that the Dornan high priestess came to me though. I figured with all their magic they would be more than able to take care of themselves." You say. "They're in a vulnerable state so they need all the help they can get right now. However, they're still very dangerous. In fact I thought that with their new leadership, they would soon collapse altogether, but as it turned out they have proved more resilient than I thought. They're attempting to rebuild and I'm not just talking about their numbers, I'm talking about their influence in this city." Gloom remarks. "What do you mean?" "The Dornan high priestess or matriarch as her followers call her now, has made steps in meeting with Baroness Varsakken over the past few months. She obviously intends on gaining favor with Ludmilla and eventually get rid of us and that can't happen." "Wow. Didn't know that, but isn't the Baroness a dedicated follower of Fel?" "Eh, the Baroness has always been a dabbler. Her faith in Fel isn't the most dedicated. Indeed she probably has always been more interested in learning shadow magic rather than revering Fel. Still, it was useful to have ruler that was friendly towards us. Unfortunately the new Dornan leadership seems have opened their own doors to teaching the ways of magic and Ludmilla is all too eager to jump on such an offer even if it means paying lip service to both gods." "Won't one of these divine beings eventually punish Ludmillia for her fickle nature?" you say mildly jokingly. "Perhaps, but it my experience the gods do things in their own time and as a mortal I can't wait that long. In any case it would seem that perhaps Fel has assisted in the more direct destruction of the immediate threat that are the Dornans." Gloom examines the orb in his hand after his statement before continuing. "So what exactly was the plan anyway? How did she even trust you enough?" Gloom asks. "Oh, she was trying to prey upon my paranoia with the Syndicate, claiming that you would eventually turn against me and other shit. Also during that whole getting Dornan help against the Joachimites, I fucked her once." You say. "Truly?" "Yeah, the Elder at the time was being sort of a dick to her and I bumped into her crying about it. Seeing an opportunity, I sort of reassured her of her worth and well you know how women fall for that sort of thing. One thing lead to another and I think she's always been a little sweet on me after that. As for the plan, I was supposed to just come in here with my people, break the orb so you couldn't use any magic and then make sure all of you were dead." "Hm, she might as well have placed her faith in Dorna rather than you for all good either would do her. The Dornans do have powerful magic to be sure, but they are poor fighters. Evening the odds with this object and they stand no chance. I'm going to personally enjoy this I believe and you've proven that our alliance is indeed a strong one. We will strike their temple in force. I want to make sure none escape, then we'll destroy it." "Did you want the League's assistance?" "Well, you've done enough already and I never even asked for it. I see now that I probably should have though. I believe we can do this ourselves, however if you still wish to help, I will not turn it down." "I'll be there with a few of my people. Couldn't hurt." Gloom tells you that he'll organize an attack in a few days, you tell him that works for you since you have some other business to attend to. A couple days pass and that other business finally comes to pass and this is what you've been more concerned about. You meet Percy at the same tavern with the payment. Once again he's very friendly. "On time as usual. Very glad that you value promptness as I am in a bit of a hurry. I believe I may have had too much fun here and I should be getting back. I thank you for your suggestions on where to go." Percy says. "No problem, so will you be back next month at this time?" you ask. "Probably not me, but someone will. Probably of much lesser importance of course. I was just here this time to extend the hand and make the deal as it were. Still glad we came to one." "Yes, I agree. Better for business all around." "Yes! Yes exactly!" "Anyway, I have your payment. Um, just so we're clear how much was it again?" "Oh come on now. You trying one last try at lowering the price? I told you I wasn't here to haggle. You know it was a thousand gold pieces." "Yes, I knew, and I have it here. Just a poor attempt at a joke I suppose." "Hm, well jokes are fine, but never about the Syndicate business. I hope you remember that." "I will." You have two of your hobgoblin muscle show Percy a large chest of gold to which he nods and you tell them to load it on the carriage outside. "And with that, our business is concluded. I bid you good day and wish you well in your future endeavors, especially if it's going to make the Syndicate money!" Percy stands up, shaking your hand and leaves. You can't believe that worked. You don't know what the hell Heather did to him, but he actually believed he only asked you for a thousand gold monthly payment as opposed to the much larger sum he asked before. You can imagine his superiors are going to be upset, but it won't be at you, it'll be at him for fucking up a deal that they're stuck with now. Well at least you hope they won't try to re-negotiate immediately. You've bought yourself a little more time at least. Meanwhile, you still have to go stab the Felians in the back though you're sort of wondering about still going through with that now what you've heard about Heather cozying up to the Baroness. Seems like now more than ever she's attempting to use you as a pawn. Granted she was allying with you for mutual benefit before, but this seems a little different now. What exactly is she planning? Then again, if she is getting friendly with the Baroness, is it really going to make a difference to you? And Heather did just come through for you on the Syndicate thing. > You change your mind You got what you wanted from Heather as far as the Syndicate was concerned. It's a shitty situation, but you're doing what you got to do to survive it. Not that you have some great love for the Felians, and you don't even mind Heather, but who knows what the hell her real agenda is if she's making friends in high places. Plus better the devil you know than the one you don't. All that remains is somehow warning Gloom about the orb. It's going to be tough considering you convinced him to take it in the first place. Last thing you want to happen is to arouse suspicion from him. Upon thinking about it you decide you'll just have to take Heather by surprise when you accompany Gloom on his invasion of the temple. She'll be expecting you to be on her side, so you should have the drop on her and her people. You'll need to make those shots count and attempt to take cover immediately. After the battle, you can claim ignorance about the orb and just tell Gloom that she must have been attempting to kill you by giving you a non-working one in the first place. The night of the attack comes and you meet with Gloom just a few blocks away from the Dornan Temple, you have your usual hob retinue with you. (You're really getting used to having these guys around nowadays) Gloom is with a few of his own people, but even without magic powers you can sense some are probably nearby in the shadows. "Once again, glad that this is a joint effort though I don't think it was necessary to bring as many people with you as you did. The orb is going to nullify all magic and when that happens, those Dornan priests aren't going to be much match for us." Gloom says. "Yeah, well I want to be on the safe side. We'll come in with your people." You say. "I appreciate it. This is something that's been a long time coming. Honestly, it was foolish to believe they wouldn't be a problem. Shadow Master Shade warned me to always watch them you know, just before he died. A few of his interpretations of the faith may have been a bit too restrictive, but he had his own wisdom on practical matters." With those last words all of you march towards the temple. The few wanderers still outside in the area immediately go find shelter when they see a group of mean looking hobgoblins and Felians walking down the street. The Dornan Temple doesn't even have their usual lookout standing outside, though you imagine the Dornans have some sort of magical detection going on and this plan has already been expected. Gloom blasts the temple's doors off their hinges with a dark magic bolt of some sort. Then he takes the lead, you tell your hobgoblins to rush forward for the kill as soon as the orb is dropped. They faithfully obey and you all enter with the crowd of Felians that are entering the temple. Heather and her much smaller group are already there to meet the Felians. "It ends today and the faith of Fel will rule supreme in the city at last!" Gloom shouts and throws down the orb. A bit more dramatic than you'd expect from a Felian, but then Gloom's whole attack tonight is a bit more theatrical than a typical Felian would go about this. Good thing too, since if he behaved more like his predecessors he wouldn't be going in so recklessly like this. No sooner has Gloom made his announcement, a white light washes over the room and suddenly all of Gloom's previously shadow cloaked people are now visible. Naturally Gloom just assumes this is just the effects of the orb, but he's soon very surprised to learn that the Dornans have not lost any of their magic abilities at all. Knowing what's really going on, you waste no time in firing at Heather while your hobs rush forward to attack. A couple of the Dornan acolytes are cut down as they were caught completely off guard by this, however your own attack has proven ineffective against Heather who apparently had a protective spell up just in case you decided to betray her. In fact as the bullets fail to hurt her, she just turns her head and looks at you with a minor head shake. "Shit..." They may be a small group, but this temple is where their magic is the most powerful. Most of your hobs are incinerated instantly by the remaining Dornan spells. A lot of the Felians too, before Gloom orders a retreat. He doesn't make it out though before he's brought down by some spell that causes him to age rapidly and then fall over dead. You don't make it out either. A spell freezes you in place and while you helplessly watch others escape or die in front of you, you can only imagine what grim fate Heather has in store for you after this is over. As it turns out, Heather's imagination is a lot darker than yours. She manages to punish you for a week before she contacts the Syndicate about your double cross on them and hands you over. They're more than happy to finish the job of putting you out of your misery.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] Year 31 "When are they supposed to arrive again?" you ask. "Um, lesee... the ECS rep is supposed to be here tomorrow by carriage." Warts says. "Okay. It's been what, like a decade that they haven't taken an interest in this place ever since they lost their chapter here, now all of a fucking sudden I'm receiving letters and having to meet with their reps." "Better dat den assassin blades." "I guess. Just wondering why now all of a sudden." "Maybe itz our expansion inta Jicol? We's startin' ta get bigger, dat shit kinda draws tenshun. Probably shoulda stayed small." "It was a risk, I suppose. Then again they might have fucked with us anyway. At least now we're a little stronger. Speaking of which, maybe we should get some of Gloom's people here tonight as extra security until this visit is over. Might as well put that alliance we have to good use." "Grh, I still don't trust dem shadow guyz. Dey used ta be allied wit da Syndicate." "Yeah. I know their faith is for the most part still chummy with the Syndicate, but ever since Shade split from the main faith, this particular temple seems to be independent and follow its own agenda. I guess we can get a feel of where their alliances lie at least. Sort of wish Vera was still around sometimes as an extra pair of hands and eyes, but she's more useful in Jicol. I think she needed the change of scenery anyway." "How iz things dere anyway?" "Last message I got from her she said there weren't any problems. Even starting to recruit a few of the locals there, which is good so we don't have to send any more people from here. Not to mention the profit she sent last month was the biggest yet." "You ever think she's skimmin'?" "Vera? Nah, but I'm sure she's probably running something on the side for herself. Which is fine by me if she is. I'd rather have her overlooking things there than anyone else." Later you go to the Temple of Fel to speak with Gloom about extra back up. Gloom as usual is always willing to assist you. You've always felt Gloom was way too friendly to be a Felian (Even his name is ironic) but better cordial than hostile you suppose. One thing you have noticed is that over the years, the Felians aren't quite the disciplined shadowy priests they once were. Not to say they wouldn't be formidable in a fight, but they definitely aren't like how they were under their previous leadership. Gloom wasn't even aware that the Syndicate was visiting. For a group that's generally known for being masters of secrets and such, they seem a bit out of the loop nowadays. After coming to an agreement with Gloom, you leave the temple and make your way back to your headquarters. The next day the ECS representative arrives. As mentioned in the correspondence to you, you meet in a "neutral" location at a tavern called the Bloody Bandit (Warts was right, why don't more of these places have inviting names?) You arrive with a few of the larger hobgoblins by your side. You weren't sure at first, but letting some of Wart's "buddies" from the Spiderfang tribe join was a good idea. They aren't as big as an ogre or as muscular as an orc but they're just as ugly and mean enough to intimidate most. You look around and notice that at least one of Gloom's people is here. There might be more, but if they are, they must be better at hiding themselves. In any case, you're satisfied that you have an advantage if it comes to a fight. Then you see who can only be who you're supposed to meet. A well dressed man with a thin mustache sitting all by himself and not looking very concerned about his surroundings. The fact that he's here by himself speaks of his confidence that he's either powerful enough to survive whatever you might have in store, or the consequences of him will be so severe that you won't even try. He's not drinking anything, but when he sees you he nods and waves you over. You tell your hobgoblin retinue to wait nearby and mentally prepare yourself. You sit down and the man briefly smiles. "Well, right on time. Always a good sign when someone is punctual. When I noticed the shadow blades come in here, I thought for a moment you were using some sort of weak psychological intimidation tactic and try to make me sweat while you came in late. Though I suppose you're just more concerned with security given your green buddies over there. Hobs are an unusual choice though. We usually use ogres or orcs, but then you use the savages you got access to right? I can appreciate a man who improvises. In any case, my name is Percy and I'm sure you want to get to it." "I do like to be direct." "So I've heard. Oh I've heard a lot about you actually. Don't know everything about you of course, but that's okay, a little mystery is always welcome. What do you say about mystery?" "Not a fan of it. I sort of prefer to know everything I can, so I'm not caught off guard." "Heh, and I knew that about you too! Maybe you're not so mysterious, but that's okay too!" Percy pats your hand from across the table in his enthusiasm. Honestly, you don't know if the guy is flirting with you at this point. Maybe it's a tactic to try to make you uncomfortable, whatever it is, you stay stoic. "So what is it that the Syndicate wishes of the Nocturnal League?" you ask. "Ah that is the question isn't it? What DOES the Syndicate want? I bet ever since you heard from us, you've been wondering. Is this a threat? Is this a deal? Is this an alliance? Is it a prelude to an attack? What COULD it be? Why has the Syndicate suddenly taken an interest in Holgard again after it abandoned it a decade ago? Well? Do YOU have any ideas?" Percy asks. "I'm a cynic so I'm guessing you're here to say you're taking over and this is my one warning to get out of the way. At best, you'll want me to still stick around. At worst, you've probably already poisoned me when you touched my hand." Percy laughs out loud. "You my friend have a very interesting imagination! I assure you, if we wanted you dead, we wouldn't even be talking right now. You are partially correct though." Percy says. "You're taking over." You remark. "No. Well not directly. We DO want you to stick around though. You see, we have done a little research on you. We know you came here years ago, we also know you were part of the Thieves' Guild here before that and were instrumental in its destruction which THEN led to you being part of the Syndicate chapter here. Before Rook apparently blundered and cocked everything up. During all that time though, up until you created this Nocturnal League, you at your core were a thief. A good one though from what I've heard." "Don't get to do it much anymore." "Mm, so to sum up, we have a simple thief who survived the destruction of not one, but two organizations that held the most sway in the underworld here. You then went on to create your own organization, which is now the only game in town. You also apparently managed to leverage an alliance with the Temple of Fel here. That is an interesting one considering the faithful of Fel and the Syndicate have been allies for many decades. Intertwined one might even say." "This group is a little different." "Indeed. I believe the High Shadow back in Delantium has had some issues with this particular branch in general, but that's an internal matter on their end. In any case back to you, it's all very impressive for someone of humble origins and very unusual how it all seemed to work out in your favor. One might even think you planned everything... well either that or you had the gods on your side." "Never really planned to be in the position I'm currently in and the only god I've ever gave a few words to is Yag and even then not much." "Well, then he must be rolling well for you every time. Perhaps it is luck that drives success in this city after all. Strategy, logic and even simple might seem to eventually fail in this city. This place is has always been problematic ever since the late Baron Vlad Varsakken declared his independence from Delantium. Even when we had a chapter here, it was always the least profitable of all of our holdings even with all the corruption going on, so when the leadership finally collapsed here and the rest of the lower ranks scattered to the winds. People higher than myself decided to wash their hands of the whole thing, not unlike the Delantium Kingdom did before I guess. However, things change and one of those changes is you sharing in your obvious success." And here it is, the shakedown. "I can see by your face you aren't pleased with that last statement, but I think you should look upon it as a compliment. Just think, YOU managed to do what the Syndicate could not. You made a success here with no competition and you built it all from the ground up. Granted you did use some of our people and even altered our product...Purple Wish? Come on, we all know that's just an inferior version of Blue Dream, but it's probably for the best that you didn't try to rip us off directly. We might have very well sent assassins in that case." Percy says. "I had considered that, hence why I suggested changing the formula." You say. "See always thinking! Which is why a direct take over wouldn't be as efficient. I mean why come in here and stomp about establishing our dominance and wasting manpower and resources when you're here? A perfectly reasonable and intelligent man more than capable of running things and knowing to give us our due." "Also knowing I don't have choice in the matter either." "But there is ALWAYS choice! I just know you'll make the right one! I'm going to give you a sum and you can tell me if it's fair or rip it up. What you can't do is negotiate though. I'm afraid I'm not here to do that." With this statement, Percy suddenly takes a small piece of parchment out of his pocket and moves it across the table. You take it and look at it. It's not unreasonable, but it's not exactly something you'd be looking forward to paying every month. Especially when you're already kicking bribes to the Holgard government. Still, you're getting a lot of leeway all things considered. For now you're going to accept. You can always figure something out later. "Very well I accept." You say. "Good! I knew you would! You didn't get where you are by being an idiot! Now that business is over, I'm going to be in the city a few more days before coming to see you again for the first payment. Now I know you're a busy man with busy people, so I don't expect you lot to see to me and I'm more than capable of protecting myself. However, I would like some suggestions on where all the good spots to have fun and unwind are here." After giving Percy some suggestions he shakes your hand and thanks you before leaving. As for you, you don't feel like going back to work right away either. You dismiss your hob crew and tell the Felians to just go back to whatever it is they do since you just want a moment by yourself (Even if you are still in a tavern) While you're racking your brain on how to deal with this new situation, you get another visitor. "Tough day in the underworld?" You look and see a woman in Dorna robes. It's been awhile, but you recognize her immediately. It's Heather. "Heather? This is unexpected. How did you know I was even here?" You say. "Magic is a very handy thing to be skilled in when locating someone. I've been meaning to see you for a while now. In fact I was coming to see you today and I'm glad I caught you when I did since it seems like you've been meeting with others. Like that man from the Syndicate." Heather remarks. "You seem to have a lot of interest in me all of a sudden. Is this personal, or did Elder Flynn send you on behalf of your temple?" "Oh this is temple business, but Elder Flynn didn't send me. In fact he's no longer in charge. I am." "I see. Did you..." "Kill him? Oh no. There was a large magical disturbance last year at a known wizard's home miles outside Holgard. An old acquaintance of the Elder actually. Flynn, myself and several other high ranking members went to investigate and let's just say it didn't go well and I was the only survivor. However it did mean there was now need of a new leader and since I still was the most experienced. I took charge. Well, took charge of the few that remained of our order at least." "Hm. Didn't know that. Then again you lot are always insular so I just assumed you were being bookworms as usual and never leaving your temple. I'm surprised you told me that your temple isn't as strong as it once was. Still, I would have thought the Felians would at least have knowledge of this and been all over it, but then they're hardly the order they once were too." "You're right about that one, in fact that's why I'm proposing you need a new ally and abandon your old ones." "New ally...wait...what, your people?" "Why not? We've worked together before and obviously I trust you enough to reveal my temple's status to you." "Yes, which is why I'm less than enthused. I mean no offense, but if your order only mainly consists of you and a few acolytes now, why would I abandon the Felians for you lot? This seems like you're just wanting to wipe out the Felians and you need my numbers to help you do it. And why now anyway? You two haven't had any problems. Even during the faith war here, you two didn't have any trouble." "Because the Felians DO know that we're currently weak and they've already been conspiring to finish us off. Why they haven't revealed such info to your organization I couldn't say. Perhaps they felt that this didn't concern you or you wouldn't care. However, the shadow lurking fools are as you say, definitely not the order they once were. Even with our lesser strength we've already fought off several assassination attempts. Still, it's only a matter of time before they DO ask for assistance and that's most likely going to be you...or the Syndicate. They are back in this city are they not?" Now this meeting just became a little more serious. Heather seems to know a lot about your situation, but then given that she's got magic coming out her ass, you aren't that surprised. "Yes, they are. What are you exactly proposing Heather?" you ask. "The Fel temple is rogue in many ways. I don't propose to be an expert on their beliefs, but even I know that by breaking with its long time Syndicate alliance, it is only a matter of time before they are reabsorbed back into their faith's proper doctrine. That's either going to happen because we will eventually manage to do enough harm that they'll beg for help from their father temple in Delantium or they'll slowly be forced back into submission when the Syndicate eventually starts pushing their weight here. That is what they're doing aren't they?" Heather says. "Somewhat...yes." "My proposal is this. WE ally against the Felians. They aren't going to expect an attack from you and you probably know when and where best to strike. We will provide back up of course to minimize the losses. In return you get allies that are much more powerful in the ways of magic and aren't likely to backstab you in the future. Our goal aren't the same, but don't conflict either, so I'd say that already makes us better than the Felians." "For the sake of argument, let's say I agree to this. I still don't see how this helps me all that much. I'm going to be taking most of the risk and damage and if anything the Syndicate might get a little suspicious if I start wiping out former allies." "I think you and I both know they're going to be suspicious of you anyway, but if this helps, I will personally assist you in anyway I can in any matter. I mean maybe I never said this properly years ago, but I did appreciate that you turned down Elder Flynn's ritual suggestion. Not something I ever forgot." Heather looks at you with a mixture of anticipation and hopefulness. Perhaps even a bit of desperation. The fact that she's asking you at all says to you that she's not exactly confident that she'll win without your help. Honestly, you aren't sure about all this. While Heather has brought up some concerning points. The Felians ARE your allies and granted in this business such things can be fleeting, you start stabbing them in the back and where does it end? You also aren't so sure about replacing a solid known ally with an uncertain one, especially if they aren't exactly any better than the ones you have. Gloom also hasn't really ever given you any reason to suddenly turn on him. Unless you're going to count the fact that his people never said they were waging a private war to finish off the Dornans. Then again, maybe Gloom considered it an internal matter and didn't feel the need to bother you with it. And the Syndicate just complicates matters. How are they going to react or will they even care at all? Percy did mention the temple here was frowned upon by the faithful in Delantium. Maybe it wouldn't matter if you wiped them out. > You stay with Gloom It's a tempting offer, but if you double cross everyone you're going to soon find yourself with enemies on all sides. "I appreciate you being up front with me with this offer and perhaps under better circumstances, I'd be more than happy to have you as allies, but think about it. If I backstab the Felians so easily after being allied with them, would you ever truly trust me?" you say. Heather's look of hopefulness drops. "No. No I suppose I wouldn't. But...I'm sure you wouldn't really want us as enemies." Heather says, "Well that sounds like a threat." You say. "It wasn't! That's not how I meant it! I just mean, if you're allied with the Felians, then we're going to eventually butt heads and I'd rather not have to fight you for practical and personal reasons." "Well as you know the Felians haven't come to us for help. The best I can do if they do ask for help is tell them that their little war with you is their own affair and not in the best business interest of the League. What happens after that...well I'll still be here to assist the survivors should they need it." "That's very...pragmatic of you. Though I suppose your word that you at least won't help the Felians is the best I can hope for. Very well, I shall leave you to your business. Good day." Heather leaves and you're finally left alone. It's been a busy day. A couple days pass and the time to meet up with Percy is at hand and you haven't been looking forward to it. You meet Percy at the same tavern with the payment. Once again he's very friendly. "On time as usual. Very glad that you value promptness as I am in a bit of a hurry. I believe I may have had too much fun here and I should be getting back. I thank you for your suggestions on where to go." Percy says. "No problem, so will you be back next month at this time?" you ask. "Probably not me, but someone will. Probably of much lesser importance of course. I was just here this time to extend the hand and make the deal as it were. Still glad we came to one." "Yes, I agree. Better for business all around." "Yes! Yes exactly!" "Anyway, I have your payment. It's right outside loaded on that carriage you probably passed on your way in here." "Yes, I trust the correct amount is in those chests. I mean I'm sure it is, but I think you know the issues that would occur if that wasn't the case." "Yes, I'm quite aware. "Good, and with that, our business is concluded. I bid you good day and wish you well in your future endeavors, especially if it's going to make the Syndicate money!" Percy stands up, shakes your hand and leaves. You're really going to hate this new arrangement. You send a message off to Vera explaining the situation. Over the next few months, you start to really hate it as you start to feel the crunch of not having that extra surplus anymore. It's not really much of a problem for you personally per say, but the rest of the League members aren't exactly happy paying more dues as it were. In fact when the Felians actually come to you for assistance on wiping out the Dornans, you legitimately have an excuse that you can't spare the people and it's not cost effective to do so. As expected Gloom is not very happy with you not helping, though you point out that you're not happy that he just suddenly sprung this on you and attempt to deflect the blame by claiming he was keeping secrets from you about his private war with the Dornans. The ultimate results of that skirmish is eventual defeat of the Dornans, though with a very high cost to the Felians. The Felians wind up having less numbers than the Dornans had when the faction war was restarted. Little more than a handful and Gloom isn't counted among them any longer. The new leader Dusk doesn't even renew contact with you and instead the temple returns to an isolationist mindset, keeping to themselves. You guess you've lost the Felians as an ally, but you're not quite concerned about that given how low their numbers are. Around this time you get a message back from Vera who expresses concern about the new developments with the Syndicate. She goes on to say that she'll be in Holgard in a few months with her usual cut. She says when she gets there you and her should speak more on this since it's a conversation that should take place in person. You'll be looking forward to her thoughts on this matter since while things haven't gone to complete shit yet, you get the impression it won't be long. > Time passes... Year 32 It's been awhile, but it's good to see Vera again even if she's just here for a visit. She's got some strong opinions on some of the changes that have happened recently though. "I'm not sure if staying neutral was the best decision. We probably should have directly helped the Felians. They were our allies after all and now we don't have any." Vera says. "We still have an understanding with the Baroness. So, we're not that bad off." You say. "I suppose, but..." "But what?" "Well that's something I need to talk to you about because it could possibly affect the League." "Well guess I better hear it then." Vera takes a drink of the rum she's brought with her from Jicol before continuing. "Okay, I guess I'll start at the beginning. Let's see...what do you know of Peter Varsakken? Youngest son of Vlad." Vera asks. "Um, nothing actually. Didn't know there was another one of Vlad's spawn running around. Wait, is this another one of his bastards, like you?" you ask with a smirk. "Oh no. He's very much legitimate. It's just that after he had a disagreement with his father and fled the city, all records were pretty much erased of him. He's basically been living in exile in the Delantium Kingdom. Peter's disagreement with his father involved the whole breaking away from the Delantium Kingdom in the first place. Peter was the only one who saw it as treason and remained loyal to Delantium. Over the years Peter has been trying to amass an army to take back the city." "It's my understanding that the Delantium Kingdom hasn't exactly been in a big hurry to retake this place. I mean it's been decades hasn't it?" "Well they've been sort of busy with other things, like their recent war with Nichan for example. While the ruling class over there doesn't want to spend their resources and treasury to take this place back, they certainly won't turn down someone else willing to do the job, and that's where Peter comes in. He's of noble birth, loyal to the kingdom and would be an excellent governor for this city and absorb it back into Delantium's fold." "I see, and how do you know all this?" "The captain who brought me here, Zamed has been privateering for the Delantium Kingdom. He was contacted by Peter who is still trying to amass a conquering force of men and ships to take back his birthright. In fact Zamed is supposed to be organizing the majority of a flotilla of Hessla privateers" "And you trust this pirate?" "Of course not, but I trust the fact that I know how to lay it down good enough that he told me all this stuff in the bedroom without me even asking." "Okay, I don't need details on that part." "Anyway, Peter's been at this for years ever since he got exiled. He's suffered many set backs in his quest to retake Holgard. Every time he's been on the verge of being ready, something has happened. This was partially thanks to the Ebony Claw Syndicate sabotaging his efforts in Delantium, and sometimes even the Temple of Fel would hinder his efforts as well. However, since things have changed drastically over the years in this city, he's in the best position he's ever been in to retake this place." "What makes you think he won't get sabotaged again by either group? I mean the Ebony Claw might not have a direct presence here, but they're still making some coin from us. Same is somewhat true of the Felians, though different reasons. They're allies with the ECS, so they tend to help them and it isn't like the Felian Temple here is our enemy even if they aren't aligned or in any position to do anything in the first place." "Perhaps, but I'm just not sure if the Baroness is a sure thing in the future. If Peter invades and assuming the League here survives the chaos of it, from what I've heard Peter is lot more of a law and order fanatic than his father and siblings. He's going to re-establish Delantium law here and that means a whole lot less freedom." "So you think I should make a deal with this Peter Varsakken?" "Heh, if I thought that might help, I might suggest it, but even if that was successful, you're still kicking a hell of a lot of coin to not just the Holgard government in bribes, but to the ECS for their cut as well. And that will be true even if Peter doesn't invade Holgard or fails." "So what are you suggesting?" Vera touches you hand. "Leave here and come to Jicol." Vera says. "What? I can't do that, I got shit to run here. Who am I going to leave in charge? Warts?" "Leave whoever you want in charge. I'm suggesting that you completely abandon Holgard. I dunno, maybe make a deal with the Syndicate. Hand Holgard over to them as a one time pay off to not be taxed anymore. Our territory can be Jicol and they can have the rest. Seems like they might go for that." "That would be severe pay cut and I'm not fond of the idea of running away." "Oh come on, that's pride talking. Fuck pride. I mean this place is potentially standing in the way of a shitstorm and I'd rather pull you out of its direction. And while it might be a drop in coin, trust me we do just fine in Jicol. We'll do even better if we aren't paying off the Syndicate anymore too." "Hmm, I'm interested in just HOW well you're doing in Jicol. I mean I figured you were always holding back a bit." "What?! I'll have you know that I've NEVER skimmed off the top! While it is true much coin has been made under my management of the League, you've always gotten your cut! However...if you decide to come to Jicol, you may as well know, I do have a side business for my own independent of the League." "Of your own, what would..." You suddenly know immediately what Vera is engaged in. "...oh wait. Shit. You're in the slave trade again aren't you?" Vera's hand doesn't move away from yours, instead she just squeezes yours a bit more. "I know! I know! I should have told you sooner, but it seemed cowardly in a letter and I felt I should at least tell you in person! I know you're not fond of slavery, but the location and demand was too good to pass up in Jicol. I'd be a fool if I didn't excel in something I was skilled in." "Well I suppose I can't fault you for that. (Sigh)" "You aren't yelling and screaming, I trust you're not mad?" "No. I mean I'm hardly in a position to judge on any moral grounds and I don't even give a shit about the extra coin you're making. It's just...I dunno. Slavery is just one of those things I feel...icky about. Don't ask me why." "How is it any different than making some dumb ass addicted to Purple Wish? They basically become a slave to the drug." "The dumb asses getting addicted to Purple Wish have a choice. Look, as I said, I'm not pissed or anything like that, but if I was to come to Jicol, I'd have some strong feeling about you continuing your slave trade business. In any case I'm still not convinced that I should just run away. Speaking with Peter Varsakken would at least be a better idea, though I'm not exactly sure how I'd go about setting up a meeting with him...wait a minute, that pirate of yours Zamed. He wouldn't happen to be meeting him anytime soon would he?" "I believe he's going to meet him after he leaves. In fact he tried to convince me that I should go with him, but I didn't see much point with the League attempting to ally with Peter for the same reasons I told you." "Hmm, maybe I should go with him and try to meet with Peter. Feel him out and see if there is any potential there." "I dunno. That really seems like a bad idea. I really wish you would just come to Jicol instead." It's apparent that Vera's desire for you to go to Jicol is more than just pragmatic reasons. The girl is obviously carrying feelings for you. Always has most likely. If things were different, you might be more inclined to jump at the chance, but this fucking curse is sort of preventing you from such a thing, but that's not really your immediate concern right now. Still, you aren't totally dismissing that idea. Vera usually has good instincts about this sort of thing so it might very well be a good idea to get the hell out of Holgard. Then again, there's no certainty that Peter's even going to win, assuming he even invades in the first place. It would be pretty wasteful to just abandon everything you built here. > You leave Holgard Making impulsive decisions based on other people's suggestions isn't something you normally do, but things here in Holgard have been one headache after another. Even if everything involving this potential invasion goes well, what's going to be the next major incident? A freak tidal wave destroying the city? Seems like there is always some major shit going on in Holgard that affects the whole damn place and you're starting to wonder if it isn't just you that's cursed, but the whole fucking city. Fuck it, why not? Maybe it's time for a change. "Vera, okay. I'll come to Jicol." You say. "I didn't think you'd actually listen to me about this." Vera says with a smile. "Yeah well, I'm starting to re-examine things going on in my life and cutting down on potential problems even at great cost is a lot more inviting everyday. However, I obviously still can't just pick up a leave, I need to get shit together first. Might take a few weeks considering that I have to contact the Syndicate and who knows how long they'll take to get back with me, though I'm hoping fairly quick if I'm telling them about handing over Holgard to them." "Oh of course. The rumors about Peter's invasion are he won't be ready for another year at least." "Hm, well in any case, I'm still going to try to speed this up with the Syndicate. After that, then I can get the hell out of this city." Vera at this point goes on about how she's glad that you're doing this. She also apologizes if she over stepped a boundary by touching your hand the way she did since she's aware of your whole "not fucking co-workers" policy. She goes on to say that she just sometimes feels very close to you and probably due to not seeing you for awhile combined with all the mess that's been going on caused her to briefly display greater affection. She says it won't happen again. You aren't sure about Vera's feelings towards you or her slave trading, but you can address those later when you get there. The first major step is negotiating with the Syndicate since you aren't sure if they're actually going to let you walk away or not. If they don't, well that might put a crimp in your plans. You soon say goodbye to Vera and start getting things in order. The Syndicate rep should be by in another week, you figure you can tell him directly that you wish to speak with someone higher up on the food chain about turning your holdings over. When that day comes, the rep doesn't give you much argument about it and states that he will report this to his superiors immediately since he's sure that they will be very interested. He anticipates that you will probably get a message for a meeting time soon after he reports to them. While you're waiting for that meeting, you keep going back and forth on when you should tell your own people about this. You figure that you should probably at least wait until after the meeting since it doesn't do any good getting them in a tizzy if things don't work out. You anticipate that it's going to be a mixed reaction at best. Still, there is one person you tell since you figure they deserve to know. "Geez, didn't expect dat." Wartz says. "You pissed?" you ask. "Pissed? Nah. I mean I sort of had a feelin' sumthin' like dis wuz comin. Shit in Holgard never stays stable fer long. Best ta get out now if dere's gonna be an invasion." "You could come to Jicol, it isn't like the League is disappearing. It's just relocating." "Naw, too far an' I don't wanna be on sum ship. Just thinkin' about bein surrounded by water makes me queasy. I guess I'm gonna just look inta opening up that trading post in Spiderfang territory like Snuffit suggested I do not too long ago. Probably should be closer ta family anywayz." "Well I certainly wish you luck if that's what you're going to do." "Luck? Got dat shit in abundance as long as I keep Yag's faith. I suggest you do the same. An' I'd also suggest dat youz just leave and not tell anyone else when da time comes." "What, seriously?" "Yeah seriously. You'll have a fuckin' riot on yer hands as soon as you break da news. Sum are gonna feel betrayed. Sum don't like the Syndicate. Others are gonna be tryin' ta take power. An all doze hobs you recruited? Theys just gonna be confused. Let da Syndicate handle the mess. I mean I trust dat Vera's already got people in Jicol right? Not like you need any of them from here anyway." "So take off like a thief in the night then, I suppose I can do that. This is actually starting to sound easier and easier now. I'm just hoping that my meeting with the Syndicate goes well." In a few days you get a message delivered to you from the ECS. It says that someone will meet you at the Blood Bandit in another week. You get the impression you know who that's going to be. A week passes and sure enough while you're waiting at the Bloody Bandit, Percy comes walking in. He's as upbeat as he was the last time you met with him. He sits down and immediately orders a drink. "Ah here on time as always. Glad to see you continue with that habit. And I also see that you've brought no other protection with you either for this meeting. Very interesting that you should be so trusting, but then your relationship with the Syndicate has been a cordial one so why should there be animosity?" Percy says. "I want out." You reply. "Excuse me?" "I want out, and I'm willing to give up Holgard to the Syndicate completely in order to get out." Percy sits back with a intrigued look on his face. "I see. Well this is slightly different bit of business than I thought you had in mind. I thought perhaps you wanted to try to renegotiate our payment terms or perhaps ask for assistance in expanding to Klyton. A complete surrender of one's business to us without any force or influence at all is extremely rare. May I ask, why you're doing it?" "Does it matter?" "It may, because for all we know you might have some hidden agenda." "There's no agenda, I'm just getting sick of this fucking city. I'm also sick of paying off the Syndicate. Since you consider this your territory anyway, you might as well have the headache of running it, because I'm done." "Once you're in this game, you don't easily get out like you're proposing, but I don't think you're leaving anyway. The Syndicate is well aware that you have part of your organization on Jicol. We thought about expanding there ourselves on occasion." "Okay, let's talk plain then. I'm handing over Holgard and ALL its holdings to you directly. That means you can take all the profits from here, influence shit how you see fit and probably do a much better job than I ever could. In exchange, you leave Jicol to the Nocturnal League." "And why would we leave Jicol alone?" "Because we're not a damn threat? We've never been a threat." "Maybe the Nocturnal League by itself isn't a threat, but YOU on the other hand...I dunno...you have a reputation. I mean while this all looks advantageous to us, something about letting you run off to an island while you plot and scheme away from our immediate attention, well that seems fairly dangerous. Maybe you can't do anything to us now, but who can say in the years to come? It's best to keep and eye on you." "You greatly overestimate my ambition and motivation to take on an organization such as the Syndicate." "And you greatly underestimate our generosity and intelligence if you believe we'd just let you walk away." While you're realizing this isn't going well. Percy happily takes his drink from the barmaid. "I don't understand why you're fucking with me, don't you have an usurper to sabotage?" you blurt out getting frustrated. "Usurper...ohhh, you know about Peter Varsakken's plans do you? Is that the real reason why you're leaving? Well if you were concerned that he was coming here to wreck the place you need not have been. You have my assurance that Peter will fail in his invasion as usual. Business here will not be disrupted." Percy remarks. "Look, I don't really give a shit. I'm just saying that I'm OUT of Holgard regardless of that happening or not." "Okay. Fine. Consider this a pardon from the Syndicate. You are free to leave, but what you won't be doing is running the Nocturnal League from Jicol. As far as the Syndicate is concerned, the Nocturnal League is just a tool for us to use as we see fit. We'll get someone else to run it. Maybe your second in command will be more receptive, we were thinking about contacting her anyway. She was an ex-Claw after all." "Fuck, alright! Alright! You win, I'll stay here. If there isn't going to be an invasion I guess it won't be..." "No." Percy says finishing off his drink. Percy's remark catching you off guard. "No? No what?" you reply. "No. You won't be staying here. Clearly you're unhappy in Holgard and you're really unhappy with our business arrangement. Not really a good idea to keep someone on that's a ball of anger and frustration. So as I said, you are a free man and the world is your oyster. I'd advise you not entering the Delantium Kingdom, Holgard or Jicol though as you are no longer welcome in ECS territory." Percy says. This asshole's not even negotiating anymore. "Well I guess concludes our business and it looks like I'm going to be staying here a little longer to sort things out. I'll give you the day to gather your belongings and leave the city. Hmmmm, maybe I should contact that rogue Temple to Fel while I'm here too. They probably should be brought back into the fold..." At this point Percy leaves the table and doesn't pay any more attention to you. You can't believe what just happened. EVERYTHING has just been stripped away from you and worse. This isn't what you wanted and you all you can feel is that frustration and anger Percy referenced earlier. So much so that you waste no time in standing up and pulling out your pistol with every intention of shooting Percy in the back. You know you're going to be hunted forever by the ECS after this, but you don't even care. They were imposing so much on your life anyway, you feel you have nothing to lose. You empty your pistol into Percy's back as he's walking towards the door. The few tavern patrons run for cover and every shot hits him. Or at least they would have if it were actually him. Whatever shadow magic tricks he was using have fooled you completely as the shots pass right through the false image and into the solid oak door. You then feel two sharp blades thrust hard into your back. You crumple to the floor instantly. "Thank you for that. This was a much easier course of action rather than potentially having to deal with you later down the road." Percy crouches down next to you as you attempt to crawl away. "Not the most noble of ends, but still better than most in our line of work. And if it's any consolation, Sydicate leadership was thinking about having you done away with eventually anyway. Honestly, they should have done it a long time ago, but...well I'm but a servant to a greater purpose." With those last words, Percy grabs you by the hair to lift your head up and slits your throat.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, humor] Year 32 It's been awhile, but it's good to see Vera again even if she's just here for a visit. She's got some strong opinions on some of the changes that have happened recently though. "I'm not sure if staying neutral was the best decision. We probably should have directly helped the Felians. They were our allies after all and now we don't have any." Vera says. "We still have an understanding with the Baroness. So, we're not that bad off." You say. "I suppose, but..." "But what?" "Well that's something I need to talk to you about because it could possibly affect the League." "Well guess I better hear it then." Vera takes a drink of the rum she's brought with her from Jicol before continuing. "Okay, I guess I'll start at the beginning. Let's see...what do you know of Peter Varsakken? Youngest son of Vlad." Vera asks. "Um, nothing actually. Didn't know there was another one of Vlad's spawn running around. Wait, is this another one of his bastards, like you?" you ask with a smirk. "Oh no. He's very much legitimate. It's just that after he had a disagreement with his father and fled the city, all records were pretty much erased of him. He's basically been living in exile in the Delantium Kingdom. Peter's disagreement with his father involved the whole breaking away from the Delantium Kingdom in the first place. Peter was the only one who saw it as treason and remained loyal to Delantium. Over the years Peter has been trying to amass an army to take back the city." "It's my understanding that the Delantium Kingdom hasn't exactly been in a big hurry to retake this place. I mean it's been decades hasn't it?" "Well they've been sort of busy with other things, like their recent war with Nichan for example. While the ruling class over there doesn't want to spend their resources and treasury to take this place back, they certainly won't turn down someone else willing to do the job, and that's where Peter comes in. He's of noble birth, loyal to the kingdom and would be an excellent governor for this city and absorb it back into Delantium's fold." "I see, and how do you know all this?" "The captain who brought me here, Zamed has been privateering for the Delantium Kingdom. He was contacted by Peter who is still trying to amass a conquering force of men and ships to take back his birthright. In fact Zamed is supposed to be organizing the majority of a flotilla of Hessla privateers" "And you trust this pirate?" "Of course not, but I trust the fact that I know how to lay it down good enough that he told me all this stuff in the bedroom without me even asking." "Okay, I don't need details on that part." "Anyway, Peter's been at this for years ever since he got exiled. He's suffered many set backs in his quest to retake Holgard. Every time he's been on the verge of being ready, something has happened. This was partially thanks to the Ebony Claw Syndicate sabotaging his efforts in Delantium, and sometimes even the Temple of Fel would hinder his efforts as well. However, since things have changed drastically over the years in this city, he's in the best position he's ever been in to retake this place." "What makes you think he won't get sabotaged again by either group? I mean the Ebony Claw might not have a direct presence here, but they're still making some coin from us. Same is somewhat true of the Felians, though different reasons. They're allies with the ECS, so they tend to help them and it isn't like the Felian Temple here is our enemy even if they aren't aligned or in any position to do anything in the first place." "Perhaps, but I'm just not sure if the Baroness is a sure thing in the future. If Peter invades and assuming the League here survives the chaos of it, from what I've heard Peter is lot more of a law and order fanatic than his father and siblings. He's going to re-establish Delantium law here and that means a whole lot less freedom." "So you think I should make a deal with this Peter Varsakken?" "Heh, if I thought that might help, I might suggest it, but even if that was successful, you're still kicking a hell of a lot of coin to not just the Holgard government in bribes, but to the ECS for their cut as well. And that will be true even if Peter doesn't invade Holgard or fails." "So what are you suggesting?" Vera touches you hand. "Leave here and come to Jicol." Vera says. "What? I can't do that, I got shit to run here. Who am I going to leave in charge? Warts?" "Leave whoever you want in charge. I'm suggesting that you completely abandon Holgard. I dunno, maybe make a deal with the Syndicate. Hand Holgard over to them as a one time pay off to not be taxed anymore. Our territory can be Jicol and they can have the rest. Seems like they might go for that." "That would be severe pay cut and I'm not fond of the idea of running away." "Oh come on, that's pride talking. Fuck pride. I mean this place is potentially standing in the way of a shitstorm and I'd rather pull you out of its direction. And while it might be a drop in coin, trust me we do just fine in Jicol. We'll do even better if we aren't paying off the Syndicate anymore too." "Hmm, I'm interested in just HOW well you're doing in Jicol. I mean I figured you were always holding back a bit." "What?! I'll have you know that I've NEVER skimmed off the top! While it is true much coin has been made under my management of the League, you've always gotten your cut! However...if you decide to come to Jicol, you may as well know, I do have a side business for my own independent of the League." "Of your own, what would..." You suddenly know immediately what Vera is engaged in. "...oh wait. Shit. You're in the slave trade again aren't you?" Vera's hand doesn't move away from yours, instead she just squeezes yours a bit more. "I know! I know! I should have told you sooner, but it seemed cowardly in a letter and I felt I should at least tell you in person! I know you're not fond of slavery, but the location and demand was too good to pass up in Jicol. I'd be a fool if I didn't excel in something I was skilled in." "Well I suppose I can't fault you for that. (Sigh)" "You aren't yelling and screaming, I trust you're not mad?" "No. I mean I'm hardly in a position to judge on any moral grounds and I don't even give a shit about the extra coin you're making. It's just...I dunno. Slavery is just one of those things I feel...icky about. Don't ask me why." "How is it any different than making some dumb ass addicted to Purple Wish? They basically become a slave to the drug." "The dumb asses getting addicted to Purple Wish have a choice. Look, as I said, I'm not pissed or anything like that, but if I was to come to Jicol, I'd have some strong feeling about you continuing your slave trade business. In any case I'm still not convinced that I should just run away. Speaking with Peter Varsakken would at least be a better idea, though I'm not exactly sure how I'd go about setting up a meeting with him...wait a minute, that pirate of yours Zamed. He wouldn't happen to be meeting him anytime soon would he?" "I believe he's going to meet him after he leaves. In fact he tried to convince me that I should go with him, but I didn't see much point with the League attempting to ally with Peter for the same reasons I told you." "Hmm, maybe I should go with him and try to meet with Peter. Feel him out and see if there is any potential there." "I dunno. That really seems like a bad idea. I really wish you would just come to Jicol instead." It's apparent that Vera's desire for you to go to Jicol is more than just pragmatic reasons. The girl is obviously carrying feelings for you. Always has most likely. If things were different, you might be more inclined to jump at the chance, but this fucking curse is sort of preventing you from such a thing, but that's not really your immediate concern right now. Still, you aren't totally dismissing that idea. Vera usually has good instincts about this sort of thing so it might very well be a good idea to get the hell out of Holgard. Then again, there's no certainty that Peter's even going to win, assuming he even invades in the first place. It would be pretty wasteful to just abandon everything you built here. > You stay in Holgard As much as your current situation isn't exactly the most ideal, you're not really ready to just cut and run just yet. Not to mention you doubt if the Syndicate is going to just let you walk away even if you offered them Holgard. It's like they say, you can't just walk away from this life unless you're planning on going into hiding in a far away land. In any case, Peter's invasion is probably going to be sabotaged again by the Syndicate since they're going to want to protect their business here. "Vera, thanks for the information and I'll take steps to prepare just in case, but I'm not just abandoning Holgard unless it's really hopeless." You say. "(Sigh) I figured you'd say that. Well I don't suppose there is much more I can convince you then since you seem to be immune to my other charms. Um... sorry about touching your hand like that, I sometimes forget our boundaries. I just...worry sometimes." Vera remarks. "It's fine. Anyway, looks like I'll need to get some more hobs on the payroll." "What? You can't seriously be considering hiring more hobs." "Well if an invasion does occur then they're going to be my best personal defense. You wouldn't happen to know how long before Peter gets his shit together do you?" "The rumor is at least by next year." "Okay should be plenty of time to prepare. Guess that's it then." "Guess so. "You going to leave with your pirate boyfriend?" "Who Zamed? He's not my boyfriend, he was just a convenient dick. He's on his way to meet with Peter anyway so I'm leaving on another ship in a few days. Tried to convince me to do so as well, but I saw no reason for that and even if I did I'd at least bring it to your attention first. I suppose you might be right about all this possibly not even panning out anyway. I probably could even help on that front by convincing some of the pirates I do business with to not join Zamed's flotilla." "Certainly couldn't hurt." You and Vera talk a bit more about less important matters before you eventually part ways due to having business to take care of. You see Vera one more time before she leaves where upon she says that she tells you to be careful and hugs you goodbye. A few months pass and besides hiring more hobs, it's pretty much business as usual. About a week after the latest visit by the Syndicate rep to pick up their cut, you get a surprising request from the Temple of Fel to meet with you. Apparently Dusk wants to speak about re-establishing an alliance. Since it seems like a good time to boost your ranks you agree to meet though you do it on your own territory since you're not fool enough to meet with a shadow priest with no back up. Honestly, you don't know much about Dusk other than he's significantly younger than both of his predecessors that took power. When he arrives you intend on expanding your knowledge on him and what his temple has been up to lately. As it turns out, not much. He states that he thought inward reflection might help them find greater meaning of Fel's plan, which in turn made him realize that without allies the Temple is doomed to die a slow lingering death. "What makes you say that? It isn't like there are anymore religious factions in this city anymore." You ask. "True, but it isn't like there are flocks of people stepping up to join us either. Religion, perhaps even the gods themselves have seemingly abandoned this city. I suppose with all the strife I can't really blame them either. I try to keep the faith, but it's getting harder every day." "So what are you getting at?" "What I'm getting at is that while what remains of our temple may still hold Fel's dark wisdom, the truth is, we cannot possibly continue as a congregation here. Our temple has started to fall into decay. The baroness who once was a dabbler in our faith has even abandoned us. We got a message not too long ago about a new law taxing religious organizations, which we can't pay of course. Of course if we don't, the government is going to just demolish our temple to build a new inn there or something." "Wait, are you asking the Nocturnal League for a loan?" Dusk's face turns to one of embarrassment. "Sad to say, but in a sense yes. Honestly, we're asking for a little more than that. We want you to take over our temple's taxes just so we still have a roof over our heads. The temple has been our home for quite awhile along with having special meaning spiritually for the remainder of us, so we are very reluctant to leave it. In exchange, we will act as soldiers for the Nocturnal League. Whatever you need done, we'll do it. I'm sure you could use our talents in your line of work. If you wish, we will even teach shadow magic to those willing to learn and have the talent. Well this is a little different than you were expecting. You thought this was going to be a negotiation, not begging for a hand out. The temple of Fel really has fallen on hard times if they've been reduced to this state. While the whole point of being a criminal is to not pay taxes to begin with, you do see the potential here. It really couldn't hurt to have some shadow priests indebted to you especially if Peter invades. Plus that temple could very well be used for other things. You ask how much the taxes are which Dusk tells you and you find a little on the high side, but you're able to do it. You actually give them the stipulation that you're turning the temple into a new brothel (though they will still have their own living quarters) and you don't want them preaching about Fel to any League members. You still don't want your organization being mixed too much with religious fanaticism. Dusk doesn't even blink at your request, he just agrees. Truly a beaten man from a beaten organization. In any case at least this gives you a bit of magic leverage if trouble comes your way in whatever form. Year 33 Peter Varsakken's invasion has been going on for a few weeks now, and so far the he's succeeded in is destroying Ludmilla's fleet and Holgard's docks. The one time you want the Ebony Claw to be effective, they slack off. So much for protecting their own interests. Still, on the plus side, Peter's failed miserably on getting much further mainly because he doesn't have enough men to hold this place. Most of his mercenaries have been killed and while he does have two wizards to help him, they are literally the only thing that's keeping him in the fight. Ludmilla's palace might as well be impregnable. She's using her own elite troops and magic to protect it, which is probably a mix of shadow and whatever she managed to learn from the Dornans before they got wiped out. As for you, you've mostly managed to keep away from the majority of the fighting. You've only taken a bit of collateral damage from a couple of your businesses getting destroyed, but that was to be expected. All in all, you've been doing okay. Since it's in your interest to not have Peter win, you've ordered Dusk and his friends to take out Peter's wizards. With them out of the way things can go back to normal or as normal as they get here. In the meantime you mostly wait around in your headquarters getting reports from people while the chaos goes on above. Warts surprisingly has stuck by your side rather than running off though he says he was sorely tempted. Things just aren't quite grim enough for him to do it yet though. "Hey boss, dat Dusky shadow iz at the door sayin he's got important news about the task you sent him on." Warts says. "Yeah, I sent him and his people to kill Peter's wizards. Did he do it?" you ask. "I dunno, but he's the only one standing outside in da sewers and he looks half dead." "Shit, that doesn't sound good. Well send him in here, maybe he killed at least one of them." Eventually Warts returns with Dusk who indeed looks very battle worn. The robe he wears is in tatters making him look more like a begger and his skin that's exposed is obviously burned. His face even has several fresh wounds on it. "Shit, Warts wasn't lying, you do look half dead." You say. "Better half than all." Dusk replies while wincing a bit from his pain. "The other Felians?" "Yes, dead. All of them. I'm the only one who survived. I can only hope my lost brothers and sisters are with Fel now." "Fuck, did you at least kill one of the bastards?" "Killed both of them. They are no longer an issue. I anticipate that Peter will have no choice but to abandon his invasion now." A weight is lifted when you hear this news. You were expecting Dusk to tell you something bad, so you have to ask again. "Wait, so you were successful? You killed them both?" you ask. "Wouldn't be here if I didn't." Dusk says. "Hell yeah! This is fucking great! Warts, take the rest of the hobs here go on a street cleaning mission. There probably shouldn't be too many of Peter's men at this point, but the quicker these shitheads are gone, the better. Also make the rounds at all of our businesses too." "You want me to take even them?" Warts asks pointing at your hob bodyguards. "Yeah, I want to speak with Dusk privately anyway." Warts shrugs and waves the two hobs standing nearby to come with him leaving you and Dusk alone. "You need medical attention or something? I thin we've got someone with some minor skills in that field around here." You ask. "No, I'm good really. Shit...I just need to rest for awhile. Gather my strength again." Dusk replies. "Sure. Sure. Take your time. You certainly earned it. Why don't you tell me what happened, I'm sure it was a difficult battle." Dusk with some effort tells you about his conflict with both of the wizards. The way he tells it is actually pretty impressive. You doubt if you could have faced two wizards like that. As he gets towards the end of his tale he starts to sound a little better. "That's one hell of a tale Dusk." You say. "And it's not even over yet." Dusk says. "Yeah, but it soon will be. Like you said, Peter will probably realize he can't hold this place." "That wasn't what I was talking about." "What did you mean then?" Dusk puts one finger to his lips and says "Shhhhh" At this point the candle light in your office goes out, immediately causing you to yell out, but no sound is made and instead you feel a blade going into you several times before you can even draw your weapon. As you collapse on the floor, wheezing and coughing up blood, Dusk's whispering voice can be heard. "Fel will now forgive the transgressions of my temple for breaking away from the true faith and embrace me as a proper member of the fold. Fel will become a power once again in this city." You feel one more sharp stab into your body before footsteps run off and out your office door. By the time any of your people realize something is amiss, you're dead.

[Themes: fantasy] Year 21 It's amazing what changes can happen in just a year and that's not even counting the fact that Holgard is in complete anarchy right now, though it probably helps quite a bit. With your ongoing information, Tanya has carried out one woman attacks on various ECS locations and been more or less successful in the endeavor. Though perhaps not entirely "one woman" she's been using the chaos and the various factions of the city to her advantage, mostly the remaining disorganized followers of Neroth that have still been skulking around, though she's been luring even the Holgard Watch to do her bidding sometimes. While you haven't brought it up to her, you think Tanya's lost sight of her "original goal" of simply taking down the Ebony Claw Syndicate. She may have even believed that's what she was doing at first, but now? She's just been enjoying the chaos. She's enjoying making people kill and fight. Granted they probably were going to do that anyway, but she's not exactly curtailing what's currently going on right now. Still, she always returns to you excitedly going on about what she's done and what she's planning and everything else. When you meet in person, it's always a special event (If literally draining). You remember how hostile she was towards you for years, but now she only ever looks at you with affection. You must have told your mundane stories about your life in Teckleville more than a few times to her, but for whatever reason she seems to enjoy them. Maybe it's due to her own childhood being less fun since despite everything you didn't really have it all that bad. In fact if you'd just obeyed the rules, you would have had a pretty easy life. (You certainly wouldn't be in this situation) You aren't sure how succubi are supposed to act and granted she's not a full blood one, but it's very strange that despite her obvious descent into morally questionable actions, she's still very attached to you. (Or maybe you're just not used to a very loving girlfriend, your only one before Tanya was Annah) She's also starting to change physically. Her horns for one are a little bigger and her eyes now have a permanent other worldly look. Most obvious though is her wings. They started off as two little lumps on her back that you noticed during one of your intimacy sessions. The next time you saw her, she had two small wings and are probably going to get even larger. As for you, you've basically been just trying to keep a low profile as you go about your ECS duties, which are currently as an enforcer at a profitable Blue Dream house in the poor district. It's a rather lowly position for someone of your talents, but on the plus side, it's so unimportant that Rook doesn't even suspect you of any wrong doing and it helps that at least a few of the top Blue Dream distributors at the place have diarrhea of the mouth due to ongoing sampling of some of the drug and never shut the fuck up about sensitive ECS information. Rook has been trying to keep things together, but he's been obviously losing control. The ECS leadership in the Delantium Kingdom has refused to help with reinforcements any more. They've told him that he needs to work with what he has and if he fails, it's not going to be good for him. You know he's been trying to gain more help from the Temple of Fel, but that's been having mixed results mainly due to the fact that while they may all worship the same God of Shadows, the pure dedicated followers don't necessarily share the same goals as the Ebony Claw. Still, they've been contributing enough help to "lend" Shadow Blades to act as extra protection. Them, along with Bolt and Rook's own shadow magic abilities are going to make him quite formidable. Which is sort of a problem now that Tanya has decided that it's time to actually take out the Ebony Claw leadership for good. Arguably, she probably could have wiped out the Ebony Claw Syndicate with your help (Or at least this increasingly smaller chapter of it) months ago. But she got so distracted with enjoying the bedlam, that it allowed Rook to fortify like he has. Of course Tanya's not at all worried about any of this, but that's easy for her to say when she's got all her new infernal powers now. Even with her help, it isn't like you've got much defense against a bunch of highly trained shadow magic using killers. To her credit, she's told you to stay behind on this one, claiming that she can take care of it herself. You have your doubts though. It would be a tough fight even for her. You'd hate to just stand by while she got herself killed, not to mention if she failed, it would be really obvious that you were involved considering you told Rook you killed her. So you'd have to help anyway, and you still don't fancy your chances. You do have one idea, but it's a long shot and possibly one that could get you killed immediately. You could go try to talk to the head of the Temple of Fel. You don't know exactly what you'd say, but your hope would be to try to convince him that supporting the Ebony Claw, isn't in the best interest of the temple. "What?! No! That's a stupid idea! I told you, I'll take care of it by myself, I don't need your help, let alone the help of my enemies." Tanya shouts. "Tanya, I'm serious. This is a really BAD idea, assaulting Rook's home by yourself. I mean don't you even at least have those cultists you can send, or maybe someone else?" "The last of the Neroth cultists died weeks ago and are probably enduring unimaginable torture right now as their reward and as for sending anyone else, I'm a little tired of acting from behind the scenes, I want to enjoy a bit of hands on mayhem for a change." "Tanya, are you listening to yourself? You're starting to lose control and getting drunk on the chaos. Maybe I should have said something earlier, but you've been this way for quite sometime now. I love you and all, but you REALLY need to get a grip. You're not even thinking strategically anymore." Your defiant words aren't something she hears very often, at first she looks surprised, even slightly hurt, but then that turns to anger very quickly. She grabs you and throws you against the wall very hard. "...shit..." is all you can utter as you hit the stone and slump to the floor. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU QUESTION MY IDEAS! I'm the one in control here! YOU follow MY lead! YOU are only allowed the magnificence of my presence because I allow it and you should be grateful!" Tanya bellows and her voice seems to invade your very mind a bit. You look up from your position and focus on Tanya. She's changed physically again. Her wings are bigger for one thing (you called that one) and now her skin has a reddish hue. If you didn't know better, you'd think her eyes were going to burn a hole in you with how she's staring at you. Reminds of the old days when she used to get pissed at you, though she never slammed you this hard into a wall before. The dominating voice you just heard is also a bit new. As a half succubus she always had a bit of a seductive tone, but this is different. Her voice just now sent a chill of fear within you. Maybe she's not completely embracing her "succubus side" but she's certainly embracing the demonic heritage. Still, this is the girl you chose, so if this is how you're going out then so be it. You struggle to get back up and lean against the wall as you address her. "Well, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you can take them alone. You're obviously in full control of yourself, what with putting a mere mortal like me in my place and all. No need for my help anymore. I see that now." Tanya's stance towards you softens a bit, but not by much. She doesn't even apologize; she just leaves the ruined house you were meeting her in and takes to the air. She apparently has decided to give absolutely zero fucks about being seen anymore. You don't know how much time you have or even if it's going to matter, but you still feel compelled to help in some way. Maybe she isn't the Tanya that you fell in love with anymore, but for better or worse, you're going to help her whether that means directly or indirectly. > You go directly to the Temple of Fel This might even be more dangerous than trying to take out Rook directly, but you still think it's your best shot. You probably still got time since for all her changes you know that Tanya's probably still considering your last statement to her. Which means she probably isn't going to attack Rook immediately giving you a bit of time to form a plan. You head to the Temple of Fel which isn't exactly easy considering there are several riots going on, but eventually you get there. The area of the temple is fairly quiet compared to other parts of the city. Perhaps even the average rebel knows better than to fuck around it. Which makes you question your own sanity of why you've insisted on coming here. But you didn't make this trip for nothing, so you take a deep breath and head up the steps to the door and then suddenly your arms are grabbed by two Felians who suddenly appear. Your first instinct is to fight, but you resist the urge to struggle. Wouldn't do you any good anyway. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm with the Ebony Claw Syndicate!" You say. "And? You think that makes it okay for you to just enter? If you haven't noticed there's a lot of strife currently going on in the city and we aren't just letting anyone come inside." One of the Felians says. "I get it, but I really need to talk to your high priest or whoever is in charge." "You want to speak with the high priest? Why in Fel's name would we let you do that? You might be ECS, but you aren't even one of the faithful! I can tell! You better get out of here before you're unable to do so!" "But...I really need..." Before you can say another word, the two Fel priests roughly toss you down the stairs. Normally such a spill wouldn't be that bad. Maybe a few scrapes and bruises, but the luck of Yag isn't with you at this moment. You end up tumbling down the stone steps and twisting your neck in a manner that it's not supposed to twist. Another bounce down the steps and you break it. By the time your reach the bottom, you're already dead. Even the two priests are a bit alarmed by their unintended actions, but they just dispose of your body away from the temple and in a nearby alleyway where it will most likely be assumed that you were killed by the various acts of violence currently going on in the city, assuming stray dogs or rats don't eat it first.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] Year 19 "That's the third large group of cultists we've had to evade in our own fucking sewers. Something needs to be done about those shitheads because not even the EC is giving us this much trouble down here." Sneaks says. "Agreed. They've been spreading all over the damn place. Granted I'm not much for religion, but given what I know from what Yinen has said about Neroth AND seen what these fanatics do first hand, I'm not exactly keen on them spreading any further." You add. "I understand the concerns, but we're already warring with the EC, the last thing we need is to open up a front against a bunch of Neroth worshipers." Garrick says. "We don't need to open up a front, because they've already made it quite clear that they've already done so. I don't know about anyone else, but every time I bump into those fanatics they attack on sight." Sneaks says. "If you're just bumping into them accidentally, then you're lucky because I know by their personalized threats they're specifically targeting me." You add. "I told you that rescuing that whore would catch up to you." Tanya says. "That was years ago and they didn't even see me do it!" "Yeah, but that tart and her friends spread the word about your deeds a long time ago. I'm more surprised they you weren't targeted sooner by them." "Well apparently they were too busy with other things than bothering with the likes of the kid here. In any case I'm just saying we need to thin out their ranks or something because while I know we aren't officially territorial, we shouldn't have to deal with daggers at our throats right outside our front door." Sneaks says. "Exactly. And if left unchecked who is to say they won't find this place? Not to mention these assholes worship a dark god. The last thing we need is for them to do is gather enough power to start summoning shit. Last thing we need is demons running around down here." You add. As soon as you say that, everyone looks at you and then also looks at Tanya who is also looking in your direction with her head cocked to the side almost intrigued by what you're going to say next. "Shhhhit..." you quietly say which causes a snicker from Sneaks. Tanya doesn't even address what you said she instead turns her attention back to Garrick. "Word fumbling aside, he has a point Garrick. They all do. We can't ignore this potential threat any longer." Tanya says. "Maybe... (Sigh) I just don't want to lose any more people especially when we may need them in the future." Garrick says. After a brief moment of silence, Garrick speaks again. "Okay, fine. Maybe we need to do something. The question is what exactly? I'm still loathe to go all out gang war on a bunch of fanatics, because you know they're only going to hit back with more fervor...maybe...wait a minute. We could set it up so it looks like the Ebony Claw is targeting them. That will hopefully draw some heat off of us on both sides." Garrick says. Garrick begins to go into a plan to start ambushing the cultists, but also to ambush a few Ebony Claws and plant their bodies among the dead cultists so the living ones can stumble upon them and vice versa. In the meantime he says he's going to try to grease the right palms to gain some sort of meeting with Reginald and appear as an "ally" against the Ebony Claw so Reginald will tell his people to leave the Guild alone. It's not a bad plan, though you're really not sure on the whole "allying" with Reginald bit. "Um, I'm not sure if this Reginald is ally material." You say. "Well we need to try, because if you haven't noticed, we are at a bit of a disadvantage. Reginald is Farrad's boyfriend. You know, the baron's son? The one who is probably going to attempt a coup on his father soon? If he's actually successful it's probably best that we're not on his bad side at least." Garrick retorts with annoyance. "I can see that logic, but I still have concerns if allying with religious fanatics that participate in human sacrifice is a good idea. I mean hell, I'd rather temporarily ally with the Ebony Claw against the cultists at this point..." "Well it's a damn good thing that YOU don't have to make the fucking decisions isn't it then?!" Garrick's sudden snap causes you to shut up immediately and everyone else to stand in silence. You certainly weren't expecting it, but then Garrick in general has been less than friendly with you, as your time in the Guild proper has come about. He's certainly nowhere near like he was when he first offered his hand to you in joining. You have some theories about why, but for now you just answer: "Your call. Apologies." Garrick gives you a dirty look and starts assigning tasks to people. He doesn't give one to you though. As everyone starts to leave, you go up to Tanya and offer to help her on her assignment and that's when you get a scolding voice again. "Hey! Leave her be." Garrick orders. "But I was just..." you start to say before you're interrupted again. "Did I assign you and Tanya to work together? No I didn't." "Garrick, it's actually okay, I can..." Tanya says before Garrick interrupts her as well. "Stay out of this Tanya! Everyone get to work! Except YOU." Tanya looks at you a little sympathetically as she leaves with the rest, which is definitely not the norm, and part of what you imagine is the problem Garrick is having with you. Soon it's just you and Garrick and he wastes no time in speaking. "You know when I brought you in, I thought you'd be an asset to us. Sure you weren't exactly what I normally look for, but your actions against the Ebony Claw couldn't be ignored. Your ongoing work to prove yourself worthy of becoming one of the inner circle couldn't be ignored. Granted, I was still a little hesitant at the time since I was starting to have some doubts since so many thought you should continue to prove yourself, but Tanya's words in your favor...well those couldn't be ignored either." You don't say anything. "I also can't ignore how you look at her and more importantly how she looks at you." Garrick says. "I don't think she looks at me with anything but scorn." You say in an effort to deflect. "Bullshit. Maybe at one time she did. Not anymore. You're not so stupid to not realize that. Hell, she tried to speak up for you just now. I don't know HOW you did it, but you've actually been getting through that normally solid brick wall she puts up to shield herself again all would be suitors. I have seen MANY try and while I imagine that she leaves a lasting impression due to her nature, I have seen NONE continue to pursue her, or those that have, have met with physical violence that either put a definite stop to it. Somehow you have miraculously avoided that. Somehow YOU have defied what shouldn't be possible." You continue to stand there and say nothing, which only causes Garrick to throw something at you, which you narrowly dodge. "WELL? Aren't you going to say anything?!" Garrick shouts. "I'm not sure what to say. Anything I say, you're not going to like." You answer. "Well permission to speak fucking freely then." "Okay, well I don't see how this is any of your concern. Tanya, from what I can tell is a full grown woman that's MORE than capable of taking care of herself and dealing with the likes of me. And as far as I know, you're not her father either even if you see her as some sort of surrogate daughter." "It...it doesn't make sense! WHY YOU?! There have been FAR better suitors in the past!" "You mean like you?" "W...what?" "Oh come on! I think given your increasing hostility towards me this is going beyond a father-daughter type of protectiveness. You're acting like a jealous boyfriend or something. I'm succeeding where you and so many others obviously failed." Garrick just starts shaking his head. "No, I...I never...I never..." "Or maybe I'm succeeding in something you never had the guts to do at all? That's it isn't it? You've never made any sort of advance on her, and just admired her from afar since you were always secure in the fact that she always drove everyone away. I'm guessing perhaps you thought one day Tanya would come to you of her own accord and..." Now Garrick lifts up the table and flips it at you. For an older guy, he's certainly fit. "You think you know everything don't you? Well let me tell you something, you don't know shit. YOU are still a BOY and YOU are not worthy of Tanya." Garrick says getting in your face. "Okay. Then what would make me worthy...in your eyes?" you ask. Garrick starts laughing. "Are...are you actually asking me? You seem to have all the answers, you figure it out. But while you're trying to figure it out, go do what you're actually good at and go kill our enemies. GO! Get the fuck outta my sight!" You leave Garrick and exit the meeting room somewhat expecting there to be a few people hanging around outside listening to the conversation, but it would appear that nobody wanted to be around for Garrick's anger to be directed towards them as well. Not even Sneaks lingered behind. Since you didn't even get paired up with a full fledged Guild member, you suppose you could just go gather a few associates to help you, though you believe you're probably more than capable of performing the task yourself. Honestly though, you're ready to just dispense with the plan and do something else instead like try to kill Reginald. Those assholes have been targeting you anyway. Also seems like it would solve the problem a lot better than trying to be friends with him. Cutting off the head of a cult usually results in it falling apart. The problem of course is he isn't as easy to get to anymore. The secret passage to his home no longer exists as one person in the Guild soon learned when he tried to break in that way thinking that it would be an easy job and nearly got himself killed in the process. If there's another secret passage to the house, you have no idea where it is and it's probably better protected now. Which would mean a more traditional approach, but again, he's got security up the ass and has his own personal retinue of guards around his home. Perks of fucking minor nobility you suppose. In any case, you'd be doing this alone though because nobody would help you in this task. Say what you want about Garrick, but everyone listens to him and this would definitely be going against his plans. Though you do have another option, and that's going to the Ebony Claw Syndicate for help. Rook called off the hit and so far other than a few unavoidable skirmishes here and there, the EC has not been actively targeting you. You never thought you'd feel this way, but you've actually considered joining them lately mainly because things have been just so miserable in the Guild. If it weren't for Tanya, you probably would have done it already. Rook has never followed up on your last meeting, you don't know exactly what his game is, but you imagine if you come in for help, he's going to want that inside information on the Guild. > You get help from the Ebony Claw If Rook is already extending his hand, you might as well take it at this point. You're at least on better terms with him than you are with Garrick. As for Tanya, well you're going to have to just cut your losses you think on that one. It's obvious that isn't going to work out and you need to accept that despite how you might feel. Since you aren't exactly sure how to contact Rook, the only place you can think of to go is the Poison Blade Inn since that's the best known Ebony Claw Syndicate hang out. You don't know what kind of greeting you're going to get, but you're going to have to be on your guard, but then you always are. You make your way to the Poison Blade Inn and along the way, you soon start getting hostile stares at various people. You're definitely not in a friendly neighborhood. When you actually enter the Poison Blade, everyone immediately looks at you. "What the fuck do you want?" one of them demands. "I need to contact a man by the name of Rook, I have important business with him. Specifically information." You reply. "Is that so? Well how about you tell me and I'll go relay it to him and he can decide. Rook is much too busy to be dealing with the likes of you." "Uh huh, look I dunno what your problem is with me exactly but I'm not your enemy, we're on the same damn side so..." At this point the one speaking to you spits on your boots and gets in your face. Several more members close in on you at this point. This could get really ugly. "My problem...OUR problem with you is you fucking killed many of our friends and associates. Now you just walk in here like you think you own the place? You're Guild scum, no you're worse than Guild scum. You're a fucking rat. You think if you sell out those assholes that's going to make you good with us? Better think again. I don't give a fuck what deal you made, you're not coming in here demanding shit. If you got important information for Rook, he'll contact you directly himself. YOU wait for him. Now I suggest you walk right back out that door and don't come back unless you're actually invited." Sensing that despite being taken off the hit list, your "immunity" only gets you so far. If you caused trouble here, you are not making it out alive. You just nod and back slowly out of the Poison Blade Inn and make your way out of the neighborhood as quick as possible. After leaving immediate danger, you start to wonder if joining the EC is the way to go after all since it seems like everyone in it hates you. On one hand you can't be too surprised, but on the other now it seems like a less favorable choice. Instead of having the boss angry at you, you'll have the rest of the damn organization angry at you. You can't fucking win, maybe you need to just get the hell out of the city altogether. That would certainly solve a lot of problems. In the mean time, you might as well find a new place to stay while you figure things out. You head to Hell's Own Inn since it's at least some place that you know and can consider hospitable. Before you can however, you are suddenly grabbed while passing an alley and slammed up against a wall. You're then punched several times before you can even react and your pistol is taken away. "Go for your sword and it gets shoved up your ass traitor!" Tanaya says. "Tanya, wha..." you utter and then get another fist in the face causing you to crumple. Tanya then begins kicking you and you curl up while shouting for mercy and asking what the hell is going on. "STOP! STOP! What the hell did I do?!" you utter. "You have the balls to ask that? You know what the fuck you did! You've been talking with the Syndicate!" "Tanya...I..." "Don't insult me by fucking lying! I SAW you! I've been following what you were up to since I didn't think you'd meekly accept Garrick's orders. I didn't however believe that you'd go full fucking traitor! How the hell was I so damn stupid to trust you?!" "Tanya, it's not what it seems! I'm...I'm..." You can't even come up with a good lie though it doesn't matter since Tanya isn't really in a mood to listen, let alone believe you. She grabs your neck with one hand is slowly crushing your windpipe as you dangle off the ground. Her eyes are even giving off a faint reddish glow, it's like you've unleashed her demonic side. You try to beg for her to listen one last time. "Tan...(cough) (ack)" "Shut up, just shut up! I should have known better! Should have known you weren't different! Didn't think you'd be worse though!" If you weren't on the verge of dying, you'd swear that Tanya's words aren't just about your betrayal of the Guild. She's obviously taking this personally. Your suspicions are confirmed when you see Tanya's eyes water a bit just before she breaks your neck.

[Themes: fantasy, serious] It suddenly occurs to you that maybe there are traps about, but they're magical in nature. You start cutting the glass and who knows what might happen. The daggers seem like there is possibly less danger involved seeing as they just fastened them to the wall. Of course it isn't just an easy matter of ripping the dagger from the wall, you grab a prybar from your pack and start to get to work, but given their height above you, it's awkward. You pry and pry, but don't seem to be making any headway. You begin to think that the daggers are being held in place by magic and you might be right considering that you suddenly feel a force knock the prybar from your hand and as you try to grab it you stumble into one of the isolated stands with a glass case knocking it over and falling on the broken glass. Fortunately you're mostly protected by your clothing, though you're still picking glass out of bits of your body. However, you don't do that for long since you notice the diamond necklace that has now been released from its cage. You might as well grab that instead. No sooner have you picked it up and that's when you feel an unnatural chill in the air. "That's not good." You say and get the hell out of the Galpatis exhibit room. Doesn't help though, you're still feeling like the unnatural cold is following you. You get the very real feeling that SOMETHING is following you, but you don't dare look behind you, all you want to do is get out of the museum and HOPE that whatever this is doesn't follow you outside. You see the exit in the distance and then you see a wispy green glow materialize in front of it. A malevolent face briefly appears and then one of the statues closest to you comes to life! "Shit!" you exclaim and just barely manage to avoid getting your head smashed in. You look around and see that now several of the statues are coming to life. The exit is blocked by that ghostly thing so even if you could maneuver past the statues, you aren't getting out that way. "HEY! Grab the damn rope!" a voice shouts from above. You look up and see Tanya on the second floor throwing a rope to you over the railing. You waste no time in grabbing and climbing up it while she pulls you up. The statues try to grab you at first, but then soon realize the best way to get you is going up the stairs. As you grab the railing, Tanya grabs your arm and hoists you over it. You almost feel like she's going to yank your arm off, but of course you see a glimpse of her face again as she's pulling you up and you're almost smitten enough to forget all about the extreme danger you're currently in. Hurry you fool before I regret saving you!" Tanya shouts and runs towards another rope that hangs from an opening she's made in the glass dome on the roof Following her lead you make your way to the rope and quickly climb up it where you're staring directly at Tanya's ass the entire time. Again, probably a good thing since your focus isn't on the invisible horrors that are desperately trying to get your attention by whispering demoralizing things in your ears to cause you to give up hope and stop trying to escape. Doesn't work though, Tanya's ass is literally saving your own. Eventually you manage to get to the roof where you and Tanya both start leaping across the tops of nearby buildings. When you get far enough away, Tanya at last stops to take a breather and then also punches you in the face. "What was that for?" you ask. "Do you even need to ask?! Your incompetent bumbling nearly got not just yourself killed, but ME as well! What the fuck were you even doing there? Did you KNOW I was going to be there?" Tanya asks. "Well..." "Let me guess, Sneaks told you...I'm going to kill him." "Where were you anyway? I looked for you for awhile." "I was in the basement stealing the Tivan Crystal." "Oh. I didn't think to check the basement." "Given all the security you set off, it's apparent you didn't think at all! I was just on my way to leave when I heard glass breaking and the scampering of your feet. Did you really think you could just smash and grab shit in a place like that without consequence?" "I didn't mean to at first. It was an accident. I just wanted to get you something since I couldn't find you. Here." You say and pull the diamond necklace out of your bag. "You're joking right? I could steal, and have stolen items a lot more valuable than this!" "Yes, I'm sure you have, but its value is not the point, this is my gift to you. The motivation behind it is important." "You expect me to believe you stole this for me?" "Believe what you wish, the point is that it's yours now my dear." You say and put the necklace in her hand. Tanya looks at the necklace in disbelief, and addresses you again. "So...wait...you REALLY think I'm going to wear this? Surely even someone of your intelligence can see that I'm not some dainty aristocrat who dresses in fancy gowns and adores myself with jewelry." "You may do whatever you wish with it. You may throw it away, keep it and wear it, keep it and then sell it or just keep it period. It doesn't matter. It was just my way of thanking you for not just saving my life, but also the pleasure of being in the glow of your beauty." Tanya is now looking at you in disbelief. "...you...you...I..." Tayna starts to say. "Yes?" you ask. "Look! I don't know what the hell your game is, but I'm not playing, and I'm not fooled!" "But I'm not trying to fool you, it's merely a gift to..." "Stop it! Stop it right now! And stop looking at me like that, if you want to keep your eyesight! I don't want to hear anymore of your honeyed words! We part ways here and don't you dare try to follow me!" Tanya yells and pulls her hood even more over her head, before leaping to the next building. You naturally ignore her and start following her anyway. You must hop across three rooftops before Tanya stops again. "LOOK, this is NOT going to..." A bolt whizzing by suddenly interrupts Tanya's words. At first you think briefly that it's the guardian museum and it's followed you, but it turns out to be a more tangible enemy instead. Several men with crossbows suddenly materialize on the roofs nearby and a few of them even on the roof you're currently on. You both instantly duck down and try to find cover. Several other bolts follow though fortunately the ECS has not employed skilled marksmen. "Bah! All those bolts and you lot couldn't hit a behemoth's butt with a bass fiddle! I told you fuckers to practice! Just fucking close in for the kill!" you hear someone shout. You and Tanya can't go in any direction without facing ECS members, but given the state you're in right now, you're not exactly avoiding a fight and neither is Tanya. "Looks like some of the EC are begging to be declawed. I'm always up for whittling down their ranks." You say. "First thing you've said, that I agree with." Tanya remarks. While the EC might be terrible shots, you certainly aren't, you shoot three of them before they even manage to close in. Tanya on the other hand is perfectly content on taking on five of the assassins in close combat. One of the members however is standing back and still blinking in and out of existence. He's obviously using that blasted shadow magic. He's mainly giving orders right now, but if he gets in the fight, you don't anticipate things going well. You try to take aim at him, but you're stopped by two EC members who both nearly stab you. After dodging their blows, you shoot the pair of them. Seeing as you've only got one shot left and no real time to reload, you turn your attention back to the EC leader, who is now gone. Tanya is still working on two other EC members and you're about to go over to help her, when a magic missile of some sort hits you. You drop your weapon and collapse. You almost feel like all the energy has been drained out of you. You're so weak, you can hardly even push yourself back up, though a hefty kick soon stops that attempt. "Finally got your ass! It's like they always say, you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself. So you think you can just get away with shooting our members like some cowardly sonofabitch?" the shadow magic wielder remarks. "You...you just hit me with a fucking magic missile!" you wheeze, pointing out his hypocrisy. This of course isn't appreciated and you soon receive another kick. "Silence! I'm gonna enjoy this." Fortunately, he doesn't get the chance due to all his gloating which was enough time for Tanya to finish off her last opponent and run over to help you again. However, he's quick enough to avoid her attacks. The pair of them duel while you lie there trying to gather your strength. You're really woozy and weak. You eventually manage to stand up, but you feel like you're going to teeter over again. Tanya is still fighting the EC leader, but she's not making much progress. In fact, he might even have a slight advantage since he hasn't been exerting himself as much as she has tonight. You look over to your right and see your pistol lying nearby. You've got one shot in it and you're not exactly in the best condition as far as accurately aiming anything right now. Of course you could just try to help Tanya in the more traditional way and try to backstab him. Still not ideal, but if you miss, you're not likely to hit Tanya by accident. > Backstab You'd rather not risk hitting Tanya, you need to get in close. As you attempt to move forward, you have a bit of trouble trying to keep your balance since you're still very woozy. Tanya's still holding her own, but the bastard's shadow magic is giving him the edge. Fortunately his back is still towards you. You try to get a little closer and every inch of you is struggling to not slip into unconsciousness. You see the EC member block several of Tanya's attacks and then manages to knock her down with some sort of glowing magic from his hand. You see him going in for the kill and that's when you make your own lunging attack. And promptly trip over yourself only to fall next to him. The EC member is distracted enough that he doesn't attack Tanaya in her prone position; he does however attack you instead. This time the magic missile hits you directly in the side of the head on top of being at point blank range. The flesh is burned off followed by your skull cracking and brain partially melting. This might have given Tanya enough time to recover and press her own advantage, but you're out of fight and more importantly this existence.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, fantasy] Year 18 "Yep, Garrick's been very impressed with you. I'd say a few more jobs and you'll finally get invited to where all the magic takes place." Sneaks says. "I can hardly wait." You say. "Well geez son, don't sound so enthusiastic. Last year you kept asking me if you were any closer to getting into the Guild headquarters." "Last year, I was still a bit more optimistic about my choice in joining the guild." "Oh? And how exactly did we fail you your majesty?" "That's not exactly what I mean, but if we're going that route, I just thought I'd be doing slightly better while aligned with you lot." Sneaks starts laughing. "Well that's your first problem right there. Joining a criminal organization that's currently feuding with another one isn't exactly a stable future son." Sneaks says. "I know that too, it's just...okay...I'm just a little concerned that we aren't doing too much directly against the Ebony Claw Syndicate. I mean shouldn't we be doing something more to decrease their power? Their presence hasn't exactly decreased in the city and if anything it has only gotten stronger." You respond. "I dunno about that, I'd say they're probably struggling like everyone else currently. If they were truly stronger in presence they'd be directly attacking us and some of our hangouts more often." "Well that's still a problem since it's still not progress, it's just keeping the status quo." "So, what are you going to do? Shoot them all?" "Well considering how many I have shot, I'd say it's not a bad plan. Not to mention it's something I could have easily done on my own." "And you would have been dead already on your own. But if you really feel like you could do better on your own then nothing is holding back from leaving. Why stay?" "Because obviously I'm still an optimistic idiot." "I don't believe that, I believe its MORE likely you're just sticking around because you're an infatuated idiot." "What?" "Don't play dumb with me, I know you still got a thing for Tanya after I told you to just walk away. I remember when we all had to work on that job together three months ago, I swear at one point with how hard you were starin' at her, I thought you were going to whip your dick out and start wackin' it right there." You laugh at that remark. "You laugh because you know it's true." Sneaks says. "Yeah well it certainly is a better reason than anything else I could come up with, and I'm not totally convinced that goal isn't at least as possible as wiping out the ECS as a force in this city." You respond. "I dunno about that. You've at least killed Ebony Claw members, you haven't even gotten a kind word from Tanya yet." "Yes I did! She said she couldn't believe I was still alive and that I had to be the idiot bastard son of Yag eternally blessed with more luck than actual ability." "Hm. Well actually coming from her that IS a kind word. Congrats. At the risk of inflating your ego even more...and she'd probably kill me if I told you...she actually would somewhat agree with you on your views about the Ebony Claw. She sort of wishes we took the fight more to them too. Actually you could probably count me in that group as well." "So why the hell aren't we doing more then and why isn't Garrick being pro-active?" "He actually is, just not in the way you think. He thinks an all out gang war would be a mistake due to them having the numbers. He might be right, I don't know. But all that shit we steal and the Guild gets a cut of? That doesn't all just go towards equipment and extra casks of booze for the headquarters. Some of that money goes towards more important things like bribes, paying off the Watch and getting a few underpaid bean counters on our side to muddle paper work on occasion." "Well that's great and all, but how's that fuck up the Ebony Claw?" "It doesn't, but it keeps a balance. You don't think they don't do the same thing? Try to manipulate the law in their favor? The only reason why the Holgard Watch doesn't mess with either side much is because they're taking bribes from both sides. They got best racket in this city. They practically never even have to do their fucking jobs! Garrick HOPES that one day he'll be able to manipulate the right people that will cripple the EC, but I can say right now, he's doomed to failure, because at his core, he's too fucking nice. Bribery only gets you so far. To do what he wants to do, he'd need to rely more on blackmail and extortion, which isn't something he's too fond of getting heavily into." "Surprised nobody's tried to kill him and take power from him." "I said he's nice, not a pussy. There have been a few who have tried over the years, mostly before the EC established a greater presence, but the man isn't unskilled in the ways of defending himself. Besides the Thieves Guild isn't the Ebony Claw and because Garrick is so fucking nice, people generally like him enough that they'd rather keep him as head of the organization. Not to mention we don't exactly have the most ambitious bunch in the Guild. Most of the really ruthless, kill their own mother types to get ahead join the EC. We're not Joachimites, but I'd still wager that most of us in the Guild have just a few more scruples than the average EC member." "Yeah, well scruples doesn't win wars." "No argument there. Look kid, I'm not sure what to tell you, except I do hope you stick with us. I don't care what your reasons are, whether its for safety, or riches or your ongoing failed pursuit of Tanya's demon pussy. We need more...for the lack of a better word...warrior types in the Guild." "Never considered myself a warrior before, but I suppose I'll take it as a compliment." "Of course you will, that's how I meant it. Anyway, I gotta go. Garrick's holding some sort of meeting for some of us important elite. Tell ya what, I'll try to convince Garrick to let you in the Guild's inner sanctum already. I know it's not Tanya's inner sanctum, but here's something that might help you in that goal, she's supposed to be casing the Museum of the Ancients tonight. Who knows, maybe if you get there quick enough she might even let you help." As your eyes light up, Sneaks smiles and parts ways with you. You of course don't waste any time heading to the Museum of the Ancients. You've never considered burglarizing that place before, but you suppose it makes sense that there would be some pretty valuable stuff in there. Though you imagine that it's more protected than even some of the banks here. You've only had the fortune of working with Tanya a couple times before and that was always in a group and she of course always limited her contact with you in those cases. You still don't exactly know WHY you're as drawn to her as you are. Well you do and it's probably due to her demonic heritage and whatever powers of charm she put on you. (Accidently you guess given her stand offish personality towards you) Sneaks said the effects should have worn off by now since you don't even see her that much. Granted you aren't thinking about her all the time, but if you ever have the chance to be around her (Like you do now) you're going to take it. Luckily you manage to arrive unaccosted by anyone, the law or otherwise. Now you're just hoping you find Tanya before the fun begins. The surrounding area outside the museum, the place is more or less empty. There aren't too many other people in the area other than a few Holgard Watchmen patrolling around which you keep clear of. You look around to see where Tanya might be, but again its possible she already went inside. You bet she went in from the rooftop. Every time you've worked with her, she's always favoring the rooftops. Of course you prefer a more grounded approach so as soon as it looks safe, you simply run up to the front door and pick the lock, which is a lot easier than you thought it would be. You look around the museum and mostly see a lot of oversized items that you'd need at least two people to carry to get out of here. Statues, suits of rusty armor, oversized tapestries and the like. While you're sure some of this stuff is valuable to someone, it wouldn't exactly be the easiest to just lift out of here. Though you haven't seen or heard any night guards of any kind at all. Seems weird that this place doesn't have any security. You try to keep an ear out for anyone that might be walk around, but it's nothing but silence. You start to wonder if she came and left already or maybe this was all Sneaks idea of a practical joke. Wouldn't be the first time. Since you can't find her or detect anyone else roaming these halls, you decide that you might as well see if there actually is anything here that you might be worth taking. Eventually after wandering a bit, you stumble into an area that seems more promising. "Royal treasures of Old Galpatis" you say to yourself as you read the sign to exhibit room. You don't know too much about Galpatis except shit that your sister sometimes spoke about from some book she read. It was supposed to be a great empire thousands of years ago that destroyed itself as all these ancient civilizations tend to do for whatever reason. Probably had something to do with necromancy or something. In any case you enter and see in the dim torchlight you see proper treasure that you could actually carry out of here. A lot of old necklaces, bracelets, crowns with gems and similar items behind glass, though some, like the weapons are mounted securely on the wall. A couple of weapons that catch your eye are a pair of ornate looking dagger. Not even tarnished and definitely still usable. You probably could easily pry them from the walls though you'd have to reach a bit since they're little higher than you. Of course you do have your trusty glasscutter with you and you could just start getting to work on grabbing what you can from the displays. > You cut the glass You've already got enough daggers; you don't really need to waste time getting some slightly fancier ones while there are obviously more valuable objects that you can pilfer. You look around for potential traps or alarms around the display cases and find nothing, so you get started and begin carefully cutting the glass. The jeweled crown is what really catches your eye. The regular jewelry is going to bring a nice price of course, but that crown isn't like something you've ever stolen before. You remove the glass and grab the crown. No sooner have you picked it up and that's when you feel an unnatural chill in the air and you're struck by a powerful vision. You see a sprawling city though it's much larger than any sort of city you've ever been to (granted you've only been to Holgard, but you can tell it's much bigger than that). Also unlike Holgard everything is very orderly and the buildings are in much better condition in general. At first you wonder if you're seeing some city in the Delantium Kingdom since you've never been there, but something about this place seems different. Like you don't think you're even in the same time period. The people are dressed very different than you know. The building architecture isn't like anything you've ever seen. Once again searching your memory again of your sister's old stories, you think you're seeing Galpatis. Or at least some portion of the old empire. Currently, you're seeing everything from above. Almost like you're flying over the city, but you're not actually there. The only thing that is certain is that you're still holding the crown in your hand. Before you can ponder what exactly is going on, a voice suddenly pierces your mind. Well that command couldn't be much clearer. As far as you know you aren't in any immediate danger, but then right now you're seeing a vision and you don't know what's going on in the "real world." For all you know you could be surrounded by guards. The "voice" you're hearing could even be some sort of protection to scare rogues such as yourself into dropping the crown. You're either going to have to mentally break the illusion you're experiencing or drop the crown and give up on this prize. > You drop the crown There is some strange magic at work here and it's obviously best if you didn't fuck around with it. You play it safe and release the crown. No sooner that you do so that you feel like you're falling and then you suddenly back in the museum room again and the crown is back in its case with the glass once again intact. "Shit, that was weird." You say and stare at the crown a bit. You then immediately notice how much colder it is in this room. You aren't even sure how long you've been actually sitting here. Feeling uneasy, you stand up and head towards the exit of this room only to be stopped by a living statue. "Fuck!" you shout, only narrowly dodging the statue's swing at your head. You turn to run out the other side of the room, but you then see two more statues blocking that way as well. You desperately try to fight your way out, expending all your shots and destroying a good portion of one of the statues, but more of them come into the room and block your escape. All it takes is one of them to get in a good hit. The bones in the left side of your face shatter as you go down to the floor from one of their punches. You try to get up, but the rest of your skull is crushed under a statue's stone foot.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy, anti-hero] You've already got enough daggers; you don't really need to waste time getting some slightly fancier ones while there are obviously more valuable objects that you can pilfer. You look around for potential traps or alarms around the display cases and find nothing, so you get started and begin carefully cutting the glass. The jeweled crown is what really catches your eye. The regular jewelry is going to bring a nice price of course, but that crown isn't like something you've ever stolen before. You remove the glass and grab the crown. No sooner have you picked it up and that's when you feel an unnatural chill in the air and you're struck by a powerful vision. You see a sprawling city though it's much larger than any sort of city you've ever been to (granted you've only been to Holgard, but you can tell it's much bigger than that). Also unlike Holgard everything is very orderly and the buildings are in much better condition in general. At first you wonder if you're seeing some city in the Delantium Kingdom since you've never been there, but something about this place seems different. Like you don't think you're even in the same time period. The people are dressed very different than you know. The building architecture isn't like anything you've ever seen. Once again searching your memory again of your sister's old stories, you think you're seeing Galpatis. Or at least some portion of the old empire. Currently, you're seeing everything from above. Almost like you're flying over the city, but you're not actually there. The only thing that is certain is that you're still holding the crown in your hand. Before you can ponder what exactly is going on, a voice suddenly pierces your mind. Well that command couldn't be much clearer. As far as you know you aren't in any immediate danger, but then right now you're seeing a vision and you don't know what's going on in the "real world." For all you know you could be surrounded by guards. The "voice" you're hearing could even be some sort of protection to scare rogues such as yourself into dropping the crown. You're either going to have to mentally break the illusion you're experiencing or drop the crown and give up on this prize. > You keep the crown This is a unique form of security, but you're no weak willed fool. You begin to try to disbelieve your surroundings and try to move. Seeing as you're in the air, it's almost like you're swimming. It's all pretty surreal and you're expecting this illusion to end. "FOOL! IF YOU WANT THE SACRED TREASURES OF GALPATIS SO BAD THEN EXPERIENCE ITS TRUE GLORY!" The voice booms and suddenly you're falling towards the city! The shock causes you to panic because now this doesn't feel like an illusion. You immediately drop the crown believing that it might correct things, but all that happens is the crown starts falling to the ground too. At first you think you're going to die, but then you notice that you're falling not just towards the city, but you're over an area which looks to have some large trees. With a little luck, MAYBE you can slow your descent before hitting the ground. Shifting your weight slightly, you brace for painful impact of attempting to hit every branch on the way down. When you're within reach of the top of the tree, you desperately start grabbing at extended branches just within reach. You unsurprisingly break several of them trying to hang on, along with ripping your hands up pretty good. You're very lucky you don't get impaled and eventually you hit the ground bruising most of your body. You curse when you notice your pistol has broken into two pieces. However, you're still alive. Though in your dazed state, you realize that your "arrival" didn't go unnoticed with several strangely dressed onlookers pointing at you. A couple of them even shout over at you. You sit up and using the base of the tree you stand yourself up. You're in a lot of pain right now, and it's at this moment that you realize you can't understand what any of these gawkers are saying to each other or you. Some of the words sound similar to ones you know, but it's almost like they're all speaking a different language. You at first wonder if you hit the ground so hard that it damaged your head so you can't understand what people are saying anymore, but given where you are and how everyone is dressed, you've got a bad feeling that you're a LONG way from Holgard anymore. And for all you know this could still all be some elaborate illusion. In any case, you're drawing a crowd and you've had enough experience to know that's never a good thing. You quickly make your escape away from the crowd, especially when you hear more shouting coming towards your position. You don't know where the hell you are, but you're guessing it must be a park of some sort inside the city. You need to find a secluded place and get your bearings. As you move as quickly as you can with a twisted ankle and sore feet, you spy out the corner of your eye, the crown laying in the grass by some bushes. Seeing as this is what got you into this in the first place, you figure you might as well retrieve it. No sooner have you picked it up again, you hear the voice again. "End this illusion...whatever you are!" you sputter. "Wait. You're...you're saying I'm actually here? I traveled back in fucking time?! Bullshit, this has to be an illusion!" This is a lot to take in. You truly do not know what to make of all this. If this crown, or voice, or whatever is telling the truth, you are in deeper shit than you could have ever imagined. You're stuck not just in an unknown city or even a foreign land, you're in a whole other time period! You've got to think. Of course, while you're thinking about how you're going to survive in this new situation, you still might need a lot of coin to make it a little easier. You look at the crown. > You keep the crown Again, this crown got you into this mess; you might as well keep it at this point. You tuck the crown away in your pack hoping that it stops speaking to you. You limp away and eventually find your way out of the park. (Or what you assume was a park anyway) You walk down a street catching a lot of glances. Most of the inhabitants of this city are human (Though you're seeing a couple of races that you've never even seen before) so you're not standing out so much on that aspect, but the way you're dressed is definitely cause for intrigue. Unfortunately for you, you're so intriguing that when several military looking men come running in your direction they immediately begin shouting at you in a language that you still can't understand. You aren't really in any condition to run and there are enough of them that you don't think you could fight them all. You don't even have the advantage of your pistol any longer. Having no other choice, you attempt to play it dumb and make gestures that you don't understand them. It isn't really a plan, so much as it's the lack of one since you really can't understand them. Though eventually when they get exasperated enough, you understand them all too well. One of the soldiers grabs you while another begins grabbing your belongings such as your weapons and your pack. They toss everything out, but when they see the crown, all of their eyes narrow and you know enough that you're in even deeper shit. You can't make out everything they say in between the beating, but you think you understood some of the words as older forms of various swears. You also heard "emperor" which is very bad since as far as you can figure, the crown belongs to the emperor of Galpatis Empire. While you expect to be killed right there in the streets, the soldiers eventually stop beating you and take you away in chains. Apparently they uphold a very civilized legal system here and you are to be properly judged rather than just executed immediately. You spend months in a dungeon waiting for judgment. During those first few weeks you try to find a way to escape. When you never find an opening of any sort, you just give up. After all what would you escape to? You're nowhere near home or anything else that you know. You are a man out of time. Resigned to your situation, you spend the remainder of your time learning some of the language to crudely communicate with the guards or other prisoners. You learn manage to learn a few things that your sister would find very interesting seeing as she did read a few things about Galpatis. Your chances of ever telling her are nil of course. Still, you hope she's doing a lot better than you currently are. Eventually your day arrives and predictably your case is pretty cut and dry. You're found guilty of stealing one of the emperor's royal crowns (You guess he has several) and the sentence is death. You have to wonder why it took so damn long to sentence you seeing as they found it on you. You can only guess this place has a really backed up legal system on top of it being "civilized." While it doesn't help you out, it makes you wonder if this was "meant to happen." Like were you supposed to go back in time and steal this crown? Did this originally happen? But then you didn't really steal it at all or at least you didn't steal it in this time period. The guards just found it on you, but they clearly were LOOKING for a thief. So what happened to the original one? You eventually stop worrying about it; it's not going to matter anyway. The waiting period for the execution is happily a lot swifter and by the time you walk to the chopping block; you're ready to accept your fate.

This is a unique form of security, but you're no weak willed fool. You begin to try to disbelieve your surroundings and try to move. Seeing as you're in the air, it's almost like you're swimming. It's all pretty surreal and you're expecting this illusion to end. "FOOL! IF YOU WANT THE SACRED TREASURES OF GALPATIS SO BAD THEN EXPERIENCE ITS TRUE GLORY!" The voice booms and suddenly you're falling towards the city! The shock causes you to panic because now this doesn't feel like an illusion. You immediately drop the crown believing that it might correct things, but all that happens is the crown starts falling to the ground too. At first you think you're going to die, but then you notice that you're falling not just towards the city, but you're over an area which looks to have some large trees. With a little luck, MAYBE you can slow your descent before hitting the ground. Shifting your weight slightly, you brace for painful impact of attempting to hit every branch on the way down. When you're within reach of the top of the tree, you desperately start grabbing at extended branches just within reach. You unsurprisingly break several of them trying to hang on, along with ripping your hands up pretty good. You're very lucky you don't get impaled and eventually you hit the ground bruising most of your body. You curse when you notice your pistol has broken into two pieces. However, you're still alive. Though in your dazed state, you realize that your "arrival" didn't go unnoticed with several strangely dressed onlookers pointing at you. A couple of them even shout over at you. You sit up and using the base of the tree you stand yourself up. You're in a lot of pain right now, and it's at this moment that you realize you can't understand what any of these gawkers are saying to each other or you. Some of the words sound similar to ones you know, but it's almost like they're all speaking a different language. You at first wonder if you hit the ground so hard that it damaged your head so you can't understand what people are saying anymore, but given where you are and how everyone is dressed, you've got a bad feeling that you're a LONG way from Holgard anymore. And for all you know this could still all be some elaborate illusion. In any case, you're drawing a crowd and you've had enough experience to know that's never a good thing. You quickly make your escape away from the crowd, especially when you hear more shouting coming towards your position. You don't know where the hell you are, but you're guessing it must be a park of some sort inside the city. You need to find a secluded place and get your bearings. As you move as quickly as you can with a twisted ankle and sore feet, you spy out the corner of your eye, the crown laying in the grass by some bushes. Seeing as this is what got you into this in the first place, you figure you might as well retrieve it. No sooner have you picked it up again, you hear the voice again. "End this illusion...whatever you are!" you sputter. "Wait. You're...you're saying I'm actually here? I traveled back in fucking time?! Bullshit, this has to be an illusion!" This is a lot to take in. You truly do not know what to make of all this. If this crown, or voice, or whatever is telling the truth, you are in deeper shit than you could have ever imagined. You're stuck not just in an unknown city or even a foreign land, you're in a whole other time period! You've got to think. Of course, while you're thinking about how you're going to survive in this new situation, you still might need a lot of coin to make it a little easier. You look at the crown. > You discard it The crown's been nothing but trouble and you're likely just going to suffer more by keeping the damn thing. Not to mention you don't really want to put up with its scolding advice again. Throwing the crown into the bushes you limp away and eventually find your way out of the park. (Or what you assume was a park anyway) You walk down a street catching a lot of glances. Most of the inhabitants of this city are human (Though you're seeing a couple of races that you've never even seen before) so you're not standing out so much on that aspect, but the way you're dressed is definitely cause for intrigue. Unfortunately for you, you're so intriguing that when several military looking men come running in your direction they immediately begin shouting at you in a language that you still can't understand. You aren't really in any condition to run and there are enough of them that you don't think you could fight them all. You don't even have the advantage of your pistol any longer. Having no other choice, you attempt to play it dumb and make gestures that you don't understand them. It isn't really a plan; so much as it's the lack of one since you really can't understand them. Though eventually when they get exasperated enough, you understand them all too well. One of the soldiers grabs you while another begins grabbing your belongings such as your weapons and your pack. They dump everything out and then after a few words to each other, one of them points in a different direction and they all leave. Whatever it is they were looking for you didn't have, though you get the very real impression that it was a good idea to leave that crown behind after all. Of course your situation is still pretty damn dire. You're stuck in the past and unless you get access to some really powerful magic, you're going to be living the rest of your life here no matter what else you achieve. You're also at a disadvantage of not knowing the language or even your general location let alone how things work around here. The best you have to go on is a few old stories your sister told you and that's going to have to be enough for now The voice in the crown told you that you'd have to give up your roguish ways and start a new life, but that's really not going to be possible even if you wanted to. Right now you can see that you're going to have to steal to survive. Possibly even the basics like new clothes because you are really sticking out with what you're currently wearing. Once you get that down, then maybe you can figure out a way to get back to your own time. > Time passes... Year 21 "Oh come on Saldinius you can't do better than that?" you say. "Sorry, but times are hard right now, that's the best I can offer!" Saldinius replies making a shrugging motion. "Bah, fine. You're lucky I got more important shit to do." You take your coin from Saldinius and make your way back to your humble room back at an inn. (Some things never change) The Galpatis Empire might be going through a "Golden Age" but from what you can tell life is pretty much the same here as it was in your time. The poor bastards are struggling to survive, the rich bastards are sitting on their fat asses reaping all the benefits and everyone in between is just trying to make their own way to be a rich bastard and avoid becoming one of the poor bastards. Still, you suppose you could have wound up in a worse city when you got stuck here. Galapolis is the shining jewel and seat of the Empire and it's easily five times the size of Holgard ever was. There is no shortage of opportunity for a rogue like yourself here. Crime doesn't change too much after all and if anything you're probably a little more skilled at it than most. That first year was really hard though. You sometimes didn't know if you were going to make it or not. It wasn't really the survival aspect, but more the mental aspect. True you didn't exactly have a "good life" in your own time, but you still had ties. Many nights you thought about your family and how you'd possibly never see them again. You even cried on more than one occasion. Maybe you left on bad terms, but probably in the back of you mind somewhere you thought that maybe you'd reconcile somehow with your mom and dad. Of course there was your sister as well, though you probably thought about her more since you used some of the knowledge from her stories to help you through this. You found the inner strength to carry on by learning the language, the surroundings and everything else you could. It's quite the accomplishment really. Unfortunately the only thing you haven't learned is how to get back home. You haven't lost hope on that dream though. Magic seems to be more common, or rather more impressive from what you've seen of it. The city of Galpatolis is protected by a giant invisible shield for example and when a dragon attacked (You nearly shit your pants when you saw one of those for the first time especially since it was much larger than the stories you heard) the beast couldn't even penetrate the defenses and its breath attack was reflected back. Eventually it was brought down by more magical defenses that disintegrated it completely. If the magic here has that power, then surely there might be a way back home with it. The main problem is magic seems to be highly restricted to the upper class. Like nobles and such. It isn't even like you've ever found any practicing hedge wizards or witches. Those types apparently get rounded up fairly quickly or they probably live far away from the Empire, which is pretty damn large. (As far as you can tell you're currently located where the Delantium Kingdom would be located and Galpatis Empire stretches much more than that.) There doesn't even seem to be any "divine magic" either or religion as you know it anyway. The citizens of the Empire all seem to worship the current Emperor as a "living god." (The body just being a vessel for him until he discards it for a new one) Deities in any other sense seem to be fringe beliefs at best or considered to be reserved for uncivilized barbarians that live outside the empire. In any case, you've asked around and done as much research as you can on the matter and there is one place in the Empire which has slightly more relaxed rules on magic and that's the town of Arcanius. Though it's not so much of a town as it is a giant magic testing area. There is where all the less disciplined, unwanted bastard children of nobles who have minor abilities or just downright anti-social wizards go to practice their skills without as much supervision though apparently there is still a powerful warden that oversees everything. The funny thing is, it isn't restricted to go there, but there is little reason for the average non-magical person to do so. For one thing it's a very long journey and not in the most hospitable place of the Empire (Close to the Cloudpeake Mountains) Second, it isn't like the average Empire citizen wants to hang around a bunch of unhinged miscreant magic types. Though for you, it's probably your only possible chance at getting back home. In any event, you've raised enough coin and made the right shady connections to gain rare passage there. The use of carriages is a lot more exclusive during this time, let alone using them to travel to another city. However seeing as you're heading to a town not many want to go to anyway, your obvious lack of nobility isn't as much of an issue. Indeed you'll probably be assumed to be another bastard. The ride leaves tomorrow and you need to be on it so you need to get your rest. You spend the rest of the day and night packing everything you plan on taking, because if all goes to plan, you won't be coming back. You head to where the carriages are getting ready to leave and with a few extra bribes, bullshit explanations, and general apathy of the soldiers, you're waved into one of the carriages heading to Arcanius. It's going to be a several day journey from what you know so you're glad when you find that you have a carriage all to yourself. You'll be able to stretch out. Eventually there is some shouting heard outside, along with the crack of several whips. Before you know it you're on your way. You never were much of a reader before, but seeing how long this trip is going to be, you figured it would be a good idea to take some literature with you along the way. If you do manage to get back, you might even be able to sell this stuff for a hefty profit. Galpatis items would no doubt go for a lot. (And you've collected a few other small items with this in mind) As you spend a few days reading some books (and improve your basic understanding of the Empire's language in general) your thoughts start to wander a bit. What if you've changed the future just by being here? You've never pondered this before, but maybe it's due to reading too much philosophy during the trip, but what if you've changed things? You can't imagine that you've changed that much since you've surprisingly haven't even killed anyone since being here. You've stolen a lot of things, but is any of that really going to make a difference in the long run? You don't know. What if you go back and there is nothing to go back to? Or more specifically what if you made changes here to the point that you don't exist? "Oh shit." You mutter as you ponder this new possibility. At first you were concerned that you might not be able to get back home. Now you're concerned that maybe you shouldn't go back home! You go back and forth on this many times. Staying here has always been something you thought might be inevitable anyway so would it really matter? You get the impression that if you stayed here, you could probably carve out a future for yourself. You think with time and effort you could rise to be greater than your current status in the criminal world. Hell, you probably could get your own organization started. For all you know you're the founder of the Ebony Claw Syndicate. Now you start to wonder if you were MEANT to be here. "What the hell am I thinking? I need to go back! I can't fucking stay here...can I?" you say to yourself. In any case your struggles with metaphysical matters soon turn into very real struggles because your carriage (along with the rest) are suddenly attacked! You hear shouting and the galloping of several horses. A look outside your window and you see a bunch of figures on horseback armed with spear type weapons and bows. At this range you think they might be green skinned. Probably orcs given the noises they're making. So much for Empire territory being safe everywhere. Granted you are currently closer to one of its borders, but you'd think that would just mean they'd protect it a hell of a lot better. The carriage you're currently on goes faster, but it's obvious that the orc raiders are going to attempt to cut everyone off assuming they don't kill everyone with arrows first. Several of said arrows go into your carriage and you try to get as flat as possible. You really wish you still had your pistol. You'd at least be able to fire back. "THEY'RE GOING TO CATCH UP TO US! EVERYONE TO ARMS!" you hear someone shout and the carriage comes to a halt. Last time you looked, there was a hell of a lot of orcs. Granted you have some of the Empire's soldiers with you and hopefully a few of the bastard passengers in the other carriages are above average with their lack of formal magic training, but it's not going to be an easy fight. You almost wonder if you should just run for your life. As strange as it is, you haven't been in a real life or death fight in years since you've been here. You're probably a little rusty. There's also the fact that most of the people you ever fought with were other humans. Orcs are a whole different story. Especially this blood thirsty looking lot. > You help fight off the orcs You need to get to Arcanius. If you run and these assholes lose, then you're in for a long walk. If you run away and they live, you can't imagine that the survivors aren't going to be keen on taking you along after you abandoned them, also resulting in a long walk. You're going to have to at least make the attempt, as much as you'd rather just run. Still, there's no reason to go rushing headlong into battle. On top of being on horseback, the orcs are armed with bows, spears and javelins. You aren't some heavily armored soldier and you don't have magic powers to fire back. If you still had your pistol this might not be as big of a deal since you could easily fire back at them. Since you don't have any of those things, you figure you'll continue to hide in the carriage until you see a suitable opening to attack. You remain low to the floor in the carriage, occasionally looking out the window. You mostly the orcs circling about on horseback and using their bows to their advantage, though a couple of the novice mages are breaking up that advantage by slinging a few magic missile spells while hiding behind the shield wall that the soldiers have created. For a while it looks like you might survive all this and not even have to fight after all. Unfortunately that's when the leader shows up. He's not riding a horse either, but a chariot pulled by what looks like giant armored boars. Several of his people rally in front of him and they all make a beeline charge towards the soldiers, while others ride around to flank the sides. To their credit, the soldiers hold the wall and a few of the mages don't even run and instead try to take out the main force approaching, but ultimately the orcs have more numbers and the leader is tough. His chariot crashes spectacularly into the shield wall, breaking through and trampling several of the soldiers. The boars and chariot aren't in the best of shape either of course, but that doesn't matter since the leader has already jumped off it and begin chopping people up directly with a huge axe. "Shit. Should have left when I had the chance." You say and leave the carriage as quick as you can. Realizing that this is a lost battle, you quickly start trying to free one of the living horses still attached to one of the carriages (and desperately trying to get free of the chaos by trying to drag the carriage despite the fact that it's dead fellows along side it are preventing such a thing) Of course while you're trying to do this one of the mounted orcs appears and gallops straight towards you. You try to get back in the carriage to avoid being trampled or cut down, but instead the orc grabs the last javelin on his back and throws it at you. Predictably he's a good shot and you're impaled through the back and out your chest. Your death is instantaneous.

Year 21 "Oh come on Saldinius you can't do better than that?" you say. "Sorry, but times are hard right now, that's the best I can offer!" Saldinius replies making a shrugging motion. "Bah, fine. You're lucky I got more important shit to do." You take your coin from Saldinius and make your way back to your humble room back at an inn. (Some things never change) The Galpatis Empire might be going through a "Golden Age" but from what you can tell life is pretty much the same here as it was in your time. The poor bastards are struggling to survive, the rich bastards are sitting on their fat asses reaping all the benefits and everyone in between is just trying to make their own way to be a rich bastard and avoid becoming one of the poor bastards. Still, you suppose you could have wound up in a worse city when you got stuck here. Galapolis is the shining jewel and seat of the Empire and it's easily five times the size of Holgard ever was. There is no shortage of opportunity for a rogue like yourself here. Crime doesn't change too much after all and if anything you're probably a little more skilled at it than most. That first year was really hard though. You sometimes didn't know if you were going to make it or not. It wasn't really the survival aspect, but more the mental aspect. True you didn't exactly have a "good life" in your own time, but you still had ties. Many nights you thought about your family and how you'd possibly never see them again. You even cried on more than one occasion. Maybe you left on bad terms, but probably in the back of you mind somewhere you thought that maybe you'd reconcile somehow with your mom and dad. Of course there was your sister as well, though you probably thought about her more since you used some of the knowledge from her stories to help you through this. You found the inner strength to carry on by learning the language, the surroundings and everything else you could. It's quite the accomplishment really. Unfortunately the only thing you haven't learned is how to get back home. You haven't lost hope on that dream though. Magic seems to be more common, or rather more impressive from what you've seen of it. The city of Galpatolis is protected by a giant invisible shield for example and when a dragon attacked (You nearly shit your pants when you saw one of those for the first time especially since it was much larger than the stories you heard) the beast couldn't even penetrate the defenses and its breath attack was reflected back. Eventually it was brought down by more magical defenses that disintegrated it completely. If the magic here has that power, then surely there might be a way back home with it. The main problem is magic seems to be highly restricted to the upper class. Like nobles and such. It isn't even like you've ever found any practicing hedge wizards or witches. Those types apparently get rounded up fairly quickly or they probably live far away from the Empire, which is pretty damn large. (As far as you can tell you're currently located where the Delantium Kingdom would be located and Galpatis Empire stretches much more than that.) There doesn't even seem to be any "divine magic" either or religion as you know it anyway. The citizens of the Empire all seem to worship the current Emperor as a "living god." (The body just being a vessel for him until he discards it for a new one) Deities in any other sense seem to be fringe beliefs at best or considered to be reserved for uncivilized barbarians that live outside the empire. In any case, you've asked around and done as much research as you can on the matter and there is one place in the Empire which has slightly more relaxed rules on magic and that's the town of Arcanius. Though it's not so much of a town as it is a giant magic testing area. There is where all the less disciplined, unwanted bastard children of nobles who have minor abilities or just downright anti-social wizards go to practice their skills without as much supervision though apparently there is still a powerful warden that oversees everything. The funny thing is, it isn't restricted to go there, but there is little reason for the average non-magical person to do so. For one thing it's a very long journey and not in the most hospitable place of the Empire (Close to the Cloudpeake Mountains) Second, it isn't like the average Empire citizen wants to hang around a bunch of unhinged miscreant magic types. Though for you, it's probably your only possible chance at getting back home. In any event, you've raised enough coin and made the right shady connections to gain rare passage there. The use of carriages is a lot more exclusive during this time, let alone using them to travel to another city. However seeing as you're heading to a town not many want to go to anyway, your obvious lack of nobility isn't as much of an issue. Indeed you'll probably be assumed to be another bastard. The ride leaves tomorrow and you need to be on it so you need to get your rest. You spend the rest of the day and night packing everything you plan on taking, because if all goes to plan, you won't be coming back. You head to where the carriages are getting ready to leave and with a few extra bribes, bullshit explanations, and general apathy of the soldiers, you're waved into one of the carriages heading to Arcanius. It's going to be a several day journey from what you know so you're glad when you find that you have a carriage all to yourself. You'll be able to stretch out. Eventually there is some shouting heard outside, along with the crack of several whips. Before you know it you're on your way. You never were much of a reader before, but seeing how long this trip is going to be, you figured it would be a good idea to take some literature with you along the way. If you do manage to get back, you might even be able to sell this stuff for a hefty profit. Galpatis items would no doubt go for a lot. (And you've collected a few other small items with this in mind) As you spend a few days reading some books (and improve your basic understanding of the Empire's language in general) your thoughts start to wander a bit. What if you've changed the future just by being here? You've never pondered this before, but maybe it's due to reading too much philosophy during the trip, but what if you've changed things? You can't imagine that you've changed that much since you've surprisingly haven't even killed anyone since being here. You've stolen a lot of things, but is any of that really going to make a difference in the long run? You don't know. What if you go back and there is nothing to go back to? Or more specifically what if you made changes here to the point that you don't exist? "Oh shit." You mutter as you ponder this new possibility. At first you were concerned that you might not be able to get back home. Now you're concerned that maybe you shouldn't go back home! You go back and forth on this many times. Staying here has always been something you thought might be inevitable anyway so would it really matter? You get the impression that if you stayed here, you could probably carve out a future for yourself. You think with time and effort you could rise to be greater than your current status in the criminal world. Hell, you probably could get your own organization started. For all you know you're the founder of the Ebony Claw Syndicate. Now you start to wonder if you were MEANT to be here. "What the hell am I thinking? I need to go back! I can't fucking stay here...can I?" you say to yourself. In any case your struggles with metaphysical matters soon turn into very real struggles because your carriage (along with the rest) are suddenly attacked! You hear shouting and the galloping of several horses. A look outside your window and you see a bunch of figures on horseback armed with spear type weapons and bows. At this range you think they might be green skinned. Probably orcs given the noises they're making. So much for Empire territory being safe everywhere. Granted you are currently closer to one of its borders, but you'd think that would just mean they'd protect it a hell of a lot better. The carriage you're currently on goes faster, but it's obvious that the orc raiders are going to attempt to cut everyone off assuming they don't kill everyone with arrows first. Several of said arrows go into your carriage and you try to get as flat as possible. You really wish you still had your pistol. You'd at least be able to fire back. "THEY'RE GOING TO CATCH UP TO US! EVERYONE TO ARMS!" you hear someone shout and the carriage comes to a halt. Last time you looked, there was a hell of a lot of orcs. Granted you have some of the Empire's soldiers with you and hopefully a few of the bastard passengers in the other carriages are above average with their lack of formal magic training, but it's not going to be an easy fight. You almost wonder if you should just run for your life. As strange as it is, you haven't been in a real life or death fight in years since you've been here. You're probably a little rusty. There's also the fact that most of the people you ever fought with were other humans. Orcs are a whole different story. Especially this blood thirsty looking lot. > You Run Remembering when your other carriage ride was attacked by bandits, you didn't stick around and fight them, you took off and ran and it worked out (more or less). Seems like the same strategy should apply here. You get out of the carriage and start unhooking one of the horses tied to your carriage. The driver who is still nearby sees what you're doing. "Hey! What the hell are you doing? You need to start slinging spells at those orcs!" the driver shouts. "Yeah, well that won't be happening." You say. The driver at this point grabs your arm. "And why the fuck not?" "Because I'm not a fucking wizard asshole!" you reply and then slug the driver in face. He falls to the ground and you successfully get the horse free. You're about to mount it when the driver once again attempts to stop you. "Cowardly sonof..." That's all he gets out before you shove a dagger in his throat and kick him to the ground again. You don't bother to retrieve the dagger as you see orcs quickly swaming the area, you just get on the horse and gallop away. Your next plan is to follow the road and hopefully you'll eventually reach your destination. It's not ideal and you're still not exactly sure of the directions, but you're hoping you can figure it out as you go or hope that the Empire at least has signs on their more isolated roads even if they apparently don't have proper security on them. You haven't gotten far when a javelin whizzes past you. You look behind and see two orcs in pursuit. You can't really do much except duck as low as you can and try to outpace them. You see a bridge in the distance and head towards it. You feel something hit your back, or rather your backpack. Fortunate that you were wearing it to block the arrow. One of the orcs has dispensed with ranged attacks and is concentrating on closing the gap. When you get to the bridge, he's almost on you and swinging a morning star. You draw your sword and try to swing it at the orc. Unfortunately the orc's morning star partially wraps around it. Between riding and awkwardly trying to fight, you don't have enough grip to pull the sword back, especially since the orc is much stronger and pulling his own weapon back as well. So you do the only logical thing and let go of the sword causing the orc to pull too much on his end, lose his balance; fall off his horse and over the side of bridge. You don't have too much time to celebrate however since the other orc hasn't given up on ranged attacks and throws his last javelin at you. On the plus side it doesn't hit you. The bad news is it hits the horse causing it to flail and causing you to also lose balance and go over the side of the bridge! The water isn't excessively deep, but the current in the river is strong that it instantly starts carrying your away. You no idea where the hell it's taking you, but your main concern is trying not to drown. You tread water for a while in your attempt to get to shore despite the strong current. Eventually you manage to grab on to a fallen tree trunk and drag yourself to shore. You're soaked, you're cold, and you're exhausted. You lost your pack during your time in the river and you have no idea where you are now, but you're too tired to care. You lie motionless on the muddy bank you're on for a moment just trying to gather yourself, but as they say, no rest for the wicked. "Shit!" you shout just barely rolling out of the way of the large branch wielded by the orc who also fell off the bridge. You don't know where he came from and you didn't even hear him, but none of that matters right now. What matters is how you're going to survive his assault. Miraculously, despite losing nearly all your other possessions in the river, you still have one extra dagger on your person. You draw it, but you don't have a positive feeling about your chances. As tired as you are, the orc is fairly clumsy about swinging his branch at you so you manage to dodge. Obviously more used to fighting on horseback. Still, the orc has a lot more endurance than you do and eventually he catches you with a glancing blow upside your head. You fall to the ground, dazed. Expecting the next hit to crush your skull, you hear the orc make a more anguished cry. You look and see a woman dressed in fur clothing with a bow and she's currently getting another arrow ready now that the orc's attention is directed towards her and didn't go down from the first shot. She hits it again, but it keeps coming. Now she begins to panic, but still attempts to get off another shot. She misses though. Meanwhile, you've managed to recover a bit, and once again you can take the opportunity to run while the orc's attention is divided. > You Run Having no pride and a strong sense of self-preservation, you muster up all your remaining energy and run in the opposite direction of the orc and woman. You run a good distance through some trees, but you soon find yourself very winded and you have to stop. You don't hear anything following you, so you take that as a good sign. The problem now however is you are completely lost. You're not even by the river anymore and you're reluctant to retrace your steps lest you run into your greenskin friend again. You rest a moment and figure afterwards you'll get your bearings though you're now so drained that the moment you lay up against a tree and close your eyes, you fall asleep. When you wake up, it's dark and you're still in pain, along with being cold, the only good thing is you think you must have lost the orc since you doubt if you have reawakened at all Since attempting to travel in this darkness would be foolish in your condition, you don't try. You just continue to try to get some more rest and hope you can find your way back to some sort of civilization at this point because you still really hate the wilderness. You close your eyes again and manage to get back to sleep. At some point you wake up again. This time you couldn't have been asleep too long since it's still dark. However that's not the important part. The important part is the fact that two red eyes are staring at you in the darkness. And it certainly isn't an orc. You grab your dagger and rise to your feet, and that's about all you manage to do before whatever the creature is rushes forward and completely overwhelms you. Your screams are brief before its claws tear through your soft skin and its teeth rip out your tasty organs.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, fantasy, humor] Remembering when your other carriage ride was attacked by bandits, you didn't stick around and fight them, you took off and ran and it worked out (more or less). Seems like the same strategy should apply here. You get out of the carriage and start unhooking one of the horses tied to your carriage. The driver who is still nearby sees what you're doing. "Hey! What the hell are you doing? You need to start slinging spells at those orcs!" the driver shouts. "Yeah, well that won't be happening." You say. The driver at this point grabs your arm. "And why the fuck not?" "Because I'm not a fucking wizard asshole!" you reply and then slug the driver in face. He falls to the ground and you successfully get the horse free. You're about to mount it when the driver once again attempts to stop you. "Cowardly sonof..." That's all he gets out before you shove a dagger in his throat and kick him to the ground again. You don't bother to retrieve the dagger as you see orcs quickly swaming the area, you just get on the horse and gallop away. Your next plan is to follow the road and hopefully you'll eventually reach your destination. It's not ideal and you're still not exactly sure of the directions, but you're hoping you can figure it out as you go or hope that the Empire at least has signs on their more isolated roads even if they apparently don't have proper security on them. You haven't gotten far when a javelin whizzes past you. You look behind and see two orcs in pursuit. You can't really do much except duck as low as you can and try to outpace them. You see a bridge in the distance and head towards it. You feel something hit your back, or rather your backpack. Fortunate that you were wearing it to block the arrow. One of the orcs has dispensed with ranged attacks and is concentrating on closing the gap. When you get to the bridge, he's almost on you and swinging a morning star. You draw your sword and try to swing it at the orc. Unfortunately the orc's morning star partially wraps around it. Between riding and awkwardly trying to fight, you don't have enough grip to pull the sword back, especially since the orc is much stronger and pulling his own weapon back as well. So you do the only logical thing and let go of the sword causing the orc to pull too much on his end, lose his balance; fall off his horse and over the side of bridge. You don't have too much time to celebrate however since the other orc hasn't given up on ranged attacks and throws his last javelin at you. On the plus side it doesn't hit you. The bad news is it hits the horse causing it to flail and causing you to also lose balance and go over the side of the bridge! The water isn't excessively deep, but the current in the river is strong that it instantly starts carrying your away. You no idea where the hell it's taking you, but your main concern is trying not to drown. You tread water for a while in your attempt to get to shore despite the strong current. Eventually you manage to grab on to a fallen tree trunk and drag yourself to shore. You're soaked, you're cold, and you're exhausted. You lost your pack during your time in the river and you have no idea where you are now, but you're too tired to care. You lie motionless on the muddy bank you're on for a moment just trying to gather yourself, but as they say, no rest for the wicked. "Shit!" you shout just barely rolling out of the way of the large branch wielded by the orc who also fell off the bridge. You don't know where he came from and you didn't even hear him, but none of that matters right now. What matters is how you're going to survive his assault. Miraculously, despite losing nearly all your other possessions in the river, you still have one extra dagger on your person. You draw it, but you don't have a positive feeling about your chances. As tired as you are, the orc is fairly clumsy about swinging his branch at you so you manage to dodge. Obviously more used to fighting on horseback. Still, the orc has a lot more endurance than you do and eventually he catches you with a glancing blow upside your head. You fall to the ground, dazed. Expecting the next hit to crush your skull, you hear the orc make a more anguished cry. You look and see a woman dressed in fur clothing with a bow and she's currently getting another arrow ready now that the orc's attention is directed towards her and didn't go down from the first shot. She hits it again, but it keeps coming. Now she begins to panic, but still attempts to get off another shot. She misses though. Meanwhile, you've managed to recover a bit, and once again you can take the opportunity to run while the orc's attention is divided. > You finish off the orc While normally you'd take this opportunity to run, you're pissed enough at the orc for trying to kill you in the first place and grateful enough that this woman just probably saved your life. You run at the orc with your dagger in hand and manage to get it to the ground in its weakened state. You stab it in the back multiple times and don't stop until the woman calls out to you. "Okay. I think you killed it." She shouts. You snap out of your killing trance for a moment and see you've made quite the mess. You stand up breathing heavily. "Fucking greenskins." You exclaim, kicking the dead body. "I hope this isn't a possible invasion. We saw another one a few months ago, though he was much smaller and ran off when he saw us. He was nowhere near as big as this one." The woman remarks. "Fortunately for you that you weren't where I just was, because there was a bunch of orcs that size on horseback about to destroy the Caravan I was part of." The woman shakes her head. "I thought the empire was supposed to be making the land safe. So much for their promises, well anyway, thanks for saving my life. I froze up a bit when that orc didn't go down with the second arrow." The woman says. "You're welcome, but I'd say you saved mine first seeing as that orc would have caved my skull in if you hadn't shown up." You respond. "Hm, I suppose that's true enough. Guess we helped each other. So where was this Caravan and where were you going?" "Shit, I don't even know now. I know I was probably north east of here. There was a stone bridge and then I fell into the river and wound up here. I was travelling from Galpatolis and going to Arcanius." The woman's eyes widen when you say that. "I see. Why?" "I got business there. I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me how I could get there from here." You say walking towards her, but then you experience a moment of fatigue and your legs give out causing you to partially collapse to the ground. The woman goes to help you up. "Hey, you still don't look that great. Look, you're barely in any condition to walk anywhere let along travelling all the way to Arcanius. Why don't you come back with me where you can at least rest and heal up? I mean as I said, you did help me kill the orc. My village isn't that far away." "Okay, yeah that sounds fine." You say not really wishing to argue since she's right about you not being in the best condition right now. The woman tells you her name is Keira and her village is Tarvo. She goes on about how it was absorbed by the Empire decades ago and how they used to even have a sizable amount of soldiers there, but eventually they realized the village was never going to be a problem as far as rebellions go. As it stands there are only a few soldiers and a single Galpatis official who probably got sent there because he pissed someone off. As a result he doesn't really enforce many official Galpatian laws other than something obvious like murder or rape and allows everyone to go about their normal lives. Eventually you get to the village, which is fairly humble. It's probably smaller than your old home of Teckleville. "Hey Keira, you catch that hunting this time?" some other woman asks and points at you. "Sort of. He was fighting an orc and we both brought it down together." Keira replies. "An orc? This close to the village?! Shit. We need to tell the magistrate about that! Not that I really want soldiers stomping about here, but if orcs are going to be a problem then I'd rather we have better defenses then we have!" "Mm. Well, I need to get back to my home and patch him up." "Okay, but don't Ardan see you taking another man inside your home! He might get the wrong idea!" Keira makes a minor laugh and waves at the woman, though you notice Keira also rolling her eyes when she turns her head away. You soon get to Keira's home which isn't large, but you suppose it's big enough to serve Keira's needs since she's living here alone. She gets a fire started and you welcome the warmth since you've been near freezing since you got out of the water. "You know you'll get warmer quicker if you get your clothes off. Those are going to need to dry properly anyway." Keira says. "Um what?" a little taken by surprise. "What? Is what you got under those clothes so impressive that you think I just won't be able to contain myself? Or perhaps you're just shy?" "Well, after the day I had, I really wasn't expecting it to end with a pretty woman asking me to take my clothes off. I'm half expecting you to turn into a monster of some sort which would be more in line with my luck lately." Keira chuckles a bit. "Well that won't happen, so perhaps your luck is better than you think. Perhaps even Yaz is looking over you." "Did you say Yag?" "No, I said Yaz. You know, the god of fortune? I don't suppose he's worshipped in Galpatolis." "No, but he's called Yag where I come from." "Ah. Interesting. I suppose divine beings go by many names though. Glad to know you weren't one of those silly people that worships the emperor though I didn't think you were really from Galpatolis since you don't look like you are." "You could tell just by looking at me?" "I could tell just by how you speak and act. You speak the language like you only just learned it. You're obviously not a native Galpatian. Where are you from originally?" "Eh, I'm originally from a small village far to the south. It's so small, nobody really knows it exists." "Hm, I guess the Empire came and annexed your people too huh?" "Something like that...ouch!" you say feeling the aches and pains in your body. "Okay, I think it's time you took your clothes off, you probably got some wounds that need patching up and I can get to them better if you're naked." "I gotta say, this is still pretty unusual for me. That other woman mentioned someone called Ardan, I mean I don't want your husband..." "Ardan is NOT my husband." "Okay, well boyfriend then." "He's barely that, and if he does come in here, he can just step right back out, because he pissed me off recently anyway. I don't want to talk about that though. Besides, nothing is happening between us anyway. I don't just become involved with strange men I find in the wilderness, so let's get you fixed up." "Okay then if you insist." You still feel a bit weird about all this, but honestly with as much pain you're in right now, you really aren't thinking about Keira in that way. (Well at least not immediately) Eventually Keira stitches up some of your wounds and places some sort of healing salve on them. She then gives you some spare furs to wrap yourself up in while your clothing dries. She tells you that you can stay here for a few days so you can heal up. As much as you're in a hurry to get to Arcanius, it probably would be best if you rested. As the days pass Keira says with you here, she's probably spent more time in her home than she has since her mother died since she had to be around more to take care of her. Apparently Keira prefers being outdoors hunting even when she doesn't need to, even sleeping outside under the stars at times rather than coming home. She says that sometimes she'd like to travel, but she says she's never quite had the nerve to do it. She's not sure why exactly seeing as there isn't much to tie her here except Ardan though once again she doesn't speak much more about him. Keira asks you a few questions about yourself, which you keep vague with half truths, misdirections and outright lies. You don't want to discuss your real situation anymore than she wants to discuss Ardan. Keira also tells you how to get to Arcanius though she doesn't ask why you're going again. Going by her directions, it's going to still be a long ass trip, especially with no horse or other mode of transportation now. You don't even have any supplies for such a journey though maybe Keira will give you some before you leave. When you're feeling slightly better you insist on walking about the village which Keira is happy to see since she doesn't feel the need to check up on you. You wander the village a bit and are mostly met with stares, but nothing more. A few people actually have heard about you since news spread in this village fairly quickly. It's mostly positive, since killing an orc is something to be celebrated here. In fact a few people are so nice they actually give you some free food. As you're accepting a few of these free gifts, a couple of soldiers approach saying that you're the one they've been hearing about and how the magistrate wants to see you about the orc found near the village since a few people have expressed concern to him about it. Seeing as you aren't really doing anything better right now and in no condition to resist. You go with the soldiers and follow to a slightly better looking building than the rest of the village. The magistrate doesn't look like the typical noble that you've seen many times before back in Galpatolis. He's got more facial hair and a general less kept appearance. It's apparent he barely gives a shit about formalities anymore since he gives his nose a quick pick and blows it out before even speaking to you. The meeting isn't very long. The magistrate just asks you some general questions about yourself and how you came to be in the situation where you were fighting an orc in the first place. You give him the same story you told Keira and he seems to accept that as a suitable explanation. He doesn't even ask why you were going to Arcanius. The man just seems to be fulfilling the basics of his duties. "I see. So the orc you were fighting was separated from his fellows. Which means these villagers are jumping to conclusions that there is an imminent attack from orc savages. Glad to hear it, since I doubt if those assholes in the capital would bother sending anyone up here anyway. Very well. You're dismissed." The magistrate says. "Okay. Um, is there any transportation from here to Arcanius?" "Sure, put one foot in front of the other and start walking. What? Did you think we'd give you a horse for killing a single orc that you apparently lead near here in the first place? I got more important matters to care of. Out." And with those words, the magistrate's soldiers start escorting you out the office and soon out the building as well. Well at least the law isn't trying to arrest you for a change. In any case, you get the strong impression you'll have to steal a horse before you leave this place. Not before at least another day of rest though. You wander the village a bit more before heading back to Keira's home. When you arrive, she's still not back yet, though she did say now that you're feeling better, she might be gone a little longer. That's awfully trusting of her to just assume some stranger isn't going to take her stuff. You guess thieves aren't a real problem around here since everyone knows one another and she probably believes you to be an upstanding person. She doesn't have much that you'd want to take anyway, not to mention you'd be quite the scoundrel indeed if you stole from a woman who has done nothing but help you. You aren't quite that much of an asshole. Still, doesn't prevent you from being a little nosey and you look through some of her belonging that are more out in open. As you're picking up what looks to be a flute sitting on a small table by her bed, you hear footsteps behind you. "So you're the guy that killed an orc and has been living here with Keira? You are far less impressive than I heard about." A voice says. You turn around and see a large older man standing in the entryway with a small axe in his hand. You just can't catch a break. "And you're Ardan I presume. Surprised I haven't seen you sooner." You say. "I was out hunting and I come back after a few days only to find that another man is trying to steal MY woman!" Ardan exclaims. "Okay look, I'm not stealing your woman. She's just letting me stay here until I recover. In fact I should be leaving by tomorrow." "Oh so you think you can just fuck my woman and leave then?" "I haven't fucked her! In fact NOTHING has happened between us!" "Oh we're going to see about that. Come on." "What?" "Come on. We're going to both go see Keira. I know her better than anyone and I'll know if she's lying or not when I confront her with you there." "But she's out hunting." "So? I know what grounds she prefers and that's where we're going. Now you're coming with me or I'm going to break your legs and drag you out of here." Ardan grips his axe tightly after threatening you. Well he's no orc, but you doubt if he'd be an easy fight either. The guy is predictably crazy jealous and you suppose to can understand his view point, but that doesn't change the fact that for all you know he's going to just take you out to a more secluded place and murder you there. > You go with Ardan If Ardan has plans on killing you, he doesn't seem like he'd be averse to doing it right here if need be. If you need to run, better that you're not in an enclosed space to more easily get away. "Okay, I'm coming with you. I really don't want any trouble. When we get to Keira, you'll see that nothing is going on." You say and raise your hands up. Ardan is still giving you a look that could kill but seems to calm down enough that he opens the door to let you go through it first. "And don't think about trying to run, I can split a grizzly's skull with this axe from a large distance. Wouldn't take much to do the same to the likes of you." Ardan says as you pass him. The pair of you walk out of the village and in this light and at this range, you see his face better and something about him looks very familiar. "What the fuck are you staring at me for?" Ardan asks. "Nothing! Sheesh, I mean we are walking together and sometimes I'm going to look over at you. You really need to relax, you're going to see that Keira loves you, not me." You say trying to calm him again. "She doesn't love me! If she did, she wouldn't make me angry all the time!" "Well what does she do?" "What does she do? What the hell doesn't she do?! She's constantly having these ideas!" "A dangerous past time indeed." You say and fortunately Ardan doesn't realize your sarcasm and instead continues to rant. "I know! She does silly things like try to play that flute thing instead of focusing on more important matters!" "Like what?" "Like not wasting her time playing a flute for one thing! She's horrible at it anyway and when I helpfully point this out to save her time, she gets pissed at me!" "Wow, I can't imagine why." "Also she wants to leave the village like there's something more out there for her! There's nothing that she needs outside the village that I can't provide! I mean..." If it wasn't obvious before, it's very apparent now that this Ardan is incredibly insecure and most likely controlling. You can see why Kiera didn't want to talk about him. Oddly, he's ranting about her so much now that it's almost like he's angrier at her than he is at you now. A step up you suppose, you figure maybe there might be hope to get out of this without a fight after all. Again though, he seems familiar somehow. Even his voice is starting to remind you of someone you know. "She wants to leave me after all I've fucking done for her! I taught her how to hunt better! I was by her side when her mother was dying! And fucking another man is how she repays me?" "Ardan, I didn't have sex with Keira." "It doesn't even fucking matter if you did or not. My point is, she's letting a damn stranger live with her before ME! That just shits all over our relationship as far as I'm concerned! And another thing..." And then it hits you. You can't even believe it. You recognize this man. Or at least you recognize his facial features and voice. The beard was throwing you before, but there can be no mistake. This Ardan could easily pass for your dad if your dad was more muscular and taller. You've also been yelled at your father enough that the voice is even similar. Ardan has to be an ancestor of yours! What the hell are the chances? Yag must have flipped the coin on the edge for you this time. And if this man is indeed some ancestor of yours that means Keira is also! (You feel a little weird being naked in front of her now) It makes sense; she has similar traits that your sister has. Hell, now that you're thinking about it, Keira does have a similar nose as her. Ardan is obviously older than Keira by probably at least twenty years since she's probably about your age. You sort of wonder how this relationship even got started, but then again an older guy with a much younger woman isn't that uncommon. Still, this is all almost too much for you to comprehend. A few days ago you were pondering if you were meant to be here, well maybe THIS is the reason! Your ancestors are obviously having problems; maybe YOU need to fix them. Meanwhile Ardan is still complaining. "Hey! Are you listening to me? We're going this way!" Ardan shouts. "Oh. Apologies. I was just thinking about your situation and I was wondering if you've tried being more supportive of her." "Supportive? I just told you all the shit I've done for her!" "Yes, but it always seems like you're doing these things and expecting a certain consistent behavior. I mean she's a woman not a dog." "What do you mean?" "What I mean is, it sounds like she just wants you to not yell at her so much when she wants to try something new. You telling her that she sucks at the flute might be the truth, but you could approach it a different way and not just tell her to give it up. You need to be more...sensitive." You can't believe you just gave that as advice, but if that's what it's going to take to make sure you exist, then so be it. Ardan scoffs as you continue. "I mean if she wants to leave the village why not go with her? You're both hunters no? Surely between the pair of you, you would have no trouble in the foraging for food and water aspect or even overcoming dangers." "Because I've lived here all my life and never felt the need to travel. I'm happy where I'm at and SHE needs to be happy too!" "It doesn't really work that way." "What the fuck would you know about it?" "Okay, I'm not saying I'm an expert, but I know that talking to Keira the way you've been telling me you've been doing isn't going to win her over. I mean I've spoke with her and..." "So what then? You telling me YOU know how to talk better to my woman than I do? Is that what you're getting at?" You can't believe your ancestor is THIS much of a stubborn asshole. Or rather you can, but you're almost starting to feel sorry for your great grandmother many times over if this is the guy she's going to have to continue sleeping with so you eventually exist. "You're not understanding me." You say almost immediately realizing your poor choice of words. "So you're saying I'm stupid as well? You know what, you've been doing a lot of fucking talking, trying to fool me. Well I'm not fooled. You've obviously charmed Keira with your words and turned her against me!" "Wha...how?! I only just got here! You were having problems with her long before I arrived!" "Yeah well when I get rid of you that will be one less problem!" "Oh shit!" With a throaty yell, Ardan attacks you with his axe. Fortunately you're a lot more agile than he is, so you manage to dodge his swings. You can't even fight back, since you doubt if you could overpower him physically and you certainly can't kill him. "Ardan! Listen to me! I'm not your enemy!" you shout, but he isn't listening. You continue to back away and dodge, but you aren't sure how much longer you can keep this up because Ardan seems to have a lot of energy in trying to kill you. "Ardan! Stop" you say and just barely manage to duck Ardan's axe. Taking a risk, you draw your dagger and try to stab his weapon arm so he'll at least drop it. You succeed and he drops his axe. When you go to pick it up however, Ardan just decides to tackle you, however the pair of you are near a slope and as a result, both of you go tumbling down a steep hill. You both roll down it gaining speed and eventually even separating from each other. You fortunately manage to grab on to some bushes growing along the slope. Ardan however keeps rolling and that's when you see that the slope doesn't stop on flat ground, but instead what looks to be a long drop over a cliff. "Oh fuck!" you say Ardan just manages to stop himself from going over the side completely by grabbing the cliff edge. You try to run down as fast as you can without tumbling again. "Ardan! Hold on! I'm coming!" you shout. You get just in range and then that's when you see his fingers slip followed by a yell. Your heart sinks and you can only hope that the drop wasn't as far as you think. The yell stops and you slowly look over the side. And that's when you see Ardan's broken body on a pile of rocks. This is a complete disaster. You feel sick and you actually throw up. If your time here hasn't changed history before, it certainly has now, because your family as you know it, is dead. You sort of expect yourself to blink out of existence, but that doesn't happen. You don't know why, but maybe it doesn't work like that because you're still in the past. But what happens now if you return to the future? Even if the mages at Arcanius can help you, you certainly can't return to your time now. You run through a gamut of thoughts and emotions just thinking about all this. In between the thinking you keep kicking yourself for stealing that fucking crown. It warned you and you didn't listen. You then ponder the idea that you keep going back to, "What if you're meant to be here?" and that's when you come to a damning realization. "Shit. It's the only way now." You mutter to yourself and mentally prepare yourself. When you get back to Keira's home, you find that she's home. "Hey, there you are! I was thinking you left for Arcanius without saying goodbye. I mean not that you need to, but it would be the polite thing to do." "Oh, I wouldn't do that. Not when you've done so much for me. In fact I was sort of wondering if you'd come with me." "Come with you? To Arcanius?" "Nah, I've decided a change of plans and I'm just going to head back to Galpatolis. I know how much you said you wanted to travel and see new places, so I figured I'd ask if you wanted to come." Keira looks a bit surprised by all this. "I...I don't really know." Keira remarks. "What are you afraid of? You obviously have a wanderlust that needs to be sated and I'm willing to travel with you so you won't be alone on the journey. I mean we can go to different places if you like, but I figured we'd start with Galpatolis since it's a place I know very well and there's plenty to do there. I mean you could even bring your flute if you like. I noticed one sitting on your table. Didn't even knew you played, I wouldn't mind hearing you." Keira briefly looks over at it and her eyes widen as if this encouragement is the first she's heard in awhile from anyone. You take a deep breath and approach her closer. "Look, I know this is a big change, but sometimes when big changes present themselves, your best bet is to embrace them. I know I haven't known you long and maybe I'm over stepping a boundary here, but I think you're meant for things outside of this simple village." Keira smiles a bit at you. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I might not be so swayed by your charming words. However, I sense that you're being genuine with me and I think you're right anyway. I SHOULD follow my desires. I shall pack immediately!" Keira suddenly kisses you on the cheek and excitedly goes to pack. Since you're a little tired from accidently killing your ancestor and all, you tell her you want to get some sleep and start the journey tomorrow. She agrees and continues to pack. The next day, Keira wakes you up at the crack of dawn and the pair of you leave Tarvo. While you're still a little groggy, Keira is very talkative and still very excited about all this. You figure with as good of terms you're on with her, by the time your reach Galpatolis the pair of you should have already consummated your relationship. A little on the optimistic side perhaps, but you really need to seal this deal because it's not really your life you're worried about anymore, it's your entire lineage. Sure you feel pretty weird about the fact that you're going to be sexing up what is your distant relative, but you remind yourself, that this is the only way. Plus it doesn't hurt that she's attractive and has a pleasant personality. "Hey I meant to ask you before you made your suggestion last night, as I was coming home yesterday, someone told me they thought they saw you coming out of my home with Ardan earlier." Keira remarks. "Ardan? Never saw him. They must have been mistaken, though I'm surprised I never saw him." You reply. "Hm. Yes, it is strange. I thought he'd at least show up threatening you or something similar. He was very jealous and possessive." "Who knows. Hey, how about you play something on your flute?" you say quickly changing the subject. "Oh I don't know. I'm not very good and I only know a few songs that my mother taught me." "Well you can't get good unless you practice!" "I suppose that's true. Okay! I'll play The Laughing Elf and his Talking Unicorn." "I don't believe I know that one. Okay, go ahead." Keira excitedly starts to play her song. And she's fucking terrible. You feel like your ears are being raped. You suffer in silence as she continues to play horribly all the while thinking, she has to get better in her later years. At least you hope she does because it's going to be a punishment if musicianship skips this generation. You also hope her poor skills on the flute don't also match other skills involving blowing. "How does it sound?" Keira asks. "Like nothing I've ever heard before. Just keep at it." You say with a smile. While you're not sure if your life as a rogue is over, but it certainly has taken a very different turn.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] While normally you'd take this opportunity to run, you're pissed enough at the orc for trying to kill you in the first place and grateful enough that this woman just probably saved your life. You run at the orc with your dagger in hand and manage to get it to the ground in its weakened state. You stab it in the back multiple times and don't stop until the woman calls out to you. "Okay. I think you killed it." She shouts. You snap out of your killing trance for a moment and see you've made quite the mess. You stand up breathing heavily. "Fucking greenskins." You exclaim, kicking the dead body. "I hope this isn't a possible invasion. We saw another one a few months ago, though he was much smaller and ran off when he saw us. He was nowhere near as big as this one." The woman remarks. "Fortunately for you that you weren't where I just was, because there was a bunch of orcs that size on horseback about to destroy the Caravan I was part of." The woman shakes her head. "I thought the empire was supposed to be making the land safe. So much for their promises, well anyway, thanks for saving my life. I froze up a bit when that orc didn't go down with the second arrow." The woman says. "You're welcome, but I'd say you saved mine first seeing as that orc would have caved my skull in if you hadn't shown up." You respond. "Hm, I suppose that's true enough. Guess we helped each other. So where was this Caravan and where were you going?" "Shit, I don't even know now. I know I was probably north east of here. There was a stone bridge and then I fell into the river and wound up here. I was travelling from Galpatolis and going to Arcanius." The woman's eyes widen when you say that. "I see. Why?" "I got business there. I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me how I could get there from here." You say walking towards her, but then you experience a moment of fatigue and your legs give out causing you to partially collapse to the ground. The woman goes to help you up. "Hey, you still don't look that great. Look, you're barely in any condition to walk anywhere let along travelling all the way to Arcanius. Why don't you come back with me where you can at least rest and heal up? I mean as I said, you did help me kill the orc. My village isn't that far away." "Okay, yeah that sounds fine." You say not really wishing to argue since she's right about you not being in the best condition right now. The woman tells you her name is Keira and her village is Tarvo. She goes on about how it was absorbed by the Empire decades ago and how they used to even have a sizable amount of soldiers there, but eventually they realized the village was never going to be a problem as far as rebellions go. As it stands there are only a few soldiers and a single Galpatis official who probably got sent there because he pissed someone off. As a result he doesn't really enforce many official Galpatian laws other than something obvious like murder or rape and allows everyone to go about their normal lives. Eventually you get to the village, which is fairly humble. It's probably smaller than your old home of Teckleville. "Hey Keira, you catch that hunting this time?" some other woman asks and points at you. "Sort of. He was fighting an orc and we both brought it down together." Keira replies. "An orc? This close to the village?! Shit. We need to tell the magistrate about that! Not that I really want soldiers stomping about here, but if orcs are going to be a problem then I'd rather we have better defenses then we have!" "Mm. Well, I need to get back to my home and patch him up." "Okay, but don't Ardan see you taking another man inside your home! He might get the wrong idea!" Keira makes a minor laugh and waves at the woman, though you notice Keira also rolling her eyes when she turns her head away. You soon get to Keira's home which isn't large, but you suppose it's big enough to serve Keira's needs since she's living here alone. She gets a fire started and you welcome the warmth since you've been near freezing since you got out of the water. "You know you'll get warmer quicker if you get your clothes off. Those are going to need to dry properly anyway." Keira says. "Um what?" a little taken by surprise. "What? Is what you got under those clothes so impressive that you think I just won't be able to contain myself? Or perhaps you're just shy?" "Well, after the day I had, I really wasn't expecting it to end with a pretty woman asking me to take my clothes off. I'm half expecting you to turn into a monster of some sort which would be more in line with my luck lately." Keira chuckles a bit. "Well that won't happen, so perhaps your luck is better than you think. Perhaps even Yaz is looking over you." "Did you say Yag?" "No, I said Yaz. You know, the god of fortune? I don't suppose he's worshipped in Galpatolis." "No, but he's called Yag where I come from." "Ah. Interesting. I suppose divine beings go by many names though. Glad to know you weren't one of those silly people that worships the emperor though I didn't think you were really from Galpatolis since you don't look like you are." "You could tell just by looking at me?" "I could tell just by how you speak and act. You speak the language like you only just learned it. You're obviously not a native Galpatian. Where are you from originally?" "Eh, I'm originally from a small village far to the south. It's so small, nobody really knows it exists." "Hm, I guess the Empire came and annexed your people too huh?" "Something like that...ouch!" you say feeling the aches and pains in your body. "Okay, I think it's time you took your clothes off, you probably got some wounds that need patching up and I can get to them better if you're naked." "I gotta say, this is still pretty unusual for me. That other woman mentioned someone called Ardan, I mean I don't want your husband..." "Ardan is NOT my husband." "Okay, well boyfriend then." "He's barely that, and if he does come in here, he can just step right back out, because he pissed me off recently anyway. I don't want to talk about that though. Besides, nothing is happening between us anyway. I don't just become involved with strange men I find in the wilderness, so let's get you fixed up." "Okay then if you insist." You still feel a bit weird about all this, but honestly with as much pain you're in right now, you really aren't thinking about Keira in that way. (Well at least not immediately) Eventually Keira stitches up some of your wounds and places some sort of healing salve on them. She then gives you some spare furs to wrap yourself up in while your clothing dries. She tells you that you can stay here for a few days so you can heal up. As much as you're in a hurry to get to Arcanius, it probably would be best if you rested. As the days pass Keira says with you here, she's probably spent more time in her home than she has since her mother died since she had to be around more to take care of her. Apparently Keira prefers being outdoors hunting even when she doesn't need to, even sleeping outside under the stars at times rather than coming home. She says that sometimes she'd like to travel, but she says she's never quite had the nerve to do it. She's not sure why exactly seeing as there isn't much to tie her here except Ardan though once again she doesn't speak much more about him. Keira asks you a few questions about yourself, which you keep vague with half truths, misdirections and outright lies. You don't want to discuss your real situation anymore than she wants to discuss Ardan. Keira also tells you how to get to Arcanius though she doesn't ask why you're going again. Going by her directions, it's going to still be a long ass trip, especially with no horse or other mode of transportation now. You don't even have any supplies for such a journey though maybe Keira will give you some before you leave. When you're feeling slightly better you insist on walking about the village which Keira is happy to see since she doesn't feel the need to check up on you. You wander the village a bit and are mostly met with stares, but nothing more. A few people actually have heard about you since news spread in this village fairly quickly. It's mostly positive, since killing an orc is something to be celebrated here. In fact a few people are so nice they actually give you some free food. As you're accepting a few of these free gifts, a couple of soldiers approach saying that you're the one they've been hearing about and how the magistrate wants to see you about the orc found near the village since a few people have expressed concern to him about it. Seeing as you aren't really doing anything better right now and in no condition to resist. You go with the soldiers and follow to a slightly better looking building than the rest of the village. The magistrate doesn't look like the typical noble that you've seen many times before back in Galpatolis. He's got more facial hair and a general less kept appearance. It's apparent he barely gives a shit about formalities anymore since he gives his nose a quick pick and blows it out before even speaking to you. The meeting isn't very long. The magistrate just asks you some general questions about yourself and how you came to be in the situation where you were fighting an orc in the first place. You give him the same story you told Keira and he seems to accept that as a suitable explanation. He doesn't even ask why you were going to Arcanius. The man just seems to be fulfilling the basics of his duties. "I see. So the orc you were fighting was separated from his fellows. Which means these villagers are jumping to conclusions that there is an imminent attack from orc savages. Glad to hear it, since I doubt if those assholes in the capital would bother sending anyone up here anyway. Very well. You're dismissed." The magistrate says. "Okay. Um, is there any transportation from here to Arcanius?" "Sure, put one foot in front of the other and start walking. What? Did you think we'd give you a horse for killing a single orc that you apparently lead near here in the first place? I got more important matters to care of. Out." And with those words, the magistrate's soldiers start escorting you out the office and soon out the building as well. Well at least the law isn't trying to arrest you for a change. In any case, you get the strong impression you'll have to steal a horse before you leave this place. Not before at least another day of rest though. You wander the village a bit more before heading back to Keira's home. When you arrive, she's still not back yet, though she did say now that you're feeling better, she might be gone a little longer. That's awfully trusting of her to just assume some stranger isn't going to take her stuff. You guess thieves aren't a real problem around here since everyone knows one another and she probably believes you to be an upstanding person. She doesn't have much that you'd want to take anyway, not to mention you'd be quite the scoundrel indeed if you stole from a woman who has done nothing but help you. You aren't quite that much of an asshole. Still, doesn't prevent you from being a little nosey and you look through some of her belonging that are more out in open. As you're picking up what looks to be a flute sitting on a small table by her bed, you hear footsteps behind you. "So you're the guy that killed an orc and has been living here with Keira? You are far less impressive than I heard about." A voice says. You turn around and see a large older man standing in the entryway with a small axe in his hand. You just can't catch a break. "And you're Ardan I presume. Surprised I haven't seen you sooner." You say. "I was out hunting and I come back after a few days only to find that another man is trying to steal MY woman!" Ardan exclaims. "Okay look, I'm not stealing your woman. She's just letting me stay here until I recover. In fact I should be leaving by tomorrow." "Oh so you think you can just fuck my woman and leave then?" "I haven't fucked her! In fact NOTHING has happened between us!" "Oh we're going to see about that. Come on." "What?" "Come on. We're going to both go see Keira. I know her better than anyone and I'll know if she's lying or not when I confront her with you there." "But she's out hunting." "So? I know what grounds she prefers and that's where we're going. Now you're coming with me or I'm going to break your legs and drag you out of here." Ardan grips his axe tightly after threatening you. Well he's no orc, but you doubt if he'd be an easy fight either. The guy is predictably crazy jealous and you suppose to can understand his view point, but that doesn't change the fact that for all you know he's going to just take you out to a more secluded place and murder you there. > You stay put You doubt if you're going to go meet Keira and if Ardan's going to kill you, you're not going to make it easy for him by going where it's isolated. "Yeah, I got a better idea. Let's just wait for Keira to come back home." You say. "No, this needs to be settled now and I'm not going to wait around." Ardan replies. "Well if you think I'm going into the woods with you alone, you're sadly mistaken." "You should have thought about that before you decided to move in on my woman." "Again, I didn't move in on her!" "You're living here and you expect me to believe that?" "Fuck this. Your mind is obviously made up about me, so if you're going to try to kill me, you better just try to do it now, otherwise I'm going to just leave." "You're not going anywhere." Ardan now moves towards you and he looks fully intent on using that axe now. "Well then I guess you've made your choice." You say. "Guess I have." Ardan answers. You draw your dagger and then throw a nearby cup on the small table at Ardan. He blocks his face and then swings his axe at you. In these close quarters its difficult to avoid him, but you're still a lot more agile than him. You honestly don't intend on fighting him, your goal is to get around him and out the door so you can get outside. Ardan swings a few more times and you duck and roll. You stab Ardan in the leg and while he's fallen to one knee due to that wound, you achieve your goal of getting around him and out the door. Your next move is to try to find a horse, which as far as you know the few that are in town are near the magistrate building. You run back towards that way, meanwhile Ardan has recovered from his wound and begins shouting. "STOP THAT FUCKER! HE JUST TRIED TO KILL ME!" he shouts. Unbelievable. Hoping that nobody takes him seriously, you continue to run and then you feel a hard force hit you in the back of the head. You fall to the ground and hear screams of people nearby. Your vision begins to darken as your hands try to feel the back of your head, which of course has Ardan's axe in it. You then hear several people shouting and then nothing at all.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, fantasy] You might as well go together at this point, you knew he wasn't going to be the ideal partner to begin with. Who knows, maybe you can use him as bait or something. "Alright, come on let's go." You say. "Hold on a minute." Warts says and finishes off one of the mugs that wasn't quite empty yet. "Seriously?" "Hey, I'm thirsty. Alright NOW let's go." Warts and you leave the inn and after looking around a bit and scratching his head he beckons you to follow him. He walking just fine, so maybe he isn't that bad off. You continue to follow without another word, until he gets to a secluded spot with a sewer covering. "What the hell are you doing? You ask. "Tryin' to take dis thing off, wat's it look like ya idjit? Help me over here." Warts says trying to take off the sewer lid. "No, I mean why the fuck are we entering the sewers?" "Cuz, it's the best way to get into Reginald's house. He's got a secret passage to it down here." "How the hell you know this?" "Cuz people talk shit all the time and not even realize ol' Warts is even there to lissen. Waz in a garbage bin and heard these two weird guys in red robes talkin about it in an alley awhile back." "...okay I'm not even going to ask why the hell you were in a garbage bin, but weird guys in red robes, secret passages...are you sure Reginald isn't part of some fucking cult? I mean this is starting to sound a lot more complicated and dangerous." "Well, why ya think I wanted someone else to come along?" "YOU said this was for MY benefit!" "Oh yeah...well it is! Look humie, ya gotta take big risks in dis profession. I don't doubt yer skilled. You've lasted longer than most independently in dis city. But I'm tellin ya, there's more out there that yer missin. I mean, sure it's foolish ta go head to head against da ECS, but robbin some rich asshole that may or may not be a wizard? Well dat's different." "I really don't see how since both can get you killed. However, I do see your point to a small degree. I have been playing it a bit on the safe side. Still, if this is looking to be more trouble than it's worth then I'm getting the hell out as quick as possible." "Sounds like a plan ta me." You help Warts with the sewer covering and the pair of you descend into the smelly depths. It actually isn't too bad, but that might be because you're standing next to Warts and his own stench is cancelling out that of the sewers. Warts gets slightly more talkative as you walk to your destination. He mentions that the Thieves Guild has their hideout somewhere down here, but he doesn't know where. Neither does the ECS, since they'd probably mount an attack if they could. Warts also goes on about how he's not fond of the ECS since a lot of them tend to have ties to Fel while he's dedicated to Yag. Says that worshipping Fel if you're a thief is like cheating since he's the god of shadows and all. Though he's not so much opposed to that, so much as he doesn't like all the dedication Fel seems to want. Yag on the other hand doesn't really require anything and he not might bless you anyway, but then he might give you a lot even if you don't do much. Warts claims that ALL the gods are like that, so he might as well pray to one that is at least honest about it all. "Why worship any god at all?" you ask. "Wat? You crazy or sumthin? You don't pick a god, youz gonna be in trouble when ya die! Even pickin' some stupid god like Karn would be better than nuthin! You don't believe in anything an' who knows WHERE yer soul goes! Nah, better to pick somethin' just in case." It's a little surprising just how serious Warts takes religion, well as serious as a follower to the God of Luck and Chance can be anyway. (It also occurs to you how it's weird how everyone's been getting religious on you lately) "Eh, I guess I can sort of see that logic. I'm not really religious, but occasionally I have said the odd thanks to Yag." You say. "That's all ya need man. He's lissening, even if he doesn't do anything." Warts says. You and Warts continue a little longer and then he stops. "Okay, think wez gettin' close. Should be a secret wall around here from what I heard." Warts says and begins pushing on the wall nearby. "This seems a bit unprotected." You say looking around for potential traps. "It's a secret door, maybe he didn't anticipate anyone finding it." "You said the Thieves Guild is down here, surely they would have found it if this is their territory." "It's a big ass sewer and they're the Thieves Guild not the Holgard Watch. Dey don't exactly patrol da place. They're all most likely up top breaking into shit. Besides, I told ya, they ain't the ECS. They aren't very territorial anyway. Dat's why we can walk around here without as much concern...well except for giant rats and such." Just as you're about to ask Warts another question about the Thieves' Guild, Warts finds what you're looking for and when he does so a large bolt just whizzes over his head and into the wall behind him. "Man, good thing Yag lissened to me." Warts says. "Good thing you're short and constantly walk around slightly hunched over most of the time. Oddly, this makes me feel slightly better. If there weren't any traps at all I'd be even more paranoid about how easy this was. So far it seems like this guy just has shitty security, but then we haven't actually gone inside yet." You respond. You and Warts both enter the passage and soon find yourself in a cellar with a bunch of wine barrels. Tons of them. Warts looks like he's hit a gold mine and immediately starts grabbing wine bottles. "Hey, leave some room for actual valuable, you're supposed to be carrying shit for me, remember?" "I am grabbing valuables! You realize how much old bottles of wine go fer?" "Okay, point taken, just don't drink them all." While Warts plays wine expert, you take a look around the room and find that there are stairs leading up and a solid metal door to your left, which is locked. Since you don't want to go too far from Warts while he's alone with a bunch of wine, you stay in the cellar and pick the lock of the metal door, which is surprisingly easy. You enter the dimly lit room and find what could only be a room dedicated to dark magical endeavors of some sort. There's two demonic looking idols starring at you and the pentagrams and symbols on the floor aren't any you recognize. There's also blood splatters on them. From what little you now know of this Reginald, this guy is into some dark shit. Everything about this makes you want to just get the hell out right now, but you're already here now and you'd hate to just leave with wine bottles. You walk carefully around the room making sure you don't step on any symbols or inside any circles just in case. You also keep an eye on the demonic idols, which still feel like they're watching you. There isn't much else in the room itself, though there is another door off to the side, this one isn't locked and you open it. However, you soon wish you hadn't. You see a row of cages and various torture devices along with dead bodies in most of them. "Fucking hell, I came here to rob some shit, not take a tour of a slaughterhouse." You say to yourself. Just as you're about to shut the door a voice calls out. "Stranger! You're not one of them! Not one those red robed freaks! (sob) Please! Help me! I can't die here, not like this! I watched my...(choke) just please...help. Who knows when they'll be back!" a nearly naked young girl in a cage begs. She reaches out to you desperately hoping that you'll rescue her. You definitely didn't sign up for this...however given what you've seen here, you'd be quite the heartless dick if you just left her here to this horrible fate. "Curse my parents for some of their morality getting through..." you say and head over to the cage. The lock isn't that difficult to pick and you soon get it open causing the girl to not even wait around, she just runs past you, out the torture room and beyond. You suppose you can understand her not wanting to stick around, but a thank you would have been nice. So much for good deeds. Seeing as there isn't anything else in here, you return to the wine room where you unsurprisingly see Warts drinking. "Hey, some humie gal just ran through here an into da sewers wearin' practically nuthin'." Warts says. "Yeah and I'm glad to see that didn't interrupt your important work. Thought you were supposed to be helping." You say. "Wat's yer problem? I am helpin'! Sides dese valuable bottles, I found out one of the barrels had a hollowish sound. Smashed it open and there was a body inside, idiots didn't bother looting it and he had some good stuff still on him." Warts answers and takes another swig from a bottle. "Warts, you're telling me you found a body in one of these barrels and you're STILL drinking the fucking wine?" Warts suddenly stops drinking. He ponders your words a bit and then sniffs the top of the bottle. Then he promptly gives a little shrug. "Still tastes alright ta me." Warts says "Of course it does. Look, we're getting the hell out of here. This place has been a big fat zero." You say. "What about all these valuable bottles of wine? An' ya haven't even checked da upstairs yet!" "Yeah well I've checked enough of the basement to know that most likely there isn't going to be anything that precious up there that's going to make me want to stay another moment in this fucking house. There's some dark magic going on here and I'm not sticking around for it rub off on me." "Just say a prayer ta Yag, you'll be fine." "And as you like to point out, he might not listen." "Fine, we can leave if you really wants, but I'm just sayin' we haven't gone through the entire house yet." Funny how Warts is content on letting you do all the exploration. He could have easily been searching the upstairs while you were stumbling upon sacrificial captives. > You search the rest of the house Well in for a copper in for a trove. "Fine, but whatever I find I'm keeping. You stay here and continue getting drunk seeing that that's what you're good at." You say and make your way up the stairs while Warts continues to do what you suggested. You get to the ground floor and begin to search the downstairs cautiously and methodically, all the while grabbing whatever looks valuable. By the time you're finished, you've more or less filled your pack, you're starting to think that Warts had the right idea after all, but you decide you've pushed your luck enough and that it's time to go, even if there is a second floor to loot. As you're making your way back down the stairs, Warts suddenly is running up them. "Warts, what the hell?" you ask "Up! Go back! Up! We gotta... HRUP!" Warts vomits all over your legs and boots. You're about to yell at him, but then you soon see what's caused all this excitement from him in the first place. Several people in red robes are shouting and running after him, and now most likely you too now that they've seen you. You immediately turn around and run back up the stairs, though Wart is busily trying to get past you. In between that, the heavier pack and the vomit still covering your boots, you end up slipping and tumbling down the stairs and into the cultists. While the cultists cushion your fall down the stairs, it doesn't do much on improving your situation overall. There are enough of them that after the fall to the bottom, you're immediately nabbed, beaten and stripped. And not just your of your weapons, you're stripped of your all your clothing and throw you into one of the cells that you rescued that girl. They're even less pleased when they learn that you released her. You aren't killed right away, but after a couple of weeks you wish you had. By the time you're sacrificed, you're a babbling mess that is grateful for death.

Year 17 This city is a violent crime ridden pit of corruption. And while you don't actually mind all that, what you do wish is that you didn't have to concern yourself with potentially stumbling into Ebony Claw Syndicate territory, which according to most of them is basically the entire city. They're more of a danger than the Holgard Watch. There's also the Thieves' Guild, which is the ECS chief rival from what you've learned. Apparently the Thieves Guild was established here first, but when the ECS moved in with their Blue Dream trade, they've been slowly winning the fight over the underworld Originally, the Guild was more of a loose confederation of thieves and such. Nobody ever forced anyone to join, but there were benefits if you did such as not having to worry about paying extra for fencing stolen goods, ease of bribing guards for major crimes, etc. As the Thieves' Guild has been losing ground however, they've been less "free spirited" and have been actively trying to recruit any freelance thief, burglar, pick pocket they can. However, they're more reasonable about it than the ECS since they still don't force you to join and will let you remain independent. As opposed to the ECs who normally just beat the hell out of any freelancers as a warning once and if they get caught again, it ends much worse. There are a few other smaller factions, but they're so low that they're barely worth considering. Fortunately so far you've managed to avoid the attention of any group mainly due to focusing on stealing actual coin and dealing primarily with a non-aligned fence by the name of Yinen for your stolen valuables. You met him at the Hell's Own Inn where you still reside at. Funny thing is you didn't seek him out; he came to you asking if you needed a fence. After a bit of suspicion and getting over some trust issues (Which you still have concerning him) you agreed and he's been taking all your business. You aren't sure who he's selling your stolen goods to and he's probably taking a little more than he should, but it's worth it just so you don't have to worry about selling the stuff yourself or seeking one out and having to get involved with one of the major factions in the city. In any case, you've been more or less making a decent living here and despite a healthy amount of paranoia, you actually like it here. It's definitely not Teckleville. "Yeah, these will fetch you a nice price. Might take a few days though. You alright with waiting?" Yinen remarks examining your gems. "Yeah, that's fine. Just get me the value in bullets and a pistol cleaning kit." You say. "Oh. Okay, sure. But more bullets again? Are you planning to shoot everyone in Holgard? I didn't realize you used it so much, I would think such a loud weapon would incur too much noise in your profession." "I don't use it much actually, but it makes me feel safe." "Well, can't argue with that. Things in this city have been feeling a little more tense than usual. Rumors are that there are dark forces gathering to stage a coup on the Baron." "Dark forces? What, as opposed to the dark forces under the Baron's control?" "Nah, I mean like REAL dark forces. There's just rumors about religion being involved, it's very weird." "What, you mean like Fel, the god of shadows? You told me their temple has ties to the ECS. You saying the Ebony Claw Syndicate is going to take over the city directly?" "I dunno, but I don't think it's them we should worry about. Tell me, have you ever heard of Neroth?" "Not really religious so no." "Not surprised, most people don't unless they're really into the old text dedicated to Joachim. You familiar with him right?" "Yeah, it's general a religion that preaches peace and shit." "Well there was a time when it didn't and that's mainly due to Neroth. Neroth was like the opposite of Joachim. Good verses evil type shit. People forget that it was only a couple hundred years ago when the Church of Joachim was burning and crusading on a regular basis due to their desire to stomp out any followers of Neroth and things they generally tied to him such as the supernatural. Nowadays the Joachimites are generally peace loving pacifists for the most part, but that's only due being mostly successful in destroying those that follow Neroth and then subsequently going so overboard that some of the Joachimites finally realized they needed to rein it in before they became like their hated enemies." "Hm, didn't realize you were a theologian. How do you know all this?" you ask. "Eh, I grew up in a Joachim household. Didn't take obviously, but still I don't like hearing rumors of Neroth worshippers being in the city. I mean say what you want about Karn or even Fel, but they aren't actively evil deities. Neroth is bad news man." Before you can respond you're suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice. "Bah, none of doze gods compare to Yag. No point worrying about shit, when you've run outta luck, yer time iz up and that's all there iz to it." You look and see Warts standing nearby clutching something in his hand. Looks like a bunch of small figurines of some sort. "Warts? What're you doing here?" you ask. "Sellin these figures. Found 'em in da woods with a bunch of broken boxes. Probably somethin off a Caravan that bandits were tryin to steal from. Dunno why dey didn't take these. Tried to use dem for barter with Spiderfangs, but dey dumb. Think these things iz cursed. Superstitious idjits." Warts remarks and hands five figurines to Yinen who takes them. "Hmm, odd. They look like something that you'd find in some tribal village. I'd say Sotakian, but these don't look reptilian enough and I've never known the lizards to have craft stuff out of valuable material. You got Ivory, jade, gold, silver and platinum here. Wonder if they're a complete set. Well I'm sure I'll find someone interested." Yinen hands Warts a bag of coins, which Warts takes and then looks displeased about. "Ey! Wat's dis then? I may be just some dumb halfbreed hobgob, but I know damn well that shit is worth more!" Warts exclaims. "I gave you MORE than enough Warts. I still have find someone interested in this shit as you put it." Yinen remarks. "Bah, you humies always tryin' ta cheat. Fine. Should be enuff for drink and Snuffit for awhile anyways." You take your leave to head up to your room, you figure you'll stay in a couple days waiting for Yinen's payment. You've got enough to take a break for a while. As you're half way to your room, you hear the patter of feet running behind you and you quickly turn around with your pistol. "EY! Don't shoot!" Warts says. "Warts, what the hell, you should know better than to run up on me like that! Why are you following me anyway?" "I wanted ta catch ya before I left. I noze I still owez youz a debt, well I'm here ta repay." "Oh?" "Yeah, I wuz thinkin' I could help ya on a job or sumthin." "Help? No I don't think so. I work alone." "An howzat workin' out? Doesn't look like yer doin' all that well if yer still livin' here. If I had ta guess, youz still small time." "I do alright halfbreed, and what's it to you anyway?" "I'm just sayin' you could be doin' better if you went fer better targets. Have you even broken into one of dem nobles' homes yet?" "Well, no...but I'm working up to it." "Pfft. Wat kinda thief are ya?" "Look, I've cased the high class rich area several times and the homes got security up the ass. The aristocrats got more watchmen on their payroll than the average merchant. I know I'm no slouch, but if I can get enough coin with lower risk targets, why take the fucking chance? Besides, I'm trying to keep a low profile anyway." "Well what about Lord Reginald?" "Who?" "Sheesh, youz been in dis city for a year and you don't even know the major players! Lord Reginald is some well off guy dat got a title becuz he's dah Baron's son's friend. Hear he's more than dat though." "Yeah so what's this all got to do with me?" "Well he lives more on the edge of da high end district. He doesn't even own a mansion, just a modest house. He has no family an' he also doesn't pay for any extra guards. Not even mercs, which prolly means he's got more coin than it appears" "There has to be a catch. I mean if he's well off and a special friend of the Baron's son, then he's gotta have connections and protection." "Well, dere's some rumors about him and not just about him pokin' the Baron's son like a woman. Like he's got magic powers or sumthin'. Guess makes sense he don't need extra help." "So you're saying we should got rob a wizard." "Nah, he's no wizard, he's just got some magic powers. Prolly just rumors anyway. Sides, should be easiest stealin' from one lone man, than one who has a shitload of guards right?" "A lone man, who might be able to turn me into ash with a flick of a finger and has who knows whatever else in his home. Assuming I even go for this, why do I need you to come along again? I didn't realize you were actually a thief, figured you were more of an opportunistic scavenger." "Pfft, I've been sneakin' around, nicking stuff long before youz was even thought about! You try growin up as a half breed in a mostly hostile tribe. I had ta steal to survive sometimes! Sides I could carry more stuff for ya! Also, if ya getz inta trouble I could help. Like last time!" "Last time I helped YOU." "Yeah, well I'm offerin' anyway. I don't even want dat big of a cut..." And THERE it is. Warts definitely isn't doing this solely for altruistic reasons. "Thought you said you were helping me out?" "I am! You don't expect me to do it fer free do ya? Come on, give a hob halfbreed a break. The place is ripe fer the pluckin' an best of all ya don't have ta worry if its Ebony Claw territory." You shake your head that you're considering this. "Okay, okay, we can go do this, but I'm getting some rest first, just tell me where the place is exactly and I'll meet you there later. When is the best time to break into this place anyway?" Warts gives you some directions and then says it probably would be best to meet him there around midnight since he says he's seen this Reginald person leave at night and stay out until dawn. Sounds more like something you do, but if he's not going to be there then that's when you need to be there. You part ways with Warts and get some sleep. Hours pass and when you wake up you find that it's night time, still too early though. You stay your room a bit going over all your tools and equipment and making sure everything is in order. Eventually you decide that you're going to be as ready as you're going to be and leave. You head downstairs and find that the inn has the usual crowd with one important difference. You see Warts lying under a table with a couple of big mugs of alcohol on it. Surprisingly, the owner has not thrown him out; unsurprisingly everyone is avoiding that table. You walk over to the halfbreed and kick him in the foot, which causes him to stir, so he's not completely out of it. "Warts! What the hell are you doing here?" you ask. "Huh? I...uh...buh...I waz just..." Warts slurs as he sits up and just manages to not hit his head on the table. "You were just what? What were you doing Warts? Fixing the table leg? Counting the number of nails in the wood? Having an out of body experience and travelling a different plane of existence? You talked me into doing this job and now I find you in no condition to do anything." "Ey! I'm up! I'm up! I ain't forgot wat we're supposed ta do, an' I'm more than ready! I'm not drunk, I just had a little rest like you did." You have your doubts about that, though Warts stands up without too much trouble. > You go by yourself Warts is going to be a liability, you're better off going by yourself. You've already got the directions. "Ey! Where youz goin?!" Warts exclaims. "Not with you that's for certain." You reply and leave. Wasting no more time, you make your way to Reginald's home as quickly as possible. When you arrive, the place looks fairly unprotected. The Holgard Watch is still patrolling the area of course, but they aren't standing guard over it like gargoyles. It's a simple matter of just waiting and sneaking over to the front door, which has a pathetically easy lock. You walk about the dimly lit ground floor and begin looking around cautiously. It doesn't take long before you start pilfering several expensive looking items. With your pack nearly full of loot, you consider leaving, but you figure you should at least give the second floor a look seeing as you're here and you may just find something even better. You walk upstairs and begin creeping around the landing and going in the various rooms. One thing you notice is while you were told how this place was the home of some big cultist, so far you haven't really found any evidence of anything like that. Well at least not until you find Reginald's master bedroom. It is there that while going through a few containers, you find evidence of his religious practices namely in the form of some dark tomes. You glance through them and see a lot of writing in a language you don't understand and you start to feel a little uncomfortable. Like a chill goes up your spine. "Fuck this. I'm not taking this shit." You mutter and quickly put the books back in the drawer. As you're about to leave, you spot a red jeweled medallion and figure you'll nab that on your way out. Unfortunately, this was probably more dangerous than the books since those were only dangerous if you spoke the text in them. The medallion on the other hand contains powerful magic and since you don't have the right protection against it, you're fucked. The moment you touch the medallion, you feel immediately compelled to put it on. As soon as you do so, your body is instantly paralyzed and you fall to the floor. You're still aware of your surroundings, but can't do shit about anything. You soon begin to panic and you'd probably cry out if you were able. You lay there motionless until dawn and the terror becomes worse as you hear what you guess to be Reginald coming up the stairs. He's quite amused when he finds you and is even more amused when he puts you through the twisted tortures dedicated to his dark god before ultimately sacrificing you to it.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, anti-hero, humor] He might be bullshitting you, but you're not exactly familiar with this area, so you might as well not take chances. Still, you got a better idea on payment. "Hey Warts, I don't have the five gold coins, but I do have these." You say and hold out Graham's rings to Warts. Warts approaches cautiously and then takes one of the rings from your hand. He inspects it and then speaks. "Grm. Okay, sure these will do. Stupid hobgoblin tribe around here always likes pretty jewelry even if it fakesy." He says and takes the other one from your hand. "Fake?" you say in a completely surprised tone, though not completely put on since you didn't think someone like Warts would know. "Yeah, fake... youz really didn't know?" "No, I'm afraid I come from a small town and don't have a good eye for that sort of thing. The merchant passing through was very convincing when he was selling them. I bought them for a girl I liked, but alas, I was unlucky in love too, so I just kept them." "Grm. Youz gotta have a better eye and pray to Yag more. Anywayz, come on let's get goin, don't wanna stand out here tooz long. Dis path is da one." You start following Warts who leads the way. "So...there are hobgoblins in this area?" you ask. "Oh yeah, the Spider Fang tribe, but there don't really come around the way we're goin' so no need to worry about getting' eaten. Can't wait to get back to them though. With these rings, Snuffit will allow me at least ten ruts with 'er. Way better than getting' drunk...well sometimes better anyway." Warts remarks. "Are you a member of the Spider Fangs?" "Me? Nah...too much humie blood. Can't ever be part of tribe proper. Good thing mum good fighter and loves me, otherwise tribe probably would 'ave eaten me when I was born." "Wait, your mom is a hobgoblin? Who was your father then?" "Dunno, some humie bandit that attacked and tried to rut with her in the forest. Me mum said it was dark and he seemed pretty surprised when he realized she wasn't another human. Mentioned he tasted like cheap beer after she was done wit him, so I guess he liked to drink." Since you have no words for that story, you just silently continue to follow. Warts and you trudge along a dirt path for quite sometime until it disappears completely. "Okay, from here, we go...dis way...no wait dis way...I think..." Warts says. "You think? Don't you know?" you reply. "Yeah, yeah, I just haven't used this way in a long time. Gotta pass a haunted cabin. Accidently passed out there once, ended up shitting my good pants, though not sure if that was just because of the ghost." "Haunted cabin? Why the hell are we going near it then?" "Cause it's the safest way. Even the bandit types don't like goin' near it and nobody from the Spider Fang tribe is brave enough either. Sides, it's really only haunted sometimes." "Sometimes? But what if today is that day?" "Well hope youz brought extra pants den. Really though, it's a lot safer. Da ghost really only messes with people that go in that cabin. I mean if you wanna risk it, we could go another way I know, but there's been a lotta bandits travelling back an through that area. Normally, I'd just go that way since I know all da best hidin' places and even if they did see me, I'd disappear again before they could even mount an attack. However you're probably not as stealthy as me, so you'd probably get yerself seen and gutted. Might even rut wit youz first, some of these bandits aren't picky." "I'm actually no stranger to being stealthy myself when I have to be." "Truly? Grm. Well it's up to you." "I'd rather take my chances sneaking pass some bandits than possibly dealing with something I can't even hurt." "Okay, hope yer as sneaky as you claim, cuz all bets are off if the bandits catch sight of ya. Dis way." Once again Warts leads the way and you follow. You trudge through the forest for quite sometime and eventually it gets dark, but you still haven't seen any signs of bandits or anyone else really. Warts doesn't seem to be concerned, but you're constantly alert, thinking behind every tree lies an ambush. "Gettin' pitch black, gonna have to stop soon." Warts says. "What? We're not walking through the night? In fact won't it be easier to slip by any potential hostiles in the dark?" you ask. "You want to continue, be my guest, but I'm gonna get some sleep. I'm tired. Sides, looks like we got lucky. Guess the bandit crew that was wandering around this area moved on. Praise Yag." "As you say." You reply, still looking around. While you're half tempted to go on without Warts, you're still holding on to the slight hope that he actually knows where he's going, so you start looking for a tree to climb and sleep in. "Hey, what youz doin? You think youz a squirrel or somethin'?" Warts asks. "I'm not sleeping down here on the ground. What if something wanders by before I can properly react? I'll be in a tree so I can at least be somewhat out of immediate sight." "Youz gonna fall out and break yo' neck too. All youz gotta do is cover yerself in dirt and leaves and shit. Hides youz just fine." Warts says and begins doing just that. "Yeah well when you're already green and smell like the outdoors, I suppose it's a lot easier to camouflage yourself with little effort. I'll take my chances in a high tree." Warts shakes his head unconvinced and continues to cover himself. You have to admit, if you didn't know he was there, you probably wouldn't notice him if you were just wandering by. As for you, you climb to a sturdy and large enough branch that will support your weight and you can at least somewhat perch yourself on. You already know you aren't going to sleep deep tonight, but you figure that's sort of been the standard problem while out here. "I'll be so damn glad to be out of the damn wilderness." You say to yourself. You're up for quite awhile, but hear nothing except the usual sounds of various insects, owls and other nocturnal animals. Eventually sleep catches up with you and you close your eyes. You aren't sure how long you're asleep, but you open your eyes when you start hearing voices nearby. "I told ya, I heard something." "Probably just another raccoon. I don't know why we gotta patrol over here anyway." "Cause the boss said so that's why! You know there are savage greenskins that live in this forest. We're supposed to make sure none of them get too close to the main cam...I knew it. I knew I heard something! Snoring! And it's coming from over there!" At this point you're awake enough to see everything that's going on below. You see two men who you guess are bandits. Seems like Warts didn't take into account that his camouflage attempt would all be for naught due to his large honker making noise. It doesn't take long before they kick and prod at his hidden location, waking him up. "Hah! A filthy greenskin! Probably a scout! Kill him!" one of the bandits shouts. Warts just barely avoids their attacks and tries to scramble away from his prone position, but one of the bandits manages to trip him up before he can run and it isn't looking good as he gets kicked in the face by the other one. Not that you have any loyalty to Warts and he's been pretty snarky towards you in general, but he's still your guide and if you don't want to get lost... You waste no time and try to climb down your tree as fast as you can. Fortunately, the bandits are have decided to have a little fun before killing him directly. They proceed to continue kicking Warts and don't notice you at all. > Attempt to silently slit their throats You figure if you start shooting, you might attract more of their fellows or something worse. Better to do this silently, even if it means getting closer. You manage to creep up on the first bandit and grab him. You aren't exactly accustomed to do this though, so your technique isn't perfect. You struggle a bit before managing to messily slit his throat. This all of course has alerted the other bandit who doesn't waste anytime in attacking you. He starts off by kicking his buddy who you're still holding to. The dead weight of a dying man being pushed hard in your direction is enough to cause you to lose balance and fall backwards with a body on top of you. You struggle to get out from under the dead body and going for your pistol, but the bandit has already taken advantage of your prone situation, by kicking you in the head. He then crotches down to punch you in the face several times before grabbing your pistol. You're in a half conscious state and you can only hope Warts does something, but unlike you, he takes the opportunity to run rather than help. "Well, what's this you were going for? (Whistle) Shit, never seen one like this before and I ain't seen many. Dumbass kid, shoulda used this to begin with. Bet you'll never make that mistake again." The bandit says then drives his sword in your throat.

[Themes: fantasy, serious] You aren't going to let this fat fuck get a chance to possibly shoot you in the back, plus you're too pissed about him trying to molest you. With a couple quick moves you pull out your dagger, stab him in his arm and relieve him of his fancy pistol. Graham screams out like a little girl and now pleads for his miserable life. "Please! No, don't kill me!" he whimpers pathetically. Once again, much like how it was Klint, you show no remorse and pull the trigger of the pistol. It's the first time you've ever used one; so the unexpected kickback nearly causes you nearly drop it. You also weren't expecting it blow half of Graham's stinking face off. His obese corpse slumps lifelessly against the carriage wall. "Shit." You remark to yourself being in awe of the power of the weapon. Never being one to miss an opportunity, you quickly deprive Graham's body of the jeweled rings on his fingers. You then also go through the pockets that you can get to and get a bag full of gold coins. After looting Graham's body, you remember that there is a skirmish going on outside. A quick glance shows several bandit types fighting the mercs. The mercs are out numbered, but thanks to their armor and better training, they're doing a good job of fending off the bandits. You get out of the carriage with the intent of just running off into the woods, but then you might get lost. It occurs to you that you do have an advantage that will allow you get away a lot faster and still stay on your course. While one of the mounted mercs bashes in the head of a bandit you take the opportunity to shoot him while his back is turned. The merc's armor is of no protection and he cries out as he falls from his horse. "Who the hell is that guy?" one of the bandits shouts. "Dunno, but who cares, he's killing their side!" another says. You quickly run to the now ownerless horse and clumsily get on. You're a bit vulnerable for a few seconds, but fortunately the bandits seem to now think you're on their side and don't focus on you (and the remaining mercs have their hands full) You soon manage to control the horse (which is anxious to get away from the chaos anyway) and gallop away until the skirmish is far behind you and you're basically left alone again. Unfortunately your horse suddenly starts wheeze and wobble. You manage to hastily get off before it collapses. There on it's left side you see what the problem is. In all the ensuing the chaos, the horse actually took a few crossbow bolts. Probably damage to vital organs and its adrenaline is finally wearing off. Bad luck for you and even worse luck for the horse. Not having many more options, you start walking. In any case there's two more bodies to your count now. Granted Graham deserved it, but that merc...well he made a living risking his life, it just happened that today his time was up. You had to survive a dangerous situation and that's it. That's how you're justifying that one anyway. Still, you at least acquired a few goodies for your troubles. You're going to have to learn more about how to take proper care of this pistol because it's far too valuable of a weapon to neglect. It'll certainly make dealing with shit in Holgard a bit more manageable. The rings are what surprise you most. You're no jeweler, but you have stolen enough cheap baubles in the past that you can tell a fake when you examine it in greater detail. The gems in the rings are actually common, but altered slightly (especially their color) to resemble more valuable ones. Even the ring is gold plated rather than pure. Looks like Graham wasn't as rich as he made out. However, the little pouch of coins is real money so there's that at least. You continue along the road, which as you guessed starts alternating from being intact, to dirt with a few stones to being little more than a well worn path in the grass. Even the occasional signs aren't much help given that many are flat out damaged in some way. Your natural instinct to just keep going in a straight line like you were doing, but unfortunately for you, the path completely disappears into forest. Doesn't help that the road also branches into several paths that twist in different directions. You weren't expecting that so you aren't sure which way to go. While you're pondering this decision, a voice calls out to you. "Hey! Where youz tryin' to get to?" You then see a person dressed in simple clothing coming out of the forest. He's a little shorter than you, in fact he's a little greener than you too. Doesn't look like an orc though, not nearly big or massive enough. Goblin perhaps, but he's taller than one and almost a bit human looking. A short green human with a few warts on his face and a bigger than average nose. In any case, you maintain your usual caution. "Okay, that's far enough. Who are you?" you ask. "Me? I'm just Warts." He answers picking his big nose. "Appropriate name." "Grhm. So youz tryin' to get to Holgard?" "Yeah, why?" "Well cuz, I can lead you to it. Lotz o' paths in this forest lead lotz o' places. Easy to get lost if you don't know da way." "You know the way huh? How do I know you aren't going to lead me into an ambush?" "Youz don't I suppoze. Take yer chances going alone an' getting lost, don't care. I just try to earn a little extra coin for drink an' leadin' clueless humies like yerself gets me some...well when they aren't throwin' rocks at me that is." "What are you exactly?" you ask. "Huh? What you mean?" Warts replies. "I mean, you don't look quite like any greenskin I've ever seen." "You seen a lot o them have ya?" "Well no, but I've heard tales..." "Then you don't really know nuthin' then do ya?" Warts says in a perturbed tone. Actually he's got a bit of a point. You decide to get right to the matter. "Alright, assuming I take you up on your generous offer, how much is it?" you ask. "Oh, yeah price...hmm, you want to go to Holgard right? Five gold coins." Warts answers. "Five gold coins just to lead me through the forest? That's fucking outrageous!" "Holgard is tricky to get to if you don't know the way. Lot of false paths get made. Besides, you lot usually have more than enough gold. I see you humies travelling all over in your rolly boxes filled with goods." "Do I look like I'm in a rolly box carting around a wagon full of treasures? I'm just a simple traveller down on his luck." "Down on luck huh? You should pray to Yag more. Anywayz five gold. Final offer." This greenskin obviously has no concept of haggling. It really isn't like you don't have the coin, it's more like you don't want to give so much to the likes of him after being fortunate enough to acquire it in the first place. Ultimately, he's either telling the truth about the forest being that treacherous or he's completely bullshitting you. You'll just have to decide for yourself. > You go it alone You're not paying him shit, this is probably some sort of set up. "Yeah, I think I'm good on my own." You say. "Grm. Suit yerself." Warts says and then without another word he disappears back into the forest. You thought for sure he'd at least try to lower his price if you declined his help, but you guess not. In any case you still aren't sure of which way to go, so you gamble and just pick a path that looks the most promising. You figure you could always backtrack if feels like you're going the wrong way. (You hope) You walk along your chosen path for a while, still keeping an eye out for any potential ambushes. In fact you don't even walk directly on the path, you mostly just stick close like you were following a river. Speaking of which you eventually come across a real river with a bridge and everything. There even looks to be a sign post nearby, which makes you think that you are probably going in the right direction. Unfortunately it also looks like a group of four bandits has boldly decided to set up a blockade of sorts here. They haven't seen you yet, so that's at least one good thing in your favor. Of course while you only see four bandits, who knows if there are more hiding nearby with bows or something. In fact you probably shouldn't linger here too long. You slink away and head upstream hoping you'll find another way. (And not get too lost in the process) You don't have too much luck for the most part, but then you see one area where the water looks low enough to cross. You decide to make the attempt. All goes well until it turns out the water wasn't as low as you thought and you're now knee deep in it. You're already a third way across however and you press on. By the time the water is nearly up to your chest, the current begins to pull you and you're soon not walking across the river bottom anymore. You try to maintain control of the situation, but the current is swifter than you anticipated, not to mention you don't know how to swim. You're fortunate in that you don't get pulled too far downstream or go completely underwater before you manage to grab hold of a rock which is close enough to the other side that you pull yourself to the other side of the river bank. Your possessions are another story however. You've lost your coin bag, along with the pistol you just managed to acquire. About the only thing you have left is your dagger. You curse your luck along with the forest, the river and your situation in general. After releasing a torrent of swearing, you move on. Eventually night falls and along with now being cold and wet, you're also starting to feel tired. You aren't even sure if you're heading in the right direction anymore since you got a bit discombobulated when you were struggling not to drown. Still, you press on and that's when you think you see a slight respite in this mess. You see a cabin, though probably an abandoned one as there is no light coming from it. You just hope there isn't anyone or anything lurking inside. You cautiously approach the cabin and while you have a feeling of unease the entire time, when you explore around it, you don't find anything out of the ordinary. Of course it is dark, so maybe you're missing something, but so far it doesn't look like anyone is making camp here. As soon as you try the door though all your senses start to scream danger and you draw your dagger and spin around. You are met with the sight of a man in a robe standing nearby. It's hard to see his face, but the light of the moon shows he's a lot older than you. You lift your dagger up in a defensive stance, but the man isn't moving. "Put that away son, it wouldn't do you any good again me or anything else out around here I'd wager. In fact you shouldn't even be around this cabin. Bad things happen here." The man says. "Yeah? Well what're you doing out here then?" you ask. "Good help is hard to find nowadays. What's your story, you look a little worse for wear." "What's it to you?" "Sheesh, just trying to make conversation. You don't look like one of the many bandits out here. You ain't green, so you aren't hobgoblin. Can't see any points in those ears, so not an elf either. Given your age though, what you do look like is a lost lamb in the woods. Is that what you are?" "No and I'm doing just fine out here." "Bullshit, kid. You look like a half drowned rat. What'd you do, fall in the river?" he says and starts to step forward. "Get the fuck back old man! I'm no damn lamb in the woods, I've killed people!" you say thrusting your dagger in his direction a bit. "Is that right? Hmm, perhaps you could be useful. You just a fighter? You got any other skills?" "Yeah...I mean what the hell you wanna know for?" "Because as I said, good help is hard to find and I got a lot of tasks that need doing. Now I know you're lost out here, but I'll tell ya what, I'll get you out of this forest and set you up with a place to stay and whatever else you might need if you help me in my tasks." "No thanks, I already killed one old pervert in exchange for his so called help." "Well that explains why you're so mistrustful. Look kid, I barely even think about that anymore and you don't have the right equipment anyway. I'm a wizard and I do a lot research and experiments. Unfortunately, the material that I sometimes need requires me to come outside which I'd rather not do. I used to have an apprentice of sorts to help out on that front, but well let's just say shit happens." "A wizard that does experiments? And how do I know that I'm not going to be one of those experiments?" "Because if I wanted you for that purpose, I would have already cast a spell to immobilize you and taken you back to my place already. I'm just looking for someone to help me do the grunt work I don't want to be bothered to do. I can also promise to pay you, if saving your life just isn't good enough." "How much?" "We can discuss that later, but I need to know if you want the job, because I'm not staying out here all night." "Well where is your place? Holgard?" "Pfft, not that cess pit. Though it isn't too far from there." "How far is it?" "Oh, don't worry about that, I can get us there real quick. So you in or not?" > You go with the wizard "(Sigh) It seems like I don't have that much of a choice seeing as I'm pretty fucked out here." You say. "So that's a yes I take it?" the wizard remarks. "Yeah, I'll accept your help." "Great, now hold still." Before you even know what's happening, a bright light flashes before your eyes and encompasses you. You're blind for a few moments and then when you open your eyes again, you find yourself in a room with fancy paintings, expensive furniture and some heads of creatures unknown to you. Just as you're admiring the new view, you're spun around and find yourself face to face with your "savior." He briefly grabs your left wrist and you feel a tingling sensation on it. Needless to say you pull away and step back. "What the fuck?!" you exclaim rubbing your wrist. "Really, I hardly think that's anyway to talk to the man who just saved your life." The wizard remarks Your wrist stops tingling and when you look down at it, you notice a new little symbol on your skin that resembles an eight. "What the hell did you just do to me?" you ask. "Nothing bad I assure you, but I suppose much like you I'm a bit on the mistrustful side, so I wanted to secure the agreement we made." The wizard says. "What did you DO?" "Put a geas on you. Don't worry though you still have lots of freedom." "What the hell's a geas? And what do you mean by I still have lots of freedom? Did you just magically enslave me or some shit?!" "(Sigh) I hate it when it's put like that. I suppose if you want to look at it that way, then yes. I'm the only one who can take it off though so you might as well not kick up about it." "Oh? Well I can imagine the spell also doesn't work when you're dead either." You say and draw your dagger. However as soon as you do, you feel as if you've been dealt a hefty kick to the crotch. You fall to the floor holding on to your nether regions. "That was a very silly thing to do. Even if I couldn't blast you into ash before you'd even reach me with that pig sticker, the geas prevents you from harming me in the first place. You're just lucky I'm not fond of pointless cruelty. Most of the time when one tries to directly defy a geas, it causes extreme pain throughout your entire body. I altered the spell of course." The wizard remarks. "So I'm supposed to be glad you're only magically kicking me in the balls instead?" you ask as the pain slowly begins to fade. The wizard at this point puts a hand to his face and shakes his head. He paces a bit and then speaks again. "Okay look, let's start over. Hello my name's Ral and I'm your new employer until I feel our contract is done. In return for your service, you will receive lodgings and food. Quality lodgings too I might add. I will also provide whatever equipment you need for whatever task I send you on. If I don't have it, well I'll provide coin so you can go buy whatever you need at that cess pit Holgard which as I mentioned I don't live too far from." Ral pauses a bit before continuing. "Now before you start arguing with me again, let me tell you about the exact nature of your geas. First of all, you've still got all the freedom you want. You want to leave my home and go drown your sorrows in whores and booze, go right ahead. Holgard's just a couple days away and I'm not going to stop you. In fact you can go on a three-day bender if you want, but after that, I'd advise you to start making your way back before you start feeling the effects of the spell. The pain will start in your genitals as you've already experienced, but the longer you resist, the geas is going to start taking on a more traditional role and you will feel that pain all over your body. Depending on your constitution you MIGHT be able to last up to three weeks of defiance. No more than that though and you really don't want to know what happens." "What happens if something else prevents me from reaching you or I'm otherwise detained?" "Well I suggest you don't let it detain you for over a week." "That's fucking bullshit. You claim I got all this freedom, but you've just stated I'm practically tethered to the area!" "Y'know I would have thought someone in your situation would see this as an opportunity, not a reason to complain. Not to mention being grateful that I just saved your life. Despite your boasts of being a killer, you stink more of common thief. You're on the youngish side, so you were probably originally from a boring small backwoods town and going to Holgard to make a name for yourself or whatever. Well guess what? You would have been just one of many cutthroat vagabond thugs there. Your chances of succeeding would have been minute at best. If the Ebony Claw Syndicate didn't do away with you for encroaching on their territory, they would have used you up and spat you out if you were dumb enough to join them. Not to mention the whole city is a mass riot waiting to happen. Mark my words, you'll be thanking me that I did you this favor by next year." At this point Ral tells you he's done speaking on this matter right now as he has important work to get back to. He tells you the lay out of his home, where your bedroom is and how you can help yourself to whatever food and drink you want in the kitchen. His home is your home as he puts it. He then mentions that Holgard is west of his home if you need to go there. He also says there's a small village called Dert to the east as well which is actually a lot closer, but his opinion of that place is even lower. From his descriptions, it sounds similar to your hometown, but smaller, poorer and even more insular. "I'll give you a month to get accustomed to the surrounding area and your situation, but I fully expect you to be ready to perform my tasks by that time, and none of this ungratefulness any longer." He says and then leaves you alone in his living room. You just slump down in one of the cushy chairs and despair at your new situation. Your eyes wander the room for a bit until they fixate on one of the stuffed creature heads. "Well at least my head isn't up on a wall yet I guess." You say with a sigh. > Time passes... Year 17 A year. A year of this magical slavery has passed already and you're far from thanking Ral for this despite what he told you. It hasn't been as bad as it could be, but it certainly could be a hell of a lot better. Boredom and tedium are the main enemies mainly because Ral has you doing an endless amount of mundane tasks such as cleaning his home or gathering shit for him and unfortunately, that usually consists of various plants in the forest. Which you suppose has made you a bit more knowledgeable about the outdoors, but that isn't exactly knowledge you ever desired! If you're lucky, he'll send you to Holgard to acquire something and that's really the only time you bother going to that city. Only having a week of "slack" doesn't give you a whole lot of time to go venturing out to Holgard like you probably would on a regular basis. Two days to get there, two day back. It's hardly worth it most of the time hence why you tend to do all your thievery during these mundane trips. The thing is, you don't even really need to steal anything since everything is provided for you. You aren't really doing it for the thrills either because you're forever pissed about your situation. You're more or less doing it just to stay in practice. The only good thing is you believe your time there is so infrequent and your mark so insignificant, that you haven't ever drawn the ire or even the attention of any of the other criminal organizations in Holgard, let alone what passes for the law there. Sometimes you'll go to Dert to "practice" though you don't really like to mainly because there's no challenge. You suppose it's just as well as you just doing it to keep your skills from rusting, because you certainly wouldn't be getting rich from taking anything from those poor bastards that live there. The people there aren't exactly welcoming to you either and you feel like you're going to get lynched at any time. If that ever actually figured it out that you've been stealing from the place as opposed to passing yourself off as a "herbalist." (All that time gathering plants has at least come in handy for something) You've been trying to figure out some way of escape, but there doesn't seem to be anything for it. You actually did disappear for more than a week once, but you returned pretty quickly after two days of increasing pain. You can't imagine what you would have felt any longer than that. Ral didn't even seem fussed that you attempted it. Killing Ral is out of the question since about the only thing you can do is briefly think about it on occasion. You've wondered if he has anything lying around that could break the spell, but even if you got lucky and found something of Ral's that could help you (and could actually figure out how to use it), Ral keeps important rooms like his lab and his library magically locked. (And who knows what other protection he has) So you're stuck for now. In the meantime... "Ah, you're here good." Ral says poking his head into your room "Where else would I be? Not like I can go too far. Can't you just track my location with the spell anyway?" You say. "More or less, but considering it's easy enough for me to just peek in the rooms of the house you have access to, I didn't really see the need to do it immediately. Anyway, I have a job for you." "I just gathered a bunch of plants for you yesterday!" "I'm actually in need something on the rarer side, that's harder to get a hold of, I need you to get a plant called gray blossom. Fortunately I know someone who has it. Unfortunately, they probably won't be willing to give it up very easily." "Oh? So I'm actually going to use my natural talents for a change?" "In a manner of speaking yes, though if you can steal from a vampire, I'd be very impressed." "Did you just say vampire?" "Yes, she's the only person I know that has the plant that I need for my experiments. Or at least within the area and least amount of trouble to get it. Easy for him to say, he isn't the one that has to get it. "I'm sure you're aware that dismal village Dert has that huge graveyard not far from it, well she lives in one of the old crypts there. Now if you really feel your skills are up to the task, you could try to sneak in there while she's asleep during the day and get the gray blossom, but I had a more conventional trade in mind." Ral says and then produces a jar of red liquid. You can already take a guess what it is. "Wait, she'll just readily accept a jar of blood as payment?" you ask. "This isn't just regular blood, it's a jar of sprite blood. She loves the stuff." Ral answers "Aren't sprites really small? Looks like a lot of blood for a sprite." "Obviously that's because it's at least thirty of the little buggers. Now Isabella will probably try to use her vampire abilities on you like mesmerism, but don't worry, that spell you hate so much will keep you perfectly safe from such attempts at charm or mind control." "Oh yeah? Well what if she decides to just rip my head off instead?" "No it wouldn't protect you from that of course. Though she doesn't just go around killing people on a whim, indeed that's why Dert still exists at all. This is also why I'm suggesting that you just give her this blood for the blossom. She might be difficult and try to barter with you or even imply violence if she got up on the wrong side of the coffin, but she's not likely to just kill you. If she catches you stealing however, well her violent reaction is going to be on you." "Not sure if that wouldn't be an improvement on my current situation." You remark. "You'll find her in a mausoleum that says Mablava at the top front of it. From there, you'll have to fumble around and find the secret button revealing the stairs that lead to the underground crypt where she makes her home proper. I think it's somewhere on the bottom right wall. It's been awhile. Anyway, I'm sure you'll find it. I'd advise you to announce your presence and state your business right away before you even descend. Probably would be best to do this at dusk when she's just getting up. If you do it in the day, she'll be asleep and she won't be pleased about you disturbing her slumber. If you wait until night, you might miss her since she might have left her home. Now assuming you didn't piss her off, I'll expect you back fairly soon. Off you go." Having given you your orders and the sprite blood, Ral starts to take his leave as if nothing else needs to be said, but you still have some concerns. "Hey wait! That's it? I mean shouldn't you be giving me some magical weapon, or something silver at least?" you ask. "What for? Wouldn't do you any good anyway. Do you even know anything about vampires, or just what you've heard from stories? Look, if I actually thought your life was in any real danger, I'd provide you with either the proper equipment or the coin so you could go buy it. I dare say even if you do something foolish like try to steal from her and get caught, if you drop my name she'll probably still let you off the hook, though perhaps with a nasty scar. This should be a simple enough task that you aren't going to have any difficulties." Ral says. You don't bother arguing any more since you know Ral's made his mind up and is barking the orders that you're going to have to obey anyway. You can only hope he's correct about his vampire associate. You make your way to Dert, which doesn't take long. By the time you which the vicinity of the area, it's still day time which means you still have time to spare waiting around before meeting up with this Isabella. Since you don't especially feel like putting up with suspicious dumb ass yokels today, you decide that you'll just head straight to the graveyard and wait there. When you arrive, you never realized just how damn big the place was as you've only ever glanced at it from afar and certainly never had any reason to go there. In fact, it's almost the same size as Dert itself, in fact, it may even be the same size. You can't imagine why the village would need that big of a graveyard. Was Dert bigger at one point? Plague perhaps? In any case you spend some time looking for the mausoleum and eventually you find it. It isn't very big; though you imagine that underneath it is where all the space is. Must be for a family, though they must have been richer than everyone else in that village. This all makes you wonder if Isabella is an original inhabitant of this village or maybe she's just making her home her in this place. You also start wondering if there are other creatures potentially lurking about here. Ghouls? Ghosts? You haven't seen or heard anything since you've got here and the entire place has been as empty and silent as a well...tomb. As you creep yourself out, you're getting less enthusiastic about just hanging around a graveyard waiting for night to come. Maybe you should just steal the gray blossom now while day still exists. > You steal the Gray Blossom Meeting a vampire at night just seems like a bad idea even if you were properly prepared. No, you're going to go with your instinct on this rather than Ral's suggestions. You begin looking for the secret button on the right wall. As it turns out, this uses up a lot of time because you have a hell of a time finding the damn thing since it's in a near inaccessible place behind a solid stone sarcophagus. At this point you're hoping you get out before the sun sets. After stretching and reaching for the thing, you hear a click and a section of the floor on the left side opens up. You look down, but only see a dimly lit stairway, which you hope doesn't lead you through some catacomb maze. When you get to the bottom, you find a better-lit crypt that is fairly clean all things considered. You see several sturdy coffins lining the walls and you can also smell a faint whiff of some sort of flower. Nobody is here, though you see another entryway, which looks like it leads further into the bowels of this place. As much as you don't like the idea, you'll have to go further in because there doesn't seem to be any plant life here or at least none that resembles what you were tasked to find. You go through a long corridor which occasionally has smaller rooms off to the side, but you don't find much in any save for some neatly placed furnishings. Other than the coffins you already passed you haven't seen anything else like that, so you aren't sure if this Isabella sleeps in one of those and you already passed her or she's deeper within this place. Either way, you just want to be out of here before she wakes up. You continue further and unfortunately just like you thought you start getting to forks in path. Still not knowing where to look, you just pick a path and hope for the best. You eventually come to a room, you sort of wish you hadn't. You see several naked people chained up and the room stained with blood. The people aren't screaming or calling for help though. They're just standing there in a trance condition. You can only guess this must be some sort of feeding room for Isabella. You don't linger too long. You continue to go through twisting corridors, which increasingly start becoming less "polished" with a lot less torches and you also feel like you're starting to go deeper underground. You're starting to feel like you're not going to find what you're looking for if you keep heading this way, so you decide to turn back. And then you suddenly stop when you hear a voice coming from the direction that you are currently heading: "I know someone is here, lurking about in my home. Hope you're a very well prepared group of adventurers or skilled vampire hunters because it's not going to be good when I eventually find you. And I WILL find you." You genuinely piss yourself at that point and in desperation you immediately run back into darkness. You have no idea where you're going and you end up stumbling and tripping quite a bit as you make your hopeless escape. "Only one of you huh? That was quite foolish. You realize that you're making a lot of noise correct? I'm a lot faster than you are and know my home better than you do, if I wanted to catch you right now, I could. You should probably save yourself time and just sit put. If you do, I'll promise to make it quick and not keep you around as a blood slave." You hear Isabella's voice say. You don't know how close she is now, but she doesn't sound as far away as before. Alone, scared and in pitch darkness, you scream out. "Isabella, please! I don't want to die! Have mercy!" "Don't want to die? Then why the hell did you intrude on my home in the way you did? In fact, how the hell do you know my name or even how to get in here in the first place?" "Ral! Ral sent me! He even gave me a gift to give to you!" There is silence for a moment. "Ah, that explains some of this then. The old bastard must want something from me, and he sent a lackey to do the job. However, he must either not value your life or he's gotten forgetful in his old age, because I can't imagine that he would have told you to come wandering down here without at least announcing yourself." "He did! He did!" "Oh? Then YOU must be stupid or not a very good servant to Ral if you didn't follow his instructions. Either way, I don't think he's going to miss you. This might have gone very differently had you not rudely trespassed on my domain. Don't bother begging anymore, I'm not listening." With this confirmation that you are well and truly fucked, you gather your remaining strength and continue to run blindly in the dark. You're stopped when you hit something. It isn't a wall though, it's softer than that, but much deadlier. It's pitch dark, but even at this close range, you see the faint glow of inhuman eyes along with pearly white teeth that sink right into your neck. The life literally drains from your body as Isabella feeds upon you.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy] Year 17 A year. A year of this magical slavery has passed already and you're far from thanking Ral for this despite what he told you. It hasn't been as bad as it could be, but it certainly could be a hell of a lot better. Boredom and tedium are the main enemies mainly because Ral has you doing an endless amount of mundane tasks such as cleaning his home or gathering shit for him and unfortunately, that usually consists of various plants in the forest. Which you suppose has made you a bit more knowledgeable about the outdoors, but that isn't exactly knowledge you ever desired! If you're lucky, he'll send you to Holgard to acquire something and that's really the only time you bother going to that city. Only having a week of "slack" doesn't give you a whole lot of time to go venturing out to Holgard like you probably would on a regular basis. Two days to get there, two day back. It's hardly worth it most of the time hence why you tend to do all your thievery during these mundane trips. The thing is, you don't even really need to steal anything since everything is provided for you. You aren't really doing it for the thrills either because you're forever pissed about your situation. You're more or less doing it just to stay in practice. The only good thing is you believe your time there is so infrequent and your mark so insignificant, that you haven't ever drawn the ire or even the attention of any of the other criminal organizations in Holgard, let alone what passes for the law there. Sometimes you'll go to Dert to "practice" though you don't really like to mainly because there's no challenge. You suppose it's just as well as you just doing it to keep your skills from rusting, because you certainly wouldn't be getting rich from taking anything from those poor bastards that live there. The people there aren't exactly welcoming to you either and you feel like you're going to get lynched at any time. If that ever actually figured it out that you've been stealing from the place as opposed to passing yourself off as a "herbalist." (All that time gathering plants has at least come in handy for something) You've been trying to figure out some way of escape, but there doesn't seem to be anything for it. You actually did disappear for more than a week once, but you returned pretty quickly after two days of increasing pain. You can't imagine what you would have felt any longer than that. Ral didn't even seem fussed that you attempted it. Killing Ral is out of the question since about the only thing you can do is briefly think about it on occasion. You've wondered if he has anything lying around that could break the spell, but even if you got lucky and found something of Ral's that could help you (and could actually figure out how to use it), Ral keeps important rooms like his lab and his library magically locked. (And who knows what other protection he has) So you're stuck for now. In the meantime... "Ah, you're here good." Ral says poking his head into your room "Where else would I be? Not like I can go too far. Can't you just track my location with the spell anyway?" You say. "More or less, but considering it's easy enough for me to just peek in the rooms of the house you have access to, I didn't really see the need to do it immediately. Anyway, I have a job for you." "I just gathered a bunch of plants for you yesterday!" "I'm actually in need something on the rarer side, that's harder to get a hold of, I need you to get a plant called gray blossom. Fortunately I know someone who has it. Unfortunately, they probably won't be willing to give it up very easily." "Oh? So I'm actually going to use my natural talents for a change?" "In a manner of speaking yes, though if you can steal from a vampire, I'd be very impressed." "Did you just say vampire?" "Yes, she's the only person I know that has the plant that I need for my experiments. Or at least within the area and least amount of trouble to get it. Easy for him to say, he isn't the one that has to get it. "I'm sure you're aware that dismal village Dert has that huge graveyard not far from it, well she lives in one of the old crypts there. Now if you really feel your skills are up to the task, you could try to sneak in there while she's asleep during the day and get the gray blossom, but I had a more conventional trade in mind." Ral says and then produces a jar of red liquid. You can already take a guess what it is. "Wait, she'll just readily accept a jar of blood as payment?" you ask. "This isn't just regular blood, it's a jar of sprite blood. She loves the stuff." Ral answers "Aren't sprites really small? Looks like a lot of blood for a sprite." "Obviously that's because it's at least thirty of the little buggers. Now Isabella will probably try to use her vampire abilities on you like mesmerism, but don't worry, that spell you hate so much will keep you perfectly safe from such attempts at charm or mind control." "Oh yeah? Well what if she decides to just rip my head off instead?" "No it wouldn't protect you from that of course. Though she doesn't just go around killing people on a whim, indeed that's why Dert still exists at all. This is also why I'm suggesting that you just give her this blood for the blossom. She might be difficult and try to barter with you or even imply violence if she got up on the wrong side of the coffin, but she's not likely to just kill you. If she catches you stealing however, well her violent reaction is going to be on you." "Not sure if that wouldn't be an improvement on my current situation." You remark. "You'll find her in a mausoleum that says Mablava at the top front of it. From there, you'll have to fumble around and find the secret button revealing the stairs that lead to the underground crypt where she makes her home proper. I think it's somewhere on the bottom right wall. It's been awhile. Anyway, I'm sure you'll find it. I'd advise you to announce your presence and state your business right away before you even descend. Probably would be best to do this at dusk when she's just getting up. If you do it in the day, she'll be asleep and she won't be pleased about you disturbing her slumber. If you wait until night, you might miss her since she might have left her home. Now assuming you didn't piss her off, I'll expect you back fairly soon. Off you go." Having given you your orders and the sprite blood, Ral starts to take his leave as if nothing else needs to be said, but you still have some concerns. "Hey wait! That's it? I mean shouldn't you be giving me some magical weapon, or something silver at least?" you ask. "What for? Wouldn't do you any good anyway. Do you even know anything about vampires, or just what you've heard from stories? Look, if I actually thought your life was in any real danger, I'd provide you with either the proper equipment or the coin so you could go buy it. I dare say even if you do something foolish like try to steal from her and get caught, if you drop my name she'll probably still let you off the hook, though perhaps with a nasty scar. This should be a simple enough task that you aren't going to have any difficulties." Ral says. You don't bother arguing any more since you know Ral's made his mind up and is barking the orders that you're going to have to obey anyway. You can only hope he's correct about his vampire associate. You make your way to Dert, which doesn't take long. By the time you which the vicinity of the area, it's still day time which means you still have time to spare waiting around before meeting up with this Isabella. Since you don't especially feel like putting up with suspicious dumb ass yokels today, you decide that you'll just head straight to the graveyard and wait there. When you arrive, you never realized just how damn big the place was as you've only ever glanced at it from afar and certainly never had any reason to go there. In fact, it's almost the same size as Dert itself, in fact, it may even be the same size. You can't imagine why the village would need that big of a graveyard. Was Dert bigger at one point? Plague perhaps? In any case you spend some time looking for the mausoleum and eventually you find it. It isn't very big; though you imagine that underneath it is where all the space is. Must be for a family, though they must have been richer than everyone else in that village. This all makes you wonder if Isabella is an original inhabitant of this village or maybe she's just making her home her in this place. You also start wondering if there are other creatures potentially lurking about here. Ghouls? Ghosts? You haven't seen or heard anything since you've got here and the entire place has been as empty and silent as a well...tomb. As you creep yourself out, you're getting less enthusiastic about just hanging around a graveyard waiting for night to come. Maybe you should just steal the gray blossom now while day still exists. > You Wait Stealing from a vampire just seems like a bad idea even if you were properly prepared. No, you're going to follow the rules to the letter on this one. Time passes and eventually the sun starts setting and you begin looking for the secret button on the right wall. As it turns out, this uses up plenty of time because you have a hell of a time finding the damn thing since it's in a near inaccessible place behind a solid stone sarcophagus. After stretching and reaching for the thing, you hear a click and a section of the floor on the left side opens up. You look down, but only see a dimly lit stairway, which you hope leads immediately to Isabella since you don't really want to potentially work your way through some catacomb maze. You walk down a few steps and then call out to Isabella. "Isabella?!" you shout. A few seconds later you get a response. "A visitor that knows me? This is a surprise. Your voice doesn't sound familiar however, so I can only assume someone who knows me must have sent you and I can guess who that might have been." You hear Isabella call back. "Um, Ral sent me." You say. "(Sigh) I thought so. He's too cowardly to face me in person, yet he probably wants something from me. Well come on down, I promise I won't bite." You're still a bit nervous about all this, but this is the task you've been given, so down you go. When you get to the bottom, you find a better-lit crypt that is fairly clean all things considered. You see several sturdy coffins lining the walls and you can also smell a faint whiff of some sort of flower. Nobody is here, though you see another entryway, which looks like it leads further into the bowels of this place. "Stay in the foyer! I don't want you wandering about my home! I'll be there in a moment." you hear Isabella shout from that direction. You aren't kept waiting long when a woman appears from the crypt entryway. Ivory skin and long raven hair, beautiful and young looking though certainly older than you. Isabella is the exact idea of what people have in mind when (and if they bother to) think of a vampire, the only thing that's missing is the royal or elegant clothes which isn't wearing. In fact she's not wearing clothes at all. You might be more inclined to look at her naked body if she weren't a vampire, but since she is, you aren't sure what the etiquette is. "Okay, you can stop adverting your eyes, I'm a vampire not a medusa. Besides, you know you want to look anyway." Well that answers that question. "Well? You going to tell me what Ral wants or are you going to just stare at my tits all night?" Isabella asks. "Is this a trick question?" you ask. "Look, I'm going to give you exactly one minute to tell me what the hell Ral wants or I'm going to start getting angry." "Apologies, I just wasn't quite expecting this. Ral wants some of your gray blossom and in exchange he's given me this, to give to you." You say and pull out the jar of sprite blood from your pack. Isabella walks over to you and when she's right in front of you, you feel very anxious as she stares at you. You know Ral said she can't charm you, but you feel like she's doing SOMETHING to your mind. She takes the jar from your hand and opens it, giving it a sniff. Her nose turns up and her demeanor becomes more annoyed. "Ugh, what is this shit? Is...is this sprite blood?" she asks. "Yeah, Ral said you liked it." You say. "Then he's a forgetful fool or deliberately trying to insult me. I hate sprite, it was brownie blood that I liked! Either way it's apparent he cares nothing for our time together and just wants something as usual. Biggest mistake in the recent century was going out with him." While that's a bit of interesting information, you're far more concerned about your own ass now that Isabella seems displeased. "Okay, well I guess I'll just leave and let him know then..." you say. "Wait, where are you going?" Isabella suddenly grabs your arm. It isn't a hurtful grip, but it is strong and cold. Her expression is predatory and you feel like you're about to become dinner. Maybe she isn't able to control your mind, but she's doing a good enough job of putting fear into you anyway. "I...don't suppose it wouldn't do me any good to beg would it?" you ask. "No. However, I can see by this symbol on your arm, you are magically enslaved to Ral and despite him being disrespectful to me, I shall not act in kind and kill you since I know how hard good servants are to come by. I haven't had one in decades. However, YOU have to make up for Ral's failings." Isabella says. "So, what do I need to do? Go collect some brownies?" "Hah, well that would be ideal. But you'd have to travel all the way to Gnarlwood to even find a population of them and even then I doubt you would have the means to even capture one, let alone enough to fill a jar. Not to mention that would take far too long and we need a quicker solution." "And what would that be?" "You need to go get me dinner and the closest location is Dert obviously." "So you want me to go bring someone to you?" "Ah, no. Not just anyone. I want you to bring me a child. Girl, boy, doesn't matter. Youthful blood is always the best when it comes to humans." While you probably would have had some difficulties even bringing in a regular Dert citizen, you believe you could have justified it if you brought in one that tends to be an asshole towards you every time you visit. But a child? You're a little hesitant on that request. "I...I um...I'm not sure..." you say. "Why not? If Ral told you he needed you to kill a child you'd do it." Isabella remarks. "And that's only because this fucking spell would compel me to, it wouldn't be like I'd enjoy it." "Tch. That's an excuse. You could easily kill yourself rather than kill a child. The geas doesn't prevent that." "Can't you just do it?" "Sure I could, but I'm asking YOU to do it. Now if you want the gray blossom, you're getting that child for me, although..." Isabella at this point presses her entire body against yours and sniffs you, particularly your neck. "You're a teenager, so I suppose your blood would do. It doesn't smell like you've been befouling it with a bad diet at least." "I thought you said you weren't going to kill me?" "I'm not. I'm just going to drink a little of your blood and I'm not even going to bite you unless you ask me to. I'm giving you an out here. You can either let me feed on you, or go round me up a kid from the village." "How do I know you won't just kill me or get so excited that you won't stop feeding on me?" Isabella chuckles a bit. "You think your blood is going to be just so tasty that I'm going to lose all sense of control? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself! But honestly? You don't know. But isn't the mystery of the unknown making it all the more curious for you?" Isabella asks with a cold touch of her hand to your cheek. "Not really." You say. "Well tough shit, because those are your options." > You get a child "Okay, okay, I'll do it. I'll get a kid." You say. "Very well, although I was a little curious to see what you tasted like. Now don't take too long, but then I imagine you won't be able to anyway, what with your tether and all. Off you go and for your sake you better not make a scene and if you do, you better not lead a peasant mob here!" Isabella remarks. You leave Isabella's crypt glad that you made it out alive, but with very mixed feelings about what you'll need to do next. With night having fully fallen now, you expect that most in Dert are going to be in their homes. You try to remember which families have children, because in all your visits to the place, it isn't like you've ever paid much attention to that aspect. After a bit of thought one family comes to mind, middle-aged couple who have a simpleton for a son who has actually bothered you in the past with questions which you believe should make your task a lot easier. You aren't sure if just breaking in and snatching him in the middle of the night is the way to go though. Maybe you should take the less forceful approach on this since the boy is likely just going to scream out even if he is stupid. You wait a bit longer in the graveyard before making your way to Dert, which by the time you reach it, is just as silent as the graveyard. You sneak about the village until you reach what you think is the right house. After peeping into the open windows, you find that you were correct. The one you're looking for is asleep on his cheap straw mattress. You can't remember the boy's name though, so you just start whispering "boy" to him Eventually you wake the idiot up. "Huh, whut?" the boy answers. "Come on, its time to go." You say. "Aren't you herb man? What you doing here?" "Yes, I'm collecting a special kind of herb that only grows at night, but I need help finding it, specifically your help." You're sort of winging it here, so you're just making shit up as you go along and hoping for the best. It isn't like you have much experience in kidnapping. "But (Yawn) I'm not supposed to go anywhere after night. Mommy and daddy said I'm supposed to be in bed or else I'll be whipped." The boy remarks. "It's okay, I spoke to them already. They said you can help me, now come to the window, I'll lift you out." You say. "I dunno..." "Come on, aren't you always asking me questions about what herbs, roots and flowers I collect for my profession? Come with me and you'll find out." "Well..." "Just come on, you can trust me. You see me all the time." "Okay." The boy gets up and goes to the window. The little shit is heavier than he looks, but with some effort you lift the boy up and outside. You still can't remember what his name is. "Where do we go now herb man?" he asks. "Just follow me, and be REALLY quiet." You say and soon the pair of you making your way out of the village as quick as you can. Naturally as soon as you leave the village though, the boy starts to hesitate. "Um...I'm not supposed to leave the village. Mommy and daddy said..." the boy says. "Look, I said I already talked to them, they said its fine, now come on." You exclaim "But...but it's really dark out here and there might be monsters deeper in the woods." "We're not going too much farther, just follow me a little more." "...that way is to the graveyard! I'm not going there!" At this point your patience has worn thin and you're having difficulties with doing this anyway. Something inside you snaps and you punch the boy in the face! The boy falls to the ground, but he's tougher than you thought since it doesn't knock him out. He does start wailing very loudly and running from you as soon as he gets up though. "Shit!" you shout and start chasing him back to the village. You catch up to him fairly quickly, but unfortunately for you, his cries have called the attention of the village, along with his parents who thought they heard noises earlier around their house anyway. As you're struggling with the boy and punching him in the face a couple more times to shut him up, an angry mob has already formed to lynch a child abductor such as yourself. You abandon your task and just try to get the hell out of there, but several stones thrown at you impede your escape when one hits you in the head doing enough damage to cause you to collapse to the ground. This is all the mob needs in order to catch up to you. No amount of pleading or explanation will appease this mob and they don't even bother to lynch you anyway, they just stomp you to death as you lay on the ground and then set your battered corpse on fire.

Stealing from a vampire just seems like a bad idea even if you were properly prepared. No, you're going to follow the rules to the letter on this one. Time passes and eventually the sun starts setting and you begin looking for the secret button on the right wall. As it turns out, this uses up plenty of time because you have a hell of a time finding the damn thing since it's in a near inaccessible place behind a solid stone sarcophagus. After stretching and reaching for the thing, you hear a click and a section of the floor on the left side opens up. You look down, but only see a dimly lit stairway, which you hope leads immediately to Isabella since you don't really want to potentially work your way through some catacomb maze. You walk down a few steps and then call out to Isabella. "Isabella?!" you shout. A few seconds later you get a response. "A visitor that knows me? This is a surprise. Your voice doesn't sound familiar however, so I can only assume someone who knows me must have sent you and I can guess who that might have been." You hear Isabella call back. "Um, Ral sent me." You say. "(Sigh) I thought so. He's too cowardly to face me in person, yet he probably wants something from me. Well come on down, I promise I won't bite." You're still a bit nervous about all this, but this is the task you've been given, so down you go. When you get to the bottom, you find a better-lit crypt that is fairly clean all things considered. You see several sturdy coffins lining the walls and you can also smell a faint whiff of some sort of flower. Nobody is here, though you see another entryway, which looks like it leads further into the bowels of this place. "Stay in the foyer! I don't want you wandering about my home! I'll be there in a moment." you hear Isabella shout from that direction. You aren't kept waiting long when a woman appears from the crypt entryway. Ivory skin and long raven hair, beautiful and young looking though certainly older than you. Isabella is the exact idea of what people have in mind when (and if they bother to) think of a vampire, the only thing that's missing is the royal or elegant clothes which isn't wearing. In fact she's not wearing clothes at all. You might be more inclined to look at her naked body if she weren't a vampire, but since she is, you aren't sure what the etiquette is. "Okay, you can stop adverting your eyes, I'm a vampire not a medusa. Besides, you know you want to look anyway." Well that answers that question. "Well? You going to tell me what Ral wants or are you going to just stare at my tits all night?" Isabella asks. "Is this a trick question?" you ask. "Look, I'm going to give you exactly one minute to tell me what the hell Ral wants or I'm going to start getting angry." "Apologies, I just wasn't quite expecting this. Ral wants some of your gray blossom and in exchange he's given me this, to give to you." You say and pull out the jar of sprite blood from your pack. Isabella walks over to you and when she's right in front of you, you feel very anxious as she stares at you. You know Ral said she can't charm you, but you feel like she's doing SOMETHING to your mind. She takes the jar from your hand and opens it, giving it a sniff. Her nose turns up and her demeanor becomes more annoyed. "Ugh, what is this shit? Is...is this sprite blood?" she asks. "Yeah, Ral said you liked it." You say. "Then he's a forgetful fool or deliberately trying to insult me. I hate sprite, it was brownie blood that I liked! Either way it's apparent he cares nothing for our time together and just wants something as usual. Biggest mistake in the recent century was going out with him." While that's a bit of interesting information, you're far more concerned about your own ass now that Isabella seems displeased. "Okay, well I guess I'll just leave and let him know then..." you say. "Wait, where are you going?" Isabella suddenly grabs your arm. It isn't a hurtful grip, but it is strong and cold. Her expression is predatory and you feel like you're about to become dinner. Maybe she isn't able to control your mind, but she's doing a good enough job of putting fear into you anyway. "I...don't suppose it wouldn't do me any good to beg would it?" you ask. "No. However, I can see by this symbol on your arm, you are magically enslaved to Ral and despite him being disrespectful to me, I shall not act in kind and kill you since I know how hard good servants are to come by. I haven't had one in decades. However, YOU have to make up for Ral's failings." Isabella says. "So, what do I need to do? Go collect some brownies?" "Hah, well that would be ideal. But you'd have to travel all the way to Gnarlwood to even find a population of them and even then I doubt you would have the means to even capture one, let alone enough to fill a jar. Not to mention that would take far too long and we need a quicker solution." "And what would that be?" "You need to go get me dinner and the closest location is Dert obviously." "So you want me to go bring someone to you?" "Ah, no. Not just anyone. I want you to bring me a child. Girl, boy, doesn't matter. Youthful blood is always the best when it comes to humans." While you probably would have had some difficulties even bringing in a regular Dert citizen, you believe you could have justified it if you brought in one that tends to be an asshole towards you every time you visit. But a child? You're a little hesitant on that request. "I...I um...I'm not sure..." you say. "Why not? If Ral told you he needed you to kill a child you'd do it." Isabella remarks. "And that's only because this fucking spell would compel me to, it wouldn't be like I'd enjoy it." "Tch. That's an excuse. You could easily kill yourself rather than kill a child. The geas doesn't prevent that." "Can't you just do it?" "Sure I could, but I'm asking YOU to do it. Now if you want the gray blossom, you're getting that child for me, although..." Isabella at this point presses her entire body against yours and sniffs you, particularly your neck. "You're a teenager, so I suppose your blood would do. It doesn't smell like you've been befouling it with a bad diet at least." "I thought you said you weren't going to kill me?" "I'm not. I'm just going to drink a little of your blood and I'm not even going to bite you unless you ask me to. I'm giving you an out here. You can either let me feed on you, or go round me up a kid from the village." "How do I know you won't just kill me or get so excited that you won't stop feeding on me?" Isabella chuckles a bit. "You think your blood is going to be just so tasty that I'm going to lose all sense of control? You certainly have a high opinion of yourself! But honestly? You don't know. But isn't the mystery of the unknown making it all the more curious for you?" Isabella asks with a cold touch of her hand to your cheek. "Not really." You say. "Well tough shit, because those are your options." > You let her bite you "I can't do it. I mean I'm flexible on a lot of shit, but yeah I just don't think I can go get a kid for you to chow down on. I mean I'm not judging since I know that's what you have to do, but I can't be a part of that." You say. "Hm, how wonderfully moral of you. So does that mean I have your invitation to bite you?" Isabella asks. "I...I guess so. I'm just going to roll the dice here and hope to Yag that you're honest." "Oh I'm honest." Isabella smiles and at last you see her perfect white teeth complete with the slightly large fangs. You just hope this isn't the last thing you see. Isabella pushes you up against a wall and presses up against you in a half seductive half predatory fashion. "So...are you ready?" she whispers in your ear. "As much as I can be I suppose." You answer. "I want to hear you say it. I want you to beg me to penetrate your skin with my teeth and feast upon you like the chattel you are." Isabella demands. "Wha...what?!" "Say it!" "Okay! Okay! I want your fangs inside me! I want it so badly! Give it to me!" you exclaim. Without another word, Isabella bites down on you and you feel her fangs enter. It hurts at first and then it's uncomfortable, but after a few seconds of Isabella sucking, you're starting to just feel weird. It's kind of sexy really. As she's doing her thing on you, you start to feel dizzy and light headed. You think you might collapse, but Isabella is holding you up so you don't fall. Oddly despite believing that you're very likely going to die, you decide to at least get one thrill out of the situation and wrap your arms around Isabella's lovely naked body and grab her ass in the process. Then you pass out. The next day you wake up in the middle of the graveyard. Your neck is sore and you've got a letter in your hand. You read it soon after you realize you're not dead. Thank you for a lovely evening. Your blood was quite delicious; I suppose you were right to worry that I may not be able to contain myself, however I resisted much to your relief no doubt. In your pack, you will find several gray blossoms from my garden, I hope Ral finds that adequate because he's not getting any more from me and you can tell him he's still an asshole. I have also kept the sprite blood. I don't like to drink it, but I know of other uses for it. May your servitude to Ral end soon. Isabella P.S. Don't be a stranger, now that you know the way. A dubious offer to be sure, but at least she seems to like you, or your blood at any rate. It's a little sad that vampire violation is the best thing that's happened to you since leaving Teckleville. At least you didn't kill a kid you suppose and you got to touch a vampire's ass. So, that's something. After checking your pack for the gray blossom, you get up off the ground, rub your neck a bit, and set off back towards Ral's place. When you arrive, Ral is in his lab so you just go lay down since you still feel a bit lightheaded from the blood loss. Eventually Ral finds you. "You're back. Well?" he asks. "There are a bunch of gray blossoms sitting on the table over there." You say. Ral looks and goes to gather them. "Hm, didn't expect to get this much. Guess she really liked the blood." Ral says. "I'll say." You snort. "You didn't have any trouble?" "Not really. She was very accommodating." "I am very surprised to hear that." "Oh, she did tell me to tell you that you're still an asshole." "Ah, well that does sound more like her." Ral, satisfied with your explanation and quite frankly just happy you got him what he sent you to get, takes his leave. You suppose you could have told him the whole story, but would it have even mattered or would he have even cared? No to both. Besides, you figure what happened between you and Isabella was "special" enough that it should just remain between the two of you. > Time passes... Year 19 "...and stay away from my daughter, mage minion!" you hear the angry farmer shout as you run away and still attempting to get your pants back on. You soon make it out of Dert and take a breather. Ever since the citizens of Dert finally realized that you were "working" for Ral, (Nobody ever really bought the herbalist story) their attitude towards you hasn't gotten any better. If anything they're even less friendly. Good thing for you they're a bunch of ignorant cowards at heart because they're reluctant to just string you up since they think it might draw Ral's ire somehow. A few even believe you're magical. You aren't really going deter that sort of thinking despite the reality that Ral could probably give a shit if you got killed or not. Of course some (like bored wayward farmers' daughters) find your "mysterious aura" enticing. Another type of thinking you aren't exactly going to deter either. Still, you probably shouldn't push your luck. Fear and hesitation can easily be overridden in a quick moment of violence. Then again, it's not like you've got much else to do with your time. You return to Ral's home and find that he's actually expecting you AND he doesn't have a menial task for you for a change. "I need you to go get me a blood gem." Ral says. "Blood gem? Gee, that sounds like it involves vampires again." You answer. "No, no, no. There aren't any vampires this time around, just a lot of sotakians or lizard folk as you might call them." "Didn't know there were any sotakians in the area." "There aren't, you'll be going to Sotak Swamp. The sotakians use blood gems in their idols, so just seek out one of those and you should be good." "Uh, not that I don't live to serve thanks to the spell that forces me to, but isn't that pretty far away? I don't think I'm making it back in a week and that's if I even knew how to get around there in the first place." "Don't worry about that, you're going to have a guide and you're going to be teleported to a relatively close to where you need to be. When you get the item and back to the original location, you'll be teleported back here." "Hm, well I guess that makes things slightly easier, who is this guide?" Ral points to a small winged being flying in from the next room. You guess he's a fairy of some sort, but you couldn't guess what kind. He doesn't look happy. "This is Tych, your sprite guide. He'll be able to direct you to where you need to go." Ral says. "Sprite huh? Weird to see one alive this time rather than just the blood." You say. "Yes, Tych you could say was most inspired to save his own life when I first encountered him. In return for his servitude rather than death, it was he who gathered twenty of his kind in one place and made that process a whole lot easier." "Wait, how long has Tych been here and where's he been? This is the first time I've seen him." "Oh he's been here maybe about as long as you have and you haven't seen him because I tend to keep him in my lab where I can keep a better eye on him. Sprites, like most fairy folk tend to be tricksters and Tych in particular is one of the more treacherous of his kind. In fact you may find him to be very friendly towards you since he'll probably be trying to convince you that you two should work together to escape. I of course advise you not to listen to such nonsense that will only get you into more trouble." "Great, and you're sending this little devious bastard to guide me?" "As long as you insist on sticking to the task I've given you, he won't be able to resist helping. So don't listen to anything else he says and you'll be fine. Think of it this way, you're his direct superior and what you say goes." You're not sure about this, but as always you have little choice in the matter so you gather up what equipment you believe is going to be useful and return to Ral who says a few words and before you know it, you're blinded by a flash of light. As you're still shaking off the effects of temporary blindness, your guide is in no hurry. "Take your time plivik. It's been awhile since I've been outside so I'm going to enjoy every moment we're out here." Tych says in a high pitched squeaky voice that almost makes you want to laugh. "Where exactly are we anyway?" you ask finally getting over your condition and finding yourself in new surroundings. "Oh we're in Gnarlwood Forest, not too far from the border of Sotak Swamp. More specifically we're in a fairy circle or an old abandoned one at least. Of course even abandoned ones have magic to them, probably why Ral sent me with you too. Makes the teleportation connection easier for him to cast. He's not nearly as powerful of a wizard as he thinks he is." "Hm, well he's still got the pair of us doing his dirty work." "True plivik, but that won't last forever. If we work together we'll be able to overcome his magic that's binding the both of us to him." "Oh? How so?" Tych giggles a bit. "Ral has made a big mistake in letting me come back here! We fairy folk as you may know are magical by nature, but I cannot break our magical chains by myself. However, my village isn't too far from here and it would help the both of us plivik. With their help, Ral's spell could easily be overcome." Tych says. "Why would they help me? I'm not a sprite." You ask. "What does that matter plivik? You're still a being in need of help. I can see you're not a bad person, and just like me, you are just forced to serve a bad master. If you tell me to guide you to the other sprites, we can go right now." "You keep calling me plivik, what does that mean?" "Oh, it's just a word in my native tongue. Just means friend." "We're friends all of a sudden?" "We both don't like Ral and wish to be free of his chains correct? I'd say that already makes us have enough in common to be friends even if we just met, plivik." "Ral said you would be friendly towards me to do something underhanded and that I shouldn't pay any attention to what you have to say unless it directly involves the task." "Well of course he's going to say that, plivik. He wants to keep us divided. He also told you that I lead twenty of my people to be ground up into into blood paste. I guarantee that I would never do such a hideous thing even to save my own life! He used a spell to capture us all and it was only by pure luck that he decided to keep me around as a pet to torment. You know he keeps me in a glass jar on his lab desk and shakes it around?" You can see how this is going to go. You're going to have to play "Who's the liar?" the whole time during this task. "I think we should stick to the task for now." You say. "Oh I understand your hesitation. How about this, we go get the blood gem first and when we return here then you can decide to return to Ral or go to the sprite community I mentioned. That should give you time to decide whether I'm trustworthy or not. Just think about it okay?" Tych says. "Hm, I suppose that's reasonable." "Great! Now let's get this task underway then." Tych goes on to tell you due to his own capture, he's hoping that his information about the area is still the same. He tells you that from your position he knows that there should be a sotakian place of worship within a day's walk. "Now if we head north and then west there's a clearer path to where we need to get to. We're going to have to be careful to avoid elven patrols though. Just hope they aren't on heightened alert because that's going to make sneaking around a lot harder." Tych says. "I don't suppose the fact that we're planning on desecrating one of their enemy's idols would make them friendly?" you say. "A good idea, but it wouldn't make any difference. Elves are a bunch of territorial assholes. They think EVERYTHING in Gnarlwood forest is under their control. As a human, you'd still be seen as an interloper and most likely killed. And as for me, well let's just say it wouldn't be much better than Ral's magical enslavement." "Sounds like it would just be easier to immediately go west and bypass the patrols." "You would think that, but chances are it would take just as long due to all the high marshes and sinking bogs in the area. That's not even counting whatever creatures are lurking there. Not even the sotakians make their homes that way and consider it sacred ground due to the daquala population in the area." "Wait, what's a daquala?" "Oh, they're a creature about the size of one of your dogs but a whole lot more vicious and meaner. They can also camouflage themselves to practically be invisible. However, I don't think they would necessarily be a problem, they tend to sleep a lot and most of them should be hibernating this time of year. You're more likely to get swallowed by quicksand or a giant swamp serpent honestly. Still, I suppose if we got lucky it would cut our time by half. Up to you, plivik." > You go through the swamp Either way sounds dangerous, but if one way is going to be quicker, you might as well take that one though you have one major concern. "You sure these daquala things are hibernating?" you ask. "As I said, most of them probably are this time of year, but that's not certain. I still say the quicksand and sinkholes are more of a hazard, since I'm going to be able to tell you if daqualas are in the area. Their camouflage doesn't work so well against Sprite eyes." Tych remarks. "Good, then you keep a look out for those things and let me worry about where I step." "Very well plivik." Before you set off, you break off a piece of a low hanging branch so you at least have a good sized piece of wood to test solid ground with. Doesn't take too long before you and Tych get to the edge of the forest where the ground is starting to become more noticeably wet and softer. You start using the branch as well as relying on Tych to scout ahead. Tych goes on to say, he's fairly certain that there is a smaller sotakian village if you keep heading west. He also mentions that it should still have some sort of idol since the sotakians are pretty serious about their worship. As you and Tych travel through the swamp, you find that Tych is a bit overly talkative in general. He even acknowledges that he is, but he's just so happy to talk to ANYONE who isn't Ral. Most of his talk concerns Gnarlwood and Sotak swamp and how elves are a bunch of assholes, so it isn't completely useless banter though you're more concerned with his chatter calling attention to you what with the invisible monsters possibly around. "Hey look, while I get that you like to talk, I also like to live. I'm already not happy about being ankle deep in water, so cut with the chatter and keep an eye out for those invisible things or whatever your magical pixie eyes show you." You snap. "Pixie? I'm fucking sprite, not a fucking pixie you fucking plivik!" Tych angrily responds. "...fucking friend...what? Wait a minute, what does plivik REALLY mean?!" "Take a guess asshole! Fucking pixie..." "Alright! Alright! I fucking apologize! Shit, I didn't realize there was that much of a damn difference!" Tych sputters for a moment, as he's too angry to even speak about your ignorance on the matter. "There are a shitload of differences!" he exclaims. "Well how would I know, both of you guys are tiny and fly around with your little wings right?" you say. "How would you like it if I called you an orc instead of a human because to me you're both big, ugly and stomp around on your feet because you're not blessed enough to even have wings in the first place?!" "Ah, but orcs are green and that's a very obvious difference!" "And pixies have less shiny wings! Have you even SEEN a pixie? They're not as pretty as we are and live around fucking fungus! If they didn't have wings they'd be as low as brownies!" "Okay, keep your voice down, you're getting all excited and the whole point I was trying to make in the first place was for you to shut the hell up." "No! I'm not going to shut the hell up when it comes to..." And then right before your eyes, you see the side of a large reptilian face pass right in front of you as it swallows Tych whole. The rest of its long legless body follows as it splashes back into the water. It might not have been a daquala, but Tych did mention large water serpents in the area. The serpent makes a second pass and while you block with the branch you have, you still get knocked down. Now that you're in a more prone position, he serpent attempts to coil around you. You pull out your short sword at this point and give it a few hacks, which is enough to cause it to swim away though you aren't entirely sure if it's gone. Not like the water is transparent enough to see through given how muddy it is. You stand up and make your way out of the area as quick as you can. You dropped your branch somewhere in the water when you got knocked over and with Tych dead, you try to go back the way you came because you certainly aren't going to be able to navigate through the swamps this way. Your only hope is get back to the forest and follow the road into the swamp and hopefully from there you'll be able to find a better path to a lizard village. This isn't a good situation. And of course it only gets worse when it gets darker and you're jumping at every unfamiliar sound thinking that it's some beast ready to pounce. Naturally you end up going thigh deep into mud thanks to being preoccupied. You curse and struggle at first until you remember that you're not supposed to struggle when in this situation. Of course you're waist high by the time you remember. You stop struggling and try to find something solid to grab on to so you can pull yourself out. For once you get lucky and manage to slowly drag and twist yourself so you can grab ahold of a rotten stump. "Okay. Okay. I can get out of this..." you say to yourself. It takes awhile and sometimes it feels like you're being pulled in deeper by some force other than just nature, but eventually you make it and drag yourself out. You're soaking wet, muddy and tired, but you're out. "Shit...thank Yag...damn..." you pant. Not wishing to be in this part of swamp by the time its pitch dark, you get up using the stump once again as leverage, along with a nearby soft rock. Soft rock? And that when you find out your left hand was not on a "soft rock" at all, but a sleeping daquala who completely drops the camouflage when you wake it up. It's so quick that you don't quite see what it really looks like except that it has many teeth. Many MANY sharp teeth.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] Year 19 "...and stay away from my daughter, mage minion!" you hear the angry farmer shout as you run away and still attempting to get your pants back on. You soon make it out of Dert and take a breather. Ever since the citizens of Dert finally realized that you were "working" for Ral, (Nobody ever really bought the herbalist story) their attitude towards you hasn't gotten any better. If anything they're even less friendly. Good thing for you they're a bunch of ignorant cowards at heart because they're reluctant to just string you up since they think it might draw Ral's ire somehow. A few even believe you're magical. You aren't really going deter that sort of thinking despite the reality that Ral could probably give a shit if you got killed or not. Of course some (like bored wayward farmers' daughters) find your "mysterious aura" enticing. Another type of thinking you aren't exactly going to deter either. Still, you probably shouldn't push your luck. Fear and hesitation can easily be overridden in a quick moment of violence. Then again, it's not like you've got much else to do with your time. You return to Ral's home and find that he's actually expecting you AND he doesn't have a menial task for you for a change. "I need you to go get me a blood gem." Ral says. "Blood gem? Gee, that sounds like it involves vampires again." You answer. "No, no, no. There aren't any vampires this time around, just a lot of sotakians or lizard folk as you might call them." "Didn't know there were any sotakians in the area." "There aren't, you'll be going to Sotak Swamp. The sotakians use blood gems in their idols, so just seek out one of those and you should be good." "Uh, not that I don't live to serve thanks to the spell that forces me to, but isn't that pretty far away? I don't think I'm making it back in a week and that's if I even knew how to get around there in the first place." "Don't worry about that, you're going to have a guide and you're going to be teleported to a relatively close to where you need to be. When you get the item and back to the original location, you'll be teleported back here." "Hm, well I guess that makes things slightly easier, who is this guide?" Ral points to a small winged being flying in from the next room. You guess he's a fairy of some sort, but you couldn't guess what kind. He doesn't look happy. "This is Tych, your sprite guide. He'll be able to direct you to where you need to go." Ral says. "Sprite huh? Weird to see one alive this time rather than just the blood." You say. "Yes, Tych you could say was most inspired to save his own life when I first encountered him. In return for his servitude rather than death, it was he who gathered twenty of his kind in one place and made that process a whole lot easier." "Wait, how long has Tych been here and where's he been? This is the first time I've seen him." "Oh he's been here maybe about as long as you have and you haven't seen him because I tend to keep him in my lab where I can keep a better eye on him. Sprites, like most fairy folk tend to be tricksters and Tych in particular is one of the more treacherous of his kind. In fact you may find him to be very friendly towards you since he'll probably be trying to convince you that you two should work together to escape. I of course advise you not to listen to such nonsense that will only get you into more trouble." "Great, and you're sending this little devious bastard to guide me?" "As long as you insist on sticking to the task I've given you, he won't be able to resist helping. So don't listen to anything else he says and you'll be fine. Think of it this way, you're his direct superior and what you say goes." You're not sure about this, but as always you have little choice in the matter so you gather up what equipment you believe is going to be useful and return to Ral who says a few words and before you know it, you're blinded by a flash of light. As you're still shaking off the effects of temporary blindness, your guide is in no hurry. "Take your time plivik. It's been awhile since I've been outside so I'm going to enjoy every moment we're out here." Tych says in a high pitched squeaky voice that almost makes you want to laugh. "Where exactly are we anyway?" you ask finally getting over your condition and finding yourself in new surroundings. "Oh we're in Gnarlwood Forest, not too far from the border of Sotak Swamp. More specifically we're in a fairy circle or an old abandoned one at least. Of course even abandoned ones have magic to them, probably why Ral sent me with you too. Makes the teleportation connection easier for him to cast. He's not nearly as powerful of a wizard as he thinks he is." "Hm, well he's still got the pair of us doing his dirty work." "True plivik, but that won't last forever. If we work together we'll be able to overcome his magic that's binding the both of us to him." "Oh? How so?" Tych giggles a bit. "Ral has made a big mistake in letting me come back here! We fairy folk as you may know are magical by nature, but I cannot break our magical chains by myself. However, my village isn't too far from here and it would help the both of us plivik. With their help, Ral's spell could easily be overcome." Tych says. "Why would they help me? I'm not a sprite." You ask. "What does that matter plivik? You're still a being in need of help. I can see you're not a bad person, and just like me, you are just forced to serve a bad master. If you tell me to guide you to the other sprites, we can go right now." "You keep calling me plivik, what does that mean?" "Oh, it's just a word in my native tongue. Just means friend." "We're friends all of a sudden?" "We both don't like Ral and wish to be free of his chains correct? I'd say that already makes us have enough in common to be friends even if we just met, plivik." "Ral said you would be friendly towards me to do something underhanded and that I shouldn't pay any attention to what you have to say unless it directly involves the task." "Well of course he's going to say that, plivik. He wants to keep us divided. He also told you that I lead twenty of my people to be ground up into into blood paste. I guarantee that I would never do such a hideous thing even to save my own life! He used a spell to capture us all and it was only by pure luck that he decided to keep me around as a pet to torment. You know he keeps me in a glass jar on his lab desk and shakes it around?" You can see how this is going to go. You're going to have to play "Who's the liar?" the whole time during this task. "I think we should stick to the task for now." You say. "Oh I understand your hesitation. How about this, we go get the blood gem first and when we return here then you can decide to return to Ral or go to the sprite community I mentioned. That should give you time to decide whether I'm trustworthy or not. Just think about it okay?" Tych says. "Hm, I suppose that's reasonable." "Great! Now let's get this task underway then." Tych goes on to tell you due to his own capture, he's hoping that his information about the area is still the same. He tells you that from your position he knows that there should be a sotakian place of worship within a day's walk. "Now if we head north and then west there's a clearer path to where we need to get to. We're going to have to be careful to avoid elven patrols though. Just hope they aren't on heightened alert because that's going to make sneaking around a lot harder." Tych says. "I don't suppose the fact that we're planning on desecrating one of their enemy's idols would make them friendly?" you say. "A good idea, but it wouldn't make any difference. Elves are a bunch of territorial assholes. They think EVERYTHING in Gnarlwood forest is under their control. As a human, you'd still be seen as an interloper and most likely killed. And as for me, well let's just say it wouldn't be much better than Ral's magical enslavement." "Sounds like it would just be easier to immediately go west and bypass the patrols." "You would think that, but chances are it would take just as long due to all the high marshes and sinking bogs in the area. That's not even counting whatever creatures are lurking there. Not even the sotakians make their homes that way and consider it sacred ground due to the daquala population in the area." "Wait, what's a daquala?" "Oh, they're a creature about the size of one of your dogs but a whole lot more vicious and meaner. They can also camouflage themselves to practically be invisible. However, I don't think they would necessarily be a problem, they tend to sleep a lot and most of them should be hibernating this time of year. You're more likely to get swallowed by quicksand or a giant swamp serpent honestly. Still, I suppose if we got lucky it would cut our time by half. Up to you, plivik." > You take the forest path While you're going to have to stomp through the swamps eventually, if you can avoid the areas that contain vicious invisible beasts that would probably be better for your survival. "Okay, we'll take the long way." You say. "Probably for the best." Tych remarks. As you and Tych travel through the forest, you find that Tych is overly talkative. He even acknowledges that he is, but he's just so happy to talk to ANYONE who isn't Ral. Most of his talk concerns Gnarlwood and Sotak swamp, so it isn't completely useless banter though you're more concerned with his chatter calling attention to you. He has much to criticize when it comes to elves and says it was they who started the war with the sotakians in the first place. And ever since that point, now everyone else who lives in Gnarlwood forest that was more or less minding their own business has to deal with the consequences. "The sotakians were perfectly content on staying in their swamps before the elves pushed them. The sotakians would just take a few elves every now and then for their primitive sacrifices, it wasn't personal and the sotakians never tried to encroach on their territory." Tych says. "I can't imagine WHY the elves would take that badly." You reply. "It isn't like the elves couldn't afford to lose a few of their number given how much they rut with each other. Not to mention as I said, elves are a bunch of territorial assholes. They just used their war as an excuse to try to lord it over the rest of us that live in Gnarlwood. Demanding tribute, conscripting us to help them. Nevermind the fact that the rest of us don't have problem with the sotakians. A bunch of degenerate hedonistic imperialist assholes is what they are." "Interesting. Elves generally don't have that reputation of being particularly interested in conquest, well other than the sexual kind I suppose. I dunno, I haven't really run into many save for passing by a few aggressive whores in Holgard." "Hm, well luckily for you humans, you've already established your dominance in this land. If you were in lesser numbers, the elves would be trying to conquer you lot as well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the elves hadn't sent out their people to go purposely mate with humans and other races to create more half breeds in the world." "What would they gain by that?" "Spies of course! Half elves would make excellent spies to gather information about the rest of the world and human governments in particular. Mark my words plivik, there will come a day when elves will try to pull their bullshit on humanity. I know you humans already tend to be foolishly entranced by their superficial looks. Ugh, dunno how anyone could find those freaks attractive." Yep, Tych certainly has strong opinions on elves. Most of your journey is uneventful and despite Tych's ranting. Eventually you do get weary of the sprite's squeaks and tell him to keep it down. Tych apologizes and complies. As night begins to fall, you decide to camp for the night so once again you find yourself a tree you can climb up and reasonably sleep in. "What are you doing, plivik?" Tych asks as you climb up a tree. "Maybe you sprites can see in the dark, but I can't unfortunately. Not to mention I need to get some rest if I'm going to go steal the eyes from sacred sotakian statues tomorrow." You respond. "Hm, I suppose you're right. Very well my wings could use a rest too and it'll be nice to sleep outside rather than a glass jar for a change. (Sigh) Just wish I could sleep with my beloved Gink tonight. Even the sight of her would be most welcome." "You're married?" "You surprised? Though I'm not married in the way that you probably are thinking. There was no lavish ceremony like you big legs seem to like to have. Gink and I just bonded under the moon in private and made our commitment statements to each other. We're the only ones that matter, so why all the need for a crowd to watch?" "Makes sense to me actually." "What about you?" "What about me what?" "Do you have someone?" "No. I mean I had someone for a few months, but it didn't last...anyway I wasn't married and honestly it's not something I've ever thought about. Especially not now." "Yes, I suppose our predicament would put other concerns first. Remember though, it doesn't have to be that way." Tych flits away and goes off to find a soft leaf to sleep on. You remain awake for a little while wondering if Tych is lying about everything, telling half truths, or being completely honest. Eventually you fall asleep. Later you wake up to Tych's squeaky voice. "Wake up! Wake up, plivik! Elves are in the area and they're on the move!" "Huh? What? Here? Now? I didn't even hear anything!" you respond, suddenly waking up and catching yourself before you fall. "Well no, they aren't right here under us plivik, but close enough! I woke up early and did a little scouting north. There are a bunch of them marching down that well trodden path that leads into the swamp. It looks like a war party." "So are they going to attack a lizard village?" "I would imagine so." "I guess taking the path is completely off the table now." "It is until they clear the area which might be awhile." "Do you know what village they're going to attack? Were we heading in that direction?" "I actually did hear some of their conversation and they're striking the closest one on the border and fully intend on wiping it out. I think I know which one that is and it's a fairly large one. Makes sense that they would send so many soldiers. Our destination was going to be a little to the southwest when we reached the swamp. A smaller village that was further in the swamp." "Would both of them contain idols?" "Well the sotakians are pretty religious, and they usually have one somewhere in their villages, why?" "I'm just wondering if instead of me trying to sneak around a lizard village by myself that maybe I shouldn't just shadow the war party and snatch the gems from a village that's going to be raided instead." Tych gives you a concerned look. "I don't know plivik, that sounds pretty risky. As I said, the elves are likely to attack you as well." Tych says. "You're probably right, if only because they're going to wonder what the hell I'm doing there, but lizards are still going to be their primary targets. At least if I get seen, there's going to be enough distraction on both sides that I might avoid getting targeted. If I get caught in the other village, it's just going to be me by myself surrounded by lizards and I don't expect you'd be much help." You respond. "Way to have confidence in me, plivik. I'll have you know I can fly about the other village without causing any attention and give you a run down on how to best approach the place. Certainly seems safer than what you're proposing." "Hmm, okay, we'll go with your idea again." "It is the safer course I assure you, plivik. I am also happy that you have so much trust in me." Tych responds. "I'm just hoping I don't regret it." Since you're intending on going with the original plan, Tych says that he's going to go back to watch the elven war party and let you know when the path is clear. He suggests that even when they do finally all pass by, it would probably still be best to keep off the path proper and just follow the general direction of it until you get to the swamp. From there he'll once again guide the way and scout ahead. As Tych takes his leave, you sit back and wait. You sort of feel like you haven't been doing much on this task, though you suppose Tych IS your guide so it makes sense that he's doing most of the work to get you to your destination. You don't know how long you wait, but it's enough that you end up going back to sleep for a little while. The second time Tych wakes you isn't quite as jarring. Having been given the all-clear reassurance, you climb down from the tree and follow Tych as he leads you into the Sotak swamp. The swamp is about like what you imagined, it's muggy, very wet and filled with a lot of little biting and stinging insects. (Though in Tych's case, they aren't all that small and he tends to perch on your shoulder for most of the way) You don't encounter anything too bad; save for a couple of the larger reptilian predators (Tych says they're crocomoths) and in both cases they're busily feasting on something else and you slip by unnoticed. Despite you practically being up to your knees in muddy water you're making good time all things considered and then that's when you hear a faint sounds in the distance coming from the north. Sounds like a horn. You walk a few more minutes and that's when you begin to hear a lot of splashing, several voices shouting and heading in your direction from the south and getting closer by the second. "Those must be sotakians!" Tych says. "Shit, I just realized, that horn sound we heard was probably was some alarm from that other village getting attacked. There's probably going to be a shitload of lizards heading our way!" you say. "We have to hide!" Tych at this point does exactly that and flies away! Whether he's completely left you or not is irrelevant because all that matters now is you finding your own hiding spot. You don't know how many are heading in your direction and how spread out they are, but all you can do is hope you stay out of their sight. > You hide in some tall reeds Hiding underwater holds the danger of drowning on top of getting stepped on and getting discovered. You'll take your chances with tall reeds and hope for the best. You run to the left and hide in a thick clump of reeds getting as low as you possibly can without actually being completely submerged. You keep your weapon ready as you hear the splashing of several bodies heading your direction. You expect one of those lizards to suddenly stumble upon you at any time. You only hope you kill him so quickly that none of his fellows notice. Unfortunately, you're paying so much attention to if the lizards are going to stumble upon you, you don't notice the nearby snake nest that you've stumbled into. You suddenly feel several small piecing bites in your flesh. This causes you to jump up and yell involuntarily as you quickly try to get the colorful little snakes off of you. Of course this then calls the attention of not just one, but several lizards who were running by at the time. They notice you and after a few hisses and something in a language you don't understand, three of them move in to attack you while the rest continue their other mission of defending their settlement. Besides outnumbering you, the lizards are bigger than you and probably faster than you in this sort of environment. They're also most definitely better warriors than you. However, none of that really matters because you're currently in no condition to fight or flee from the sotakians. Whatever type of snakes those were, they were highly poisonous and you just got bit by several of them. By the time one of the lizards even reaches your position, you've fallen to the ground vomiting, your heart beating much to fast, and you feel like the interior of your body is on fire. Your eyes roll in the back of your head and then you lose complete consciousness before dying face down in muddy water.

[Themes: fantasy, serious] While you're going to have to stomp through the swamps eventually, if you can avoid the areas that contain vicious invisible beasts that would probably be better for your survival. "Okay, we'll take the long way." You say. "Probably for the best." Tych remarks. As you and Tych travel through the forest, you find that Tych is overly talkative. He even acknowledges that he is, but he's just so happy to talk to ANYONE who isn't Ral. Most of his talk concerns Gnarlwood and Sotak swamp, so it isn't completely useless banter though you're more concerned with his chatter calling attention to you. He has much to criticize when it comes to elves and says it was they who started the war with the sotakians in the first place. And ever since that point, now everyone else who lives in Gnarlwood forest that was more or less minding their own business has to deal with the consequences. "The sotakians were perfectly content on staying in their swamps before the elves pushed them. The sotakians would just take a few elves every now and then for their primitive sacrifices, it wasn't personal and the sotakians never tried to encroach on their territory." Tych says. "I can't imagine WHY the elves would take that badly." You reply. "It isn't like the elves couldn't afford to lose a few of their number given how much they rut with each other. Not to mention as I said, elves are a bunch of territorial assholes. They just used their war as an excuse to try to lord it over the rest of us that live in Gnarlwood. Demanding tribute, conscripting us to help them. Nevermind the fact that the rest of us don't have problem with the sotakians. A bunch of degenerate hedonistic imperialist assholes is what they are." "Interesting. Elves generally don't have that reputation of being particularly interested in conquest, well other than the sexual kind I suppose. I dunno, I haven't really run into many save for passing by a few aggressive whores in Holgard." "Hm, well luckily for you humans, you've already established your dominance in this land. If you were in lesser numbers, the elves would be trying to conquer you lot as well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the elves hadn't sent out their people to go purposely mate with humans and other races to create more half breeds in the world." "What would they gain by that?" "Spies of course! Half elves would make excellent spies to gather information about the rest of the world and human governments in particular. Mark my words plivik, there will come a day when elves will try to pull their bullshit on humanity. I know you humans already tend to be foolishly entranced by their superficial looks. Ugh, dunno how anyone could find those freaks attractive." Yep, Tych certainly has strong opinions on elves. Most of your journey is uneventful and despite Tych's ranting. Eventually you do get weary of the sprite's squeaks and tell him to keep it down. Tych apologizes and complies. As night begins to fall, you decide to camp for the night so once again you find yourself a tree you can climb up and reasonably sleep in. "What are you doing, plivik?" Tych asks as you climb up a tree. "Maybe you sprites can see in the dark, but I can't unfortunately. Not to mention I need to get some rest if I'm going to go steal the eyes from sacred sotakian statues tomorrow." You respond. "Hm, I suppose you're right. Very well my wings could use a rest too and it'll be nice to sleep outside rather than a glass jar for a change. (Sigh) Just wish I could sleep with my beloved Gink tonight. Even the sight of her would be most welcome." "You're married?" "You surprised? Though I'm not married in the way that you probably are thinking. There was no lavish ceremony like you big legs seem to like to have. Gink and I just bonded under the moon in private and made our commitment statements to each other. We're the only ones that matter, so why all the need for a crowd to watch?" "Makes sense to me actually." "What about you?" "What about me what?" "Do you have someone?" "No. I mean I had someone for a few months, but it didn't last...anyway I wasn't married and honestly it's not something I've ever thought about. Especially not now." "Yes, I suppose our predicament would put other concerns first. Remember though, it doesn't have to be that way." Tych flits away and goes off to find a soft leaf to sleep on. You remain awake for a little while wondering if Tych is lying about everything, telling half truths, or being completely honest. Eventually you fall asleep. Later you wake up to Tych's squeaky voice. "Wake up! Wake up, plivik! Elves are in the area and they're on the move!" "Huh? What? Here? Now? I didn't even hear anything!" you respond, suddenly waking up and catching yourself before you fall. "Well no, they aren't right here under us plivik, but close enough! I woke up early and did a little scouting north. There are a bunch of them marching down that well trodden path that leads into the swamp. It looks like a war party." "So are they going to attack a lizard village?" "I would imagine so." "I guess taking the path is completely off the table now." "It is until they clear the area which might be awhile." "Do you know what village they're going to attack? Were we heading in that direction?" "I actually did hear some of their conversation and they're striking the closest one on the border and fully intend on wiping it out. I think I know which one that is and it's a fairly large one. Makes sense that they would send so many soldiers. Our destination was going to be a little to the southwest when we reached the swamp. A smaller village that was further in the swamp." "Would both of them contain idols?" "Well the sotakians are pretty religious, and they usually have one somewhere in their villages, why?" "I'm just wondering if instead of me trying to sneak around a lizard village by myself that maybe I shouldn't just shadow the war party and snatch the gems from a village that's going to be raided instead." Tych gives you a concerned look. "I don't know plivik, that sounds pretty risky. As I said, the elves are likely to attack you as well." Tych says. "You're probably right, if only because they're going to wonder what the hell I'm doing there, but lizards are still going to be their primary targets. At least if I get seen, there's going to be enough distraction on both sides that I might avoid getting targeted. If I get caught in the other village, it's just going to be me by myself surrounded by lizards and I don't expect you'd be much help." You respond. "Way to have confidence in me, plivik. I'll have you know I can fly about the other village without causing any attention and give you a run down on how to best approach the place. Certainly seems safer than what you're proposing." "Hmm, okay, we'll go with your idea again." "It is the safer course I assure you, plivik. I am also happy that you have so much trust in me." Tych responds. "I'm just hoping I don't regret it." Since you're intending on going with the original plan, Tych says that he's going to go back to watch the elven war party and let you know when the path is clear. He suggests that even when they do finally all pass by, it would probably still be best to keep off the path proper and just follow the general direction of it until you get to the swamp. From there he'll once again guide the way and scout ahead. As Tych takes his leave, you sit back and wait. You sort of feel like you haven't been doing much on this task, though you suppose Tych IS your guide so it makes sense that he's doing most of the work to get you to your destination. You don't know how long you wait, but it's enough that you end up going back to sleep for a little while. The second time Tych wakes you isn't quite as jarring. Having been given the all-clear reassurance, you climb down from the tree and follow Tych as he leads you into the Sotak swamp. The swamp is about like what you imagined, it's muggy, very wet and filled with a lot of little biting and stinging insects. (Though in Tych's case, they aren't all that small and he tends to perch on your shoulder for most of the way) You don't encounter anything too bad; save for a couple of the larger reptilian predators (Tych says they're crocomoths) and in both cases they're busily feasting on something else and you slip by unnoticed. Despite you practically being up to your knees in muddy water you're making good time all things considered and then that's when you hear a faint sounds in the distance coming from the north. Sounds like a horn. You walk a few more minutes and that's when you begin to hear a lot of splashing, several voices shouting and heading in your direction from the south and getting closer by the second. "Those must be sotakians!" Tych says. "Shit, I just realized, that horn sound we heard was probably was some alarm from that other village getting attacked. There's probably going to be a shitload of lizards heading our way!" you say. "We have to hide!" Tych at this point does exactly that and flies away! Whether he's completely left you or not is irrelevant because all that matters now is you finding your own hiding spot. You don't know how many are heading in your direction and how spread out they are, but all you can do is hope you stay out of their sight. > You hide underwater You quickly grab one of the many reeds nearby, break it and put it in your mouth as you sink underneath the muddy water you've been stomping through. You just hope that YOU don't get stomped on. Getting trampled on by multiple lizard feet would be a pretty ignoble death. Of course this isn't even counting whatever the hell might be lurking under the water ready to swim into your ear and lay eggs in your brain. (You have an overactive imagination sometimes) You lay on the muddy swamp floor, trying to make yourself as small as possible. Doesn't take long before you hear the sounds of lizards shouting their incomprehensible language and running past you, though it's very muted and garbled due to you being underwater. Despite the water being muddy and your sight getting blurred in the process, you do see a couple of large looming figures run past from your prone position. A couple of the sotakian's taloned feet stomp near you. One right near your head, but you get lucky and none of them actually step or trip over you. Still, you aren't sure if all of them have passed so you're reluctant to move, fortunately Tych returns and flies near your reed. You can't quite make out what he's saying, but you think you see him waving his arms like an "all clear" signal, so you sit up out of the water and catch a good breath. "That was quite the bit of quick thinking, plivik." Tych remarks. "Are they all gone?" you ask in between breaths. "Yes, I believe so, quite a lot of them actually. From above, I could see them spread out all over the nearby area, you got very lucky. I doubt if running to the left or right would have escaped their gaze." "Where did you go?" "As I said plivik, I just flew straight up until they passed. Are you surprised? You already claimed I wouldn't be useful in a fight." "Yeah I suppose not. Actually with that many, pretty sure I'd be dead as well." "Glad you're not holding a grudge plivik. In any case, our destination should be a whole lot manageable to deal with now. I suspect only a few sotakians remain in the village so your job should be easier. I will still scout the village to let you know the best approach of course." You're really hoping that will be the case, because as sopping wet as you are now, you're not exactly in the highest spirits and are eager to get this shitty task over with. You and Tych make your way to your destination and sure enough the sotakian village is fairly empty. There are still a few lizards around and sure enough a couple of them are guarding a big lizard statue in the center of the village with blood gems for eyes. Fortunately Tych also mentions that there are some bamboo cages with elves in them. He says they look miserable and in terrible condition (he mentions that pretty gleefully), but he thinks if they got free, they'd certainly try to make a run for it. So that's your plan, you're going to create a distraction by releasing the prisoners. You cautiously approach the village and sneak around the huts, hoping that none of the little lizard children wandering around suddenly stumble upon you. When you get to the cages, Tych wasn't kidding about the elves. They look like they might have been in here for weeks and they're skinny even for elves. However, when they see you, they take notice, but say nothing. You reinforce this by putting your fingers to your lips and then working on the lock. The lock itself isn't even metal, its' a simple latch mechanism that can easily be opened from the outside, so it's child's play to you. The prisoners looks so thankful and a couple even whisper a few things that you don't understand in their native tongue, but you assume its some sort of thankful. They all start to make their way out and then that's when you nod to Tych and get out of the immediate vicinity. Tych flies over to the sotakians and begins shouting at them and pointing over in the direction of their prisoners. The sotakians are a bit confused at first by some sprite yelling at them and would probably swat him down, but when they look to where Tych is pointing, they find their escaped prisoners a lot more important to chase down. The lizards guarding the statue, along with most of the others chase after the prisoners who are now running for their lives. With the village nearly completely empty of any warriors of any kind, you make a dash to the statue and begin prying out its eyes. While you're not exactly slow in this task, you're certainly not fast enough to escape completely unnoticed, especially since there are still lizard children and a few mothers (At least you're assuming the remaining adults might be female, you can't tell) still in the village and notice your desecration. They begin hissing and converging on your position. With the gems in your possession, you pull out your sword and begin making a hasty retreat out of this accursed swamp. Lizard children might be small, but they still have a full set of sharp teeth and piercing talons. They're fairly fast too, especially since they're used to this environment. You have no choice but to cut a couple of the little scalies down in your escape, but not before they lay in some good bites and claw slashes on your arms and legs. It's probably only because of these casualties, that they stop pursuing you as the rest of them get scared and the mothers wish to keep the rest of their broods safe. (You hear some odd wailing noises behind you) Eventually you put a lot of distance between you and the village. You sort of lost him again in all the mayhem, but you soon find out that Tych is never far from your position. "Whew! That got intense! I almost thought you weren't going to make it plivik, with all those sotakian children trying to eat you." Tych says. "I didn't think I was for a moment." You answer taking a breather. "This might be a weird question, but do you feel bad for killing sotakian children?" "What?!" "I mean I know it was a matter of life and death, but still..." "Damn right it was a matter of life and death! I didn't enjoy it if that's what you're asking, but then I didn't exactly have time to worry about the moralities of killing little scaly children either, who I might add were probably more dangerous than typical wild predator. Felt like I was getting attacked by a pack of animals rather than anything with higher intelligence what with all the growling, hissing, biting and tearing." "Apologies plivik, I just sort of wanted to know what kind of person you were. Just as you weren't completely sure about me, I also wasn't completely sure about you. I am glad to see you are a person that doesn't enjoy killing even if you are pragmatic by nature. It would have made me hesitant to take you back to my village even if I do desire freedom." "Hold on, who said anything about going back to your village? We got the gems, we're going back to Ral's." "You still don't trust me, after all we've been through, plivik? Don't you want freedom? All we have to do is go back to my village and we can be free of Ral's spell! I can even lead you safely out of this forest and have you back on your way to Holgard or whatever other human settlement you had in mind to go to. And you could even think of those blood gems as your reward for this whole shitty experience. Those have to be worth quite a bit. Not like they're common." "Why don't we just get out of this fucking swamp before I think anymore about this okay?" "Very well plivik." Tych shuts up for awhile and the pair of you make your way back. You feel like once you're out of the swamp, the worst of this will be behind you. You have some concerns about potentially bumping into more lizards or even elves, but Tych is fairly confident that won't be the case. "The sotakians barely ever retreat and especially not on their own territory. Also, the lot that came from the other village will have probably cut off the elves from any sort of escape. Those stupid pliviks are going to be completely massacred. Elves deserve what they get. I hope the sotakians also hunted down those other ones and recaptured them." Tych remarks. Strange that Tych should be so concerned with your possible enjoyment of killing when he himself obviously gets a lot of pleasure from elven suffering. You get the real impression that elves must have done more to him than he's already said. It's the only explanation for his sadistic hatred. When you make it back to the forest, night is beginning to fall. You walk a little longer and eventually you make it back to the tree where you slept the first time you passed through this way. The next morning Tych is buzzing in your ear about heading back to his village again. Considering you'll arrive at the fairy ring in a few hours, it isn't surprising that he desperately wants a final answer from you about the subject. He already made some of his points yesterday. Besides the obvious freedom, you'd be pretty well off with the blood gems you have. > You go to his village Tych's offer is too tempting and despite a few times where he flew away and hid, he still helped you out in the long run. Ral on the other hand has done nothing but enslave you and when he isn't having you do menial labor, he's sending you on dangerous missions like this one. You might as well risk it. If it doesn't work or Tych is just planning on freeing himself somehow, you can always just head back to the fairy ring. You can make up a story to Ral, not like he's going to care as long as he has his blood gems. "Okay Tych, let's go to your village, but I'm REALLY putting a lot of trust in you and hoping you're planning on freeing us both as opposed to saving your own ass somehow." You say. "Oh, we'll both be free, don't worry! Come on let's go plivik, I'm really excited about this!" Tych beams and flies off at a slightly faster pace than usual. You spend the better part of the day following Tych who really is so excited that you nearly lose him several times in the forest. Several times he stops to wait and laments the fact that your big clumsy legs aren't fast enough to keep up with him. Eventually you get to a point where Tych tells you to stop. "Okay, hold on plivik. We're getting very close, but I better go ahead first. Not like we invite a lot of big people into our villages." Tych says. "Where is it anyway?" you ask. "It's up high in the trees. What? Did you think we lived on the ground like you wingless pliviks do? I'm going to go see the elder and tell him what's going on, I have no reason to believe that he won't help." "Hmm, I'm still half expecting you to just disappear." "You followed me this far and you still don't trust me? I'm coming back plivik, just wait here." Tych flies upward towards the very high nearby trees. You watch him the entire time until he completely disappears in the foliage. You continue to look up and around to see if you can make out some sort of sign of a fairy village, but you can't see anything. Eventually you stop straining your eyes and neck and just lean up against one of the trees and wait. Unsurprisingly, you're waiting quite awhile. You start thinking about leaving as it begins to get darker, but you're just hoping that Tych is taking a long time because he stopped to fuck his wife or something. Tych eventually returns and calls to you as he's flying down. "Hey plivik you're still here! Really glad you are, I told you I'd be back. I told the rest of the village and they'll all be coming down to meet you soon since we can't very well expect you to come meet us." Tych says. "What's going on exactly?" you ask. "It's like I said, in order to break the spell it's going to require the entire village's help. Involves a lot of chanting, magical power and shit." "And shit? That doesn't sound very specific. Do you know if this will even work?" "It'll work, trust me." "It better because...ow. what the hell..." You feel a little sharp jab in your arm. At first you think an insect has bitten or stung you, but upon closer in inspection it's a tiny arrow. You pull it out and they look at Tych who just shrugs his shoulders. "Hey I did say I'd come back and that you'd be free. I didn't say you'd come out of this alive." Before you can even make the attempt to lunge at Tych (who just flies out of the way) you are suddenly hit by several tiny arrows on all sides. It's like multiple needles going in your body and while it isn't the most pleasant feeling, it isn't the thing that kills you. The fact that they drugged everyone of their arrow is what kills you, or rather helps lead to your eventual death. You fall to the ground completely paralyzed, you can't even speak, but you're fully aware of your surroundings. You watch as several sprites descend from the trees. You can't make out much from your position, but it looks like one of them flies over to speak with Tych. "So you say this human is the one that captured you and the rest your company?" the elder asks. "Not by himself, but he was helping the wizard that did. I can't bring them back and I couldn't kill the wizard, but I at least hoped that bringing this plivik to the village could at least give the families some measure of justice." Tych remarks. "It won't ease the pain for most, but I suppose it will bring a little closure since we never did know what the hell happened. We assumed it was elves or even sotakians." "I'm just glad to be home and finally free. I thank you elder for managing to release me from that dreadful magic." As you listen to Tych spin more lies, it suddenly occurs to you that yesterday he referred to the elves as pliviks. And he's certainly no friend to elves. You wish you had caught that before, because it's obvious that word is something insulting and given that he's been calling you that since he met you, that pretty much says it all on what he ever thought about you. The elder tells the rest of the sprites about how Tych is to be honored by bringing home an enemy that led to the deaths of so many in the village. And in his honor he is going to allow Tych to marry one of his many daughters. Sonofabitch wasn't even married. After a few more lies and speeches, the sprites finally descend on you to celebrate Tych's homecoming along with dispensing justice; this will take the form of a feast. You never knew sprites ate flesh, but you soon learn first hand as several sharp teeth start chewing on your body. It's agonizing being slowly eaten alive; especially since they're so small this doesn't kill you quickly. But after nearly a week, your chewed and bitten body finally expires.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] You quickly grab one of the many reeds nearby, break it and put it in your mouth as you sink underneath the muddy water you've been stomping through. You just hope that YOU don't get stomped on. Getting trampled on by multiple lizard feet would be a pretty ignoble death. Of course this isn't even counting whatever the hell might be lurking under the water ready to swim into your ear and lay eggs in your brain. (You have an overactive imagination sometimes) You lay on the muddy swamp floor, trying to make yourself as small as possible. Doesn't take long before you hear the sounds of lizards shouting their incomprehensible language and running past you, though it's very muted and garbled due to you being underwater. Despite the water being muddy and your sight getting blurred in the process, you do see a couple of large looming figures run past from your prone position. A couple of the sotakian's taloned feet stomp near you. One right near your head, but you get lucky and none of them actually step or trip over you. Still, you aren't sure if all of them have passed so you're reluctant to move, fortunately Tych returns and flies near your reed. You can't quite make out what he's saying, but you think you see him waving his arms like an "all clear" signal, so you sit up out of the water and catch a good breath. "That was quite the bit of quick thinking, plivik." Tych remarks. "Are they all gone?" you ask in between breaths. "Yes, I believe so, quite a lot of them actually. From above, I could see them spread out all over the nearby area, you got very lucky. I doubt if running to the left or right would have escaped their gaze." "Where did you go?" "As I said plivik, I just flew straight up until they passed. Are you surprised? You already claimed I wouldn't be useful in a fight." "Yeah I suppose not. Actually with that many, pretty sure I'd be dead as well." "Glad you're not holding a grudge plivik. In any case, our destination should be a whole lot manageable to deal with now. I suspect only a few sotakians remain in the village so your job should be easier. I will still scout the village to let you know the best approach of course." You're really hoping that will be the case, because as sopping wet as you are now, you're not exactly in the highest spirits and are eager to get this shitty task over with. You and Tych make your way to your destination and sure enough the sotakian village is fairly empty. There are still a few lizards around and sure enough a couple of them are guarding a big lizard statue in the center of the village with blood gems for eyes. Fortunately Tych also mentions that there are some bamboo cages with elves in them. He says they look miserable and in terrible condition (he mentions that pretty gleefully), but he thinks if they got free, they'd certainly try to make a run for it. So that's your plan, you're going to create a distraction by releasing the prisoners. You cautiously approach the village and sneak around the huts, hoping that none of the little lizard children wandering around suddenly stumble upon you. When you get to the cages, Tych wasn't kidding about the elves. They look like they might have been in here for weeks and they're skinny even for elves. However, when they see you, they take notice, but say nothing. You reinforce this by putting your fingers to your lips and then working on the lock. The lock itself isn't even metal, its' a simple latch mechanism that can easily be opened from the outside, so it's child's play to you. The prisoners looks so thankful and a couple even whisper a few things that you don't understand in their native tongue, but you assume its some sort of thankful. They all start to make their way out and then that's when you nod to Tych and get out of the immediate vicinity. Tych flies over to the sotakians and begins shouting at them and pointing over in the direction of their prisoners. The sotakians are a bit confused at first by some sprite yelling at them and would probably swat him down, but when they look to where Tych is pointing, they find their escaped prisoners a lot more important to chase down. The lizards guarding the statue, along with most of the others chase after the prisoners who are now running for their lives. With the village nearly completely empty of any warriors of any kind, you make a dash to the statue and begin prying out its eyes. While you're not exactly slow in this task, you're certainly not fast enough to escape completely unnoticed, especially since there are still lizard children and a few mothers (At least you're assuming the remaining adults might be female, you can't tell) still in the village and notice your desecration. They begin hissing and converging on your position. With the gems in your possession, you pull out your sword and begin making a hasty retreat out of this accursed swamp. Lizard children might be small, but they still have a full set of sharp teeth and piercing talons. They're fairly fast too, especially since they're used to this environment. You have no choice but to cut a couple of the little scalies down in your escape, but not before they lay in some good bites and claw slashes on your arms and legs. It's probably only because of these casualties, that they stop pursuing you as the rest of them get scared and the mothers wish to keep the rest of their broods safe. (You hear some odd wailing noises behind you) Eventually you put a lot of distance between you and the village. You sort of lost him again in all the mayhem, but you soon find out that Tych is never far from your position. "Whew! That got intense! I almost thought you weren't going to make it plivik, with all those sotakian children trying to eat you." Tych says. "I didn't think I was for a moment." You answer taking a breather. "This might be a weird question, but do you feel bad for killing sotakian children?" "What?!" "I mean I know it was a matter of life and death, but still..." "Damn right it was a matter of life and death! I didn't enjoy it if that's what you're asking, but then I didn't exactly have time to worry about the moralities of killing little scaly children either, who I might add were probably more dangerous than typical wild predator. Felt like I was getting attacked by a pack of animals rather than anything with higher intelligence what with all the growling, hissing, biting and tearing." "Apologies plivik, I just sort of wanted to know what kind of person you were. Just as you weren't completely sure about me, I also wasn't completely sure about you. I am glad to see you are a person that doesn't enjoy killing even if you are pragmatic by nature. It would have made me hesitant to take you back to my village even if I do desire freedom." "Hold on, who said anything about going back to your village? We got the gems, we're going back to Ral's." "You still don't trust me, after all we've been through, plivik? Don't you want freedom? All we have to do is go back to my village and we can be free of Ral's spell! I can even lead you safely out of this forest and have you back on your way to Holgard or whatever other human settlement you had in mind to go to. And you could even think of those blood gems as your reward for this whole shitty experience. Those have to be worth quite a bit. Not like they're common." "Why don't we just get out of this fucking swamp before I think anymore about this okay?" "Very well plivik." Tych shuts up for awhile and the pair of you make your way back. You feel like once you're out of the swamp, the worst of this will be behind you. You have some concerns about potentially bumping into more lizards or even elves, but Tych is fairly confident that won't be the case. "The sotakians barely ever retreat and especially not on their own territory. Also, the lot that came from the other village will have probably cut off the elves from any sort of escape. Those stupid pliviks are going to be completely massacred. Elves deserve what they get. I hope the sotakians also hunted down those other ones and recaptured them." Tych remarks. Strange that Tych should be so concerned with your possible enjoyment of killing when he himself obviously gets a lot of pleasure from elven suffering. You get the real impression that elves must have done more to him than he's already said. It's the only explanation for his sadistic hatred. When you make it back to the forest, night is beginning to fall. You walk a little longer and eventually you make it back to the tree where you slept the first time you passed through this way. The next morning Tych is buzzing in your ear about heading back to his village again. Considering you'll arrive at the fairy ring in a few hours, it isn't surprising that he desperately wants a final answer from you about the subject. He already made some of his points yesterday. Besides the obvious freedom, you'd be pretty well off with the blood gems you have. > You head to the fairy ring You might have very well gone with him as Tych was more or less helpful during the task and didn't display any outward signs of treachery. However, you did notice one thing in something he said yesterday... "So what does plivik REALLY mean Tych?" you ask. "Huh? I don't understand. I told you, it means friend." Tych says. "I don't think it does." "Well okay, it's not an exact translation, but it's basically the same thing." "If that's the case, then why did you refer to the elves as stupid pliviks yesterday when you spoke about them?" "Erm...I did?" "Yeah, you did. And given your extreme dislike of them, I doubt very seriously that you were calling them friends even if it made sense in the context that you were speaking about them. Which it wouldn't." Tych at this point begins to try to explain that the word has several meanings in his language and it all goes back to the complexities of sprites' rich and long history of linguistics. The whole time he's telling you this, he's also flying away from you to a safe distance, which pretty much tells you all you need to know. "Uh huh. We're going back to Ral's." you say. "Noooo! I can't go back there, not after being in the outdoors again! I want to be free! Come on pliv...come on friend, you really want to be Ral's slave? Wouldn't you rather be free?" "Sure. But the problem is, I don't fucking trust you to be the one to help me in that task. Ral said you led twenty other sprites to their death to save your own life, I can't know if that's something similar that you have in store for me so you can gain your own freedom. For all I know you might even be trying to get me killed for the shits and giggles given how much you enjoy elven suffering." "Now that's not true! I don't hate humans. I wouldn't get any pleasure out of leading you to your death." "Oh? I guess that's comforting to know that even though you WERE going to lead me to my death, that you wouldn't laugh about it." "Well of course I wouldn't laugh... I MEAN NO! No, I wouldn't even do that! Shit! You're confusing me!" "Glad I'm not as confused as you seem to be. We're going to the fairy ring and teleporting back to Ral's place." Tych tries to convince you that he doesn't have some hidden agenda, but it falls on deaf ears. Eventually he gives in and goes into a litany of swears and curses the whole time you travel to the fairy ring. "Plivik" comes up often, and at this point you imagine that means something like "asshole." Basically Tych's been calling you an asshole since the journey began. When you teleport back to Ral's place, you find yourself in the same location as you left. Tych looks depressed again as Ral enters the room. "Ah, I sensed you two came back. I must say, you look a little weathered and worn, though I suppose this task would have its challenges. I trust you didn't encounter too much trouble?" Ral asks. "Would it matter if we did?" you ask. "Not really, so where are the gems?" "Here." "Thanks, and Tych was helpful? Didn't try to talk you into anything foolish?" "Nope, he was completely beneficial. Don't think I could have done it without his advice actually." Ral's surprised to hear you say that, and Tych even more so. The sprite probably thought you'd tattle on him. Honestly, you didn't see much point in doing so though. Ral already told you Tych was treacherous, all it would do is confirm what he told you and it isn't like Ral is going to punish him any more than he already does by keeping him in a glass jar. As far you're concerned, this might keep the pair of them guessing. Tych especially, assuming the mini-bastard has got any sort of conscience. If he does though, not snitching on him COULD help in the future. Long shot of course, but it's not like you have many potential allies at this point who might help you. Eventually Ral dismisses you and Tych gloomily follows him into the lab. You take the opportunity to go clean yourself since you're still covered in mud and swamp water. You hope by all the gods you don't have go there ever again. > Time passes... Year 21 When you first started messing around with Lisa, she was just like all the other young Dert girls that had started taking an interest in you when you started coming around a lot more. Just a bored girl that found you to be a spark of excitement in her backwards little village. Lisa however, stood out mainly because she wasn't naïve or outright stupid like rest. (You still laugh about the one girl who thought she was going to force you into a crossbow wedding by having a child. Unfortunately for her, swallowing doesn't result in pregnancy.) She managed to keep your interest and not in just a physical way. Before you realized it, you were in a relationship again. But it was nice since it allowed you a bit of escapism from your own prison like situation. (And certainly cheaper than going to Holgard whores) While her father has threatened you with physical violence on several occasions (As many others have as well), you and her have always found places to meet. She always listens to whatever tales of "adventure" you have to tell her. Sometimes you make it sound more exciting than it really is, but she always enjoys them and asks many questions since it's like she's able to experience some of the excitement vicariously. Lately though it's starting to look like your stories don't quite quell the restlessness that Lisa seems to have... "Holgard? Oh you don't want to go there now. I think they're about to have a city wide riot or revolution or some shit." You say. "Well that certainly sounds more interesting than having to milk cows all day." Lisa replies. "You're also a lot less likely to get killed milking cows." "Perhaps, but you still get to do interesting stuff all the time, what with you working for a wizard and all." "I wouldn't exactly say I'm working for him. I think I've already confided to you about my situation as far as that goes." "Yes I know and that's also a cause for me to worry about our future. It even causes me to have concerns about your feelings for me." "Oh come on...you know how I feel about you." "Do I? I sometimes get the impression that you probably wouldn't come around if you weren't tethered by the wizard's spell. I imagine we probably wouldn't have even met if it hadn't been the case. Am I wrong?" "(Sigh) Well...yes IF Ral hadn't magically enslaved me, we probably wouldn't have met. But it happened and we DID meet AND I chose you to be with. I mean doesn't that count for something?" Lisa doesn't answer right away; she just takes your hand and looks into your eyes. "I know you probably do have feelings for me, but I also can't shake the feeling that I'm just a nice distraction from your situation, just as you're a nice distraction from mine. We're both prisoners of a sort, but the difference is my cage is of my own accord." Lisa says. "What do you mean?" you ask. "What I mean is I would like to leave this boring village, but the only thing that really holds me back is fear and the lack of any real skill to survive in the outside world, or at least the world you've described to me. And I know you can't be making it all up despite you probably wanting me to believe all those impossible feats you've done." Lisa gives you a small hug and kisses you on the cheek, which causes you to embrace her a bit tighter than usual. You feel like she's saying goodbye to you right now, but that isn't the case. "I'm obviously not going anywhere yet, but I'm just informing you that things need to change a bit at some point. I know we have fun together and I hope we continue to have fun together for many years to come, but don't take me for granted." Lisa goes back to looking at the sky probably still thinking about wanting to leave her boring farm life behind her while you're thinking about how much of an idiot you've been for filling her head with tales of adventure. You couldn't have just stuck with one of the dumb passive ones could you? Why the hell did you go for the independent thinker of the village? Well it's done and to be honest it's that trait that made her more attractive anyway. It isn't like you can blame her for wanting to leave Dert. The place is duller than Teckleville ever was. In any case, you aren't willing to risk losing Lisa even if she isn't likely to leave in the near future. You have to at least make the effort to keep her around. Your reasons are probably selfish, but she's also correct that you would miss her if she weren't in your life. This would be a whole lot simpler if you weren't under Ral's spell. Maybe it's time for that situation to change. Of course even after all these years, you still have no idea of how to do that and Ral doesn't seem to be relenting anytime soon. Of course you do have another option and that's going back to Isabella. Despite her invitation of coming back to see her at anytime, you never have for several reasons. Still, you have pondered it many times because you believe that if anyone knows how to break Ral's hold over you, it would be her and she'd probably be willing to help given how much she doesn't seem to like him. > You ask Isabella to help you This isn't even just about keeping Lisa in your life, this is about not being Ral's whipping boy anymore. "You're right Lisa, things do have to change." You say and stand up. "Wait, where are you going?" Lisa asks. "I'm going to make moves in changing my situation and by doing so, hopefully it changes yours as well." You start to walk away and Lisa goes after you. "Wait! Hold on! I don't want you doing anything rash! I mean like I said I'm not going anywhere! I was just talking; I mean I can't imagine I'll ever have the courage to leave Dert anyway. I'd rather be stuck here and you still be alive!" Lisa says. "Lisa, don't backtrack now. You made a good point and your desires are perfectly reasonable. Why should you be stuck here? If I'm around, all it's going to do is give you an excuse not to take that next step. You'll grow old and resentful that you might have done more with your life." You say. "I just don't want you to do something that's going to get you killed." "What if I should die on some fool mission for Ral anyway? You willing to risk wasting more years you could have spent doing something else? No, you had the right idea from the start. You can't be stuck here and neither can I. If I die doing this now, then at least that releases you from any excuse of staying in Dert. Also, this has been a long time coming. If it alleviates some of your concerns however, I'm not going to just attack Ral. I can't, even if I thought I'd be a match for him. Anyway, hopefully the next time I see you, I'll be free. Either way, you'll most certainly be." You give Lisa a kiss goodbye and leave her to go talk to Isabella. You head to the Dert graveyard and even though it's still daylight, you don't bother waiting until dusk. You just open up the secret entrance and head down to Isabella's "foyer." Out of some concern for your safety and wishing to show some sort of respect, you don't go any further than that and just call out her as loud as you can several times. You don't get an answer right away and you can't even be sure if she heard you. She could be a deep sleeper. You aren't sure about vampire habits after all. You think you're going to have to wait anyway, but you soon get an answer when you hear footsteps and Isabella appears to you in the entrance that leads deeper into her home. (Yes, she's still naked like last time) "You play with your life, waking me up like this human." Isabella says. "As I remember you told me not to be a stranger." You answer. "Hmm, a minor failing on my part thanks in part to your delicious blood. However, you're here now and I'm awake, so state your business and I hope this isn't related to Ral again." "It is, but it's against him." "Oh? You have my attention." "I was hoping you could free me of him. I mean you sort of implied you could when we first met." "I did? As I recall I said I could kill you, but I wouldn't since I know how hard good servants are to come by. Never really said I could break a geas." "Well, I guess I just sort of thought you could given how um... long you've been around. Surely you're very powerful." "Clumsy attempts at flattery (sigh). Though I suppose you're at least trying. Look human, I don't have anything against you. Actually, you're an alright sort, but I just can't help you. Well not in the way that you'd like, though I could be wrong about that." "What? Does it require you drinking some more of my blood? Here, have at it!" you say and start exposing your neck more to Isabella who steps towards you. "Oh, it would require more than just your blood to break the spell." Isabella at this point gets very close to you and begins to show her fangs. Then suddenly she looks up and sniffs the air and with a minor snarl, she throws you aside and rushes up the stairs behind you. You're bewildered by all of it, partially due to taking a hard hit against the wall and the other fact that she just ran up the stairs and it isn't even nighttime yet. Just as you're about to follow to see what it's all about, you hear some squealing and cries, which get closer. Your heart sinks when Isabella returns with Lisa and has her by the hair. "Irresponsible fool! You didn't think to close the door behind you when you entered my home? I can only guess this one is from Dert. You know her?" Isabella asks. You quickly say you do, as Lisa displays her fear, sadness and probably confusion on the situation clearly on her face and her cries. You can't believe you didn't know that she followed you. "Isabella, she didn't know. Please, just let her go." You say in a calm manner while raising your hands. "Let her go? Yeah, I can't do that. She'll tell the rest of those Dert idiots about me." "I won't..." Lisa starts to say before Isabella twists her hair and forces her to her knees. "Silence! YOU don't get to say anything!" "Come on Isabella, she's so fucking scared, she's not going to say anything about you. Besides what are you worried about? Surely a bunch of stupid peasants are no match for you." "More clumsy flattery. Stupid peasants can do a whole lot more than you think if there's enough of them and they're angry enough. They can certainly cause me enough trouble that I'd probably have to move. I chose this place because it's a nice quiet area far enough away from that city full of criminal blood bags and a blissfully ignorant village close by." "Wait! Can't we come to some sort of understanding?!" "Ah yes, you always do like to make deals don't you? Well let's see, before this one so rudely interrupted us, I was going to free you from Ral. If you're still interested in that, I can oblige, however I don't think you're going to like it." "What is it? Please, if it'll save Lisa and give me my freedom then I'll pay the price!" "Well, just so happens that I'd like a manservant of my own and despite this recent display of incompetence, I think you'd make a worthwhile one. You certainly are no stranger to menial labor and you're at least pleasing to the eyesight." "Wait, you want me to pledge myself to you or something?" "More like or something. I'm asking you to give yourself completely over to me of your own free will. When you do that, then I can drain you dry and we can begin." "Wait...are you proposing what I think you are?" "Yes." "But I'd just be substituting one form of slavery for another AND I'd be dead on top of it!" "The term is actually undead and really now, you can't possibly compare serving me to be the same as serving Ral. I don't see why this is such a hard decision. I've known mortals who would have jumped at the chance you have. And given that we've already shared a bit of...closeness in the past, I know damn well there's a part of you that likes the idea." It's taking everythi

ng within you to keep control of your own emotions at this point. You don't like the fact that you're so powerless to help Lisa directly. Lisa doesn't say anything, but just continues to look on at you in fear and just sobs quietly. You can't tell if she wants to tell you to do it, to save her own life, or not to do it because of the consequences. Your only thought right now however, is to save Lisa. "Alright! Alright! I'll do it. Just don't kill Lisa!" you shout. Isabella smiles when you say that while Lisa just weeps. "Are you sure? I need your full cooperation on this. I can't just go transforming you while you're under a geas unless I have your complete submission. Do I have your complete dedication to me?" "Yes, whatever you want!" Isabella suddenly picks Lisa up by the hair and tosses her hard into the wall. You instinctively go to help, but are stopped by Isabella who has already grabbed and stopped you. "Feel free to grab my ass again if it makes you feel better about all this." Isabella says and then bites down on your neck. It's the same as last time. First pain, then discomfort and then just a weird dizzy feeling. Soon light headiness follows and then you're starting to lose consciousness altogether. Just before you do though, Isabella stops feeding on you and then quickly bites herself on the wrist. Using the open wound, she pours some of her blood into your own mouth and a metallic taste hits your tongue and eventually slides down your throat. "Haven't done this in a while, but I think I'm actually wet with anticipation. Mmmm..." Isabella remarks and then kisses you on the mouth before finishing you off. Everything goes dark. You don't know how much time passes, but when you wake up, you're feeling quite different. You're not breathing, you're cold and you're hungry. And that's when you see you're in a room with Lisa who is in shackles on one of the walls. She's been stripped naked and her head hangs down. "Lisa...?" you utter as you start to stand up. "Don't worry my little cryptmate, she's not dead. I keep my promises, however I obviously still can't let her leave." You hear Isabella say causing you to turn your head to your left. Isabella leans in the doorway of the room you're currently in with her arms folded as if she's studying what you're going to do next. "She can't just stay prisoner here." You say. "Well that's about the only choice available to her." Isabella replies. "Couldn't you have just erased her memory or something? I thought vampires could control minds." "We can hypnotize and charm if we're up close to a mortal, but that's really more for short periods of time and just long enough for us to get someone and finish them off. Of course if we bite and release, we need to keep visiting that person to keep them docile. However, I'm not really keen on travelling back and forth to Dert everyday. I prefer to keep my blood slaves in my home so I know exactly where they are. Nothing worse than your dinner suddenly regaining their free will or getting themselves killed in something unrelated." "Wait, is THAT what Lisa is for? Your blood slave?" "No. She's YOUR blood slave. Think of this as my gift to you, along with this being your first steps in learning what it truly means to be a vampire." You don't even know how to feel. You're absolutely speechless. Isabella has played a cruel trick on you. As you're still in shock, Isabella continues. "Now, I can tell by your face, that you probably believe me to be the worst sort of monster, but let me tell you, this is me in a merciful mood. Your little...human is currently in a trance that I put her in. Now YOU can keep her that way yourself with my guidance and in doing so, you should be able to feed on her for quite some time without having to get a new person. This should get you used to the idea of what you need to do in order to survive now, not to mention this girl was someone you had feelings for. If you can get over feeding on her then you won't have any lingering pangs of conscious in the future which will make this all much easier in the long run. Trust me, I know." "I can't...I can't just drink Lisa's blood and watch her waste away as I slowly kill her! "Well she's going to waste away eventually even if you don't feed on her. In fact it'll just take longer and since I have no intention on keeping her in a trance, you can decide if you want to hear her cries and screams as she eventually gets to the point where she's begging for death as a release from this horrible situation. Or you can decide to keep her docile until she eventually just dies quietly. Up to you, she's your responsibility." Isabella talks about Lisa being in a horrible situation, which it is, but at least she's completely unaware of it, unlike you. Lisa wanted to leave her village and now it's looking like she's never going to leave this room thanks to you. You're wishing you never came here. You feel a mixture of negative emotions right now, and maybe it's due to your new state of unlife they feel worse than you ever remember. The worst you've ever felt was during the time you killed Klint after he stabbed Annah. Right now, your feel like that multiplied by ten, but you're desperately trying to maintain something of rational thought. Then rage takes over, rage like you never had before. You abandon all caution and attack Isabella. Isabella doesn't even look surprised. She rolls her eyes and even with your new quick vampire reflexes, Isabella easily takes you down and pins you. You snarl, and struggle and try to get up, but she's just too strong for you. You don't even know how long you do this for, but eventually Isabella tires of your resistance and takes your head and smashes it into the hard stone floor. Would have definitely killed you had you still been human, but instead you're just left temporarily dazed. Isabella follows up with a few punches and then a display of dominance with her face transforming into something much harsher and monstrous than you've seen before (even whenever she bit you) you briefly wonder if your own face has transformed as well since you didn't give much thought to such things at the time. With the fight taken out of you, you finally relent. Isabella's appearance also changes back, but she still maintains her hold on you. "You're lucky I don't stay mad for long, but attack me again and you'll see how mad I can really get." she says. "You might as well just kill me now and be done with it then." You say. "Oh no, you don't seem to understand, you're MINE. I didn't transform you into a vampire just to kill you. You'll soon learn that there are things much worse than death...MUCH worse." "Oh like what you are forcing me into?" "Hey I didn't force you to do anything. You could have declined my offer and walked away. You gave yourself willingly to me." "Yeah, to save Lisa! Not this! If I knew you were going to twist shit around..." "You probably STILL would have made the same choice. Face it. You wanted to be free of Ral and you were tempted by my offer anyway. Saving your human was just an added bonus." "Stop calling her my human! Her name's Lisa and she's my girlfriend!" "That's cute, but I'm your girlfriend now. Congratulations on trading up." Isabella is now just mocking you. Now that you've calmed down a bit, you start trying to think of an unconventional way to still save Lisa. "Okay. I get it. You're in charge. But maybe we can make a deal." You say. "Again with the deals. If I hadn't already drained all your blood, I'd swear you were part infernal. Very well, this should be entertaining..." Isabella remarks. "What if you make her a vampire?" "I'm not turning her into a vampire; I'm obviously already going to have my hands full with you learning about your new vampire life. I've got other things to do with my time." "I'll do it then!" "Hah! Nice idea, but you aren't nearly powerful enough to do that yet. You're not even powerful enough to turn her into a ghoul. In any case I do not wish to have another vampire here anyway. Call me old fashioned, but I believe three is a crowd and I don't see much benefit for me. I'm not into women or orgies, despite all the myths about vampires being decadent sex fiends. I'm also not trying to make a fucking nest. Been part of one of those before and it's worse than living around mortals. So let's stop all this nonsense about turning this...Lisa into a vampire." "I...just...I can't kill her." "(Sigh) Very well I can see that perhaps this was too upsetting of a lesson. I will do it to spare you the anguish, but I really hoped you were going to be stronger than this." "Wait! You said she's mine." "Yes, I did." "Then I can do what I want with her correct?" "If you're suggesting that because she's yours that that means you can release her, you're sorely mistaken. This isn't some contract that you've found a loophole in. My word is still final on this matter." "No, but she's my responsibility you said. That means I can take care of her if I wish right? Couldn't I just keep her hypnotized and make sure she gets food and water?" Isabella smirks at your question. "So you wish to keep her as you would a pet then? How long did you intend on doing this for?" "Until I can transform her into another vampire." Now Isabella laughs and completely releases you, allowing you to sit up. "She won't live long enough for that to happen. You'll abandon that idea as your feelings for her fade or give in to your own hunger first. If by some miracle you some how manage it, she certainly won't be young like you are anymore. You'll be transforming her in her later years...unless you transform her into a ghoul before then, but that has its own set of problems. No, I don't see this working, but if this is REALLY what you want, then sure." "You're saying yes?" "I am. It will be interesting just to see how long you last. I imagine you'll last at least a few years even. One of your attractive traits is you obviously have a sense of loyalty and even a little nobility despite your lowly origins. However, the care for your pet will be your responsibility along with your other ones for me and if your pet becomes a problem then I'm going to step in and I think we both know what that means correct?" "Yes, I understand." "Very well then, I suppose I should teach you how to maximize some of your new powers, particularly the whole hypnosis thing. Afterwards, I'll give you the tour of my home proper, then you can get to work on what duties I require of you. While I'm sure you won't find most of those fun, I can guarantee one of them will be despite however you may feel for Lisa. That being said, let's get started." Isabella takes you over to Lisa who is still in a trance. She even releases her from her shackles for this lesson. As you're listening to her instructions, your gaze briefly passes over your wrist and you realize the little symbol that Ral put on you is gone. You aren't sure if the cost was worth it. > Time passes... Year 25 How the hell do you keep a vast underground crypt clean? Answer: You don't. One thing you never knew about vampires is how they can become obsessed with the smallest details. Probably has to do with the enhanced senses. Isabella apparently is a neat freak and due to this quirk she spent most of her time rearranging, cleaning, and generally tidying up her home. An impossible task of course, but that didn't stop her from trying. Even the room where she keeps the blood "donors" is clean. Doesn't look like the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be. Unfortunately due to being at her beck and call that means you get to help her or at least do most of it now. As one would expect, it takes up most of your time. You think between her and Ral, you've done more housework than thievery. About the only thing you don't have to take care of is her underground garden, which is her own personal project that she spends a lot of time on. In fact, with you around now she doesn't even have to leave it to get food much anymore. She just has you do it. She also has you doing her. You can't be sure if it's true affection she has for you or just her basic needs that she wants satisfied. It feels like the latter most of the time, but there are moments where it seems to be more. It's just a weird situation altogether and while you'd hate to admit it, its one of the better things about being in servitude to Isabella rather than Ral. Meanwhile you've got a project of your own in the form of Lisa. You spend whatever free time you have with her. Making sure she's provided with nourishment and drink. Usually you just steal food from the farms in Dert along with drawing water from their well, but occasionally you get something different from Holgard and try to mix things up. (You never thought your thievery would ever be used primarily for food!) Lisa's reactions to everything are very "neutral." That's of course mainly due to the perpetual trance she's in. She is always polite and docile, and never really doing too much on her own, not that she would have much to do anyway considering she's mostly relegated to her single room. (That you've also taken time to furnish) Isabella says that in time, you'll be able to get her to behave more like a "normal" person, but the fact is, she'll always be acting according to how you want her to act. Much like a puppet. It's all pretty frustrating. There's also a part of you that is starting to wonder about what you're doing. Are you doing this because you love Lisa? Are you doing this out of some sense of guilt? Or are you doing this just to pass the time? At this point you don't know anymore. It can't be out of a sense of "humanity" because other than Lisa, you've adjusted fairly well to the whole snatching up people and drinking their blood until they die thing. You wonder if maybe you should turn Lisa into a ghoul, since apparently she'd have a lot more free will, while still remaining dedicated to you. You stare at Lisa who sits quietly in her chair staring in such a way that it almost makes you think that somewhere within her head, there's a part of her that's still the free willed Lisa and she's screaming to get out. Would transforming her really be any worse than she is now? It wouldn't be perfect, but at least she'd be able to do more things on her own without you needing to tend to her constantly. "I figured you'd be in here." Isabella remarks upon entering the room. "I finished cleaning for today...or did you need something else?" you answer. "Not right now and surprisingly my garden doesn't need tending to at this moment. I'm just checking up on you I suppose. Did I interrupt a potential moment of bliss between you and your pet?" "What?" "Oh come on, you don't need to deny anything. It's not like I care. I'm hardly jealous of that." "...no! No! I don't do that with her!" "What seriously? I figured you were just really quiet about it. Or maybe on the occasions you took her deeper into the catacombs, you were fucking her in one of the more secluded spots there. Guess that explains why you keep her clothed." "I sometimes take her for walks because I believe she needs a change of scenery every once in awhile. And I'm not having sex with her, because I'm not a rapist. She's under a trance." "So are all the folks we keep here to take blood from, except we're ultimately killing them. You don't seem to have a problem with that." "It's...it's just different." "I suppose it is...but not really. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd last this long with her, but I guess your feelings were stronger for her than I thought...or maybe you're just doing this to prove some point to yourself. Either way, I can already tell that you're starting to realize the futility of your plan." "I want to make her into a ghoul." Isabella looks at you and just shakes her head. "I knew it would come to this. Look, if you really do have any lingering feelings for Lisa, you'll just kill her now and be done with it." Isabella remarks. "What's wrong with making her a ghoul? You mentioned before that it would stop her from aging any more and she'd still be under my influence. Are you just afraid that if I take this step, it will just bring her closer to me and further from you?" "Oh you, and your assumptions. Trust me, if I really felt remotely intimidated by either of you in any way, you'd both be dead. However, if you really want my thoughts on this, you turn her into a ghoul and I guarantee it will only make you appreciate me all the more." "Well what exactly is so bad about turning her into a ghoul? You've never gone into detail." "First of all, you're probably still not powerful enough to do it even with my magnificent blood in your body, though I suppose you could try anyway. Second of all, I've made a ghoul before and while it's true they make good servants who are completely dedicated to you, there's enough drawbacks that I don't understand why any vampire would bother...unless they're really desperate for ego stroking I suppose." "Okay, so what then...she'll fawn all over me?" "Yes, and while that might sound enticing at first, I promise that you'll get sick of it. At least YOU would at any rate. You've never struck me as the time that needs constant reassurance of how amazing you are." "I dunno, it might still be nice to hear once in awhile." "Well, if you want to hear how amazing you are, I guess we can go back to my room. I promise, I'll make it sound authentic." You don't want to, but you actually actual laugh at Isabella's remark causing her to smile. "Okay, see that right there is a good example of why you shouldn't even bother with this plan. You know you like it here with me." Isabella remarks. "Maybe I'm trying the best out of my bad situation. We're not exactly equals in this relationship you know." You say. "Oh and you and Lisa would be? You and I are a much closer if we're going to go that route. You're so far above her right now it's comparing a rot grub to a human. Speaking of rot grubs, that's the third thing you might want to know about when creating a ghoul." "What?" "For whatever reason and nobody I know has ever figured this out. Ghouls develop disgusting habit and quirks." "Drinking blood doesn't already qualify?" "I'm sure to some it would, but how about eating bugs, dead bodies or even shit? You really want Lisa to kiss you with that mouth after she's been chowing down on a rotting corpse?" "Well can't I tell her not to do that?" "You can try, but short of keeping her confined, that's just doomed to failure. As obedient as they are, some urges are just too powerful. And that's just the eating habits. I haven't even gotten to the weird social habits because if allowed to go out and interact with the rest of the world, ghouls tend to lack the subtlety that vampires do...well most vampires anyway. You turn her into a ghoul and you better keep a CLOSE eye on her. Otherwise she's going to go wandering into Dert and probably expose herself to all the little peasant children. I'm sure that won't attract attention at all." Isabella's made a real good case against the whole ghoulification process. Though you're still wondering if she isn't just exaggerating so you won't try it. You spend time hovering over Lisa anyway; you think you could manage to keep her from doing anything weird. Part of you wants to do it just to prove Isabella wrong, but then is that a good excuse for doing it at all? Your original intent is so you could stop Lisa from getting any older and giving her a bit of free will. > You make Lisa into a ghoul Maybe your feelings have faded. Hell, maybe you didn't even ever truly love her to begin with, but you still feel responsible enough for her situation that you're not giving up on Lisa. "I'm doing it. I can make this work." You say. "Very well." Isabella remarks with a bit of a sigh. "I have to say, I'm still sort of surprised that you're so permissive in all this." "Contrary to what YOU may think of me. I do have a sense of kindness...or maybe I'm just fond of you enough that I don't just kill the pair of you to be done with this failed attempt of courtship." "Courtship..." you scoff. "Yes, that what this was, at least to me. What would you have me do? Wait around for you to give me flowers or some other meaningless gesture? Go out to...I dunno the local festival? I'm a fucking vampire. I take what I want and at the time I wanted you. But I can see now that method wasn't the way to go about it. Personally, I don't even think you have any feelings of love for this girl, just a sense of guilt. However, if THIS is what is going to make you happy, then fine. I'll show you how. Either you're going to come to become so disgusted with what Lisa has become that you'll finally do away with her yourself and we can try again. Or you'll stay with her and maintain your delusions. Either way the pair of you will be free because I'm not going to have you both living here if that's the case." "That's...pretty generous of you, but..." you start to say and then stop yourself. "But what?" "Um, nothing..." "Pfft, I already know what you were going to ask before you realized it would be stupid to do so, though again it isn't going to bother me." "And what did you think I was going to ask?" "That what if you just fake it for your freedom and how will I know? To the former, go ahead. If you're REALLY willing to put yourself through all this, just to be released from me, then you deserve your freedom. At least it will give me a bit of pride that I will have released a very patient one of my kind into the world. Lot of young vampires fuck up due to being impulsive. But then, I suppose you've already had a lot of experience at being patient haven't you? In any case, we should get started." Isabella tells you that the process is fairly simple, however due to you being on the younger side, she isn't sure how long it will take, if at all. The best you can do is just keep feeding her blood on a regular basis until she starts to show signs of change. "Now of course she's already a bit on the paler side due being stuck down here with no sun all the time. So the thing you're probably going to notice immediately is her starting to show signs of free will. She'll probably start by addressing you without needing to be addressed first. She'll of course also start being very affectionate, wanting to please you in every way." Isabella explains. "But it's different from the trance correct?" "Oh yes. Much different. In fact, she'll be immune to that to some degree. Her loyalty towards you will be unquestionable due to sharing of blood, but she's still going to do things on her own and it might not matter how much you tell her not to. As I said, ghouls tend to have disgusting habits and urges. In fact if you've ever heard the tales of how vampires are a bunch of decadent sex fiends, well THAT'S the reason. Ghouls that somehow manage to get elevated to vampirehood, never fully shed those more vile traits. Always best to go from mortal straight to vampire with no transition in between, like I did with you." Isabella says and strokes your face. Isabella observes you bite yourself and then feed your blood to Lisa. It actually isn't as easy as all that. Despite being in a trance, Lisa still doesn't react well to the whole blood drinking thing, especially that of a vampire's. She starts gagging and coughing even though she's also trying to follow your command of doing it. Even reluctantly forcing her head to you doesn't work and she ends up vomiting. "Lisa doesn't have much of a gag reflex eh?" Isabella jokes, which you try to ignore and just refocus your efforts. "How long do I have to do this?" you ask. "Well until she at least manages to keep some of it down at least. As I said, it isn't going to happen instantly either. You're probably going to have to do this every day for months. Possibly even more than once a day since you're still a young vampire. All I can suggest is you better make sure you keep YOUR strength up, but you better not go using up all the humans chained up in the larder. Also you're still obligated to your duties to me. Anyway, I'll leave you to it." You continue to force Lisa to suck on you and eventually she keeps some of it down. You start to feel a little weird yourself so you tell her to stop and you go replenish yourself with someone in the larder, despite Isabella's warnings. You'll just have to go nab humans for her more frequently. If she thinks all this is going to deter you, it isn't. Now that Isabella has hinted at freedom, your motivation for doing all this is doubled. You spend months slaving away more than you had under Ral or even Isabella before all this mainly because you have to increase capturing the amount of blood "donors" not just for Isabella, but for yourself. It's really tempting to just grab someone from Dert, but Isabe

lla has always had a rule against taking too many people from there lest the ignorant peasants start getting riled up, or worse, just pick up and leave. So it's mostly a lot of ambushing bandits, travellers and (ugh) hobgoblins in the forests. There's always Holgard too, but the journey even with your speed is still always a pain in the ass dragging someone from there since you have to keep feeding Lisa your blood at a regular interval. (Not to mention there's currently religious conflict going on there between the factions) Needless to say, all of this makes you a lot more irritable and tired all the time (Basically, you feel like a human by vampire standards) Months pass just like Isabella said they would, but you don't give up and eventually you start to see the signs of Lisa changing. It starts by her talking to you and addressing you by name. She's very confused at first, but as you start to explain it all to her, she doesn't even seem to care. In fact, she seems very happy that you've gone to so much effort to save her life. "Oh my beloved! I KNEW you always loved me deeply! Let me show my appreciation to you!" Lisa exclaims and proceeds to jump on you. It's a little strange, but given all you've gone through to turn her, and she seems to be so willing, you don't turn her down. Isabella still doesn't seem fussed by this turn of events. She does seem to decrease her own demands for sex though. Cleaning is still a priority unfortunately, but considering Lisa now has all this energy she starts helping you do it. It's during one of these cleanings that you start to see what Isabella was warning about. "Lisa, I bring in real food, you don't need to eat the bugs crawling around this place!" you exclaim. "I'm sorry honey, but I dunno...they just looked so...inviting. And they're nice and crunchy too. I like the way they sometimes wiggle in my mouth...mmmm...tehehehehe..." Lisa says trailing off into a disturbing giggle. "Look, just don't eat them, and don't eat anything else that isn't proper food either." "But...but what about your delicious yummy blood?" "That's still fine." "Good! Because I want some right now!" "You just had some a few hours ago!" "But I need it! I need to suck on you!" It's just the beginning. Year 26 "Well, you proved yourself. You wanted it bad enough and I'm true to my word. You and your ghoul bitch are free. Now get the hell outta my crypt, it's still night right now, so if you hurry you can find other shelter before dawn." Isabella suddenly remarks to you during one of your few moments to yourself. You're so tired, all you can muster up is a "huh?" "You heard me, you're free, get out." Isabella remarks. "Now?" you ask. "Yes! I said get out! I'm sick of you doing a half assed job of keeping this place clean and your bitch eating my food. Never mind the fact that I don't exactly get off on hearing you lot have sex. Though I'm guessing that was your idea that she scream as loud as she could." "I thought you weren't jealous and didn't give a shit." "I don't actually. But I'm certainly not going to share you in any capacity with something that's currently up in the graveyard as we speak, digging up coffins and eating rotten carcasses." "What?! She got out again? Why didn't you stop her?!" "Not my concern and neither are you anymore. You were fun for a while and I don't regret our time. Just confirmed my original thoughts of why I stay single to begin with. Anyway, take care and a part of me hopes that deep down that you do truly love this girl, but then I've always been a bit of a romantic." Isabella tells you that you've got a short period of time to leave not just her crypt, but also the area. She mentions that if she catches you or Lisa still in the area she'll kill the pair of you since she doesn't want you lingering around to possibly fuck up her relative peace by preying upon Dert. You gather up what belongings you still value and take your leave. Sure enough when you exit the crypt, you hear Lisa snuffling about in the graveyard. You soon find that she's already dug up a grave and half eaten body parts lie all around her. She looks up from the rotten leg bone she's chewing on and wastes no time in running to greet you, though it's more like an animal loping at you. Lisa attempts to kiss you, but the stench of her breath is horrible and that's saying something considering how resilient you've gotten to such things. You turn your head away and tell her to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I know I'm suppose to stay in the crypt, but I just got so hungry and nipped out for a quick snack since I know you don't like me touching the chained up humans in that one room. Anyway, is it time to give me some more of your yummy blood? I could use a drink after that meal! Say, do you want some of this leg?" You look at Lisa and she's absolutely nothing like the girl you were so fond of years ago. She doesn't even look the same. While she's not aging anymore, she's definitely changing in appearance in other ways. Her clothes and body are constantly dirty; her hair is a matted nest crawling with insects. Her teeth have bits of decayed flesh in them and who knows what else. She smells like the same corpses she eats. Her personality is that of a spineless lackey that isn't even completely obedient. And the kicker to all this is you willingly had sex with this thing repeatedly just to gain your freedom. You can't imagine the number of times you dreaded keeping up the sham. Of course it's done now. You don't really need to go through it any longer. > You take Lisa with you You can't do it. It's not right. You made her into this and she's your responsibility now. For good or ill. "Lisa, come on it's time to go." You say. "I know, I know. Back to the crypt." Lisa says. "No, we're moving out of there. We're going...well I'm not sure yet. But we're going." "Wait. So...no more Isabella? It's just me and you now?" "That's about the size of the situation, yes." Lisa can barely contain her joy. She immediately hugs and kisses you on the mouth. You taste a mixture of rotten meat and who the hell knows what else. It's foul and you immediately push her away and try not to show your displeasure. "Okay, okay that's enough of that. We'll have plenty of time for that later. Right now we have to leave this area. I think we probably should head to Holgard. I know of a crypt in their graveyard we can use while we figure out our next move from there." You say. "Whatever you say my love, I will follow you anywhere!" Lisa beams. You just can't beat undying devotion. Your journey to Holgard takes a little longer than you would like mainly because Lisa has the attention span of a small child. It doesn't help that she was relatively sheltered from the world as a human, having never really left Dert and then later as a ghoul confined to Isabella's crypt. So this is all very interesting to her. The biggest concern is when you have to dig a hole in the ground to sleep during the day. You try to pick some place relatively secluded and really stress how much you want Lisa to stay in the vicinity. She of course is full of promises, but you just assume you're rolling the dice. When you wake up, you are happy to find that Lisa has indeed obeyed your command. You see the remains of a couple small woodland animals, so you guess she might have wandered, but probably not too far. Maybe she's starting to learn. As you approach Holgard, you have to once again stress to her NOT to just go attacking the first living being she sees. She's heard about Holgard many times, so again this is a very big event for her. You know the only thing she likes more than eating flesh is drinking your blood, so you use that as a reward encouragement. Hopefully it will be enough. Entering and exiting Holgard is a big hassle nowadays mainly due to the religious strife going on between the various churches. It's going on year two at this point and has just gotten worse. Not to the extent the Varsakken family civil war did, but it could start going that way. Still, some intimidating looks and minor mental suggestion on the weak-minded human guards causes them to let you pass without question. Lisa of course asks why you didn't just kill them to which you explain that now that you're going to be living in a city, you both need to practice the art of subtlety a lot more often. Lisa seems confused by this, but hopefully she'll understand it soon, otherwise you you won't be sticking around Holgard for too long. You both head to the graveyard and find yourself an older one that doesn't look like it gets too much visitation and after a few adjustments, you make a space for yourself and Lisa. And as promised, you give Lisa some of your blood, which she happily accepts. While Lisa sucks on you, you ponder what exactly you're going to do next now that you're here. You think if it wasn't for Lisa, you'd probably have an urge to just move on and go somewhere far away. Not that you've ever been a wanderer by nature, but Holgard just doesn't hold the interest it once did when you first set out to it as a young thief so many years ago. Things have changed severely and going back to your "old life" in any capacity certainly isn't much of an option anymore. There's also the fact that there is still that holy war of sorts going on in the city. You haven't really been keeping up on it mainly because you've been preoccupied with Lisa, but you've visited Holgard enough over the past year that it isn't ending anytime soon. You still wouldn't be that concerned with it, if it wasn't for the fact that the Church of Joachim has seemingly turned from it's normal peace and love teachings and turned into a more militant faction that has been going on about cleaning up this stinking city of evil influences of the earthly and supernatural kind. The supernatural part is the bit that is cause for concern. However, you need a "stable" place to stay until you can train Lisa better since just travelling here was an ordeal in keeping track of her. Until that time, you'll just have to redouble your efforts in keeping a low profile and hopefully Lisa does too. A few weeks later... After a rare night of going out by yourself and leaving Lisa alone to her own devices, you come back and find her speaking with some woman in the graveyard. At first you think it's Isabella, but if that was the case, she would have already killed her (And probably you) Besides, Holgard is far enough away from her territory. Plus this woman is dressed in a blue and purple robe. Isabella always went around naked. Your second instinct is to just attack immediately, but given that this woman is talking to Lisa so calmly and Lisa isn't trying to rip her throat out causes you to believe there are greater forces at work Sensing that this is going to be a plate full of shit you're going to have to deal with, you merely make your presence known. The woman says nothing, but just watches. "Hello. This looks...friendly." You say. "My love! I just stayed in the graveyard like you told me to, and this lady just showed up. I would have killed her, but for some reason...I suddenly didn't feel like it. Maybe I'm learning restraint like you're always telling me to?" Lisa answers. "What have you been talking about with this...lady?" "Nothing much. Just about how much I love you and how much you love me and how good corpses taste, but not as much as the living people! She's been very friendly for a meat sack and just asking about when you will return. Um...you're not mad at me are you? Please don't be mad!" "No. I'm not mad. I'm sure my teachings of restraint had something to do with you not killing this woman. I'm very proud of you. Head on inside home, I'll be in soon." "Okay! But not too long okay? The sun will be coming up soon and I don't want you to burn up!" Lisa heads back home, leaving you with the robed woman. "Alright, whatever little magic trick you used to subdue Lisa, isn't going to work on me, so whatever your business is make it quick because as she said, the sun is coming up soon." The woman nods. "Don't get too many vampires making their home in the city. Passing through on occasion, but never permanent residents. In fact I believe you've passed through here on several occasions haven't you?" she says. "Get to the point." "Very well. I'm obviously not here to make an enemy out of you. Your business is your own. However, I'm sure you're aware that certain other groups in this city are less accepting of your activities." "Yes, I'm fully aware of the Joachim fanatics and I've been staying out of their way and everyone else's that matter. INCLUDING the followers of Dorna, goddess of magic. I recognize your robes, sorceress." "Yes, I'm sure you have kept your head down. But your female friend seems to be less discreet. She was dancing and singing to herself while feasting on a rotten skull when I walked up. What if I had been an angry mob of Joachimites? Wouldn't have been good, that's for sure." "Yeah well she's still learning. I will talk to her." "You're not a very old vampire are you?" "How would you know if I was or not? We don't age." "True, but the fact that you speak with mild respect about your ghoul and even call her by name makes me believe that you're not old. Most older vampires are cynical and apathetic at best and outright arrogant and cruel most of the time. The way you interact with her is almost an attempt at treating her like an equal. In fact I'd venture to guess that ghoul was probably your girlfriend at one time." "You keep testing my patience human, you'll learn just how cruel I can be." "Okay, okay. I'm out of line. I shouldn't presume. Look, I'm sure you're aware of the troubles going on. I'm not exactly sure what changes are coming, but rest assured the followers of Dorna will weather this, but we aren't stupid. We know that we are very small in comparison to the other religions here. The fact that the Joachimites gathered so many in such a short period of time took everyone by surprise I think, let alone their more violent outlook. Between them and the followers of Fel, they make up most of soldiers in this war, which hasn't completely spilled into full on war yet, but it's getting there." "So what do you want from me?" "Nothing. Or rather nothing at this time. I am merely seeking potential allies. As I said, we who follow Dorna respect magic and knowledge. We also respect magical beings and would not condemn them to die due to mere ignorance and fear. I believe if we work together, we could both make ourselves a little safer from hostile forces. In fact, we could even set you and your girlfriend up in our own private mausoleum. It would be much nicer than this public graveyard where just anyone can walk into." Nice offer, but you're skeptical. "I think we'll be fine right where we are at and as for your offer of an alliance, I'm still not sure what benefit there would be for allying with you lot. As you said, you're much smaller than the rest of the factions. I mean it seems like if I was going to ally with anyone, I'd be better off allying with the followers of Fel. I mean don't they have ties to the Ebony Claw Syndicate? I've even heard rumors that Baroness Varsakken is a priestess. Seems like they're going to be on the winning team." "Well that IS the safe bet. And it would perhaps be wise in your case to consider it. I'm sure they would also welcome a vampire ally." Dorna pauses for a moment as if to collect her thoughts before continuing. "However, think on this as well. If all the rumors about them are true, they are indeed very powerful. In fact so powerful that why have they not just purged all the other sects yet? There are plenty of other rumors going around that the Felians might not even be completely united. Many of the true believers think that the Ebony Claw is a corrupting influence on proper worship of the shadow god. Even the Baroness is having a hard time keeping them all in line along with ruling the city. You ally with them and you could find yourself a pawn in whatever private power struggle they're engaged in and that's along with the external troubles coming as well." "Maybe I'll just stick by myself, seems to be working just fine so far." "Again, perfectly valid. You have no reason to trust any of us. I am merely extending my hand. It's up to you if you want to take it. I will leave you to your rest. If you change your mind, I'm sure you're familiar with where our temple is, and you're invited to enter." The sorceress (priestess?) takes her leave and you head inside your home before the sun comes up. Lisa of course is waiting patiently by your resting area. You open up your wrist and allow her to suck on you while you ponder your options. You suppose that some sort of agreement with the Dornans could be beneficial assuming they're serious about providing a better place where you wouldn't be as accessible. Of course you've dealt with one wizard type before and well...you know how that turned out. > Ally with the Dornans You suppose it doesn't hurt to hear more. It is true that they need all the help they can get and it wouldn't be so terrible to have a group of wizards watching your back. You decide that you'll visit their temple tomorrow night. The next night before you leave for the Dornan Temple, you command that Lisa is to be more careful if she ventures out of the crypt and not to call attention to herself by singing or dancing or indulging in whatever other little quirks she has. You also tell her you may even be moving to a better place soon anyway. Lisa doesn't seem to care about that so much as she's just happy to be going where you go. With Lisa spoken to, you take your leave. Doesn't take long for you to get to the temple, though you don't really travel to this part of the city as much since you prefer to stay close to home due to all the trouble going on in the city with this religious faction war. The blue and purple temple isn't excessively large but it's ornate enough looking that it stands out. There are no obvious guards standing outside the temple, but you suspect that even with the factions at each other's throats like they are, nobody is foolish enough to assault the temple directly or even enter it. You've been invited though so you stroll in, if a bit cautiously since you still aren't sure if they have magic traps set up or something. When you enter it resembles more of a library than a place of worship, but then Dorna isn't just a goddess of magic, but of knowledge. A few priests notice you come in, but only one approaches you. "You're the vampire, correct? Heather said a vampire might be coming by and you look like one." a young man says. "Really? Most of the people I come across can't tell." "Most people are idiots that don't have the blessed knowledge that only Dorna can provide. But we're not here to dwell on the struggles of the ignorant masses, come with me, Elder Flynn will want to speak with you." The acolyte motions you to follow him which you do so to what seems to be a meditation room where you see several other priests sitting in a circle with their heads bowed down and their eyes closed. An older one stands in the middle of them all and turns his attention towards you and the acolyte. "Elder Flynn, the vampire is here." The acolyte remarks. "Thank you. You may take your leave now." Elder Flynn remarks at which point the acolyte bows his head and does as he's commanded. Elder Flynn motions you to come closer, but you're still a little suspicious about this so you remain put. "I'm good right here." You say. "Very well, I just didn't feel like shouting half way across the room." Elder Flynn remarks. "So what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" "Well you came to us, I figured you had something that you wanted to say." "You were the one who told one of your minions to seek me out, I'm just here because she said that you wanted allies." "If she worded it that way, then she misspoke, I told her that we wanted help not allies per say." "Whatever, so do you want my help or not?" "Oh yes. Your help would be most welcome. Vampires have a lot of magical energy within them by their nature. Or unnature so to speak. Even lowly ones like you have much to offer." "Great idea to insult me on our first meeting. So far you haven't impressed, and I've had enough of arrogant wizard shitheads to last me a lifetime." "Good, because yours is about to end." And with that threat, the door behind you slams shut and Elder Flynn begins chanting something and the rest of the priests are following suit. You have no idea what he's doing, but it can't be anything good. > You try to escape You suspect that Flynn most have some sort of magical protection around him, not to mention that even if you did manage to kill him, you're still severely outnumbered. Your best bet is to break down that door. It's solid metal and probably magically locked, but you have to try. You begin kicking near where the hinges would be, ignoring the fact that Elder Flynn and his lot are still chanting whatever it is that they're trying to do. You eventually make progress and the door begins to give way, though whatever magic is locking it is still holding it in place. You aren't going to be able to destroy the door quick enough at this rate. You back up from the door and even now you can hear the chanting getting louder, like they're starting to reach the end of it. You run as fast as you can and using all of your body weight and strength you ram into the door, hoping to break it. You hit the door, which at last gives completely away just as they complete their spell. The room you just escaped from is suddenly bathed in a bright light. Bright as the sun and it has the exact same effect it would have on a vampire such as you. You feel the burn on your backside and scramble up off the destroyed door and run for cover or more specifically the exit of the temple. "Get that fucking leech!" one of the acolytes shouts and as you're on your way to escape the priests not involved in the ritual start casting their own spells on you. You manage to slash the throat of one who is standing directly in front of the exit and get the hell out of there though you're still partially on fire and all feeling sluggish from the effects of a slow spell that was cast on you. Still, you're out of the temple now and from there you easily manage to lose any pursuing priests by ducking into a sewer entrance. After making sure you're not being chased any longer, you take a breather and then promptly swear up a storm at your situation. "Fuck! I'm a fucking vampire and I'm still putting up with shit and now I'm fucking literally hiding in it! Why the fuck does this keep happening to me?! I would have been better off just letting the mob back home stringing me up for killing Klint. At my misery would have been quick. Shit. (Sigh) Gotta think..." You can't go back home to your crypt, the Dornans are probably already heading there. Even if they aren't you don't want to risk it. Not that you don't have desire for revenge, but right now, you're hardly in any condition and you'd be fighting an entire temple of those magic fanatics. You briefly wonder if you shouldn't try to reach out towards the Felians, but then trying to get allies is what got you in here in the first place. Right now, the only person you can trust is yourself. Well there's Lisa, but you think you're going to have to leave her behind, assuming that the Dornans haven't already stormed the crypt and killed her already. You tried, but you can't be bothered to train her any longer. The situation has changed and you just need to get the hell out of this city. You don't know where, but it isn't safe for you to live comfortably here any longer. This city is probably going to suffer yet another civil war of sorts anyway, it probably would be best to leave. You don't know where you're going to go, but you need to just start over elsewhere. Hopefully away from anymore fucking wizards. You follow the sewers until you get close to the docks area of the city. Holgard always has trade ships leaving its harbor going to various locations. You exit the sewers and sneak aboard one of them. You think this one is going to the Delantium Kingdom, but it might be going to some place you've never heard of, you don't really care as long as you're away from this area. Never been aboard a ship before, so this will be a new experience. Hopefully, an uneventful one. You imagine you'll get hungry on the journey, but as far as you know there's enough crew on the ship that you'll be able to get by. Just have to be stealthy about it which even in your current condition you'll be able to do. You still don't know exactly what you're going to do with the rest of your undead life, but your days as a common rogue are over.

[Themes: fantasy] You suppose it doesn't hurt to hear more. It is true that they need all the help they can get and it wouldn't be so terrible to have a group of wizards watching your back. You decide that you'll visit their temple tomorrow night. The next night before you leave for the Dornan Temple, you command that Lisa is to be more careful if she ventures out of the crypt and not to call attention to herself by singing or dancing or indulging in whatever other little quirks she has. You also tell her you may even be moving to a better place soon anyway. Lisa doesn't seem to care about that so much as she's just happy to be going where you go. With Lisa spoken to, you take your leave. Doesn't take long for you to get to the temple, though you don't really travel to this part of the city as much since you prefer to stay close to home due to all the trouble going on in the city with this religious faction war. The blue and purple temple isn't excessively large but it's ornate enough looking that it stands out. There are no obvious guards standing outside the temple, but you suspect that even with the factions at each other's throats like they are, nobody is foolish enough to assault the temple directly or even enter it. You've been invited though so you stroll in, if a bit cautiously since you still aren't sure if they have magic traps set up or something. When you enter it resembles more of a library than a place of worship, but then Dorna isn't just a goddess of magic, but of knowledge. A few priests notice you come in, but only one approaches you. "You're the vampire, correct? Heather said a vampire might be coming by and you look like one." a young man says. "Really? Most of the people I come across can't tell." "Most people are idiots that don't have the blessed knowledge that only Dorna can provide. But we're not here to dwell on the struggles of the ignorant masses, come with me, Elder Flynn will want to speak with you." The acolyte motions you to follow him which you do so to what seems to be a meditation room where you see several other priests sitting in a circle with their heads bowed down and their eyes closed. An older one stands in the middle of them all and turns his attention towards you and the acolyte. "Elder Flynn, the vampire is here." The acolyte remarks. "Thank you. You may take your leave now." Elder Flynn remarks at which point the acolyte bows his head and does as he's commanded. Elder Flynn motions you to come closer, but you're still a little suspicious about this so you remain put. "I'm good right here." You say. "Very well, I just didn't feel like shouting half way across the room." Elder Flynn remarks. "So what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" "Well you came to us, I figured you had something that you wanted to say." "You were the one who told one of your minions to seek me out, I'm just here because she said that you wanted allies." "If she worded it that way, then she misspoke, I told her that we wanted help not allies per say." "Whatever, so do you want my help or not?" "Oh yes. Your help would be most welcome. Vampires have a lot of magical energy within them by their nature. Or unnature so to speak. Even lowly ones like you have much to offer." "Great idea to insult me on our first meeting. So far you haven't impressed, and I've had enough of arrogant wizard shitheads to last me a lifetime." "Good, because yours is about to end." And with that threat, the door behind you slams shut and Elder Flynn begins chanting something and the rest of the priests are following suit. You have no idea what he's doing, but it can't be anything good. > Attack Flynn That door is solid metal and probably magically locked, you doubt if you could even punch through it in time even with your enhanced strength, but you're still much faster than you used to be and you're certain that you can reach him before you can cast whatever spell he's casting. You're still going to be out numbered, but you're just going to have to hope for the best because you don't have many options. You run towards Flynn and lunge over the priests. Or at least you would have if they weren't forming a magical barrier, which you hit full on and go sprawling to the floor backwards. As you're picking yourself up off the floor, Elder Flynn and his people are still chanting and it's getting louder. You try to pull at one of the other priests, hoping that maybe that will break the barrier, but they're not only creating the barrier, they're within it as well. You futility punch at the barrier and even attempt to mind control one of the priests, but nothing works, they're too focused and protected. Out of ideas, you run back to the door and begin punching at it in frustration. You eventually manage to put your fist through it, but it's a little too late. The room is suddenly bathed in a bright light. Bright as the sun and it has the exact same effect it would have on a vampire such as you. You flail around on fire and desperately try to find cover, but there is none. You scream, wail and eventually collapse to the floor until you're nothing but a pile of bones and ashes. Afterwards, Elder Flynn tells his followers to gather up your ashes and grind up what remains of your bones for spell components, as they will be helpful in the current religious faction war going on.

You can't do it. It's not right. You made her into this and she's your responsibility now. For good or ill. "Lisa, come on it's time to go." You say. "I know, I know. Back to the crypt." Lisa says. "No, we're moving out of there. We're going...well I'm not sure yet. But we're going." "Wait. So...no more Isabella? It's just me and you now?" "That's about the size of the situation, yes." Lisa can barely contain her joy. She immediately hugs and kisses you on the mouth. You taste a mixture of rotten meat and who the hell knows what else. It's foul and you immediately push her away and try not to show your displeasure. "Okay, okay that's enough of that. We'll have plenty of time for that later. Right now we have to leave this area. I think we probably should head to Holgard. I know of a crypt in their graveyard we can use while we figure out our next move from there." You say. "Whatever you say my love, I will follow you anywhere!" Lisa beams. You just can't beat undying devotion. Your journey to Holgard takes a little longer than you would like mainly because Lisa has the attention span of a small child. It doesn't help that she was relatively sheltered from the world as a human, having never really left Dert and then later as a ghoul confined to Isabella's crypt. So this is all very interesting to her. The biggest concern is when you have to dig a hole in the ground to sleep during the day. You try to pick some place relatively secluded and really stress how much you want Lisa to stay in the vicinity. She of course is full of promises, but you just assume you're rolling the dice. When you wake up, you are happy to find that Lisa has indeed obeyed your command. You see the remains of a couple small woodland animals, so you guess she might have wandered, but probably not too far. Maybe she's starting to learn. As you approach Holgard, you have to once again stress to her NOT to just go attacking the first living being she sees. She's heard about Holgard many times, so again this is a very big event for her. You know the only thing she likes more than eating flesh is drinking your blood, so you use that as a reward encouragement. Hopefully it will be enough. Entering and exiting Holgard is a big hassle nowadays mainly due to the religious strife going on between the various churches. It's going on year two at this point and has just gotten worse. Not to the extent the Varsakken family civil war did, but it could start going that way. Still, some intimidating looks and minor mental suggestion on the weak-minded human guards causes them to let you pass without question. Lisa of course asks why you didn't just kill them to which you explain that now that you're going to be living in a city, you both need to practice the art of subtlety a lot more often. Lisa seems confused by this, but hopefully she'll understand it soon, otherwise you you won't be sticking around Holgard for too long. You both head to the graveyard and find yourself an older one that doesn't look like it gets too much visitation and after a few adjustments, you make a space for yourself and Lisa. And as promised, you give Lisa some of your blood, which she happily accepts. While Lisa sucks on you, you ponder what exactly you're going to do next now that you're here. You think if it wasn't for Lisa, you'd probably have an urge to just move on and go somewhere far away. Not that you've ever been a wanderer by nature, but Holgard just doesn't hold the interest it once did when you first set out to it as a young thief so many years ago. Things have changed severely and going back to your "old life" in any capacity certainly isn't much of an option anymore. There's also the fact that there is still that holy war of sorts going on in the city. You haven't really been keeping up on it mainly because you've been preoccupied with Lisa, but you've visited Holgard enough over the past year that it isn't ending anytime soon. You still wouldn't be that concerned with it, if it wasn't for the fact that the Church of Joachim has seemingly turned from it's normal peace and love teachings and turned into a more militant faction that has been going on about cleaning up this stinking city of evil influences of the earthly and supernatural kind. The supernatural part is the bit that is cause for concern. However, you need a "stable" place to stay until you can train Lisa better since just travelling here was an ordeal in keeping track of her. Until that time, you'll just have to redouble your efforts in keeping a low profile and hopefully Lisa does too. A few weeks later... After a rare night of going out by yourself and leaving Lisa alone to her own devices, you come back and find her speaking with some woman in the graveyard. At first you think it's Isabella, but if that was the case, she would have already killed her (And probably you) Besides, Holgard is far enough away from her territory. Plus this woman is dressed in a blue and purple robe. Isabella always went around naked. Your second instinct is to just attack immediately, but given that this woman is talking to Lisa so calmly and Lisa isn't trying to rip her throat out causes you to believe there are greater forces at work Sensing that this is going to be a plate full of shit you're going to have to deal with, you merely make your presence known. The woman says nothing, but just watches. "Hello. This looks...friendly." You say. "My love! I just stayed in the graveyard like you told me to, and this lady just showed up. I would have killed her, but for some reason...I suddenly didn't feel like it. Maybe I'm learning restraint like you're always telling me to?" Lisa answers. "What have you been talking about with this...lady?" "Nothing much. Just about how much I love you and how much you love me and how good corpses taste, but not as much as the living people! She's been very friendly for a meat sack and just asking about when you will return. Um...you're not mad at me are you? Please don't be mad!" "No. I'm not mad. I'm sure my teachings of restraint had something to do with you not killing this woman. I'm very proud of you. Head on inside home, I'll be in soon." "Okay! But not too long okay? The sun will be coming up soon and I don't want you to burn up!" Lisa heads back home, leaving you with the robed woman. "Alright, whatever little magic trick you used to subdue Lisa, isn't going to work on me, so whatever your business is make it quick because as she said, the sun is coming up soon." The woman nods. "Don't get too many vampires making their home in the city. Passing through on occasion, but never permanent residents. In fact I believe you've passed through here on several occasions haven't you?" she says. "Get to the point." "Very well. I'm obviously not here to make an enemy out of you. Your business is your own. However, I'm sure you're aware that certain other groups in this city are less accepting of your activities." "Yes, I'm fully aware of the Joachim fanatics and I've been staying out of their way and everyone else's that matter. INCLUDING the followers of Dorna, goddess of magic. I recognize your robes, sorceress." "Yes, I'm sure you have kept your head down. But your female friend seems to be less discreet. She was dancing and singing to herself while feasting on a rotten skull when I walked up. What if I had been an angry mob of Joachimites? Wouldn't have been good, that's for sure." "Yeah well she's still learning. I will talk to her." "You're not a very old vampire are you?" "How would you know if I was or not? We don't age." "True, but the fact that you speak with mild respect about your ghoul and even call her by name makes me believe that you're not old. Most older vampires are cynical and apathetic at best and outright arrogant and cruel most of the time. The way you interact with her is almost an attempt at treating her like an equal. In fact I'd venture to guess that ghoul was probably your girlfriend at one time." "You keep testing my patience human, you'll learn just how cruel I can be." "Okay, okay. I'm out of line. I shouldn't presume. Look, I'm sure you're aware of the troubles going on. I'm not exactly sure what changes are coming, but rest assured the followers of Dorna will weather this, but we aren't stupid. We know that we are very small in comparison to the other religions here. The fact that the Joachimites gathered so many in such a short period of time took everyone by surprise I think, let alone their more violent outlook. Between them and the followers of Fel, they make up most of soldiers in this war, which hasn't completely spilled into full on war yet, but it's getting there." "So what do you want from me?" "Nothing. Or rather nothing at this time. I am merely seeking potential allies. As I said, we who follow Dorna respect magic and knowledge. We also respect magical beings and would not condemn them to die due to mere ignorance and fear. I believe if we work together, we could both make ourselves a little safer from hostile forces. In fact, we could even set you and your girlfriend up in our own private mausoleum. It would be much nicer than this public graveyard where just anyone can walk into." Nice offer, but you're skeptical. "I think we'll be fine right where we are at and as for your offer of an alliance, I'm still not sure what benefit there would be for allying with you lot. As you said, you're much smaller than the rest of the factions. I mean it seems like if I was going to ally with anyone, I'd be better off allying with the followers of Fel. I mean don't they have ties to the Ebony Claw Syndicate? I've even heard rumors that Baroness Varsakken is a priestess. Seems like they're going to be on the winning team." "Well that IS the safe bet. And it would perhaps be wise in your case to consider it. I'm sure they would also welcome a vampire ally." Dorna pauses for a moment as if to collect her thoughts before continuing. "However, think on this as well. If all the rumors about them are true, they are indeed very powerful. In fact so powerful that why have they not just purged all the other sects yet? There are plenty of other rumors going around that the Felians might not even be completely united. Many of the true believers think that the Ebony Claw is a corrupting influence on proper worship of the shadow god. Even the Baroness is having a hard time keeping them all in line along with ruling the city. You ally with them and you could find yourself a pawn in whatever private power struggle they're engaged in and that's along with the external troubles coming as well." "Maybe I'll just stick by myself, seems to be working just fine so far." "Again, perfectly valid. You have no reason to trust any of us. I am merely extending my hand. It's up to you if you want to take it. I will leave you to your rest. If you change your mind, I'm sure you're familiar with where our temple is, and you're invited to enter." The sorceress (priestess?) takes her leave and you head inside your home before the sun comes up. Lisa of course is waiting patiently by your resting area. You open up your wrist and allow her to suck on you while you ponder your options. You suppose that some sort of agreement with the Dornans could be beneficial assuming they're serious about providing a better place where you wouldn't be as accessible. Of course you've dealt with one wizard type before and well...you know how that turned out. > You stay on your own You're a damn vampire. You don't need the help of some fucking wizard bitches. They probably just want to get you in their temple where they can do some sort of magic shit that WILL work on you and then harvest you for spell components or something. You're not going to seek the aid of any of these factions. Your days of asking for help are over. The only one you can count on is yourself and you can easily protect your own dwelling if those religious nuts come beating down your crypt door. You need to make some improvements to your home. You pat Lisa on the head and motion her to stop sucking. "Come on, we got work to do girl." You say. "Huh? But it's almost day, aren't you going to sleep soon my love?" Isabella asks. "No, but we're going to working out of the sunlight anyway, so it doesn't matter." You (and Lisa) begin to dig out tunnels and space underneath the current crypt you're residing in. You do this over the course of several weeks, only taking quick breaks to go feed. You make sure only you leave because the last thing you want is for Lisa to get distracted. Promises and rewards of your own blood keep her happy enough that she obeys you with no straying. You continue to work on your home and probably become slightly absorbed with fixing it, making alterations and securing it. You wonder if that's the vampire tendency to obsess about details kicking in. (You definitely won't be cleaning it though, you've had enough of that) Isabella had an extensive catacomb system in her crypt, but due to being in a city, you have to work within its limits somewhat. For one, Holgard is a costal town. Last thing you need is the sea flooding most of your tunnels. Holgard also has an extensive sewer system and you've had to make sure that your home doesn't have multiple passages leading into it. However, you do make one entrance because you ultimately decide that it probably would be better to just come and in out through the sewers which lead all over the place and make travelling around a bit more convenient if you ever need to do it during the day. Lisa also can easily find something for herself to feast on in the sewers as well. Be it vermin or potentially even some hapless bum. You'd rather her skulk around down here than out in the open. You seal up the crypt "entrance" tight and trap it just in case anyone is really determined to go searching for you that way. The entire time you're doing this, you're keeping aware of events that are going on in the city. So far nothing out of the ordinary or more importantly, no angry Joachimites storming the streets looking for supernatural horrors to destroy. In fact, they've been fairly quiet. The only thing you've recently heard is an assassination attempt on the high warrior priest of Karn which the Felians are getting blamed for (Of course they're denying it) and that the worshippers of Yag somehow changed all the Dorna symbols into dicks. Not just images or representation of dicks, but actual dicks. When the Dornan priests and priestesses woke up that day, they found their entire temple literally covered in dicks (Of all sizes) from the inside and out. Fortunately this seems to have pissed off the Dornans enough to focus their attention elsewhere and as such they have not made any more overtures to you. After months of work, you're still making improvements (And with your new found obsession, you're likely to be always doing so), but your home is pretty much complete. You've even taken time to furnish it a bit just so it doesn't feel like a simple cave dwelling. You imagine that the lumber yards, ironmongers, and furniture shops and don't normally get many thefts and burglaries, but they've certainly suffered a rash of them lately. The one thing that you weren't expecting in all this, is you've sort of "re-bonded" a bit with Lisa. After having spent so much time working closely with her and doing something actually productive, you definitely don't feel the same "guilty obligation" you once did for making her into a ghoul. It's nothing like how it used to be of course, but your feelings for her are approaching a fondness that you once had. They must be, because you're starting to look past her usual disheveled appearance and ignore whatever foul smells she's immersed herself in, though you've been trying to help her on that front by providing her with perfumes, oils and incense. (The herbalist shops have received a rash of burglaries as well) With your home project, your "ghoulfriend", plentiful food supply and continued rouguish activities (Which you didn't think you'd actually ever go back into on any major scale) you've officially made Holgard your stomping grounds and at this point you're not going to be run off by anyone. The mortals can burn this city to the ground in whatever power struggle they're having at the moment, but one thing is certain, you're going to still be just fine under the smoldering ruins of it. > Time passes... Year 30 "No, no, no, you can't play that card." You say. "Oh. Um...okay then this one." Lisa says. You play your own card that easily beats the rest of Lisa's hand. "I hate this stupid game." She exclaims and throws her cards down on the table causing you to smile a bit. "Well you're getting better at it." "I just don't see the point in us playing games when we could be feeding together or better yet, fucking instead." "Now Lisa, you know there's more to existence than just the base needs." "Pfft, not much more, come on lover, I'll let you do whatever you want to me." "You let me do whatever I want all the time. Maybe later. However, if you don't want to play games though, you can always got feast on those whores we got in the meat room." "Ohhh! You mean we're not saving them anymore?" "Well we're saving two of them for the rest of the week. You can go eat the third one though. Pick whichever one you want. I'll join you a little later." Lisa makes that disturbing squeal and kisses the side of your face before running off to go eat. You still aren't sure if you actually "love" Lisa, but you definitely don't mind her affection again, now that you've gotten her to regularly perfume herself and chew on mint herbs once in awhile. In fact, you do believe you've trained Lisa fairly well all things considered. Even her personality has changed slightly so that she isn't a complete toadying suck up. Makes you wonder if Isabella was just bullshitting you about it being so difficult. You pack up your deck of cards and check on some of your tunnels. You thought you saw the support beam warping. You might need to replace it. You don't think you'll ever get this place just right. As you're inspecting your work, your other senses perk up. You can sense someone coming and its not some idiots trying to get into the topside crypt (It was funny how those Joachimites fell for that blade trap a few years ago). This is someone approaching from the sewer entrance, which means this is a hell of a lot more serious because you keep it well hidden. And this someone, you don't think is mortal... You approach your "front door" to the sewers cautiously and fully prepared for a fight when you hear a muffled yet familiar voice from the other side. "I can tell you're approaching. Yes, you! Your essence to me will always be strong even when you make your home in the middle of some filthy human shithole." Isabella remarks. "Isabella?" you answer. "Yes, I'm sure you can tell it was me, unless these sewers have completely destroyed your senses. Why the hell did you make your home in such a place?" "Seemed like a good idea at the time, besides, nobody bothers me down here." "Well that I can certainly believe. Look, you going to let me in now so we can talk because standing out here in the muck isn't my idea of a pleasant evening." "With all respect Isabella, why the hell are you here? Last time we talked, you weren't exactly pleased with me." "Long story. And I'd argue that we parted ways on fairly amicable terms. You didn't really expect me to share you with that lesser being did you? I told you that." "You also told me, that you'd kill the both of us." "Oh, that was just my way of getting you both the hell out, and look it worked. In fact I'm currently extending my courtesy, by simply NOT smashing in this wall and barging in." "You can't do that. This is my home and I haven't invited you in!" You hear Isabella chuckling from the other side. "Oh my sweet young vampire. You still have so much to learn. I'm your maker, I will always be connected to you even if I don't have direct influence anymore. And that means your home will ALWAYS be my home too. So let me in or I'm wrecking this not so secret wall of yours, and I'm sure you don't want that." You hate these "new rules" that pop up about your current existence. "Alright, alright, fine." you say and slide open the wall And there you see Isabella looking the same way as when you left her crypt. Including being naked. "Glad to see you're still intelligent enough to know when to listen to your betters. Always liked that about you." She says and steps inside. Isabella sniffs a bit. "Hmm, the odor is much better in here. Ah, I smell fresh blood nearby and another familiar scent...though somehow different...wait...is that your ghoul? She still around?" "For your information, yes Lisa is here and if this is some attempt of trying to get me back, forget it, because we're still together." Isabella smirks. "Hm, guess good minions are hard to come by. No point in throwing one out right? Tell me, were the sewers her idea? In any case, I hate to break your male ego, but I'm not here in some silly attempt to get you back. I'm here because I need your help." Isabella says. "Wait, you need MY help?" you say. "Yes, but don't think that this an opportunity to hold something over my head. I'm a very resourceful woman and you are just one of my resources I need to help accomplish my task." "Hm, glad to be held in such high esteem." "As well you should especially because this also involves another old acquaintance of yours. Ral." All the figures from the past are coming out tonight... "What does Ral have to do with this?" you ask. "He fucking destroyed my home and Dert, that's what he has to do with this! Honestly I'm surprised you haven't heard about it since I imagine this haven of scum has a lot of gossip going on." "Honestly, as the years have worn on, I've been becoming more of a recluse so I don't keep up or even pay attention to most of the shit I hear the mortals talk about unless it really sounds like it's going to affect me directly. If it wasn't for the whole needing to feed situation and requiring the occasional supplies to fix up my home, I'd just stay down here with Lisa and never leave. Still, to my knowledge Dert was never very important and I doubt if anyone in Holgard even gave a shit about the place if they even knew it existed at all." "Nevertheless, it's gone, along with my home and Ral has to pay for that." "I think you're going to have to start from the beginning and let's talk some place where I can sit and at least take all this in." You take Isabella through some of your home and head towards one of your "living areas." Isabella remarks that she is impressed by what you have done given the limitations you had to work with. "I see you tried your best to emulate the layout of my own crypt and catacombs even if they aren't nearly as tidy." Isabella says. "Glad you approve. I need to stop here first." You say. As you're passing the meat room, you see Lisa completely engorging herself on one of the whores that she's completely ripped apart. She's covered in gore and entrails and loving every minute of it. You imagine this would be a horrific sight to the other two chained up, if they weren't under a trance. Lisa bloody face looks up from her feeding and grins at you, but then her grin becomes a look of worry when she sees Isabella behind you. "Wha...what...what's she doing here?! I thought it was just you and me from now on! You said so!" Lisa says. "It is, and it always will be, my grave flower. Isabella just came to visit about something and I have to talk to her about it." "...you're mad at me, aren't you? Please don't be mad at me! I can do better! I'll...I'll chew more of those mint herbs you want me to! You're bored...you want a threeway don't you? I can go down on Isabella while you ram it into me hard. You can hurt me really good, and split me open. I don't care. Please just let me be around to still worship you. You're my love and my entire life!" Isabella stifles a snort of laughter, causing you to briefly glare at her, before you approach Lisa. You kneel down in the large blood puddle and caress her face (which is sticky with blood). It's times like this when Lisa's slavish ghoul personality comes out in full force. "Lisa, Lisa...don't get upset. You're the only woman for me and you always will be. It's why I've always stayed with you. You understand that right?" "But...she's back now..." "Isabella is just visiting. We're not getting together. We're just going to talk and that's all I swear. You're my lovely grave flower and nobody can replace you." You say and kiss Lisa who hugs you tightly. She attempts to do more than that, but you have to remind her that later would be a better time. Lisa accepts your reassurances, but still has a look of concern on her face. Lisa soon goes back to eating the whore's liver, probably in an attempt to comfort herself. You stand up and motion Isabella to follow you. You fully expect to hear taunting comments, but surprisingly you hear none. When you get to your destination, Isabella tells you what exactly is going on with Ral. Isabella tells you that a few months ago, during one of her resting periods, her home was completely collapsed from the inside out by an earth elemental. She said it took her weeks to dig herself out and by the time she did she found that the entire graveyard was now a large sinkhole. She doesn't know what happened to the elemental since the attack just suddenly stopped like it just disappeared. Lacking any other immediate choices, she decided to head to Dert and charm someone there and use their dwelling for a while until she could figure out her next step. However, when she got to Dert, she found that nearly all the people had been turned to stone. Not just the people though, but most of the plant and animal life in the surrounding area as well. The few people that hadn't been turned to stone were nothing but bits of flesh still hanging off bones. She proceeded cautiously since she was aware that only a few things could cause something like this, either powerful magic or certain creatures. As it turned out, it was both. She eventually found a family of four that had been hiding in a root cellar for quite some time. They were all very frightened and assumed she was another monster to come to kill them. (Probably due to the whole unnatural paleness and naked thing) After subduing the father, Isabella demanded to know what had transpired in the village. He explained that a few days ago, a female creature with a snake body appeared in the middle of the village along with four medium-sized reptile like creatures, which seemed to be her pets. There was a brief moment of confusion from both sides at first, but then the woman spoke something in a hissing type language and all hell broke loose. Most of the village was either turned to stone or ripped apart and consumed by the reptilian beasts. The family hid in some sort of community root cellar when they couldn't get to their home proper, they told Isabella that they could hear the screams of people that apparently tried to hide as well, but the creatures stayed in the village to make sure they had wiped out everyone. In fact, the family was very surprised that Isabella didn't see them since they were certain they were still lurking about. Isabella at this point tells you that she imagines that the creatures were most definitely a medusa and basilisks. She also says neither of them make their homes anywhere near this area either and it would be rare enough for one to show up, let alone a group like that. And given that they just suddenly appeared (and then apparently disappeared at some point, since there were no signs that they left the area to go elsewhere, yet they also were no longer around) the way they did, there had to be powerful magic at work. She goes on to tell you that both creatures do not normally make their homes in this area and it would be rare enough for one of them to turn up and wipe out an entire village, let alone a group of them. This combined with the earth elemental incident, and the cause of all this could only be Ral. She doesn't know why he would do something like this and she doesn't much care, all she cares about is the fact that Ral fucked up her home and convenient feeding grounds and for that he has to pay. "He's been on borrowed time as it is." Isabella says. "Are you sure it was him? I mean Ral was an asshole, but he never seemed to deliberately be the type to cause destruction for the shits and giggles. I mean is there proof?" you ask. "I don't need fucking proof, I got instinct! And as I said, I don't care if it was just some spell that went wrong, he's gotta fucking pay for what he did. And YOU are going to help me." "How the hell am I supposed to do that? I mean earth elementals, creatures that turn shit to stone, and wizard shit on top of all of it? I dealt with Ral before and it didn't go well, not sure if I'm too keen on facing him again." "You're also not a weak human anymore! You're a fucking vampire with all the advantages that go along with it! I'm going to be doing most of the heavy lifting anyway. I just need you to get in his home and if possible try to get me in there as well." "How? His home isn't my home. I wouldn't be able to get in it anymore than you would." "Yes you would, you were his servant were you not? Think back. Ral invited you in to his home long before you became a vampire." As strange as it may seem, you do remember his exact words to you during that time. "My home is your home." Weird that you never really thought about before, but then your mind was preoccupied with other things you suppose. "Well, maybe I guess...but I just don't see how any of this is my problem! YOU said you released me and I thought...perhaps foolishly that you were at least a woman with a sense of honor. I mean I stayed out of your way and made a life for myself elsewhere, I don't see why I should have to help you." "You're saying you don't even want to do this even out of a sense of revenge on Ral?" "Maybe at one time I would have if I'd known I could enter his home so easily. But now? It's all in the past and I've made a life not just for myself here, but for Lisa as well. I just don't see why I should go potentially fucking that up when things are good. I mean...obviously you're a hundred times more powerful than me and I can't stop you from forcing me to help you under threat of death, but...I dunno...whatever...I just thought things were finally going well for me." You slump in your chair and despair a bit about your situation. Isabella studies you a moment and then addresses you. "You're right. You're right about everything. I did release you and you aren't really any under obligation to help. You're also right in that I could just threaten to kill you and your little fuck toy if you don't help me, though I'd probably go for extended torture since I don't think you'd fear immediate death as much." Isabella remarks. "So where are we then?" you ask. "So, I'm going to give you a reasonable compromise, because I still have a soft spot for you. If you help me kill Ral, I can promise that I will never darken your path again. At least not on purpose. However, if you don't want to help me in that way, I'm going to give you another option and that is you must leave this place." "What?" "If you're not going to help me kill Ral, I need to plan another method of attack without you, and for that, I'm going to need my own home to do that from. I don't want to waste time finding or building my own right now, so yours...such as it is, will have to do. Give me this place and I will never darken your doorstep again." "That's mostly because I won't have a doorstep any longer." "Well be that as it may, the option is there. You can be truly free and go find somewhere else to live. I don't doubt you couldn't set yourself up just as well somewhere else, but I also don't doubt that somewhere within you, that you wouldn't mind getting revenge on Ral." > You help Isabella You really don't want to start all over again with finding or building another home. You're comfortable here and don't want to move. So if this one last thing means you get to stay here, then so be it. "Very well, I'll help, but what if I can't get in anyway?" you ask. "Well, we might have to come back to reassess a new plan. I'm almost sure that you will be able to get in though." Isabella says. "I sure hope so, because as much as I want to keep my home and perhaps even not mind the revenge bit, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to be in a perpetual stalemate where I'm sharing this place with you. I'd rather just pick up and leave I think." "Understandable, and that's certainly your choice if it comes to that, but let's keep positive thoughts. So, are you ready to go?" "What, now?" "Well sure. The night is still young and I figured you wanted to get this over with as soon as possible." "I suppose you're right, but I think I'm going to need at least a little time to explain this Lisa." "What for? Just say you're leaving and will be back in a day or two. It isn't like she's going to leave you and I'm sure she'll be satisfied if you tell her she can eat those two girls I saw chained up. Ghouls are easily distracted and appeased, I'm sure you well know." "Yeah and I'm sure that YOU well know that I treat Lisa as an equal, not like some pet!" "Of course you do. Very well, talk to your child then, I will see you in the (ugh) sewers." Isabella takes her leave and you're about to head back to the meat room, when you notice blood puddles and small trails in the hallway. You follow them to a small dead end to another tunnel you've been recently working on and that's where you find Lisa huddled in a corner chewing on a bone and making a weird (yet relatively quiet) noise. Almost like she's crying, but not quite. She looks up at you mournfully. "Lisa, I'm not mad if you were listening to us." you say. "You're leaving with her aren't you?" Lisa asks. "I have to if we want to keep our home. Don't you want us to keep the home we've made here?" "I...I don't want you to go. I need you...can't...can't I come with you?" "Lisa, it's going to be really dangerous. I mean I'm sure you remember my stories about Ral. We're going to be going up against him and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt." "But I could help! I want to help! Please let me help!" Lisa says grabbing your arm with fanatical dedication in her eyes. It's against your better judgment, but if you leave her here she could just get into trouble anyway. Perhaps even more without you close by and her probably getting depressed about the situation. If you take her with you, at least you can keep an eye on her and she'll be happy. It's one more factor to worry about, but if you're really serious about trying to treat her like an equal, keeping her contained like pet (or child as Isabella said) isn't the way to go about it. Besides Lisa isn't defenseless. "Very well, but you REALLY need to obey all my commands during this task. Seriously, you can't go wandering off in search of food or any else of the sort. You need to follow all my orders to the letter. Understand?" "I do! I do my love! Oh thank you! I'll be a big help! You'll see!" Lisa showers you with a lot of affection and as usual she goes for the crotch immediately. You half think about stopping her since this is going to take awhile and you're supposed to be on your way to Ral's, but you feel like Lisa deserves a reward for dealing with all this (And hell, so do you) so... Later, you meet Isabella who is still standing in the sewers close to your secret wall. "About fucking time. Don't tell me, I already know what you were doing...aaaand I see we now have a loadstone with us. Fantastic!" Isabella remarks when she sees Lisa behind you. Lisa looks down a bit when Isabella calls her out. "Look, she can be of help. It's going to take us a couple days to get to Ral's so it might be useful to have someone that can at least scout around during the day while we sleep in the ground." "More like give ourselves away. Fine, I suppose she would be useful fodder if worse comes to worse. Let's go, we've already wasted..." You place one hand on Isabella's shoulder and spin her around when she turns her back on you. "Let's get one thing fucking straight. Lisa is NOT fodder. She's not a minion, she's not my fuck toy, she's not a child, she's not a fucking pet! Lisa is my fucking mate. She came because she wants to help me and I want her to help me. This, what we're doing right now? Is to help you. However, if you keep insulting Lisa and being a general bitch to her, you can go do this on your own and both of us will find some place else to live. I'm putting up with a lot of things and I'm not trying to step out of line against my so called betters, but I'm not going to put up with how you talk to and about her! AGH SHIT!" Isabella quickly grabs your wrist twists it and throws you to the hard floor face first. Lisa, rushes to attack, but is easily slapped aside into the nearby wall as Isabella applies pressure to your arm and shoves her knee into your back. "First of all, don't you EVER fucking touch me again uninvited! You lost that privilege a long time ago. This is your ONLY warning about it. Second...fine. I apologize. I was not behaving in a way befitting of my class. I won't insult your lady again. Glad to see that it really was true love." Isabella gets off you and you wince a bit in lingering pain as you stand up. You then go over to Lisa and ask if she's okay, to which she replies that she is. You then both follow Isabella who has walked ahead of you. Things are silent for more or less during the journey out of Holgard. It's sort of a weird silence and soon after you're making your way through the forest, you make conversation. "So, while I can imagine what happened, what did you do with the family you found in that root cellar?" you ask "Oh them? Well I had to rebuild my strength after being stuck underground for weeks, so after they told me what happened, drained all of them." Isabella remarks. "Yep, figured as much." "Honestly, I might have kept three of them alive under normal circumstances, but it wasn't the normal circumstances and I do have a weakness for children's blood." "Did...did the children taste sweet?" Lisa suddenly asks. Isabella smiles a bit. "Yes, the children did taste sweet. Their blood usually does though unless they're horrible greenskins. Rather go hungry than drink their blood, no matter what age most of the time." Isabella remarks. "Some greenskins aren't bad, but they're always very tough. They are an acquired taste and even the dead sometimes taste better than the average hobgoblin." Lisa remarks. "I'm sure you have a very versatile palate Lisa, not many can boast such a talent." Isabella's remark could be taken as a backhanded compliment at best or a sarcastic insult at worst, but Lisa seems to take what she said as a benign praise, so you let it go. Eventually dawn starts to arrive and you and Isabella take shelter in the ground. Lisa herself never seems to require as much sleep, so she'll be still be wandering around for some of the day (Though still probably trying to stay in the shade which shouldn't be a problem due to being in a forest). You aren't sure if you should have her do a little scouting while you're asleep or have her protect your resting area though. > You protect your resting area You thought about letting Lisa scout ahead before the journey started, but you've sort of reassessed that idea. You still remember when you were a human and how you easily got lost in this damn forest, which is what caused you to bump into Ral in the first place. You've traveled this area so much in the past that it would take a lot of effort to get yourself lost again, but Lisa really hasn't. Granted you'd be able to track her down if she got lost, but you'd rather not waste time looking for her as soon as you wake up. "Lisa, I want you to stay in this general area, okay? You'll be guarding my resting place. You don't want some animal or person to come digging me up while the sun is out do you?" you say. "Never! I'll stay here my love and make sure your rest isn't disturbed!" "Okay, I'll see you this evening." You say and kiss Lisa before digging yourself a shallow hole to sleep in. (Lisa helps pat down the dirt to make sure you're completely covered) Later... You wake up as your usual internal "clock" tells you to do so and dig yourself out to a nice moonlit night. Lisa stands by with Isabella who has woken up before you. Lisa wastes no time in trying to brush the dirt off of you. (And popping the occasional insect in her mouth while doing it) "About time you got up. I got information to tell you." Isabella remarks. "How long you been awake?" you ask. "Longer than you have. I would have woken you sooner, but I figured I'd do my own scouting ahead first. I haven't been back that long." "Okay, so what do you have to tell me?" "We're not the only ones heading to Ral's tower. There are a group of six people in blue and purple robes camped not far from here." "Those sound like Dornans. In all the time I was slaving for Ral, I never knew him to worship Dorna." "He never did when I was on better terms with him either. I don't think he's ever revered anything except maybe his own magical research." "You think maybe all this is the work of the Dornans?" "Not exactly sure, but given that they're dedicated to the Goddess of magic, maybe they're investigating all the weird shit going on in this area. If anyone else knew about it, cared about it and was also equipped to handle whatever is going on, it would be them. Of course, they're probably unlikely to just tell us." "They're probably very likely to just try to kill us. I got approached by one a few years back proposing an alliance and I didn't trust them then." "Smart move. We need to get rid of all but one. The last one we can interrogate and then kill them. I'm not exactly sure just how magically talented these folks are, but unless they're all mostly acolytes, six of them are still enough to give more than enough trouble. And if they're heading to Ral's place, I'd very much believe that most, if not all are very competent spell slingers and far beyond being mere acolytes. It would probably help to have a distraction." "I hope you aren't suggesting Lisa." "No, I'm suggesting you. No offense to your lady, but Lisa would potentially be a liability. They'd just take control of her and turn her against us." "Unfortunately you're probably right. Very well, what exactly do you want me to do?" "Nothing much, just go up to their camp and start talking with them. They probably won't even attack right away since they'll be too arrogant to believe that they're in any real danger. If I've learned anything wizard types love to go on about their own relative importance when given the chance. I can probably take down two or three of them by surprise. Hopefully you can take out at least one. The remaining ones should at least even up the odds for us. You ready?" "Ready as I'm going to be." After Isabella tells you where they are (and you reassure Lisa not to follow you), you're soon on your way to meet six wizards. When you get to the camp, you make no pretense on being sneaky and fully announce yourself, the Dornans all stand up, save for one of them that looks older than the rest. "What do you want vampire?" one of them with a shitty goatee asks. "That obvious?" you respond. "Very. Now, you want to tell us why you're intruding on our camp or do we make spell components out of your ashes?" "Hey, what's with the threats? There are six of you guys and just one of me! I hardly think I'd be able to take all of you on." "Damn right you wouldn't, you walking leech." "Hey, steady there Travis. I know this one!" one of the female members says. It's the same woman who approached you years ago about an alliance. "You know this blood sucker, Heather?" Travis asks. "Yeah, he lives in Holgard. Or as far as I know he still does. He's not that old and is definitely no threat to us. He's the one that was approached back when all the faiths were at each other's throats. You never did get back to us on that offer." Heather says stepping closer towards you. "I figured me never showing up at your temple was my answer. Besides, looks like you guys came out okay without my help." You answer. "Indeed, so where's your ghoul girl?" "Alas, she is no longer with me. Taken down by those accursed Joachimites during those years of strife." "See? You should have allied with us; such a loss could have been prevented." "Probably for the best. As a vampire I probably should start getting used to the loss of those I once loved. So what are you lot doing out here?" "We could ask the same of you. Even more so since you seem to have evaded Travis' initial question." "Oh nothing interesting. I occasionally leave Holgard to hunt in the wild. I find that it keeps the senses sharp. Besides, the bandit types out here tend to put up more of a fight than the cutpurses in Holgard." "Hm, so why approach us?" "I dunno, Just looking for company to talk to. I get sort of lonely sometimes, especially with Lisa gone. I even tried to make another ghoul once, but...eh, it wasn't the same and I disposed of it." 'Yeah, yeah, that's a real shame. Poor depressed vampire wallowing about how nobody understands his pain. Boo fucking hoo. Why the hell is it that half of all you vampires are like this? Shit, I got more respect for those leeches that just rip your head off and dispense with all the pretense of trying to be living creatures with real feelings. If you're really that tortured, just go take a walk in the sun and be done with it." Travis says dismissively. "What is with your hostility? I understand your need to be cautious given the circumstances, but you don't need to act like a complete asshole. I just asked what you guys were doing out here and if you don't want to tell me, fine I'll just leave you to it." "Don't mind Travis, he just doesn't like the outdoors and it's been making him cranky. If you really want to know though, we're just investigating magical disturbances around this area." "Heather! Why the fuck would you tell him that?" Travis remarks. "Yeah, this leech doesn't need to know our business." Another says. "Oh what difference does it really make? Not like he's got some unholy alliance with Ral. Besides, Elder Flynn would have said something by now, if I did something wrong, isn't that right Elder Flynn? Elder Flynn? Elder?" At this point they all turn towards the old man who is still sitting down and not saying a word. Then suddenly he slumps forward and his head comes off. "SHIT!" someone shouts and before any of them can react, Isabella has already opened up the throats of two of them. You dodge a bolt of flame and take out another Dornan. Travis, however, speaks some words and a flash of light blinds you long enough to cause him to get away. Meanwhile Heather has already cast a speed spell and completely run off, "You get that goatee asshole, I'll chase down the speed bitch!" Isabella shouts. She didn't need to tell you twice. While Travis can't out pace you in the long run, he's smart enough to cast an illusion and you see several versions of him split up and run into different directions and whatever magic he's using to cause illusions, its also masking him so you can't tell which one is the real one just by scent. Fortunately for you he's arrogant enough to not just run away which will at least give you a chance to kill him. Unfortunately, that also gives him a chance to kill you and you once again narrowly dodge a bolt of magic thrown your way by him (or an illusion) hiding behind one of the many trees. "If you think you're taking me down, guess again leech. I've destroyed creatures far more threatening than you." Travis taunts. You don't answer you just try to focus on any and all sounds. You stop completely and listen, then you suddenly grab a figure hiding behind a large oak tree and squeeze by the neck. Travis' eyes bulge and he gasps, but then at the point where you would have easily crushed his throat, he begins to laugh and the illusion disappears. You then get blasted in the back by a bolt of flame. You feel the burn and have to roll on the ground like an idiot putting it out. "Stupid fucking leech! This is going to be so easy!" In between your charred clothing and flesh, you do catch another familiar scent. It isn't Travis' however. It's Lisa. You can only guess she decided to try to help after all and is in the vicinity somewhere. > You go to her immediately While Lisa has gone hunting by herself many times without you around before, this is different since as far as you know she's never faced an opponent like this before. Your protective instincts kick in and you rush to her. When you think it to be safe you come out of hiding and run in her direction. Unfortunately Travis was waiting to ambush you and several illusions of himself step out and zap you with flame bolts. You avoid a few of them, but not all. A good portion of you is on fire and you desperately try to put it out, while trying to get back into cover. While you were burned, you were still in fighting shape, however when Lisa saw that you were the one in danger so she rushed to YOUR aid rather than staying in hiding. That worked out even less well for her than it did for you. Travis sets her on fire as well, but rather than seeking cover or trying to put out the flames, she freaks out and runs around flailing and screaming at the nearest illusion. She destroys it of course, but it isn't the real Travis, so it hardly matters. You call out to Lisa and tell her to get the hell out of the area. "Lisa, roll on the fucking ground and get the hell out of...no! Stop!" you shout when you see her suddenly stop and then run right towards you, flames and all. Travis must have used the same spell Heather did, years ago when she had Lisa under control. Your own influence over Lisa struggles against the spell and while it probably would have won out eventually, One of Travis' illusions takes the opportunity to shoot you in the back with another ball of flame. Your concentration is broken and Lisa tackles you to the ground. Screaming, yelling and flailing on the ground while the pair of you burn is cut short when Travis finally ends it all with one last gout of fire conjured from his hands.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] You thought about letting Lisa scout ahead before the journey started, but you've sort of reassessed that idea. You still remember when you were a human and how you easily got lost in this damn forest, which is what caused you to bump into Ral in the first place. You've traveled this area so much in the past that it would take a lot of effort to get yourself lost again, but Lisa really hasn't. Granted you'd be able to track her down if she got lost, but you'd rather not waste time looking for her as soon as you wake up. "Lisa, I want you to stay in this general area, okay? You'll be guarding my resting place. You don't want some animal or person to come digging me up while the sun is out do you?" you say. "Never! I'll stay here my love and make sure your rest isn't disturbed!" "Okay, I'll see you this evening." You say and kiss Lisa before digging yourself a shallow hole to sleep in. (Lisa helps pat down the dirt to make sure you're completely covered) Later... You wake up as your usual internal "clock" tells you to do so and dig yourself out to a nice moonlit night. Lisa stands by with Isabella who has woken up before you. Lisa wastes no time in trying to brush the dirt off of you. (And popping the occasional insect in her mouth while doing it) "About time you got up. I got information to tell you." Isabella remarks. "How long you been awake?" you ask. "Longer than you have. I would have woken you sooner, but I figured I'd do my own scouting ahead first. I haven't been back that long." "Okay, so what do you have to tell me?" "We're not the only ones heading to Ral's tower. There are a group of six people in blue and purple robes camped not far from here." "Those sound like Dornans. In all the time I was slaving for Ral, I never knew him to worship Dorna." "He never did when I was on better terms with him either. I don't think he's ever revered anything except maybe his own magical research." "You think maybe all this is the work of the Dornans?" "Not exactly sure, but given that they're dedicated to the Goddess of magic, maybe they're investigating all the weird shit going on in this area. If anyone else knew about it, cared about it and was also equipped to handle whatever is going on, it would be them. Of course, they're probably unlikely to just tell us." "They're probably very likely to just try to kill us. I got approached by one a few years back proposing an alliance and I didn't trust them then." "Smart move. We need to get rid of all but one. The last one we can interrogate and then kill them. I'm not exactly sure just how magically talented these folks are, but unless they're all mostly acolytes, six of them are still enough to give more than enough trouble. And if they're heading to Ral's place, I'd very much believe that most, if not all are very competent spell slingers and far beyond being mere acolytes. It would probably help to have a distraction." "I hope you aren't suggesting Lisa." "No, I'm suggesting you. No offense to your lady, but Lisa would potentially be a liability. They'd just take control of her and turn her against us." "Unfortunately you're probably right. Very well, what exactly do you want me to do?" "Nothing much, just go up to their camp and start talking with them. They probably won't even attack right away since they'll be too arrogant to believe that they're in any real danger. If I've learned anything wizard types love to go on about their own relative importance when given the chance. I can probably take down two or three of them by surprise. Hopefully you can take out at least one. The remaining ones should at least even up the odds for us. You ready?" "Ready as I'm going to be." After Isabella tells you where they are (and you reassure Lisa not to follow you), you're soon on your way to meet six wizards. When you get to the camp, you make no pretense on being sneaky and fully announce yourself, the Dornans all stand up, save for one of them that looks older than the rest. "What do you want vampire?" one of them with a shitty goatee asks. "That obvious?" you respond. "Very. Now, you want to tell us why you're intruding on our camp or do we make spell components out of your ashes?" "Hey, what's with the threats? There are six of you guys and just one of me! I hardly think I'd be able to take all of you on." "Damn right you wouldn't, you walking leech." "Hey, steady there Travis. I know this one!" one of the female members says. It's the same woman who approached you years ago about an alliance. "You know this blood sucker, Heather?" Travis asks. "Yeah, he lives in Holgard. Or as far as I know he still does. He's not that old and is definitely no threat to us. He's the one that was approached back when all the faiths were at each other's throats. You never did get back to us on that offer." Heather says stepping closer towards you. "I figured me never showing up at your temple was my answer. Besides, looks like you guys came out okay without my help." You answer. "Indeed, so where's your ghoul girl?" "Alas, she is no longer with me. Taken down by those accursed Joachimites during those years of strife." "See? You should have allied with us; such a loss could have been prevented." "Probably for the best. As a vampire I probably should start getting used to the loss of those I once loved. So what are you lot doing out here?" "We could ask the same of you. Even more so since you seem to have evaded Travis' initial question." "Oh nothing interesting. I occasionally leave Holgard to hunt in the wild. I find that it keeps the senses sharp. Besides, the bandit types out here tend to put up more of a fight than the cutpurses in Holgard." "Hm, so why approach us?" "I dunno, Just looking for company to talk to. I get sort of lonely sometimes, especially with Lisa gone. I even tried to make another ghoul once, but...eh, it wasn't the same and I disposed of it." 'Yeah, yeah, that's a real shame. Poor depressed vampire wallowing about how nobody understands his pain. Boo fucking hoo. Why the hell is it that half of all you vampires are like this? Shit, I got more respect for those leeches that just rip your head off and dispense with all the pretense of trying to be living creatures with real feelings. If you're really that tortured, just go take a walk in the sun and be done with it." Travis says dismissively. "What is with your hostility? I understand your need to be cautious given the circumstances, but you don't need to act like a complete asshole. I just asked what you guys were doing out here and if you don't want to tell me, fine I'll just leave you to it." "Don't mind Travis, he just doesn't like the outdoors and it's been making him cranky. If you really want to know though, we're just investigating magical disturbances around this area." "Heather! Why the fuck would you tell him that?" Travis remarks. "Yeah, this leech doesn't need to know our business." Another says. "Oh what difference does it really make? Not like he's got some unholy alliance with Ral. Besides, Elder Flynn would have said something by now, if I did something wrong, isn't that right Elder Flynn? Elder Flynn? Elder?" At this point they all turn towards the old man who is still sitting down and not saying a word. Then suddenly he slumps forward and his head comes off. "SHIT!" someone shouts and before any of them can react, Isabella has already opened up the throats of two of them. You dodge a bolt of flame and take out another Dornan. Travis, however, speaks some words and a flash of light blinds you long enough to cause him to get away. Meanwhile Heather has already cast a speed spell and completely run off, "You get that goatee asshole, I'll chase down the speed bitch!" Isabella shouts. She didn't need to tell you twice. While Travis can't out pace you in the long run, he's smart enough to cast an illusion and you see several versions of him split up and run into different directions and whatever magic he's using to cause illusions, its also masking him so you can't tell which one is the real one just by scent. Fortunately for you he's arrogant enough to not just run away which will at least give you a chance to kill him. Unfortunately, that also gives him a chance to kill you and you once again narrowly dodge a bolt of magic thrown your way by him (or an illusion) hiding behind one of the many trees. "If you think you're taking me down, guess again leech. I've destroyed creatures far more threatening than you." Travis taunts. You don't answer you just try to focus on any and all sounds. You stop completely and listen, then you suddenly grab a figure hiding behind a large oak tree and squeeze by the neck. Travis' eyes bulge and he gasps, but then at the point where you would have easily crushed his throat, he begins to laugh and the illusion disappears. You then get blasted in the back by a bolt of flame. You feel the burn and have to roll on the ground like an idiot putting it out. "Stupid fucking leech! This is going to be so easy!" In between your charred clothing and flesh, you do catch another familiar scent. It isn't Travis' however. It's Lisa. You can only guess she decided to try to help after all and is in the vicinity somewhere. > You focus on Travis Lisa's a big ghoul, she's going to have to fend for herself. Besides, the best way you can defend her is if you kill Travis as quick as possible. Since Travis likes to talk shit, you might as well respond in kind. "Okay Travis, you got me on that one. Cherish the moment because it's the last chance you're going to get. In fact, if you were smart, you'd just run now. I know deep down you're scared and just too arrogant to admit it." You exclaim. "Scared? Me? I'm not the one who is floundering around like kitten in the river right now. Seems to me, that you're the arrogant one who doesn't know when he's beaten." Travis retorts. You see a figure out the corner of your eye getting ready to cast a spell and you rush forward to kill it. Another illusion, but you know enough not to stick around as two bolts of lightning barely miss you. "Is this your plan? Attempt to kill all my illusions until you single me out? Shit plan and doomed to failure. I can keep this up all night. You on the other hand, will have to turn in when day breaks. And whoever that other vampire was, is going to be too busy chasing down Heather. You're alone out here and fucked. The best you can hope for is a stalemate before you run like a bitch before the sunrise. You won't get it though, vampire ashes aren't easy to come by." "Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that and ignore the fact that you aren't pissing your robe right now." You play more dodge the magic spell with Travis and continue to taunt him the whole time. You aren't sure if it's taking him off his offense, but you're getting frustrated that you can't seem to locate him. Destroying his illusions when you can, while satisfying, doesn't bring you any closer to your goal since he's just creating more. You don't know where Lisa is in all this either, but you've got bigger concerns right now. Eventually Travis gets lucky again and one of his illusions zaps you in the chest with a lightning bolt. It tries to finish you off with a fireball, but you narrowly escape. At this rate he's going to set the whole forest on fire. As you're taking protection behind a tree and recovering, you suddenly hear screams coming from behind a cluster of rocks. "Shit...did she really get him?" you say to yourself and swiftly run over towards the screaming. And there you see Lisa partially on top of Travis and chewing through one of his arms while he desperately tries to punch her with the other, shrieking the entire time. "No, no more of that." You say and break Travis' free arm so he can't flail it around at Lisa any longer. His screams of agony don't get any longer, and in fact he begins to just stop making much noise at all. "Yeah, looks like the shock and blood loss are kicking in. You're lucky that Lisa got to you first. If it were up to me, I would have stretched out your torment a lot longer." Travis tries to speak, but all he can do is bubble up some blood from his mouth and struggle to stay awake. "Guess there's one silver lining in this for you, you're getting eaten by someone who doesn't make any pretenses of what she is right? I'm sure she appreciates your respect, along with your flesh." Lisa finishes chewing through Travis' right arm and then gives him one good chomp on the side of his neck, which finally kills him, though it doesn't kill Lisa's hunger and she continues to feed. "You did good Lisa. Thank you." You say and kiss her on the top of her head which finally allows breaks her attention long enough to briefly nuzzle against your leg before returning to eat. "I hate to break up your feast, but we have other matters to take care of, come on, let's head back to the Dornan camp. Hopefully Isabella didn't kill the other one. Oh, you can bring his arm with you." Lisa wastes no time in following you back to the camp, though there is still one thing you're wondering about. "Lisa, how the hell did you single out Travis in all the illusions?" you ask. "Oh that was easy. I just sniffed him out." Lisa answers as a bit of meat flies from her mouth. "How? I couldn't even get his scent." "You were right about him being scared. He had pissed himself. Easy to get scent for me after that. I hunt in the sewers all the time, you know. I can usually single out the origins of bodily waste under the right circumstances. It took some time for me to perfect that skill, I've always wanted to tell you about it, would you like to hear how..." "Um, okay Lisa. Maybe another time." Funny how you desperately trained yourself to try to block out the various "aromas" of the sewers, meanwhile Lisa completely embraced them. Whatever works you guess. You soon return to the camp and go through the bodies since Isabella isn't around. You don't really find much though, at least not any more that what Heather told you. Having little else to do, you decide to sit and wait, while Lisa eats one of the Dornans. Time passes a bit and you start to wonder if you shouldn't just go back home. This was more of Isabella's thing and if she's not here then you really don't have strong feelings about getting revenge on Ral. Sure it would be nice, but you've had enough of fighting wizards for tonight. Unfortunately Isabella comes back just as you're thinking on this, with Heather over her shoulder. "I'm guessing you didn't leave yours alive." Isabella asks. "Nope, I'm afraid Lisa's hunger took care of that, but I figured you'd show restraint since I was certain you wouldn't place too much faith in us anyway." You respond. "Didn't know Lisa was even going to be around since you told her to stay put. In any case I suppose you were correct in thinking that I wouldn't believe you to have as much restraint, so this one is still alive. Knocked her ass out when I finally caught up with her, so I haven't gotten any information from her yet. I guess we can do that together at least." Doesn't take long for Isabella to slap Heather awake. When she sees the two of you hovering over her, she's obviously very frightened and turns to what most do in a hopeless situation. "Oh please, Dorna give me the knowledge and power to overcome my disadvantageous position. I will make the large sacrifice in your honor if you only lend me your wisdom." She says and begins praying which Isabella puts a stop to with another slap. "Oh no, you aren't mumbling some prayer and casting another spell. The best you can hope for in your situation is if you don't piss me off and you get a quick death. Now tell me what you know about Ral and what's going on out here." "Can't we come to some sort of agreement?" Heather asks. Isabella looks at you. "Reminds me of you with all these attempts at bargaining." Isabella remarks. "Well, you gotta admit, it worked for me." You answer. "Yeah, well it's not working for this bitch, now TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING KNOW!" Isabella's face becomes that monstrous expression that manages to scare Heather even more than she already is. She starts crying and pleading and ultimately agreeing to tell her everything she knows even though it isn't much. Heather explains that none of them really knew what to find out here and it was Elder Flynn who first sensed the magic disturbance. He wasn't sure at first about checking it out, but after much meditation (And sensing other disturbances) he decided that he needed to confront his old comrade. Apparently the Elder and Ral were old friends when they were young, but obviously had a disagreement in ideology as far as magic. The Elder of course thought it was a Dorna's most precious gift to the world and thanks must always be given to her for it. Ral on the other hand just believed that it was a force to be mastered like any other and didn't even acknowledge Dorna. She said most knew about Ral since he was a wizard of some power even if he was very reclusive most of the time, but Elder Flynn didn't speak of him in any detail until recently. Said that his experiments had probably gone too far and he would have to be stopped before Dorna's wrath was brought upon the world. Even though the Elder said the disturbances had died down and they hadn't seen anything unusual yet, he said they still needed to confront Ral since he was dangerous wild card. Heather didn't speak out, but she got the impression that this meeting was just something the Elder seemed to want more than correcting magical disturbance. "Oh, that was Flynn? Damn, didn't even recognize him, though I thought there was something vaguely familiar about his scent. If I had recognized him, maybe I would have tried a different approach. Oh well." Isabella remarks. "Wait, you knew the Elder?" Heather asks. "Yeah, he and Ral were competing for my attention when they were young! That's why the friendship broke up. Ideological disagreement my fine undead ass. Flynn wasn't hooked up in all this Dorna worship shit when I knew him. I mean he was more religious than Ral, but he wasn't a fanatic." "What did Ral do that won you over?" you ask out of genuine curiosity. "He made me laugh. In any case, I guess that doesn't help us much, but it was worth a try. Alright, let's get this done..." "WAIT! Please! I'm no threat anymore! I didn't even want to fight you guys! You! When we met, wasn't I reasonable to you?" Heather exclaims, trying to appeal to you. "When we first met, you fucking did some sort of charm on Lisa to make her docile." you say. "But...please! (sob) I don't wanna die! I didn't even want to come out here! (sob) Wait! I know! Make me into a vampire! I mean I could be a good one! I'm already a night owl and I could make a good apprentice! Please, I just don't want to die..." At this point Heather is groveling completely at Isabella's feet. This is such a pathetic display, you're sort of feeling a bit for the girl. "Isabella, maybe you could make her into a vampire? I mean she probably could help you quite a bit on building a new home, what with being a sorceress and all." You say. "Hello, my name is Isabella, I don't believe we've met. I'm not turning this bitch into a vampire just because she's begging for her life. I have standards. I only turn those that are mate potential into vampires." Isabella sniffs. "Do you HAVE to have sex with the person you turn into a vampire?" "Yes, and as I think you know I'm not into women." "Just pretend you're in college." "What?" "I dunno, my dad said a lot of girls at his university used to do that and then got married to some guy anyway." "Yeah, no. Look, if you're so keen on saving this human, then you could always turn her into a ghoul." Lisa looks up long enough from the corpse she's eating to give an angry growl at that suggestion. Lisa might be willing to serve you unquestioningly, but she still wants to be the only ghoul in your life, not that you were considering it anyway. "Too bad Heather, hope your afterlife with Dorna is a pleasant one." You say and without another word Isabella kills Heather. Isabella feeds and then you do likewise. The three of you then continue your journey to Ral's home. Along the way you start noticing discoloration of the trees and odd-looking plant life. Some of them even look carnivorous, but you guess they don't like the taste of undead flesh so they don't attack. (And Lisa must not be very appetizing either) "This doesn't look like it belongs here." You say. "Sure doesn't. What the hell did Ral do?" Isabella says. "Given all this change and how the Dornans said it dying down, maybe he's not even alive anymore." "For his sake, he better not be." After passing a few more landscape oddities, you at last reach Ral's home and it looks about the same as you last saw it. There aren't any creatures or anything wandering about, though you're not getting a sense of complete safety either. "Well, it's all yours. See if you can't get in." Isabella says. You don't say anything other than to tell Lisa to stay put and you'll be back in a moment. You approach Ral's home and try the front door. It's locked of course, so you pull out a lockpick and easily open it. You step forward... And nothing happens. You apparently are allowed in the house. Now to see if Isabella's other idea will work. You stand in the doorway and motion Lisa and Isabella over. Lisa easily enters the house since she wasn't barred by strange rules anyway. Isabella however, still can't get in. "Shit." She remarks. "I don't understand, I thought you said you were always welcome in a place that was my home." You say. "Eh, more weird rules. This place, while you were welcomed in here, still officially isn't your home, it's Ral's. I figured it was a long shot. I'm going to try to figure out something out here, in the meantime you need to find out what's going on. I'd rather you not kill Ral and leave him for me, but if you have to, I'll certainly understand." Isabella takes her leave and you and Lisa are left in a very dusty living area. Looks like this place went to pot after you weren't around to clean it anymore. "Well, let's take this slow I guess. Lisa, you stay very close to me." You say and begin exploring rooms methodically. The eerie thing about all this, is you aren't hearing any noise whatsoever. Usually you used to at least hear faint noises sometimes from his lab, but there is nothing. Speaking of his lab you eventually decide you might as well just search that place now. You make your way there and immediately notice something wrong. The door is open. That door was always locked. You cautiously peek inside Ral's lab for the first time. And it's a complete wreck. There is equipment everywhere; you know Ral wouldn't have left it like this if he could help it. Except he can't help it, because he's currently on the floor with a broken neck. He looks like he's been dead awhile. And then you see another familiar face. Tych. You see him flying around between various large tomes and mixing something on one of the only clean lab workbenches. This all seems a bit strange, but in any case Tych hasn't noticed you yet. > You call out to him There really is no need to be so physical in this situation, so you call out. "Hey Tych!" you shout. He spins around and immediately flies upward so he's safe. "You? What are you doing here? Thought you died a long time ago." Tych says. "I did, I'm a vampire." You answer. "Hm, well that was one way of breaking the geas I suppose. I'm guessing it was Isabella that provided that option, is she here? Ral might be dead, but you still don't know what the hell is going on here and Tych isn't exactly a beacon of trustworthiness himself. For all you know he's caused all this, you figure you better keep the real story a little hazy. "No, I haven't seen Isabella in years. I sort of broke it off with her when I realized Lisa here was a my true love." You say and put your arm around her, which she of course doesn't mind, though she also seems interested in Ral's corpse. "Surprised she allowed you to leave so easily." Tych says. "Eh, wasn't exactly easy. In fact, it was sort of a lopsided relationship to begin with." "Mm, sounds like Isabella." "Didn't realize you knew so much about her actually." "Ral spoke about her quite a bit. Used to always go on about how he wished things had ended better with her. Talked about her so much that I felt like I knew the woman even though I'd never even seen her." "I see, so...what exactly happened here?" Tych shakes his head. "A complete failure, that's what happened. A few months ago Ral was trying to cast some spell he had been working on for years and it backfired spectacularly. He was experimenting with portals that could transport you anywhere in the world. Unfortunately what happened instead is he created a very unstable one and that's when the rock creature appeared in the middle of the lab and started smashing up the place. Ral barely managed to get off a couple spells before the thing smashed him in the head and disappeared as quickly as it showed up. It was during this time, my jar got smashed." "Why didn't you escape?" "I would have but I heard some rumbling outside along with other noises, so I thought Ral's spell had a ripple effect on the outside area. I still haven't left this house for fear of what might be out there. How severe is the damage?" "Some weird landscape changes, some odd monsters popping up in places they shouldn't be, but that's about all I know. I was in Holgard and it didn't reach that far. In fact I think the effects of the spell are dying out." "Truly? I would have thought with all the chaos here and the time Ral spent on the spell, it had catastrophic effects of great magnitude. Damn, I feel like a cowardly fool, but being in the hub of it all I guess made me afraid. My long-term captivity also kept me here. Just got comfortable being safe I guess. So Holgard huh? I guess that brings me to my question of why you're here, if the effects didn't reach there." You pause a very brief moment as you come up with your lie without much problem. "Oh that was me being a victim of circumstance again. There was a war between the religious factions in Holgard a few years ago and at the time it was mutually beneficial to ally with the Dornans. The war has long since been over, but I still had a deal with them to help when I could and a group of them wanted to explore the magical disturbances their elder sensed in this area. I think they're the only ones who knew or cared." "Oh? So are they with you?" "Nah, they're all dead. Got killed by a medusa and her pet basilisks. Just one example of creatures not native to the area popping up." "Interesting. Just wondering because Ral mentioned him a few times in the past...but was there an Elder Flynn with you in all this?" You weren't sure before, but you're starting to get a strange feeling about this conversation, however you continue to speak as normal. "Yeah, he was there, but I never spoke much with the man. Always seemed to be pretty serious and save for a few basic directions. I understood him to be a man of great magic ability, but that didn't mean much when the medusa surprised him and the inevitable happened." You explain. "Hm, I see. Hard to believe he was taken out so easily after what Ral told me about him." Tych says. "It wasn't an easy battle to survive. Honestly, Lisa and I almost went home after that. However, by that time I came all this way so I figured I might as well try to learn what happened here and the only person I could think of that might shed some light is Ral." "You didn't think you'd be met with hostility for escaping?" "Eh, in all the time I knew him even as his unwilling lackey, he wasn't excessively cruel or even one to hold that much of a grudge. I sort of figured he wrote me off as dead years ago and moved on. Plus I figured as a vampire I'd at least be on somewhat of an equal footing that he wouldn't try anything as long as I didn't act in a threatening manner." Tych nods a bit. "I suppose you're right on that account. Ral was a lot of things, but he was never petty. Well that's about the only information I have for you. I'm actually glad you came by however, since I now know that it isn't a cataclysm out there. I'll probably be leaving a lot sooner now." "I bet your wife misses you." You say. "Huh? Oh yes my wife...I'd be surprised if she hasn't moved on already. Though I wouldn't blame her if she had I suppose. I've had a lot of time to think during my time here and while Ral certainly kept me imprisoned, I have to admit I wasn't exactly innocent. I dunno, maybe my captivity was punishment for all my misdeeds in the past. My apologies for my wrongs against you as well." "Well other than calling me a plivik and lying to me, you didn't really do any direct damage. Long time ago and literally another life. Anyway, I suppose we'll be going. Hey Lisa, get away from that body, we'll find you someone to eat on the way home." You say motioning Lisa to come with you instead of sniffing around Ral's corpse. Tych waves goodbye and you soon exit the home. After looking around a bit, you find Isabella digging around the house. It looks like she's trying to destroy the foundation in an attempt to just destroy the house. "You know it would probably be much easier to just set the place on fire." You remark. "Probably, but I don't exactly have a torch handy at the moment. So, you're back out here and none the worse for wear. I assume you have news? Did Ral send you out here to an attempt to beg for his life?" Isabella asks. "Ral's dead." You say. "What?!" "Well...I suppose he isn't completely dead." "He's either dead or he isn't! Wait, shit, he's not a lich is he?!" "He's a sprite." "WHAT?! Okay, you need to explain!" Isabella exclaims. You try to collect your thoughts on everything that transpired during your conversation before explaining to her your whole conversation. "I mean I don't know for certain, but I REALLY think Ral's in the body of a sprite slave he once had. That sprite's name was Tych and he didn't sound anything like the person that I knew. I mean I know a lot of time has passed, but I just got a very real feeling that I was talking with Ral and not Tych." You explain. "Well did you see Ral's body anywhere?" Isabella asks. "Oh yeah, he was on the floor with his neck broken. Looked like he had been dead for a while. Tych, or Ral rather said he met his fate by some strange rock creature." "Hmmm...wait...yeah. Your belief has merit. I mean I can't enter the house still, while you can. If Ral was dead, I would have been able to enter with no problems. How the hell did he get into the body of a sprite?!" "I dunno, I didn't ask since I was trying to pretend that I believed him to be Tych and I did that because I also have no reason to disbelieve that he isn't still a powerful wizard. Not sure if he believed if I believed him, but it got me out unscathed." Isabella is silent for a moment and then throws a handful of dirt to the ground while stepping out of the large hole she has been digging. "Ah fuck it. I'm done." She says. "What, seriously? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but you seemed pretty intent on all this revenge before." You answer. "Yeah. I honestly can't be bothered now. I mean if you're wrong and that's not Ral at all, it's hardly worth going to all the trouble to bring down a house just to kill a sprite especially since I don't even like their blood. And if it is Ral, I can't even torture him like I want in his new sprite body. I mean yeah I could still do it, but it just wouldn't be the same. I suppose a part of me was just looking for an excuse to see you again. Shit, I think a small part of me just wanted to see Ral again too. It's funny that you made up your story about getting lonely to the Dornans, but the reality is, it really does happen. Even to those that are normally fine with isolation like me." "But you're centuries old, surely you must have known other people." "Sure, and most of them are dead, either naturally or otherwise. Hell, I might have even made a reconnection with Flynn had I known it was him. I managed to ignore the prolonged isolation I think for so long because I had a nice home I made for myself. The garden kept me busy too. Now I don't even have that and while I'm no stranger to having to start completely over it isn't the most fun thing to do." You start get a little worried about where this might be leading. "Don't worry, I'm not taking your home. Living right next to a sewer isn't exactly my taste. Besides, you and Lisa are happy there and as I said, I've always been a bit of a romantic even if it never quite works out for me." Isabella says. "Why don't you just knock on the door and call out to Ral? He might be willing to talk." You say. "Nice idea, but no. We're not going to rekindle anything especially with him stuck in the body of a fucking sprite now. Besides it isn't like I'm still not mad at him for destroying my home even if it was an accident. No, I think maybe it's time for me to move on from this area altogether. Maybe the Delantium Kingdom, or at least pass through there. There are maybe at least one or two folks I know living in that area, maybe they're still interesting. Anything's possible right?" "Seems like it. If you asked me when I was a teenager where I'd be at thirty, it wouldn't be assaulting a wizard's home as a vampire with another vampire and ghoul by my side. My answer would have been probably still robbing travelling merchants with my twin sister in my hometown. Still think about her and the rest of the family sometimes and wonder how they're doing, but that's all a past life." "I wouldn't write off the past completely, it usually has a way of sneaking up on you even when you're not a mortal. I mean it certainly did recently for you. Well, thank you for your help, you truly are free now. You take care okay? And take care of Lisa too. You make a lovely couple." With those last words, Isabella briefly moves forward a bit, perhaps to make physical contact with you, but stops herself. She instead turns away and walks off into the forest. You soon lose sight of her and it's just you and Lisa. "Is she gone for good?" Lisa asks. "Yeah I think she is." You say. "Good, it's just you and me again. Just like it always should be!" "Yes it is, come on let's go back home." Part of you wonders if you were really correct about Tych actually being Ral and what exactly happened. You suppose you'll never know the entire story, and actually you're fine with that. This has been a very strange past couple of days. Surreal even. You were forced into this quest for revenge and there was even an unrelated struggle before you reached your destination, then when you finally reached that destination, it was sort of an anti-climatic conclusion. You suppose that's just how shit happens sometimes. Not everything ends with a gigantic battle. (And you're fine with that too) You're just glad you're done with it and hopefully you can finally go about your existence in relative peace. > Epilogue Epilogue 8: Tales From the Crypt Year 36 "Hah! I win again!" Lisa says putting her cards down gleefully. "Damn it. I remember a time when you didn't like this game." You say. "You're not mad at me for winning are you? I can stop." "No, I'm fine with that. Don't worry about it. Just keep playing at your best." "Okay good, I live to serve you my love." "Yes, I know you do." "I'm...I'm doing it again aren't I? I'm being too fawning. I'm sorry." "It's okay. I know you can't help it sometimes." "Can't you make me like you?" "I wish I could, but Isabella remarked years ago that it wouldn't be for at least a few more decades if I really wanted to make sure I didn't just kill you permanently by accident. I mean I turned you into a ghoul years before I was supposed to be able to, but I feel like that was a different situation. I've spent so much time with you now that I don't even want to think about risking your life." "I know...I just think things would be better if I was more like you." "You don't need to worry about that any longer. I've long since accepted you, no matter what your condition is. If we have to wait a little longer, then that's what we'll do. We have plenty of time and it isn't like my love for you is going to diminish." Lisa immediately goes over to sit in your lap and cuddle up against you. You have to admit, you've actually gotten used to her fawning attention so much by now that you hope you don't start having second thoughts about turning her into a vampire when it's time. But you know that's not really going to happen, you love Lisa too much to keep her in this lesser form forever even if you will miss the unconditional servitude mentality a bit. (You won't miss some of her other ghoulish traits though) Lisa begins to nibble on you a bit and you know that she wants some of your blood so you give her permission to suck on you for a while. While you're enjoying this moment of bonding with Lisa, you sense something coming close to your home. You immediately tell Lisa to get off of you and you go check the entrance with her following closely behind. As you get closer, you can tell it's something living lingering just outside your home, so it isn't an unwelcome visit from Isabella like you had six years ago. You half wonder if its some foolish Joachimite fanatic or even a Dornan since while both groups' power in the city is much reduced today, they still got the occasional fanatics that cause problems. The odd thing is you start to hear music too. Strumming of a lute you think. It's not unpleasant either, almost soothing enough to put you at ease. "That music is nice." Lisa says and starts to even sway a bit to the tune, which causes you even more concern since Lisa typically doesn't find much pleasure in a lot of things that aren't basic, let alone music of any kind. Maybe magic is at work here. When you see your secret wall open up, you go into battle mode immediately and rush the person who has intruded into your domain. This is going to be quick... With one hand clutched around your sister's neck, your arm wrapped around her back and just inches away from biting her, you can hardly believe your eyes. She's older of course now, but you'd recognize her face and voice anywhere. "Sis?" you utter. "Yeah...it's really me! (cough) Could you please let me go, you're (cough) crushing my throat and the mandolin in my hands and I sort of rely on both for my songs. And arguably the mandolin is even more important given what I went through to get it." Your sister responds. "Shit. Yeah of course! Apologies." "Who is this woman!?" Lisa says in a more demanding demeanor than you're used to. "Lisa, don't worry. This is my twin sister. I'm sure you remember the times I've spoken of her." "Oh. Yes, I remember. She's not to be eaten correct?" "Yes Lisa, she is not to be eaten or harmed in any way. Though she might have went about visiting us a lot smarter than just barging in here. How did you even find me? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" After your sister clears her throat a bit she addresses your questions. "Well a few years back I had another run in with one of your vampire acquaintances, Isabella during my travels in the Delantium Kingdom. She approached me in a tavern after a show there saying how she had never heard music so beautiful." Lisa says. "Wait, she approached you in a tavern completely naked and nobody batted an eye?" you interrupt. "She was wearing an elegant looking dress when I spoke to her, why would she be naked?" "Dress? Hm. Interesting. Nevermind, go on." "Anyway I thought she was just flirting with me at first, especially when she said the line about me having similar features of someone she once knew. When she found out I was your twin sister, she wouldn't stop talking and she told me about you. As for me not telling you about my arrival, it wasn't like I could send you a letter now could I? Now I'm not a vampire, but are you going to invite me in? I'm not exactly fond of standing around here in the sewers." "Yes, of course come on in!" you say. You let your sister in and tell her to follow you to your den. Lisa sniffs at her couple times until you tell her to stop. "Lisa, you seem hungry so why don't you go find some food in the meat room. I want to catch up with my sister for a moment. We'll be able to spend more time together later, I promise." "...very well my love." Lisa says. She's a bit put off by the fact that you're spending time with your sister instead of her, but since she isn't a threat she doesn't grumble too much about it. Your sister watches Lisa slink away the entire time before turning her attention back to you. "So...that's the missus huh? Isabella mentioned you had a significant other." "I can imagine she didn't have too many kind words about her." "Isabella actually didn't say much about her at all, other than you were very happy with her and loved her very much." "Oh? Well she's right." "That's good. Glad you found someone, just a question though; she seems a bit...different than you. Is she a vampire too?" "Lisa? Oh no, she's a ghoul, but one day I'll make her into a vampire." "Vampire...I have to say I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around that one about you. I have so many questions." "Didn't Isabella fill you in?" "A little, but she mostly talked about herself and her past." "Really? In all the years I lived with her, she never said shit about much of her past." "I guess even with your vampy powers I'm still just naturally more charismatic than you. As I said I think she was just looking for company when she spoke to me and at the time I sort of was wondering about what else she might want to do. I mean I'm pretty much up for a lot of things and I've heard the infamous stories about vampires, but getting intimate with one would have still been a little scary since I wouldn't have much say in the matter if things went wrong." "Trust me I know." "Yeah, I guess you would. Still, I'm a little jealous, because don't get me wrong, I definitely would have rolled the dice if the opportunity had presented itself, but it didn't get past just talking and eventually she just bid me goodbye." "Yeah, Isabella is a bit traditional minded, as she would often be fond of pointing out. Though you aren't only one who has questions, I have questions too. I mean this is a big surprise to even see you! I thought for sure I'd never see anyone from my old life every again. I'm very glad that wasn't true. Even after twenty years you haven't changed that much. I like how you still wear the same colorful clothing, but you always were the flashier one. Here we are, let's sit down and you can start first about what you've been up to." Your sister goes first and briefly goes into some of the places she's been. She says she actually passed through Holgard at one point, but of course she didn't know you were lurking underground since she wasn't visiting the sewers at the time. She also mentions that she recently visited your parents and besides being glad to see her, they also told her what happened with you a few months after she left. What's fascinating to you though is apparently you were cleared of murder months after you left! Your father managed to save Annah's life and with her statement and a few others who saw everything reluctantly stepped up to tell the truth, your actions were considered a justified crime of passion rather than outright murder. "So wait, am I still wanted there?" You say. "Well...a lot of time has passed and that sheriff who hated you is long dead now. Klint's father also isn't there anymore, so I think you're in the clear legally, but I wouldn't exactly say you're wanted if you know what I mean. Though Annah apparently still thinks highly of you." "Heh, glad she survived. What about mom and dad?" "They're fine. I suppose this would be a good time to tell you, we got a new brother." "WHAT?! They had another child?! When?!" You exclaim. "I guess shortly after we both left. I think he's about twenty or around that age. He's okay, a bit on the straight laced side. Guess mom and dad finally got the well behaved child they always wanted." "I guess so...sheesh...well I guess it's just as well. Not like they're going to ever see me again." "Oh come on, you could go visit them during the night. Mom would probably still want to see you and she wouldn't even realize what you were. Not sure about Dad though, but I doubt if he'd just throw you out on your ear as soon as he saw you." "Yeah, I just don't think it's a good idea, but maybe if you ever visit them again, could you tell them that I'm okay?" "Of course." "Thanks sis. And again, I've really missed you. I'm very surprised you came to see me even though you knew where I was. I mean I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with my condition." "Well as I said, it's still very strange to wrap my head around, but you're my brother and no matter what, I'll be by your side." Your sister says touching your hand. You and your sister look at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that despite your changed form, some bonds never die. "Well now that I've filled you in on some of my journeys, it's time for you to do likewise! Give me all the details because I trust that this will definitely be a very interesting story!" your sister says. "Well, you might be surprised how dull day to day life can still be for a vampire. Still, I'm sure there will be more than a few bits that will interest you. Some of which happened before I became one. I warn you though, it's a long story." You say. "Best ones usually are." Your sister responds. You begin your tale...

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy, serious] Lisa's a big ghoul, she's going to have to fend for herself. Besides, the best way you can defend her is if you kill Travis as quick as possible. Since Travis likes to talk shit, you might as well respond in kind. "Okay Travis, you got me on that one. Cherish the moment because it's the last chance you're going to get. In fact, if you were smart, you'd just run now. I know deep down you're scared and just too arrogant to admit it." You exclaim. "Scared? Me? I'm not the one who is floundering around like kitten in the river right now. Seems to me, that you're the arrogant one who doesn't know when he's beaten." Travis retorts. You see a figure out the corner of your eye getting ready to cast a spell and you rush forward to kill it. Another illusion, but you know enough not to stick around as two bolts of lightning barely miss you. "Is this your plan? Attempt to kill all my illusions until you single me out? Shit plan and doomed to failure. I can keep this up all night. You on the other hand, will have to turn in when day breaks. And whoever that other vampire was, is going to be too busy chasing down Heather. You're alone out here and fucked. The best you can hope for is a stalemate before you run like a bitch before the sunrise. You won't get it though, vampire ashes aren't easy to come by." "Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that and ignore the fact that you aren't pissing your robe right now." You play more dodge the magic spell with Travis and continue to taunt him the whole time. You aren't sure if it's taking him off his offense, but you're getting frustrated that you can't seem to locate him. Destroying his illusions when you can, while satisfying, doesn't bring you any closer to your goal since he's just creating more. You don't know where Lisa is in all this either, but you've got bigger concerns right now. Eventually Travis gets lucky again and one of his illusions zaps you in the chest with a lightning bolt. It tries to finish you off with a fireball, but you narrowly escape. At this rate he's going to set the whole forest on fire. As you're taking protection behind a tree and recovering, you suddenly hear screams coming from behind a cluster of rocks. "Shit...did she really get him?" you say to yourself and swiftly run over towards the screaming. And there you see Lisa partially on top of Travis and chewing through one of his arms while he desperately tries to punch her with the other, shrieking the entire time. "No, no more of that." You say and break Travis' free arm so he can't flail it around at Lisa any longer. His screams of agony don't get any longer, and in fact he begins to just stop making much noise at all. "Yeah, looks like the shock and blood loss are kicking in. You're lucky that Lisa got to you first. If it were up to me, I would have stretched out your torment a lot longer." Travis tries to speak, but all he can do is bubble up some blood from his mouth and struggle to stay awake. "Guess there's one silver lining in this for you, you're getting eaten by someone who doesn't make any pretenses of what she is right? I'm sure she appreciates your respect, along with your flesh." Lisa finishes chewing through Travis' right arm and then gives him one good chomp on the side of his neck, which finally kills him, though it doesn't kill Lisa's hunger and she continues to feed. "You did good Lisa. Thank you." You say and kiss her on the top of her head which finally allows breaks her attention long enough to briefly nuzzle against your leg before returning to eat. "I hate to break up your feast, but we have other matters to take care of, come on, let's head back to the Dornan camp. Hopefully Isabella didn't kill the other one. Oh, you can bring his arm with you." Lisa wastes no time in following you back to the camp, though there is still one thing you're wondering about. "Lisa, how the hell did you single out Travis in all the illusions?" you ask. "Oh that was easy. I just sniffed him out." Lisa answers as a bit of meat flies from her mouth. "How? I couldn't even get his scent." "You were right about him being scared. He had pissed himself. Easy to get scent for me after that. I hunt in the sewers all the time, you know. I can usually single out the origins of bodily waste under the right circumstances. It took some time for me to perfect that skill, I've always wanted to tell you about it, would you like to hear how..." "Um, okay Lisa. Maybe another time." Funny how you desperately trained yourself to try to block out the various "aromas" of the sewers, meanwhile Lisa completely embraced them. Whatever works you guess. You soon return to the camp and go through the bodies since Isabella isn't around. You don't really find much though, at least not any more that what Heather told you. Having little else to do, you decide to sit and wait, while Lisa eats one of the Dornans. Time passes a bit and you start to wonder if you shouldn't just go back home. This was more of Isabella's thing and if she's not here then you really don't have strong feelings about getting revenge on Ral. Sure it would be nice, but you've had enough of fighting wizards for tonight. Unfortunately Isabella comes back just as you're thinking on this, with Heather over her shoulder. "I'm guessing you didn't leave yours alive." Isabella asks. "Nope, I'm afraid Lisa's hunger took care of that, but I figured you'd show restraint since I was certain you wouldn't place too much faith in us anyway." You respond. "Didn't know Lisa was even going to be around since you told her to stay put. In any case I suppose you were correct in thinking that I wouldn't believe you to have as much restraint, so this one is still alive. Knocked her ass out when I finally caught up with her, so I haven't gotten any information from her yet. I guess we can do that together at least." Doesn't take long for Isabella to slap Heather awake. When she sees the two of you hovering over her, she's obviously very frightened and turns to what most do in a hopeless situation. "Oh please, Dorna give me the knowledge and power to overcome my disadvantageous position. I will make the large sacrifice in your honor if you only lend me your wisdom." She says and begins praying which Isabella puts a stop to with another slap. "Oh no, you aren't mumbling some prayer and casting another spell. The best you can hope for in your situation is if you don't piss me off and you get a quick death. Now tell me what you know about Ral and what's going on out here." "Can't we come to some sort of agreement?" Heather asks. Isabella looks at you. "Reminds me of you with all these attempts at bargaining." Isabella remarks. "Well, you gotta admit, it worked for me." You answer. "Yeah, well it's not working for this bitch, now TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING KNOW!" Isabella's face becomes that monstrous expression that manages to scare Heather even more than she already is. She starts crying and pleading and ultimately agreeing to tell her everything she knows even though it isn't much. Heather explains that none of them really knew what to find out here and it was Elder Flynn who first sensed the magic disturbance. He wasn't sure at first about checking it out, but after much meditation (And sensing other disturbances) he decided that he needed to confront his old comrade. Apparently the Elder and Ral were old friends when they were young, but obviously had a disagreement in ideology as far as magic. The Elder of course thought it was a Dorna's most precious gift to the world and thanks must always be given to her for it. Ral on the other hand just believed that it was a force to be mastered like any other and didn't even acknowledge Dorna. She said most knew about Ral since he was a wizard of some power even if he was very reclusive most of the time, but Elder Flynn didn't speak of him in any detail until recently. Said that his experiments had probably gone too far and he would have to be stopped before Dorna's wrath was brought upon the world. Even though the Elder said the disturbances had died down and they hadn't seen anything unusual yet, he said they still needed to confront Ral since he was dangerous wild card. Heather didn't speak out, but she got the impression that this meeting was just something the Elder seemed to want more than correcting magical disturbance. "Oh, that was Flynn? Damn, didn't even recognize him, though I thought there was something vaguely familiar about his scent. If I had recognized him, maybe I would have tried a different approach. Oh well." Isabella remarks. "Wait, you knew the Elder?" Heather asks. "Yeah, he and Ral were competing for my attention when they were young! That's why the friendship broke up. Ideological disagreement my fine undead ass. Flynn wasn't hooked up in all this Dorna worship shit when I knew him. I mean he was more religious than Ral, but he wasn't a fanatic." "What did Ral do that won you over?" you ask out of genuine curiosity. "He made me laugh. In any case, I guess that doesn't help us much, but it was worth a try. Alright, let's get this done..." "WAIT! Please! I'm no threat anymore! I didn't even want to fight you guys! You! When we met, wasn't I reasonable to you?" Heather exclaims, trying to appeal to you. "When we first met, you fucking did some sort of charm on Lisa to make her docile." you say. "But...please! (sob) I don't wanna die! I didn't even want to come out here! (sob) Wait! I know! Make me into a vampire! I mean I could be a good one! I'm already a night owl and I could make a good apprentice! Please, I just don't want to die..." At this point Heather is groveling completely at Isabella's feet. This is such a pathetic display, you're sort of feeling a bit for the girl. "Isabella, maybe you could make her into a vampire? I mean she probably could help you quite a bit on building a new home, what with being a sorceress and all." You say. "Hello, my name is Isabella, I don't believe we've met. I'm not turning this bitch into a vampire just because she's begging for her life. I have standards. I only turn those that are mate potential into vampires." Isabella sniffs. "Do you HAVE to have sex with the person you turn into a vampire?" "Yes, and as I think you know I'm not into women." "Just pretend you're in college." "What?" "I dunno, my dad said a lot of girls at his university used to do that and then got married to some guy anyway." "Yeah, no. Look, if you're so keen on saving this human, then you could always turn her into a ghoul." Lisa looks up long enough from the corpse she's eating to give an angry growl at that suggestion. Lisa might be willing to serve you unquestioningly, but she still wants to be the only ghoul in your life, not that you were considering it anyway. "Too bad Heather, hope your afterlife with Dorna is a pleasant one." You say and without another word Isabella kills Heather. Isabella feeds and then you do likewise. The three of you then continue your journey to Ral's home. Along the way you start noticing discoloration of the trees and odd-looking plant life. Some of them even look carnivorous, but you guess they don't like the taste of undead flesh so they don't attack. (And Lisa must not be very appetizing either) "This doesn't look like it belongs here." You say. "Sure doesn't. What the hell did Ral do?" Isabella says. "Given all this change and how the Dornans said it dying down, maybe he's not even alive anymore." "For his sake, he better not be." After passing a few more landscape oddities, you at last reach Ral's home and it looks about the same as you last saw it. There aren't any creatures or anything wandering about, though you're not getting a sense of complete safety either. "Well, it's all yours. See if you can't get in." Isabella says. You don't say anything other than to tell Lisa to stay put and you'll be back in a moment. You approach Ral's home and try the front door. It's locked of course, so you pull out a lockpick and easily open it. You step forward... And nothing happens. You apparently are allowed in the house. Now to see if Isabella's other idea will work. You stand in the doorway and motion Lisa and Isabella over. Lisa easily enters the house since she wasn't barred by strange rules anyway. Isabella however, still can't get in. "Shit." She remarks. "I don't understand, I thought you said you were always welcome in a place that was my home." You say. "Eh, more weird rules. This place, while you were welcomed in here, still officially isn't your home, it's Ral's. I figured it was a long shot. I'm going to try to figure out something out here, in the meantime you need to find out what's going on. I'd rather you not kill Ral and leave him for me, but if you have to, I'll certainly understand." Isabella takes her leave and you and Lisa are left in a very dusty living area. Looks like this place went to pot after you weren't around to clean it anymore. "Well, let's take this slow I guess. Lisa, you stay very close to me." You say and begin exploring rooms methodically. The eerie thing about all this, is you aren't hearing any noise whatsoever. Usually you used to at least hear faint noises sometimes from his lab, but there is nothing. Speaking of his lab you eventually decide you might as well just search that place now. You make your way there and immediately notice something wrong. The door is open. That door was always locked. You cautiously peek inside Ral's lab for the first time. And it's a complete wreck. There is equipment everywhere; you know Ral wouldn't have left it like this if he could help it. Except he can't help it, because he's currently on the floor with a broken neck. He looks like he's been dead awhile. And then you see another familiar face. Tych. You see him flying around between various large tomes and mixing something on one of the only clean lab workbenches. This all seems a bit strange, but in any case Tych hasn't noticed you yet. > You sneak up and grab him You figure with your speed you'll easily be able to catch Tych before he'll notice and then you can question him on what happened here. And you probably would have if Lisa hadn't been with you to snuffle about and bumping into some debris while wandering over towards Ral's corpse. Tych spins around and just narrowly flits out of your way. He's incredibly surprised. "SHIT! YOU?" he exclaims and then this is followed by him putting his hands together and unleashing a beam (much larger than you'd think for his size) of magical energy straight into your face, melting it completely. You flail about blind for a moment and you can hear Lisa snarl and shriek when she sees that you're being attacked, but those noises seem to be silenced fairly quickly. You're in no condition to help Lisa because you can't even help yourself at this point. "I don't know how you broke the geas, but I'm not taking any chances!" you hear Tych say. You've never known Tych to be able to cast spells like this. Something about this is weird, but it hardly matters and you'll never know the true mystery since Tych finishes you off by melting a hole through your chest and destroying your heart.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, fantasy, serious] You really don't want to start all over again with finding or building another home. You're comfortable here and don't want to move. So if this one last thing means you get to stay here, then so be it. "Very well, I'll help, but what if I can't get in anyway?" you ask. "Well, we might have to come back to reassess a new plan. I'm almost sure that you will be able to get in though." Isabella says. "I sure hope so, because as much as I want to keep my home and perhaps even not mind the revenge bit, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to be in a perpetual stalemate where I'm sharing this place with you. I'd rather just pick up and leave I think." "Understandable, and that's certainly your choice if it comes to that, but let's keep positive thoughts. So, are you ready to go?" "What, now?" "Well sure. The night is still young and I figured you wanted to get this over with as soon as possible." "I suppose you're right, but I think I'm going to need at least a little time to explain this Lisa." "What for? Just say you're leaving and will be back in a day or two. It isn't like she's going to leave you and I'm sure she'll be satisfied if you tell her she can eat those two girls I saw chained up. Ghouls are easily distracted and appeased, I'm sure you well know." "Yeah and I'm sure that YOU well know that I treat Lisa as an equal, not like some pet!" "Of course you do. Very well, talk to your child then, I will see you in the (ugh) sewers." Isabella takes her leave and you're about to head back to the meat room, when you notice blood puddles and small trails in the hallway. You follow them to a small dead end to another tunnel you've been recently working on and that's where you find Lisa huddled in a corner chewing on a bone and making a weird (yet relatively quiet) noise. Almost like she's crying, but not quite. She looks up at you mournfully. "Lisa, I'm not mad if you were listening to us." you say. "You're leaving with her aren't you?" Lisa asks. "I have to if we want to keep our home. Don't you want us to keep the home we've made here?" "I...I don't want you to go. I need you...can't...can't I come with you?" "Lisa, it's going to be really dangerous. I mean I'm sure you remember my stories about Ral. We're going to be going up against him and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt." "But I could help! I want to help! Please let me help!" Lisa says grabbing your arm with fanatical dedication in her eyes. It's against your better judgment, but if you leave her here she could just get into trouble anyway. Perhaps even more without you close by and her probably getting depressed about the situation. If you take her with you, at least you can keep an eye on her and she'll be happy. It's one more factor to worry about, but if you're really serious about trying to treat her like an equal, keeping her contained like pet (or child as Isabella said) isn't the way to go about it. Besides Lisa isn't defenseless. "Very well, but you REALLY need to obey all my commands during this task. Seriously, you can't go wandering off in search of food or any else of the sort. You need to follow all my orders to the letter. Understand?" "I do! I do my love! Oh thank you! I'll be a big help! You'll see!" Lisa showers you with a lot of affection and as usual she goes for the crotch immediately. You half think about stopping her since this is going to take awhile and you're supposed to be on your way to Ral's, but you feel like Lisa deserves a reward for dealing with all this (And hell, so do you) so... Later, you meet Isabella who is still standing in the sewers close to your secret wall. "About fucking time. Don't tell me, I already know what you were doing...aaaand I see we now have a loadstone with us. Fantastic!" Isabella remarks when she sees Lisa behind you. Lisa looks down a bit when Isabella calls her out. "Look, she can be of help. It's going to take us a couple days to get to Ral's so it might be useful to have someone that can at least scout around during the day while we sleep in the ground." "More like give ourselves away. Fine, I suppose she would be useful fodder if worse comes to worse. Let's go, we've already wasted..." You place one hand on Isabella's shoulder and spin her around when she turns her back on you. "Let's get one thing fucking straight. Lisa is NOT fodder. She's not a minion, she's not my fuck toy, she's not a child, she's not a fucking pet! Lisa is my fucking mate. She came because she wants to help me and I want her to help me. This, what we're doing right now? Is to help you. However, if you keep insulting Lisa and being a general bitch to her, you can go do this on your own and both of us will find some place else to live. I'm putting up with a lot of things and I'm not trying to step out of line against my so called betters, but I'm not going to put up with how you talk to and about her! AGH SHIT!" Isabella quickly grabs your wrist twists it and throws you to the hard floor face first. Lisa, rushes to attack, but is easily slapped aside into the nearby wall as Isabella applies pressure to your arm and shoves her knee into your back. "First of all, don't you EVER fucking touch me again uninvited! You lost that privilege a long time ago. This is your ONLY warning about it. Second...fine. I apologize. I was not behaving in a way befitting of my class. I won't insult your lady again. Glad to see that it really was true love." Isabella gets off you and you wince a bit in lingering pain as you stand up. You then go over to Lisa and ask if she's okay, to which she replies that she is. You then both follow Isabella who has walked ahead of you. Things are silent for more or less during the journey out of Holgard. It's sort of a weird silence and soon after you're making your way through the forest, you make conversation. "So, while I can imagine what happened, what did you do with the family you found in that root cellar?" you ask "Oh them? Well I had to rebuild my strength after being stuck underground for weeks, so after they told me what happened, drained all of them." Isabella remarks. "Yep, figured as much." "Honestly, I might have kept three of them alive under normal circumstances, but it wasn't the normal circumstances and I do have a weakness for children's blood." "Did...did the children taste sweet?" Lisa suddenly asks. Isabella smiles a bit. "Yes, the children did taste sweet. Their blood usually does though unless they're horrible greenskins. Rather go hungry than drink their blood, no matter what age most of the time." Isabella remarks. "Some greenskins aren't bad, but they're always very tough. They are an acquired taste and even the dead sometimes taste better than the average hobgoblin." Lisa remarks. "I'm sure you have a very versatile palate Lisa, not many can boast such a talent." Isabella's remark could be taken as a backhanded compliment at best or a sarcastic insult at worst, but Lisa seems to take what she said as a benign praise, so you let it go. Eventually dawn starts to arrive and you and Isabella take shelter in the ground. Lisa herself never seems to require as much sleep, so she'll be still be wandering around for some of the day (Though still probably trying to stay in the shade which shouldn't be a problem due to being in a forest). You aren't sure if you should have her do a little scouting while you're asleep or have her protect your resting area though. > You scout ahead One of the reasons you brought her along was so she could help and you already had the idea of letting her scout ahead so you might as well let her do it. "Lisa, while we're asleep, I want you to scout ahead. Don't go too far, but don't attack anything, no matter how tasty it may look to you. Unless it's a random animal I guess. In any case I want you to come back when you're done and just wait here until we wake up." You command. "Yes, my love." Lisa responds. "Okay, I'll see you this evening." You say and kiss Lisa before digging yourself a shallow hole to sleep in. (Lisa helps pat down the dirt to make sure you're completely covered) Later... You are forcibly pulled from your sleep and into the sunlight! You weren't pulled out by hands either, it was some magical force that dragged you out. You're still mostly covered in dirt and partially asleep but the sun is burning your face and eyes. "ARRGHAGH SHIT!" you shout and start trying to scramble for cover, but only get a ball of flame in your face. Several mages stand around you, but making very sure to stay out of your way. You try to lunge for one of them, but are magically shoved to the ground "Destroy that lesser one before the greater one wakes up. I want to speak to her personally and she's going to have an even less pleasant reaction when she's up." The oldest one says. You have no idea what is going on besides the fact that you're being attacked and are fairly helpless against your assailants. The sunlight is burning you and sapping your strength, you're near blind and you're struggling against a magical force that's trying to keep you pinned to the ground. Despite your decreased vision, you make out the shape of Lisa standing among the robed mages. It can be surmised that these mages did something to her to cause her to lead them all back here. You try to re-enforce your will upon her so she helps you again, but with all the pain you're in, it's very hard to concentrate. You feel a sharp spike go into your chest. It's some sort of magic blade that you see glowing a bright purple when you look down at your chest, then it disappears and two more appear to finish you off through decapitation.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy, anti-hero] Year 30 "No, no, no, you can't play that card." You say. "Oh. Um...okay then this one." Lisa says. You play your own card that easily beats the rest of Lisa's hand. "I hate this stupid game." She exclaims and throws her cards down on the table causing you to smile a bit. "Well you're getting better at it." "I just don't see the point in us playing games when we could be feeding together or better yet, fucking instead." "Now Lisa, you know there's more to existence than just the base needs." "Pfft, not much more, come on lover, I'll let you do whatever you want to me." "You let me do whatever I want all the time. Maybe later. However, if you don't want to play games though, you can always got feast on those whores we got in the meat room." "Ohhh! You mean we're not saving them anymore?" "Well we're saving two of them for the rest of the week. You can go eat the third one though. Pick whichever one you want. I'll join you a little later." Lisa makes that disturbing squeal and kisses the side of your face before running off to go eat. You still aren't sure if you actually "love" Lisa, but you definitely don't mind her affection again, now that you've gotten her to regularly perfume herself and chew on mint herbs once in awhile. In fact, you do believe you've trained Lisa fairly well all things considered. Even her personality has changed slightly so that she isn't a complete toadying suck up. Makes you wonder if Isabella was just bullshitting you about it being so difficult. You pack up your deck of cards and check on some of your tunnels. You thought you saw the support beam warping. You might need to replace it. You don't think you'll ever get this place just right. As you're inspecting your work, your other senses perk up. You can sense someone coming and its not some idiots trying to get into the topside crypt (It was funny how those Joachimites fell for that blade trap a few years ago). This is someone approaching from the sewer entrance, which means this is a hell of a lot more serious because you keep it well hidden. And this someone, you don't think is mortal... You approach your "front door" to the sewers cautiously and fully prepared for a fight when you hear a muffled yet familiar voice from the other side. "I can tell you're approaching. Yes, you! Your essence to me will always be strong even when you make your home in the middle of some filthy human shithole." Isabella remarks. "Isabella?" you answer. "Yes, I'm sure you can tell it was me, unless these sewers have completely destroyed your senses. Why the hell did you make your home in such a place?" "Seemed like a good idea at the time, besides, nobody bothers me down here." "Well that I can certainly believe. Look, you going to let me in now so we can talk because standing out here in the muck isn't my idea of a pleasant evening." "With all respect Isabella, why the hell are you here? Last time we talked, you weren't exactly pleased with me." "Long story. And I'd argue that we parted ways on fairly amicable terms. You didn't really expect me to share you with that lesser being did you? I told you that." "You also told me, that you'd kill the both of us." "Oh, that was just my way of getting you both the hell out, and look it worked. In fact I'm currently extending my courtesy, by simply NOT smashing in this wall and barging in." "You can't do that. This is my home and I haven't invited you in!" You hear Isabella chuckling from the other side. "Oh my sweet young vampire. You still have so much to learn. I'm your maker, I will always be connected to you even if I don't have direct influence anymore. And that means your home will ALWAYS be my home too. So let me in or I'm wrecking this not so secret wall of yours, and I'm sure you don't want that." You hate these "new rules" that pop up about your current existence. "Alright, alright, fine." you say and slide open the wall And there you see Isabella looking the same way as when you left her crypt. Including being naked. "Glad to see you're still intelligent enough to know when to listen to your betters. Always liked that about you." She says and steps inside. Isabella sniffs a bit. "Hmm, the odor is much better in here. Ah, I smell fresh blood nearby and another familiar scent...though somehow different...wait...is that your ghoul? She still around?" "For your information, yes Lisa is here and if this is some attempt of trying to get me back, forget it, because we're still together." Isabella smirks. "Hm, guess good minions are hard to come by. No point in throwing one out right? Tell me, were the sewers her idea? In any case, I hate to break your male ego, but I'm not here in some silly attempt to get you back. I'm here because I need your help." Isabella says. "Wait, you need MY help?" you say. "Yes, but don't think that this an opportunity to hold something over my head. I'm a very resourceful woman and you are just one of my resources I need to help accomplish my task." "Hm, glad to be held in such high esteem." "As well you should especially because this also involves another old acquaintance of yours. Ral." All the figures from the past are coming out tonight... "What does Ral have to do with this?" you ask. "He fucking destroyed my home and Dert, that's what he has to do with this! Honestly I'm surprised you haven't heard about it since I imagine this haven of scum has a lot of gossip going on." "Honestly, as the years have worn on, I've been becoming more of a recluse so I don't keep up or even pay attention to most of the shit I hear the mortals talk about unless it really sounds like it's going to affect me directly. If it wasn't for the whole needing to feed situation and requiring the occasional supplies to fix up my home, I'd just stay down here with Lisa and never leave. Still, to my knowledge Dert was never very important and I doubt if anyone in Holgard even gave a shit about the place if they even knew it existed at all." "Nevertheless, it's gone, along with my home and Ral has to pay for that." "I think you're going to have to start from the beginning and let's talk some place where I can sit and at least take all this in." You take Isabella through some of your home and head towards one of your "living areas." Isabella remarks that she is impressed by what you have done given the limitations you had to work with. "I see you tried your best to emulate the layout of my own crypt and catacombs even if they aren't nearly as tidy." Isabella says. "Glad you approve. I need to stop here first." You say. As you're passing the meat room, you see Lisa completely engorging herself on one of the whores that she's completely ripped apart. She's covered in gore and entrails and loving every minute of it. You imagine this would be a horrific sight to the other two chained up, if they weren't under a trance. Lisa bloody face looks up from her feeding and grins at you, but then her grin becomes a look of worry when she sees Isabella behind you. "Wha...what...what's she doing here?! I thought it was just you and me from now on! You said so!" Lisa says. "It is, and it always will be, my grave flower. Isabella just came to visit about something and I have to talk to her about it." "...you're mad at me, aren't you? Please don't be mad at me! I can do better! I'll...I'll chew more of those mint herbs you want me to! You're bored...you want a threeway don't you? I can go down on Isabella while you ram it into me hard. You can hurt me really good, and split me open. I don't care. Please just let me be around to still worship you. You're my love and my entire life!" Isabella stifles a snort of laughter, causing you to briefly glare at her, before you approach Lisa. You kneel down in the large blood puddle and caress her face (which is sticky with blood). It's times like this when Lisa's slavish ghoul personality comes out in full force. "Lisa, Lisa...don't get upset. You're the only woman for me and you always will be. It's why I've always stayed with you. You understand that right?" "But...she's back now..." "Isabella is just visiting. We're not getting together. We're just going to talk and that's all I swear. You're my lovely grave flower and nobody can replace you." You say and kiss Lisa who hugs you tightly. She attempts to do more than that, but you have to remind her that later would be a better time. Lisa accepts your reassurances, but still has a look of concern on her face. Lisa soon goes back to eating the whore's liver, probably in an attempt to comfort herself. You stand up and motion Isabella to follow you. You fully expect to hear taunting comments, but surprisingly you hear none. When you get to your destination, Isabella tells you what exactly is going on with Ral. Isabella tells you that a few months ago, during one of her resting periods, her home was completely collapsed from the inside out by an earth elemental. She said it took her weeks to dig herself out and by the time she did she found that the entire graveyard was now a large sinkhole. She doesn't know what happened to the elemental since the attack just suddenly stopped like it just disappeared. Lacking any other immediate choices, she decided to head to Dert and charm someone there and use their dwelling for a while until she could figure out her next step. However, when she got to Dert, she found that nearly all the people had been turned to stone. Not just the people though, but most of the plant and animal life in the surrounding area as well. The few people that hadn't been turned to stone were nothing but bits of flesh still hanging off bones. She proceeded cautiously since she was aware that only a few things could cause something like this, either powerful magic or certain creatures. As it turned out, it was both. She eventually found a family of four that had been hiding in a root cellar for quite some time. They were all very frightened and assumed she was another monster to come to kill them. (Probably due to the whole unnatural paleness and naked thing) After subduing the father, Isabella demanded to know what had transpired in the village. He explained that a few days ago, a female creature with a snake body appeared in the middle of the village along with four medium-sized reptile like creatures, which seemed to be her pets. There was a brief moment of confusion from both sides at first, but then the woman spoke something in a hissing type language and all hell broke loose. Most of the village was either turned to stone or ripped apart and consumed by the reptilian beasts. The family hid in some sort of community root cellar when they couldn't get to their home proper, they told Isabella that they could hear the screams of people that apparently tried to hide as well, but the creatures stayed in the village to make sure they had wiped out everyone. In fact, the family was very surprised that Isabella didn't see them since they were certain they were still lurking about. Isabella at this point tells you that she imagines that the creatures were most definitely a medusa and basilisks. She also says neither of them make their homes anywhere near this area either and it would be rare enough for one to show up, let alone a group like that. And given that they just suddenly appeared (and then apparently disappeared at some point, since there were no signs that they left the area to go elsewhere, yet they also were no longer around) the way they did, there had to be powerful magic at work. She goes on to tell you that both creatures do not normally make their homes in this area and it would be rare enough for one of them to turn up and wipe out an entire village, let alone a group of them. This combined with the earth elemental incident, and the cause of all this could only be Ral. She doesn't know why he would do something like this and she doesn't much care, all she cares about is the fact that Ral fucked up her home and convenient feeding grounds and for that he has to pay. "He's been on borrowed time as it is." Isabella says. "Are you sure it was him? I mean Ral was an asshole, but he never seemed to deliberately be the type to cause destruction for the shits and giggles. I mean is there proof?" you ask. "I don't need fucking proof, I got instinct! And as I said, I don't care if it was just some spell that went wrong, he's gotta fucking pay for what he did. And YOU are going to help me." "How the hell am I supposed to do that? I mean earth elementals, creatures that turn shit to stone, and wizard shit on top of all of it? I dealt with Ral before and it didn't go well, not sure if I'm too keen on facing him again." "You're also not a weak human anymore! You're a fucking vampire with all the advantages that go along with it! I'm going to be doing most of the heavy lifting anyway. I just need you to get in his home and if possible try to get me in there as well." "How? His home isn't my home. I wouldn't be able to get in it anymore than you would." "Yes you would, you were his servant were you not? Think back. Ral invited you in to his home long before you became a vampire." As strange as it may seem, you do remember his exact words to you during that time. "My home is your home." Weird that you never really thought about before, but then your mind was preoccupied with other things you suppose. "Well, maybe I guess...but I just don't see how any of this is my problem! YOU said you released me and I thought...perhaps foolishly that you were at least a woman with a sense of honor. I mean I stayed out of your way and made a life for myself elsewhere, I don't see why I should have to help you." "You're saying you don't even want to do this even out of a sense of revenge on Ral?" "Maybe at one time I would have if I'd known I could enter his home so easily. But now? It's all in the past and I've made a life not just for myself here, but for Lisa as well. I just don't see why I should go potentially fucking that up when things are good. I mean...obviously you're a hundred times more powerful than me and I can't stop you from forcing me to help you under threat of death, but...I dunno...whatever...I just thought things were finally going well for me." You slump in your chair and despair a bit about your situation. Isabella studies you a moment and then addresses you. "You're right. You're right about everything. I did release you and you aren't really any under obligation to help. You're also right in that I could just threaten to kill you and your little fuck toy if you don't help me, though I'd probably go for extended torture since I don't think you'd fear immediate death as much." Isabella remarks. "So where are we then?" you ask. "So, I'm going to give you a reasonable compromise, because I still have a soft spot for you. If you help me kill Ral, I can promise that I will never darken your path again. At least not on purpose. However, if you don't want to help me in that way, I'm going to give you another option and that is you must leave this place." "What?" "If you're not going to help me kill Ral, I need to plan another method of attack without you, and for that, I'm going to need my own home to do that from. I don't want to waste time finding or building my own right now, so yours...such as it is, will have to do. Give me this place and I will never darken your doorstep again." "That's mostly because I won't have a doorstep any longer." "Well be that as it may, the option is there. You can be truly free and go find somewhere else to live. I don't doubt you couldn't set yourself up just as well somewhere else, but I also don't doubt that somewhere within you, that you wouldn't mind getting revenge on Ral." > You leave Holgard You're not getting wrapped up in Isabella's shit with Ral. You thought you were done with both of them and you intend on keeping it that way, even if that means you need to find some new place to live. "It's all yours." You say and stand up. "What seriously? You're not helping? You don't want revenge?" Isabella asks in a genuinely surprised manner. "Not particularly. I mean sure I don't have any love for Ral, but unless the man is coming to magically enslave me again, I just really don't feel the need to go looking for trouble. I moved on and made a new life for myself and I'm happy with it. I dunno Isabella, maybe you should do the same." Isabella's face is noticeably annoyed by your remark, but she doesn't threaten you or anything, just more of an expression of exasperation and disappointment. "Very well, but I didn't think that you were the type to run and hide when opportunity presented itself. Some just aren't meant for greater things I guess. After you leave, you needn't concern yourself with me interfering with your little boring life in the future." You nearly want to argue with Isabella and bring up several things, but you decide that if you really do want to get out of this situation with minimal conflict, your best bet is to just let it go. Without another word, you stand up and leave Isabella to brood. Despite her sneering words at you, you can't help but notice her glancing at you leave with a bit of melancholy in her eyes. Maybe she was hoping to rekindle something that wasn't there in the first place. Who knows? She never really did open up to you even in all those years you were forced to be together, maybe if she had, things would have been different like she thought they would be. You're about to head back to the meat room, when you notice blood puddles and small trails in the hallway. You follow them to a small dead end to another tunnel you've been recently working on and that's where you find Lisa huddled in a corner chewing on a bone and making a weird (yet relatively quiet) noise. Almost like she's crying, but not quite. She looks up at you mournfully. "Lisa, I'm not mad if you were listening to us." you say. "You're leaving with her aren't you?" Lisa asks. "No. Not at all. In fact me and you are leaving together." "We are? Where are we going?" "Not sure honestly, but we're not going to be living here anymore." "Why? Are we being kicked out?" "In a manner of speaking yes. But I'd rather us have to start all over again and be free, than have to be a servant again. So, we'll be hitting the road so to speak. You have anywhere in mind that you'd like to go?" "Um...I dunno...I've never been anywhere other than here and Dert." "True I suppose. But I didn't know if you'd heard of any place you might like to go...though I suppose you don't bother making conversation with too many people." Lisa looks introspective for a moment and then speaks again. "The Delantium Kingdom?" she asks. "Really? Didn't know you had any interest to go there." You say. "One time, I stumbled upon a fancy dressed man in the sewers who was from the Delantium Kingdom." "He told you that?" "Oh yes, he claimed that he was a very important man there and if I killed him, people would come looking for him and seek revenge. Of course I didn't worry about that." "Of course. I don't suppose you know what such an important man was doing in the sewers do you?" "No, I dunno what he was doing in the sewers, maybe he was lost, but in any event he tasted better than anyone from Holgard." You smile a bit at Lisa's reasons for suggesting the Delantium Kingdom. A very simple pleasure of food and the possibility of it tasting better there. It's as good of a reason as any you suppose, since you don't have many ideas at the moment. "Okay, then if you want to go to the Delantium Kingdom then that's where we'll go to start over. It's going to be a long way, so maybe we should take a ship rather than travelling over land." You say. "Ohh, I've never been on a ship before!" Lisa exclaims. "Neither have I, so it'll be a new experience for the pair of us. I of course also imagine we'll have to stowaway on a ship heading there, but that shouldn't be too hard. Even hiding aboard the vessel shouldn't pose too much of a challenge." "I might get hungry though." "I'm sure I will too, but I'm confident that they'll be able to afford losing a few crew members without arousing too much suspicion. If it starts getting risky, you can always feed on me a little more and I'll worry about getting sustenance so that I can keep both of our strength up." Lisa displays a big smile at that idea. Anything that allows her to suck on you more than usual is always a good thing in her eyes. With a hug and a kiss, Lisa is once again happy since she knows that Isabella isn't threatening her position anymore. (Not that she was in the first place) You don't bother taking much with you, save for a few of your old thief tools and that's mainly for sentimental value, as you don't really do much of that sort of thing anymore. But things change, just like they are right now and just like how they probably will in the future. You and Lisa sneak aboard a trading vessel carrying a lot of cargo. Makes hiding in the bowels of the ship a lot easier with all the crates and boxes around. Occasionally one of you leaves the confines of one of the crates to feed, but mostly the pair of you just lie next to each other and enjoying each other's company as you wait to reach your destination. Your days as a common rogue might be over, but you remain positive that your best days as a vampire have yet to be realized and hopefully those are coming soon.

[Themes: fantasy, serious] Maybe your feelings have faded. Hell, maybe you didn't even ever truly love her to begin with, but you still feel responsible enough for her situation that you're not giving up on Lisa. "I'm doing it. I can make this work." You say. "Very well." Isabella remarks with a bit of a sigh. "I have to say, I'm still sort of surprised that you're so permissive in all this." "Contrary to what YOU may think of me. I do have a sense of kindness...or maybe I'm just fond of you enough that I don't just kill the pair of you to be done with this failed attempt of courtship." "Courtship..." you scoff. "Yes, that what this was, at least to me. What would you have me do? Wait around for you to give me flowers or some other meaningless gesture? Go out to...I dunno the local festival? I'm a fucking vampire. I take what I want and at the time I wanted you. But I can see now that method wasn't the way to go about it. Personally, I don't even think you have any feelings of love for this girl, just a sense of guilt. However, if THIS is what is going to make you happy, then fine. I'll show you how. Either you're going to come to become so disgusted with what Lisa has become that you'll finally do away with her yourself and we can try again. Or you'll stay with her and maintain your delusions. Either way the pair of you will be free because I'm not going to have you both living here if that's the case." "That's...pretty generous of you, but..." you start to say and then stop yourself. "But what?" "Um, nothing..." "Pfft, I already know what you were going to ask before you realized it would be stupid to do so, though again it isn't going to bother me." "And what did you think I was going to ask?" "That what if you just fake it for your freedom and how will I know? To the former, go ahead. If you're REALLY willing to put yourself through all this, just to be released from me, then you deserve your freedom. At least it will give me a bit of pride that I will have released a very patient one of my kind into the world. Lot of young vampires fuck up due to being impulsive. But then, I suppose you've already had a lot of experience at being patient haven't you? In any case, we should get started." Isabella tells you that the process is fairly simple, however due to you being on the younger side, she isn't sure how long it will take, if at all. The best you can do is just keep feeding her blood on a regular basis until she starts to show signs of change. "Now of course she's already a bit on the paler side due being stuck down here with no sun all the time. So the thing you're probably going to notice immediately is her starting to show signs of free will. She'll probably start by addressing you without needing to be addressed first. She'll of course also start being very affectionate, wanting to please you in every way." Isabella explains. "But it's different from the trance correct?" "Oh yes. Much different. In fact, she'll be immune to that to some degree. Her loyalty towards you will be unquestionable due to sharing of blood, but she's still going to do things on her own and it might not matter how much you tell her not to. As I said, ghouls tend to have disgusting habits and urges. In fact if you've ever heard the tales of how vampires are a bunch of decadent sex fiends, well THAT'S the reason. Ghouls that somehow manage to get elevated to vampirehood, never fully shed those more vile traits. Always best to go from mortal straight to vampire with no transition in between, like I did with you." Isabella says and strokes your face. Isabella observes you bite yourself and then feed your blood to Lisa. It actually isn't as easy as all that. Despite being in a trance, Lisa still doesn't react well to the whole blood drinking thing, especially that of a vampire's. She starts gagging and coughing even though she's also trying to follow your command of doing it. Even reluctantly forcing her head to you doesn't work and she ends up vomiting. "Lisa doesn't have much of a gag reflex eh?" Isabella jokes, which you try to ignore and just refocus your efforts. "How long do I have to do this?" you ask. "Well until she at least manages to keep some of it down at least. As I said, it isn't going to happen instantly either. You're probably going to have to do this every day for months. Possibly even more than once a day since you're still a young vampire. All I can suggest is you better make sure you keep YOUR strength up, but you better not go using up all the humans chained up in the larder. Also you're still obligated to your duties to me. Anyway, I'll leave you to it." You continue to force Lisa to suck on you and eventually she keeps some of it down. You start to feel a little weird yourself so you tell her to stop and you go replenish yourself with someone in the larder, despite Isabella's warnings. You'll just have to go nab humans for her more frequently. If she thinks all this is going to deter you, it isn't. Now that Isabella has hinted at freedom, your motivation for doing all this is doubled. You spend months slaving away more than you had under Ral or even Isabella before all this mainly because you have to increase capturing the amount of blood "donors" not just for Isabella, but for yourself. It's really tempting to just grab someone from Dert, but Isabella has always had a rule against taking too many people from there lest the ignorant peasants start getting riled up, or worse, just pick up and leave. So it's mostly a lot of ambushing bandits, travellers and (ugh) hobgoblins in the forests. There's always Holgard too, but the journey even with your speed is still always a pain in the ass dragging someone from there since you have to keep feeding Lisa your blood at a regular interval. (Not to mention there's currently religious conflict going on there between the factions) Needless to say, all of this makes you a lot more irritable and tired all the time (Basically, you feel like a human by vampire standards) Months pass just like Isabella said they would, but you don't give up and eventually you start to see the signs of Lisa changing. It starts by her talking to you and addressing you by name. She's very confused at first, but as you start to explain it all to her, she doesn't even seem to care. In fact, she seems very happy that you've gone to so much effort to save her life. "Oh my beloved! I KNEW you always loved me deeply! Let me show my appreciation to you!" Lisa exclaims and proceeds to jump on you. It's a little strange, but given all you've gone through to turn her, and she seems to be so willing, you don't turn her down. Isabella still doesn't seem fussed by this turn of events. She does seem to decrease her own demands for sex though. Cleaning is still a priority unfortunately, but considering Lisa now has all this energy she starts helping you do it. It's during one of these cleanings that you start to see what Isabella was warning about. "Lisa, I bring in real food, you don't need to eat the bugs crawling around this place!" you exclaim. "I'm sorry honey, but I dunno...they just looked so...inviting. And they're nice and crunchy too. I like the way they sometimes wiggle in my mouth...mmmm...tehehehehe..." Lisa says trailing off into a disturbing giggle. "Look, just don't eat them, and don't eat anything else that isn't proper food either." "But...but what about your delicious yummy blood?" "That's still fine." "Good! Because I want some right now!" "You just had some a few hours ago!" "But I need it! I need to suck on you!" It's just the beginning. Year 26 "Well, you proved yourself. You wanted it bad enough and I'm true to my word. You and your ghoul bitch are free. Now get the hell outta my crypt, it's still night right now, so if you hurry you can find other shelter before dawn." Isabella suddenly remarks to you during one of your few moments to yourself. You're so tired, all you can muster up is a "huh?" "You heard me, you're free, get out." Isabella remarks. "Now?" you ask. "Yes! I said get out! I'm sick of you doing a half assed job of keeping this place clean and your bitch eating my food. Never mind the fact that I don't exactly get off on hearing you lot have sex. Though I'm guessing that was your idea that she scream as loud as she could." "I thought you weren't jealous and didn't give a shit." "I don't actually. But I'm certainly not going to share you in any capacity with something that's currently up in the graveyard as we speak, digging up coffins and eating rotten carcasses." "What?! She got out again? Why didn't you stop her?!" "Not my concern and neither are you anymore. You were fun for a while and I don't regret our time. Just confirmed my original thoughts of why I stay single to begin with. Anyway, take care and a part of me hopes that deep down that you do truly love this girl, but then I've always been a bit of a romantic." Isabella tells you that you've got a short period of time to leave not just her crypt, but also the area. She mentions that if she catches you or Lisa still in the area she'll kill the pair of you since she doesn't want you lingering around to possibly fuck up her relative peace by preying upon Dert. You gather up what belongings you still value and take your leave. Sure enough when you exit the crypt, you hear Lisa snuffling about in the graveyard. You soon find that she's already dug up a grave and half eaten body parts lie all around her. She looks up from the rotten leg bone she's chewing on and wastes no time in running to greet you, though it's more like an animal loping at you. Lisa attempts to kiss you, but the stench of her breath is horrible and that's saying something considering how resilient you've gotten to such things. You turn your head away and tell her to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I know I'm suppose to stay in the crypt, but I just got so hungry and nipped out for a quick snack since I know you don't like me touching the chained up humans in that one room. Anyway, is it time to give me some more of your yummy blood? I could use a drink after that meal! Say, do you want some of this leg?" You look at Lisa and she's absolutely nothing like the girl you were so fond of years ago. She doesn't even look the same. While she's not aging anymore, she's definitely changing in appearance in other ways. Her clothes and body are constantly dirty; her hair is a matted nest crawling with insects. Her teeth have bits of decayed flesh in them and who knows what else. She smells like the same corpses she eats. Her personality is that of a spineless lackey that isn't even completely obedient. And the kicker to all this is you willingly had sex with this thing repeatedly just to gain your freedom. You can't imagine the number of times you dreaded keeping up the sham. Of course it's done now. You don't really need to go through it any longer. > You leave Lisa behind Isabella was right. Ghouls are disgusting creatures and however long you live in this new vampire life, you are never making another one again, unless you were trying to completely humiliate someone. Lisa, really didn't deserve this fate and you've long since saw that it would have been a kindness to just kill her. However, in her current form she allowed you to regain your freedom so you'll always remember her for that, along with when she was human. You think about killing her now, and it's not really because you wouldn't do so, if only to release her from this hellish state of life, but you've still got one last idea to stick it to Isabella for putting you in this situation to begin with. "Lisa, you remember your old home Dert and how to get there correct?" you ask. "Oh yes! I remember it well! It's full of humans! Fleshy...delicious human..." Lisa starts to say trailing off as she thinks of exactly that. "Yes, it is. Well because you've been a good girl, you can go there and eat all you want!" "I...I can!?" "Yes! You can empty the entire village if you want!" "Oh....oh THANK YOU!" "Yes, well I am the nice one." Lisa attempts to kiss you again, but once again you block her from doing so. "First thing I'm going to do is eat my father! That old bastard never wanted us to be together! THEN I'm going to eat that bitch Lindsay! I remember that dumb whore stupidly bragged about getting pregnant when she gave you a blowjob! But I don't blame you of course, you know that right?" Lisa says. "Oh I know. I know. Actually I'd sort of forgotten about that, but then I've been a bit preoccupied with other things. Anyway, have fun." You reply. "Wait, aren't you coming with me?" "Oh no. I have some important business to take care of for Isabella in Holgard. Might be awhile so don't wait up for me." "Oh...well okay. I was hoping that we were gonna do this together...I don't like how you take orders from that Isabella bitch. I'm sorry. I know I'm not supposed to talk bad about her, but I don't like her. I can't wait for us to be free of her so it can be just you and me together forever!" If only you had the patience, Lisa's obsessive dream might have come true, but you just don't. You're tired of having to serve or help other people in any capacity. You just really need to be by yourself for a while. A LONG while. Still, no point in not giving the girl one last thrill. You quickly open up your wrist and motion Lisa to drink, which she does so gladly. You give her a little more than usual since you figure she's going to need the extra strength to take on an entire village. Even assuming she survives that, she still will be no match for Isabella who will no doubt eventually learn of this, but at least you've given Lisa a nice going away present. Afterwards you pat Lisa on the head and tell her to scamper off before all the humans in Dert get away. With this last command you watch Lisa lope into the darkness towards Dert. Isabella's going to be pissed. You half wonder if she'll hunt you down for doing this, but for some reason you don't really care if she does. You just sort of wish you could figure out a way to get a little revenge on that asshole Ral too, but that might be for a different day you guess. You briefly think about making your way to Holgard since it is the closest settlement of where you can feed easily, but you figure you probably should just leave the region entirely. Not to mention being a "normal" thief just doesn't hold the same thrill it once did and it's not even necessary anymore. You've never been a wanderer by nature, but maybe you'll start to become one now. Who knows, maybe you'll even bump into your sister in your travels. You like to think that she'd find your transformation very interesting, or at least the story of how it happened. You hope she's doing okay, or at least doing better than you are. After thinking on it, you decide to head towards the direction of the Delantium Kingdom. You know it's going to be quite a journey even with your speed. You hope you'll find shelter along the way. You always hate having to just dig yourself a hole in the ground. But there will undoubtedly be little communities like Dert or your old home of Teckleville along the way for you to rest and feed at. There always are. As you begin to walk, you aren't sure what you're going to do with the rest of your undead life, but your days as a common rogue are over.

Year 25 How the hell do you keep a vast underground crypt clean? Answer: You don't. One thing you never knew about vampires is how they can become obsessed with the smallest details. Probably has to do with the enhanced senses. Isabella apparently is a neat freak and due to this quirk she spent most of her time rearranging, cleaning, and generally tidying up her home. An impossible task of course, but that didn't stop her from trying. Even the room where she keeps the blood "donors" is clean. Doesn't look like the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be. Unfortunately due to being at her beck and call that means you get to help her or at least do most of it now. As one would expect, it takes up most of your time. You think between her and Ral, you've done more housework than thievery. About the only thing you don't have to take care of is her underground garden, which is her own personal project that she spends a lot of time on. In fact, with you around now she doesn't even have to leave it to get food much anymore. She just has you do it. She also has you doing her. You can't be sure if it's true affection she has for you or just her basic needs that she wants satisfied. It feels like the latter most of the time, but there are moments where it seems to be more. It's just a weird situation altogether and while you'd hate to admit it, its one of the better things about being in servitude to Isabella rather than Ral. Meanwhile you've got a project of your own in the form of Lisa. You spend whatever free time you have with her. Making sure she's provided with nourishment and drink. Usually you just steal food from the farms in Dert along with drawing water from their well, but occasionally you get something different from Holgard and try to mix things up. (You never thought your thievery would ever be used primarily for food!) Lisa's reactions to everything are very "neutral." That's of course mainly due to the perpetual trance she's in. She is always polite and docile, and never really doing too much on her own, not that she would have much to do anyway considering she's mostly relegated to her single room. (That you've also taken time to furnish) Isabella says that in time, you'll be able to get her to behave more like a "normal" person, but the fact is, she'll always be acting according to how you want her to act. Much like a puppet. It's all pretty frustrating. There's also a part of you that is starting to wonder about what you're doing. Are you doing this because you love Lisa? Are you doing this out of some sense of guilt? Or are you doing this just to pass the time? At this point you don't know anymore. It can't be out of a sense of "humanity" because other than Lisa, you've adjusted fairly well to the whole snatching up people and drinking their blood until they die thing. You wonder if maybe you should turn Lisa into a ghoul, since apparently she'd have a lot more free will, while still remaining dedicated to you. You stare at Lisa who sits quietly in her chair staring in such a way that it almost makes you think that somewhere within her head, there's a part of her that's still the free willed Lisa and she's screaming to get out. Would transforming her really be any worse than she is now? It wouldn't be perfect, but at least she'd be able to do more things on her own without you needing to tend to her constantly. "I figured you'd be in here." Isabella remarks upon entering the room. "I finished cleaning for today...or did you need something else?" you answer. "Not right now and surprisingly my garden doesn't need tending to at this moment. I'm just checking up on you I suppose. Did I interrupt a potential moment of bliss between you and your pet?" "What?" "Oh come on, you don't need to deny anything. It's not like I care. I'm hardly jealous of that." "...no! No! I don't do that with her!" "What seriously? I figured you were just really quiet about it. Or maybe on the occasions you took her deeper into the catacombs, you were fucking her in one of the more secluded spots there. Guess that explains why you keep her clothed." "I sometimes take her for walks because I believe she needs a change of scenery every once in awhile. And I'm not having sex with her, because I'm not a rapist. She's under a trance." "So are all the folks we keep here to take blood from, except we're ultimately killing them. You don't seem to have a problem with that." "It's...it's just different." "I suppose it is...but not really. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd last this long with her, but I guess your feelings were stronger for her than I thought...or maybe you're just doing this to prove some point to yourself. Either way, I can already tell that you're starting to realize the futility of your plan." "I want to make her into a ghoul." Isabella looks at you and just shakes her head. "I knew it would come to this. Look, if you really do have any lingering feelings for Lisa, you'll just kill her now and be done with it." Isabella remarks. "What's wrong with making her a ghoul? You mentioned before that it would stop her from aging any more and she'd still be under my influence. Are you just afraid that if I take this step, it will just bring her closer to me and further from you?" "Oh you, and your assumptions. Trust me, if I really felt remotely intimidated by either of you in any way, you'd both be dead. However, if you really want my thoughts on this, you turn her into a ghoul and I guarantee it will only make you appreciate me all the more." "Well what exactly is so bad about turning her into a ghoul? You've never gone into detail." "First of all, you're probably still not powerful enough to do it even with my magnificent blood in your body, though I suppose you could try anyway. Second of all, I've made a ghoul before and while it's true they make good servants who are completely dedicated to you, there's enough drawbacks that I don't understand why any vampire would bother...unless they're really desperate for ego stroking I suppose." "Okay, so what then...she'll fawn all over me?" "Yes, and while that might sound enticing at first, I promise that you'll get sick of it. At least YOU would at any rate. You've never struck me as the time that needs constant reassurance of how amazing you are." "I dunno, it might still be nice to hear once in awhile." "Well, if you want to hear how amazing you are, I guess we can go back to my room. I promise, I'll make it sound authentic." You don't want to, but you actually actual laugh at Isabella's remark causing her to smile. "Okay, see that right there is a good example of why you shouldn't even bother with this plan. You know you like it here with me." Isabella remarks. "Maybe I'm trying the best out of my bad situation. We're not exactly equals in this relationship you know." You say. "Oh and you and Lisa would be? You and I are a much closer if we're going to go that route. You're so far above her right now it's comparing a rot grub to a human. Speaking of rot grubs, that's the third thing you might want to know about when creating a ghoul." "What?" "For whatever reason and nobody I know has ever figured this out. Ghouls develop disgusting habit and quirks." "Drinking blood doesn't already qualify?" "I'm sure to some it would, but how about eating bugs, dead bodies or even shit? You really want Lisa to kiss you with that mouth after she's been chowing down on a rotting corpse?" "Well can't I tell her not to do that?" "You can try, but short of keeping her confined, that's just doomed to failure. As obedient as they are, some urges are just too powerful. And that's just the eating habits. I haven't even gotten to the weird social habits because if allowed to go out and interact with the rest of the world, ghouls tend to lack the subtlety that vampires do...well most vampires anyway. You turn her into a ghoul and you better keep a CLOSE eye on her. Otherwise she's going to go wandering into Dert and probably expose herself to all the little peasant children. I'm sure that won't attract attention at all." Isabella's made a real good case against the whole ghoulification process. Though you're still wondering if she isn't just exaggerating so you won't try it. You spend time hovering over Lisa anyway; you think you could manage to keep her from doing anything weird. Part of you wants to do it just to prove Isabella wrong, but then is that a good excuse for doing it at all? Your original intent is so you could stop Lisa from getting any older and giving her a bit of free will. > Don't do it Other than the obvious, Isabella hasn't really lied to you. She might be manipulative, but if she's even telling some of the truth about what Lisa will become as a ghoul, it probably isn't worth it. Would the Lisa you once knew really want to become something like that? Would she even want to become a vampire for that matter? The thing is, you don't even really know. As the years have gone by, you realize that you didn't know her excessively well. You had some good times with her and she was a distraction from being under Ral's thumb, but did you really love her? No. You were just hanging on to a memory of the past and in her current trance state, that memory continues to fade as you watch her get older and continue to behave like some emotionless golem. The real Lisa wanted to live an adventure. This isn't an adventure and this isn't life. Isabella's right, you do have more in common with her. Arguably, you even know her better despite the fact that Isabella still hasn't really told you much about her own past (which must be extensive). This realization still causes you to feel sadness. You really thought that if you just hung on to Lisa, that maybe your situation would work itself out, but it isn't. This is your life or unlife as it were. You put your face in your hands and try not to weep, but you fail. Isabella attempts to comfort you by putting an arm around you, but you eventually pull away. "Oh dear...I can see this didn't go the way I planned at all. (Sigh) Very well...I see what needs to be done. You need to go. I release you." Isabella says. "What?" you answer. "You heard me. I release you. You're not happy here and you never will be. You're also always going to be resentful towards me on some level. Guess I should have known, but spending decades being detached from humanity sort of makes one become less aware of certain social niceties." "What about Lisa?" "Oh yes, her. Well I'm sure you do realize that she still can't leave here. Can't do anything about that. However, I'm correct in assuming that you no longer feel the same way about her anymore?" "Yes...but..." "I'll make it quick. Just go." "Thank you." You give one last look at Lisa and briefly think about giving her a goodbye hug or even a kiss, but it would be a meaningless gesture to someone who is in no state of mind to appreciate it anyway. And even if she were, she most likely wouldn't want anything to do with you. You take your leave of Isabella's home and don't look back. (Fortunately it's night time right now) As sad as you are about what happened with Lisa, you now feel a great weight lifted off of you. Namely the ball and chain of slavery. First Ral and then Isabella. For the first time since you left your home, you're actually free. Truly free. It's a little surreal. Since you're lacking in any other ideas at the moment and need some time to think, you head to the closest place that you can think of where you can find reasonable dwellings and can feed easily, Holgard. When you arrive, you head to the graveyard. Many times in your past visits to Holgard, you've found temporary places to stay any time you got stuck here before the sunrise. While it probably would be just as easy to stay at an inn, you suppose your years with Isabella have caused you to appreciate the solitude of a crypt. You find yourself an older one that doesn't look like it gets too much visitation and after a few adjustments, you make a space for yourself. What will you do with yourself now? What DO vampires do to pass the time? It can't all just be drinking blood obviously. Isabella had her garden (and cleaning until you showed up) Your concerns aren't so much in the present you suppose, but the future since you've got a long one ahead of you. Your previous profession of thievery seems all rather pointless now. You don't need money to live anymore and you don't even get that much of a thrill out of it like you once did, of course most of your roguish skills were being used to steal for Lisa, so it hasn't been for your original reasons for a long time anyway. All of this also has had you wondering how your family is doing, and if they're all okay. You imagine your parents really wouldn't want anything to do with you now, so there's no point in visiting them even you weren't facing mob justice there (And as a vampire, you can't imagine the folks in Teckleville would be any friendlier towards you, though you suppose you'd be able to handle them easier now). You like to think your sister would still speak with you though. She'd probably find it all very fascinating, which you suppose it is in some ways. For a while you think you can go back to your "old life." Pick up where you left off, or rather what you originally wanted to do in the first place after you left Teckleville. This works, but only temporarily. Part of you would stay in Holgard and just go about a simple existence of feeding on unlucky souls and possibly burglarizing a store just to pass the time. It isn't like you're exactly unhappy doing that, but after a few months you realize it isn't so much the monotony of your life that's bothering you, but rather the area. First, Holgard is currently undergoing a "holy war" of sorts between its various religious factions. While it's making things chaotic enough for you go unnoticed, you can't help but get a little concerned when the Church of Joachim starts talking about forming groups to hunt down evil supernatural elements that are corrupting the city as part of their crusade to prove they are what's best for Holgard. Second (and somewhat more importantly) Holgard used to be a sort of "escape" from Ral and later Isabella. You used to be able to put it out of your mind that you were under someone else's command for a little while. Now? Holgard just feels like you haven't "moved on" from your shackles. Or at least not moved on enough. While you've never been a wanderer like your sister and maybe it's a combination of your previous experiences, along with being a vampire, but you feel the urge to travel. You don't know where, but you have to get out of this city. Maybe even find something else to do. Holgard always has trade ships leaving its harbor going to various locations. You sneak aboard one in the middle of night and hide yourself in one of them. You think this one is going to the Delantium Kingdom, but it might be going to some place you've never heard of, you don't really care as long as you're away from this area. Never been aboard a ship before, so this will be a new experience too. You imagine you'll get hungry on the journey, but as far as you know there's enough crew on the ship that you'll be able to get by. Just have to be stealthy about it, but then that isn't really a problem anymore. You still don't know exactly what you're going to do with the rest of your undead life, but your days as a common rogue are over.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, fantasy] Year 21 When you first started messing around with Lisa, she was just like all the other young Dert girls that had started taking an interest in you when you started coming around a lot more. Just a bored girl that found you to be a spark of excitement in her backwards little village. Lisa however, stood out mainly because she wasn't naïve or outright stupid like rest. (You still laugh about the one girl who thought she was going to force you into a crossbow wedding by having a child. Unfortunately for her, swallowing doesn't result in pregnancy.) She managed to keep your interest and not in just a physical way. Before you realized it, you were in a relationship again. But it was nice since it allowed you a bit of escapism from your own prison like situation. (And certainly cheaper than going to Holgard whores) While her father has threatened you with physical violence on several occasions (As many others have as well), you and her have always found places to meet. She always listens to whatever tales of "adventure" you have to tell her. Sometimes you make it sound more exciting than it really is, but she always enjoys them and asks many questions since it's like she's able to experience some of the excitement vicariously. Lately though it's starting to look like your stories don't quite quell the restlessness that Lisa seems to have... "Holgard? Oh you don't want to go there now. I think they're about to have a city wide riot or revolution or some shit." You say. "Well that certainly sounds more interesting than having to milk cows all day." Lisa replies. "You're also a lot less likely to get killed milking cows." "Perhaps, but you still get to do interesting stuff all the time, what with you working for a wizard and all." "I wouldn't exactly say I'm working for him. I think I've already confided to you about my situation as far as that goes." "Yes I know and that's also a cause for me to worry about our future. It even causes me to have concerns about your feelings for me." "Oh come on...you know how I feel about you." "Do I? I sometimes get the impression that you probably wouldn't come around if you weren't tethered by the wizard's spell. I imagine we probably wouldn't have even met if it hadn't been the case. Am I wrong?" "(Sigh) Well...yes IF Ral hadn't magically enslaved me, we probably wouldn't have met. But it happened and we DID meet AND I chose you to be with. I mean doesn't that count for something?" Lisa doesn't answer right away; she just takes your hand and looks into your eyes. "I know you probably do have feelings for me, but I also can't shake the feeling that I'm just a nice distraction from your situation, just as you're a nice distraction from mine. We're both prisoners of a sort, but the difference is my cage is of my own accord." Lisa says. "What do you mean?" you ask. "What I mean is I would like to leave this boring village, but the only thing that really holds me back is fear and the lack of any real skill to survive in the outside world, or at least the world you've described to me. And I know you can't be making it all up despite you probably wanting me to believe all those impossible feats you've done." Lisa gives you a small hug and kisses you on the cheek, which causes you to embrace her a bit tighter than usual. You feel like she's saying goodbye to you right now, but that isn't the case. "I'm obviously not going anywhere yet, but I'm just informing you that things need to change a bit at some point. I know we have fun together and I hope we continue to have fun together for many years to come, but don't take me for granted." Lisa goes back to looking at the sky probably still thinking about wanting to leave her boring farm life behind her while you're thinking about how much of an idiot you've been for filling her head with tales of adventure. You couldn't have just stuck with one of the dumb passive ones could you? Why the hell did you go for the independent thinker of the village? Well it's done and to be honest it's that trait that made her more attractive anyway. It isn't like you can blame her for wanting to leave Dert. The place is duller than Teckleville ever was. In any case, you aren't willing to risk losing Lisa even if she isn't likely to leave in the near future. You have to at least make the effort to keep her around. Your reasons are probably selfish, but she's also correct that you would miss her if she weren't in your life. This would be a whole lot simpler if you weren't under Ral's spell. Maybe it's time for that situation to change. Of course even after all these years, you still have no idea of how to do that and Ral doesn't seem to be relenting anytime soon. Of course you do have another option and that's going back to Isabella. Despite her invitation of coming back to see her at anytime, you never have for several reasons. Still, you have pondered it many times because you believe that if anyone knows how to break Ral's hold over you, it would be her and she'd probably be willing to help given how much she doesn't seem to like him. > You focus on Lisa You made one deal with a powerful being and it didn't go well. No need to do it twice, especially with a vampire. At best you'd probably be a pawn in whatever plans she has. Your fate is currently sealed and you can't do much to change it, but maybe you can at least help Lisa achieve some of her goals. "Lisa, how serious are you about leaving this place?" you ask. "What do you mean?" she responds. "I mean could you leave right now if you had to?" "...um...well not right now...I mean I'd have to gather up some things at least and I don't have much money. Like none actually." "That doesn't matter. In fact forget about money right now, I'm asking could you leave soon, if you had to?" Lisa wasn't actually expecting this line of questioning, and it's obvious she feels pressured, but if she's serious about her desires, you need to know. "I... I mean yeah I guess I could if I had to." She says. "Good. I want you to go home and get everything you think you're going to need, but don't over pack. Meet me here tomorrow morning and we'll set off for Holgard." You say. "What really?" "Yes, really. You said you wanted to see it, so I'll take you there. You're not having second thoughts already are you?" "Well, I just...I dunno. I feel like this would be a one way trip for me. If I disappeared from Dert for as long as its going to take us to get to Holgard, I get the impression I might not be welcome back home anymore. Then where would I be?" "I thought as much, which is why I'm going to give you some of my money to get you started. Don't worry, I got enough of it, I can always get more and it's not really doing me much good anyway. However, I'm also going to teach you my own trade." "Thievery? I dunno...I mean I want to leave Dert, but I'm not sure if I have it in me to do what you do." "Sure you do. Look, just think about everything I said. If you don't like the idea at all then you don't have to meet me here in the morning. If we get to Holgard and decide you don't want to do what I do, I'm sure we can find something else. My point is, I don't know if I'm ever going to be free of Ral's spell, but I can at least help you achieve your goals in my limited way because I really do love you." Well nothing like going all in even if you aren't entirely sure... Of course now that you've said this to Lisa she's so touched by your crossing that final line of feelings, she immediately hugs and kisses you and probably also ready to go all in with travelling to Holgard even if she was still nervous about it. Of course now YOU'RE nervous about all this! You return to Ral's gathering up most of your money stash. You didn't really realize just how much you had managed to acquire. Even spending it on whores and carousing didn't really put as much of a dent in it as you thought. Which is good since you'd prefer to put Lisa up some place that isn't a complete shithole when you get to Holgard. Besides the place being a city of cutthroats and thieves, you're more concerned about the rising tensions going on there. There is the very real danger of a revolution of sorts going on there, but that will have to be something to deal with when it happens. You half expect Ral to suddenly ask you to go perform some risky task, but he doesn't. In fact Ral hasn't asked you to do anything lately, he hasn't even been on your ass about cleaning his home or fetching roots or flowers for whatever reason. He's been locked in his lab for a couple weeks at least now, which is fine by you since that gives you a bit of time to get Lisa settled in Holgard. The next day you meet up with Lisa who is definitely ready to go. She seems much more confidant about this than she was yesterday. She's a little worried about getting accosted on the way to Holgard, due to the stories she's heard about bandits, and to be honest you are too given how much money you're travelling with along with a pretty young girl, but you surprisingly never encounter a single soul. When you finally reach Holgard, you end up having to bribe a guard a hefty sum just so he doesn't fuck with you both, so you pretty much get robbed anyway. It's still not too bad and you have more than enough to set up Lisa at some place to stay. Lisa is overwhelmed by the size of Holgard and she looks like a clueless berk as she looks around at every little thing. Many times you have to keep a close eye on her, just to make sure she doesn't wander too far and get herself kidnapped or something similar. Eventually you make it to a place called the Sterling Silver. It's one of the better inns that isn't a complete criminal haven and still some place that you're currently able to afford. After getting a bit settled, Lisa's still eager to explore the city, though you really have to sit her down and stress the danger of this place. "Yes, you've told me all this before in your past tales to me and on the journey here. I'm not stupid." Lisa says. "I didn't say you were, but whether you want to hear it or not, you're out of your element and you need know how to survive here. I don't mind telling you I'm going to be severely worried about you all the time now. (Sigh) Well let's get started." You spend the next two days attempting to teach Lisa the basics of thievery. She's not exactly a natural at it, but fortunately there are so many thieves in the city, you're never in serious trouble with the law as soon as you both manage to run immediately from the area. Though you're more concerned with your activity calling attention to the Thieves' Guild or worse, the Ebony Claw Syndicate. You've been fortunate enough to avoid their attention, but Lisa's clumsy attempts might start doing that. And of course the bigger problem is you're not exactly going to be around to hold Lisa's hand all the time, since even if Ral isn't sending you on some forsaken mission, you still have return there just so you aren't suffering from the geas affects. Lisa keeps trying to reassure you that she'll be fine, but you feel better leaving her your flintlock just so she isn't completely defenseless. Lacking any more to do, you take your leave and can only hope she doesn't get killed or worse on her first night alone in this place. You return to Ral's in a few days and it's the same thing, he's still locked in his lab. It would be too much to hope that he's dead, but you can still hear faint sounds on the other side of the lab door. You go to sleep and then as soon as you wake up, you immediately head back to Holgard again. When you arrive this time, you have to wait around for Lisa since she isn't at her room. Eventually she shows up and you're hugging her as soon as she walks in the door of the inn. She's happy to see you too, but keeps telling you not to worry so much about her. This routine goes on for weeks, you arrive in Holgard, are relieved to see Lisa's still alive, try to teach her the art of thievery and then head back to Ral's. Occasionally it's broken up by Ral leaving notes telling you to grab various ingrediants for him and just leaving them by the lab door. In the meantime, the situation in Holgard is getting worse. The Baron's guards have been executing dissidents in the streets and there are rumors that the folks behind this dissident movement aren't much better than the fat ass who runs this city, but then that's hardly surprising. The Ebony Claws and the Thieves' Guild have also been engaging in direct confrontation with each other. Strangely despite all this, Lisa isn't exactly concerned. Another week passes and you come to understand why. "You've been just flat out mugging people?!" you say. "Mostly." She says. "Wha...when?" "About a month ago when I realized I'm rubbish at the whole sneaking about thing. Look, I know it's something you're good at, but it's just not me. I really tried several times, but I kept messing up and nearly getting myself killed in the process. In fact it was when one of the shopkeepers actually caught me and I was forced to pull out the flintlock to stop him from doing any harm to me. Since I had him at my mercy, I just robbed him at gunpoint while I was at it. Then I realized, I should have been doing that to begin with." You have to say, while you knew Lisa was attracted to the bad, you didn't expect her to go this route. No wonder she isn't worried about the current state of the city. "...why didn't you tell me?" "Well, because you seemed so happy trying to teach me about what you do. Besides, some of it I still use. Lock picking is always handy. You seem upset, are you disappointed I'm not doing what you do?" "I actually don't care about that so much that I'm really concerned that your actions might start attracting attention and I don't mean the guards. You could very well be robbing merchants or people under the protection of the ECS and if they find out, it's not going to be good. I'd wager the only reason why you're getting away with it is because you've been lucky with your targets or the ECS is so caught up in their own shit with the Guild that they're in conflict with." "Well, maybe I should join the ECS, then it won't be an issue." You have no words. Well you do, it's just it takes you awhile to gather them. "Have you gone completely barmy?! Even I wouldn't join the ECS! They're a group of utterly ruthless killers and don't tolerate fuck ups. I mean sure I'm not exactly in a position of casting moral judgment, but they're just fucking cruel. Not to mention, I'm fairly certain they're all caught up in Fel worship, making them religious fanatics on top of everything else. I'd join the Guild before them, and I wouldn't join the Guild mainly because I'm fairly certain they're not going to be around much longer." You exclaim. "Well I guess I'm just going to have to be more careful. You need to relax, you're all tense. You come to me and I'll make it better." At this point Lisa starts making overtures of affection. You're not exactly in the mood due to your worry, but Lisa soon gets you in the mood with enough effort. It's at least enough to put it out of your mind for awhile. When you leave Lisa this time, you take solace in the fact that she at least has learned how to survive in her own way and it didn't involve whoring. However, when you return to Ral's this time, you've got new concerns. Ral is actually waiting for you. "Finally back. Glad to see you adhere to the bare minimum of what is required of you." Ral says. "What's going on?" you ask. "What's going on, is you're not around nearly as much as you should be. I know you think because I'm locked away in my lab most of the time that that means you can just do whatever, but I remind you that you're supposed to be upkeeping this place. Look at all this dust!" "Apologies, but you didn't say anything about that on your notes to me." "I shouldn't NEED to tell you! And I also shouldn't have to be leaving notes for you in the first place! It's fucking inconvenient. If I wasn't actually busy with something really important I'd just make your tether even shorter, but I can see that's not really going to solve the issue. You're obviously pre-occupied with something else with as much time as you've been spending away from here. Let me guess, a girl?" "Well, yeah." "(Sigh) If I was a vindictive sort, I suppose I could do all sorts of things to cause you pain, but there's really no good reason for that and I can see that our own relationship has hit a wall with this new development. So I'm going to offer you another deal. I'll release the geas after you go on one last mission for me." "...what?" "You heard correctly. One more mission and then you get your freedom. I trust this sounds good to you?" "Yeah! I mean there's no catch is there? Like I'm free, but I have the head of a chicken and goat legs or something right?" "Ha ha! You sure have a funny imagination. But no, once you do this mission, you'll be completely free to live your life and you'll never have to deal with me ever again." "Great! So what needs to be done?" "I need you to bring back the heart of a Wazia." "Wait, don't they live in the Cloudpeak Mountains?" "Yes, they also eat trolls and manticores." "But I'm no warrior! You know that! That's suicide!" "Oh I'm sending Tych with you, he can help." "What's Tych going to do, sparkle in its face?" "I dunno, you'll have to work it out with him on various tactics to employ." "The Cloudpeak Mountains are also practically on the other side of the continent! Are you going to teleport me there like last time?" "Oh yes, and I'm going to personally equip you for this assignment, so no need to worry about getting winter gear or whatever else you need for the cold. In fact, the cold won't even be an issue at all." "That better be one warm coat." "Oh you won't ever need a coat again, after what I'm going to do. Stand still." Before you even get a "wha..." out Ral taps you in the head and you're instantly paralyzed and fall to the floor. You don't even feel pain, you don't feel anything at all actually. "Now, I need to start on your transformation...where did I put my stiletto again..." You don't know what Ral is doing to you. You don't even know how much time passes. You aren't even really aware of your surroundings. It's like you're in a trance and everything has gone blank in your mind. > Time passes... Year 23 "HHHHHHHHHH!" you gasp as you suddenly sit up from a table. Cold air emanates from your mouth though you don't feel very cold. You don't feel much of anything except a mild sense of panic and confusion. You briefly look at body which is completely naked and see that you are now a pale blue coloring. You look around the room and see a lot of lab equipment, books, and other alchemy related items. Ral stands by watching you. Tych is also hovering near him dressed in who looks to be very tiny winter clothing for him. "See, told you he'd survive." Ral remarks and then makes a note on a piece of parchment. "Oh joy, I get to go with him now." Tych says. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME?!" you shout. You'd probably get up and attack Ral, but apparently the geas is still in effect. Ral strokes his beard and frowns a bit before answering you. "Well I made you better for one thing. You don't have to ever worry about the cold ever again." "I can't fucking feel anything! Everything is a numb sensation!" "Hmm, yes, I thought that might happen. A minor drawback I assure you. You are now practically cold personified. Your body now magically produces cold around you. Even I can feel it from here. Seriously, you could stand naked on top of the Cloudpeak Mountains now and never freeze to death. You'll also find that you're a little slower than you were, though you're also probably a little stronger as well so it all evens out. Unexpected side effect. In any case, we should probably get you ready for your task. As ready as you are, I doubt you want to go naked." You might not be able to do anything against Ral, but that doesn't stop you from getting pissed and start yelling at him about your situation. When he mentions more than a year has passed, you even start to destroy his equipment until he stops you with some sort of hold spell. After a few more warnings about you continuing to getting an attitude with him, Ral finally gets on with explaining your task. He says he's teleporting you to a plateau in the Cloudpeak Mountains. From there he says Tych will lead the way. Apparently in the year he was experimenting on you, he was also having Tych locate a wazia lair in that area. Other than your regular clothes, he enchants your short sword so it will be more effective in combat, and then hands you one of those rare repeating crossbows and a quiver of bolts. "I hope you know how to use one of these." Ral remarks. "I'm more familiar with flintlocks, but I imagine this is probably easier seeing as this is one of the state of the art crossbows. These repeating ones are rare and expensive. Didn't know you kept up on technological advances though." You say. "Why wouldn't I? Just because I don't have any use for it, doesn't mean I don't see the utility of it for the unwashed masses. I figure between that and your enchanted weapon, you should be more than prepared. Your pack is over there. Has some food and climbing gear in it. Should be more than enough to help you." You go over and get your pack; Tych is hovering by it, looking just as miserable as you feel right now. "The pair of you ready, I trust?" Ral asks. "I guess." You say. "Tych is magically tied to me, so there is no need for fairy circles or any other places of power this time. You just need to very close to him for the transportation to work on you, along with him making the appropriate signal so I can pull him back here, I trust you remember was that was Tych?" "Yes, Ral." Tych responds in a defeated manner and flies onto your shoulder. "Good, I expect you'll be successful like last time and just think, you'll be a free man afterwards, so you have plenty of motivation." Without another word, Ral waves his hands a bit and your eyes are met with a bright light, followed by more bright light, though this is of the natural kind. You look and see that your surroundings are that of a flat icy, snowy landscape with mountains and hills nearby and the sun shining overhead. There isn't a soul around though save for Tych who instantly gets off of you. "Fuck, you're not much warmer than this horrible landscape. So much for using you for extra warmth." Tych says. "I can't feel much of anything. I mean I can sense the wind blowing, but there's just a dull cool feeling. It's not unpleasant, but it isn't pleasant either." You respond. "Well, Ral did experiment on you. I have to say, I'll be glad when this mission is over with, because I've had enough of freezing my fucking wings off here. Scouting around for large hostile monsters in the snow and cold isn't my idea of a good time. I'd rather be in the fucking jar." "I don't understand why he needs us to do this anyway. I mean he's a fucking powerful wizard, couldn't he have done this himself a lot easier?" "Of course he could have, but he's a fucking sadist. Why else would he make you into some slave boy and then turn you into a freak and keep me in a damn jar, play teleportation snap back with me for the past year and also have me scout around this icy wasteland?" "How long has that been going on?" "Oh a little after he put you in that trance and started cutting into you and doing who knows what else. Ral's experiments on you might have been done sooner if he hadn't gotten distracted with other things. He keeps trying to make greater strides in teleportation spells and I think he's planning on making a portal next. Of course he needs to test shit so he uses me as a fucking canary and then snaps me back home when he thinks enough time has passed. Makes me physically ill every time he does it. Those first few months I puked on every trip." Tych fixes his little fur hat before continuing. "And in these last few months? I've teleported back and forth to this fucking place looking for a wazia like I'm some great monster hunter! I don't want to fucking do this! My instinct is to fly AWAY from really big ravenous monsters, not seek them out!" "Trust me, I don't want to be here either." "At least you're free after all this! I'm not. Even if the wazia kills you, you'll still be doing better than me, but I don't think that will be the case, check you pack. You'll find something better than what Ral supplied you with." You take off you pack and at the top you find a clear bottle of something dark green. It feels slightly warm even to you. "What the hell is this? Looks like some sort of poison." You say. "And you would be correct. It's greenfire from the plant of the same name. They're normally only found in the Sotakian swamp and even then they're rare. In any case, Ral had it lying around his lab and while you two were talking I took the opportunity to lug it into your pack. Hey, I'm stronger than I look, especially with all the hardship I've had to endure." Tych explains. "So...what's it do exactly?" "It's not called greenfire for nothing. It gets in your blood and makes you feel like your blood and innards are on fire. The effects are pretty quick though you're in excruciating pain before you die. "Okay, so I should just dip my bolts into this to bring down the beast a lot easier." "Hah! Are you kidding? Even with this poison, I doubt very seriously that you'll be able to kill it before it kills you. I take it you've never even seen a wazia." "Nope, just know them by stories." "Well I didn't know anything about them at all, but after seeing one, I can tell you that the stories don't do them justice." "Then what the hell are you suggesting then?" "Nothing, I'm just telling you that your odds aren't good." You've practically been asleep an entire year and this is the situation you've awoken to. You've been magically altered and thrust into a bad situation and now you have to put up with an obnoxious sprite on top of everything else. "Tych, just take me to the fucking lair." You say. "Alright, alright, no need to snap at me, plivik." Tych responds. "I know what that means, you little shit." "Oh yeah, you do...well let's just get on with it then like you said." You begin to follow Tych. Every now and then you reflexively wrap your cloak around yourself in order to stay warm, but then you also remember you don't really have that problem anymore. It wouldn't help anyway; you still feel a numb coolness no matter what you do since that sensation is coming from within your body as opposed to the external reasons. You suppose this condition is beneficial out here in a place like this, but you can't imagine going through the rest of your life like this. After all this is over, you're going to have to seek out a way to reverse or cure it, if it's even possible. You wonder if that's what Ral has planned for you. He "frees" you, but in exchange for changing you back to normal, you have to undergo some sort of servitude again. You really wish you just let the mob back in Teckleville kill you at this point, with any luck maybe the wazia will. You travel in the freezing mountainous terrain for two days. (At some point during all this you take the opportunity to poison your bolts) Even with your immunity to the cold, it's still a treacherous journey given that you're no mountain climber. Tych has lead you through to the path of least resistance to the lair and fortunately it isn't actually very high up, in fact it's actually at a lower altitude than where you originally teleported in. "Let me guess, it's in this large sloping dark cave." You say to Tych. "Got it right in one. I saw it entering here a few times and judging by the large pile of bones out here, I'd say it's definitely a permanent home for it. Well I'll wait out here. If you aren't out within a day, I can safely assume you've met your demise." Tych says. "Wait, how the hell am I going to see in there? Despite my magical alteration, I don't have dark vision unfortunately. I need you to come with me and sparkle a bit so I have some light." "What? That wasn't part of the plan. I go in and start sparkling and I'm going to be a target since it'll see me first!" "Yeah, but you're also a small target that can fly all over the place. It's not like it's going to go after you if it can get a target on the ground that's shooting bolts at it a lot easier." Tych REALLY isn't keen on this idea, but given that he wants to be out of this situation as much as you do, he relents. "Alright, fine. But only because you're probably right about the wazia going after you and the fact that despite everything, you've dealt pretty straight with me. I still remember when you didn't rat me out to Ral about the last time we worked together...wait...you hear that?" Tych suddenly says mid sentence. "Shit, is it the wazia?" you ask, not hearing the sounds other than the wind, but readying your crossbow. "No, if it was that, we'd already be fucked. It's a small whine. You don't hear it? It's coming from over there." Tych points over to a group of rocks and large bones. (and then he flies behind you). You now hear the sounds too, and with your crossbow ready and slowly move towards where they're coming from. Whatever is making the noise can't be that big since rock and bone pile isn't very large either, when you finally walk around it, you see what is making the noise. A small feline creature with an odd-looking face making pitiful whimpers. It looks up at you and backs up and raising its tail, which looks like it has small spikes on it. It attempts to growl a bit, but it's obvious the beast is frightened. As it stands right now, the pair of you are both ready to shoot. "Shit, that's a manticore." Tych says and takes cover behind you again. "What? That? I thought they were much bigger." You say. "It's a cub, plivik. Still, I wouldn't want to get shot by one of those spikes." "Well that must mean its mother is nearby. Are you sure you got the right lair?" "Yes, I'm sure! Its mother probably got eaten by the wazia and somehow it managed to escape. Hey, you know we could use this." "What do you mean?" "Wazias pretty much eat anything thrown at them. If you poisoned this cub, you could toss it at the wazia who would inevitably consume it and the poison would work even better. At the very least it would cause the creature so much pain it would slow it down giving you a chance to shoot it a lot more with bolts." You look at the manticore, which is still looking pretty pitiful, but still also in a fighting position. You aren't sure if you'll be quick enough to shoot him before he shoots you. > You shoot the manticore Tych's plan has merit and would make your task easier. Also you'd probably be putting this beast out of its misery given that its mother died and will likely get eaten by the wazia anyway. Might as well put it to good use. You pull the trigger of your crossbow and hit the manticore, but unfortunately it's not a fatal shot and you only hit it in between its front limb and chest. It makes an odd combination of a roaring whine and flings its barbs at you. You're not quick enough to dodge completely and get hit in the leg. While your condition makes you number to pain, it doesn't make it disappear completely. You curse, fall down and from your prone position quickly fire the remainder of you bolt clip at the manticore blindly. You get lucky and some of those actually hit the creature causing it to make a final howl before dying. As you're attempting pull manticore barbs out of your leg, Tych appears again now that all the danger is over with. "Thought you were usually quicker than that." Tych sniffs. "Gimme a fucking break, I've been incapacitated for a year, not to mention this new condition I have is fucking up my reflexes. Shit..." you say looking at the new holes in your leg. "Well at least you got your bait now." "Yeah, I guess so. Let's get on with this" You limp over to the dead manticore cub and reclaim your bolts before picking up its carcass. You then enter the cave with Tych barely following ahead of you. He's flying as high as he can which provides just enough light for you to not break your neck walking around the cave. As you were travelling here earlier, Tych was telling you a bit about wazias. He mentioned that they resembled very large moles with a huge gaping maw where the face would be. The mole comparison doesn't sound very threatening, but he also said that it has a very tough hide and layers of fat, which is why Tych doesn't think your bolts, would be as effective as they might otherwise be. Hopefully this poisoned manticore body will help. You suppose you'll find out. You start to hear loud sounds, you can't see anything yet, but you have to be getting closer. The loud sounds soon become rumbles and then Tych suddenly shouts to you. "Shit, it's digging under you! Get the hell out of there!" Tych begins flying back towards the exit and you do likewise as the rumbling is nearly right under you. In your haste, you drop the manticore body, hoping that maybe the creature will pop up to eat it. It would be hard enough to keep up with Tych under normal circumstances, but thanks you're your leg wounds, you're attempting the impossible. You end up stumbling and tripping in the decreasing light that he's giving off as he flits away. Your verbal commands of getting Tych to stop have no effect and soon, he's gotten so far ahead of you, you're left in the dark causing you to completely fall over as you continue to trip over shit. You don't have time to get back up when the rumbling is now coming from right underneath you. You never even see the beast, you just feel yourself sinking into the ground and then several sharp teeth, crushing, piercing and cutting your body whole. The only consolation is it happened so quick that you didn't even feel it.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] Year 23 "HHHHHHHHHH!" you gasp as you suddenly sit up from a table. Cold air emanates from your mouth though you don't feel very cold. You don't feel much of anything except a mild sense of panic and confusion. You briefly look at body which is completely naked and see that you are now a pale blue coloring. You look around the room and see a lot of lab equipment, books, and other alchemy related items. Ral stands by watching you. Tych is also hovering near him dressed in who looks to be very tiny winter clothing for him. "See, told you he'd survive." Ral remarks and then makes a note on a piece of parchment. "Oh joy, I get to go with him now." Tych says. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME?!" you shout. You'd probably get up and attack Ral, but apparently the geas is still in effect. Ral strokes his beard and frowns a bit before answering you. "Well I made you better for one thing. You don't have to ever worry about the cold ever again." "I can't fucking feel anything! Everything is a numb sensation!" "Hmm, yes, I thought that might happen. A minor drawback I assure you. You are now practically cold personified. Your body now magically produces cold around you. Even I can feel it from here. Seriously, you could stand naked on top of the Cloudpeak Mountains now and never freeze to death. You'll also find that you're a little slower than you were, though you're also probably a little stronger as well so it all evens out. Unexpected side effect. In any case, we should probably get you ready for your task. As ready as you are, I doubt you want to go naked." You might not be able to do anything against Ral, but that doesn't stop you from getting pissed and start yelling at him about your situation. When he mentions more than a year has passed, you even start to destroy his equipment until he stops you with some sort of hold spell. After a few more warnings about you continuing to getting an attitude with him, Ral finally gets on with explaining your task. He says he's teleporting you to a plateau in the Cloudpeak Mountains. From there he says Tych will lead the way. Apparently in the year he was experimenting on you, he was also having Tych locate a wazia lair in that area. Other than your regular clothes, he enchants your short sword so it will be more effective in combat, and then hands you one of those rare repeating crossbows and a quiver of bolts. "I hope you know how to use one of these." Ral remarks. "I'm more familiar with flintlocks, but I imagine this is probably easier seeing as this is one of the state of the art crossbows. These repeating ones are rare and expensive. Didn't know you kept up on technological advances though." You say. "Why wouldn't I? Just because I don't have any use for it, doesn't mean I don't see the utility of it for the unwashed masses. I figure between that and your enchanted weapon, you should be more than prepared. Your pack is over there. Has some food and climbing gear in it. Should be more than enough to help you." You go over and get your pack; Tych is hovering by it, looking just as miserable as you feel right now. "The pair of you ready, I trust?" Ral asks. "I guess." You say. "Tych is magically tied to me, so there is no need for fairy circles or any other places of power this time. You just need to very close to him for the transportation to work on you, along with him making the appropriate signal so I can pull him back here, I trust you remember was that was Tych?" "Yes, Ral." Tych responds in a defeated manner and flies onto your shoulder. "Good, I expect you'll be successful like last time and just think, you'll be a free man afterwards, so you have plenty of motivation." Without another word, Ral waves his hands a bit and your eyes are met with a bright light, followed by more bright light, though this is of the natural kind. You look and see that your surroundings are that of a flat icy, snowy landscape with mountains and hills nearby and the sun shining overhead. There isn't a soul around though save for Tych who instantly gets off of you. "Fuck, you're not much warmer than this horrible landscape. So much for using you for extra warmth." Tych says. "I can't feel much of anything. I mean I can sense the wind blowing, but there's just a dull cool feeling. It's not unpleasant, but it isn't pleasant either." You respond. "Well, Ral did experiment on you. I have to say, I'll be glad when this mission is over with, because I've had enough of freezing my fucking wings off here. Scouting around for large hostile monsters in the snow and cold isn't my idea of a good time. I'd rather be in the fucking jar." "I don't understand why he needs us to do this anyway. I mean he's a fucking powerful wizard, couldn't he have done this himself a lot easier?" "Of course he could have, but he's a fucking sadist. Why else would he make you into some slave boy and then turn you into a freak and keep me in a damn jar, play teleportation snap back with me for the past year and also have me scout around this icy wasteland?" "How long has that been going on?" "Oh a little after he put you in that trance and started cutting into you and doing who knows what else. Ral's experiments on you might have been done sooner if he hadn't gotten distracted with other things. He keeps trying to make greater strides in teleportation spells and I think he's planning on making a portal next. Of course he needs to test shit so he uses me as a fucking canary and then snaps me back home when he thinks enough time has passed. Makes me physically ill every time he does it. Those first few months I puked on every trip." Tych fixes his little fur hat before continuing. "And in these last few months? I've teleported back and forth to this fucking place looking for a wazia like I'm some great monster hunter! I don't want to fucking do this! My instinct is to fly AWAY from really big ravenous monsters, not seek them out!" "Trust me, I don't want to be here either." "At least you're free after all this! I'm not. Even if the wazia kills you, you'll still be doing better than me, but I don't think that will be the case, check you pack. You'll find something better than what Ral supplied you with." You take off you pack and at the top you find a clear bottle of something dark green. It feels slightly warm even to you. "What the hell is this? Looks like some sort of poison." You say. "And you would be correct. It's greenfire from the plant of the same name. They're normally only found in the Sotakian swamp and even then they're rare. In any case, Ral had it lying around his lab and while you two were talking I took the opportunity to lug it into your pack. Hey, I'm stronger than I look, especially with all the hardship I've had to endure." Tych explains. "So...what's it do exactly?" "It's not called greenfire for nothing. It gets in your blood and makes you feel like your blood and innards are on fire. The effects are pretty quick though you're in excruciating pain before you die. "Okay, so I should just dip my bolts into this to bring down the beast a lot easier." "Hah! Are you kidding? Even with this poison, I doubt very seriously that you'll be able to kill it before it kills you. I take it you've never even seen a wazia." "Nope, just know them by stories." "Well I didn't know anything about them at all, but after seeing one, I can tell you that the stories don't do them justice." "Then what the hell are you suggesting then?" "Nothing, I'm just telling you that your odds aren't good." You've practically been asleep an entire year and this is the situation you've awoken to. You've been magically altered and thrust into a bad situation and now you have to put up with an obnoxious sprite on top of everything else. "Tych, just take me to the fucking lair." You say. "Alright, alright, no need to snap at me, plivik." Tych responds. "I know what that means, you little shit." "Oh yeah, you do...well let's just get on with it then like you said." You begin to follow Tych. Every now and then you reflexively wrap your cloak around yourself in order to stay warm, but then you also remember you don't really have that problem anymore. It wouldn't help anyway; you still feel a numb coolness no matter what you do since that sensation is coming from within your body as opposed to the external reasons. You suppose this condition is beneficial out here in a place like this, but you can't imagine going through the rest of your life like this. After all this is over, you're going to have to seek out a way to reverse or cure it, if it's even possible. You wonder if that's what Ral has planned for you. He "frees" you, but in exchange for changing you back to normal, you have to undergo some sort of servitude again. You really wish you just let the mob back in Teckleville kill you at this point, with any luck maybe the wazia will. You travel in the freezing mountainous terrain for two days. (At some point during all this you take the opportunity to poison your bolts) Even with your immunity to the cold, it's still a treacherous journey given that you're no mountain climber. Tych has lead you through to the path of least resistance to the lair and fortunately it isn't actually very high up, in fact it's actually at a lower altitude than where you originally teleported in. "Let me guess, it's in this large sloping dark cave." You say to Tych. "Got it right in one. I saw it entering here a few times and judging by the large pile of bones out here, I'd say it's definitely a permanent home for it. Well I'll wait out here. If you aren't out within a day, I can safely assume you've met your demise." Tych says. "Wait, how the hell am I going to see in there? Despite my magical alteration, I don't have dark vision unfortunately. I need you to come with me and sparkle a bit so I have some light." "What? That wasn't part of the plan. I go in and start sparkling and I'm going to be a target since it'll see me first!" "Yeah, but you're also a small target that can fly all over the place. It's not like it's going to go after you if it can get a target on the ground that's shooting bolts at it a lot easier." Tych REALLY isn't keen on this idea, but given that he wants to be out of this situation as much as you do, he relents. "Alright, fine. But only because you're probably right about the wazia going after you and the fact that despite everything, you've dealt pretty straight with me. I still remember when you didn't rat me out to Ral about the last time we worked together...wait...you hear that?" Tych suddenly says mid sentence. "Shit, is it the wazia?" you ask, not hearing the sounds other than the wind, but readying your crossbow. "No, if it was that, we'd already be fucked. It's a small whine. You don't hear it? It's coming from over there." Tych points over to a group of rocks and large bones. (and then he flies behind you). You now hear the sounds too, and with your crossbow ready and slowly move towards where they're coming from. Whatever is making the noise can't be that big since rock and bone pile isn't very large either, when you finally walk around it, you see what is making the noise. A small feline creature with an odd-looking face making pitiful whimpers. It looks up at you and backs up and raising its tail, which looks like it has small spikes on it. It attempts to growl a bit, but it's obvious the beast is frightened. As it stands right now, the pair of you are both ready to shoot. "Shit, that's a manticore." Tych says and takes cover behind you again. "What? That? I thought they were much bigger." You say. "It's a cub, plivik. Still, I wouldn't want to get shot by one of those spikes." "Well that must mean its mother is nearby. Are you sure you got the right lair?" "Yes, I'm sure! Its mother probably got eaten by the wazia and somehow it managed to escape. Hey, you know we could use this." "What do you mean?" "Wazias pretty much eat anything thrown at them. If you poisoned this cub, you could toss it at the wazia who would inevitably consume it and the poison would work even better. At the very least it would cause the creature so much pain it would slow it down giving you a chance to shoot it a lot more with bolts." You look at the manticore, which is still looking pretty pitiful, but still also in a fighting position. You aren't sure if you'll be quick enough to shoot him before he shoots you. > You back off slowly Maybe it's because you're in a shitty situation yourself that you're feeling a bit sorry for the pitiful creature that presumably just lost its mother and now has to fend for itself. "Fuck it." You say, and slowly start backing away, though the beast never lets its own guard down. "What the hell are you doing. Shoot the little bastard!" Tych remarks. "I don't feel like it alright? Besides, I'll probably need to save all the bolts I can for the wazia." You get out of the line of sight of the manticore, but Tych won't let this go. "Are you actually feeling sympathy for the creature? This thing would eat you if it was big enough! In fact, given that its probably hungry without its mother around now, I'm surprised it isn't at least attempting to anyway! Think of it this way, it can't survive very long on its own, you'd be performing an act of mercy if you killed it and at least its death would help us." At this point you take off your pack and look for some of your remaining rations. Dried meat, it's as good as anything. "Wait, are you actually going to feed it now? Have you gone completely barmy?" "Probably." You say. You go back to the manticore which once again has adopted a defensive stance, but you toss the meat in front of it which it cautiously moves close to, sniffs and then starts to eat, all the while still eyeing you suspiciously. You leave the beast to feed. "You know, you could have at least poisoned the food if you didn't have the balls to just shoot it." Tych remarks. "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to get my balls back by killing this wazia, now stop bitching at me and let's get this done." You snap. You enter the cave with Tych barely following ahead of you. He's flying as high as he can which provides just enough light for you to not break your neck walking around the cave. As you were travelling here earlier, Tych was telling you a bit about wazias. He mentioned that they resembled very large moles with a huge gaping maw where the face would be. The mole comparison doesn't sound very threatening, but he also said that it has a very tough hide and layers of fat, which is why Tych doesn't think your bolts, would be as effective as they might otherwise be. You suppose you'll find out. You start to hear loud sounds, you can't see anything yet, but you have to be getting closer. The loud sounds soon become rumbles and then Tych suddenly shouts to you. "Shit, it's digging under you! Get the hell out of there!" Tych begins flying back towards the exit and you do likewise as the rumbling is nearly right under you. While its hard to keep up with Tych, you manage to do so. By the time you see the light of the exit, the rumbling is nearly coming from right underneath you. You instinctively jump forward just in time for the wazia finally come up and try to eat you. You get up as quickly as you can and that's when you finally see the creature. And it does indeed resemble a giant mole. A giant mole with nothing but a giant mouth with rows of teeth for a face. It also has pretty large claws as well, but you're too busy trying get out of its immediate grasp as opposed to admiring them. You make it outside with the wazia following close behind. When you're out in the open, you take advantage of the light and space and begin firing your crossbow at the thing which has mixed results. Your aim isn't exactly true due to nerves and generally trying to staying away from the wazia, but it hardly matters when it's as big as it is. Most of your shots hit, but much like Tych warned, its tough hide seems to be outright deflecting a lot of them. And for the bolts that are actually sinking in, you certainly hope the poison starts working soon, because so far it hasn't had any notable affect. The only thing that's in your favor is that the beast isn't exactly the fastest when not underground, but it tries to keep you off balance by smashing its claws on the ground and causing minor quakes. Large clumps of snow begin to fall from above and given your location, you're wondering if an avalanche won't just bury you at this rate. (Of course maybe that's its intent, it can just easily dig itself out and eat your corpse later) You see Tych keeping his distance, flying about watching everything. "Tych, distract it damn it! I need to reload this thing!" you shout while running and fumbling with the cumbersome crossbow magazine. To his credit, Tych actually listens somewhat to you and shouts at it (in his high pitched squeaky voice) and even flies near it very briefly, but his presence is mostly ignored. Tych doesn't try too much harder than that, but you do get another helper. The manitcore cub that you fed earlier and completely forgot about starts flinging its own spikes at the wazia. They don't seem to do anything to it, but between it and Tych, it's enough to refocus its attention briefly giving you enough time to reload your crossbow properly. You fire a few times at the wazia with mixed results again, the manticore cub runs fast enough that the wazia doesn't bother to follow it and quickly turns its attention back to you. It charges at you, but now you're starting to notice the beast is getting even slower and now begins making loud wailing noises and they aren't just due to anger. The wazia is finally feeling the affects of the poison and begins flailing about. It begins smashing its entire body into the ground and now even larger chunks of ice and snow begin to fall from above. Along with it trying to cause an avalanche, it begins trying to dig underground again since it isn't sure what is exactly causing it such great pain, and is trying to escape. You can't allow that to happen though, because if it does, even if it dies, it's going to be so deep underground that digging its carcass out is going to be a nightmare. Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, you get closer to wazia and fire upon it. Your fortunate enough that this stops it from digging long enough to try to swipe at you with its claws. It clumsily tries to do this several times. At this point you've run out of bolts and drawn your sword though realistically you wouldn't be able to get close enough to it that it couldn't still kill you. You're just trying to keep the beast from escaping and hoping the mountains don't come crashing down on your head. Eventually as its motions towards you stop altogether and it opens its maw completely one last time to let out a woeful howl and then collapses. It twitches a few more times and finally stops moving completely. You just look at the wazia for a moment before slowly moving closer to it. Just as you get to its body, Tych sneaks up on you. "Is it dead?" he asks, buzzing in your ear. "Damn it Tych, you fucking startled me!" you snap. "Apologies, but I figured you'd be more aware of your surroundings." "I guess its dead. Shit, I was wondering if that poison was ever going to kick in." "Yep, looks like I saved your ass on this one." "Hm, I guess you did your part." "Damn straight I did, which is why I think YOU should help me now!" "How the hell am I going to help you?" "By killing Ral obviously." "Nice idea, but I'm still bound by a geas remember?" "Well after he takes it off of you, just chop his head off." "Yeah, like he isn't going to take precautions. I'm fairly certain that if he does stick with his promise, I'm not going to be able to just chop his head off as you say. In fact I imagine he's set this up so I stay bound to him so he can reverse this condition I have." "Wait, you aren't actually going to DO that if freedom is an option are you?" "What choice do I have? It's not like I want to go through the rest of my life like this." "Shit, I'd go through life with my wings fucking clipped if it meant not spending most of my life in a jar and being at that plivik's whims!" You suppose Tych has a point and it is one you're more inclined to go with since it might be possible to get your condition reversed elsewhere. All this might not mean anything however, if Ral has no intention on releasing you from the geas anyway. In the meantime you have a heart to carve out of the dead beast in front of you. About midway through Tych starts calling to you again. "Hey! Watch out, the manticore is back!" he exclaims and hides on the other side of the dead wazia. You turn from your bloody work and look. The manticore cub is indeed back and watching you, but its not in a defensive stance anymore, it seems to be more curious than anything else. "I'm not worrying about it since it probably isn't going to do anything, but if it makes you feel better..." Tych probably thought you were going to follow up that statement with you trying to kill it, but you instead you just reach into your pack and give it another piece of dried meat, which it happily eats and no longer is interested in anything else. "There you go Spikey." You say coming up with an on the spot name for him. "You just gave away the last of the food!" Tych exclaims. "What does it matter? As soon as I dig this heart out, and you perch on my shoulder, Ral will teleport us back anyway right?" "I guess, I just don't understand why you're indulging that creature." "Good thing I did, since it distracted the wazia better than you did." "Hey I did my best considering my size, you dick!" You go back to your unpleasant work. Not so much because of the gore and blood, but the smell is awful even with your dulled senses. Eventually you cut the large organ out and carry the thing out of the wazia's body. You then sit down to take a breather. "Shit, I think that was almost as much work as killing this thing." You say. "Did you get it?" Tych asks. "Yeah, why are you so far away? I figured you'd be anxious to get out of this cold at least even if you don't like the jar." "I would, but that thing is nearby!" Tych remarks and points to the manticore that is now coming up to you. "Tych, you're worrying over nothing. He'd fling spikes at me before you given how close he is. Just get over here and get us home." "Fine. Did you think anymore on killing Ral yet?" "Yeah I've thought about it, and I guess you'll know soon enough." Tych isn't enthused by your response or the manticore being nearby, but he flies to you anyway. He sits on your shoulder, makes a few weird hand gestures and before you know it, a flash of blinding light hits you and you're in the lab again. You also feel something bump your leg. You look down and see that the manticore cub has teleported with you and is currently nuzzling against your leg. "Shit!" Tych remarks and flies away to hide again. Meanwhile Ral walks in from one of his other rooms in the lab wondering what all the noise is about. "So you're back and successful as I knew you would be. Hello, what's this?" Ral asks. Spikey growls a bit when he sees Ral. "Spikey no!" you say and do your best to try to calm him which involves petting his head and neck. This seems to work somewhat since he relaxes, but still eyes Ral warily. "Hmm, I see you brought back more than just the heart. You didn't need to go beyond what was required, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. The manticore parts will come in handy for spell components." Ral says. "What? No, it helped take down the wazia and I guess it got caught up in the teleportation process." "So?" "So, I dunno seems sort of fucked up to just hand him over to you for parts after he helped me." "What are you going to do with him, keep him as a pet?" "Well I suppose I could..." "A pet manticore? What do you think you are a frost giant? That's silly, you aren't going to have the means to tame such a beast when he starts to grow! You sure you don't want to hand that beast over? I could give you something extra." "Can you reverse this fucking condition you imposed on me?" you ask. "I imagine could, but that would require that you stick around a bit longer. I mean that can be arranged..." You're not getting trapped. You can't get trapped again. "No, I'll figure out another way." You say. "Very well. Put that heart on the table and... wait a minute where did Tych go? I saw him fly off to hide, not sure why he bothers to do that, since he knows I can just teleport him back in the jar at anytime." Ral says as you lift up the oversized organ and slam it on the nearby table. "Can we get on with this?" you ask getting impatient. "In a moment and don't presume to give orders, I still haven't freed you yet and you'd be well to remember that. Now step back, you're very cold you know." Ral says. "Of course I'm fucking cold, you did this to me!" "And I offered to reverse the process, but you declined." "Damn straight I declined, I'm not going to fall for your tricks again. The first time you enslaved me, the second time you made me into a freak!" "If you like, that can remain your reality." Ral warns. Ral raises his hands as if to cast a spell and that's when you see Tych flying over his head struggling with a small-uncorked glass tube that's as big as him. "Hey glakface, try casting magic now!" Tych shouts and then pours a clear fluid on Ral, who looks up just in time for it splatter on his face, and he even gets some in his mouth. "Gargh! (cough) (hack) blagh!" Ral gags and begins hacking up and rubbing his eyes. "He can't cast magic! Don't just stand there plivik, kill the bastard!" Tych squeaks. > You take advantage of the situation Given your recent exchange with Ral and your own suspicious nature, you question if Ral intends on releasing you. Perhaps getting rid of Ral IS the way to go and this would be the best time to do it. You're still under the effects of the geas, and any violent action towards Ral by you would be met with immediate pain, however with his temporary inability to cast spells you wonder if you couldn't dispose of him quick enough that you'd survive it. Not to mention you do have a pet manticore now. "Spikey attack! ARGH!" you shout and feel a sharp pain to your crotch, which causes you to nearly double over. The only reason why you aren't completely laid out is your new condition has dulled some of your pain reception to a small degree. (Now is one of those times it came in handy) Spikey isn't completely sure what you meant, but given that you're excitedly pointing at Ral who is also making loud noises and flailing about due to the shit that Tych poured on him, Spikey isn't feeling comfortable towards him anyway. Spikey flings several small quills into Ral's body. The old wizard howls in pain. Spikey may be just a manticore cub, but it still hurts. Due to the geas, a large part of you wants to stop Spikey from attacking and it's taking everything for you not to do that. You feel the pain spread over your body and it's getting worse. You finally collapse to the floor. Spikey runs forward and begins biting Ral, he even succeeds in ripping off part of his hand. Ral is begging for mercy at this point, but he's getting nothing, but Tych's taunts. You weakly pull out a dagger, but you can barely hold it in your hand as you attempt to crawl over to Ral. The pain you're experiencing is nearly unbearable. Meanwhile Ral is experiencing his own form of pain, but despite being unable to cast magic and being a frail old man, he somehow manages to get Spikey off of him, who yelps when thrown into a nearby table. "Come here, you little bastard!" he snarls and with a blink, Tych is suddenly within the one good hand of Ral. It would appear his powers are starting to come back. "I'm going to crush you into...ARGH SHIT!" Ral shouts as you plunge your dagger into his ankle. The old man partially falls on top of you, but that doesn't compare to the wave of agony you experience after stabbing Ral. Your condition is no longer numbing anything, not even a little bit. You feel like you're suffering a heart attack, castration and a mace smashing your brains in, all the while being burned alive. Unsurprisingly your body goes into complete shock, shuts down and you go unconscious. Blackness follows. Time passes and eventually you wake up to a couple sensations. One being a rough tongue licking your face and another being a faint sweet taste on your lips and in your mouth. "Hey! Did it work? You alive?" Tych remarks. "Guh, buh, what work?" you sputter and move a bit causing Spikey to stop licking your face. "The healing potion I tried to pour into your mouth. I guess it did, you're alive. Wasn't sure it worked since you looked pretty dead." "I felt really dead. Is Ral dead?" "Oh that plivik? Yeah. Your pet took care of that soon after you stabbed him. Ripped out his throat. I don't think that spell is on you anymore." You look at your wrist and it's true, you no longer see the mark there anymore. "So that's it. I'm free. Finally free." You say. "Yeah, thanks to me." Tych sniffs. "Ral was planning on releasing me anyway." "You don't believe that. If you did, you wouldn't have nearly killed yourself, trying to kill him." "Well I suppose I did have my doubts and followed your lead. What was that shit you poured on him anyway?" "Oh, liquefied gazer eye. Not sure what Ral was planning with it, but then he was always experimenting with shit." "Not familiar with gazers." "Lucky you, they're even worse than wazias. Anyway, you're not the only one who is free, so I guess this is where we part ways." As strange as it seems you're a little taken back by how quick Tych is to part company, but then it wasn't like you two were great friends or anyway. "Oh. Okay. Yeah sure, I suppose you'll be wanting to go home to your wife." You say. "...what the hell, I'll let you on a little secret, I'm not married. I just said I was hoping it would gain me sympathy when we first met." Tych admits. "Why am I not surprised?" "But you're right, I am still going home. I need to straighten out some things there. What were you planning on doing?" "Dunno really. I still got this condition. First thing I think I need to do is try to figure out how to reverse it. Guess I'll start by heading to Holgard." "Well sounds like you've got the adventure ahead of you. Can't say it was a pleasure being forced to work with you, but I suppose it could have been worse. And we both got revenge on Ral, so it worked out I guess. See you around blivik." "What's that mean? Dickhead or something?" "What? Oh blivik? No, it means friend. Well maybe not friend, but comrade in arms I guess." "Sounds very similar plivik." "Yeah well, sometimes in our culture the two are interchangeable." "That I can believe. Bye Tych and thanks." Tych nods his head and flies out the lab door, leaving you alone. (Well with a manticore cub that is currently eating Ral's body nearby). You don't leave right away, instead you take the opportunity to start going through Ral's lab seeing if you can find any clue of what he did to you. You find lots notes, but his handwriting is pretty bad and you can't make much sense of the diagrams. You think they might pertain to you, but you aren't really sure. You temporarily slump in a chair nearby realizing that you've lost some of your life and your thoughts keep wandering back to Lisa. What happened to her? You were supposed to meet up with her in Holgard as you often did. At the time the city was on the verge of a rebellion. Does she even still live? And if she does, she surely must believe you are dead and moved on. It's a bit depressing considering your feelings for her, but lost love is the least of your concerns right now. You suppose either way, your next move is to Holgard, either to seek her out or to seek a way to fix your condition. In any case, you're sitting on a small fortune of magical equipment. Granted you don't know what most of it does, but at the very least, you'd be able to get a good price for some of the stuff that you can't figure out. Holgard will be the perfect place to At the very least you can use this place as a home of sorts which seems strange given that you've been stuck here, but then you're not exactly beholden to Ral anymore and it's not a bad place as far as homes go. You even have a pet to defend it when you're not around. You spend a few more days going through Ral's house before finally deciding to make your way to Holgard. Takes awhile to convince Spikey not to follow you, but eventually he gets the hint and stays around the house. You figure he's probably more than able to hunt whatever wildlife is in the area. You make your way to Holgard and the journey is uneventful and the same as you remembered, though you're noticing that when you camp down for the night, the next morning the grass has a layer of frost on it. You're going to be leaving a trail of it at this pace. When you get to Holgard, you find that the city is a lot calmer than when you remember. While doing some business with an apothecary, you learn that the old ruler got overthrown and his daughter now rules the city. "Yeah, be glad you missed that one. It was a pretty brutal time...did it just get chilly in here? In fact, did the temperature drop outside because everything you've handed over to sell feels a bit cold to the touch." the apothecary says. "Hadn't noticed." You answer. "...you uh sure you're all right pal? You look a little pale. I figured when you came in here you came in to buy, not to sell." "You got anything that can cure this?" you say and grab the apothecary's wrist. "Shit! You're fucking ice! Let me go! Please! Take anything you want!" "I'm not here to rob you! I'm serious when I ask, if you have anything that can cure this condition." You say and let go of the man's wrist. The apothecary steps back and rubs his wrist a bit. "I can honestly tell you that I have nothing that would help you. I can only believe that magic must be at work. Is that the case?" he asks. "Yeah, and I killed the wizard who did it." "Well, I guess he had it coming. Wasn't one of those Dornans was it?" "No." "Hm, okay that's good, because they're about the only folks that I think would be able to help you. They're pretty interested in all things pertaining to magic, though I'd be careful since it'll be the knowledge that's important, not the person. You might have killed a wizard, but I don't think even you would be able to kill a whole temple of them if things go south." "Noted. Can't think of anyone else?" "Not really, I mean unless you want to head all the way to Delantium Kingdom and their magic university. It has a good reputation and they aren't swayed by religious fanaticism. There's a small magic college in Klyton, but I wouldn't waste my time." "Why not?" "Because I graduated from there and the magic college there is rubbish, that's why. It's understaffed and only kept afloat due to one of the council members being a mage. It's not bad if you want to learn how to mix potions and such, but the wizards there aren't exactly the most skilled in magic and they'd probably be just as baffled by your condition as I am. You'd probably end up as a toad with their bumbling." Great, more wizards. > You head to the Delantium Kingdom The Dornans might be closer, but they also sound like religious fanatics. You don't really need to deal with that right now. You're not exactly keen on dragging your cold ass all the way to the Delantium Kingdom, but if it's your best shot, then that's where you need to go. Besides, maybe it might be good anyway. You've spent more than enough time around Holgard and its surrounding area and it hasn't got you very far, maybe a change in scenery is in order. It isn't like things have gone that great for you around here and as for Lisa, if she's still alive, you have no doubt that she's moved on with her life. Maybe she's even some high-ranking Ebony Claw member. Whatever she's doing, you hope she's doing well at it. You leave the apothecary and head to the docks to book a passage to the Delantium Kingdom. Unsurprisingly you get some strange looks, and the first couple captains turn you away believing that your unnatural chill must be the result of a curse and don't want it rubbing off on the voyage. (You can't blame them for their caution since they're at least half right about it being a curse of sorts) Eventually though you get a captain with less interest in gods and suspicion and more interested in coin. You pay the man and make your way to the cargo area since he doesn't have any more room for proper passengers, and he apparently thinks you'll keep some of the food fresher on the long trip just with your presence. Doesn't matter, you've been in less than ideal conditions before. You just need a ride; this isn't going to be forever. You make your way down to the cargo hold where you make a place for yourself near the crates of lemons and limes. It's as good as any. You'll have lots of time to think on your way to your destination. One of your main thoughts is what you're going to do with your life if you do get cured. Obviously being a rogue never really worked out for you. Arguably, you haven't been one since you left Teckleville. You've had more "work" as a monster hunter of all things. Not that it's something you necessarily wanted to make a living at doing, but you have raised your skill with a weapon over the years, not to mention all your new outdoorsman skills. Maybe you should be doing something using those talents instead at this point. You're sure you'd be good at it. Makes you realize that if you had those skills to begin with instead, you probably wouldn't have gotten lost in the forest and in Ral's debt in the first place. Of course if that hadn't happened, you wouldn't have gained what you do know now. Funny how that works. Also funny how it finally took you until now to realize that your parents were right all along and that this "life" was just going to lead to trouble. In any case, you aren't sure what the future holds, if you'll be cured, if you'll remain this way or if you'll be killed in the process. You do know however that your days as a common rogue are over.

Given your recent exchange with Ral and your own suspicious nature, you question if Ral intends on releasing you. Perhaps getting rid of Ral IS the way to go and this would be the best time to do it. You're still under the effects of the geas, and any violent action towards Ral by you would be met with immediate pain, however with his temporary inability to cast spells you wonder if you couldn't dispose of him quick enough that you'd survive it. Not to mention you do have a pet manticore now. "Spikey attack! ARGH!" you shout and feel a sharp pain to your crotch, which causes you to nearly double over. The only reason why you aren't completely laid out is your new condition has dulled some of your pain reception to a small degree. (Now is one of those times it came in handy) Spikey isn't completely sure what you meant, but given that you're excitedly pointing at Ral who is also making loud noises and flailing about due to the shit that Tych poured on him, Spikey isn't feeling comfortable towards him anyway. Spikey flings several small quills into Ral's body. The old wizard howls in pain. Spikey may be just a manticore cub, but it still hurts. Due to the geas, a large part of you wants to stop Spikey from attacking and it's taking everything for you not to do that. You feel the pain spread over your body and it's getting worse. You finally collapse to the floor. Spikey runs forward and begins biting Ral, he even succeeds in ripping off part of his hand. Ral is begging for mercy at this point, but he's getting nothing, but Tych's taunts. You weakly pull out a dagger, but you can barely hold it in your hand as you attempt to crawl over to Ral. The pain you're experiencing is nearly unbearable. Meanwhile Ral is experiencing his own form of pain, but despite being unable to cast magic and being a frail old man, he somehow manages to get Spikey off of him, who yelps when thrown into a nearby table. "Come here, you little bastard!" he snarls and with a blink, Tych is suddenly within the one good hand of Ral. It would appear his powers are starting to come back. "I'm going to crush you into...ARGH SHIT!" Ral shouts as you plunge your dagger into his ankle. The old man partially falls on top of you, but that doesn't compare to the wave of agony you experience after stabbing Ral. Your condition is no longer numbing anything, not even a little bit. You feel like you're suffering a heart attack, castration and a mace smashing your brains in, all the while being burned alive. Unsurprisingly your body goes into complete shock, shuts down and you go unconscious. Blackness follows. Time passes and eventually you wake up to a couple sensations. One being a rough tongue licking your face and another being a faint sweet taste on your lips and in your mouth. "Hey! Did it work? You alive?" Tych remarks. "Guh, buh, what work?" you sputter and move a bit causing Spikey to stop licking your face. "The healing potion I tried to pour into your mouth. I guess it did, you're alive. Wasn't sure it worked since you looked pretty dead." "I felt really dead. Is Ral dead?" "Oh that plivik? Yeah. Your pet took care of that soon after you stabbed him. Ripped out his throat. I don't think that spell is on you anymore." You look at your wrist and it's true, you no longer see the mark there anymore. "So that's it. I'm free. Finally free." You say. "Yeah, thanks to me." Tych sniffs. "Ral was planning on releasing me anyway." "You don't believe that. If you did, you wouldn't have nearly killed yourself, trying to kill him." "Well I suppose I did have my doubts and followed your lead. What was that shit you poured on him anyway?" "Oh, liquefied gazer eye. Not sure what Ral was planning with it, but then he was always experimenting with shit." "Not familiar with gazers." "Lucky you, they're even worse than wazias. Anyway, you're not the only one who is free, so I guess this is where we part ways." As strange as it seems you're a little taken back by how quick Tych is to part company, but then it wasn't like you two were great friends or anyway. "Oh. Okay. Yeah sure, I suppose you'll be wanting to go home to your wife." You say. "...what the hell, I'll let you on a little secret, I'm not married. I just said I was hoping it would gain me sympathy when we first met." Tych admits. "Why am I not surprised?" "But you're right, I am still going home. I need to straighten out some things there. What were you planning on doing?" "Dunno really. I still got this condition. First thing I think I need to do is try to figure out how to reverse it. Guess I'll start by heading to Holgard." "Well sounds like you've got the adventure ahead of you. Can't say it was a pleasure being forced to work with you, but I suppose it could have been worse. And we both got revenge on Ral, so it worked out I guess. See you around blivik." "What's that mean? Dickhead or something?" "What? Oh blivik? No, it means friend. Well maybe not friend, but comrade in arms I guess." "Sounds very similar plivik." "Yeah well, sometimes in our culture the two are interchangeable." "That I can believe. Bye Tych and thanks." Tych nods his head and flies out the lab door, leaving you alone. (Well with a manticore cub that is currently eating Ral's body nearby). You don't leave right away, instead you take the opportunity to start going through Ral's lab seeing if you can find any clue of what he did to you. You find lots notes, but his handwriting is pretty bad and you can't make much sense of the diagrams. You think they might pertain to you, but you aren't really sure. You temporarily slump in a chair nearby realizing that you've lost some of your life and your thoughts keep wandering back to Lisa. What happened to her? You were supposed to meet up with her in Holgard as you often did. At the time the city was on the verge of a rebellion. Does she even still live? And if she does, she surely must believe you are dead and moved on. It's a bit depressing considering your feelings for her, but lost love is the least of your concerns right now. You suppose either way, your next move is to Holgard, either to seek her out or to seek a way to fix your condition. In any case, you're sitting on a small fortune of magical equipment. Granted you don't know what most of it does, but at the very least, you'd be able to get a good price for some of the stuff that you can't figure out. Holgard will be the perfect place to At the very least you can use this place as a home of sorts which seems strange given that you've been stuck here, but then you're not exactly beholden to Ral anymore and it's not a bad place as far as homes go. You even have a pet to defend it when you're not around. You spend a few more days going through Ral's house before finally deciding to make your way to Holgard. Takes awhile to convince Spikey not to follow you, but eventually he gets the hint and stays around the house. You figure he's probably more than able to hunt whatever wildlife is in the area. You make your way to Holgard and the journey is uneventful and the same as you remembered, though you're noticing that when you camp down for the night, the next morning the grass has a layer of frost on it. You're going to be leaving a trail of it at this pace. When you get to Holgard, you find that the city is a lot calmer than when you remember. While doing some business with an apothecary, you learn that the old ruler got overthrown and his daughter now rules the city. "Yeah, be glad you missed that one. It was a pretty brutal time...did it just get chilly in here? In fact, did the temperature drop outside because everything you've handed over to sell feels a bit cold to the touch." the apothecary says. "Hadn't noticed." You answer. "...you uh sure you're all right pal? You look a little pale. I figured when you came in here you came in to buy, not to sell." "You got anything that can cure this?" you say and grab the apothecary's wrist. "Shit! You're fucking ice! Let me go! Please! Take anything you want!" "I'm not here to rob you! I'm serious when I ask, if you have anything that can cure this condition." You say and let go of the man's wrist. The apothecary steps back and rubs his wrist a bit. "I can honestly tell you that I have nothing that would help you. I can only believe that magic must be at work. Is that the case?" he asks. "Yeah, and I killed the wizard who did it." "Well, I guess he had it coming. Wasn't one of those Dornans was it?" "No." "Hm, okay that's good, because they're about the only folks that I think would be able to help you. They're pretty interested in all things pertaining to magic, though I'd be careful since it'll be the knowledge that's important, not the person. You might have killed a wizard, but I don't think even you would be able to kill a whole temple of them if things go south." "Noted. Can't think of anyone else?" "Not really, I mean unless you want to head all the way to Delantium Kingdom and their magic university. It has a good reputation and they aren't swayed by religious fanaticism. There's a small magic college in Klyton, but I wouldn't waste my time." "Why not?" "Because I graduated from there and the magic college there is rubbish, that's why. It's understaffed and only kept afloat due to one of the council members being a mage. It's not bad if you want to learn how to mix potions and such, but the wizards there aren't exactly the most skilled in magic and they'd probably be just as baffled by your condition as I am. You'd probably end up as a toad with their bumbling." Great, more wizards. > You head to the Temple of Dorna Considering you don't trust wizards anyway, you might well check out the ones that are already here. You're going to just be on your guard as usual. You figure while you're at it, you can look into trying to find out what happened to Lisa and if she's still around. You ask the apothecary where the temple is since it isn't exactly a place you ever visited when you used to come to the city and your memory is still hazy on where everything is again. You head to the temple and while you remain hooded as usual, you still draw a little attention from people who are close enough to get a better look at you. Fortunately, you're strange enough looking that nobody gets hostile. When you get to the temple, you don't even get very far since two of its members stop you just inside the entrance. "And just where do you think you're going, you...what the hell are you anyway? Damn you're cold, step back." a man with a goatee asks. "Yeah, I was hoping you guys could help me with this." You say. "Maybe we should tell Elder Flynn about this, Travis." The other one says. "The Elder is in meditation and can't be disturbed for a week, you know that! Still, this is something he might find interesting. Tell me, how did you come to be this way?" Travis asks. You give a brief rundown on what happened, when you mention Ral by name the pair of them seems more interested in that, than what happened to you. "Wait, you're telling me that YOU killed Ral?" Travis asks. "I helped...oh shit...he wasn't secretly a Dorna worshipper was he?" you ask. "No true follower of Dorna would do it in secret! He was an infidel as far as I know. Though honestly, I'm not too familiar with the man, Elder Flynn apparently knows him quite well and all I know about that is they're not fond of each other. So...he's dead huh?" "Yes." "Okay, this is something Elder Flynn would definitely want to know about. Unfortunately as I said, he's in meditation and can't be disturbed at all. You could come back then. I'm sure the Elder would be able to help." "Well...I guess I can wait a little longer. So I just come back here in a week?" "Yes, in a week." "Okay then." You turn to leave and look back to see Travis and his buddy whispering about something. Probably about you no doubt. Still, at least they didn't try to do anything bad to you or anything, though that's still a possibility you suppose. The only thing to do now is wait, but you're going to have to find something to do in the meantime. You could go back home, but you honestly don't feel like making that trek again, not to mention after spending so much time in Ral's house, you aren't exactly itching to go back so soon. You have more than enough money so you figure you'll just find an inn to stay at. You stay at a place called the Baroness. (Named after the current ruler no doubt) The innkeeper is a bit wary of you, but after giving him a few extra coins for a room he no longer has a problem with you. (Other than telling you to stand back from him) You spend a couple days not doing much of anything important except information gathering. It's difficult to eavesdrop on conversations (let alone trying to strike up one) with your new condition, but you do manage to at least figure out some basics on the underworld situation. Apparently along with there being a new ruler, the Ebony Claw Syndicate has a greater monopoly on all criminal activity in the city. There are still independents as such things can never be completely wiped out, but the Thieves' Guild was completely destroyed along with any other minor organized rivals Last time you remember, Lisa said she was thinking about joining them. At the time you hoped she wouldn't, but given the situation now, you suppose if she has, it's better that she picked the winning side. Of course this is all still assuming she's alive or even still in the city. You can't be sure of any of this, but since you have time to kill and not much else going on, you seek out Ebony Claw members to question. Not exactly something most do, but then you don't have much to lose and at this point you'd wager that you're a much better than average fighter than you used to be if it comes to that. You head to a place called the Poisoned Blade Inn, which even before they took over the entire underworld was a known Ebony Claw hang out. As soon as you enter, it's almost like the Dorna Temple all over again, because you gain everyone's attention, mainly because you don't even bother covering yourself with a hood like you normally do. "Well...this is an unusual sight." "Looks like the Dornans have been experimenting again." "Did it just get colder in here?" "Hey, pale man! You lost?" "Careful, he looks like he might have magic about him." "Yeah, well he ain't the only one." Several obvious ECS members are already converging on your position. "Not here for trouble, just looking for the most direct way of getting answers. Does anyone here know a woman named Lisa? She'd be around my age." You say holding up your hands. The ECS members do not put down their guard just because you are though. "Even if any of us did know such a woman, what makes you think we'd tell you?" the most aggressive ECS member says. "Look, if you haven't heard of her, fine, I made a mistake and I'll just go." "Oh you made a mistake alright just by walking in this place and the only place you're going is the sewers after we dump your body!" The man suddenly grabs your arm and attempts to pull you towards him in order to stab you, but as soon as he grabs your arm he pulls his hand back. You draw your weapon and everyone steps back a bit. "SHIT! This guy is fucking freezing!" the man exclaims. "He's a sorcerer! Quick, shoot him before he unleashes more frost magic!" another shouts. Soon another man with a partially shaved head and a huge black claw tattooed on the shaved part appears from the back of the crowd. "Alright, alright, everyone fucking settle down. Obviously the man didn't come here to fight, he wants information, but that's going to cost. I trust you have some coin?" "Yeah, hope you don't mind it cold." You say and toss a small pouch of coins at him, which he catches. "Fine with me, you bought yourself an audience. Come with me into my office." You follow the man as the rest of them get out of your way. His "office" is really just a more secluded table towards the back, but it serves its purpose. The pair of you sit down and you learn the man's name is Mantis. "Geez, you really do give off the cold. Not sensing that you're a sorcerer though. You look human...curse perhaps?" Mantis asks. "Something like that, getting it taken care of." You respond. "Well good luck with that iceman. In any case we're not here to talk about your condition, you were asking about a woman named Lisa. Now for some reason you came to a know Ebony Claw location to ask us specifically. So what makes you think we might know this woman? And a better description would help." You give a physical description of her based on what you remember of what she looked like. It's almost a little concerning that you've almost forgotten what she looks like, but you believe your description has sufficed and it's your additional information that you think that she may have joined the Ebony Claw Syndicate that gets attention. "Hmm, I see. So you're looking for your long lost girlfriend? Is that it? You sure she just didn't want any more to do with you? It happens you know." "I'm fairly certain that isn't the case. We were on good terms before our...separation which wasn't either of our faults. Look I already know she could have very well moved on or even be dead. If that's the case, then I'll just deal with it, but one of the last things she was talking about was possibly joining you guys. I didn't think it was a good idea, but if she did join and she's still part of your organization, then I'd just like to know so if I have to ask every EC member, then that's what I'll do until I get confirmation." "Well, From what you've told me, she doesn't sound like ECS material, but then maybe she got lucky and blew the right person...(Sigh) Look, I can ask around, but I can't make any promises. Our organization is fucking huge you understand and I couldn't even tell you every member in this city, let alone anywhere else. Shit, for all I know she might be a higher rank than me because I'm nowhere near the top of the food chain. And if that's the case then I can't just be giving away her location and I'm also not doing this for free." "I just paid you." "Yeah, you paid for an audience with me. Now you're going to pay for me to ask around about your ex. However, I'm not going to ask you for money. I want you to perform a task for me." "A task?" "Yeah. If I'm going to potentially be giving information out one of our members to a stranger, I want to see just how dedicated you are about this. Now you look like you'd be able to handle yourself in a fight. You came in here by yourself after all." "You want me to go rob a bank or steal something?" "Pfft. The syndicate has no need to be involved in such petty activities to supplement our income. The Blue Dream trade is thriving and whores and gambling are too. No, what needs to be done is something a lot more violent. You familiar with Karn?" "The God of warriors?" "Combat, strength, all that related shit. Well their priests are starting to become a pain in the ass by encroaching on our territory." "I wasn't aware the Karnites were into drugs, whores and gambling." "They aren't, but they're in the business of faith and that's a problem to the Temple of Fel. Not long ago, a Karnites broke all the limbs of one of Fel's faithful. This can't go unpunished. I want you to go kill the asshole and bring me back the ring he wears on his hand as proof." You always heard rumors that the Ebony Claw Syndicate were more than just a criminal organization and the reasons why they were so powerful were due to their ties to the God of shadows. Looks like this confirms such things. "Okay. So why send me? The syndicate has loads of assassins I'd wager. In fact don't the followers of Fel specialize in that sort of thing?" You say. "And you'd be right, but we just got finished with a full blown war with the Thieves Guild and the other petty organizations. We're really not looking to get into another one so soon without rebuilding a bit. As for the Fels themselves, well apparently it's not high on their priority list, but you can bet that if it did get taken care of, those involved would find favor with the temple." Mantis says with a smile. Obviously Mantis wants to use you to advance his own petty ambitions. "In any case, you're not affiliated with us and you're not a follower of Fel. If you purposely start a fight with a Karnite and kill him then it has the added bonus of not being attached to either of us." Mantis continues. "Wait, you want me to just kill this guy out in the open?" you ask. "You're not too familiar with the Karnite faith are you? Issue a personal challenge and it's all perfectly fine. Hell, even the city watch isn't going to do shit about it. Other Karnites themselves won't even retaliate, as they'll see it as an honorable challenge from a lone challenger. Though to be on the safe side, I'd try to make it seem like a natural challenge. I dunno, bump into him on the street and pick a fight or something." "What about the ring? Won't they be upset about me taking a holy item?" "Eh, well they probably won't be happy about it, however you'd be taking a trophy and if someone wasn't strong enough to keep it, then in their eyes they don't deserve it. In fact, they may even ask if you want to join them...but obviously I wouldn't advise that." > You take the job If this is going to help you find Lisa, then this is what you're going to have to do. "Okay fine. Tell me what this corpse looks like." You say. "That's what I like to hear iceman." Mantis remarks. Mantis gives you a physical description of the Karnite in question and his few haunts when he isn't at his temple. As befitting of a follower of Karn, he is constantly training his body and you can see him running laps in the area close to his temple early in the morning. Before you leave, Mantis tells you that he'll look into finding out all he can about Lisa and if she is in fact an Ebony Claw, he'll tell you how you can contact her providing that you're successful. The next few days you spend scouting and spying on your target's activities. As expected he doesn't indulge in much. Most of his time is spent in the temple. He only occasionally leaves to purchase a few pieces of fruit, which he seems to enjoy. He doesn't exactly purchase them either, he just takes them from the poor fruit seller who is far too intimidated by the burly holy man to tell him not to. You thought about picking a fight with him when he was taking one of his morning runs, but you believe this might be better. So eventually you make your move. "Hey! Watch it! I was going for that apple!" you say mildly bumping into the priest. The priest looks at you with annoyance, but he doesn't make a hostile move towards you. In fact he backs off a bit, but he also doesn't give you the apple either. "Are you fucking deaf? I said I WAS going for that apple!" you say raising your voice. "Sir! There are many other apples to choose from! Please pick any of the others. They're all fresh I assure you!" the fruit seller remarks nervously. "I suggest you listen to the shopkeep." The Karnite priest says. "Pfft, I don't give a shit what fruit boy says, let alone you! You're one of those karnites aren't you? I can tell by your shitty brown robes. Supposed to be masters of combat or something. I'm hardly impressed." "I'm not here to impress you, but if you would like a sample of my abilities, I would be more than willing to show you." "Yeah, right. And after I kick your ass, you'll get all your Karnite buddies after me." "With how you're boasting, I'm surprised that would be a concern. However, we can make it a one on one contest as per the doctrines of our faith. No retaliation for whatever the outcome. This one and any of these onlookers can be witnesses." "Um...sure...okay. Whatever you say." The fruit seller responds. "I will say though, I'm detecting magic emanating off of you. If you're a sorcerer of some sort, this agreement is off." The priest adds. "I'm not a sorcerer. This is just me. You backing out?" you respond. "No, I just suppose this will make things more interesting. Though I hope you realize that when we do this, I don't intend on just...in your words kicking your ass. Karn's honor demands no less that I end you permanently." "That's okay, I wasn't planning on holding back either." You pull your short sword and the priest adopts a defensive stance. He doesn't seem at all worried that you have a weapon. After a couple of swings, you find out why since he easily disarms you. When you attempt to go for your dagger, he grabs your wrist to stop you and punches you hard in the face. While it doesn't hurt as much as it would a "normal" person, you still feel the impact. Despite your icy skin and emanation, the priest shows no signs that he's bothered by it. Though no doubt as one of the Karn's faithful he's trained himself to not feel pain like other people. This is very apparent when you actually land a couple of blows and he reacts about as much as you would, which is barely phasing him. You may have had your battles with arguably more "powerful" beings and creatures than this priest, but then there were other circumstances involved. You are learning first hand that the priests of Karn live up to their reputation. It's only due to your condition that you manage to stand as long as you do, but eventually he lands a really good punch and this time you go down to the ground. With you on the ground, the priest immediately takes advantage by taking one of your legs and breaking it. You definitely feel the physical trauma of bone snapping through your skin, though thanks to your dulled senses you don't go into shock and you manage to swing your other leg as hard as you can and kick the priest in the side of the head. He isn't expecting that reaction and you catch him slightly off guard. He's temporarily dazed and lets go of your broken leg. It isn't enough however, since you're still at a disadvantage with a broken leg. You finally manage to pull your dagger in a desperate attempt to even the odds. The priest avoids your attempts at stabbing at him with your dagger from your prone position. Instead, he kicks your hand, followed by stomping on it, breaking your fingers. Sensing that you're much more manageable prey now, the priest puts his foot to your neck and stomps on it. It's enough to crush your windpipe causing you to gasp for air, but your slow asphyxiation is put to an end when he breaks your neck with a couple more stomps.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, serious] Considering you don't trust wizards anyway, you might well check out the ones that are already here. You're going to just be on your guard as usual. You figure while you're at it, you can look into trying to find out what happened to Lisa and if she's still around. You ask the apothecary where the temple is since it isn't exactly a place you ever visited when you used to come to the city and your memory is still hazy on where everything is again. You head to the temple and while you remain hooded as usual, you still draw a little attention from people who are close enough to get a better look at you. Fortunately, you're strange enough looking that nobody gets hostile. When you get to the temple, you don't even get very far since two of its members stop you just inside the entrance. "And just where do you think you're going, you...what the hell are you anyway? Damn you're cold, step back." a man with a goatee asks. "Yeah, I was hoping you guys could help me with this." You say. "Maybe we should tell Elder Flynn about this, Travis." The other one says. "The Elder is in meditation and can't be disturbed for a week, you know that! Still, this is something he might find interesting. Tell me, how did you come to be this way?" Travis asks. You give a brief rundown on what happened, when you mention Ral by name the pair of them seems more interested in that, than what happened to you. "Wait, you're telling me that YOU killed Ral?" Travis asks. "I helped...oh shit...he wasn't secretly a Dorna worshipper was he?" you ask. "No true follower of Dorna would do it in secret! He was an infidel as far as I know. Though honestly, I'm not too familiar with the man, Elder Flynn apparently knows him quite well and all I know about that is they're not fond of each other. So...he's dead huh?" "Yes." "Okay, this is something Elder Flynn would definitely want to know about. Unfortunately as I said, he's in meditation and can't be disturbed at all. You could come back then. I'm sure the Elder would be able to help." "Well...I guess I can wait a little longer. So I just come back here in a week?" "Yes, in a week." "Okay then." You turn to leave and look back to see Travis and his buddy whispering about something. Probably about you no doubt. Still, at least they didn't try to do anything bad to you or anything, though that's still a possibility you suppose. The only thing to do now is wait, but you're going to have to find something to do in the meantime. You could go back home, but you honestly don't feel like making that trek again, not to mention after spending so much time in Ral's house, you aren't exactly itching to go back so soon. You have more than enough money so you figure you'll just find an inn to stay at. You stay at a place called the Baroness. (Named after the current ruler no doubt) The innkeeper is a bit wary of you, but after giving him a few extra coins for a room he no longer has a problem with you. (Other than telling you to stand back from him) You spend a couple days not doing much of anything important except information gathering. It's difficult to eavesdrop on conversations (let alone trying to strike up one) with your new condition, but you do manage to at least figure out some basics on the underworld situation. Apparently along with there being a new ruler, the Ebony Claw Syndicate has a greater monopoly on all criminal activity in the city. There are still independents as such things can never be completely wiped out, but the Thieves' Guild was completely destroyed along with any other minor organized rivals Last time you remember, Lisa said she was thinking about joining them. At the time you hoped she wouldn't, but given the situation now, you suppose if she has, it's better that she picked the winning side. Of course this is all still assuming she's alive or even still in the city. You can't be sure of any of this, but since you have time to kill and not much else going on, you seek out Ebony Claw members to question. Not exactly something most do, but then you don't have much to lose and at this point you'd wager that you're a much better than average fighter than you used to be if it comes to that. You head to a place called the Poisoned Blade Inn, which even before they took over the entire underworld was a known Ebony Claw hang out. As soon as you enter, it's almost like the Dorna Temple all over again, because you gain everyone's attention, mainly because you don't even bother covering yourself with a hood like you normally do. "Well...this is an unusual sight." "Looks like the Dornans have been experimenting again." "Did it just get colder in here?" "Hey, pale man! You lost?" "Careful, he looks like he might have magic about him." "Yeah, well he ain't the only one." Several obvious ECS members are already converging on your position. "Not here for trouble, just looking for the most direct way of getting answers. Does anyone here know a woman named Lisa? She'd be around my age." You say holding up your hands. The ECS members do not put down their guard just because you are though. "Even if any of us did know such a woman, what makes you think we'd tell you?" the most aggressive ECS member says. "Look, if you haven't heard of her, fine, I made a mistake and I'll just go." "Oh you made a mistake alright just by walking in this place and the only place you're going is the sewers after we dump your body!" The man suddenly grabs your arm and attempts to pull you towards him in order to stab you, but as soon as he grabs your arm he pulls his hand back. You draw your weapon and everyone steps back a bit. "SHIT! This guy is fucking freezing!" the man exclaims. "He's a sorcerer! Quick, shoot him before he unleashes more frost magic!" another shouts. Soon another man with a partially shaved head and a huge black claw tattooed on the shaved part appears from the back of the crowd. "Alright, alright, everyone fucking settle down. Obviously the man didn't come here to fight, he wants information, but that's going to cost. I trust you have some coin?" "Yeah, hope you don't mind it cold." You say and toss a small pouch of coins at him, which he catches. "Fine with me, you bought yourself an audience. Come with me into my office." You follow the man as the rest of them get out of your way. His "office" is really just a more secluded table towards the back, but it serves its purpose. The pair of you sit down and you learn the man's name is Mantis. "Geez, you really do give off the cold. Not sensing that you're a sorcerer though. You look human...curse perhaps?" Mantis asks. "Something like that, getting it taken care of." You respond. "Well good luck with that iceman. In any case we're not here to talk about your condition, you were asking about a woman named Lisa. Now for some reason you came to a know Ebony Claw location to ask us specifically. So what makes you think we might know this woman? And a better description would help." You give a physical description of her based on what you remember of what she looked like. It's almost a little concerning that you've almost forgotten what she looks like, but you believe your description has sufficed and it's your additional information that you think that she may have joined the Ebony Claw Syndicate that gets attention. "Hmm, I see. So you're looking for your long lost girlfriend? Is that it? You sure she just didn't want any more to do with you? It happens you know." "I'm fairly certain that isn't the case. We were on good terms before our...separation which wasn't either of our faults. Look I already know she could have very well moved on or even be dead. If that's the case, then I'll just deal with it, but one of the last things she was talking about was possibly joining you guys. I didn't think it was a good idea, but if she did join and she's still part of your organization, then I'd just like to know so if I have to ask every EC member, then that's what I'll do until I get confirmation." "Well, From what you've told me, she doesn't sound like ECS material, but then maybe she got lucky and blew the right person...(Sigh) Look, I can ask around, but I can't make any promises. Our organization is fucking huge you understand and I couldn't even tell you every member in this city, let alone anywhere else. Shit, for all I know she might be a higher rank than me because I'm nowhere near the top of the food chain. And if that's the case then I can't just be giving away her location and I'm also not doing this for free." "I just paid you." "Yeah, you paid for an audience with me. Now you're going to pay for me to ask around about your ex. However, I'm not going to ask you for money. I want you to perform a task for me." "A task?" "Yeah. If I'm going to potentially be giving information out one of our members to a stranger, I want to see just how dedicated you are about this. Now you look like you'd be able to handle yourself in a fight. You came in here by yourself after all." "You want me to go rob a bank or steal something?" "Pfft. The syndicate has no need to be involved in such petty activities to supplement our income. The Blue Dream trade is thriving and whores and gambling are too. No, what needs to be done is something a lot more violent. You familiar with Karn?" "The God of warriors?" "Combat, strength, all that related shit. Well their priests are starting to become a pain in the ass by encroaching on our territory." "I wasn't aware the Karnites were into drugs, whores and gambling." "They aren't, but they're in the business of faith and that's a problem to the Temple of Fel. Not long ago, a Karnites broke all the limbs of one of Fel's faithful. This can't go unpunished. I want you to go kill the asshole and bring me back the ring he wears on his hand as proof." You always heard rumors that the Ebony Claw Syndicate were more than just a criminal organization and the reasons why they were so powerful were due to their ties to the God of shadows. Looks like this confirms such things. "Okay. So why send me? The syndicate has loads of assassins I'd wager. In fact don't the followers of Fel specialize in that sort of thing?" You say. "And you'd be right, but we just got finished with a full blown war with the Thieves Guild and the other petty organizations. We're really not looking to get into another one so soon without rebuilding a bit. As for the Fels themselves, well apparently it's not high on their priority list, but you can bet that if it did get taken care of, those involved would find favor with the temple." Mantis says with a smile. Obviously Mantis wants to use you to advance his own petty ambitions. "In any case, you're not affiliated with us and you're not a follower of Fel. If you purposely start a fight with a Karnite and kill him then it has the added bonus of not being attached to either of us." Mantis continues. "Wait, you want me to just kill this guy out in the open?" you ask. "You're not too familiar with the Karnite faith are you? Issue a personal challenge and it's all perfectly fine. Hell, even the city watch isn't going to do shit about it. Other Karnites themselves won't even retaliate, as they'll see it as an honorable challenge from a lone challenger. Though to be on the safe side, I'd try to make it seem like a natural challenge. I dunno, bump into him on the street and pick a fight or something." "What about the ring? Won't they be upset about me taking a holy item?" "Eh, well they probably won't be happy about it, however you'd be taking a trophy and if someone wasn't strong enough to keep it, then in their eyes they don't deserve it. In fact, they may even ask if you want to join them...but obviously I wouldn't advise that." > You refuse the job You aren't having any part in possibly getting caught up in some faction war. This Mantis guy doesn't seem reliable on if he can give you any useful information anyway. "Thank you for your time, but I'm going to have to pass." You say. "Fine by me, but let me tell you this. Don't come back here again for any reason. If fact I'd advise you not to ask the Syndicate for any help on this matter again. This was a one-time offer. Now leave." Mantis remarks. You leave the Poison Blade Inn no closer to finding Lisa. You know Mantis warned you, but given that he admitted that even he didn't know every EC member, you toy with the idea of just simply asking elsewhere. You spend most of the week at various gambling halls, brothels, seedy taverns and fighting arenas. Most of which are run by the Syndicate, but you don't find Lisa and the few people that are talkative enough have never heard of her. Eventually you start getting enough suspicious looks in the crowds that even you think you should stop while you're ahead. In any case, you've got another task, which is curing your condition. You eventually return to the Dornan temple hoping that their elder can help. This time however, you're stopped before you even get inside. "Hey! I've seen you before!" a female voice says, as you're about to open the door. You turn around and see a young female Dornan priestess in the usual blue and purple robes. "Yeah, you're that pale guy that was talking to Travis and Mathias last week. I remember being surprised that Travis didn't throw you out immediately. You here to see him? Because he hasn't been around since that time, him or Mathias in fact. We've sort of been wondering where he is, well not really for our sake since it's been peaceful without him, but Elder Flynn isn't going to like him being gone for so long since Travis was supposed to unofficially be in charge while he was in meditation." "Wait, your Elder, he isn't STILL in meditation is he?" "Yeah, but it should only be a couple days before he's done. Did you need to see him?" "Yeah, Travis told me to come back in a week so I could see him to possibly cure my condition." The female priestess looks at you a bit before replying. "Hmm, yes I have noticed that you're giving off a small cold draft along with your pale skin. Uh...I probably shouldn't do this, but um...you MIGHT not want to meet Elder Flynn." She says. "Why not?" you ask. "Well...don't get me wrong I'm a dedicated worshipper of Dorna and all her wisdom and mysteries of magic yet to be uncovered, but Elder Flynn is a bit on the radical side of uncovering some mysteries and acquiring knowledge." "Meaning?" "Well, meaning that you might find yourself entranced, on a table getting chopped up to see what exactly is causing this condition and how best that it can be harnessed. I mean it's also completely possible that won't happen, but I figured you should at least know the risk since I'm sure Travis didn't tell you." You take your hand off the door and sigh in defeat. "Great." You say. "If you don't mind me asking, how did this happen to you anyway?" Since you don't have anything better to do now and she was kind enough to warn you, you go ahead and tell her. Heather as you learn her name listens intently to your story. "Ral huh? I wonder if that explains why Travis and Mathias lit out of here so quickly." Heather says. "What do you mean?" you ask. "Well you told them that Ral was dead meaning nobody is guarding that house anymore. The pair of them probably went over to loot the place of whatever magic they could find." "Oh shit. I wasn't thinking. Fuck! They've probably completely stripped the place by now!" "What difference would it make to you? You don't use magic." "No, but I AM still using that house as a residence and that's all my stuff now! Not to mention I was planning on selling some of that shit over time. I gotta get over there!" "Well hold on, you can't just face them alone! At least let me go with you so they don't turn you into a jackalope or something!" "Fine, but keep up!" You soon make your way out of Holgard and back to your house. You never thought you'd consider it your house, but hell after all the shit you put up with there and killing Ral for it, you feel you're entitled to it more than two asshole wizard priests just looting the place. Heather tells you that you'd get there faster if you let her cast a haste spell on the pair of you. You're a little reluctant at first given your past with wizards, but eventually you give in and by the end of the day, you're back at your house. You see that the front door is wide open. "I'm going to murder the pair of these thieves." You say (The irony isn't lost on you given your past) "H...hey wait! You can't just kill them!" "The hell I can't, I killed one wizard already and I doubt if these two are more powerful than Ral." "Maybe not, but there's two of them and besides all that, they might be assholes but they're still my Dornan brothers! I understand your anger, but I'm not going to just stand by and let you kill them. Look let me just go in first and talk to them." You don't like this at all, but you've rather not have to fight three wizards so you relent. "Fine." Heather goes in and you follow. Though you don't get very far inside when you see blood all over the floor. You then see a body. "Mathias!" Heather shouts and goes over to him. You look at Mathias' body and see a couple of chunks bitten from his body along with several quills in him. "Shit, I can't believe I forgot he was still here." You say. "Who's still here?!" Heather exclaims. "Spikey." "Who's that?" "My pet manticore." "Wait. You have a pet manticore? "Sure, doesn't everyone?" "How the hell do you forget something like that?" "It's been a busy week and I've had a couple of more important things on my mind. Also I thought I left him outside, though maybe I did and he wandered in when your people broke in. I hope these assholes didn't hurt him." You say and follow the other trail of blood leading to the lab door, which is open. You look around the lab and see some equipment knocked over along with some quills embedded in various places. You see another body on the floor though this one is almost completely eaten and it's mostly just bones now. You imagine that this is probably Travis. Spikey (who is a little larger than when you last saw him) is here gnawing on one of these bones and sees you. He growls a bit at first, but then comes up to you. And you cautiously give him a pet. "Have you actually gotten bigger already? And what are these things?" you say and also notice little nubs on his back that weren't there before. "Those are the beginnings of wings." Heather remarks. Spikey sees her and immediately raises his tail up until you start to try to calm him down. "Heather you can't just sneak up like that! He's not that friendly around strangers!" you shout. "Obviously, but I'm not fussed." Heather remarks and then waves her hands a bit and she goes up to Spikey and pets him who is suddenly very friendly towards her. "Hmm, apparently your buddies didn't think of that." "Might've caught Travis off guard, if he was looting this place he probably wasn't focusing on anything else. Then I imagine Mathias panicked since he's always been prone to do that and tried to run away which didn't work of course." "Not that I'm complaining, but you don't seem too concerned about your fellow priests like you were a moment ago." "Well, Travis I never gave a shit about. Matthias was okay, but he didn't exactly have the strongest of backbone. If he did, he might still be alive. Plus how they died was on them. I mean it isn't like you killed them in cold blood. They were looting your home and your guard creature killed them because they weren't wise enough to assess the dangers before hand. I can accept that." "Very pragmatic of you." "Dorna does teach us the virtues of pragmatism. Speaking of which, I have pragmatic proposition for you." "Okay..." Heather asks if she can look through Ral's stuff and take some of it. She explains that in exchange for doing so, she can try to look into your condition personally and try to figure out how to reverse it. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" you ask. "You don't I suppose. All I can give you is my word and hopefully my actions today have given you something to judge my character. I may be a worshipper of Dorna, but I'm not a fanatic like the Elder. Also, there is no point in telling him about his old acquaintance Ral being dead. Not when I can come here and use the knowledge found here myself." Heather remarks. "Ah, so do you plan to usurp your Elder?" "I didn't say that, but one never knows about the future. In any case, your condition is intriguing enough for me to try to look into. I promise I won't attempt anything too invasive unless you agree to it." "How chivalrous of you. (Sigh) Yeah, I guess I'll trust you, for now at least. What about your Dornan brothers?" "I'll just say I haven't seen them and have no idea where they are. I might warn you however that other Dornan members have probably seen you given that you've been around and inside the temple. A few of them might have even seen you speaking with Travis. Might be best if you lay low for awhile and not even go to Holgard." "You might be right, but I can't promise anything. I'm sort of looking for someone there...but then they might be dead or gone anyway. Yeah I guess I can stay out of sight and make other arrangements." Heather and you come to an agreement and she proceeds to look through the lab. She actually doesn't take much, just a few books that you have no use for anyway. She says that she'll be back as soon as she can and next time she comes by she'll look into your condition. In the meantime you spend time at your home not really doing much of anything except a lot of contemplation. You think about how you probably won't ever see Lisa again, but you also think about your family and how they might be doing. Did Annah survive? Where is your sister and what is she doing right now? Is she okay? All of these people that were once important in your life are just not around anymore and you doubt if you'll ever see them again either. Even if you weren't in the condition you're in now, you couldn't return home with how you left it anyway. You don't actually expect Heather to return or if she does she'll return with a group of other wizards to end you, which you barely even care about at this point, but she eventually does return and it's alone. She subjects you to a few minor tests that she can think of to do and even gives you a few potions to drink. You agree to it mainly because you don't have much to lose. None of the potions work however save for a couple actually making you sick and causing you to vomit. "Apologies, but I can't think of anything else to do that isn't more invasive." Heather remarks. "It's fine. It's fine. Ugh. Maybe...maybe we can do that another day though. Not feeling too well right now. Take whatever you like from the lab, I'm sure there's more shit you could find useful. I'm not going to Holgard to sell any of it any time soon." "You sure you're okay?" "I'm fine, I'm just going to lay down for awhile. Remember to lock the door on your way out." Heather's a little surprised by your permissiveness given that you were ready to kill two of her fellow priests for being here not long ago, but your consent is what makes all the difference. That and the fact that you're still feeling a little depressed about things on top of not feeling well physically. You get into bed and sleep, when you wake up. You find a note with a bottle next to it on a nearby table. It's from Heather telling you that the contents should make you feel better since it's a healing potion of sorts. You down the liquid and it starts to work. Heather also says she isn't sure when the next time she'll be back, but she'll try to make it as soon as she can. Well it seems like you can trust this Heather at least along with her being someone that can actually help you or try to, which means it's a start. Who knows if any of this will help or change things though. > Time passes... Year 25 "I've looked through ALL of Ral's writings along with researching various tomes we have at the temple and I can't figure out exactly WHAT he did to you. I mean I can guess what he did, but even if I'm right, I still have no idea how to reverse it." Heather remarks. You know Heather's done more than you ever expected from her, but you can't help but feel frustrated by all this. If your condition wasn't getting worse, it probably would be tolerable, but it is getting worse. Not so much for you in terms of life and death directly, but you're starting to effect things in a wider area. At this point your home is freezing to most (or at least to Heather when she visits) and frost covers everything you come in contact with now. You don't even have to touch it for long. Even Spikey makes his home outside the house rather than inside, though it's just as well since he's huge now. Which is leading to the other issue and that's the fact your icy home is starting to look very out of place compared to the rest of the surrounding landscape. Granted you're isolated from most major population centers, but there is Dert. Dert is close enough that it's only going to take a few of the more adventurous young folks to go wandering from that backwards village and bring back tales of an "Ice Castle" with a manticore guarding it. (Fortunately Spikey has never wandered towards Dert and his hunting grounds are mainly elsewhere.) Heather herself has been trying to keep your presence a secret since apparently Elder Flynn has been sensing a minor growth in magical energy in the area. So far he assumes it's Ral just working on something, but Heather stresses that if he finds out the truth, he'll definitely be heading to your home. Heather is also stressed out due to the fact that she's been keeping all this from her comrades and on top of everything else, there's the beginning of religious faction war going on in Holgard. Since she's out of any ideas that you might find acceptable, she suggests the last thing she can think of and that's that you leave and head north. She believes your condition is exaggerated by the warmer climate. (Even more so now due to it being a hotter summer than usual) While you've sort of guessed that to some extent, she thinks that if you were just constantly living in a colder environment, your condition would even out and you might not attract as much attention. "So...what then? I'm supposed to just go live on a mountain top somewhere?" you say. "No, I'm just saying that you could probably live some place colder and your condition not be as much of a problem. You'd at least blend in a bit better. As it stands now, you're starting to attract a lot of attention and you were previously pretty isolated before. Not to mention you've got a big ass manticore wandering around nearby. You stay here and you're probably going to have groups of hired adventurers beating down your door." Heather remarks. "You just want me to leave because you're worried about your own ass." "Damn right I am! I mean I'm risking every time I come here, every time I lie to Elder Flynn. You realize how much my stomach is in knots about this? And you know what? Fuck you. I've been helping you out trying to figure out how to cure you! I've tried potions, spells, salves, rituals and even prayers to Dorna on your behalf!" "You've also been helping yourself to magical shit I have." "So? It's been mutually beneficial, but now it's starting to get risky to a point of where I'm no longer comfortable." "Alright, I get it. I get it. But I'm just not too keen on this idea that I'm supposed to just pick up and leave." "Well, I dunno any other solutions. I mean when was the last time you went to Holgard and didn't start drawing a crowd? Didn't you say that the guards actually prevented you from entering last time? You said you had to sneak in and then you soon got run out of there. I mean it's only going to be a matter of time that you start drawing the attention of someone you aren't going to be able to deal with." "Your boss is really getting that suspicious huh?" "Elder Flynn is a concern of course, but it might actually be lucky for you that there's religious strife going on in Holgard right now. But I was talking in general. Look, we've gotten along for a while now, and maybe if circumstances were different I'd say stick around longer, but..." Heather turns away from you a bit and exhales. In fact she starts to sniffle a bit. "What? Wait a minute...no...really? You never gave any indication! Hell, we've never even kissed! Though I suppose given my condition that might cause problems. That's why you never acted on it" you say. "Oh trust me, there's ways we could have gotten around that aspect. A simple protection of cold would have done that. It's just... it could never really work okay? And yeah initially I was helping you because it was beneficial to me personally, but I did genuinely want to help because you seemed like an okay guy that was in a bad situation. Even with you telling me tales of your shady past, there was always a charm about you." Heather remarks wiping her eyes a bit. "If I ever run into my sister again, I'm sure she'll be amused to hear that some of her charisma finally wore off on me. Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had more than my fair share of thoughts about you as well." "I'm sure." "I don't mean just the dirty ones though, I mean I figured even if you were only helping for the magic knowledge and items, it still was nice that someone was helping me." "Sort of wish you were only thinking of me in a dirty way, it would make this a lot easier. (Sigh) I shouldn't have said anything." "I wish you have said something sooner, I mean now what am I supposed to do? Just leave, knowing all this?" "If you do have feelings for me like you say then I beg you to leave because you'll just make it harder for me in the long run. I know it's selfish to put myself first, but it is what it is." "Okay, I'm not mad because I get it, but I don't see why WE can't just leave together. I mean you could continue trying to figure out how to cure me and you could probably start up another Dorna church up north and convert barbarian tribes or something. " "Heh, nice idea. Tempting even, but no. My life is here." You're getting frustrated at this point. "What are you fucking this Elder Flynn or something?" "What? No! He's like a hundred years old and I don't have daddy issues!" "Well what's really keeping you here then?" "Look, maybe an infidel like you can't understand, but my temple is also my family and with all the trouble going on right now, I'm not going to just abandon them." "Haven't you been hording knowledge and the shit you get from me?" "Yeah, well it's a complicated family relationship." "Guess I can't relate much...(sigh) Okay, fine. I'll leave, but only because you did try to help me, I'm a sucker for a pretty face and the fact I don't really have any other ties here and it'll make things easier for you." You start to get ready to pack, but Heather stops you. "Hold on a second. You don't need to leave right this minute." She says and makes a few little hand gestures causing a brief blue glow around her. Then she kisses you. It doesn't feel as good as you remember the last time you did this with Lisa. Even the good stuff is dulled, but what the hell, you'll take it. You and Heather get to it and you have a rather interesting time going about your intimacy. Heather's spell is working, but it's obvious she's still feeling some mild...well the word isn't exactly discomfort, but let's just say she has never pleasured herself with an icicle in the past so it's a cool sensation down there for her. However she's a trooper and you must be doing something right because by the time you're done she's covered in frost. No, that's not a euphemism either; she's literally covered in frost. (In fact if this was all taking place in a modern setting, there could be a whole joke about "The Iceman Cometh") You on the other hand were sort of hoping that experience while pleasant enough would maybe raise your body temperature a little, but no, you're still as cold as ever. After a moment of basking in frosty bliss, Heather brushes herself off and gets dressed. "I hope that you can somehow find a way to cure yourself, but whether you do or not, take care okay?" With those last words she gives you one more kiss and leaves you alone. This experience has arguably been the best thing that's happened to you since you woke up in your condition. Of course maybe you're just sort of feeling that way due to the fact that you haven't exactly been with anyone in a long damn time. Part of you wants to just go to her temple, but going to Holgard isn't going to do anything but cause problems for her and you, so you'll wait. You know she'll be back. You figure Heather will probably come back here in a couple days to see if you're still around and to potentially look for any items she may have missed. When she comes back, you'll make every effort to convince her to come with you. So you wait. A week passes, then a month, then two months... By this time, you're still laboring under the delusion that she's going to come back and mainly subsisting on frozen berries, fruit and roots that you don't go too far to collect from your home. In the meantime Spikey, being an apex predator in the area has steadily over the past few years been depleting most of the wildlife. He was also supplementing this with the many bandit groups that make their homes in the woods at times. However, even bandits eventually get wise to the fact that it might not be the best idea to have a hideout where many of their fellows are disappearing at an alarming rate. If his attention wasn't in the direction of Dert before it is now. You however don't really know any of this until you get a knock on the

door one night. Thinking that it's Heather, you spring from your chair, and open it. And you're met by a woman, one you even know, but not Heather. "...Isabella?" you say upon seeing her. Isabella frowns as you just stare at her naked body in surprise. "Glad you remember what my tits look like." She says. "...Apologies, but I really wasn't expecting you. I thought another...nevermind, what are you doing here?" you ask. "I'm here to speak to Ral...what the hell happened to you? You're as pale as I am and you're giving off some serious cold. This whole house is, given the frost and ice in the area. What the hell IS Ral doing in there?" "Well..." "Look, no offense, but I'm not in the mood to speak to his magic slave. I want you to go bring his ass out of his lab to come speak to me right now. I mean I thought we had an understanding at least that if we HAD to be neighbors he wouldn't fuck things up for me. Now I got a bunch of dead people in Dert due to his escaped manticore or pet or experiment or whatever the fuck. I told him that backwards dung heap of a hamlet was MY ongoing food source and was not to be messed with." "Wait, Spikey attacked Dert?" "Spikey? That its name? Real original. But yeah it was a damn blood bath there. Hell, I could smell it even from my crypt. The beast killed ten people. I would have tracked it down easily, but considering its scent was also leading in this direction, I'd pay Ral a visit first since I was sure this was all his fault. And judging from what I'm seeing, I was right. So get his ass out here!" "That's going to be a problem given that he's dead." "Dead? Bullshit." "I'm serious. He's been dead for like two years now." Now Isabella is the one showing some surprise. The fact that she is surprised means you must have really caught he off guard. You remember that Ral and her had a relationship in the past. From some of her brief sad expression, she perhaps didn't have complete loathing for him. Isabella looks down a bit and closes her eyes before speaking again. "(Sigh) Damn. Didn't think I'd still feel something for the bastard, but I guess you never know until it happens. I guess this means you're no longer a magic slave and you're in fact responsible for this mess then. How? You're no wizard. And how did you kill Ral anyway?" Isabella asks. "I didn't kill Ral, he just died of natural causes in his bed." You quickly say. "Hah! Nice try, but you're lying. Look, I don't care if you killed him, if he'd made me a slave I'd have killed him too." "Well, I had help and it wasn't easy." "I'm sure. So what's with the eternal winter here?" "Ral's last gift to me." You give a quick explanation of events of your condition to Isabella who listens to everything. "So...it was this Heather was the one you were waiting for then?" Isabella asks. "Yeah, but well...that's a long story." You say with a sigh. "Let me guess you fell for your nurse." "She wasn't a nurse, she was a priestess." "Nurse, priestess, whore, doesn't matter. Your circumstance is as old as time. You fell for the one taking care of you when nobody else would. It happens a lot, but I think your case its just desperation." "Excuse me?" "Well, you've been waiting for this girl for two months you said. It's obvious she isn't coming back." "She could just be busy! There's a religious war going on in Holgard right now! You know, we made love the last time I saw her!" "And? That probably was just a goodbye pity fuck. Look, I didn't see how you two interacted and I'm only getting some of what you're telling me, so I'm not going to say this girl didn't have feelings for you, but its obvious she cares more about herself or at least her own life." "You don't know shit!" you snap. "Okay, look, whatever. I actually don't care that much, but we still need to settle this issue with your pet manticore along with your snowman condition because both of them are going to fuck up my shit. The manticore can be settled easily since I can just kill the beast and be done with it. But you are a whole other problem." "Wait a minute you can't just kill my pet! And why the hell am I a problem, I don't even go near Dert." "Yeah, but your aura might. I mean from what little you've told me, your condition is getting worse and if that's the case, the last thing I need is for it to freeze over Dert and cause all the peasants there to pick up and leave due to failed crops. It's bad enough some are already talking about leaving due to the manticore attack. Others are even talking about hiring adventurers. Last thing I need is a group of fortune seekers stomping around the area and stumbling on my place of rest." "I'm sure you'd be able to handle them." "That's not the damn point, my point is I like things peaceful and they can't be, if there are certain elements in the area fucking everything up! So the way I see it, is you got two choices. You either leave, or I cure you." Once again Isabella has given you a little surprise. "What? You can cure me? How?!" you ask. "Invite me in and I'll show you." Isabella responds with a smile. "Uh...no...things aren't quite bad enough for me to want to commit suicide." "Who said I was going to kill you? I'd make you into a vampire." "Wait. Why? Would that work?" "Sure. The transformation process practically gives you a clean slate. I'd be very surprised if it didn't work. As for why...well let's just say why not?" "...I feel like there's a catch..." "Well of course there's a catch, I don't just offer the gift to anyone. I'd require you to help me around the crypt as it were." And there it is. "A slave. You want me to be your slave." You say. "You wouldn't be a slave, you'd be my...companion. You think your few years of no meaningful intimacy are bad? Come back when you've had a century or so of it. I just felt a pang of loss over a man that I practically loathed for decades. Now I know I'm moving in quick on you, but when you've been as solitary as I have, you tend to not let social rules dictate your actions. I'm offering not only a cure for your condition and immortality, but also a chance for you not to worry about having to be alone ever again. You can't say you aren't tempted. I still remember that night we had years ago. Look, I'll be back in a couple nights. If you're still here, then I'll know you've accepted my offer. If you're gone, I know you haven't. And when I say I'll be back in a couple nights, you can bet that I'll mean it." Isabella says and leaves. And once again you're left alone with a big decision. You knew you were going to have to make one soon, but these events haven't definitely given you more to think about. > You stay and accept the offer It's not a perfect solution, in fact it might very well be worse, but you see no other option. Maybe you just don't even care anymore. Ever since you left Teckleville, you've been confined somehow. Ral did it directly with the geas, then even in death he did it with this condition he forced upon you. Now it would appear Isabella is planning to do the same. She claims that you'll be her companion, but you really don't get the impression that you'll be equal. Not really. Hell, maybe in some twisted way you want someone else giving the orders and that's why you're going to do this. But it doesn't matter; you just can't deal with being like this any longer. At least this way you'll have someone on your side on a regular basis. Of course maybe you're just deluding yourself and hoping for something that isn't there. Just like you did when you waited for Heather. Again, it doesn't matter, you're going to go through with this plan because it's the easiest way out. So you wait, and in the next two nights, you hear a knock on the door. You open it and as expected it's her. "Well, given that you're here, I'd say that means you've decided to take me up on my offer. I have to say, this pleases me and you will soon see just how lucky you are that I chose you. Now, if you'll just invite me in, we can get to this, or you can step out here, if you prefer. Up to you." Isabella says. "Might as well come in. My home is your home now." "Indeed, but I'm sure you realize that we'll be living at my superior home...however I suppose this isn't a bad place to use as a surface dwelling of sorts. Always was curious about what it looked like inside. Though I'm guessing there wasn't frost all over the place." Isabella remarks as she enters and gives a brief glance around before turning to you. "So...are you ready to ascend a higher form of existence?" Isabella asks. "Um...yes...but I just have a question." You say. "Of course. I can answer all your concerns about this process." "It's actually about Spikey." "Oh?" "Well I was wondering what was going to happen with him." "What did you want to happen to him?" "Well considering I'm going along with all this, I'd like to request that you not kill him. I mean as a vampire couldn't you just charm the beast to not attack Dert?" "That doesn't work forever. The beast could shake off the effects when it's out in the wild at any time. I can't be expected to keep up on it and before you volunteer to do it, you aren't going to have the time either. Even if we managed to keep the beast from attacking the village, there's still the issue that he's probably killing all the wildlife in the area, which could actually have worse effects in the long run. He really doesn't belong here." "Is there nothing that can be done? I mean I get that you don't have an attachment to him, but he did save my life once." "Hmm, I can see that you're more attached to this animal than I thought...very well I suppose I understand. There's another solution, but you're going to have to still be prepared to say goodbye to him." "Why?" "Because we'll take him some place else to live that's why. We can make a trip out of it or something I suppose." "Okay, I guess that's reasonable. Thanks." "Well I am the reasonable one. So, you ready?" "I guess as much as I'm going to be, now you're sure this is going to work?" "I have no doubt that it won't, now come to me and let me warm you up." Isabella's statement is more of a turn of a phrase considering her own undead ass is as cold as a grave, but then she probably is still warmer than you are. You approach Isabella who embraces you in her arms. She doesn't flinch from your icy body and instead kisses you on your lips. You wish you weren't so numb that you could actually enjoy this bit. Eventually she stops kissing you and her mouth roams a bit lower and to the side. This is it. You feel a sharp sensation enter your neck (which doesn't cause you pain) followed by a draining one. Isabella herself is having a mildly difficult time sucking your blood, which is probably a little slushy due to your frosty condition, but she's getting through it. Soon light headiness follows and then you're starting to lose consciousness altogether. Just before you do though, Isabella stops feeding on you and then quickly bites herself on the wrist. Using the open wound, she pours some of her blood into your own mouth and a metallic taste hits your tongue and eventually slides down your throat. "You just made the best decision in your mortal life... now experience ascension." Isabella remarks and then kisses you on the mouth again before finishing you off. Everything goes dark. You don't know how much time passes, but when you wake up, you're feeling quite different. You're not breathing, and you're hungry. You're still cold, but now it's changed. You're no longer a walking glacier. It worked, but now what? And where are you? You look around and find that you're no longer in your home. You're lying on a stone floor for one thing. There's no light, but you aren't finding that to be a problem since now you have some sort of night vision. You also see two human figures shackled to the walls. They're both naked and have their heads hanging down. You sense that they're still alive, but they aren't struggling so you can only assume they're either so demoralized that don't have the desire, or they're under control in some way. "Good, right on time for you to be awake. So, how do you feel? Hungry I suspect. Well you can have one of those two on the wall, Don't completely drain them though, I like to keep them around awhile, saves me from having to go out as often...though with you around now, I guess I hopefully won't have to do that anymore at all." Isabella remarks while standing in an entryway. You don't say anything; you just slowly get up as you're still feeling a little strange. Isabella goes over to help you. "Here, I got you. Let's get you over to the food, you'll feel much better I think after you eat. Don't worry, it's a very basic process, and I'll guide you through it, then afterwards we can do some other things that are also very basic. I'm sure that will be fun for the both of us." Isabella guides you over to the human wretch that's chained up and tells you where to bite so you don't just kill the person right away. She's right of course, it is all very easy. Hell, you don't even hesitate with doing it. Why you don't is probably a combination of several factors. If anything you feel like you're in a daze right now and Isabella is taking the lead. While its entirely possible that she's got some sort of control over you, it's more along the lines that you're just perfectly willing to let her take the lead. She promised exactly what she said, she cured you. Why be ungrateful or defiant? Why fight what is now your nature, which is to feed on other living beings' blood? You ultimately chose this, so you might as well embrace it. If this makes you completely "evil" now, you really don't give a shit. You were dancing on the edge of it anyway, and that didn't even work out very well. Maybe now that you've completely crossed over, maybe things will start going a lot better for you. The fact that you and Isabella soon have a round of passionate bloody vampire sex soon after you're done feeding can only mean things are in fact improving for you... Right? > Time passes... Year 26 It's amazing how things can be going fairly well for you, and you'll still find shit to be dissatisfied about. What might be worse is the new nature of you "confinement." It's another gilded cage. (Or fancy crypt in this case.) While not much is ever demanded of you, Isabella definitely is treating you less than equal as you have to clean the crypt One thing you never knew about vampires is how they can become obsessed with the smallest details. Probably has to do with the enhanced senses. Isabella apparently is a neat freak and due to this quirk she spent most of her time rearranging, cleaning, and generally tidying up her home. An impossible task of course, but that didn't stop her from trying. Even the room where she keeps the blood "donors" is kept clean and isn't the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be. She still cleans of course, but you're doing most of it now. It's really boring especially since you had to do this to a lesser degree at Ral's and at least there, you were able to let it go for a week at times. Not to mention it's fucking impossible to "clean" a vast underground crypt in the first place. About the only thing you don't have to take care of is her underground garden, which is her own personal project that she spends a lot of time on. In fact, with you around now she doesn't even have to leave it to get food much anymore. She just has you do that, which is sort of plus, since that's one of two major things that break up the monotony. You initially would lure a citizen of Dert back to the crypt, but in time you started wandering a bit more and realized with all the bandits making hideouts in forest, you might as well give yourself a bit more of a challenge. Sometimes you will boldly face a group of them. The poor dumb bastards never realize they don't have a chance and you proceed to tear them apart, satisfying your own hunger and leaving only one or two alive to bring back to Isabella. The second major thing would be your routine intimacy with Isabella. It's a little odd, mainly because you've got mixed feelings on the emotional side of things. Isabella is very comfortable with the physical aspect, but in a lot of ways she's still pretty distant. Makes a bit hard for you to return serious affection when you aren't sure if you're just there as a dick for her to use when she's in the mood. While you don't really have any real complaints about that aspect that might make this bit of "captivity" worse since it's really difficult to complain when you're getting quality sex thrown in your direction on a regular basis. But since you're not totally whipped, you're going to complain anyway. Not to mention you just need more to occupy your time. There has to be more than just feeding and fucking, especially since you're supposed to be immortal now. Though you'd be lying if you weren't worried, she IS vastly more powerful than you after all and can easily subvert your free will if she so desired. (She never has though) You wait for one of the rare moments that she isn't in her private garden to speak with her since even after a year she still doesn't allow you in there. "Oh, hello. Have you been waiting out here for me the whole time?" Isabella asks. "Sort of. Oh I brought back dinner. A couple of children from Dert this time. I know it's risky since it causes more hysteria in the locals when kids go missing, but I was very careful and I figured you deserved something special." You answer. "Mmm, you're always so doting. Well, with your news and the fact I finally got my deathshade growing properly, I'm in a good mood tonight, so we can do that thing you always want to do to me after I eat." "Uh, yeah that's something to look forward to, but I was actually here to speak to you about something that's been on my mind lately." "Oh, okay then." "Now I'm already prepared for you to say no, but I want to make my argument clear..." "Okay, so what is it?" "Don't get mad..." "If you don't hurry up and get to your point, I guarantee I'm going to start getting mad. Just fucking say it already!" "Okay! I want more freedom." "I see..." "Now hold on, I don't mean I want to leave you! I just...agh...I need more out of life, or unlife as it were." "More? You have all you need. A home, a nearby food source, a beautiful companion by your side. I mean I'm not sure I understand." "And that's all great. Really it is. Probably better than I ever could have stumbled upon. It's like...well okay here's a good example. You have that garden. That garden that you love to spend all, occupying your free time when you have it. I mean you don't even let me in there, so I'm assuming it's something pretty special to you. I guess I'm saying I need my own garden. Not literally of course." "Hmmm, I understand what you're saying...I suppose I have just taken your happiness for granted." "Don't get me wrong, I am happy, I just need something more to do and no offense, but cleaning this crypt isn't it." "Hah, well I figured. I'd hoped that you would have developed a bit of an obsession for it like I somewhat did, but I imagine your servitude to Ral might have dampened that. Okay, so you're basically saying you want a hobby, fine. But I wasn't exactly stopping you from getting one. So what did you have in mind exactly?" Well so far this is going better than you thought, though Isabella's question brings up the fact that perhaps you haven't thought this entirely through. "I'm...I'm not exactly sure...I was sort of expecting you to be against it. Okay, well anyway I've been killing bandits in the forests. Lots of them actually." You say. "I figured you must have found some other food source since you didn't often eat here. So you have a bit of the bloodlust do you? That can happen with new vampires. As long as you don't massacre Dert, I don't care what you do." Isabella responds. "I'm thinking I'd like to go to Holgard once in awhile." "You haven't before? Again, I assumed when you weren't feeding much here, you might be nipping off to Holgard to eat." "I sort of wasn't sure if you wanted me to go that far." "Sheesh, do I really come off of that controlling? Holgard isn't that far. It's not like you're a lowly human anymore that is going to take forever and a day to walk there. With your speed, you could go there and be back before dawn. Hell, if you really needed to, it wouldn't bother me if you stayed there for a few nights. Get it all out of your system. If culling a few extra humans to satisfy your bloodlust is what you need to do, well Holgard couldn't be a better place to do it. It's a crime-ridden city where murder occurs daily. You'd fit right in and never arouse suspicion." "True, but it's not just the killing, it's I used to be a rogue before all this happened...and I've been thinking on those days I do miss them." "So...what then? You want to go to Holgard to be a common thief?" "Well when you say it like that, it doesn't sound as impressive. It's more like I just wonder if my desire for it is still there or am I just missing something from a simpler time I guess." "Weren't you doing it during your time with Ral? I know he didn't keep you on that short of a leash." "Yes, but I was so miserable that I don't think I ever really enjoyed it most of the time. About the only time I did, was when I was training...um...another..." Isabella's eyebrow raises as you stop yourself from mentioning Lisa. You quickly change up the conversation a bit. "My point is, I haven't really gotten to enjoy doing it since I left Teckleville. Actually even before that, since I started enjoying it less after my sister left. However, I feel like I should give it one more go to see if it really was something I liked doing, or maybe I just liked doing it with someone who was also interested in it." "You actually may find such petty thievery much too easy now. After all you have powers that you didn't have before." "Perhaps, but I also can't just break into any old house either not being invited and all." "True, but that can be easily gotten around if you can charm the owner into letting you in. There are also public buildings of course like shops. In any case, if this is something you want to pursue, I'm not going to deny you your eccentricities. We all have our interests. I believe this may be left over longings for your old human life, which is natural for new vampires as well. I also think you'll get bored eventually, but I leave you to work through it. Anyway, was that it?" "Um, yeah basically." "Good, now I'm going to feed on these children you got me, and then we can do that other things. Fairly certain you aren't going to go anywhere tonight." Well she's right about that. The next night you make your way to Holgard and it's true, thanks to your supernatural speed you get there fairly quickly, you don't even catch the attention of the guards outside the gate. You haven't been here in so long; you never thought you'd actually miss it. Hasn't really changed at all though there is one thing you're noticing and that's the fact the streets are practically empty. Its not even that late, usually there's still more activity than this. You see the watch patrolling around, but they're in groups much larger than you remember. They also tend to eye you very suspiciously. Granted you're here for trouble, but you decide that it probably isn't the best idea if you start off by murdering several Holgard Watchmen so you start avoiding said groups. It occurs to you that something here has changed drastically. Last time you heard any news of this place was Heather and she told you there was a war brewing between the religious factions. Maybe things have gotten worse? In any case you decide to eat first and head to the lower class districts where there are less patrols and probably easier to get a quick meal. You roam the streets, but it looks like even the lower elements have tried to set up some sort of safety plan during this uncertain time. Bums and the like are lingering together. Whores are as well and even performing their trade in groups. The worst part is instead of the Watch, there are Ebony Claw Syndicate members patrolling around and they're probably even more diligent since some of the ECS are also Fel followers. You soon realize that you're probably going to have to just enter a tavern and just lure someone away and get them in private or just risk the attention and wipe out a small group as quick as possible. Actually you're keener on the second idea since you're getting a bit impatient with how inconvenient this has been. Just as you're turning a corner a man in a green robe literally runs into you. It's enough to cause you to stagger since you weren't paying attention, as you were lost in thought. The man himself is on the ground. He looks scared, but strangely not because of you. He keeps looking around. "By Yag, you're a pale one. Wait... you a vampire?" the man asks. "Well there's no point in me lying since you're going to be my food soon." You respond. "Yeah? Well we that follow Yag all know that eventually we can't beat the odds forever. In fact tonight the odds were REALLY against me. Didn't see it ending like this though, certainly wasn't in the temple betting pool, hah! However I'd suggest you do it quickly before the Dornans get here. They see you and they'll use you for spell components, that is if the Joachimites don't get here first and just burn your undead ass." The Yagite priest continues to look around, waiting for what you're going to do, but it was always obvious. "Well guess I better follow your advice and make this quick then." You say and pick up the man and bite his neck. He makes little resistance other than gasping out some last prayer to Yag. You haven't been eating long when you're interrupted. The Yag priest wasn't kidding when he said someone would be here soon. "Yagite scum, you'll pay for...wha...?" a female voice says. You look in the direction of the voice and snarl at being disturbed. You see a woman dressed in purple and blue robes and a couple of other members of her temple behind her. "Vampire!" one of them shouts and begins to cast something and you leap into action. "No, wait!" the female member says and backs away, but you and her subordinates aren't listening. You head towards the acolyte that was attempting to cast a spell. After you easily put your fist through his chest, you feel flames at your back, which the other acolyte has cast at you. The flames hurt, but it isn't nearly enough to save him, you're just too quick and you rip out his throat. You savior the quick taste of blood before turning towards your last foe. "Stop! Stop! It's me!" the woman continues to shout as she puts a shield up and that's when your bloodlust subsides long enough to finally recognize who she is. It's Heather. You certainly didn't expect to run into her on your first night here. In the back of your head, you sort of had a concern that maybe if you ever did, it would stir up complicated feelings about her. However, at this moment the only thing you're feeling is the desire to slash her open and drink her dry... > You stop your attack It takes everything within you, but you stop completely. Heather may not have been your girlfriend or even a friend in the traditional sense, but she was trying to help you once and her company however brief did comfort during that time. You can't just forget all that. "Shit. Heather. Apologies. I...well as you can see, I've undergone a transformation since we last spoke." You say. "What the hell happened? Are you...I mean you're really a..." Heather starts to say. "Vampire? Yes. I found a cure to my other condition after all." "But...how? I mean not only how did you know, how did you find a vampire that would do it without killing you outright?" "Let's just say, fate sometimes finds a way of finding you and when it does, embrace it." "Okay, but I mean this is a severe change and irreversible." "It's better than that cold condition I had. I don't think you really know how unbearable that got." "No, I suppose I never truly did. So...is this better then?" "For the most part, I mean I can never see the sun again, but then I never was a day person to begin with. Oh and I have to drink blood from others to survive." "You have to kill them too?" "The two normally go hand in hand, but considering the types I'm often killing around here, I don't think anyone is going to miss them." "Well, I'm certainly going to miss my two acolytes." "Apologies." "You said that before. Doesn't change the fact that they're dead. " "Well, my new condition gets a little intense sometimes. I get in this mode and I just...well you saw what happened. Though I stopped myself for you. That's the important thing right?" "I...guess. Maybe I should go. I'm going to somehow explain how I got two members killed hunting one pathetic Yagite. Nevermind, take care I guess." Heather backs off slowly from you, still keeping her shield up and her eyes on you the whole time. You almost want to stop her, but you realize that maybe this is for the best that she reacted in this way. Not wishing to attract any excessive attention with all the bodies around, you take your leave and head back home without bothering to engage in whatever roguish endeavors you originally were intending. As you make your way back home, you feel somewhat weird about the situation with Heather. You feel like it should be over and done with, but you can't stop thinking about her. Why? Are you trying to hang on to some sort of "humanity?" Are you thinking about what could have been if things had been different? Do you think there still could be? You quickly dismiss all of these thoughts mainly because it's stupidly suicidal to begin with. Isabella is your mate now and you really don't have many complaints about her. She's been more than understanding and helpful even if you don't feel exactly "close" to her sometimes. Speaking of which, when you arrive back home, Isabella soon comes to greet you. It would seem Isabella decided to wait up for you for a change. You weren't expecting her to. "Well that was quick. I at least expected you to stay out until dawn. Did you have fun stealing items and whatever else?" Isabella remarks. "I didn't bother. I mostly ate and then got out of there." You answer. "What happened?" "Just ran into a bit of unexpected resistance. Nothing I couldn't handle though. The religious factions in Holgard are practically having open battle in the streets, so it's making things a bit more chaotic than usual. Even the Joachimites have formed mobs to burn what they consider the unholy. Exciting though." "Hm, interesting. So does this mean you're not going back?" "Eh, not sure yet. I think I need to reassess." "Well whatever you like dear. Come now, let's lay together." The next few days you stay away from Holgard and go back to hunting bandits and wanderers outside. During this time you think about how it's probably silly of you to avoid Holgard just because of Heather. Holgard is a big city and while its certainly possible to run into her again, you're confident that you don't have any real feelings for her. It was just a brief bit of emotion brought on by your surprise to see her. Judging by her own reaction she's probably never going to want to be near you if she can help it. Of course this does bring up the question of how you'll react exactly if you DO see her again. You doubt if you'll kill her though. A week passes and you're back in Holgard. This time though, you decide to engage in some thievery rather than hunting. That was of course one of the things you were wondering if you'd be interested in doing again. You spend a few hours breaking into some jewelry stores with relative ease. Seems Isabella was right that you aren't getting the same thrill from it like you used to. It's just a little too easy and you suppose it's just not the same as hunting down something and drinking its blood. Still, no point in discarding what you've got now. You've never known Isabella to wear jewelry (or anything else for that matter) but maybe she'll appreciate the pretties all the same. As you're sneaking back out of one of the stores, a familiar voice calls to you. "Got anything pretty for me in there? Gotta say, didn't expect to find you ripping off some trinket store." Heather remarks standing nearby. "Wha...Heather? What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me?" you ask. "Well somewhat. I've actually been looking for you for the past several days since I wanted to apologize for being so stand offish with you. " "Oh. It's fine, completely understandable." You say getting ready to move on. "I've been casting detect undead regularly since that night just to apologize. I'm guessing since you haven't back to the city for a while, our reunion was unexpected for you as well. Are you really okay? I mean sincerely?" "Yes, I'm fine. Just in a bit of a hurry, I just robbed this store and the rogue in me likes to leave the scene of a crime as soon as possible." "Oh, right! Yeah, makes sense. Well can I come with you? I really would like to catch up with you. So much has happened and I besides how I acted last time, I sort of want to apologize for how we parted before that too." Part of you really wants to say "No." and just take off. A very small part of you feels like you should just kill her to avoid complications. However the largest part of you is the one that actually wants to talk with her like an idiot. Guess which one you follow? "Uh, okay fine. Just let's go some place secluded." You say. You waste no time leaving the area and soon you and Heather are in some empty non-descript dark alley. "Not exactly what I had in mind. I figured we'd go to one of the neutral taverns and

talk." Heather says. "I don't like crowds, besides any petty thugs that stumble upon us are going to be up shit's creek if they start trouble." "I guess you got that one right, though I'd be more concerned with the ECS patrols given their Fel connections, but again I suppose we could take them. Anyway, how have you been?" Heather asks you in more detail about your vampirism, but you're somewhat hazy on the details of the hows and whys. (And you certainly don't mention Isabella) You get the impression Heather knows you're hiding something, but decides not to press the issue, probably not wishing to potentially anger you. Instead of interrogating you all night long, she decides to talk about herself and what she's been up to since you parted ways. Heather goes on to say that she's risen in rank at her temple and is practically second in command only to Elder Flynn himself. Though whenever she mentions him you don't get a tone of fondness. "Far be it from me to pry, but I get the strong impression you don't like Elder Flynn anymore." You say. "I...I don't dislike him. It's just...ugh. He's been too passive in this war of the faith! He keeps wanting to play defensively when we should be going more on the attack! Dorna is the strongest goddess of all and while our temple may be one of the smallest in this city, we make up in quality! I'd put any of ours against ten Felians! And the temple of Fel are arguably our only true competition here mainly because there are so many." Heather remarks. "What about the rest of the factions?" "Not even worth speaking of. The Yagites are practically finished here. The brainless followers of Karn will eventually follow. The Joachimites would be more of a challenge, but again, they only have numbers on their side and not even to the extent that the Felians have. They would fall as well. I believe we could crush all other factions and make a separate peace with the temple of Fel. It's not ideal, but at least it would cut the competition down in the long run." You always detected a bit of ambition in Heather even back when you were trading magic items for her help before. It would appear she's only gotten more so. "Well, sounds like you've got your hands full." You say. "Yes, I do and I don't get adequate help to perform the tasks I really need to do. Bah, anyway, I don't mean to unload my troubles on to you. I'm not even sure why I am. I guess it's the act of a desperate woman." Heather remarks. "Okay, you'll have to explain that one a little more." " I suppose, I was hoping assuming you're willing of course that you might help me." "Help you do what exactly?" "Take down a rival faction." "What, all by ourselves?" "I think we could do it! With your vampire powers and my magic abilities, I know for a fact that we could probably take out the Yagites or even Karnites!" "I dunno...this whole thing really isn't my concern." "Well, you like blood right? I mean you'd practically be bathing in it. And given what I saw of you with my acolytes, you definitely like killing. Unless you're seriously telling me you like easily stealing from shops more." "Can't deny that. I do like killing and I do like blood. It's just..." "For the love of Dorna! You can't help me in the same way I tried to help you in the past? Have you forgotten so quickly of all the risks I took?" Heather says with a raised voice. She then realizes that she may have overstepped a boundary when your attitude becomes less cordial. "No, I haven't forgotten. I also haven't forgotten of how you just left me to save your own ass when things were getting too risky for you. I even suggested that we run away together, but no. Your faith was more important and that's what you chose. Now, you're seriously getting pissed at me for not wanting to get involved in your personal war that I don't really give a shit about? I think YOU forget that you're addressing a vampire. One who is close enough to drain you dry before you could even utter a single incantation to defend yourself right now. I haven't even used my powers of suggestion on you to make you into my puppet and have you do what I want before ultimately disposing of you. And if I chose to do so, there would be no way for you to stop me. So don't forget THAT." Your firm reminder of who you are to Heather causes her to back off a bit. She even looks a bit embarrassed. "You're right of course...I just...I know..." Heather immediately brandishes a small dagger. "What the hell are you doing?" you ask fully prepared to defend yourself. "I want to prove that my feelings for you, haven't gone away. I've always thought fondly of our intimacy together that day. I've always felt saddened as well. Always wondering what might have been. I never dreamed that we could have another chance. But now with you back, maybe I thought we could try again. It won't be easy, but I'm willing to take that step. I offer myself to you once again. You may do whatever you will to me. Ravish me here in this alley like a common whore, drink my blood until you've had your fill, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I trust you. Perhaps then, when you've had your way with me, you may find that part of you still has feelings for me as well. If you didn't, you wouldn't have spared me at all." Heather says and cuts her arm. She then thrusts the bleeding limb at you. Tempting you like this, is very risky on her part since it's likely to just cause you to go into a feeding frenzy and kill her outright. However, perhaps she was right about you still having some feelings for her because you keep yourself in check and only take a little of her blood. Heather winces a bit, but when your mouth soon moves to her own she is enjoying it. You waste no time in turning her around and lifting up her robe and having your way roughly with her against the nearby wall. As you thrust inside her, you whisper in her ear. "Do you really desire my help?" "Yes. Do with me, as you like. Just help me crush my enemies in Dorna's name." "I'll help you crush your enemies, but the only name you'll be praising tonight is going to be mine." You can sense her excitement, her fear, her tension, everything. Something about all this is really doing it for you as well. You're totally dominating her and that's even more exhilarating than just killing someone and drinking their blood. This isn't even like having sex with Isabella either. This is something new you're experiencing and you're going to enjoy the hell out of it. You keep Heather quite during your intimacy by putting your hand over her mouth. Her stifled squeaks and your own reserved grunts are the only sound until your time is done with her. Heather takes a moment to catch her breath. She's probably never quite been treated that way before. "That was...uh...(whew) I..." "A glimpse of things to come. Now, I'll be back tomorrow night and we can continue with your plans. I'm sure you'll find me again." You respond. You leave Heather in the alley to collect herself and head home feeling a bit more positive about your trip to Holgard this time. When you get home Isabella is in her garden, you decide not to disturb her and get some early rest. You figure you're going to have to save your strength for what you've gotten yourself into. > Time passes... Year 27 This religious war has been the most fun you've had in a long time. While you've mostly been taking advantage of the chaos that the city has been plaguing the city again, you have also been working along side Heather in her efforts to take down the other religious factions. Heather isn't supposed to be engaging the other factions as much as she's doing, since Elder Flynn was still against being so aggressive. However, she's been openly arguing with him and convincing others members to follow her lead on this strategy. Since she's a respected voice within her group, Elder Flynn has relented a bit. It's mostly been directed towards the Yagites since she wants to make a concentrated effort on one group, but occasionally others are fought as well. However, she's been keeping all dealings with you as close to the vest as possible. Whenever you work with her, it's always just her and there are no other Dornans helping. You aren't sure why, but then you've never bothered to ask. In any case, you're just in this for the killing and fucking Heather mostly. Right now, you're in the process of attacking the main temple of Yag. Their numbers have dwindled to a point where an attack wouldn't be suicidal. Pathetically easy in fact as you face little resistance and soon leave Heather behind to "sweep up" the acolytes that pose no real challenge. You burst into the inner sanctum of Yag's temple. Several followers busily attempt to call forth incantations in order to stop you, but the most damage one does is summon forth a bunch of butterflies to flutter in your face. The winds of their "luck magic" are blowing the wrong way constantly. Yag either isn't listening, doesn't give a shit or is finding it all pretty amusing. Either way, the advantage is yours. You rip into three members and then two more before you're half way across the room. The Yagite high priest is busily rolling dice on his altar (which resembles more of a craps table) Every now and then he looks up at you, but continues to roll his dice, cursing the entire time. Eventually you reach him and just as you grab him he manages to roll one last time. You both see the results and its snake eyes. "Looks like you lose." You say. "We've been losing for quite some time now. Tried to bet big, but it's all come to this. Such is the way of Yag." The high priest says "You Yagites are very odd, you certainly don't want to die, but the few that I have ever spoken with always have a resigned fate when the time comes." "Well there's no point in fighting fate son. When your numbers don't come up, there's nothing that can be done about it. We had a good run here in Holgard, but I guess the odds were more against us than we thought. I got one question for you though. What the hell do you have against us? We don't hunt vampires. We don't hunt anything. I'd think you'd be after the Joachimites more than us...or are we just an easier target? You the Dornans pet vampire or what? You know those assholes will eventually dispose of you too." "I'm nobody's fucking pet!" you snap and start to crush the high priest's windpipe. Heather walks in and you turn to look at her. "Don't kill him yet, I need to interrogate him first!" Heather shouts. You drop the high priest to the floor. He coughs a bit and then begins to struggle to laugh. "What's so fucking funny?" you ask. "Yeah, sure. You're nobody's pet." The high priest laughs. This small act of disrespect is enough for you to kick him in the face, putting your foot partially through it killing him instantly. "What the fuck!? I told you I wanted him alive to interrogate! The Yagites might be broken by this, but they could have hideouts still in the city somewhere! He probably could have revealed other information as well!" Heather scolds. "Heather, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to again." You remark. "Yeah, I know who I'm talking to, and YOU'RE supposed to be following my lead on these matters!" "I did." You suddenly grab Heather, lift her robe up and bend her over the altar. Doesn't take long before you've established your dominance again. It's a common routine for the pair of you at this point. You both enjoy it. After you're done, you're ready to move on, but of course Heather isn't done with you yet. "Where are you going?" Heather asks. "I helped you wipe out this temple and I fucked you. My job is done for the night." "Well, you don't need to leave so damn quickly. I want to make plans for our next major endeavor." "Fine, but make it quick and we probably shouldn't stick around in a temple full of dead priests." You and Heather take your leave of the temple and find a secluded spot to talk about your next moves. Or at least Heather is, you're just listening. "Okay, I think our next move should focus on the Joachimites." Heather remarks. "I figured you'd say the Karnite since they're few in number." You say. "I would, but I believe the Felians are in the process of wiping them out. No need to get in their way and no need to waste time on something someone else is doing anyway. Joachimites are a big problem though and I figure you being a vampire and all, you'd enjoy taking them out all the more." "I'm actually indifferent. All these mortals are just blood bags to me. Whether they have some irrational hate for me or not is irrelevant since I'm killing them anyway." "Well I suppose that's one way to look at it. Um, it might take awhile for me to call on your help though on this. I need to talk this over with my brothers and sisters and get them on board with this too. Elder Flynn was eventually fine with wiping out the Yagites, might be harder to convince him about the Joachim fanatics though." "Sure, whatever. I'll just be stalking the streets like I normally do. Maybe I'll bump into a Joachimite from time to time to give us less to worry about in future battles with them." "Yeah about that, I was sort of wondering if you could take a break from the city for awhile. Like maybe a few months or so." "Excuse me?" "Our relationship is getting a bit harder to hide from the rest of my brethren." "So, what difference does it make? I thought you lot weren't supernatural hating fanatics." "We aren't, but you don't understand. If they knew I had a vampire helping me, it would cause unnecessary complications." "Oh come on, I can't imagine that your people don't know at all about me already." "They don't actually. If they did, I probably would have been confronted already, especially by Elder Flynn. He'd be asking WHY I had not been sharing you with the rest as a valuable resource." "Resource?" "Yes resource. To most of them, you wouldn't be looked upon as an individual, but rather a weapon to be used to the fullest degree." "Well isn't that what you're sort of doing?" "I am not! Our relationship is more than that! Or at least I thought it was, do you feel differently?" "I'm not getting into this again." You say. "Well maybe we should, because lately I feel like you don't appreciate ALL the risks I take to keep us together! This is like when I was visiting you during your cold curse all over again!" And this was something you were trying to avoid. Heather has an uncanny knack of turning everything around to make it all about herself and be overly dramatic about it as well. While Heather goes into a tirade about how much she's sacrificing for your relationship, you don't even bother sticking around, you just leave. You don't have to listen to this, because you've heard it all before, and at this point you're sort of wondering WHY you're still putting up with it. You guess you have enough fondness for Heather that you don't want to kill her, but you're starting to get the real impression that she's not really relationship material either. Sure she's masochistic enough to put up with your own power trip bullshit, but you could probably just charm some random mortal if you really wanted to do that with significantly less hassle. And it's apparent she feeds off of it in some weird way. Maybe she's a vampire too in her own fashion. In any case, you head back home. You start to think maybe you haven't been appreciating Isabella as much as you should be. Sure, she's a bit condescending at times when she disapproves of something you've done, but she's centuries old. Of course she's going to be like that. If anything she's very tolerant of you. In fact she's helped you more than Heather ever has and unlike Heather she can keep up the pace in the bedroom. Why the hell have you even been cheating on her again? Because you're an idiot that still doesn't know what the hell you want. Makes sense you suppose. Your life has been fairly off track ever since you left Teckleville and you've been fumbling around ever since. That changes after tonight. You're going to go home and reaffirm your dedication to Isabella. Especially since you also realize that despite having been with her for a couple years, you still don't know much about her own past. Well at least you thought you were. Isabella as it turned out had other plans. As soon as you walk into the crypt you find Isabella waiting for you to tell you that you're leaving. "You're kicking me out?!" you exclaim. "Considering that it's almost dawn, you'll be able to stay here until tomorrow night, but as soon as the sun goes down, I want you out of here." Isabella says. "But can't we talk about this?!" "No. You've had MORE than enough time to talk about what's going on with you, yet you've chosen to try to hide your actions. It's obvious that you have some human whore on the side. Mind you, I didn't even care at first...even assumed you'd probably stray from time to time. Most likely fucking your prey before you killed them. However I've detected the same familiar scent on you for months now. Obviously it's same the woman." "Wait, you knew?" "Of course I knew. I'm not an idiot. Or did you not notice that I stopped sharing the bed with you months ago?" "I just figured you were really into your garden." "Hm, well if you had any concern, you would have known I was sleeping in there. In any case, I figured I'd still give you some time to either confess or even better, eventually get bored enough to kill her, but given I can still smell the stench of her on you even tonight, I'm guessing you haven't done that." "Isabella, you're so damn aloof towards me that I don't even know if you care whether I'm here or not most of the time. I mean if we didn't fuck, we might as well just be cryptmates. You never talk to me about yourself, and I'm not mind reader, I mean if I had known that me seeing Heather was..." "Heather? Is that its name then? Tell me, what exactly is so special about this woman that she's gotten so much of your attention?" You explain as short as possible of your odd long-term relationship with Heather. To Isabella's credit, she listens without anger and doesn't interrupt. "I see. Well, I suppose then it does make a little more sense. Here I was thinking it was some random pretty face, however I'm somewhat relieved to hear that there was at least some deeper reasoning behind it all. Perhaps this is the woman for you after all." Isabella says. "What? No! In fact I was just coming over here to reaffirm my love for you! Heather isn't the one for me!" you remark. "Isn't she? Seems like you've been spending more time helping her in her tasks than what would be normal. You obviously have fondness for this girl. And you're right, you don't really know me that well at all. Perhaps some of that is my fault. Decades of being alone tend to make one reclusive even to those that you have feelings for, but as I said, I was always here and you could have made the effort." "But I'm making it now! I love you!" "No. No you don't. You had a fight with your girlfriend because she's demanding something that you don't want to do so you're going for the easy way out, by falling back on me. Well, that's not how relationships work. You sometimes have to do shit you don't want to do rather than running off at the first sign of trouble." Isabella approaches you with a smile and touches your face. "Now maybe it IS a case that you don't love this Heather and have decided that she isn't for you, but in any case you don't love me and I don't really love you either. I was just lonely and liked you well enough that I thought you might fulfill that gap and you did, for a while at least. You're a free vampire and I've told you all the basics of what this life is like. Anything else, you'll have to figure out yourself. Take care okay?" Isabella, without another word turns to leave you. You decide to make a last ditch effort and put your hand on her shoulder. She spins around so quick that you're on the floor from a punch to the face before you realize it. "What the fuck!? I was just going to kiss you!" you exclaim holding your face in pain. "And I told you it was over and I meant it. This isn't going to be one of those rewritten happy endings in a children's fairy tale where the man kisses the girl and everything is all better again." Isabella says. "Obviously not...shit..." As Isabella leaves you on the floor to ponder your misguided judgment of how she really feels about you, you also ponder what you're going to do when you get up tomorrow night. It's too much to think about right now so you just go to bed. The next night, you gather your meager belongings and leave the crypt as quickly as you can. No sign of Isabella, you assume she's in her garden, but you don't want to be around for her to see you again anyway. You aren't sure where to go. Your first instinct is to just go to Holgard. Heather told you not to, but why the hell do you really need to listen to her for? Actually you still haven't sorted out all your feelings about that relationship yet either. Isabella might have had it right in that you were just running away from Heather because you didn't want to do what she said. Maybe you could talk with her though. Sure, she's a bit dramatic at times, but she's usually willing to listen. She has taken risks for you, so that is worth considering. Of course part of you just wants to say "fuck it" and leave this area entirely. Seems like nothing good has come of it ever since you left Teckleville. > You go to Holgard You might as well go back to Holgard and stay there until you figure out your next major move. No real reason to leave considering the plentiful food source. You can probably make a home in one of the tombs in their graveyard in the meantime. Not to mention you're loathed to leave just because Heather doesn't want you around for a while. You can't believe the nerve of her. She's pretty annoying at times, if she were anyone else, you wouldn't be putting up with it, but since you are, Isabella might have been correct in thinking you must have stronger attachment to her than you even let on. In any case, you make your way back to Holgard and kill a few whores before ultimately fixing up a suitable tomb for yourself. Over the course of a few weeks you take the opportunity to hunt down a few Joachimites that are stupid enough to wander in smaller groups just so you don't have to deal with as many of the fanatics in the future. You aren't terribly surprised when you eventually get a visit from Heather. "Hello? You awake? I know you're in here." You hear Heather say as she steps inside the tomb. "Yeah, now I'm awake! Close the fucking door, you're letting the daylight in!" you shout from inside your stone coffin. When you hear the door close, you slide the slab open and sit up. "What the hell do you want? I'm trying to get some rest, you couldn't have come around night instead of the middle of the fucking day?" you say. "You probably wouldn't have been home, what with you massacring Joachimites and all." Heather says. "Probably not. Let me guess, you're here to bitch at me for being here at all." "Well, I sort of know that would be pointless since you obviously aren't going to listen. In fact I sort of figured after our last talk, you'd be here more often anyway. So are you living in the city now? I thought you lived somewhere outside of it." "Yeah, things have changed since our last talk, so I'm living here now. You mad about that too?" Heather shakes her head and sighs. "Stop being an asshole for a moment, I'm trying to tell you that I don't care. I realize that I shouldn't have tried to tell you what to do. I apologize. I'm just really stressed about everything on my mind lately." "Hm, well I guess you did have your reasons. Honestly though, I don't understand why you haven't just killed the old bastard yet. I mean that IS what your end game ultimately is right? Take over the temple along with having it be one of the two remaining religions in this city?" "Yes...but I really don't like it. Elder Flynn has been like a father to me. I mean in the eyes of Dorna, he basically IS my father in some ways. I really didn't want it to come to this, but his path to not the right one for the future of our temple. Dorna is a goddess that deserves more attention and respect. We won't get that if we remain as we are." "Well not everyone has the ability to be a wizard, let alone the discipline or talent." "True, but that doesn't mean the non-magical people can't pay their respects. Dorna is also a goddess of knowledge. It's very sad that so many are content on remaining ignorant." "The fools have got to have their fun." "Be that as it may. Deposing Elder Flynn is not going to be easy. I really need to make sure I have everyone on my side in the temple first and I do mean everyone. Best way to do that is convince them that my way is working and honestly your recent activity has been helping rather than hurting." "Well of course it is, I'm killing the opposition." "Yes, but I had feared that it might cause unwanted attention before I had time to organize and talk to my brethren first. However, most of them haven't needed much convincing. I think wiping out the Yagites has caused a domino effect and many are willing to follow my plans." "What about Elder Flynn?" "Well that's the other thing. He's been in meditation for a week now. Granted he's been known to disappear like that anyway, but the fact that he's withdrawn for so long during this time is strange. Though it's another reason why your actions haven't bothered me. Elder Flynn hasn't been focusing on outside activities." "So why not kill him now? Sounds like you've got this already wrapped up." "Again, not so simple. Plus, he's in meditation, which means he's currently got magic shields and such around him. He'd also be at his most powerful since he's been storing up energy." "I dunno, I think you're hesitating and overthinking this shit. I say the longer you wait, the worse the harder it's going to be." "I know...that's why I want you to help when the time comes." "Me? You're the one with all the magic friends and defenses!" "You've already had experience killing one powerful wizard right?" "Yes, but that was sheer luck when I really think about it. And I had help." "And you'll have even more help when the time comes. I'll still be there, along with the rest of the temple!" Heather approaches closer and leans into your chest while staring into your eyes. "Please I just really need your direct support on this. I know we've been having our problems lately, and I know you've been going above and beyond. But I really feel like we have something special. If I didn't believe we did, I would have never given myself so willingly to you. I feel like your strength and ruthlessness of what needs to be done will make me less likely to waver in this task." You look at Heather and see the hopeful desperation in her eyes. You also see her dedication to you. You suppose it is true. Despite all your problems, the pair of you do have a lovers bond and you could do worse than Heather. (And you don't just think that because Isabella isn't in your life anymore) "Okay, I'll help you directly on this, but if we're going to do this, it needs to be done as soon as possible. I'm ready to go now and do it for example." You say. "Oh no, not right now. I still should organize more." Heather remarks. "Look Heather, the old bastard needs to die if you really want to take over. That's all there is to it. You have to put your sentimentality aside. Now I've already agreed to help, but you NEED to play your part." "I will! I will! I just really need to set things in motion and solidify alliances. Give me at least a couple days, okay? Whether everything is good or not, we'll go through it." "Very well. So, where are attacking tonight? I assume you've got a group of Joachimite fanatics in mind." "Hm, maybe you should save your strength and just relax with a good meal. In fact maybe you should have little magic with your meal, then afterwards you can satisfy your other appetites. " Heather cuts herself for you and you indulge in her blood without another word. After you've had enough, you proceed to take her up on her other offer. The next few nights are uneventful for you and you go for easier prey since you keep in mind of what you're going to be up against soon. You just hope Heather actually goes through with it and doesn't come back to you in saying something like "Um...I think we need to wait some more..." She shows up after three days have passed. "There you are, glad to see it only took you one extra day." You say. "There were some complications." Heather remarks nervously. "Hm...you seem very nervous. I do hope you aren't going to tell me you need more time." "No, tonight is the night. I've managed to convince most of my brethren to side with me either directly or at least look the other way. Elder Flynn himself has finally left his meditation. He's not going to go down without a fight, but I believe we'll be able to take him." "That's good to hear, but you still seem really nervous." "Of course I'm nervous! This is a winner take all gamble and on top of never facing someone so powerful, I'm also facing a man I used to respect. (Sigh) Well like you said, best to just get it over with, stand still." "What for?" "I'm going to cast protective magic on you. You might be supernatural, but if you go in without any protection, Elder Flynn is going to just incinerate you with a beam of light." "Oh. Well okay, anything that will help then." Heather mumbles some prayers to Dorna and casts something over you and you're bathed in some sort of blue light temporarily. It lasts a few seconds and then disappears. After casting the spell, Heather seems a bit calmer. "Okay, that should do it. How do you feel?" "I don't feel any different, is it working?" "Yes, if you felt something then something would be wrong. Okay, let's go do this dark task. We're going back to the temple. Those that are in on the plan will be there, along with Elder Flynn." "Nothing like killing a man in his own home, let's go." You and Heather make haste to the temple of Dorna and when you arrive a group of young acolytes stand around outside. One of them approaches Heather. "Sister, you're here. All of us here are ready to follow your lead. Those that do not wish to take part have left and will not stand in your way." The young priest says. "Understandable. This is grim business. There will be no retribution upon them afterwards." Heather remarks. "Understood...is this the vampire?" the priest says looking at you a bit anxiously. Before you can say anything Heather speaks quickly. "Yes, and he's already been informed and will help us." "Very well, Elder Flynn is in the summoning chamber. I believe he's engrossed in an experiment of some sort. He doesn't know or suspect anything." "Good, then I guess the best thing to do would be to just rush in there and take him by surprise." You, Heather and all her little friends enter the temple. Heather takes lead and after walking down a few corridors you all come to a solid ornate double door. "Okay, this is it." Heather remarks and exhales. "Let's do it." You say and open up the doors. At this point you take the lead. Your hope is that you'll be so quick that this will be over before anyone realizes it. You see an old man at a bunch of tables with various alchemy equipment on them at the far end of the room. You're already half way across it before he turns around. Then just as you get almost within range of him, you suddenly freeze in place with a wave of his hand. At this moment you'd say "Shit!" but you can't speak either. You think that at least Heather and the rest will come in to help you, but after a few seconds of no sounds of shouting or orders, you realize this situation is even worse. Elder Flynn is noticing that you're realizing that too. "What's wrong vampire? Have you finally realized that you've been played like a like a cheap lute? I knew Sister Heather's ambitions long ago. While she did her best to try to keep things secret from me, she should have known that Dorna favors the most knowledgable and wise and in this case, that's me." Elder Flynn waves his hand a bit more and after a few moments you see out of the corner of your eye, Heather levitating slightly off the floor and then being slowly placed back on it. She's frozen as well. "The rest of you hanging about the door over there can leave. You've played your part, get back to your studies or whatever tasks you need to do. And close the door too." Flynn remarks and you soon hear the sound of the doors close behind you. Now it's just the three of you alone. Elder Flynn walks over to Heather. "I looked upon you as a daughter, do you know that? Even though I knew you sought to one day replace me, I had hoped that you would at least be smart about it. Such a waste. You are going to severely pay for your treachery girl. I can't describe just how much, but you'll soon experience it for yourself." Elder Flynn then walks over to you. "You on the other hand I suppose are an unwitting pawn in all this. Barely more intelligent than a zombie servant. Fitting, considering you're little better than one. Vampires are always such slaves to their base needs and yours have lead you to this fate. Take solace in the fact that you won't have to see your little girlfriend suffer, but I will be using your ashes in an interesting spell I have in store for her." You want to attack, yell, bite, scream, and rip apart Flynn, but all your anger is impotent in your current frozen state. Then it's gone when Flynn casts a strong beam of light which incinerates you quickly, though not quick enough for you not to feel the pain before you die.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy, humor] Year 27 This religious war has been the most fun you've had in a long time. While you've mostly been taking advantage of the chaos that the city has been plaguing the city again, you have also been working along side Heather in her efforts to take down the other religious factions. Heather isn't supposed to be engaging the other factions as much as she's doing, since Elder Flynn was still against being so aggressive. However, she's been openly arguing with him and convincing others members to follow her lead on this strategy. Since she's a respected voice within her group, Elder Flynn has relented a bit. It's mostly been directed towards the Yagites since she wants to make a concentrated effort on one group, but occasionally others are fought as well. However, she's been keeping all dealings with you as close to the vest as possible. Whenever you work with her, it's always just her and there are no other Dornans helping. You aren't sure why, but then you've never bothered to ask. In any case, you're just in this for the killing and fucking Heather mostly. Right now, you're in the process of attacking the main temple of Yag. Their numbers have dwindled to a point where an attack wouldn't be suicidal. Pathetically easy in fact as you face little resistance and soon leave Heather behind to "sweep up" the acolytes that pose no real challenge. You burst into the inner sanctum of Yag's temple. Several followers busily attempt to call forth incantations in order to stop you, but the most damage one does is summon forth a bunch of butterflies to flutter in your face. The winds of their "luck magic" are blowing the wrong way constantly. Yag either isn't listening, doesn't give a shit or is finding it all pretty amusing. Either way, the advantage is yours. You rip into three members and then two more before you're half way across the room. The Yagite high priest is busily rolling dice on his altar (which resembles more of a craps table) Every now and then he looks up at you, but continues to roll his dice, cursing the entire time. Eventually you reach him and just as you grab him he manages to roll one last time. You both see the results and its snake eyes. "Looks like you lose." You say. "We've been losing for quite some time now. Tried to bet big, but it's all come to this. Such is the way of Yag." The high priest says "You Yagites are very odd, you certainly don't want to die, but the few that I have ever spoken with always have a resigned fate when the time comes." "Well there's no point in fighting fate son. When your numbers don't come up, there's nothing that can be done about it. We had a good run here in Holgard, but I guess the odds were more against us than we thought. I got one question for you though. What the hell do you have against us? We don't hunt vampires. We don't hunt anything. I'd think you'd be after the Joachimites more than us...or are we just an easier target? You the Dornans pet vampire or what? You know those assholes will eventually dispose of you too." "I'm nobody's fucking pet!" you snap and start to crush the high priest's windpipe. Heather walks in and you turn to look at her. "Don't kill him yet, I need to interrogate him first!" Heather shouts. You drop the high priest to the floor. He coughs a bit and then begins to struggle to laugh. "What's so fucking funny?" you ask. "Yeah, sure. You're nobody's pet." The high priest laughs. This small act of disrespect is enough for you to kick him in the face, putting your foot partially through it killing him instantly. "What the fuck!? I told you I wanted him alive to interrogate! The Yagites might be broken by this, but they could have hideouts still in the city somewhere! He probably could have revealed other information as well!" Heather scolds. "Heather, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to again." You remark. "Yeah, I know who I'm talking to, and YOU'RE supposed to be following my lead on these matters!" "I did." You suddenly grab Heather, lift her robe up and bend her over the altar. Doesn't take long before you've established your dominance again. It's a common routine for the pair of you at this point. You both enjoy it. After you're done, you're ready to move on, but of course Heather isn't done with you yet. "Where are you going?" Heather asks. "I helped you wipe out this temple and I fucked you. My job is done for the night." "Well, you don't need to leave so damn quickly. I want to make plans for our next major endeavor." "Fine, but make it quick and we probably shouldn't stick around in a temple full of dead priests." You and Heather take your leave of the temple and find a secluded spot to talk about your next moves. Or at least Heather is, you're just listening. "Okay, I think our next move should focus on the Joachimites." Heather remarks. "I figured you'd say the Karnite since they're few in number." You say. "I would, but I believe the Felians are in the process of wiping them out. No need to get in their way and no need to waste time on something someone else is doing anyway. Joachimites are a big problem though and I figure you being a vampire and all, you'd enjoy taking them out all the more." "I'm actually indifferent. All these mortals are just blood bags to me. Whether they have some irrational hate for me or not is irrelevant since I'm killing them anyway." "Well I suppose that's one way to look at it. Um, it might take awhile for me to call on your help though on this. I need to talk this over with my brothers and sisters and get them on board with this too. Elder Flynn was eventually fine with wiping out the Yagites, might be harder to convince him about the Joachim fanatics though." "Sure, whatever. I'll just be stalking the streets like I normally do. Maybe I'll bump into a Joachimite from time to time to give us less to worry about in future battles with them." "Yeah about that, I was sort of wondering if you could take a break from the city for awhile. Like maybe a few months or so." "Excuse me?" "Our relationship is getting a bit harder to hide from the rest of my brethren." "So, what difference does it make? I thought you lot weren't supernatural hating fanatics." "We aren't, but you don't understand. If they knew I had a vampire helping me, it would cause unnecessary complications." "Oh come on, I can't imagine that your people don't know at all about me already." "They don't actually. If they did, I probably would have been confronted already, especially by Elder Flynn. He'd be asking WHY I had not been sharing you with the rest as a valuable resource." "Resource?" "Yes resource. To most of them, you wouldn't be looked upon as an individual, but rather a weapon to be used to the fullest degree." "Well isn't that what you're sort of doing?" "I am not! Our relationship is more than that! Or at least I thought it was, do you feel differently?" "I'm not getting into this again." You say. "Well maybe we should, because lately I feel like you don't appreciate ALL the risks I take to keep us together! This is like when I was visiting you during your cold curse all over again!" And this was something you were trying to avoid. Heather has an uncanny knack of turning everything around to make it all about herself and be overly dramatic about it as well. While Heather goes into a tirade about how much she's sacrificing for your relationship, you don't even bother sticking around, you just leave. You don't have to listen to this, because you've heard it all before, and at this point you're sort of wondering WHY you're still putting up with it. You guess you have enough fondness for Heather that you don't want to kill her, but you're starting to get the real impression that she's not really relationship material either. Sure she's masochistic enough to put up with your own power trip bullshit, but you could probably just charm some random mortal if you really wanted to do that with significantly less hassle. And it's apparent she feeds off of it in some weird way. Maybe she's a vampire too in her own fashion. In any case, you head back home. You start to think maybe you haven't been appreciating Isabella as much as you should be. Sure, she's a bit condescending at times when she disapproves of something you've done, but she's centuries old. Of course she's going to be like that. If anything she's very tolerant of you. In fact she's helped you more than Heather ever has and unlike Heather she can keep up the pace in the bedroom. Why the hell have you even been cheating on her again? Because you're an idiot that still doesn't know what the hell you want. Makes sense you suppose. Your life has been fairly off track ever since you left Teckleville and you've been fumbling around ever since. That changes after tonight. You're going to go home and reaffirm your dedication to Isabella. Especially since you also realize that despite having been with her for a couple years, you still don't know much about her own past. Well at least you thought you were. Isabella as it turned out had other plans. As soon as you walk into the crypt you find Isabella waiting for you to tell you that you're leaving. "You're kicking me out?!" you exclaim. "Considering that it's almost dawn, you'll be able to stay here until tomorrow night, but as soon as the sun goes down, I want you out of here." Isabella says. "But can't we talk about this?!" "No. You've had MORE than enough time to talk about what's going on with you, yet you've chosen to try to hide your actions. It's obvious that you have some human whore on the side. Mind you, I didn't even care at first...even assumed you'd probably stray from time to time. Most likely fucking your prey before you killed them. However I've detected the same familiar scent on you for months now. Obviously it's same the woman." "Wait, you knew?" "Of course I knew. I'm not an idiot. Or did you not notice that I stopped sharing the bed with you months ago?" "I just figured you were really into your garden." "Hm, well if you had any concern, you would have known I was sleeping in there. In any case, I figured I'd still give you some time to either confess or even better, eventually get bored enough to kill her, but given I can still smell the stench of her on you even tonight, I'm guessing you haven't done that." "Isabella, you're so damn aloof towards me that I don't even know if you care whether I'm here or not most of the time. I mean if we didn't fuck, we might as well just be cryptmates. You never talk to me about yourself, and I'm not mind reader, I mean if I had known that me seeing Heather was..." "Heather? Is that its name then? Tell me, what exactly is so special about this woman that she's gotten so much of your attention?" You explain as short as possible of your odd long-term relationship with Heather. To Isabella's credit, she listens without anger and doesn't interrupt. "I see. Well, I suppose then it does make a little more sense. Here I was thinking it was some random pretty face, however I'm somewhat relieved to hear that there was at least some deeper reasoning behind it all. Perhaps this is the woman for you after all." Isabella says. "What? No! In fact I was just coming over here to reaffirm my love for you! Heather isn't the one for me!" you remark. "Isn't she? Seems like you've been spending more time helping her in her tasks than what would be normal. You obviously have fondness for this girl. And you're right, you don't really know me that well at all. Perhaps some of that is my fault. Decades of being alone tend to make one reclusive even to those that you have feelings for, but as I said, I was always here and you could have made the effort." "But I'm making it now! I love you!" "No. No you don't. You had a fight with your girlfriend because she's demanding something that you don't want to do so you're going for the easy way out, by falling back on me. Well, that's not how relationships work. You sometimes have to do shit you don't want to do rather than running off at the first sign of trouble." Isabella approaches you with a smile and touches your face. "Now maybe it IS a case that you don't love this Heather and have decided that she isn't for you, but in any case you don't love me and I don't really love you either. I was just lonely and liked you well enough that I thought you might fulfill that gap and you did, for a while at least. You're a free vampire and I've told you all the basics of what this life is like. Anything else, you'll have to figure out yourself. Take care okay?" Isabella, without another word turns to leave you. You decide to make a last ditch effort and put your hand on her shoulder. She spins around so quick that you're on the floor from a punch to the face before you realize it. "What the fuck!? I was just going to kiss you!" you exclaim holding your face in pain. "And I told you it was over and I meant it. This isn't going to be one of those rewritten happy endings in a children's fairy tale where the man kisses the girl and everything is all better again." Isabella says. "Obviously not...shit..." As Isabella leaves you on the floor to ponder your misguided judgment of how she really feels about you, you also ponder what you're going to do when you get up tomorrow night. It's too much to think about right now so you just go to bed. The next night, you gather your meager belongings and leave the crypt as quickly as you can. No sign of Isabella, you assume she's in her garden, but you don't want to be around for her to see you again anyway. You aren't sure where to go. Your first instinct is to just go to Holgard. Heather told you not to, but why the hell do you really need to listen to her for? Actually you still haven't sorted out all your feelings about that relationship yet either. Isabella might have had it right in that you were just running away from Heather because you didn't want to do what she said. Maybe you could talk with her though. Sure, she's a bit dramatic at times, but she's usually willing to listen. She has taken risks for you, so that is worth considering. Of course part of you just wants to say "fuck it" and leave this area entirely. Seems like nothing good has come of it ever since you left Teckleville. > You Leave Maybe Isabella throwing you out is a good thing. While you were officially "free" you never really felt that way since you always sort of felt indebted to her. Hell, maybe that's why you started your relationship with Heather in the first place. You sub-consciously wanted to get caught...though that was a pretty stupid way to go about it. Isabella could have easily been so pissed at you that she killed you. However as it turned out luck favored the foolish, which is ironic considering you just recently had a hand in slaughtering a temple of Yag. In any case, you realize that with nothing tying you to this area anymore, you might as well just leave. You don't have any real feelings for Heather, and she's already made it clear your presence there is inconvenient. You've also long since lost interest in Holgard and you can go hunt for blood anywhere. You've never been, but you decide to head towards the Delantium Kingdom. Should be big enough for you to thrive in and better yet, nobody to answer to at all. You aren't sure what your future holds in your new independent vampire life, but your days of being a simple rogue are definitely over.

Year 26 It's amazing how things can be going fairly well for you, and you'll still find shit to be dissatisfied about. What might be worse is the new nature of you "confinement." It's another gilded cage. (Or fancy crypt in this case.) While not much is ever demanded of you, Isabella definitely is treating you less than equal as you have to clean the crypt One thing you never knew about vampires is how they can become obsessed with the smallest details. Probably has to do with the enhanced senses. Isabella apparently is a neat freak and due to this quirk she spent most of her time rearranging, cleaning, and generally tidying up her home. An impossible task of course, but that didn't stop her from trying. Even the room where she keeps the blood "donors" is kept clean and isn't the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be. She still cleans of course, but you're doing most of it now. It's really boring especially since you had to do this to a lesser degree at Ral's and at least there, you were able to let it go for a week at times. Not to mention it's fucking impossible to "clean" a vast underground crypt in the first place. About the only thing you don't have to take care of is her underground garden, which is her own personal project that she spends a lot of time on. In fact, with you around now she doesn't even have to leave it to get food much anymore. She just has you do that, which is sort of plus, since that's one of two major things that break up the monotony. You initially would lure a citizen of Dert back to the crypt, but in time you started wandering a bit more and realized with all the bandits making hideouts in forest, you might as well give yourself a bit more of a challenge. Sometimes you will boldly face a group of them. The poor dumb bastards never realize they don't have a chance and you proceed to tear them apart, satisfying your own hunger and leaving only one or two alive to bring back to Isabella. The second major thing would be your routine intimacy with Isabella. It's a little odd, mainly because you've got mixed feelings on the emotional side of things. Isabella is very comfortable with the physical aspect, but in a lot of ways she's still pretty distant. Makes a bit hard for you to return serious affection when you aren't sure if you're just there as a dick for her to use when she's in the mood. While you don't really have any real complaints about that aspect that might make this bit of "captivity" worse since it's really difficult to complain when you're getting quality sex thrown in your direction on a regular basis. But since you're not totally whipped, you're going to complain anyway. Not to mention you just need more to occupy your time. There has to be more than just feeding and fucking, especially since you're supposed to be immortal now. Though you'd be lying if you weren't worried, she IS vastly more powerful than you after all and can easily subvert your free will if she so desired. (She never has though) You wait for one of the rare moments that she isn't in her private garden to speak with her since even after a year she still doesn't allow you in there. "Oh, hello. Have you been waiting out here for me the whole time?" Isabella asks. "Sort of. Oh I brought back dinner. A couple of children from Dert this time. I know it's risky since it causes more hysteria in the locals when kids go missing, but I was very careful and I figured you deserved something special." You answer. "Mmm, you're always so doting. Well, with your news and the fact I finally got my deathshade growing properly, I'm in a good mood tonight, so we can do that thing you always want to do to me after I eat." "Uh, yeah that's something to look forward to, but I was actually here to speak to you about something that's been on my mind lately." "Oh, okay then." "Now I'm already prepared for you to say no, but I want to make my argument clear..." "Okay, so what is it?" "Don't get mad..." "If you don't hurry up and get to your point, I guarantee I'm going to start getting mad. Just fucking say it already!" "Okay! I want more freedom." "I see..." "Now hold on, I don't mean I want to leave you! I just...agh...I need more out of life, or unlife as it were." "More? You have all you need. A home, a nearby food source, a beautiful companion by your side. I mean I'm not sure I understand." "And that's all great. Really it is. Probably better than I ever could have stumbled upon. It's like...well okay here's a good example. You have that garden. That garden that you love to spend all, occupying your free time when you have it. I mean you don't even let me in there, so I'm assuming it's something pretty special to you. I guess I'm saying I need my own garden. Not literally of course." "Hmmm, I understand what you're saying...I suppose I have just taken your happiness for granted." "Don't get me wrong, I am happy, I just need something more to do and no offense, but cleaning this crypt isn't it." "Hah, well I figured. I'd hoped that you would have developed a bit of an obsession for it like I somewhat did, but I imagine your servitude to Ral might have dampened that. Okay, so you're basically saying you want a hobby, fine. But I wasn't exactly stopping you from getting one. So what did you have in mind exactly?" Well so far this is going better than you thought, though Isabella's question brings up the fact that perhaps you haven't thought this entirely through. "I'm...I'm not exactly sure...I was sort of expecting you to be against it. Okay, well anyway I've been killing bandits in the forests. Lots of them actually." You say. "I figured you must have found some other food source since you didn't often eat here. So you have a bit of the bloodlust do you? That can happen with new vampires. As long as you don't massacre Dert, I don't care what you do." Isabella responds. "I'm thinking I'd like to go to Holgard once in awhile." "You haven't before? Again, I assumed when you weren't feeding much here, you might be nipping off to Holgard to eat." "I sort of wasn't sure if you wanted me to go that far." "Sheesh, do I really come off of that controlling? Holgard isn't that far. It's not like you're a lowly human anymore that is going to take forever and a day to walk there. With your speed, you could go there and be back before dawn. Hell, if you really needed to, it wouldn't bother me if you stayed there for a few nights. Get it all out of your system. If culling a few extra humans to satisfy your bloodlust is what you need to do, well Holgard couldn't be a better place to do it. It's a crime-ridden city where murder occurs daily. You'd fit right in and never arouse suspicion." "True, but it's not just the killing, it's I used to be a rogue before all this happened...and I've been thinking on those days I do miss them." "So...what then? You want to go to Holgard to be a common thief?" "Well when you say it like that, it doesn't sound as impressive. It's more like I just wonder if my desire for it is still there or am I just missing something from a simpler time I guess." "Weren't you doing it during your time with Ral? I know he didn't keep you on that short of a leash." "Yes, but I was so miserable that I don't think I ever really enjoyed it most of the time. About the only time I did, was when I was training...um...another..." Isabella's eyebrow raises as you stop yourself from mentioning Lisa. You quickly change up the conversation a bit. "My point is, I haven't really gotten to enjoy doing it since I left Teckleville. Actually even before that, since I started enjoying it less after my sister left. However, I feel like I should give it one more go to see if it really was something I liked doing, or maybe I just liked doing it with someone who was also interested in it." "You actually may find such petty thievery much too easy now. After all you have powers that you didn't have before." "Perhaps, but I also can't just break into any old house either not being invited and all." "True, but that can be easily gotten around if you can charm the owner into letting you in. There are also public buildings of course like shops. In any case, if this is something you want to pursue, I'm not going to deny you your eccentricities. We all have our interests. I believe this may be left over longings for your old human life, which is natural for new vampires as well. I also think you'll get bored eventually, but I leave you to work through it. Anyway, was that it?" "Um, yeah basically." "Good, now I'm going to feed on these children you got me, and then we can do that other things. Fairly certain you aren't going to go anywhere tonight." Well she's right about that. The next night you make your way to Holgard and it's true, thanks to your supernatural speed you get there fairly quickly, you don't even catch the attention of the guards outside the gate. You haven't been here in so long; you never thought you'd actually miss it. Hasn't really changed at all though there is one thing you're noticing and that's the fact the streets are practically empty. Its not even that late, usually there's still more activity than this. You see the watch patrolling around, but they're in groups much larger than you remember. They also tend to eye you very suspiciously. Granted you're here for trouble, but you decide that it probably isn't the best idea if you start off by murdering several Holgard Watchmen so you start avoiding said groups. It occurs to you that something here has changed drastically. Last time you heard any news of this place was Heather and she told you there was a war brewing between the religious factions. Maybe things have gotten worse? In any case you decide to eat first and head to the lower class districts where there are less patrols and probably easier to get a quick meal. You roam the streets, but it looks like even the lower elements have tried to set up some sort of safety plan during this uncertain time. Bums and the like are lingering together. Whores are as well and even performing their trade in groups. The worst part is instead of the Watch, there are Ebony Claw Syndicate members patrolling around and they're probably even more diligent since some of the ECS are also Fel followers. You soon realize that you're probably going to have to just enter a tavern and just lure someone away and get them in private or just risk the attention and wipe out a small group as quick as possible. Actually you're keener on the second idea since you're getting a bit impatient with how inconvenient this has been. Just as you're turning a corner a man in a green robe literally runs into you. It's enough to cause you to stagger since you weren't paying attention, as you were lost in thought. The man himself is on the ground. He looks scared, but strangely not because of you. He keeps looking around. "By Yag, you're a pale one. Wait... you a vampire?" the man asks. "Well there's no point in me lying since you're going to be my food soon." You respond. "Yeah? Well we that follow Yag all know that eventually we can't beat the odds forever. In fact tonight the odds were REALLY against me. Didn't see it ending like this though, certainly wasn't in the temple betting pool, hah! However I'd suggest you do it quickly before the Dornans get here. They see you and they'll use you for spell components, that is if the Joachimites don't get here first and just burn your undead ass." The Yagite priest continues to look around, waiting for what you're going to do, but it was always obvious. "Well guess I better follow your advice and make this quick then." You say and pick up the man and bite his neck. He makes little resistance other than gasping out some last prayer to Yag. You haven't been eating long when you're interrupted. The Yag priest wasn't kidding when he said someone would be here soon. "Yagite scum, you'll pay for...wha...?" a female voice says. You look in the direction of the voice and snarl at being disturbed. You see a woman dressed in purple and blue robes and a couple of other members of her temple behind her. "Vampire!" one of them shouts and begins to cast something and you leap into action. "No, wait!" the female member says and backs away, but you and her subordinates aren't listening. You head towards the acolyte that was attempting to cast a spell. After you easily put your fist through his chest, you feel flames at your back, which the other acolyte has cast at you. The flames hurt, but it isn't nearly enough to save him, you're just too quick and you rip out his throat. You savior the quick taste of blood before turning towards your last foe. "Stop! Stop! It's me!" the woman continues to shout as she puts a shield up and that's when your bloodlust subsides long enough to finally recognize who she is. It's Heather. You certainly didn't expect to run into her on your first night here. In the back of your head, you sort of had a concern that maybe if you ever did, it would stir up complicated feelings about her. However, at this moment the only thing you're feeling is the desire to slash her open and drink her dry... > You Continue She's nothing to you now. Not a lover, not a friend. Perhaps if you had something more with her, maybe it would be different, but you didn't. A mutually beneficial arrangement, an admission of feelings and a one-time incident of intimacy, doesn't save her. She's blood. However, you're no fool. Heather isn't without power, so you stop your attack and collapse to the ground on your knees. You put your head low and rub your hands over face. "Heather...Oh...what have I become?! I...I'm a monster...by the gods, I'm so sorry! I would never...I would never hurt you Heather!" you wail. "Wha...what happened?" Heather ask, but still staying far enough away with a shield up "I tried to live with the curse of the cold, but I just couldn't. It had left me utterly alone and had driven away the only thing that was ever good in my life. You. The longer I was in my cold exile, the more I dwelled on what could have been with you. I came close to suicide, believing that moment with you would be the last good thing that would ever happen to me. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gone through with it." You slowly stand up and continue to look ashamed by your actions. "But my will to live I suppose was a bit too strong. Indeed some of that was due to you. I thought maybe, just MAYBE if I could fix myself, that I could rekindle what we might have had. Even if you had moved on, it still would have been worth it, I thought. So I followed a rumor, and then a trail, and then eventually found the undead creature that was bored enough to help me. Risky, but I figured if he was going to kill me, what would I really lose? Fortunately he turned out to be rather sympathetic in his own way." you say. "But WHY did you do this?! I mean you had to have known the results!" Heather asks. "As I said...for you...I foolishly believed that somehow I could be different. That it could survive on animal blood or the blood of creatures, it worked...for awhile." You look at Heather mournfully; Heather still looks a bit cautious, but is looking a bit more sympathetic towards you (Well more sympathetic towards you than she is with her followers laying on the street dead) "I tried...I tried so hard...I even sacrificed Spikey...I soon realized that I would never be fit to be in your presence." you say and choke up a little before continuing. "But the call of the thirst was just too strong and I found myself heading back towards civilization...I figured at least maybe here in this cesspit of crime, that maybe killing murderers and the like wouldn't make me as bad...but with each life I take, I find that I'm just getting more detached...I've started thinking about even targeting those that aren't deserving of it... I almost sought you out for help, but I was too ashamed... I'm so lost... Heather....please help me..." "I...I don't know if I can. I mean this isn't even like the condition you had. I mean I don't know of anything that can reverse being undead!" "Please Heather...you helped me once before. I see you and know there's hope again. Please help me..." "I..." You continue to stare at Heather who now has dropped her magic barrier and begun to move a little closer to you. Your voice and your eyes have managed to get her to lower her guard. It's not complete, but at this point you're close enough that it doesn't matter. You lunge and before Heather can do anything else, you've easily restrained her and about to bite. She looks at you with wide-eyed terror. "No, please don't..." she utters. And for a brief moment, you actually consider it. "Shhhh, it'll only hurt a little and then oblivion." You whisper and then bite down on her jugular like a ravenous animal. Her blood tastes different than most humans, but in a good way. Might be due to her magical nature. In any case you drink deeply and hold her tight as if you were making love to her, and in a way you are. Heather struggles at first, but she soon begins to weaken and then ultimately give in until her life force is gone. After you're finished, you look at her dead face and close her eyes. "You finally helped me Heather. May your goddess Dorna embrace you." With bodies all around, it's sort of amazing that nobody else has stumbled upon you. (Of course maybe someone did and wisely turned around before you noticed.) Not wishing to spend anymore time here, you take your leave and head back home without bothering to engage in whatever roguish endeavors you originally were intending. As you make your way back home, you feel somewhat weird about your actions. You feel like you should feel remorse, and sometimes you think you're beginning to have a twinge of it, but then it's gone. You didn't have to kill Heather. You weren't that hungry. You could have stopped yourself. So why did you do it? What was the real reason? Self-preservation. If you hadn't killed her, you would have surely done something stupid like develop an attachment to her again and that would have led to your death and most likely hers anyway. Either Isabella would have killed you or Heather's fanatical friends would have. You don't need to complicate your life like that. Better that she serve as food than as a distraction. Looks like you're fine with sticking to the basics after all. When you arrive back home, Isabella soon comes to greet you. It would seem Isabella decided to wait up for you for a change, you weren't expecting her to, but the fact that she did, just confirms that you made the right decision. "Well that was quick. I at least expected you to stay out until dawn. Did you have fun stealing items and whatever else?" Isabella remarks. "I didn't bother. I mostly ate." You answer. "Oh? Well hope you got a good one then." "I did. I ate my ex-girlfriend." Isabella's eyebrows rise in intrigue. "Really? Isabella asks, but not in a jealous way, just curious. "Well, I suppose she wasn't really a girlfriend...we just knew each other and we were intimate once." You answer. "I see. And were you so excited that you were intimate again? Perhaps she found your dark charms alluring and in the heat of passion, you couldn't help yourself?" "I manipulated her into dropping her guard after I slaughtered her friends, then I drank her dry...and I didn't feel anything about it. This woman who once tried to help me, I felt nothing after killing her other than it was necessary. And the only excitement I felt was when I was feeding and holding her warm body close as it slowly turned as cold as mine." Isabella takes your words in and slowly begins to move towards you while caressing her own body. "That...is soooo sexy....I had no idea that you were capable of such a thing. Killing random peasants and bandits is one thing, but this...well that's something different. I want you inside me, right now." Isabella remarks. You sort of wonder if Isabella has always been this horny or maybe this is just her making up for lost time due to a long period of isolation. Either way you're not complaining. The next night you prepare to go out to Holgard again. This time you're fully prepared to just hunt though. The city is about to have yet another major ongoing problem, or maybe a solution depending on one's outlook on things. > Time passes... Year 30 "Well of course there are vampire hunters running around in Holgard now. I told you that you probably needed to start showing a bit of restraint now that the religious factions aren't killing each other anymore." Isabella remarks. "You said that Holgard was a perfect spot for me to hunt due to all the crime and violence!" you reply. "Yeah, but still within reason. I mean from some of the tales you've told me in the past, it sounds like you just leave a killing field in your wake half the time. As I said, you probably were only getting away with it due to the religious faction war, but now that that's over with, they're on to you. Look, you had your fun, but it's probably time to rein it in a bit anyway. You had like what five years? Honestly, I probably gave you your freedom a bit too quickly." "So what, are you cracking the whip on me now?" "No, but I will say that I'm fond of you enough that I would LIKE you to still be around for a long time to come. You might think a few vampire hunters are no problem, but I imagine they aren't the only ones hunting you. I mean you were taking advantage of the religious faction war, I have to believe that some of them groups aren't vampire friendly either. Wasn't your ex a Dornan? Pretty sure those wizard priests might have discovered a vampire operating in the city by now and I'm not even counting the fanatical Joachimites you told me about." "So what are you saying exactly?" "I'm saying that maybe you should give Holgard a break for awhile if you can't restrain yourself. Go find another hunting ground that isn't going to attract attention. I'm sure there are little isolated towns and villages further east of here. I'm sure there are probably bandits preying upon them as well, so you've got a wide selections to choose from." You somewhat frown at that suggestion. "If I'm going to skulk about a village luring peasants to their doom, I might as well be grocery shopping for you in Dert." You say. "Well I dunno, go wipe out an entire hamlet then, I don't care. Just don't be a dumb ass and leave any witnesses. Because I'm going to tell you this as well, it's one thing if you're going to insist on playing with your immortality, but it's quite another if you start fucking with mine. If your actions end up causing a group of adventurers to come barging down here in the middle of the day, waking up my beauty sleep, you are going to wish you'd been staked and beheaded after I get done with you. Understand?" Isabella says with a calm threatening tone that is enough to unnerve even you. "Yes...dear." You meekly utter. Isabella gives you a stern look and then leaves you to your own devices. Isabella may not have any direct power over you, but she's still powerful enough to crush you if she wanted to. You don't actually think she'd kill you, but you don't doubt that she wouldn't make your unlife miserable for a very long time. If you weren't so grateful for everything she's done for you, you might be inclined to leave and not return. However in the grand scheme of things you're fairly happy with her so there isn't much incentive to do so. She's usually right anyway. Might be time to settle down a bit. Mass slaughter is starting to lose its appeal anyway. Well not ALL its appeal, but maybe you should change it up, especially if you want to go back to Holgard one day. For the first few weeks, you don't go to Holgard and instead wander further to the east a bit. Honestly, you've never traveled in that direction for any extended length of time save for when you released Spikey back into the wild. That was slightly harder than you thought it would be, but at least it was better than Isabella killing him. You sort of wonder if you'll run into him, but you don't, who knows where he is now. (You hope he's happily eating people wherever he is though) You do know is if you go far enough you'll reach the borders of the Delantium Kingdom. Of course that's still quite the ways even with your speed and you aren't that adventurous. What you do find are a few small isolated villages. Bigger than Dert and nearly the size of the your old home of Teckleville. Same sort of people too, funny how no matter where you go, places like this are the same everywhere. You skulk around these minor villages, luring an unsuspecting peasant or two for food, but it's dull since it's basically like when you do it back in Dert. You encounter nomads, brigands, and raider types of various races. Again, those are more fun since you can let loose a bit more, but a lot of these tend to be on the non-human side and at this point you've acquired more of a taste for human blood as opposed to greenskin or some of the other savage races you've come across. Upon your return on these daily travels, Isabella almost never asks you what you were up to. She doesn't seem to care as long as you aren't bringing trouble to her crypt. Sometimes you mention what you've been up to and she listens, and sometimes asking basic questions back, nothing more though. A few months pass, and you're about ready to go back to Holgard just to see if things have died down there a bit, but you decide to stick it out a little while longer and continue doing what you're doing. You head to Maldito, which is one of the more remote villages, even compared to most on your list. When you get within sight of it however, you're surprised. The entire village is in flames. You can hear screaming and yelling still coming from the place and the stench of blood and death is thick. You're getting hungry just thinking about it. You cautiously move towards the village and find where the majority of the voices are coming from. A mixed group of rough looking orcs, gnolls, and even a few hobgoblins are currently lording it over the remaining peasants they haven't killed. Currently a couple of the women are being raped and they're torturing the shit out of several of the men. Despite the large amount of savage races, a human seems to be the leader. Figures. He is addressing the peasants who are focused on him despite all the horror around them. "Know that you lot brought this on yourselves! All you had to do is provide food, basic goods and some time with your daughters, sisters and wives on a regular basis and this shithole of a town would be spared Green Eye's wrath. Instead you've been hiring mercenaries to cut down our men for weeks! NOW you have to pay!" the human bandit says. "NO! I swear it! We've done no such thing! We would nev..." "SILENCE!" the human bandit snaps interrupting the older peasant trying to beg for mercy. The human leader soon picks the old man up off the ground and stabs him in the throat before tossing him back on the floor. "I don't actually give a shit if it WAS you or not! One of the villages in this area did, and when they get the message of what we're doing to your village, they'll fall in line, or they're going to suffer the same fate! Rape everyone in every fucking orifice, kill them all and shove their dismembered corpses on big fucking spiked sticks." Grim stuff. The odd thing is you actually feel slightly sorry for these pitiful peasants since you probably inadvertently caused this. You were slaughtering so many bandits over last couple of months, you didn't think that they were actually united any way. You also didn't think that these bandit types would jump to the conclusions that the villagers were behind it. Though you suppose it makes sense that they would. After years of just ruthlessly drinking the living and seeing them as nothing more than blood bags, it seems odd that you would feel protective of them for some reason. Maybe, this is how Isabella feels about Dert in some ways. The people in that village are all food to her, but they're hers and she doesn't want anyone else fucking with them. You guess you've developed a similar attachment. Who knew? Yeah, you're not going to let bottom-feeding scum throw away perfectly good food... You enter the village, you don't even try to hide. You break the neck of three hobgoblins and put your fist through an orc before anyone even mounts an attack. "Shit! Get your dick outta that bitch, can't you see we're being attacked?!" the human bandit shouts. The gnolls clumsily attempt to chop you with their long axes, but its all too easy to avoid their blows and shatter their spines, you quickly shut their dog like howls up by stomping their heads into mush. The remaining bandits fair no better against you. "He's too fucking fast! He's not human! He's not..." are the last words of a half orc before you finish him off, along with his buddies. Soon it's only the human bandit leader left and to his credit; he hasn't run off (like some of the hobgoblins tried to do) "Let me guess...vampire?" You nod silently. "Shit...I had a feeling it wasn't just mercenaries after seeing the carnage on a couple of those sites. So are..." You're done entertaining this lesser form, you rush forward and rip out his throat mid sentence. You drink his blood and throw his corpse next to the body of the old man he had just killed not a few moments before. Meanwhile the peasants that the bandits rounded up haven't even run. They've all just huddled together watching you, probably with just as much fear as they had before you arrived. You look upon them and they have never looked more like the herd of sheep they truly are. They are prey and always will be in their current form. You have a mind to finish them all off, until one brave one approaches on his hands and knees. "You...you have saved us!" he shouts. "Saved you? You shortsighted sheep, I only saved you because these assholes were killing off my livestock and I hate to waste food. I've been feeding on you lot for months now. Didn't you even notice how some of you had gone missing?" you say. "We...we assumed perhaps the bandits had taken some of us in the middle of the night. But please, spare us your unholy wrath and we will worship you, my dark lord!" Well this has turned interesting... "Worship you say? What exactly are you proposing?" you ask. "Yes, we...we can't defend ourselves against Green Eye's bandits and now that you've killed this group, he's just going to send more to finish us off. You could defend us and in exchange we could provide...what you need...." The man says. "I need blood you do know that right?" "Yes, but if it means just a few of us dying as opposed to all of us dying then it will be worth it. Please, I beg you. Whatever you wish, we will provide." This could be just the thing to break up the monotony. It's also perfect due to the remoteness of it all. You'd have people willing to give themselves to you, and the bandits you can just massacre as usual. Of course doing something like this might be slightly more involved than you'd prefer. You can also imagine that it probably wouldn't be as cut and dry as you're going to want it to be. Lot of factors still at play and you question if you want the headache. > You accept the challenge What the hell it isn't like you've got anything better to do. You've been enjoying it more out here than Holgard anyway. Still you know this isn't going to be all fun and blood, so you need to start establishing rules. "Rise." You tell the man groveling before you. He does so slowly before you. "I will accept your obedience, but you must know what this means. This means tribute in blood when I call for it. This means anyone of you here could be called to sustain me in exchange for my protection!" "We understand..." "No, I don't think you truly do mortal. However, you soon will. And if you find my terms at any point unacceptable, there will be no negotiation; I will finish the job that the bandits failed to do and wipe out this entire village. Now, let us talk about your bandit problem." The man who is the village's speaker says his name is Vic and explains the situation with the bandits. He says Green Eye, is the unseen bandit leader that is believed to have made his hideout in an old abandoned dwarf mine in the hills nearby. As far as anyone knows, nobody in this village (or any other in the area) has ever seen Green Eye, except the bandits who mention him (or her) from time to time. Still never a physical description either except for the green eye that seems to unnerve them. Vic says he understands that you will not be able to look over them constantly, but something must be done about the bandits soon since they will surely come looking to see what happened to their fellows and if that happens to be during the day... You tell Vic to not concern himself with it any longer because you're taking care of it tonight one way or another. He just needs to remember his promise to you. This village is yours and as such, he needs to get the rest of the people back to rebuilding it as soon as possible. After Vic gives you some basic directions on where the mine is located, you take your leave. Honestly, it's not that difficult to find now that you know which way to go since you're catching the scent of foul savage races the closer you get. Eventually you get to the entrance, which doesn't even have anyone guarding it though judging by the smell and mess, this is definitely inhabited. The mine is actually well lit, so you're guessing there must be more human types in here at

least. You soon hear the sounds revelry and then in a large opening you see a group of mortals of varying races. Mostly the savage type like hobgoblin, orc and even an ogre. The human bunch doesn't surprise you. There are even a couple elves in the mix and at least one race you don't recognize. What does surprise you is the equal amount of female members in the group. There are a couple that are obviously bandits as well, but a lot of them just look like they're there for either "fun" or they have a large amount of children around them. You didn't expect to find a community of sorts here. Makes sense that they're raiding the other villages for food and basic supplies rather than just valuables. In any case, it hardly matters since you've got a task to do... You kill three bandits before they even know what's going on, you then kill several of their fun women and the ogre before they all decide to stop trying to defend themselves and start running and hiding. The yelling, screaming and crying fills your ears and you realize with all the tunnels and crevices, it might take awhile to hunt everyone down, so you're going to make this easier. "Listen up to all those that value their miserable lives! The village of Maldito is under my protection and I am their bloody tyrant. Your actions against it have come to an end! Turn over Green Eye, and I'll allow the rest of you to slink out of here. Choice is yours." You shout. You voice echoes throughout the mine a bit and then silence. A moment passes and just when you think you're going to have to hunt them all down anyway, you hear a thumping noise. Soon, you see a single short figure coming out from down a mine corridor; he carries some sort of rifle and is walking with a limp and a faint green glow is coming from the top of him You then get a better look and he's a dwarf, which you didn't quite expect to be leading this rabble. He's dressed in heavy leather armor, though it might be just regular dwarven miner clothing for all you know. He's got an obvious metal leg replacing his missing one. His rifle isn't one of the usual designs you've seen in Holgard. Has a wider barrel for one thing and looks of much better workmanship. Shiny even. His face is that of a usual Dwarf, bearded, long hair and grizzled. Of course the main thing that sticks out about him is his green "eye" which you don't think is even an eye. It looks more like a glowing gem of some sort. If it has any magic properties, they aren't affecting you (yet). His other eye is non-existent and covered with a patch, so maybe the green one just helps him see. In any case, the man obviously has no fear and has come out to meet you alone, which means he's either stupid or he's got something to say and hoping you might be in a mood to listen. It's going to be one of those nights you see... "I take it you're Green Eye." You say. "And I take it you're the one that's been fucking up my people. Edgrin said that he didn't think it was mercs and might be something worse like a vampire for example, but...bah what's done is done now. I assume if you're going on about that shithole village that means you just killed him and all my people that I sent there to make an example of the place." Green Eye responds. "That's right, and now I'm here to kill you and everyone else here." "Hmm, and I don't doubt that you couldn't, though I would at least like to propose a different offer. One that you might find advantageous." "Okay, I'll bite." "As you can see, much like Maldito, we are just a community trying to get by in this life. We are just happen to be predators rather than prey. I'm sure you can identify." "Understand, yes. Identify. No. Because if we're using food chain comparisons, then I would the top predator and you lot are in my way..." "Very well, I get it. How about this? We completely leave Maldito alone forever. There are more than enough villages in the area that we can shakedown. And to be quite honest, we probably don't need as much from them anyway now that you've killed about half of us." "As far as I'm concerned, those villages are also mine." "Come on be reasonable. You just said that you have direct control over Maldito who apparently are filled with pleading peasants willing to do whatever you want. I mean unless you're planning on carving out an empire you really don't need all those villages. I might add, that it's beneficial to have us around." "I don't see how, you're just another competitor." "True, but you've already made your point to us. I certainly have no plans on tangling with you ever again. Do you really believe that if you kill all of us, that there won't be another group of assholes to just take our place? Then what? You have to do this all over again and while you probably don't have any particular problems with that, you might not arrive to save your village like you did this time. These fucking mongrels and greenskins are stupid as shit and never learn lessons most of the time. I'm probably the only thing keeping them all from idiotically just razing the entire area." "So what your saying, is I should leave you alive so the status quo can stay relatively intact and give myself less hassle in the long run." "And to save my own ass, and the sorry asses of my community...such as they are." It's intriguing enough for you to consider since it might be nice to just rule over the town without actually ever having to defend it again or wondering if you're going to stumble across a burnt husk of a village. Still, this can't be a negotiation that you feel comfortable with, without some sort of capitulation on Green Eye's part. "This sounds very nice and all, but at its core, this deal benefits you far more than me. I have no assurance that you'll keep your word. For all I know you're going to just bide your time and regroup. Perhaps even attempt to attack me." You say. "You're joking right? What the hell are we going to do to you? We have no weapons to even hurt you with, I mean this rifle is mainly just to give me a sense of false security. You think we have any way to contact hunters even if we were so inclined? In fact I'd argue that the villages you've been feeding on would be more likely to do that than us." Green Eye strokes his beard a bit and sees that you're not moved by his assurances. "Okay, I think I know what you're getting at. You want tribute from us. Well how about this? We occasionally take women from the villages for...recreation. Sometimes they go back, sometimes they realize that they like it here better. How about we take maybe one or two for you as a gesture of our goodwill?" Green Eye asks. "That's a good offer, but a child would be better. The blood of the youth always is." You say. "A...child? You want a kid?" "Is that a problem? The people that you sent to Maldito didn't seem to think so when they were planning to execute everyone there." "That was different and it's just that...we don't normally...I mean...shit. Okay fine, we'll start taking children I guess. Um, how many did you need?" "Oh not many. I mean just one every month is fine. Don't want to depopulate the area after all. And I'd say it's more than fair to you." "I suppose it is. I accept your generous proposal." "Of course you will, because it's the only option for you. Now then, I'll be expecting my tribute by the end of this month, have it waiting for me by the entrance, because if I actually have to set foot in this place again, it'll be the end of this community." Green Eye nods and you turn to leave, though you're curious about one thing. "Oh, just wondering...how does a dwarf become the leader of a bandit community full of savages anyway?" you ask. "The mine dried up and I was too stupid to leave obviously." Green Eye answers. Satisfied with this answer you leave the mine. You return home, nearly at dawn. Isabella doesn't ask what you've been doing since she knows you've been doing your usual routine of hunting in the wilderness or preying upon the villages. You imagine she'll start asking questions eventually, she's probably going to nag you about your actions possibly attracting attention, but for now you're going to just enjoy your new hobby. > Time passes... Year 31 You finish drinking your fill of the girl and release her though she still clings to you tightly like you're her entire world despite the fact that she's already married to some young man in this village.. As usual you have left this one alive since the less outright deaths the better. Besides, the more you feed on these peasants and don't kill them, the more they seem to be enamored with you. The fools believe your "mercy" is some sort of blessing. "Is there anything else you require of me, m'lord?" she asks in a mild daze. "Actually now that you mention it, yeah. Now that I'm done sucking on you, I'll give you the honor of sucking on me. You know what to do." You say. The girl nods and slowly lowers herself before you. Now THIS is what being a vampire is all about, or at least what it should be. Lording it over the lessers and reaping the benefits. Not hiding on the outskirts of civilization. Ever since this arrangement you've actually been enjoying yourself again. Even more than when you used to go hunting in Holgard, which you haven't been going to at all anymore. As for Isabella, she spends all her time in her precious garden and you're starting to wonder if she even cares what you do anymore as long as it doesn't involve messing with Dert or calling attention to your home. The only time she has asked you a question is she started wondering where you were getting all the children from since she was concerned you might be "over farming" Dert, but she seemed satisfied with your answer. She's benefiting so why should she care? The girl finishes servicing you and then you send her home in a better status for her husband than before. Tiring of your own time here tonight, you prepare to leave and exit the "home" that you use when visiting. Before you leave however, you're met by Vic. Usually he knows better than to crowd you like this so it makes you a little wary. "That's close enough! Encroach on my personal space any further and it'll be the last! Now what is it that you feel the need to waste my time with?" "Well I was just wondering, since I've been so loyal to you lord and helpful in in convincing the others to stay loyal...I was just wondering if there would ever come a time that you might bless me with the same gift that you have. Not that I would be nearly as powerful as you of course m'lord. I live to serve after all." This again... Vic has brought this up before, and this topic has come up with more than a few of the ladies you've been dining on. You of course always give the same answer, that it isn't a "gift" that can be given so lightly and will only ever go to the worthy. Telling them that you can't make them vampires because you're not old enough to do it yet, wouldn't actually make you look like the "all powerful" dark lord that you've set yourself up as. Still, as far as you know you ARE able to make them into ghouls. Isabella explained all this to you in your first weeks as a vampire. She always said making a ghoul wasn't worth it since they are some of the most pathetic creatures she's ever had the displeasure of knowing. She made one once and killed it soon after because she found its habits too disgusting and its fawning far too annoying. Of course Isabella's personality is a little different than yours. You would probably be fine with more fawning. In fact absolute loyalty might be a plus. As for disgusting habits, well you wouldn't have to live with them on a regular basis and so what if they eat a few bugs? However, it still isn't something you're going to just do right away and would need to think on. After all, you turn one person or multiple people into a ghoul or ghouls, how are they going to act towards the rest of the normal people? Not like you can watch them constantly. "I'll think about it, now get out of my way!" you say and knock Vic aside. You head home pondering the possible ramifications of taking that extra step. When you finally do get home, you find that your night hasn't gotten less complicated. "Have fun with your human whores?" Isabella asks. "Thought you'd be in your garden. That's where you like to spend all your time isn't it?" you say, not even answering her question. "True, but perhaps I've been sticking my head in the flowers for far too long and ignoring the situation that's going on." "What situation?" "The situation where you've apparently dominated an entire village to your will. Maybe even more." "No, just the one. What difference does it make? I'm not attracting any attention and I've been bringing children home to you on monthly basis." "Yes, which is why I haven't said anything, however I've been noticing a change in your behavior with me." "You have? Surprised, considering all the time you spend in your garden." "Okay, if you're bitching about us not spending enough time together, all you had to do is say something and I would have obliged. Since when have I not helped you out in any way I can? It's why you're here in the first place." "And THAT right there is the problem!" "What?" "You treating me like a second class citizen around here!" "Are you kidding me? I gave you fucking complete freedom!" "You know that doesn't matter. Not really in the scheme of things. You're more powerful than me. You always will be and you will always see me as your lesser. Sometimes it feels like you scold me as if I was some child." "Well when you act like one at times, that's what happens. And if I really saw you as my lesser, I wouldn't have even bothered with you in the first place. I saw something special in you, but obviously I was mistaken. Besides all that, don't give me that I never let you have fun business because it's not even true in the first place. If anything I've been TOO permissive. You're on a fucking power trip right now and while I get it because you feel like you're getting the attention you feel you deserve, I'm telling you right now that if you continue like this, it's going end badly." "I don't understand WHY you're giving me shit for this. You do the same thing with Dert, you're just less hands on." "Exactly. I'm not rolling around in the pigpen with the pork chops! You're in there, not only rolling around with them, you're also fucking the pigs. AND don't even tell me that you don't do that, because you stink of humans most nights when you come back. Though I'm not so much mad about that bit as I am severely disappointed." "So what are you saying exactly?" 'What I'm saying is YOU are heading down a path that I've seen play out several times with others I was close to in the past. Not really willing to go through it again." "So, what then? You're going to forbid me to do this then?" "No, actually I'm not. You're a free willed vampire, go play with your mortals and lord it over them. That seems to be what is making you happy. What I am saying however is if you insist on doing this though, you'll be doing it elsewhere because I'm not going to sit by and watch the inevitable, let alone get caught up in it. Obviously you feel stifled here, so maybe you need to go do this anyway." Well that's done it for you. You're not going to get threatened by an ultimatum. You and Isabella haven't been getting along for a while now anyway. If she's giving you the option for a clean break now, you probably should take it while you can. "I'll be gone tomorrow night. I trust that will be okay." You answer. "Fine by me. You can sleep elsewhere in the crypt though, because you certainly won't be sleeping in my bed." Isabella says. "Yeah, probably for the best." "Well then, it was fun while lasted and I hope you succeed in whatever it is that you're trying to achieve. Goodbye." And with those cold last words, Isabella turns and leaves you. While maybe you sort of knew this was coming for some time, there is a part of you that's going to miss Isabella. She did do so much for you, but ultimately you needed your freedom the most. And now you have it. The next night, you leave the crypt with what little belongings you still have attachment to as quick as you can. You don't bump into Isabella; you assume she's in her garden as usual. You make your way to Maldito, where you are met with the usual praise and submissive behavior. "Vic, get all your best builders and tradespeople together, I want a meeting with them." You order. "Um, okay m'lord." Vic answers. You meet with them to let them know that you're going to be around a lot more often, so you want a proper home, rather than the simple empty one room house they just let you use when you are here. Your news is met with an overjoyed reaction for the most part, though you get the impression some are just reacting more out of fear of defying you. In any case, you aren't asking for much in the short term. Just a small underground area underneath the house you stay at. "Oh! So like a root cellar!" one of them beams. "Yeah...just like a root cellar." You answer rolling your eyes a bit. In any case it's a simple enough task for them that you figure they won't take long in doing it. In the meantime, you have the unpleasant task of digging a hole in the forest and sleeping there. The first night is a real wake up call of how much better it was sleeping in a nice soft bed next to Isabella, but you need to get over that. A month passes and it's still not finished mainly because one of the more skilled carpenters had a heart attack on the job. You're pissed about this inconvenience, but it is what it is. In the meantime, when you make your usual meeting with Green Eye's community, you tell the guard at the entrance that you won't require a child every month anymore. Instead, they can just bring a girl like Green Eye originally suggested. By the middle of the second month it's still not finished. You have no idea what the hell is holding these idiots up. Vic says something about the structural integrity is shaky and there being a danger over everything caving in. You're getting irritated to the point that you almost lash out and kill one of them, but then you realize you need these fools right now. So you kill the tavern owner instead. Not like serving drinks is a job that requires special skills that you need. Besides, his wife can take over and she's more compliant to you anyway. You start wondering if this would go faster if you made them ghouls. The main problem that you can see is that they're all weak humans that aren't even in the best of shape in the first place and require sleep and regular food. If you made them ghouls they'd work for you tirelessly night and day. (They'd be able to see in the dark as well) And they could eat...well anything really. There isn't really much stopping you now, since you now ARE here constantly to monitor their behavior. Though there is a real desire to still not do it too, since you'd essentially be "rewarding" them all for shit work so far. If you were going to do it, you'd rather do for those that deserve it at least. > You make some of them ghouls You might as well start making ghouls if you're going to be using this place as your new home now. You'll feel safer if with absolutely loyal day guards around anyway. You call everyone to the village square the following night. It's a little surprising for everyone, but of course they don't want to disobey you. "Okay, I've gathered you all here because it's come up many times that some of you desire the same gift I have. This makes sense since you would indeed be better in every way and you would also be closer to your god. However, none of you are yet worthy of such a thing. In fact some of you never will be! Yet, I am a merciful master and as such I will bestow a minor bit of my power so that you may get a taste of it. Who knows, maybe in time you will impress me to the point that I will eventually complete your transformation." At this point your words are met with signs of hope and excitement. You expected that, so that's one less thing to worry about. You're still wondering which people exactly to choose and how many. You probably want to pick the key members in the community though, so you figure you might as well give Vic what he's always wanted first. "Okay Vic, come on over here and we'll get started." You say and cut your arm to drain some of your blood in a cup. "Um, me m'lord?" Vic asks. "Yeah you! Who the hell else's name is Vic in this village? Now come on." "Uh, that's okay I don't think I'm quite worthy yet. I believe that there are many others here deserving of your gift more." "You're joking right? You've been begging me to turn you since I took control of this place. You're just nervous, come on." "No, I really realize now that I shouldn't have annoyed with my petty request as I did. I thank you for your generous offer, but perhaps one of the many lovely young women that..." "Vic, stop being a bitch and get over here!" you say raising your voice. At this point the crowd is getting agitated with Vic's stalling and begin pushing him forward, telling him that he's a "chosen one" and he should be embracing this moment. Vic slowly moves towards your position and then suddenly his eyes roll in the back of his head and he wobbles a bit before falling over. "Oh for fuck's sake..." you say shaking your head. One of the other villagers goes over to help Vic, but after some inspection... "He's dead m'lord!" the village "doctor" exclaims. "He's fucking dead?!" you say. "Heart attack it seems. I believe all the excitement of being a benefactor of your glory was too much for him." "Maybe..." Something about this doesn't seem right. "Kick his body. In fact I want several of you to stomp on it." You say. "M'lord?" someone asks. "You heard me." Not wishing to anger you, several of the villagers comply. Vic's body just absorbs the kicks and doesn't move. "Okay, I guess he's really dead, set his body on fire, no need to waste anymore time burying it. Actually never mind, there's a torch right here, I'll do it." You take a nearby torch and go over to Vic's body. As you slowly lower the flaming piece of wood closer to Vic's body, you watch his eyes. You watch... Then just as you touch Vic's body with the actual flame, his eyes open and his entire form changes into a thin smooth gray skinned creature. Its face isn't anything like you've seen before, having only slits for a nose, a simple line like mouth and its eyes are just white orbs. "SHIT!" it shouts in different voice than before and immediately rolls away and attempts to scramble for safety. While the villagers are confused and scared by all this, you of course keep your cool and easily catch this creature and drag it into the empty house you reside at in the village to interrogate it. "Okay, what the hell are you?" you demand. "Please! I'm a doppelganger and I'm only doing my job!" it pleads pathetically. "By job, you mean spying and infiltration! I only know ONE person that rules over a ragtag group of multi-racial misfits that might have the balls to do such a thing. How long have you been working for Green Eye?" The doppelganger wastes no time in selling out Green Eye. It says it's been with Green Eye for quite some time, but only was infiltrating Maldito shortly after you threatened Green Eye. It says it was originally masquerading as the head carpenter, but soon changed into Vic (and in both cases obviously secretly killed) when it realized you were serious about making the village your permanent home. It of course has been in contact with Green Eye off and on the whole time. "So what the hell is Green Eye exactly planning?" "Well originally he just wanted to keep a check on you, but when you made Maldito your permanent home, he got more concerned. I think he's planning on attacking you directly and most likely destroying the village." "Because that worked out so well last time. So what then has he hired hunters or something? Should have known he wasn't going to be above doing that." "No, actually he's been crafting silver weapons for everyone. Mostly daggers, but I know for a fact he's been focusing on silver shot for the few firearms we have." "Where's he getting all this silver from?" "The mine I guess. Green Eye said it used to be a silver mine before it ran out." "Well apparently it didn't completely run dry if he's got enough to scrap weapons together. Gotta hand it to Green Eye, though. He's been busy and I underestimated his fear of me. Smart of him to not tell me that it used to be a silver mine too. I didn't even think of that." "So...what are you going to do?" "Kill my enemy of course, might as well start with you. Wonder what doppelganger tastes like..." you say and prepare to bite. "No! Wait! Please! I could help even more! If you attack now, you'd never get Green Eye. He's got a whole system of hidden tunnels, traps and shit. You might wipe out everyone under his leadership, but I doubt if you'd find him. He knows those mines like nobody else." "Oh, I'm sure I'd find him eventually." "Well, maybe, but as I said, he's probably trapped the entire place too and considering he's been preparing for you, some of those might even be dangerous to you. Let me go back and..." "You think I'm stupid? You sold out Green Eye so quick and you were supposed to be on his side. How quick would you sell me out?" "But this is different, I can see you're the more powerful force in this instance and I always side with the winning team. It's what my kind does. Green Eye doesn't know that you know that you know anything. In fact I can probably get him to meet with you. You're supposed to pick up your new tribute soon aren't you?" "Yeah, so?" "Well let ME go and pick it up. Except I wouldn't go as me, I'll go as YOU." "Wait, you're going to copy me?" "Yes. And I'm going to arrive at Green Eye's place during the day to do it. I will pretend that I'm such a powerful and old vampire that I have the capacity to walk around in the daytime! This will throw them all off so much that they'll scramble to appease you quickly. When they drag out the girl, I will then claim it isn't good enough and that I will be back at night to renegotiate the deal with Green Eye personally. He'll be concerned enough that he'll meet with you, probably seeing if you have any other weaknesses, since thinking you can walk around in the daytime is going to cause him to discard his original plans. Of course it'll actually be you who'll meet him at night, at which point you'll easily be able to over power him and whoever else is with him. Trust me, it'll work!" An intriguing plan you suppose, you just aren't convinced though. "Sounds like a shit plan, and I still don't trust you. I don't think you can convincingly copy me anyway." You say. "The hell you say! I'll have you know that I am one the most skilled of my kind! I can easily copy you, right down to your quirky mannerisms. Especially since I've been observing you for awhile now." The doppelganger says a little insulted. "Is that so? Well prove it, and maybe I'll make a decision based on how good your performance is." You let the doppelganger go and it has prepared itself to display its powers to you. It takes a bit longer to transform into looking like you than when it transformed back to its real form. The first thing you realize is you haven't seen yourself in years. The dop looks like you, or at least what you looked like before you became a vampire, then again you haven't aged since then so that's presumably what you still look like. The dop then begins to talk like you and act like you. It's very arrogant, condescending and just an all around dick. Which means it's copying you exactly. "See? I can pull this off! Just give me a chance and hey, when Green Eye is dead, I could help you in other ways as well!" the dop exclaims as it transforms back. It certainly is an eager creature. You just aren't sure if you can trust it. And if you can't trust it, then why take chances? > You trust the doppelganger You're not so much trusting the dop, so much as you're going to take a chance that it fears you enough that it's being honest. Since if it IS telling the truth and willing to work for you, he would come in pretty handy. Still, you're going to be careful as you can about this. "Okay, first of all, are you absolutely SURE this plan is going convince Green Eye to meet with me?" you ask. "Yes, I am. If he thinks something is wrong, but fixable he'll more often than not take a personal approach to it even if it might risk his life, just like when he first spoke with you. If I know him, he'll probably want to appease you so he can give himself more time to re-think a new strategy of how to deal with you if he believes you can walk around in the day time." The dop says. You can't really tell due to its nearly featureless expression, but it sounds confident in its words. You suppose that will have to do. "Alright then, we'll try the plan." You say. "Y...you will? Oh thank the gods! I swear I will be loyal to you!" the dop exclaims. "We'll see, but first I need to prepare you a bit." You say and move towards it. "Prepare?" "Yeah, just relax a bit, don't move and... brace yourself!" You suddenly lunge on the dop who is taken by surprise by your speed. You bite the dop in the arm and drink a little of its blood. It actually tastes pretty terrible and you nearly spit it out. In the meantime the dop is making a horrible screaming noise and doesn't stop until you smack it upside the head. "Stop that, it's annoying." You say and release it. "Y...you bit me!" the dop says rubbing its arm. "Sure did. Call it an extra precaution in case you get the bright idea to try to betray me. I can always sense where you are now. So if any of this goes south, I'm going to know where to find YOU immediately." The doppelganger might have those empty white orbs for eyes, but you can still see the fear in them. Honestly, while you will be able to sense it if it's close by, you aren't going to be able to instantly track it from anywhere. Still, it doesn't know that. "I wasn't going to betray you." The dop whines. "Well, now I know you won't. Now you stay here, I'm going to go get one of the villagers so you can blend in again. I'll drain them and you can walk out like nothing happened. The body can be disposed of later." you answer. "Wait which one?" "What difference does it make? I dunno the tavern keeper's wife I guess. Might as well considering I already killed her husband. Plus it's an easy enough task even for you and you'll hear all the village gossip at lot easier, not that it matters I suppose." "Mm, okay. I don't have to worry about you suddenly picking on me to bite now and I prefer female forms anyway, it's always easier when the gender matches." You pause for a moment. "Wait...you're female?" you ask. "Well we doppelgangers are pretty flexible about it all for obvious reasons, but yes, I personally identify as female. Can't you tell?" she says. "Um, no not really. I mean you're just a smooth gray nearly featureless being. It's not like I can see tits or anything. I mean...I can't even see a hole down there...or anywhere for that matter; then again I haven't really been exploring. I guess if you were a guy it would have been more obvious I suppose." "Oh you solids with your constant exposed reproductive organs. We doppelgangers transcend such concerns since we only display them when necessary such as for sex or expelling waste. Until that time they remain hidden and protected." "Okay, well however works...don't really want to know, but if that's the case how the fuck was I supposed to be able to tell that you're female or not?" "By my eyes of course! Those of my kind that identify as female tend to change our eye color to white while those that identify as males tend to change them to black." "What color are they normally?" "Oh gray." "Great. Very illuminating. Next time I run into one of you doppys, I'll try to remember all that." "Erm, could you please not call me a doppy? It is considered offensive to my..." You glare at the doppelganger as your patience wears thin. "Um...nevermind. Just happy to serve and being included, sir." She says submissively. You leave the house and find that a minor crowd has gathered from a safe distance. They're probably wondering what exactly happened, time to make up a story. "Is that...thing gone m'lord?" someone asks. "Yes, of course it is. Didn't you hear its death scream? I interrogated it first though. Apparently those bandits I thought I took care of have regrouped and will be trying to attack again. However, we know the truth now and can prepare. I'm going to track them down and finish them off for good, however I'm still going to bless some of you and when I do, you will be charged with helping the defense of this village. I trust you all will be up for the challenge should it come to that." You say. "Of course m'lord! We all will!" "Then we will start tomorrow night, for now though I wish to spend time with you. The rest of you go home and worry no longer about any of this." You say and point to the tavern owner's wife. She goes over to you immediately. As the crowd disperses and obeys your command, you head into your home with your victim. You don't bother with the foreplay and get straight to the feeding. You've done this with her several times already, but this time will be different for her. As usual she puts up no resistance and even as you're obviously killing her she still whispers "I love you" in your ear and holds you tightly. You finish her of

f and drop her body to the floor. Meanwhile the dop was watching the shadows. You look at her and from her body language she cringes a bit. "Geez... you really are ruthless. I mean I've seen you on occasion drink people, but...never quite like that. She said she loved you and you just...look I just want to remind you, I am definitely NOT going to betray you." "Glad to hear it, now stop wasting time and take her form or whatever it is you do." The dop wastes no time and soon there is a "new" tavern keeper's wife...actually you find out her name was Kayla. The doppelganger knew her better than you actually did, despite you feeding on her on a regular basis. After "Kayla" leaves to get more acquainted with her new role, you look around to make sure you can dispose of the real one safely. You aren't sure why you're bothering being so secretive since the villagers would probably be fine with a doppelganger if you told them to be fine with it. However, you do think it's probably a good idea to slowly introduce such things to them. While they may accept you as a master, they may be less willing to accept some other non-human lurking about as well. At least not until you make some of them non-human. The next night you start again with what you originally planned. This time you pick a married couple at random and decide to see how it goes. You give them both some of your blood which causes them to gag a bit and then generally feel "weird." The pair of them eventually stagger back home, and you tell Kayla to keep an eye on them both since you won't be able to observe them during the day. A couple days and nights pass and you repeat the process with them and just when you're starting to get frustrated, they start to show a change. The pair of them become more fawning than usual towards you and you don't even have to do anything. They're also paler and beginning to move in a less normal fashion. It's more of a loping gait. Their appetite becomes a lot less normal as well. You think you've finally changed them into ghouls. You're glad it didn't take as long as Isabella once suggested it would if you attempted it. However, you soon discover all her warnings were correct. First off, they ARE very annoying with how much they're underfoot all the time. Still, they are very obedient and they soon finish digging out the area meant to be your new resting place under the house. It's crude, but you figure it can be worked on continually. For now though it's functional enough that you don't need to sleep in a hole in the ground in the forest nearby. Keeping them subdued when you're asleep is another matter however. While you attempt to tell them to stand guard over you, they're little like children in that they get bored and have short attention spans. While they haven't actually attacked anyone yet, they're acting aggressive enough that it won't be long. This naturally causes some of the other villagers to be wary and now that's potentially messing up your relationship with them. To counter act this, you give a few intimidating speeches, re-hyponotize a few of the key villagers again and have the two ghouls whipped before the mob and scold them for their behavior. The pathetic creatures soon learn that they aren't going to be chewing on their neighbors anytime soon. Still, it does make other villagers less eager to want to become ghouls now, though you're sort of wondering if it's worth it anyway. While you're trying to keep a precarious balance of humans and non-humans together through your powers and plain old fear, Kayla reminds you that it will soon be time for her to meet with Green Eye's people and start part one of that plan. You originally thought you might send one of the ghouls with her, but that would probably just confuse them, or they'll fuck up the plan and they might even eat Kayla. So she's going alone. You're still fairly concerned about this, but this is what you've decided on, so that's what you're going to do. You don't even go to sleep that day; you stay awake mostly pacing in your underground sleeping area. You send Stinky and Fatty (Your new names for your ghouls since you never bothered to learn their real names) to go fetch you a "drink" so you can keep your strength up. You also tell them to keep an eye out for Kayla. At any moment you fully expect to hear the sounds of an attack above you. You aren't going to be able to help, so you hope Stinky and Fatty are up to the task. However, the pair of them eventually come back with Kayla who is back in her human form. "Here she is master!" Stinky says excitedly. "Did we do good?" Fatty adds. "Yeah, now get the hell out of here. Go dig up one of the corpses in the forest and reward yourself or something." You hardly need to tell them twice and they both leave you alone. "Well?" you ask. "Well, I'm back and it's done. I made enough trouble that Green Eye will be willing to speak with you tonight. I didn't really want to be at Green Eye's any longer than I had to anyway, let alone directly confront him. Fairly certain that gem eye of his sees through disguises. In fact, I highly suggest that you not talk to him and just attack as soon as you see him, lest you fall under his command." Kayla says. "You're joking right? I'm a fucking vampire. I am the one who commands." "Yeah, I know you've got powers of your own, but it's that gem eye. It's magic. How the hell do you think he got that motley bunch to work for him?" "You seem immune considering you're selling him out." "Well I imagine that might be a combination of being a doppelganger, along with not being in his presence for an extended period of time. Whenever I was though, I felt the urge to serve him. I mean think about it, he managed to convince YOU not to wipe out his group the first time around. How the hell did he do that? I like to think I've gotten to know you well enough that you're not really a man that takes chances on potential future threats so you sparing him and everyone else seems a bit out of character." "I spared and took a chance on you." "True I suppose, but still...I dunno I'm just saying you probably shouldn't speak with him just to be safe." "Your concern is touching. I'm guessing it's dark about now, I'll be heading out with the ghouls then." "Okay, well did you need me for anything else then?" "Not right now and assuming you haven't set me up, I will remember your actions on this task." You take your leave of Kayla to go get your ghouls. You find them quite easily in the forest nearby finishing off a corpse. One of them hits the other and points at you. "The master is coming! The master is here!" Fatty says excitedly and runs up to you until you smack him down. "I need the pair of you to accompany me to an important meeting. When we get there though don't do anything until I say so." Fatty and Stinky follow you happily as you make your way to Green Eye's mine. You feel like you're walking into a trap the entire time, but at least you've got some help. Normally you wouldn't even be concerned, but you haven't rested or fed too much so you don't feel like you're a full strength either. Eventually you see the mine and you also see a short figure surrounded by several figures at the entrance. They don't look like his usual men though. They're all female and look very cowed for one thing. "I wasn't expecting this." You say. "Well considering you arrived here in broad daylight demanding your tribute and then saying it wasn't good enough, I figured I'd offer you a selection. All of these girls are from the nearby villages." Green Eye says. "What if I want them all?" "Well then I guess you're getting them all, far be it for me to fight a vampire that can walk around in the daytime. Interesting trick. Didn't know you guys could do that. Almost hard to believe..." "Well you saw it with your own eye." "Actually I didn't, I got the report second hand from one of my men. Granted I trust him...or rather I trust that he believes what he saw, but let's just say, I have some questions." "I'm not here to answer yours." "True, but I'm going to ask anyway, because I strongly think something weird is going on here and I'd rather we talk than it come to violence." "Of course you would, because you'd be on the losing end of that deal." "Most likely, but are you so sure? I see you've brought two friends with you, meaning you're smart enough to not take this meeting lightly." "Choose your next words carefully dwarf." "I always do. I have a hunch that we're both being set up to kill each other. I'm betting you've been talking with that treacherous dop haven't you? I bet that's even who impersonated you. It's a liar you know. All of their kind are, and I should have known better than to have one in my community. Our relationship has been cordial and can remain that way. I will even increase the tribute. We don't have to fight." Green Eye says. Something is very weird about all this. Green Eye seems a lot more relaxed than you are right now and with how much he's talking; it feels almost like he's stalling you for some purpose. Maybe he's got his men hiding elsewhere to ambush, but there really isn't any place to hide nearby. The fact that he's pointed out potential treachery of the doppelganger makes you suspicious though. For all you know Green Eye's telling the truth. > Attack Whether you're getting set up or not isn't the issue. The fact remains Green Eye has obviously still been spying on you at best and gearing up to kill you at worst. You can deal with Kayla when you return because you don't intend on dying tonight. "Kill everything!" you shout. "SHIT! FIRE!" Green Eye shouts back. Stinky and Fatty both advance forward and every one of the girls that looked so submissive, suddenly draw pistols out from their clothing and Green Eye raises his own large barreled rifle. What happens next is a bit of a blur. Your speed, your ghouls and the nervousness of the girls helps you avoid most of the shots, however at this close range you still catch one to the leg. This is enough to cause you to stumble long enough for Green Eye to pick his shot, which would have probably hit you in the head, if it wasn't for Fatty taking the silver bullet straight to his body and ripping his gut open and tearing up his insides. You roll out of the way to avoid being crushed by the falling ghoul, and scramble to get to Green Eye who is already in the process of taking his next shot. Meanwhile most of the girls that fired at you are either running, or they're being mauled by Stinky. You grab one of the girls that was trying to run and throw her hard into Green Eye. His shot goes wild as she hits him. By the time he recovers, you grab his rifle and then break it over his head. He falls and then you grab the girl you just threw and sink your teeth into her neck for a quick taste that you don't even finish. You then toss her dying bleeding out body aside and refocus your attention back to Green Eye who is trying to get back up. "OBEY VAMPIRE! O..." he shouts as one last attempt to stop you. "Not likely." You answer and then rip out his green gem eye. Green Eye (Now No Eye) screams in agony as you crush the gem. You aren't entirely sure if it ever had an effect on you, but no point in taking chances. He tries to pathetically kick at you from his prone position, but even with silver lodged in your leg, you easily move out of the way. He shouts a bunch of curses at you, some that are probably dwarven, but you finally put an end to his flailing with repeated stomps to his head. It's done. Green Eye is dead and all the bitches that were shooting at you are either dead or run off. Stinky is busily eating one of them, unconcerned with her dead husband lying nearby. You guess she's probably just happy eating and that you're alive. You have no idea if you rest of Green Eye's people are lurking in the mine or if they fled ahead of time. Chances are, without Green Eye's leadership, whatever remains of the "community" isn't going to stay together anyway. You suppose you could go hunt them down if they are in the mines, but honestly you're a little wary that Green Eye might have set up a system of traps or something to get you in case he failed. You see no reason to bother playing in tunnels trying to avoid traps and ambushes with a wounded leg. Instead you start destroying to support beams around the entrance and eventually you cause a cave in. If anyone is hiding inside, they're going to have a hell of a time digging their way out. "Come on Stinky, let's go home." You say. "Did I do good?" she asks. "A lot better than Fatty, that's for sure. Stinky makes a weird laugh and snuffles about looking for a choice piece of meat to take with her on the way home. "Oh that reminds me..." you say. When you get back to Maldito, you toss the mushy decapitated head of Green Eye towards the feet of a nearby villager who is standing "guard" as a night watch. He's a little horrified by the head, but stays put wondering what this all means. "Rejoice citizens, Green Eye and his band of cutthroats truly are no more. I have finished them off utterly. Spread the word." You announce. Your words and actions of course get the desired effect of praise from the villager, who immediately runs off to tell everyone (and considering that it's fairly late, waking most of them up). You tell Stinky to go find something to do since you've got something important to take care of. She complies and runs off back into the forest. You head to the tavern and apparently it's a slower night since not many are in. Kayla is cleaning a glass with a bored expression Everyone though looks when you enter. "Everyone except Kayla leave. Celebrate the death of our enemies outside." You say. You don't need to say it twice, everyone obeys and Kayla puts down the glass she's cleaning. "So...I take it you killed Green Eye?" she asks. "He had some interesting things to say about you before I did." You answer. "I'm not surprised. Probably was trying to save his own skin." "Probably, but I get the impression he wasn't completely wrong. Tell me the truth, did you sort of set that up hoping that we'd probably kill one another? Maybe just side with whoever came out the winner?" "No, I knew you'd win. I mean you obviously had more power than Green Eye who was essentially a crippled dwarf with a bit of magic to help him. As I said, I am loyal to you now." "Now. Interesting choice of words. Sort of implies you might not be in the future." You stare at Kayla who begins to look very nervous. "So...um...you gonna kill me too?" she asks. "Should I kill you?" you ask. "Probably not doing myself any favors, but I suppose if you wanted to play it safe, you should. However, I of course would rather you didn't. I said I could continue to help you and I meant that. There are other villages nearby, and I don't see why you can't take those over as well. I can help." "Oh, right. The little pose as me, walking around in the daytime trick to make out like I'm a REALLY powerful vampire." "Well, it's not a bad idea, you have to admit. It'll keep the rest of the ignorant villages guessing of when you'll show up or not. Plus you'll be able to directly take tribute, instead of relying on Green Eye now." "Still don't see why I really need you. I mean I could easily put the fear into any village all by myself. I can create ghouls for the daytime." "And you trust your creatures completely to not mess things up? I think we both know the answer to that. Perhaps they do learn in time, but honestly you can't afford to wait around forever for them." "Okay, this sounds all very nice, about you wanting to serve and all of that, however WHY?" "Why what?" "Why do you want to serve me, why are you helping? You can transform into anything. Surely you could probably say go to the Delantium Kingdom and pose as an aristocrat's wife and live a safe pampered life without much concern. Why risk serving a vampire for not much reward and the threat of violence done upon you? In fact why were you serving Green Eye for that matter? I can't imagine that was much better." "Well as I pointed out, Green Eye's magic gem had a little to do with my servitude to him. As for you, well you already bit me. You made it quite clear you could find me anywhere now so what's the point in me even leaving? I might as well try to make the best of this situation. Also, on top of being afraid of you, you're using your vampire powers on me, compelling me to stay." "What? I've done no such thing actually. And if I were, you wouldn't even be aware of it. Well at least I don't think you would be." "Maybe you're not aware that you're doing it. You are very alluring you know, and I have no idea why because you're even more...abrasive than Green Eye was." You're wondering if Kayla's on to something, maybe your powers are getting stronger and you have a more "commanding aura" now. You know you always felt it a bit with Isabella and it didn't really ever go away until she made you independent. You also wondering if you're starting to miss Isabella in some way. Not really on the physical side of things since you got the village girls for that (Though they aren't as good as Isabella of course) but just in other ways. For example, while you definitely don't want a return to someone being above you, you are starting to find it a bit boring talking with people that are quaking in fear all the time. You didn't think you would, but then you didn't think you'd ever be in this position either. "So, you're saying it's ALL on me huh? Somehow I'm really not buying it. I feel like you have some sort of agenda." You say. "Well, I suppose if you feel that way then I guess your choice is clear. Could you please try to not make it painful?" Kayla asks a bit meekly. "Will you stop with that already? I'm not going to kill you...well at least not today. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you probably weren't rooting for me to get killed though you probably wouldn't have been that broken up about it if I had. Also I'm intrigued enough by you that I'd like to keep you around. It's somewhat more interesting to speak with someone who isn't completely fearful of me every once in awhile." "I think I've made it quite clear on many occasions that I am quite afraid of you." "Eh, yeah, but it's not the same as the rest of the mortals out there. Not to mention I don't think you're as afraid as you claim you are. But that's okay, since we seem to be on the same page with future goals, speaking of which we should start talking about those." "As you wish, you're in charge after all." You and Kayla begin you discuss your plans. > Time passes... Year 34 Maldito; the village of ghouls and your ruling capital. Though you aren't exactly sure now if what you're ruling is worth all that much. Green Eye was terrorizing the villages in the area long before you showed up and was still terrorizing them for you when you arrived. It wasn't hard to intimidate them into submission. If you killing their former tormenter wasn't enough to do it, then you being a vampire certain was. Kayla posing as "you" in the daytime, was just overkill. Maldito was eventually ghoulified completely, so if a village steps out of line, you've got an "army" to threaten them with. Though once again, it's overkill considering you could wipe out every one of the villages yourself. The ghouls are just if you need something done in the daytime instead. Ghouls really are the most loathsome creatures you've ever had to be around. Everything about them disgusts you. Their habits, their sycophantic behavior, their smell, everything. They're lower than humans and you're surrounded by them, but at least their loyalty is certain and they watch during the day. This is what "ruling" does to you, makes you paranoid. Even with as scared as you have the rest of the villages, you still believe that one of them is going to get brave enough to actually do something about it. Maybe to some degree you're even hoping one will just to break up the monotony. Still it's all yours and you don't answer to anyone. You aren't sure if these are really the "best times" though. Something is missing. You spend a lot of time trying to remember the "good old days" but really when were those? Certainly wasn't when you were enslaved by Ral, though you suppose your brief time with Lisa was the exception. You still wonder what happened to her, hopefully she's doing better than you, if she's still alive. Wasn't when you had to spend time as a magically altered freak either. Once again, your only bright spot with that was Heather trying to help you. You've been thinking about your brief reunion with her in some of these moments of introspection and you still don't feel bad about it, but you do think that she probably didn't deserve it. Just bad timing. When you were with Isabella? Well there were a lot of good times you'll admit, but if things were truly that good, you wouldn't have left. You can only imagine if Isabella saw you now, she'd probably just be shaking her head at you. She'd probably even be right to do so. She always did know better, but then you were meant to be free and that's always been your problem. Even now, ruling all these worthless peasants, you still feel like a prisoner. You haven't really been free since your days as a petty thief with your sister. Now THOSE were the good old days. You wish you could go back to those times if only for a little while. As you sit in your own underground lair (Now properly built) you sense someone living approaching. It's Kayla. You still don't know her real name, but dops don't really have them anyway so you just continue calling her by a dead tavern keeper's wife. She doesn't even use that form anymore and just stays in her "natural" one when around Moldito. She only uses human forms (or yours) outside the village. You're still a little mystified of her exact intentions. She's been with you for a couple years now and hasn't shown any sign of leaving or betrayal. You can't imagine that she's entirely happy with her lot. She's not a ghoul and she isn't a fearful ignorant human either. You're in charge and YOU'RE not entirely happy, so why would she be? She has said in the past that she's happy serving you, but really have a hard time believing that. You're a tyrannical dick. Unless, she's in love with you, but that would be weird. You actually have been actively not using any sort of suggestive powers on her just to see how she acts. Besides, she's never given that indication though again, maybe you're just bad at reading the signs of a doppelganger. "Um, am I disturbing you sir?" Kayla asks. "Not really, just living up to the stereotype of the brooding vampire I suppose. What's going on?" you respond. "Uh, dunno how to tell you this, so I might as well come out and say it, but I was doing my usual routine in one of the villages and apparently they've caught the attention of hunters." "Hunters?" "Yes, apparently a group of them were investigating the village of Ulig recently. Now I don't know if anyone said anything outright, but due to all of their suspicious behavior they might have inadvertently told the hunters something anyway. Many of the villagers I overheard seemed to be worried that they did that accidently." "Well how many of these hunters were there and where are they?" "They're currently in Sibogri, but they may be coming here soon. I dunno exactly how many there are, but apparently a sizable group. Ten maybe? Maybe more. I feel like this really can't be a coincidence and someone must have told someone about all this." "Well obviously, if there are that many. I don't even think there were that many when they were in Holgard and that was a huge city. I wouldn't be surprised if there is so many due to them hearing rumors of a day walking vampire." "Apologies sir." "What're you apologizing for?" "The daytime thing I know was mainly my idea and I was just apologizing to you for bringing this upon you." "Are you kidding? This is probably the most excitement I've had in awhile. Besides, I imagine that hunters would have come around here eventually." "So you're not mad or concerned about all this?" "Not really, it's actually a motivator." "Oh? Well what were you planning on doing then?" Well that is the question isn't it? The obvious thing to do would be to fight, but given how you've been feeling lately, you could probably very well just leave. Where would you go? You have no idea, but it's an option. In the meantime... "Kayla. Why are you still here?" you suddenly ask. "I'll leave sir. Apologies." Kayla responds. "No, not that! I mean why are you still here?" "Is...this a test?" "No! Look, what I'm asking and there is no right or wrong answer here, is why are you still here? I mean are you in love with me or something similar?" "Um...well...not exactly...it's complicated. Can we talk about something else?" "Besides the hunter thing, this day is becoming the most interesting one in years. I should have asked this question years ago. What's so complicated? You either are or you aren't." Kayla is silent for a moment due to the awkward spot you've put her in. You can see her trying to come up with an answer and after some thought... "Nope, it's still not simple, but I can try to explain if that will please you." Kayla answers. "Well better than nothing I guess. Go ahead." You answer. "As a doppelganger, we do tend towards those with power. Eventually we tend to imprint upon them unless someone better comes along. I suppose that explains why I was with Green Eye for so long. However, I was also planning to kill him eventually and take his place. That's sort of what we do." "So...you're basically admitting to me, that you were planning on killing me all along." "Well...it's complicated." "So you've said. Look, you just admitted that you were planning to kill me. I think it would be in your best interest to explain in more detail." "I honestly haven't really been planning to kill you though. I mean I assumed I would at some point, but considering I'm already impersonating you most of the time and reaping some of power thrill directly when I'm doing it, the feeling isn't as strong. Muted in fact." "And that's it?" "There's also the fact that you created a bunch of ghouls that I wouldn't be able to control since they know I'm not really you. Not to mention I don't think I'd be able to kill you, so I'm sort of stuck and now it's gotten to the point where I'm comfortable in my position and don't really feel a desire to leave. I mean I could, but I'd probably feel really lost for a while as I tried to find a suitable role equal in status to this one and that's not the greatest feeling for a doppelganger." Well more enlightenment on the race of doppelgangers, but you notice she didn't entirely answer the original question. Doesn't matter you suppose, you're going to do what you want anyway, but there is one more important question. "So you're saying that if I fight these hunters, you aren't going to suddenly switch sides again?" you ask. "Not likely sir. Hunter types tend to be nomadic and have no real hierarchy. Also they are constantly seeking out vampires and the like to kill. I already know enough about vampires that I don't want to be hunting them on a regular basis. I'm with you sir." Kayla responds. Well, that's something you guess. "We're going to fight." You say. "Never expected anything different sir. So how are we going to go about this?" Kayla asks. "We need to gather a bit more information. If they aren't staying in the villages themselves, then that means they must be making camp in the forest. Maybe send Stinky...no wait not her. Send Lurky, to scout the nearby forest area. He tends to be quieter and smells less pungent than most of the other ghouls. I want you to keep doing your usual routine of blending in at the other villages. Try to gather as much information as possible. As for me, I'm going to start building up the defenses on this place. Probably should have done it years ago." "You think you have time to build a wall?" "No, but I once was a rogue and I knew how to set traps. Didn't do it often, but I knew how. If the hunters storm this place, it isn't just ghouls and me; they're going to have to deal with. The only thing I'll need to worry about are the ghouls accidently setting them off, but I think I can probably make them understand where they can go and where they can't. Let the rest of them know though, that I'm going to address them all as soon as it goes dark, so they all better be around." Kayla nods and goes to carry out your orders. Meanwhile you work on a few things until it's dark so you can address your ghouls. You address what's going on to your ghouls who of course all listen intently. They're actually eager to go fight right now, but you tell them there will be time for that soon. You tell them to start digging holes and placing sharpened sticks, spikes and then camouflaging them. Not all the houses are used in the village anymore since the ghouls seem to all like just staying outside and only really enter the bigger village hall if the sun especially bothers them. You deicide to trap some of these abandoned homes since you imagine the hunters will be meticulous enough to search every home. You spend the next few days doing this and then eventually you get a report from Kayla who has some interesting news. "Wait, so they're torturing people?" you say. "Yeah and they apparently got people doing this in several villages. They aren't letting anyone go either." Kayla says. "How many of these assholes are there?" "I still don't have an exact number, but it's looking like more than ten. Maybe fifty and I don't think this is just hunters, the Church of Joachim is getting mentioned a lot, along with terms like purging and cleansing." "Shit, this is a fucking crusade. How the hell did we not see something this large coming?" "Well we are a bit isolated even compared to the other villages, but I apologize sir, I probably should have noticed something sooner." "It's done now. Lurky hasn't even come back yet, so who knows if he's still alive. This is starting to look like more trouble than it's worth. What the hell am I really fight for anyway?" Kayla doesn't respond, she just shifts a bit nervously at your rise in temper. You think about your options, and just flat out leaving seems like a perfectly valid one. > You Fight It may not be much and you may not entirely be satisfied with it, but this is your home for now and if you're ever going to leave it, it's going to be on your own terms, it won't be due to getting run off. You calm down a bit and gather your thoughts. "Okay, if these are also Joachimites that we're also dealing with, they're also going to have holy men and possibly even a little magic. We can't really afford to just wait for them to come to us, because I've run into these fanatics back in Holgard and they will absolutely kill every villagers if they think it's Joachim's will." "I don't know much about the human gods, and nothing about Joachim, but from what I heard, I don't doubt it." Kayla says. "Well generally the Joachimites are supposed to be pacifists, but occasionally you get a very militant sect and they can make a follower of Karn look like pussies by comparison. In any case, this could work in our favor. If they're torturing the hell out of the villagers, those same villagers are probably looking for their undead savior. Meaning me. Now I could go at night, but I'd like to keep up the illusion of walking around in the day. So I want you to take about twenty ghouls including Stinky and go wipe out any hunters or Joachimites at Ulig for starters. I also want you to encourage the villagers to start resisting the fanatics a lot better than they have been doing obviously." Kayla doesn't look confident in your orders. "Um..." "Problem?" you ask. "While the ghouls leave me be and some of them will even listen to me if I say the orders come from you, but you're asking me to herd twenty of them into battle. I just don't think they're going to listen to me like that." "Just say I'm giving the order or hell, bring Stinky and I'll tell her and she can relay the rest..." "It's uh, not that sir. I...um...the ghouls don't like me. Never have. I think they believe I shouldn't be so close to you when none of them get to be. I mean if it wasn't for you, I'm fairly certain they'd attack me." "Of course they would, but I'm here, so they won't." "That still doesn't mean they're going to be totally obedient to me. Even when I'm in your form they don't like it. I believe they find my scent offensive." "Wait, they're offended by YOUR smell? I don't think I've ever detected any sort of scent from you. It's as bland as your near featureless appearance." "Maybe that's problem. I'd probably have more success if I smelled more like you." "So what are you getting at exactly? You saying you need to rub up against me or something?" "Well I was suggesting something a little more than that. If we could be physically intimate, I believe I could adequately copy your scent and commanding presence..." You've practically got an army of religious fanatic vampire killers beating down your door and Kayla wants your dick. You'd laugh if this situation wasn't so serious...actually you laugh anyway. "Are you seriously telling me you want to have sex with me right now?" you say. "I know it seems like a weird time given all that's going on, but it really would help with the task you've assigned to me." Kayla responds. "I don't see...fuck it. If it's going to help, let's get to it. However, you're

going to have to change first. I mean maybe you're a beauty right now to other doppys, but you're just not doing it for me in your natural form." "Understandable. Um, is there any particular form you would like?" "I dunno, surprise me? Wait, on second thought, don't surprise me." "I think I know of a form that will please you. I've heard you describe her enough to me that I think I can copy her." "Wait, who are you...oh." And before your eyes, you see Kayla transform into the image of Isabella, well ALMOST the image of her. She's not a perfect match since she's only working by your description and one major thing that's standing out is the eyes. Her eyes are still those blank white orbs. "Well? Does this work?" Kayla asks a bit hopefully. "I suppose it'll have to, because we don't have time for you to get it perfect. Well let's get this done. Now is there anything I should know about? I mean you aren't going to start transforming into a gray blob or something in the middle of this are you?" "Not unless you want me too sir." "Good and no I don't. Okay, come over here." Kayla comes over to you and the first thing she does is kiss you on the lips and puts her arms around you. It's weird, for multiple reasons. Least of which is because you're embracing something that looks like "Isabella" but obviously isn't her. While you appreciate the attempt at illusion, those white orb eyes are destroying it. "Hold on, stop." You say. "Did I do something wrong?" Kayla asks. "Not as such, but...you're going to have to turn around and bend over for this." "Oh, okay." During the act, Kayla takes every opportunity to insist that you rub her body and press up against her as much as possible as she wants to get your full "essence." While she said she wasn't going to turn into a gray blob during this, she starts having a very "squishy" feeling to you. It's almost like her body is partially melding on to yours. She tells you to hold her tighter and goes on about how good this all feels to her. You're a little reluctant to do so since it isn't like Kayla's a vampire and you could easily break her if you used all your strength, but then again, you partially feel like you're fucking water. And that of course makes you concerned that she's going to envelope you or something. None of that happens though, and after an "interesting" time with Kayla, you feel even weirder about it all and there's a sticky gray coating on most of your body. "Ew." You quietly say to yourself. "That was wonderful! I've never known someone so intimately like that! I could really feel all your power! It was all so intoxicating! Mmmm." Kayla says and continues to rub up against you and putting your arms around her body. She's in complete ecstasy and while you're not surprised due to your magnificent sexual prowess, there's shit that needs to be done. "Look, you think you can take lead the ghouls now?" you say and start separating yourself from her. (Which isn't easy since you seem to be literally sticking to her) "Yes, I think it should be easier now." "Good, get going. I want this done." "Very well sir." Kayla looks a little disappointed that you're already shoving her out the door, but you had no plans on making this a permanent "thing" anyway. It's going to be a little weird now though. However, you don't want low morale so... "Kayla, just remember if it starts looking bad, make a strategic retreat. I can always make more ghouls, but I can't replace you." "Why thank you sir! And I will, but hopefully it won't come to that." Kayla responds with a smile before transforming into you and leaving. Well, now things are going to be even weirder, but you'll worry about that later. All you can do now is wait and hope that the attack is successful. As it gets dark, you start to grow impatient and begin to suspect the worst, but Kayla returns. Not many ghouls follow her, but she's back. She knows how much you hate interacting with "yourself" so she transforms back into her natural form. "You're back, I was just about to go to Ulig myself. I trust it was a success?" You say. "It was, though as you can see, there were many casualties. Most of the ghouls I took with me died, including Stinky. A lot of the villagers were also massacred as well, but I believe they are more determined to fight against the fanatics after my speech to them." Kayla says. "Okay, it's the start. I'm going to head to Yilbov. It's the next closest village to us and hopefully they don't know what's gone on in Ulig yet, but I trust you let nobody escape." "No, none of them fled in the first place. They fought to the death." "Good. That's exactly what I'm going to give them." "Wait, don't you want anyone to go with you?" "No, I'm going to do this myself and stealthy because they're probably going to be even more alert for trouble. Better if I go alone rather than having ghouls tipping my hand. It's been awhile since I've done it this way, so it'll be fun for me." "As you wish sir. Just be careful. The hunters and Joachimites we encountered were well prepared. Silver shot, silver weapons, even bombs." "Not surprised but..." Just as you're about to complete your sentence, you see a ghoul running towards you. It's Lurky. He looks severely wounded. "Master! Master!" he shouts. "Lurky? Thought you might be dead. What the hell happened to you?" You answer. "I almost was! Caught and tortured! There are many many hunters and those crazy worshippers in the forest! A large camp!" "How many?" "Lots! Well...none now." "Wait, you telling me that YOU killed them all?" "No! I didn't even kill one! Had help! Someone like you!" "Someone like me? Wait...another vampire?" Before you even put the pieces together, a familiar figure arrives and gets all the ghouls attention in town. It isn't due to her naked body though, it's because this is a woman of great power and dominance. "Sir...is that..." Kayla asks. "Yes, that's her and if she's here, it can't be good." Isabella has arrived and judging by the look of distain on her face, she's not in the best of moods. She throws several ghouls out of her way and tells them to back off. They comply, but the fact they're all in awe of her and ignoring you completely is telling of how much power she's currently displaying. Even Kayla looks a bit entranced by her. Isabella approaches you and you just stand there like prey. Fortunately she just slaps the hell out of you. You take it since you don't have much choice and nobody is rushing to help you either. You rub your face and address Isabella. "Hello Isabella, you're looking as lovely as ..." "Don't fucking flatter me, I know how good I look! Ugh...this place...its crawling with ghouls. I don't know how you can stand the filth or the smell. I feel dirty just standing here. I understand you need humans to kick around, but I thought I taught you better than to associate with ghouls. Have you REALLY looked at the company you're keeping?" "Yes, I'm well aware Isabella." "Are you? Because I think if you thought about it, you'd realize that hanging around with humans, ghouls, and...shit...I don't even know what you're supposed to be." Isabella says temporary distracted by Kayla. "I'm a doppelganger. Heard much about you. Pleasure to meet you at last." Kayla says with a little bow. Isabella turns back to you. "Well, at least you have someone around here with a little class I guess." "Isabella, what are you even doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again." You ask. "And I would have been glad to oblige. However, your actions here had consequences. Severe ones. Did you really think that you could just conquer a bunch of villages and it NOT cause any attention? My home is ruined thanks to you." "Wait, what?" "I suppose its more fool me for not paying more attention to your actions, I just didn't expect you to stir up a fucking crusade. The large group of Joachimites and hunters marched through Dert and burned the entire village. The poor dumb bastards never even knew there was a vampire living nearby." "They destroyed Dert?" "Yes, and by the time I found out about it, the crusade had already moved on towards your area. I might have known sooner, but I had already stocked up on villagers previously and had food for a while. In any case, my reliable food source was destroyed and I went to hunt the assholes who did it. Eventually I caught up with them and found your minion getting tortured. After killing most of them with only one or two managing to get away, I turned my attention to him. Of course your loyal minion told me everything that he didn't tell his captors for obvious reasons, however I sort of suspected you were the cause of all this anyway. I warned you and you didn't listen. You never listen..." And you feel like you're in the crypt again... Still, as usual she's sort of right. Doesn't mean you like it though. "Okay, I get it. So I take it you're here to help?" you say. "Help? Well that is an interesting dilemma. If you weren't involved, I'd probably finish off the rest of these fanatics and hunters myself and be on my way, but considering that you are involved, I'm tempted to just take off and leave you to deal with the rest of the situation. I've probably killed enough of them to qualify as revenge and it's not going to change the fact that I need to find a new place to live since my livestock has all been killed." Isabella says. "Can't you just go to Holgard or prey upon travellers nearby?" "Yes, I suppose I could, but ugh...that's not ideal. Then again neither is looking for a new home. In any case, I'm still not convinced on helping you." "Um...Miss...Isabella? If I may..." Kayla says. "Actually under normal circumstances, you may not, however since I'm more willing to listen to a complete stranger right now rather than my ex, you might as well dare to address me. Say what you have to doppelganger." Isabella remarks. "I...we...would be most grateful for your help. While you may have eliminated a great camp in the forest, there are still many enemies currently occupying the villages in the nearby area and as you said, one or two from the camp you destroyed got away. I can only imagine they are already on their way to warn their fellows which means they will be more prepared. I think we would be able to handle this situation much easier with your superior skills assuming you wish to help us, oh great mistress of the night." Isabella cocks her head to the side listening to Kayla trying to appeal to her sense of vanity. "Where did you find this one? It's good at this. It's respectful without being excessively annoying like a ghoul or quaking in fear like a human, and it almost comes off as sincere. It may even be sincere. However, I'm not actually interested in hearing your minions beg on your behalf. I'd rather hear YOU do it." "What for? I mean you either care enough about your revenge or you don't. I mean I was planning on taking care of this myself before you showed up anyway..." Kayla suddenly goes over to you. "Sir, I really think we should take her help. There are an awful lot of hunters still alive and we would probably lose less humans and ghouls with your ex helping us. It will just be better in the long run." > You ask Isabella for help It would be the pragmatic thing to do. Isabella is a lot more powerful than you are and at the very least, it'll make all of this go a lot easier and quicker. You put up with Isabella's superior attitude for years, you can put up with it for this small moment. Also there is a small part...well a little more than small actually, that misses her. "Isabella, and I do mean this sincerely, I would like your assistance on this task. I fucked up, and should have thought about consequences of trying to carve out some sort of empire of sorts. Especially when I don't have much help to begin with. I got drunk with power and overly confident about everything. So again, if it will appease you, I'm begging for your aid." You say. Isabella looks at you as you try to look as humble as possible to her. "Nice. Not as convincing as your doppelganger though." Isabella remarks. "What? I'm being sincere! I really do want your help!" "Yes, I know you do and I even know you mean it, but my concern is, are you actually going to LEARN from any of this? I seriously have my doubts about that. Chances are when all this is over, you'll go right back to doing the same thing, perhaps even believing that you'll do it better next time." "So, you're not helping." "I didn't say that, stop presuming my actions!" Isabella snaps. There's a pause and then Isabella shakes her head. "By the gods I'm too sentimental for old flames sometimes..." she says to herself. "I will help you, but this is the last time! If you decide to continue acting like an idiot after this, you're on your own. Okay, give me the lay of the land so I know exactly where we're attacking." As soon as Isabella is given a map of the area and told where certain places are specifically, she seems uninterested in the specifics and repeatedly says she'll take care of most of the remaining villages tonight and any remaining ones she'll deal with tomorrow night. In the meantime you proceed with your own plan of going to Yilbov. Kayla stays behind with the ghouls. By the time you get to Yilbov, it feels like a very familiar scene. Namely when Green Eye's men were pillaging Maldito, though minus the rape and double the torture and burning alive. Several villagers are tied to stakes and begging for their lives. Some are saying they were forced to serve you, others claim ignorance, and none of it does any good of course. The fanatics are burning some infidels tonight and that's that. Meanwhile there are several hunters patrolling the village in groups of two. You manage to actually take out four of them before alerting everyone to your presence. It was a good try at least. "IT'S THE VAMPIRE! KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!" the head zealot shouts and quickly burns the rest of the villagers tied to stakes. Gunfire, crossbow bolts, and silver throwing knives are all fired or hurled in your direction. It's a bit chaotic with all the villagers running around, but at least some of them are taking hits for you, though perhaps not voluntarily. You take down several Joachimites, before the head zealot calls forth a beam of light from his hands and aims it at you. You feel it all right too, and it hurts like hell when it briefly hits your chest. You quickly get a nearby villager to use as a shield, but it doesn't work, you soon smell flesh burning as the beam burns right through the villager. You get temporary relief by ducking behind a house. The problem lies with the zealot being on a high platform in an open area and his spell seemingly following you without error. You peek behind the corner and see that he's still yelling about killing you all the while his victims are screaming and burning close around him. While you're pondering your best move to get to him, you get shot in your side by a hunter. His next shot would have been your head had you not been quick enough to dodge. You rush the hunter and break his neck with ease and trying to ignore the pain of the silver now lodged in your body. "Shit...need to finish this asshole. What this...oh this might work." You say and find a spherical metal object on the body of the hunter. It's a firebomb. You grab it and the body of the hunter and go to face the zealot again. "YOU CANNOT HIDE BLOOD LEECH! THE LIGHT WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU!" the zealot says as his light beams hit the body of the hunter. You smell the burn and it won't be long before it goes through, but you hopefully don't need that long. You throw the firebomb at the zealot, which misses, but it didn't need to hit him and you weren't aiming at him anyway. You just needed it to hit one of the burning villagers near him. Before you know it an explosion occurs showering the entire area with wood, flames, and body parts. You continue to use the body as a shield. Last thing you need is a random piece of wood flying into your heart. After the destruction has died down a bit, the remainder of the Joachimite fanatics clumsily try to bash your head in with silver cudgels. They fail and join the rest of the dead. And there are certainly a lot of them. This village is in complete ruins. Most of the villagers are dead or hiding, a few though are angry. "YOU! You brought this upon us all! Even Green Eye was better than this! You've been preying upon all of us and it stops today!" someone shouts and then you feel a silver bolt in your back. "Agh! Fuck! Ungrateful wretches!" you exclaim and turn your attention to the group of peasants that have grabbed hunter weapons to finish you off. They have about as much success as they did. Your wrath is swift and brutal. After putting down the minor peasant revolt, you address any villagers still around, but hiding. "If you still wish to live under my protection, you had best find shelter in the nearby village of Ulig. If not, then I suggest you take to the wilderness now, and forget about this place for the rest of your short lives." You take your leave of the village and head back home. A little slower than usual due to all the silver in the side of your body. You're going to have to get Kayla to help fish the stuff out. Eventually you get back home and find that Isabella is already in your lair and speaking with Kayla! They're seemingly having a friendly conversation as well. "Oh that doesn't surprise me, he's always been like that. I think his parents must have... oh speaking of which, look who just came back. Sheesh, you look a little worn." Isabella says. "Um, welcome back sir! I was just talking with Isabella." Kayla says a bit more nervously. "Yes, I've been finding Kayla an excellent conversationalist and it's rare I find those." "Hm, while you two were talking I've been getting shot full of silver! I thought you were going to help!" you exclaim. "I did and I finished." "...but...you couldn't have! How many villages did you get to? "Three. Five was how many you had right? You already dealt with one and I assume you just dealt with the other. Also, I managed to save most of your little humans in the process. You know what your problem is? You have too many villages to look after. You should just group all your followers in one big place. It'll be easier for you to rule that way, if you're going to insist on doing this." You have no words you just sit down still in pain. You think Kayla is going to ask if you're okay or go see to you, but instead she continues to hang around Isabella. "Hey, that's a good idea Isabella. See? Isn't it good you begged her for help?" Kayla says. "Best idea ever obviously." You say. "Okay I know what the problem is, your girlfriend isn't showing you proper attention, am I right?" Isabella says. "What?!" you answer. "Um..." Kayla stutters. Isabella looks at the pair of you back and forth. "Well that's what you two are right? I mean I've gotten a vibe between the pair of you and I'm usually not wrong on these sorts of things." "No!" you say. "Um...I suppose it's complicated." Kayla responds. "What's so complicated? Not like anyone else is in the middle of this...wait, he's not fucking a ghoul is he? Because that would be..." "I'm not fucking a ghoul!" "Then what's the problem? You two are fucking right?" "No!" you say. "Um...it's complicated." Kayla responds again. Isabella start to laugh a bit and you're getting annoyed. Kayla just remains silent. "What's so fucking funny?" you exclaim. "You of course. We're not together, do you actually think I care what you're fucking now?" Isabella says. "That's not the point." "Okay, look since I'm not going to get a straight answer from you, I'll ask your girlfriend. Have you two been intimate? Don't worry, I don't care." "Well, we have, but it was only once and I sort of talked him into it because it was part of a plan." Kayla answers. "Oh this just gets better. Talked him into it huh? I'm sure you didn't need to try very hard." "Okay, you've had a good laugh, but I don't see why this is any of your concern." You say. Isabella stands up and gives you a serious look. "I'll tell you why, because your actions have had consequences in my life for quite some time. From the moment you showed up at my crypt begging me for Gray Moss for Ral, to the moment when you had that frozen curse and even now you brought a crusade on my doorstep. You've been quite troublesome since we met, but I've been talking with Kayla here and I've found some illumination which I didn't expect to." "And that would be?" "That would be despite it all, I've always helped you out because I like you. And because I do, I'm going to go back on my word and help you again." And before your eyes, Isabella spins around and with one quick move she rips Kayla's head off and throws it across the room and into the wall behind you. You stand up as Kayla's headless body leaks gray goo from the body. "SHIT! What the fuck did you do that for?!" you exclaim. "What? You didn't actually love it did you?" Isabella asks. "No! But...she was a useful servant!" "She was serving nobody but herself. I talked with that one long enough to see that. You can't trust doppys." "Thought you said you never saw a doppelganger before." "I haven't, or at least not one in its natural form, but in any case I didn't say I didn't know anything about them. You don't live for centuries without reading tomes and books about things every now and then. That doppy had sex with you, meaning it most definitely gathered enough of your presence to take the next step, which was to copy you perfectly, dispose of you and take over." "What? No, that can't be right." "I'm serious. Have I ever lied to you?" "I suppose not, but still..." "Hell, it was getting friendly with me when you weren't here. I wouldn't have been surprised if it would have turned into you and then later some where down the road tried to get close to me in your form. Wouldn't have worked of course, I would have known that it wasn't you. Anyway, I should get going, it'll be dawn soon and I'm going to have to dig a hole in the ground. It's so undignified, but it is what it is." "You're leaving?" "Well, I told you I was just here to help. What, you weren't hoping I killed the doppy because I wanted to get back with you did you?" "Would it really be so bad?" Isabella walks over to you and kisses you. "No, but we're obviously in different places right now. Tell you what, assuming you survive another century, come find me in the Delantium Kingdom." "You not going back home?" "No, because you're most likely going to still be fucking around here and possibly drawing attention to yourself again, plus it's not going to be the same with Dert gone. Besides maybe I need a change of scenery anyway. Going to miss the garden, but I can make another one elsewhere, better maybe. Who knows? See you around." You watch as Isabella walks toward the exit of your lair, but before she leaves she stops. "Before I go, tell me. When you were intimate with the dop, did she look like me at the time?" Isabella asks. "Well... sort of...but not quite. It's complicated." You answer. "I knew it." Isabella laughs and leaves. It's been an eventful night and you've got a lot to do tomorrow night, but for now, you're going to get some rest. > Epilogue Epilogue 6: The Night King Year 36 Maldito – City of the Damned Actually it isn't so much of a city as it is a large town. Having all the remaining peasants from the other villages resettle in one area certainly makes ruling over them all a lot easier now. Isabella had a good idea, but then she usually did. Damned is probably a bit a stretch as well since besides having you as a ruler and few ghoul guards running around, the town is more or less normal. The people here feel safe and just have to deal with their ruler feeding on a few of them every now and then. You're still probably more pleasant than the current Baroness in Holgard. You'd think ruling over a large town would have you a lot busier, but as it turns out, nobody really wants to bother you. Everyone sorts out their own messes and gets on with their mundane tasks. Even the ghouls don't bother you much if they can help it. You're essentially just the immortal protector and scare off would be raiders thanks to stories, rumors and truths. Even hunters or crusading types avoid the place ever since the failed crusade stories spread. Such types would probably be killed by the average citizens of Maldito anyway after suffering worse from them than they ever did from you. In any case, you've finally come to a balance with your desire to rule over your lessers. It's not quite how Isabella did it, but you still can't help being a bit more hands on. Never did you believe you would ever be in this position in your life (or unlife) anyway. It's a good existence and you've gotten over the whole brooding bit about just being "a prisoner" in another form. That was silly, you're a ruler, you're free to do whatever the hell you want. Well okay, you can't walk around in the daytime, but that doesn't make you a prisoner, just means you have limitations. You had different ones long before you were a vampire. Not like you were a lover of the daylight anyway. However, there are still moments you reflect on the simpler times back in Teckleville with your sister. Your days of being a rogue may be long over, but those memories will always remain. As you're engaging in your new past time of reading on a regular basis, you suddenly hear the sound of music. The strumming of a lute you think. It's not unpleasant either, almost soothing. You put down your book to investigate. As you get closer to the exit of your living area, the music is getting louder. You can't imagine that one of your ghouls has taken up the practice of being a musician and none of them were talented before you changed them anyway. The music is now making you feel so calm, that YOU begin to get suspicious. There must be magic at work and you're not thrilled if it's entering your home. You sense two figures approaching. Both living, though one is probably human due to the stronger heartbeat. "Lurky is that you? Who are you bringing to me?!" you shout before they even turn the corner. You get no verbal answer, but you soon see it. Lurky turns the corner and is swaying back and forth to the music with a stupid grin on his face. Behind him is the musician in question and you might be more concerned if you didn't recognize her immediately. While you can't go home again, but apparently sometimes home finds you. "Sis?" you utter. "Yep, it's me. Sorry about the music bro since I know it's probably affecting you a little, but I didn't know how else to get past your ghouls safely and they were getting ready to attack. I'd stop playing, but..." your sister replies. "Oh, yes of course. Lurky, leave this woman alone and let everyone else know, particularly the rest of the ghouls that she is an honored guest here. No harm is ever to come to her under threat that I'll kill everyone in the town slowly if it does." "Yes, master...wheee that music...awwww, it stopped." Lurky responds and then lopes off a bit sadder. With Lurky gone, it's now just you and your sister standing in the corridor. It's been so long. You don't say anything, you just go up and hug her which she returns. "Be careful of the mandolin, you don't even know what I had to do to get it." Your sis says maneuvering so her instrument isn't crushed as you two embrace. "Nothing too indecent I hope." You joke. "Ha ha. No, but it was certainly an ordeal." "I imagine so, if it has power to charm ghouls and affect the non-living. But we can discuss that later. How the hell did you even find me?" "I know it's just a town as opposed to a city, but I'm not sure if you realize it or not but this place is starting to get a reputation. Of course as a bard I try to keep up on such places of interest." "Makes sense, but how did you know that I would be here?" "Oh last year I had a run in with one of your vampire acquaintances, Isabella during my travels in the Delantium Kingdom. She approached me in a tavern after a show there saying how she had never heard music so beautiful." Lisa says. "Wait, you met Isabella? She approached you in a tavern completely naked and nobody batted an eye?" you interrupt. "She was wearing an elegant looking dress when I spoke to her, why would she be naked?" "Dress? Hm, she really did change a bit. Nevermind, go on." "Anyway I thought she was just flirting with me at first, especially when she said the line about me having similar features of someone she knew. When she found out I was your twin sister, she wouldn't stop talking and she told me about you." "Okay, we need to get comfortable for this reunion, let's go back to my reading room." You lead your sister back to your inner sanctum. The pair of you sit down to talk more. "Lot of books you have here, don't remember you being that much of a reader." Your sister remarks. "Yeah, well when you have as much time as I have, you tend to find different hobbies to fill it with." "But don't you run this place?" "I rule it, but the town practically runs itself. I'm basically just the big bad vampire guardian." "Vampire...I have to say I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around that one about you. I have so many questions." "Didn't Isabella fill you in?" "A little, but she mostly talked about herself and her past." "Really? In all the years I lived with her, she never said shit about much of her past." "I guess even with your vampy powers I'm still just naturally more charismatic than you. As I said I think she was just looking for company when she spoke to me and at the time I sort of was wondering about what else she might want to do. I mean I'm pretty much up for a lot of things and I've heard the infamous stories about vampires, but getting intimate with one would have still been a little scary since I wouldn't have much say in the matter if things went wrong." "Trust me I know." "Yeah, I guess you would. Still, I'm a little jealous, because don't get me wrong, I definitely would have rolled the dice if the opportunity had presented itself, but it didn't get past just talking and eventually she just bid me goodbye." "Yeah, Isabella is a bit traditional minded, as she would often be fond of pointing out. Though you aren't only one who has questions, I have questions too. I mean this is a big surprise to even see you! I thought for sure I'd never see anyone from my old life every again. I'm very glad that wasn't true. Even after twenty years you haven't changed that much. I like how you still wear the same colorful clothing, but you always were the flashier one." Your sister goes first and briefly goes into some of the places she's been. She says she actually passed through Holgard at one point, but of course she didn't know you were hunting people at night during that time. She also mentions that she recently visited your parents and besides being glad to see her, they also told her what happened with you a few months after she left. What's fascinating to you though is apparently you were cleared of murder months after you left! Your father managed to save Annah's life and with her statement and a few others who saw everything reluctantly stepped up to tell the truth, your actions were considered a justified crime of passion rather than outright murder. "So wait, am I still wanted there?" You say. "Well...a lot of time has passed and that sheriff who hated you is long dead now. Klint's father also isn't there anymore, so I think you're in the clear legally, but I wouldn't exactly say you're wanted if you know what I mean. Though Annah apparently still thinks highly of you." "Heh, glad she survived. What about mom and dad?" "They're fine. I suppose this would be a good time to tell you, we got a new brother." "WHAT?! They had another child?! When?!" You exclaim. "I guess shortly after we both left. I think he's about twenty or around that age. He's okay, a bit on the straight laced side. Guess mom and dad finally got the well behaved child they always wanted." "I guess so...sheesh...well I guess it's just as well. Not like they're going to ever see me again." "Oh come on, you could go visit them during the night. Mom would probably still want to see you and she wouldn't even realize what you were. Not sure about Dad though, but I doubt if he'd just throw you out on your ear as soon as he saw you." "Yeah, I just don't think it's a good idea, but maybe if you ever visit them again, could you tell them that I'm okay?" "Of course." "Thanks sis. And again, I've really missed you. I'm very surprised you came to see me even though you knew where I was. I mean I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with my condition." "Well as I said, it's still very strange to wrap my head around, but you're my brother and no matter what, I'll be by your side." Your sister says touching your hand. You and your sister look at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that despite your changed form, some bonds never die. "Well now that I've filled you in on some of my journeys, it's time for you to do likewise! Give me all the details because I trust that this will definitely be a very interesting story!" your sister says. "Well, as I said you might be surprised how dull day to day life can be for a vampire. Still, I'm sure there will be more than a few bits that will interest you. Some of which happened before I became one. I warn you though, it's a long story." You say. "Best ones usually are." Your sister responds. You begin your tale...

[Themes: fantasy, serious] It may not be much and you may not entirely be satisfied with it, but this is your home for now and if you're ever going to leave it, it's going to be on your own terms, it won't be due to getting run off. You calm down a bit and gather your thoughts. "Okay, if these are also Joachimites that we're also dealing with, they're also going to have holy men and possibly even a little magic. We can't really afford to just wait for them to come to us, because I've run into these fanatics back in Holgard and they will absolutely kill every villagers if they think it's Joachim's will." "I don't know much about the human gods, and nothing about Joachim, but from what I heard, I don't doubt it." Kayla says. "Well generally the Joachimites are supposed to be pacifists, but occasionally you get a very militant sect and they can make a follower of Karn look like pussies by comparison. In any case, this could work in our favor. If they're torturing the hell out of the villagers, those same villagers are probably looking for their undead savior. Meaning me. Now I could go at night, but I'd like to keep up the illusion of walking around in the day. So I want you to take about twenty ghouls including Stinky and go wipe out any hunters or Joachimites at Ulig for starters. I also want you to encourage the villagers to start resisting the fanatics a lot better than they have been doing obviously." Kayla doesn't look confident in your orders. "Um..." "Problem?" you ask. "While the ghouls leave me be and some of them will even listen to me if I say the orders come from you, but you're asking me to herd twenty of them into battle. I just don't think they're going to listen to me like that." "Just say I'm giving the order or hell, bring Stinky and I'll tell her and she can relay the rest..." "It's uh, not that sir. I...um...the ghouls don't like me. Never have. I think they believe I shouldn't be so close to you when none of them get to be. I mean if it wasn't for you, I'm fairly certain they'd attack me." "Of course they would, but I'm here, so they won't." "That still doesn't mean they're going to be totally obedient to me. Even when I'm in your form they don't like it. I believe they find my scent offensive." "Wait, they're offended by YOUR smell? I don't think I've ever detected any sort of scent from you. It's as bland as your near featureless appearance." "Maybe that's problem. I'd probably have more success if I smelled more like you." "So what are you getting at exactly? You saying you need to rub up against me or something?" "Well I was suggesting something a little more than that. If we could be physically intimate, I believe I could adequately copy your scent and commanding presence..." You've practically got an army of religious fanatic vampire killers beating down your door and Kayla wants your dick. You'd laugh if this situation wasn't so serious...actually you laugh anyway. "Are you seriously telling me you want to have sex with me right now?" you say. "I know it seems like a weird time given all that's going on, but it really would help with the task you've assigned to me." Kayla responds. "I don't see...fuck it. If it's going to help, let's get to it. However, you're going to have to change first. I mean maybe you're a beauty right now to other doppys, but you're just not doing it for me in your natural form." "Understandable. Um, is there any particular form you would like?" "I dunno, surprise me? Wait, on second thought, don't surprise me." "I think I know of a form that will please you. I've heard you describe her enough to me that I think I can copy her." "Wait, who are you...oh." And before your eyes, you see Kayla transform into the image of Isabella, well ALMOST the image of her. She's not a perfect match since she's only working by your description and one major thing that's standing out is the eyes. Her eyes are still those blank white orbs. "Well? Does this work?" Kayla asks a bit hopefully. "I suppose it'll have to, because we don't have time for you to get it perfect. Well let's get this done. Now is there anything I should know about? I mean you aren't going to start transforming into a gray blob or something in the middle of this are you?" "Not unless you want me too sir." "Good and no I don't. Okay, come over here." Kayla comes over to you and the first thing she does is kiss you on the lips and puts her arms around you. It's weird, for multiple reasons. Least of which is because you're embracing something that looks like "Isabella" but obviously isn't her. While you appreciate the attempt at illusion, those white orb eyes are destroying it. "Hold on, stop." You say. "Did I do something wrong?" Kayla asks. "Not as such, but...you're going to have to turn around and bend over for this." "Oh, okay." During the act, Kayla takes every opportunity to insist that you rub her body and press up against her as much as possible as she wants to get your full "essence." While she said she wasn't going to turn into a gray blob during this, she starts having a very "squishy" feeling to you. It's almost like her body is partially melding on to yours. She tells you to hold her tighter and goes on about how good this all feels to her. You're a little reluctant to do so since it isn't like Kayla's a vampire and you could easily break her if you used all your strength, but then again, you partially feel like you're fucking water. And that of course makes you concerned that she's going to envelope you or something. None of that happens though, and after an "interesting" time with Kayla, you feel even weirder about it all and there's a sticky gray coating on most of your body. "Ew." You quietly say to yourself. "That was wonderful! I've never known someone so intimately like that! I could really feel all your power! It was all so intoxicating! Mmmm." Kayla says and continues to rub up against you and putting your arms around her body. She's in complete ecstasy and while you're not surprised due to your magnificent sexual prowess, there's shit that needs to be done. "Look, you think you can take lead the ghouls now?" you say and start separating yourself from her. (Which isn't easy since you seem to be literally sticking to her) "Yes, I think it should be easier now." "Good, get going. I want this done." "Very well sir." Kayla looks a little disappointed that you're already shoving her out the door, but you had no plans on making this a permanent "thing" anyway. It's going to be a little weird now though. However, you don't want low morale so... "Kayla, just remember if it starts looking bad, make a strategic retreat. I can always make more ghouls, but I can't replace you." "Why thank you sir! And I will, but hopefully it won't come to that." Kayla responds with a smile before transforming into you and leaving. Well, now things are going to be even weirder, but you'll worry about that later. All you can do now is wait and hope that the attack is successful. As it gets dark, you start to grow impatient and begin to suspect the worst, but Kayla returns. Not many ghouls follow her, but she's back. She knows how much you hate interacting with "yourself" so she transforms back into her natural form. "You're back, I was just about to go to Ulig myself. I trust it was a success?" You say. "It was, though as you can see, there were many casualties. Most of the ghouls I took with me died, including Stinky. A lot of the villagers were also massacred as well, but I believe they are more determined to fight against the fanatics after my speech to them." Kayla says. "Okay, it's the start. I'm going to head to Yilbov. It's the next closest village to us and hopefully they don't know what's gone on in Ulig yet, but I trust you let nobody escape." "No, none of them fled in the first place. They fought to the death." "Good. That's exactly what I'm going to give them." "Wait, don't you want anyone to go with you?" "No, I'm going to do this myself and stealthy because they're probably going to be even more alert for trouble. Better if I go alone rather than having ghouls tipping my hand. It's been awhile since I've done it this way, so it'll be fun for me." "As you wish sir. Just be careful. The hunters and Joachimites we encountered were well prepared. Silver shot, silver weapons, even bombs." "Not surprised but..." Just as you're about to complete your sentence, you see a ghoul running towards you. It's Lurky. He looks severely wounded. "Master! Master!" he shouts. "Lurky? Thought you might be dead. What the hell happened to you?" You answer. "I almost was! Caught and tortured! There are many many hunters and those crazy worshippers in the forest! A large camp!" "How many?" "Lots! Well...none now." "Wait, you telling me that YOU killed them all?" "No! I didn't even kill one! Had help! Someone like you!" "Someone like me? Wait...another vampire?" Before you even put the pieces together, a familiar figure arrives and gets all the ghouls attention in town. It isn't due to her naked body though, it's because this is a woman of great power and dominance. "Sir...is that..." Kayla asks. "Yes, that's her and if she's here, it can't be good." Isabella has arrived and judging by the look of distain on her face, she's not in the best of moods. She throws several ghouls out of her way and tells them to back off. They comply, but the fact they're all in awe of her and ignoring you completely is telling of how much power she's currently displaying. Even Kayla looks a bit entranced by her. Isabella approaches you and you just stand there like prey. Fortunately she just slaps the hell out of you. You take it since you don't have much choice and nobody is rushing to help you either. You rub your face and address Isabella. "Hello Isabella, you're looking as lovely as ..." "Don't fucking flatter me, I know how good I look! Ugh...this place...its crawling with ghouls. I don't know how you can stand the filth or the smell. I feel dirty just standing here. I understand you need humans to kick around, but I thought I taught you better than to associate with ghouls. Have you REALLY looked at the company you're keeping?" "Yes, I'm well aware Isabella." "Are you? Because I think if you thought about it, you'd realize that hanging around with humans, ghouls, and...shit...I don't even know what you're supposed to be." Isabella says temporary distracted by Kayla. "I'm a doppelganger. Heard much about you. Pleasure to meet you at last." Kayla says with a little bow. Isabella turns back to you. "Well, at least you have someone around here with a little class I guess." "Isabella, what are you even doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again." You ask. "And I would have been glad to oblige. However, your actions here had consequences. Severe ones. Did you really think that you could just conquer a bunch of villages and it NOT cause any attention? My home is ruined thanks to you." "Wait, what?" "I suppose its more fool me for not paying more attention to your actions, I just didn't expect you to stir up a fucking crusade. The large group of Joachimites and hunters marched through Dert and burned the entire village. The poor dumb bastards never even knew there was a vampire living nearby." "They destroyed Dert?" "Yes, and by the time I found out about it, the crusade had already moved on towards your area. I might have known sooner, but I had already stocked up on villagers previously and had food for a while. In any case, my reliable food source was destroyed and I went to hunt the assholes who did it. Eventually I caught up with them and found your minion getting tortured. After killing most of them with only one or two managing to get away, I turned my attention to him. Of course your loyal minion told me everything that he didn't tell his captors for obvious reasons, however I sort of suspected you were the cause of all this anyway. I warned you and you didn't listen. You never listen..." And you feel like you're in the crypt again... Still, as usual she's sort of right. Doesn't mean you like it though. "Okay, I get it. So I take it you're here to help?" you say. "Help? Well that is an interesting dilemma. If you weren't involved, I'd probably finish off the rest of these fanatics and hunters myself and be on my way, but considering that you are involved, I'm tempted to just take off and leave you to deal with the rest of the situation. I've probably killed enough of them to qualify as revenge and it's not going to change the fact that I need to find a new place to live since my livestock has all been killed." Isabella says. "Can't you just go to Holgard or prey upon travellers nearby?" "Yes, I suppose I could, but ugh...that's not ideal. Then again neither is looking for a new home. In any case, I'm still not convinced on helping you." "Um...Miss...Isabella? If I may..." Kayla says. "Actually under normal circumstances, you may not, however since I'm more willing to listen to a complete stranger right now rather than my ex, you might as well dare to address me. Say what you have to doppelganger." Isabella remarks. "I...we...would be most grateful for your help. While you may have eliminated a great camp in the forest, there are still many enemies currently occupying the villages in the nearby area and as you said, one or two from the camp you destroyed got away. I can only imagine they are already on their way to warn their fellows which means they will be more prepared. I think we would be able to handle this situation much easier with your superior skills assuming you wish to help us, oh great mistress of the night." Isabella cocks her head to the side listening to Kayla trying to appeal to her sense of vanity. "Where did you find this one? It's good at this. It's respectful without being excessively annoying like a ghoul or quaking in fear like a human, and it almost comes off as sincere. It may even be sincere. However, I'm not actually interested in hearing your minions beg on your behalf. I'd rather hear YOU do it." "What for? I mean you either care enough about your revenge or you don't. I mean I was planning on taking care of this myself before you showed up anyway..." Kayla suddenly goes over to you. "Sir, I really think we should take her help. There are an awful lot of hunters still alive and we would probably lose less humans and ghouls with your ex helping us. It will just be better in the long run." > You refuse Isabella's help Considering Isabella has seemingly already wiped out a majority of the fanatics, your task is going to be a lot easier now. She's already helped enough; you aren't going to beg her for more help especially if she's going to be telling you what to do the whole time. You still like her and all, but there was a reason you didn't work out. "Isabella, I appreciate the assistance you have already given, but I think we can all handle it from here." Isabella briefly looks insulted, but she quickly hides it. Seems she figured you'd give in. "I see. Well if that's how you feel about it, then I shall take my leave. Good luck I suppose. I mean that in general, since even if you do succeed I doubt you're actually going to learn any sort of lesson from it all. I can imagine that the same thing will happen again five years down the road and I'm certainly not going to be anywhere near here when it does. Guess I'll see what the Delantium Kingdom is like this time of year. Goodbye." Without another word, Isabella takes her leave. Kayla suggests that you reconsider, but you tell her to remember her position, as it isn't her call in the first place. "Very well sir didn't mean to overstep my boundaries." She says. "I'm going Yilbov, I'll be back as soon as I can." You say and take your leave as well. By the time you get to Yilbov, it feels like a very familiar scene. Namely when Green Eye's men were pillaging Maldito, though minus the rape and double the torture and burning alive. Several villagers are tied to stakes and begging for their lives. Some are saying they were forced to serve you, others claim ignorance, and none of it does any good of course. The fanatics are burning some infidels tonight and that's that. Meanwhile there are several hunters patrolling the village in groups of two. You manage to actually take out four of them before alerting everyone to your presence. It was a good try at least. "IT'S THE VAMPIRE! KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!" the head zealot shouts and quickly burns the rest of the villagers tied to stakes. Gunfire, crossbow bolts, and silver throwing knives are all fired or hurled in your direction. It's a bit chaotic with all the villagers running around, but at least some of them are taking hits for you, though perhaps not voluntarily. You take down several Joachimites, before the head zealot calls forth a beam of light from his hands and aims it at you. You feel it all right too, and it hurts like hell when it briefly hits your chest. You quickly get a nearby villager to use as a shield, but it doesn't work, you soon smell flesh burning as the beam burns right through the villager. You get temporary relief by ducking behind a house. The problem lies with the zealot being on a high platform in an open area and his spell seemingly following you without error. You peek behind the corner and see that he's still yelling about killing you all the while his victims are screaming and burning close around him. While you're pondering your best move to get to him, you get shot in your side by a hunter. His next shot would have been your head had you not been quick enough to dodge. You rush the hunter and break his neck with ease and trying to ignore the pain of the silver now lodged in your body. "Shit...need to finish this asshole. What this...oh this might work." You say and find a spherical metal object on the body of the hunter. It's a firebomb. You grab it and the body of the hunter and go to face the zealot again. "YOU CANNOT HIDE BLOOD LEECH! THE LIGHT WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU!" the zealot says as his light beams hit the body of the hunter. You smell the burn and it won't be long before it goes through, but you hopefully don't need that long. You throw the firebomb at the zealot, which misses, but it didn't need to hit him and you weren't aiming at him anyway. You just needed it to hit one of the burning villagers near him. Before you know it an explosion occurs showering the entire area with wood, flames, and body parts. You continue to use the body as a shield. Last thing you need is a random piece of wood flying into your heart. After the destruction has died down a bit, the remainder of the Joachimite fanatics clumsily try to bash your head in with silver cudgels. They fail and join the rest of the dead. And there are certainly a lot of them. This village is in complete ruins. Most of the villagers are dead or hiding, a few though are angry. "YOU! You brought this upon us all! Even Green Eye was better than this! You've been preying upon all of us and it stops today!" someone shouts and then you feel a silver bolt in your back. "Agh! Fuck! Ungrateful wretches!" you exclaim and turn your attention to the group of peasants that have grabbed hunter weapons to finish you off. They have about as much success as they did. Your wrath is swift and brutal. After putting down the minor peasant revolt, you address any villagers still around, but hiding. "If you still wish to live under my protection, you had best find shelter in the nearby village of Ulig. If not, then I suggest you take to the wilderness now, and forget about this place for the rest of your short lives." You take your leave of the village and head back home. A little slower than usual due to all the silver in the side of your body. You're going to have to get Kayla to help fish the stuff out. When you return Kayla does indeed tend to your wounded body. She's very attentive and even offers you some of her blood to keep up your strength and help with the healing process since there aren't any humans around. You take her up on her offer, since while her blood is horrible tasting, you can't afford to be a chooser right now. You tell Kayla that tomorrow morning she needs to take ALL the ghouls to one of the villages and wipe out all the enemies there as well. You rest up for most of the day, hoping that the attack goes successfully and a counter attack doesn't occur while you're trying to rest. Fortunately Kayla returns, unfortunately she's gotten half of the ghouls killed in the process. The other half is in various conditions ranging from somewhat bruised to missing a few body part. Kayla also says that most of the village was destroyed and not even by the fanatics. There were too many ghouls for her to control properly and some of them ran amok. By the time she got them all back under control and eliminated the fanatics, most of the villagers were either dead or they fled. So while you officially won, you lost the village, worse, you lost the humans in it. Kayla is obviously no general, and while yelling at her makes you feel slightly better, it doesn't really solve anything. You just realize you're going to have to redouble your efforts at the fourth village. Later that night you head to Goloki with your ghouls and you have more success, but probably not much more. In fact, it's a good thing you took your ghouls otherwise you might have been in trouble. You're wounded several times and lose a good number of ghouls. You do manage to keep more villagers alive. After drinking a few of them to heal yourself somewhat, you tell the survivors to head to Ulig. You think after all this is over, you're just going to have your people in one village. It would be a lot easier to rule them that way. You eventually stagger back to Moldito and once again Kayla tries to tend to you as best she can. She asks if you're sending her with the remainder of the ghouls to attack the last village in the morning, but given her last two attempts resulted in heavy losses, you tell her, you'll just take care of it tomorrow night. After giving a few general commands to her, you go to your room to try to rest. This is taking it out of you more than you thought it would. It really is a good thing Isabella took out the main camp, but you're starting to wonder if you let your pride get in the way of making things easier. You quickly dismiss such thoughts and eventually close your eyes to rest. You don't know how long you sleep for, but you're suddenly woken up, by the sounds of battle above you. "Shit! Don't tell me they counter attacked..." you say to yourself getting up. Nobody has come down to your lair yet, not even Kayla or ghouls, so you assume that they're defending. Must have been sudden if nobody informed you. Its still daytime, so there's little you can actually do except wait for someone to come to you. You could go up and try to give orders from the ground floor inside your home, but that's a dangerous position. A couple of those bombs that the hunters like using so much could blow it up and if not get you completely in the blast, it would destroy the house on top of you and probably expose you to the sun. You're also not healed completely, so it would be better to just save your strength and wait for them to come to you. It is frustrating just waiting around though. You start wondering if the traps you set are working, how many hunters you're going to have to deal with and if Kayla's dead or not. You chalk up Kayla being dead since she probably would have come to you by now and while she can look like you, she isn't actually you, and doesn't have your powers to stand up to the hunters. Eventually you start to hear the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs. Multiple ones. This is it. You wait for the first hunter that turns the corner and put your fist through his chest. However no sooner have you done that when two Joachim zealots blast you with that burning light spell to your face. Despite being half blind and your face on fire, you kill one of them and a hunter that stabs you in chest (But fortunately missing your heart), but then you hear the other zealot shout some prayer of some kind and you suddenly feel a great sense of terror. Something you haven't felt since you were human. Part of you feels the desire to run, while another part of you feels the desire to just quake in fear and freeze. This is soon followed up by multiple gunshots to your body and head. Silver burns through your body and you fall to the ground. You have truly never felt so helpless. You roll over and attempt to crawl away, but someone hacks at one of your legs and practically severs it. Your cry out in agony. "Chop the vile thing's head off and be done with it!" someone shouts. "Hey look behind us." Someone else says. "Tilderman? I thought you were dead...wait what're you doing?" another voice asks. You then hear the sound of a metal clank on the floor. Several people shouting "SHIT!" and then a deafening blast. The blast probably would have killed you outright had it not been shielded by the hunters closer to it. As it stands you've only lost part of your legs (One of which was partially severed anyway) part of your back it literally on fire and you've got burns on most of your body. You have just enough strength to roll over a couple times to put the flames out, but you don't know how you're going to heal from this. Miraculously your hearing isn't completely gone and the muffled ringing goes away pretty quickly. Charred body parts are all over the corridor and the smell of burned flesh and blood is filling the air along with smoke and powder. You hear a single set of footsteps approaching, and you certainly hope it isn't another hunter, because you're not in much condition to fight right now. You then see a figure step through the smoke and by the way they're dressed and armed with a repeating crossbow, they do indeed look like a hunter, however you see the eyes which are those familiar blank white orbs. "Kayla?" you ask. "It is I." she answers. "Thank the gods...except for that asshole Joachim." "I wouldn't thank them yet sir." Kayla points the crossbow at you. "Wha...are you serious?!" you say. "Very serious sir. Your usefulness to me is at an end and I'll never have a better opportunity to kill you. Without any more ghouls around, now I don't have to worry about them either. The number of villagers is at a manageable number and I'm sure they'll be even more pliable now, especially without their ruler eating any more of them. In a few more years, who knows? Maybe I'll go try to find that Isabella and rekindle our relationship. She seemed much more powerful than you anyway." With those last words, you see Kayla transform into you and then fires multiple silver bolts into your heart. As your body seizes up and goes into a paralysis, Kayla takes a saber and finishes you off with a chop to your neck.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, fantasy, anti-hero, humor] Year 34 Maldito; the village of ghouls and your ruling capital. Though you aren't exactly sure now if what you're ruling is worth all that much. Green Eye was terrorizing the villages in the area long before you showed up and was still terrorizing them for you when you arrived. It wasn't hard to intimidate them into submission. If you killing their former tormenter wasn't enough to do it, then you being a vampire certain was. Kayla posing as "you" in the daytime, was just overkill. Maldito was eventually ghoulified completely, so if a village steps out of line, you've got an "army" to threaten them with. Though once again, it's overkill considering you could wipe out every one of the villages yourself. The ghouls are just if you need something done in the daytime instead. Ghouls really are the most loathsome creatures you've ever had to be around. Everything about them disgusts you. Their habits, their sycophantic behavior, their smell, everything. They're lower than humans and you're surrounded by them, but at least their loyalty is certain and they watch during the day. This is what "ruling" does to you, makes you paranoid. Even with as scared as you have the rest of the villages, you still believe that one of them is going to get brave enough to actually do something about it. Maybe to some degree you're even hoping one will just to break up the monotony. Still it's all yours and you don't answer to anyone. You aren't sure if these are really the "best times" though. Something is missing. You spend a lot of time trying to remember the "good old days" but really when were those? Certainly wasn't when you were enslaved by Ral, though you suppose your brief time with Lisa was the exception. You still wonder what happened to her, hopefully she's doing better than you, if she's still alive. Wasn't when you had to spend time as a magically altered freak either. Once again, your only bright spot with that was Heather trying to help you. You've been thinking about your brief reunion with her in some of these moments of introspection and you still don't feel bad about it, but you do think that she probably didn't deserve it. Just bad timing. When you were with Isabella? Well there were a lot of good times you'll admit, but if things were truly that good, you wouldn't have left. You can only imagine if Isabella saw you now, she'd probably just be shaking her head at you. She'd probably even be right to do so. She always did know better, but then you were meant to be free and that's always been your problem. Even now, ruling all these worthless peasants, you still feel like a prisoner. You haven't really been free since your days as a petty thief with your sister. Now THOSE were the good old days. You wish you could go back to those times if only for a little while. As you sit in your own underground lair (Now properly built) you sense someone living approaching. It's Kayla. You still don't know her real name, but dops don't really have them anyway so you just continue calling her by a dead tavern keeper's wife. She doesn't even use that form anymore and just stays in her "natural" one when around Moldito. She only uses human forms (or yours) outside the village. You're still a little mystified of her exact intentions. She's been with you for a couple years now and hasn't shown any sign of leaving or betrayal. You can't imagine that she's entirely happy with her lot. She's not a ghoul and she isn't a fearful ignorant human either. You're in charge and YOU'RE not entirely happy, so why would she be? She has said in the past that she's happy serving you, but really have a hard time believing that. You're a tyrannical dick. Unless, she's in love with you, but that would be weird. You actually have been actively not using any sort of suggestive powers on her just to see how she acts. Besides, she's never given that indication though again, maybe you're just bad at reading the signs of a doppelganger. "Um, am I disturbing you sir?" Kayla asks. "Not really, just living up to the stereotype of the brooding vampire I suppose. What's going on?" you respond. "Uh, dunno how to tell you this, so I might as well come out and say it, but I was doing my usual routine in one of the villages and apparently they've caught the attention of hunters." "Hunters?" "Yes, apparently a group of them were investigating the village of Ulig recently. Now I don't know if anyone said anything outright, but due to all of their suspicious behavior they might have inadvertently told the hunters something anyway. Many of the villagers I overheard seemed to be worried that they did that accidently." "Well how many of these hunters were there and where are they?" "They're currently in Sibogri, but they may be coming here soon. I dunno exactly how many there are, but apparently a sizable group. Ten maybe? Maybe more. I feel like this really can't be a coincidence and someone must have told someone about all this." "Well obviously, if there are that many. I don't even think there were that many when they were in Holgard and that was a huge city. I wouldn't be surprised if there is so many due to them hearing rumors of a day walking vampire." "Apologies sir." "What're you apologizing for?" "The daytime thing I know was mainly my idea and I was just apologizing to you for bringing this upon you." "Are you kidding? This is probably the most excitement I've had in awhile. Besides, I imagine that hunters would have come around here eventually." "So you're not mad or concerned about all this?" "Not really, it's actually a motivator." "Oh? Well what were you planning on doing then?" Well that is the question isn't it? The obvious thing to do would be to fight, but given how you've been feeling lately, you could probably very well just leave. Where would you go? You have no idea, but it's an option. In the meantime... "Kayla. Why are you still here?" you suddenly ask. "I'll leave sir. Apologies." Kayla responds. "No, not that! I mean why are you still here?" "Is...this a test?" "No! Look, what I'm asking and there is no right or wrong answer here, is why are you still here? I mean are you in love with me or something similar?" "Um...well...not exactly...it's complicated. Can we talk about something else?" "Besides the hunter thing, this day is becoming the most interesting one in years. I should have asked this question years ago. What's so complicated? You either are or you aren't." Kayla is silent for a moment due to the awkward spot you've put her in. You can see her trying to come up with an answer and after some thought... "Nope, it's still not simple, but I can try to explain if that will please you." Kayla answers. "Well better than nothing I guess. Go ahead." You answer. "As a doppelganger, we do tend towards those with power. Eventually we tend to imprint upon them unless someone better comes along. I suppose that explains why I was with Green Eye for so long. However, I was also planning to kill him eventually and take his place. That's sort of what we do." "So...you're basically admitting to me, that you were planning on killing me all along." "Well...it's complicated." "So you've said. Look, you just admitted that you were planning to kill me. I think it would be in your best interest to explain in more detail." "I honestly haven't really been planning to kill you though. I mean I assumed I would at some point, but considering I'm already impersonating you most of the time and reaping some of power thrill directly when I'm doing it, the feeling isn't as strong. Muted in fact." "And that's it?" "There's also the fact that you created a bunch of ghouls that I wouldn't be able to control since they know I'm not really you. Not to mention I don't think I'd be able to kill you, so I'm sort of stuck and now it's gotten to the point where I'm comfortable in my position and don't really feel a desire to leave. I mean I could, but I'd probably feel really lost for a while as I tried to find a suitable role equal in status to this one and that's not the greatest feeling for a doppelganger." Well more enlightenment on the race of doppelgangers, but you notice she didn't entirely answer the original question. Doesn't matter you suppose, you're going to do what you want anyway, but there is one more important question. "So you're saying that if I fight these hunters, you aren't going to suddenly switch sides again?" you ask. "Not likely sir. Hunter types tend to be nomadic and have no real hierarchy. Also they are constantly seeking out vampires and the like to kill. I already know enough about vampires that I don't want to be hunting them on a regular basis. I'm with you sir." Kayla responds. Well, that's something you guess. "We're going to fight." You say. "Never expected anything different sir. So how are we going to go about this?" Kayla asks. "We need to gather a bit more information. If they aren't staying in the villages themselves, then that means they must be making camp in the forest. Maybe send Stinky...no wait not her. Send Lurky, to scout the nearby forest area. He tends to be quieter and smells less pungent than most of the other ghouls. I want you to keep doing your usual routine of blending in at the other villages. Try to gather as much information as possible. As for me, I'm going to start building up the defenses on this place. Probably should have done it years ago." "You think you have time to build a wall?" "No, but I once was a rogue and I knew how to set traps. Didn't do it often, but I knew how. If the hunters storm this place, it isn't just ghouls and me; they're going to have to deal with. The only thing I'll need to worry about are the ghouls accidently setting them off, but I think I can probably make them understand where they can go and where they can't. Let the rest of them know though, that I'm going to address them all as soon as it goes dark, so they all better be around." Kayla nods and goes to carry out your orders. Meanwhile you work on a few things until it's dark so you can address your ghouls. You address what's going on to your ghouls who of course all listen intently. They're actually eager to go fight right now, but you tell them there will be time for that soon. You tell them to start digging holes and placing sharpened sticks, spikes and then camouflaging them. Not all the houses are used in the village anymore since the ghouls seem to all like just staying outside and only really enter the bigger village hall if the sun especially bothers them. You deicide to trap some of these abandoned homes since you imagine the hunters will be meticulous enough to search every home. You spend the next few days doing this and then eventually you get a report from Kayla who has some interesting news. "Wait, so they're torturing people?" you say. "Yeah and they apparently got people doing this in several villages. They aren't letting anyone go either." Kayla says. "How many of these assholes are there?" "I still don't have an exact number, but it's looking like more than ten. Maybe fifty and I don't think this is just hunters, the Church of Joachim is getting mentioned a lot, along with terms like purging and cleansing." "Shit, this is a fucking crusade. How the hell did we not see something this large coming?" "Well we are a bit isolated even compared to the other villages, but I apologize sir, I probably should have noticed something sooner." "It's done now. Lurky hasn't even come back yet, so who knows if he's still alive. This is starting to look like more trouble than it's worth. What the hell am I really fight for anyway?" Kayla doesn't respond, she just shifts a bit nervously at your rise in temper. You think about your options, and just flat out leaving seems like a perfectly valid one. > You Leave You know when something looks like a losing battle. This is mostly on you anyway, you let yourself get too much attention with your actions and now you've got an army of fanatics on your ass. You let your pride get in the way and thought you knew better; well this is what happens. You're starting to think Isabella was right. You could kick yourself for fucking up your relationship with her now; then again her being right doesn't mean she wasn't being domineering. In any case, you can't go home again and you probably should just move forward anyway. Maybe you need to go some place new entirely, like the Delantium Kingdom or something. Without another word, you go gather what little personal belongings you still regard as important. "What are you doing?" Kayla asks. "I'm leaving. Not going to stick around for this. Not worth it and I'm sick of the headache anyway." You answer. "But sir! You can't just leave all this!" "Sure I can, watch me." "But..." "What, do you want to run this place? Be my guest, you can pretend you're me, like you've been doing." "But that won't be the same and...(sigh) okay fine sir. I can see the wisdom in this. I'll just get ready to go too." "No, you're not coming." "What?" "You heard me, you're not coming and neither are the ghouls. Going it alone again for awhile." "But what am I supposed to do?!" "I don't care, do whatever you like. You're released from my servitude, in fact I said you could leave on your own many times before, so you were always free to leave. Ugh, still gotta wait for night fall." As you prepare for a long wait, Kayla begins pacing a bit and then starts trying to convince you to fight, but it's not working and the more she's trying to convince you the less patient you get with her. "Kayla, your voice is beginning to anger me. I told you to leave." You say. "I just really believe that you can win against these interlopers. Then after you win, your reputation will be so fearsome, nobody will ever attempt to invade you again." Kayla says. "I seriously doubt that." "You won't know unless you fight sir. I mean you didn't get all this by just standing back." "And you seem a little too eager for me to try. Why is that exactly? And don't tell me how much you believe I can win, because it's more than that. You seem to just not want me to leave your side given that you were also willing to leave." Kayla gets a bit quiet and then sputters a bit before gathering her thoughts. "Um...well...okay you got me sir. I'm in love with you and I should have just outright admitted it before. I was just embarrassed because...well I know you would never have such feelings for me like that. Apologies sir, I will leave." Kayla turns to leave. "Hold on wait. Come back over here. Can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe I've been lying to myself." You say. "Sir?" Kayla asks. "Maybe I do have some feelings for you as well Kayla. I just didn't want to admit it due to everything." "You mean me being a doppelganger?" "Well part of that I suppose, but more because none of my past relationships have ever worked out well. Maybe I've let that cause the distance between us as a master and servant, but perhaps we should attempt to become more." "Oh sir! Do you really mean it?!" "Yes. Whatever I ultimately decide to do, we're going to do it together from now on. Now come to me my love, I want us to finally embrace intimately." Kayla rushes excitedly to you and puts her arms around you. You look deep into her blank white eyes. "Do you want me to turn into a more pleasing form sir?" "No, I want to do this to you in your natural form." Kayla's normally featureless face displays a wide smile, which might be a little unnerving if you weren't who you are. She's very happy. Good. She was a loyal servant for a long time so she earned a happy last moment. You then twist Kayla's head around and tear it off completely. You then toss the head aside as gray goo leaks out of the body. Obviously she was up to something and leaving her alive might have just caused problems for you in the long run. Better to play it cautiously, especially with all the attention you've attracted. Last thing you need is someone pretending to be you and you don't have direct control over it. You continue to wait in silence until darkness falls and that's when you take your leave. You don't even bother giving your ghouls any last orders or anything like that. You just run off as quickly as possible in the night. You still have a distance to travel and you don't really know how you'll fair in the Delantium Kingdom, but it can't be too much worse than what you've already been through. You have a lot more time to learn from your mistakes as well. Your days as a common rogue might be long over, but your life as a vampire is just beginning.

You're not so much trusting the dop, so much as you're going to take a chance that it fears you enough that it's being honest. Since if it IS telling the truth and willing to work for you, he would come in pretty handy. Still, you're going to be careful as you can about this. "Okay, first of all, are you absolutely SURE this plan is going convince Green Eye to meet with me?" you ask. "Yes, I am. If he thinks something is wrong, but fixable he'll more often than not take a personal approach to it even if it might risk his life, just like when he first spoke with you. If I know him, he'll probably want to appease you so he can give himself more time to re-think a new strategy of how to deal with you if he believes you can walk around in the day time." The dop says. You can't really tell due to its nearly featureless expression, but it sounds confident in its words. You suppose that will have to do. "Alright then, we'll try the plan." You say. "Y...you will? Oh thank the gods! I swear I will be loyal to you!" the dop exclaims. "We'll see, but first I need to prepare you a bit." You say and move towards it. "Prepare?" "Yeah, just relax a bit, don't move and... brace yourself!" You suddenly lunge on the dop who is taken by surprise by your speed. You bite the dop in the arm and drink a little of its blood. It actually tastes pretty terrible and you nearly spit it out. In the meantime the dop is making a horrible screaming noise and doesn't stop until you smack it upside the head. "Stop that, it's annoying." You say and release it. "Y...you bit me!" the dop says rubbing its arm. "Sure did. Call it an extra precaution in case you get the bright idea to try to betray me. I can always sense where you are now. So if any of this goes south, I'm going to know where to find YOU immediately." The doppelganger might have those empty white orbs for eyes, but you can still see the fear in them. Honestly, while you will be able to sense it if it's close by, you aren't going to be able to instantly track it from anywhere. Still, it doesn't know that. "I wasn't going to betray you." The dop whines. "Well, now I know you won't. Now you stay here, I'm going to go get one of the villagers so you can blend in again. I'll drain them and you can walk out like nothing happened. The body can be disposed of later." you answer. "Wait which one?" "What difference does it make? I dunno the tavern keeper's wife I guess. Might as well considering I already killed her husband. Plus it's an easy enough task even for you and you'll hear all the village gossip at lot easier, not that it matters I suppose." "Mm, okay. I don't have to worry about you suddenly picking on me to bite now and I prefer female forms anyway, it's always easier when the gender matches." You pause for a moment. "Wait...you're female?" you ask. "Well we doppelgangers are pretty flexible about it all for obvious reasons, but yes, I personally identify as female. Can't you tell?" she says. "Um, no not really. I mean you're just a smooth gray nearly featureless being. It's not like I can see tits or anything. I mean...I can't even see a hole down there...or anywhere for that matter; then again I haven't really been exploring. I guess if you were a guy it would have been more obvious I suppose." "Oh you solids with your constant exposed reproductive organs. We doppelgangers transcend such concerns since we only display them when necessary such as for sex or expelling waste. Until that time they remain hidden and protected." "Okay, well however works...don't really want to know, but if that's the case how the fuck was I supposed to be able to tell that you're female or not?" "By my eyes of course! Those of my kind that identify as female tend to change our eye color to white while those that identify as males tend to change them to black." "What color are they normally?" "Oh gray." "Great. Very illuminating. Next time I run into one of you doppys, I'll try to remember all that." "Erm, could you please not call me a doppy? It is considered offensive to my..." You glare at the doppelganger as your patience wears thin. "Um...nevermind. Just happy to serve and being included, sir." She says submissively. You leave the house and find that a minor crowd has gathered from a safe distance. They're probably wondering what exactly happened, time to make up a story. "Is that...thing gone m'lord?" someone asks. "Yes, of course it is. Didn't you hear its death scream? I interrogated it first though. Apparently those bandits I thought I took care of have regrouped and will be trying to attack again. However, we know the truth now and can prepare. I'm going to track them down and finish them off for good, however I'm still going to bless some of you and when I do, you will be charged with helping the defense of this village. I trust you all will be up for the challenge should it come to that." You say. "Of course m'lord! We all will!" "Then we will start tomorrow night, for now though I wish to spend time with you. The rest of you go home and worry no longer about any of this." You say and point to the tavern owner's wife. She goes over to you immediately. As the crowd disperses and obeys your command, you head into your home with your victim. You don't bother with the foreplay and get straight to the feeding. You've done this with her several times already, but this time will be different for her. As usual she puts up no resistance and even as you're obviously killing her she still whispers "I love you" in your ear and holds you tightly. You finish her off and drop her body to the floor. Meanwhile the dop was watching the shadows. You look at her and from her body language she cringes a bit. "Geez... you really are ruthless. I mean I've seen you on occasion drink people, but...never quite like that. She said she loved you and you just...look I just want to remind you, I am definitely NOT going to betray you." "Glad to hear it, now stop wasting time and take her form or whatever it is you do." The dop wastes no time and soon there is a "new" tavern keeper's wife...actually you find out her name was Kayla. The doppelganger knew her better than you actually did, despite you feeding on her on a regular basis. After "Kayla" leaves to get more acquainted with her new role, you look around to make sure you can dispose of the real one safely. You aren't sure why you're bothering being so secretive since the villagers would probably be fine with a doppelganger if you told them to be fine with it. However, you do think it's probably a good idea to slowly introduce such things to them. While they may accept you as a master, they may be less willing to accept some other non-human lurking about as well. At least not until you make some of them non-human. The next night you start again with what you originally planned. This time you pick a married couple at random and decide to see how it goes. You give them both some of your blood which causes them to gag a bit and then generally feel "weird." The pair of them eventually stagger back home, and you tell Kayla to keep an eye on them both since you won't be able to observe them during the day. A couple days and nights pass and you repeat the process with them and just when you're starting to get frustrated, they start to show a change. The pair of them become more fawning than usual towards you and you don't even have to do anything. They're also paler and beginning to move in a less normal fashion. It's more of a loping gait. Their appetite becomes a lot less normal as well. You think you've finally changed them into ghouls. You're glad it didn't take as long as Isabella once suggested it would if you attempted it. However, you soon discover all her warnings were correct. First off, they ARE very annoying with how much they're underfoot all the time. Still, they are very obedient and they soon finish digging out the area meant to be your new resting place under the house. It's crude, but you figure it can be worked on continually. For now though it's functional enough that you don't need to sleep in a hole in the ground in the forest nearby. Keeping them subdued when you're asleep is another matter however. While you attempt to tell them to stand guard over you, they're little like children in that they get bored and have short attention spans. While they haven't actually attacked anyone yet, they're acting aggressive enough that it won't be long. This naturally causes some of the other villagers to be wary and now that's potentially messing up your relationship with them. To counter act this, you give a few intimidating speeches, re-hyponotize a few of the key villagers again and have the two ghouls whipped before the mob and scold them for their behavior. The pathetic creatures soon learn that they aren't going to be chewing on their neighbors anytime soon. Still, it does make other villagers less eager to want to become ghouls now, though you're sort of wondering if it's worth it anyway. While you're trying to keep a precarious balance of humans and non-humans together through your powers and plain old fear, Kayla reminds you that it will soon be time for her to meet with Green Eye's people and start part one of that plan. You originally thought you might send one of the ghouls with her, but that would probably just confuse them, or they'll fuck up the plan and they might even eat Kayla. So she's going alone. You're still fairly concerned about this, but this is what you've decided on, so that's what you're going to do. You don't even go to sleep that day; you stay awake mostly pacing in your underground sleeping area. You send Stinky and Fatty (Your new names for your ghouls since you never bothered to learn their real names) to go fetch you a "drink" so you can keep your strength up. You also tell them to keep an eye out for Kayla. At any moment you fully expect to hear the sounds of an attack above you. You aren't going to be able to help, so you hope Stinky and Fatty are up to the task. However, the pair of them eventually come back with Kayla who is back in her human form. "Here she is master!" Stinky says excitedly. "Did we do good?" Fatty adds. "Yeah, now get the hell out of here. Go dig up one of the corpses in the forest and reward yourself or something." You hardly need to tell them twice and they both leave you alone. "Well?" you ask. "Well, I'm back and it's done. I made enough trouble that Green Eye will be willing to speak with you tonight. I didn't really want to be at Green Eye's any longer than I had to anyway, let alone directly confront him. Fairly certain that gem eye of his sees through disguises. In fact, I highly suggest that you not talk to him and just attack as soon as you see him, lest you fall under his command." Kayla says. "You're joking right? I'm a fucking vampire. I am the one who commands." "Yeah, I know you've got powers of your own, but it's that gem eye. It's magic. How the hell do you think he got that motley bunch to work for him?" "You seem immune considering you're selling him out." "Well I imagine that might be a combination of being a doppelganger, along with not being in his presence for an extended period of time. Whenever I was though, I felt the urge to serve him. I mean think about it, he managed to convince YOU not to wipe out his group the first time around. How the hell did he do that? I like to think I've gotten to know you well enough that you're not really a man that takes chances on potential future threats so you sparing him and everyone else seems a bit out of character." "I spared and took a chance on you." "True I suppose, but still...I dunno I'm just saying you probably shouldn't speak with him just to be safe." "Your concern is touching. I'm guessing it's dark about now, I'll be heading out with the ghouls then." "Okay, well did you need me for anything else then?" "Not right now and assuming you haven't set me up, I will remember your actions on this task." You take your leave of Kayla to go get your ghouls. You find them quite easily in the forest nearby finishing off a corpse. One of them hits the other and points at you. "The master is coming! The master is here!" Fatty says excitedly and runs up to you until you smack him down. "I need the pair of you to accompany me to an important meeting. When we get there though don't do anything until I say so." Fatty and Stinky follow you happily as you make your way to Green Eye's mine. You feel like you're walking into a trap the entire time, but at least you've got some help. Normally you wouldn't even be concerned, but you haven't rested or fed too much so you don't feel like you're a full strength either. Eventually you see the mine and you also see a short figure surrounded by several figures at the entrance. They don't look like his usual men though. They're all female and look very cowed for one thing. "I wasn't expecting this." You say. "Well considering you arrived here in broad daylight demanding your tribute and then saying it wasn't good enough, I figured I'd offer you a selection. All of these girls are from the nearby villages." Green Eye says. "What if I want them all?" "Well then I guess you're getting them all, far be it for me to fight a vampire that can walk around in the daytime. Interesting trick. Didn't know you guys could do that. Almost hard to believe..." "Well you saw it with your own eye." "Actually I didn't, I got the report second hand from one of my men. Granted I trust him...or rather I trust that he believes what he saw, but let's just say, I have some questions." "I'm not here to answer yours." "True, but I'm going to ask anyway, because I strongly think something weird is going on here and I'd rather we talk than it come to violence." "Of course you would, because you'd be on the losing end of that deal." "Most likely, but are you so sure? I see you've brought two friends with you, meaning you're smart enough to not take this meeting lightly." "Choose your next words carefully dwarf." "I always do. I have a hunch that we're both being set up to kill each other. I'm betting you've been talking with that treacherous dop haven't you? I bet that's even who impersonated you. It's a liar you know. All of their kind are, and I should have known better than to have one in my community. Our relationship has been cordial and can remain that way. I will even increase the tribute. We don't have to fight." Green Eye says. Something is very weird about all this. Green Eye seems a lot more relaxed than you are right now and with how much he's talking; it feels almost like he's stalling you for some purpose. Maybe he's got his men hiding elsewhere to ambush, but there really isn't any place to hide nearby. The fact that he's pointed out potential treachery of the doppelganger makes you suspicious though. For all you know Green Eye's telling the truth. > You Listen You'll humor this asshole a little longer because despite him keeping calm, you can tell he's still scared by his heartbeat even from where you are. You're really not detecting any other signs of life either nearby. It's just Green Eye and the seven bitches. "Treacherous is a funny word for you to use, considering YOU'RE the one crafting silver weapons and planning an attack." You say. "Okay first of all, I was NEVER planning an attack. I'm not stupid enough to attack you on your own turf even during the day. And as for the weapons, well can you fucking blame me? I mean I got a vampire living right next fucking door. I wouldn't fancy my chances in a straight up fight, but I NEED to have something that's going to make me feel safer." Green Eye explains. "Okay, so what about sending the dop to spy on me in the first place?" "That was its idea! It kept swearing to me that it wouldn't get caught, damn fool I was to believe it. Look, I'll admit I fucked up on that end, but as I said, I got fucking scared and I'm not ashamed to admit it in front of all these bitches here. You want me to beg? I will. I'd even get on both knees, but that's a little difficult for me for obvious reasons. Though I'd still struggle with it if that's what it requires to save this community." "That's pretty humble of you." "Why do you think I'm out here by myself? I'm hoping that if you decide to just kill me anyway, you'll just be satisfied with that and not kill everyone else too. I know they ain't much and are even less than bandit scum in your eyes, but I'm fucking protective of them and I'd trade my life for my fuck up." Sounds sincere and you really weren't expecting this reaction. You sort of wonder if the dop WAS setting you both up. You wouldn't put it past her. You're still not sure, but if you are going to kill him you don't want to give him the slight chance of lifting that rifle up quick enough to shoot you. "Green, drop your weapons, I'm coming over there to inspect your tribute." "...okay! Whatever you say." Green Eye shouts, and drops his rifle, along with several smaller firearms and melee weapons (mostly daggers) on his person. Seeing that he's dropped his weapons, you motion to your ghouls to follow you. You get closer and can sense how tense they're all becoming. Though you misinterpret that as fear alone. "Watch your head." Green Eye says as you're nearly right in front of his group of girls. Who then all pull out flintlocks and catching you off guard at this close range they can't miss you even as nervous as most of them are. Silver shot burns through your chest, head and a couple other places on your person. It doesn't exactly kill you, but you're dropped immediately. Stinky and Fatty waste no time in attacking the ladies that have fired upon you, unfortunately they weren't really the threat anymore. Green Eye ignores the ghouls tearing up the women and instead picks up his rifle and aims it right at your head as you attempt to get back up. Part of your skull and brains go flying and you drop back to the ground. Still not dead, but with severe brain injury even as a vampire you're bewildered and paralyzed in your current condition. You begin gibbering to yourself about something that happened a long time ago. It's actually when you were a child, but you don't even know what you're talking about, all your memories are a jumbled mess along with your thought process. "I didn't steal the cookies!" you shout and then start laughing. This exclamation is the last thing you ever say before another powerful blast takes nearly the rest of your head off. Your sight goes dark. With practically just a lower half of your jaw still moving and the rest of your body just twitching, you neck is severed with an axe.

[Themes: fantasy, fantasy, humor] You might as well start making ghouls if you're going to be using this place as your new home now. You'll feel safer if with absolutely loyal day guards around anyway. You call everyone to the village square the following night. It's a little surprising for everyone, but of course they don't want to disobey you. "Okay, I've gathered you all here because it's come up many times that some of you desire the same gift I have. This makes sense since you would indeed be better in every way and you would also be closer to your god. However, none of you are yet worthy of such a thing. In fact some of you never will be! Yet, I am a merciful master and as such I will bestow a minor bit of my power so that you may get a taste of it. Who knows, maybe in time you will impress me to the point that I will eventually complete your transformation." At this point your words are met with signs of hope and excitement. You expected that, so that's one less thing to worry about. You're still wondering which people exactly to choose and how many. You probably want to pick the key members in the community though, so you figure you might as well give Vic what he's always wanted first. "Okay Vic, come on over here and we'll get started." You say and cut your arm to drain some of your blood in a cup. "Um, me m'lord?" Vic asks. "Yeah you! Who the hell else's name is Vic in this village? Now come on." "Uh, that's okay I don't think I'm quite worthy yet. I believe that there are many others here deserving of your gift more." "You're joking right? You've been begging me to turn you since I took control of this place. You're just nervous, come on." "No, I really realize now that I shouldn't have annoyed with my petty request as I did. I thank you for your generous offer, but perhaps one of the many lovely young women that..." "Vic, stop being a bitch and get over here!" you say raising your voice. At this point the crowd is getting agitated with Vic's stalling and begin pushing him forward, telling him that he's a "chosen one" and he should be embracing this moment. Vic slowly moves towards your position and then suddenly his eyes roll in the back of his head and he wobbles a bit before falling over. "Oh for fuck's sake..." you say shaking your head. One of the other villagers goes over to help Vic, but after some inspection... "He's dead m'lord!" the village "doctor" exclaims. "He's fucking dead?!" you say. "Heart attack it seems. I believe all the excitement of being a benefactor of your glory was too much for him." "Maybe..." Something about this doesn't seem right. "Kick his body. In fact I want several of you to stomp on it." You say. "M'lord?" someone asks. "You heard me." Not wishing to anger you, several of the villagers comply. Vic's body just absorbs the kicks and doesn't move. "Okay, I guess he's really dead, set his body on fire, no need to waste anymore time burying it. Actually never mind, there's a torch right here, I'll do it." You take a nearby torch and go over to Vic's body. As you slowly lower the flaming piece of wood closer to Vic's body, you watch his eyes. You watch... Then just as you touch Vic's body with the actual flame, his eyes open and his entire form changes into a thin smooth gray skinned creature. Its face isn't anything like you've seen before, having only slits for a nose, a simple line like mouth and its eyes are just white orbs. "SHIT!" it shouts in different voice than before and immediately rolls away and attempts to scramble for safety. While the villagers are confused and scared by all this, you of course keep your cool and easily catch this creature and drag it into the empty house you reside at in the village to interrogate it. "Okay, what the hell are you?" you demand. "Please! I'm a doppelganger and I'm only doing my job!" it pleads pathetically. "By job, you mean spying and infiltration! I only know ONE person that rules over a ragtag group of multi-racial misfits that might have the balls to do such a thing. How long have you been working for Green Eye?" The doppelganger wastes no time in selling out Green Eye. It says it's been with Green Eye for quite some time, but only was infiltrating Maldito shortly after you threatened Green Eye. It says it was originally masquerading as the head carpenter, but soon changed into Vic (and in both cases obviously secretly killed) when it realized you were serious about making the village your permanent home. It of course has been in contact with Green Eye off and on the whole time. "So what the hell is Green Eye exactly planning?" "Well originally he just wanted to keep a check on you, but when you made Maldito your permanent home, he got more concerned. I think he's planning on attacking you directly and most likely destroying the village." "Because that worked out so well last time. So what then has he hired hunters or something? Should have known he wasn't going to be above doing that." "No, actually he's been crafting silver weapons for everyone. Mostly daggers, but I know for a fact he's been focusing on silver shot for the few firearms we have." "Where's he getting all this silver from?" "The mine I guess. Green Eye said it used to be a silver mine before it ran out." "Well apparently it didn't completely run dry if he's got enough to scrap weapons together. Gotta hand it to Green Eye, though. He's been busy and I underestimated his fear of me. Smart of him to not tell me that it used to be a silver mine too. I didn't even think of that." "So...what are you going to do?" "Kill my enemy of course, might as well start with you. Wonder what doppelganger tastes like..." you say and prepare to bite. "No! Wait! Please! I could help even more! If you attack now, you'd never get Green Eye. He's got a whole system of hidden tunnels, traps and shit. You might wipe out everyone under his leadership, but I doubt if you'd find him. He knows those mines like nobody else." "Oh, I'm sure I'd find him eventually." "Well, maybe, but as I said, he's probably trapped the entire place too and considering he's been preparing for you, some of those might even be dangerous to you. Let me go back and..." "You think I'm stupid? You sold out Green Eye so quick and you were supposed to be on his side. How quick would you sell me out?" "But this is different, I can see you're the more powerful force in this instance and I always side with the winning team. It's what my kind does. Green Eye doesn't know that you know that you know anything. In fact I can probably get him to meet with you. You're supposed to pick up your new tribute soon aren't you?" "Yeah, so?" "Well let ME go and pick it up. Except I wouldn't go as me, I'll go as YOU." "Wait, you're going to copy me?" "Yes. And I'm going to arrive at Green Eye's place during the day to do it. I will pretend that I'm such a powerful and old vampire that I have the capacity to walk around in the daytime! This will throw them all off so much that they'll scramble to appease you quickly. When they drag out the girl, I will then claim it isn't good enough and that I will be back at night to renegotiate the deal with Green Eye personally. He'll be concerned enough that he'll meet with you, probably seeing if you have any other weaknesses, since thinking you can walk around in the daytime is going to cause him to discard his original plans. Of course it'll actually be you who'll meet him at night, at which point you'll easily be able to over power him and whoever else is with him. Trust me, it'll work!" An intriguing plan you suppose, you just aren't convinced though. "Sounds like a shit plan, and I still don't trust you. I don't think you can convincingly copy me anyway." You say. "The hell you say! I'll have you know that I am one the most skilled of my kind! I can easily copy you, right down to your quirky mannerisms. Especially since I've been observing you for awhile now." The doppelganger says a little insulted. "Is that so? Well prove it, and maybe I'll make a decision based on how good your performance is." You let the doppelganger go and it has prepared itself to display its powers to you. It takes a bit longer to transform into looking like you than when it transformed back to its real form. The first thing you realize is you haven't seen yourself in years. The dop looks like you, or at least what you looked like before you became a vampire, then again you haven't aged since then so that's presumably what you still look like. The dop then begins to talk like you and act like you. It's very arrogant, condescending and just an all around dick. Which means it's copying you exactly. "See? I can pull this off! Just give me a chance and hey, when Green Eye is dead, I could help you in other ways as well!" the dop exclaims as it transforms back. It certainly is an eager creature. You just aren't sure if you can trust it. And if you can't trust it, then why take chances? > You kill it Trusting a duplicitous creature that can mimic you perfectly? Yeah that's a great idea and won't at all turn around and bite you in the ass later on! You're not taking chances, the dop dies and then Green Eye and the rest of his crew after, you don't care how many tunnels he's got in that mine of his, he is not going to hide from you. First things first though. You approach the dop without another word and bit it on the neck. It makes a horrible wailing noise and no sooner have you drunk some of its blood that you immediately stop because it tastes completely fucking horrible. "Ugh! Shit! I've tasted greenskins better than you!" you say spitting out most of the gray stuff. The dop attempts to get away after your temporary distraction, but it's a futile endeavor, you catch it and ignore its last pleas for mercy before breaking its neck. You aren't actually sure if that's going to kill it, so you decapitate it just to be sure. You leave the house and find that a minor crowd has gathered from a safe distance. They're probably wondering what exactly happened, time to make up a story. "Is that...thing gone m'lord?" someone asks. "Yes, of course it is. Didn't you hear its death scream? I interrogated it first though. Apparently those bandits I thought I took care of have regrouped and will be trying to attack again. However, we know the truth now and can prepare. I'm going to track them down and finish them off for good, however I'm still going to bless some of you and when I do, you will be charged with helping the defense of this village. I trust you all will be up for the challenge should it come to that." You say. "Of course m'lord! We all will!" "Then we will start tomorrow, for now though I wish to spend time alone." You spend the rest of the night wondering if you should just go ahead and attack tomorrow night or wait around to turn some of the villagers into ghouls so you have help. As much as you hate to waste time to let them get better equipped, you decide if the mines are as trapped and treacherous as the dop claimed they were, it probably would be to go in with help, if only to use as fodder. The next night you start again with what you originally planned. This time you pick a married couple at random and decide to see how it goes. You give them both some of your blood which causes them to gag a bit and then generally feel "weird." The pair of them stagger back home. You then repeat this process with five more villagers before you need to stop as it's a drain on your own strength. A couple days and nights pass and you repeat the process with all of them and just when you're starting to get frustrated, they start to show a change. The seven of them become more fawning than usual towards you and you don't even have to do anything. They're also paler and beginning to move in a less normal fashion. It's more of a loping gait. Their appetite becomes a lot less normal as well. You think you've finally changed them into ghouls. You're glad it didn't take as long as Isabella once suggested it would if you attempted it. However, you soon discover all her warnings were correct. First off, they ARE very annoying with how much they're underfoot all the time. Still, they are very obedient and they soon finish digging out the area meant to be your new resting place under the house. It's crude, but you figure it can be worked on continually. For now though it's functional enough that you don't need to sleep in a hole in the ground in the forest nearby. Keeping them subdued when you're asleep is another matter however. While you attempt to tell them to stand guard over you, they're little like children in that they get bored and have short attention spans. While they haven't actually attacked anyone yet, they're acting aggressive enough that it won't be long. This naturally causes some of the other villagers to be wary and now that's potentially messing up your relationship with them. To counter act this, you give a few intimidating speeches, re-hyponotize a few of the key villagers again and have a few of the more aggressive ghouls whipped before the mob and scold them for their behavior. The pathetic creatures soon learn that they aren't going to be chewing on their neighbors anytime soon. Still, it does make other villagers less eager to want to become ghouls now, though you're sort of wondering if it's worth it since it's taking your strength to upkeep all the ghouls which is in turn taking more of a toll on your villagers anyway. While you're trying to keep a precarious balance of humans and non-humans together through your powers and plain old fear, you also keep in mind that it will soon be time to meet up with Green Eye and his crew. You just hope you'll have the element of surprise to a point where it won't matter how many silver weapons they have. When the night finally comes, you head to Green Eye's mine with your ghouls who happily follow. When you arrive, the lone hobgoblin guard stands there at the entrance with the child tribute. You can already sense the rise in the savage's heartbeat when he sees you arrive with your ghouls. The child of course is already scared. "Um...we have your tribute as usual." The hobgoblin says. "Yeah, about that. Don't really need the kids anymore. There's been a change in recent developments." You respond. "Oh?" "Yeah, in fact I've decided to make the whole tribute process simpler by getting rid of you all" It doesn't take long for the hobgoblin to process what you mean exactly. His eyes widen and he turns to run, but you catch him before he gets anywhere and break his neck. You turn to address your ghouls who are already in the process of advancing. The boy who is tribute is frozen in fear. "Hold on, wait...ah damn it! Fatty! Fuck, I was going to tell you lot to leave the boy alone so he could tell the tale to his village of how I saved him from the bandit scum. Never mind now I guess." You smack your ghouls around to get them to stop feeding on the boy and the hobgoblin so you can get the rest of this task finished. You once again enter the mine and once again you come to the large open area where most of Green Eye's people are gathered. No sign of Green Eye, but in the meantime, you'll be wiping out the rest of his people. Doesn't take long for your ghouls to start howling and leaping into battle with abandon. You don't bother reining them in. Green Eye's people are for the most part unprepared, but there is some resistance. With the silver weapons, they probably would do a lot better than last time against you, but since you brought a bunch of ghouls, they do about as well as last time. The battle in the main cavern is quick and bloody, several of your ghouls go chasing people down in various tunnels. The rest of them start feasting on the dead already in the immediate area. While you hear sounds of fighting and screaming coming from various tunnels, you still have not seen Green Eye; it would appear your hunt for him is going to begin right now. Since you've already been warned about the place being trapped, you figure it probably would be a good thing if you took some of your ghouls directly with you. Of course it might be a good idea to leave most of them here to guard this area just in case Green Eye tries to escape this way when you're looking for him. You decide you can probably afford to take two and leave the remaining two here. The other three that went running off will probably wander back here eventually. You then give your orders and you pick the tunnel that you remember seeing Green Eye walk from the last time you were here. You cautiously walk around even keeping the ghouls slightly back, since while they are expendable, you don't want to just lose them unless you have to. So far though, and you aren't coming across anything out of the ordinary. This is good in that there aren't any dangers that have been nearly killing you, but bad in that you haven't uncovered any secret passage ways or rooms that Green Eye might be hiding in. Eventually you stop hearing any noise of combat. Either your ghouls killed everyone or you're getting far enough a way from you original location. Later, you've already gone down several dead ends and while you're not lost, you are getting frustrated since there doesn't seem to be any clue of where Green Eye is. You start to curse yourself in that it might have been a good idea to try to leave one of his people alive to point you in the right direction. Even leaving the dop alive and dragging it with you, would have helped. You start to get paranoid that maybe Green Eye has doubled back somehow and managed to escape so you start heading back to the large cavern near the entrance. The problem is you do it so fast that you aren't as cautious this time, and while you passed through several tunnels that weren't trapped, you don't take into consideration that Green Eye didn't sneak around and trap them after you already passed through. Even then, you might have been quick enough or had the danger sense to avoid something amiss, but your ghouls are another matter. No sooner have you heard the "Spong!" noise that you quickly look to where you need to take cover. A huge rumble occurs in front of you and before your eyes you see both of your ghouls gets crushed by a cave in by an explosion. You are actually blown back a bit and quickly scramble up when you also see that this isn't just a cave in, but a cascading effect. You have no choice but to run back deeper into the mines, though you're so busy trying to get away, you end up taking a tunnel you haven't explored. You run down the unexplored tunnel trying to avoid getting buried and hoping you outrun it or find an exit of some sort. You find an exit, but it's down. Once again, not paying attention, you fall down a pit. You attempt to grab on to the sides of the smooth wall, but you only succeed in ripping your fingernails off in the process and it disappears eventually anyway as you fall into a larger underground cavern and slam hard into the rocky ground below. Your yells of pain echo throughout the cavern. You've most definitely broken several bones in your legs. You'll regenerate, but it's going to be slow, especially without any fresh blood around, unless there are some rats around. As you start to look for something like that, you feel more rumbling. At first you think it's ceiling collapsing on you here, but then you realize the sound is coming from below. This silver mine closing down wasn't due to it running dry, it was more because there was an infestation of giant insect things in the lower parts of it, which you have now discovered. The chittering becomes louder and eventually several many legged, many eyed things burst forth from the ground. You fight about as best as you can in your situation, but you're weak, crippled and overwhelmed. You die screaming in the darkness as you are devoured.

[Themes: fantasy, serious, anti-hero] Year 31 You finish drinking your fill of the girl and release her though she still clings to you tightly like you're her entire world despite the fact that she's already married to some young man in this village.. As usual you have left this one alive since the less outright deaths the better. Besides, the more you feed on these peasants and don't kill them, the more they seem to be enamored with you. The fools believe your "mercy" is some sort of blessing. "Is there anything else you require of me, m'lord?" she asks in a mild daze. "Actually now that you mention it, yeah. Now that I'm done sucking on you, I'll give you the honor of sucking on me. You know what to do." You say. The girl nods and slowly lowers herself before you. Now THIS is what being a vampire is all about, or at least what it should be. Lording it over the lessers and reaping the benefits. Not hiding on the outskirts of civilization. Ever since this arrangement you've actually been enjoying yourself again. Even more than when you used to go hunting in Holgard, which you haven't been going to at all anymore. As for Isabella, she spends all her time in her precious garden and you're starting to wonder if she even cares what you do anymore as long as it doesn't involve messing with Dert or calling attention to your home. The only time she has asked you a question is she started wondering where you were getting all the children from since she was concerned you might be "over farming" Dert, but she seemed satisfied with your answer. She's benefiting so why should she care? The girl finishes servicing you and then you send her home in a better status for her husband than before. Tiring of your own time here tonight, you prepare to leave and exit the "home" that you use when visiting. Before you leave however, you're met by Vic. Usually he knows better than to crowd you like this so it makes you a little wary. "That's close enough! Encroach on my personal space any further and it'll be the last! Now what is it that you feel the need to waste my time with?" "Well I was just wondering, since I've been so loyal to you lord and helpful in in convincing the others to stay loyal...I was just wondering if there would ever come a time that you might bless me with the same gift that you have. Not that I would be nearly as powerful as you of course m'lord. I live to serve after all." This again... Vic has brought this up before, and this topic has come up with more than a few of the ladies you've been dining on. You of course always give the same answer, that it isn't a "gift" that can be given so lightly and will only ever go to the worthy. Telling them that you can't make them vampires because you're not old enough to do it yet, wouldn't actually make you look like the "all powerful" dark lord that you've set yourself up as. Still, as far as you know you ARE able to make them into ghouls. Isabella explained all this to you in your first weeks as a vampire. She always said making a ghoul wasn't worth it since they are some of the most pathetic creatures she's ever had the displeasure of knowing. She made one once and killed it soon after because she found its habits too disgusting and its fawning far too annoying. Of course Isabella's personality is a little different than yours. You would probably be fine with more fawning. In fact absolute loyalty might be a plus. As for disgusting habits, well you wouldn't have to live with them on a regular basis and so what if they eat a few bugs? However, it still isn't something you're going to just do right away and would need to think on. After all, you turn one person or multiple people into a ghoul or ghouls, how are they going to act towards the rest of the normal people? Not like you can watch them constantly. "I'll think about it, now get out of my way!" you say and knock Vic aside. You head home pondering the possible ramifications of taking that extra step. When you finally do get home, you find that your night hasn't gotten less complicated. "Have fun with your human whores?" Isabella asks. "Thought you'd be in your garden. That's where you like to spend all your time isn't it?" you say, not even answering her question. "True, but perhaps I've been sticking my head in the flowers for far too long and ignoring the situation that's going on." "What situation?" "The situation where you've apparently dominated an entire village to your will. Maybe even more." "No, just the one. What difference does it make? I'm not attracting any attention and I've been bringing children home to you on monthly basis." "Yes, which is why I haven't said anything, however I've been noticing a change in your behavior with me." "You have? Surprised, considering all the time you spend in your garden." "Okay, if you're bitching about us not spending enough time together, all you had to do is say something and I would have obliged. Since when have I not helped you out in any way I can? It's why you're here in the first place." "And THAT right there is the problem!" "What?" "You treating me like a second class citizen around here!" "Are you kidding me? I gave you fucking complete freedom!" "You know that doesn't matter. Not really in the scheme of things. You're more powerful than me. You always will be and you will always see me as your lesser. Sometimes it feels like you scold me as if I was some child." "Well when you act like one at times, that's what happens. And if I really saw you as my lesser, I wouldn't have even bothered with you in the first place. I saw something special in you, but obviously I was mistaken. Besides all that, don't give me that I never let you have fun business because it's not even true in the first place. If anything I've been TOO permissive. You're on a fucking power trip right now and while I get it because you feel like you're getting the attention you feel you deserve, I'm telling you right now that if you continue like this, it's going end badly." "I don't understand WHY you're giving me shit for this. You do the same thing with Dert, you're just less hands on." "Exactly. I'm not rolling around in the pigpen with the pork chops! You're in there, not only rolling around with them, you're also fucking the pigs. AND don't even tell me that you don't do that, because you stink of humans most nights when you come back. Though I'm not so much mad about that bit as I am severely disappointed." "So what are you saying exactly?" 'What I'm saying is YOU are heading down a path that I've seen play out several times with others I was close to in the past. Not really willing to go through it again." "So, what then? You're going to forbid me to do this then?" "No, actually I'm not. You're a free willed vampire, go play with your mortals and lord it over them. That seems to be what is making you happy. What I am saying however is if you insist on doing this though, you'll be doing it elsewhere because I'm not going to sit by and watch the inevitable, let alone get caught up in it. Obviously you feel stifled here, so maybe you need to go do this anyway." Well that's done it for you. You're not going to get threatened by an ultimatum. You and Isabella haven't been getting along for a while now anyway. If she's giving you the option for a clean break now, you probably should take it while you can. "I'll be gone tomorrow night. I trust that will be okay." You answer. "Fine by me. You can sleep elsewhere in the crypt though, because you certainly won't be sleeping in my bed." Isabella says. "Yeah, probably for the best." "Well then, it was fun while lasted and I hope you succeed in whatever it is that you're trying to achieve. Goodbye." And with those cold last words, Isabella turns and leaves you. While maybe you sort of knew this was coming for some time, there is a part of you that's going to miss Isabella. She did do so much for you, but ultimately you needed your freedom the most. And now you have it. The next night, you leave the crypt with what little belongings you still have attachment to as quick as you can. You don't bump into Isabella; you assume she's in her garden as usual. You make your way to Maldito, where you are met with the usual praise and submissive behavior. "Vic, get all your best builders and tradespeople together, I want a meeting with them." You order. "Um, okay m'lord." Vic answers. You meet with them to let them know that you're going to be around a lot more often, so you want a proper home, rather than the simple empty one room house they just let you use when you are here. Your news is met with an overjoyed reaction for the most part, though you get the impression some are just reacting more out of fear of defying you. In any case, you aren't asking for much in the short term. Just a small underground area underneath the house you stay at. "Oh! So like a root cellar!" one of them beams. "Yeah...just like a root cellar." You answer rolling your eyes a bit. In any case it's a simple enough task for them that you figure they won't take long in doing it. In the meantime, you have the unpleasant task of digging a hole in the forest and sleeping there. The first night is a real wake up call of how much better it was sleeping in a nice soft bed next to Isabella, but you need to get over that. A month passes and it's still not finished mainly because one of the more skilled carpenters had a heart attack on the job. You're pissed about this inconvenience, but it is what it is. In the meantime, when you make your usual meeting with Green Eye's community, you tell the guard at the entrance that you won't require a child every month anymore. Instead, they can just bring a girl like Green Eye originally suggested. By the middle of the second month it's still not finished. You have no idea what the hell is holding these idiots up. Vic says something about the structural integrity is shaky and there being a danger over everything caving in. You're getting irritated to the point that you almost lash out and kill one of them, but then you realize you need these fools right now. So you kill the tavern owner instead. Not like serving drinks is a job that requires special skills that you need. Besides, his wife can take over and she's more compliant to you anyway. You start wondering if this would go faster if you made them ghouls. The main problem that you can see is that they're all weak humans that aren't even in the best of shape in the first place and require sleep and regular food. If you made them ghouls they'd work for you tirelessly night and day. (They'd be able to see in the dark as well) And they could eat...well anything really. There isn't really much stopping you now, since you now ARE here constantly to monitor their behavior. Though there is a real desire to still not do it too, since you'd essentially be "rewarding" them all for shit work so far. If you were going to do it, you'd rather do for those that deserve it at least. > You leave them human You're not rewarding these people any more than you have to. These mortals are just going to have to work harder. The rest of the month passes and fortunately they seem to be making better progress with the project, should be done by next month at least. Before that happens you go over to Green Eye's mine to pick up your tribute. There's a single hobgoblin guard at the entrance with a girl looking down the entire time. "Here's the new tribute. Green Eye says he hopes she is suitable and assures you that she has not been touched by anyone here." The hobgoblin remarks. You look at the peasant girl who is obviously frightened out of her mind, but too terrified to run or do anything. "Look at me." You command and lift her chin up so she looks into your eyes. You say a few commanding words to her and soon she loses all will of her own. She then walks away from Green Eye and holds you tightly. "Shit, wish I had that ability. It would make a whole of things much easier with the missus." The hobgoblin remarks. "Tell Green Eye, the tribute was suitable." You say and then leave with your tribute to head back home. The third month rolls around and at last your humans have finished your home. You inspect it and find nothing out of place. It looks like it was reinforced with several pillars and they even tried their best to make it look "homey." "Do you like it m'lord? We tried to make sure that everything would be comfortable for you and later we can expand on it if you wish." Vic asks in his usual toadying manner. "Yeah it's fine, and get back! You are entirely too fucking close!" you shout, slapping him. Honestly it's a far cry from Isabella's crypt, but it's better than sleeping in a dug out hole in the ground in the forest. You're in a mildly jovial mood so you decide to celebrate by spending the night in it not doing much of anything except feeding on and fucking a couple of the village girls. There are no objections obviously. Night passes into day and while you're fast asleep, you're suddenly awakened by the noise above you. At first you think it's just the villagers being noisy, but by the sounds of yelling and screaming, something else is going on. "Shit..." you say to yourself already knowing what might be going on. Since you drank one of the girls dry last night, you tell the remaining living one to go take a quick peek at what's going on. She does so and as soon as she pops her head up from the trapdoor, a gun blast is heard and her body drops from the top of the ladder and on the floor in front of you. Most of her face is blown off. "Yubin, you bleedin' idjit! Ya supposed ta shoot da pale man! Quick! Reload! Reload!" you hear an orc shout. Those backstabbing...they are going to rue this day... You quickly make your way up the ladder and find yourself facing several of Green Eye's boys. "Shit! Daggers!" the closest orc shouts. You make quick work of the orc shouting orders and then the one immediately next to him. Several of the humans and halfbreeds attempt to stab you next, and the last one of them just manages to sink his blade into your shoulder before you break his neck. The pain is more than you expected it to be. It doesn't just feel like a sharp pain, but more like a hot burning sensation all throughout your shoulder and top part of your arm. You pull it out and see why. The blade is silver. "Sonof...Argh!" you utter when you feel a blast of gunshot in your back from Yubin who was busily reloading his musket just outside the doorway to the house. The silver in the shot is enough to drop you. "He's not dead yet! Shoot him! Shoot him again!" you hear Vic shout. "I can't! I'm outta da stuff! I'm gettin' outta here!" Yubin's remarks and then runs off. "Shit. HEY! Get Big Tooth over here, we need his help! It's the man who killed his brother anyway!" You can't believe Vic is working with Green Eye's bandits. When did this happen? Was this always the case? Was it the long con? Did he have some secret meeting recently? In any case it doesn't matter. Vic and several of the bandits have already returned to the house. One of the bandits, Big Tooth is an ogre. Vic orders him to drag your ass out of the house while the others attempt to help. Normally, you'd be strong enough to resist, but you're partially paralyzed from the silver shot lodged in your spine and it isn't healing anytime soon. Big Tooth drags you by both legs and while you struggle, even taking down one of the bandits along the way; it doesn't take long before Big Tooth's strength (which is also enhanced due to his anger that you killed his brother last year) manages to get you to the doorway and that's when you start feel the burn of the sun. You snarl and try to hang on to anything so as to not get dragged all the way out, but the other bandits start hacking at your hands with their silver daggers causing you to eventually lose your grip after losing several fingers. Big Tooth gives one more pull and you are at last fully exposed to the sun. You roll around screaming in agony as your skin begins to burn. All around you the village isn't doing too much better, what with some of it being in flames and all. Green Eye's men are finally finishing the job you prevented them from doing last year. Your last thoughts are of how Isabella was right about this not ending well, just before Big Tooth stomps your burning skull into nothing but bloody brains and bone fragments.

Year 30 "Well of course there are vampire hunters running around in Holgard now. I told you that you probably needed to start showing a bit of restraint now that the religious factions aren't killing each other anymore." Isabella remarks. "You said that Holgard was a perfect spot for me to hunt due to all the crime and violence!" you reply. "Yeah, but still within reason. I mean from some of the tales you've told me in the past, it sounds like you just leave a killing field in your wake half the time. As I said, you probably were only getting away with it due to the religious faction war, but now that that's over with, they're on to you. Look, you had your fun, but it's probably time to rein it in a bit anyway. You had like what five years? Honestly, I probably gave you your freedom a bit too quickly." "So what, are you cracking the whip on me now?" "No, but I will say that I'm fond of you enough that I would LIKE you to still be around for a long time to come. You might think a few vampire hunters are no problem, but I imagine they aren't the only ones hunting you. I mean you were taking advantage of the religious faction war, I have to believe that some of them groups aren't vampire friendly either. Wasn't your ex a Dornan? Pretty sure those wizard priests might have discovered a vampire operating in the city by now and I'm not even counting the fanatical Joachimites you told me about." "So what are you saying exactly?" "I'm saying that maybe you should give Holgard a break for awhile if you can't restrain yourself. Go find another hunting ground that isn't going to attract attention. I'm sure there are little isolated towns and villages further east of here. I'm sure there are probably bandits preying upon them as well, so you've got a wide selections to choose from." You somewhat frown at that suggestion. "If I'm going to skulk about a village luring peasants to their doom, I might as well be grocery shopping for you in Dert." You say. "Well I dunno, go wipe out an entire hamlet then, I don't care. Just don't be a dumb ass and leave any witnesses. Because I'm going to tell you this as well, it's one thing if you're going to insist on playing with your immortality, but it's quite another if you start fucking with mine. If your actions end up causing a group of adventurers to come barging down here in the middle of the day, waking up my beauty sleep, you are going to wish you'd been staked and beheaded after I get done with you. Understand?" Isabella says with a calm threatening tone that is enough to unnerve even you. "Yes...dear." You meekly utter. Isabella gives you a stern look and then leaves you to your own devices. Isabella may not have any direct power over you, but she's still powerful enough to crush you if she wanted to. You don't actually think she'd kill you, but you don't doubt that she wouldn't make your unlife miserable for a very long time. If you weren't so grateful for everything she's done for you, you might be inclined to leave and not return. However in the grand scheme of things you're fairly happy with her so there isn't much incentive to do so. She's usually right anyway. Might be time to settle down a bit. Mass slaughter is starting to lose its appeal anyway. Well not ALL its appeal, but maybe you should change it up, especially if you want to go back to Holgard one day. For the first few weeks, you don't go to Holgard and instead wander further to the east a bit. Honestly, you've never traveled in that direction for any extended length of time save for when you released Spikey back into the wild. That was slightly harder than you thought it would be, but at least it was better than Isabella killing him. You sort of wonder if you'll run into him, but you don't, who knows where he is now. (You hope he's happily eating people wherever he is though) You do know is if you go far enough you'll reach the borders of the Delantium Kingdom. Of course that's still quite the ways even with your speed and you aren't that adventurous. What you do find are a few small isolated villages. Bigger than Dert and nearly the size of the your old home of Teckleville. Same sort of people too, funny how no matter where you go, places like this are the same everywhere. You skulk around these minor villages, luring an unsuspecting peasant or two for food, but it's dull since it's basically like when you do it back in Dert. You encounter nomads, brigands, and raider types of various races. Again, those are more fun since you can let loose a bit more, but a lot of these tend to be on the non-human side and at this point you've acquired more of a taste for human blood as opposed to greenskin or some of the other savage races you've come across. Upon your return on these daily travels, Isabella almost never asks you what you were up to. She doesn't seem to care as long as you aren't bringing trouble to her crypt. Sometimes you mention what you've been up to and she listens, and sometimes asking basic questions back, nothing more though. A few months pass, and you're about ready to go back to Holgard just to see if things have died down there a bit, but you decide to stick it out a little while longer and continue doing what you're doing. You head to Maldito, which is one of the more remote villages, even compared to most on your list. When you get within sight of it however, you're surprised. The entire village is in flames. You can hear screaming and yelling still coming from the place and the stench of blood and death is thick. You're getting hungry just thinking about it. You cautiously move towards the village and find where the majority of the voices are coming from. A mixed group of rough looking orcs, gnolls, and even a few hobgoblins are currently lording it over the remaining peasants they haven't killed. Currently a couple of the women are being raped and they're torturing the shit out of several of the men. Despite the large amount of savage races, a human seems to be the leader. Figures. He is addressing the peasants who are focused on him despite all the horror around them. "Know that you lot brought this on yourselves! All you had to do is provide food, basic goods and some time with your daughters, sisters and wives on a regular basis and this shithole of a town would be spared Green Eye's wrath. Instead you've been hiring mercenaries to cut down our men for weeks! NOW you have to pay!" the human bandit says. "NO! I swear it! We've done no such thing! We would nev..." "SILENCE!" the human bandit snaps interrupting the older peasant trying to beg for mercy. The human leader soon picks the old man up off the ground and stabs him in the throat before tossing him back on the floor. "I don't actually give a shit if it WAS you or not! One of the villages in this area did, and when they get the message of what we're doing to your village, they'll fall in line, or they're going to suffer the same fate! Rape everyone in every fucking orifice, kill them all and shove their dismembered corpses on big fucking spiked sticks." Grim stuff. The odd thing is you actually feel slightly sorry for these pitiful peasants since you probably inadvertently caused this. You were slaughtering so many bandits over last couple of months, you didn't think that they were actually united any way. You also didn't think that these bandit types would jump to the conclusions that the villagers were behind it. Though you suppose it makes sense that they would. After years of just ruthlessly drinking the living and seeing them as nothing more than blood bags, it seems odd that you would feel protective of them for some reason. Maybe, this is how Isabella feels about Dert in some ways. The people in that village are all food to her, but they're hers and she doesn't want anyone else fucking with them. You guess you've developed a similar attachment. Who knew? Yeah, you're not going to let bottom-feeding scum throw away perfectly good food... You enter the village, you don't even try to hide. You break the neck of three hobgoblins and put your fist through an orc before anyone even mounts an attack. "Shit! Get your dick outta that bitch, can't you see we're being attacked?!" the human bandit shouts. The gnolls clumsily attempt to chop you with their long axes, but its all too easy to avoid their blows and shatter their spines, you quickly shut their dog like howls up by stomping their heads into mush. The remaining bandits fair no better against you. "He's too fucking fast! He's not human! He's not..." are the last words of a half orc before you finish him off, along with his buddies. Soon it's only the human bandit leader left and to his credit; he hasn't run off (like some of the hobgoblins tried to do) "Let me guess...vampire?" You nod silently. "Shit...I had a feeling it wasn't just mercenaries after seeing the carnage on a couple of those sites. So are..." You're done entertaining this lesser form, you rush forward and rip out his throat mid sentence. You drink his blood and throw his corpse next to the body of the old man he had just killed not a few moments before. Meanwhile the peasants that the bandits rounded up haven't even run. They've all just huddled together watching you, probably with just as much fear as they had before you arrived. You look upon them and they have never looked more like the herd of sheep they truly are. They are prey and always will be in their current form. You have a mind to finish them all off, until one brave one approaches on his hands and knees. "You...you have saved us!" he shouts. "Saved you? You shortsighted sheep, I only saved you because these assholes were killing off my livestock and I hate to waste food. I've been feeding on you lot for months now. Didn't you even notice how some of you had gone missing?" you say. "We...we assumed perhaps the bandits had taken some of us in the middle of the night. But please, spare us your unholy wrath and we will worship you, my dark lord!" Well this has turned interesting... "Worship you say? What exactly are you proposing?" you ask. "Yes, we...we can't defend ourselves against Green Eye's bandits and now that you've killed this group, he's just going to send more to finish us off. You could defend us and in exchange we could provide...what you need...." The man says. "I need blood you do know that right?" "Yes, but if it means just a few of us dying as opposed to all of us dying then it will be worth it. Please, I beg you. Whatever you wish, we will provide." This could be just the thing to break up the monotony. It's also perfect due to the remoteness of it all. You'd have people willing to give themselves to you, and the bandits you can just massacre as usual. Of course doing something like this might be slightly more involved than you'd prefer. You can also imagine that it probably wouldn't be as cut and dry as you're going to want it to be. Lot of factors still at play and you question if you want the headache. > You just kill them all and be done with it As much as the idea of ruling over this miserable lot like a king appeals to you on some level, the fact is you don't really want to be bothered micromanaging. You imagine it's why Isabella doesn't bother directly controlling Dert. It's much simpler for her to just let them live their own lives and only intervene when absolutely necessary. Would have been nice to have killed the bandits before they fucked up the village, since then the peasants wouldn't have known about you. Now that they do, you can't very well just let them live. One of them would surely blab at one of the other villages and the whole point of this, was to lay low in the first place. "Rise." You tell the man groveling before you. He does so slowly before you. "Your terms..." you start to say. "Yes?" he asks with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. You grab him by the throat and break his neck with ease. The light goes out of his eyes and he slumps to the ground. "Are not acceptable." You add. The rest of the peasants are paralyzed with fear or crying. Most of the crying comes from the children though. This gives you an idea. "Listen up sheep! Do not attempt to escape, I guarantee you will not make it. I'm fast and strong enough to kill and catch everyone here! Your lives are forfeit this night. If I had not come here, the bandits would have finished you off. You have nobody to blame but yourselves for being so weak. However, I have a counter proposal to make this necessary deed at least somewhat less horrific." You stare at the peasants for a bit, making sure you've got their full attention, though they really aren't going anywhere at this point. Actually you aren't sure if they ALL decided to run and scatter if you actually would be able to catch and kill all of them, but so far they're so scared they believe anything you say. "Provide no resistance, and I will make your deaths quick. Also, some of you have children. I will spare the children and take them away from here so they won't be defenseless against the bandits or the surrounding wilderness. This is the best offer you're going to get." "How do we know you're telling the truth and that you'll not harm the children?" one asks. "You don't. But think of it this way, resist me and I'll make sure the children die FIRST before your eyes. Comply and at worst you can die wondering if I kept my word." That certainly got most of their attention. In typical fashion, most of the parents are more than willing to sacrifice themselves for their children. Even some of the ones who don't have any are compliant. Amusingly some beg if you can turn them into a vampire instead. You respond that none of them are worthy of "the gift." You of course aren't going to tell the truth that you can't make any of them into vampires if you wanted to anyway, since Isabella has explained that you have to be much older than you currently are before you could even attempt it. You might be able to make them into ghouls at best, but from what Isabella has told you about ghouls, you'd rather not have such disgusting creatures fawning all over you all the time either. Parents attempt to calm their children, but it's a lost cause, most of them are too upset. You push the parents aside and have them group the children together. You speak in a calming voice to them all. It's hard to focus on all of them like this, but fortunately children seem to be more susceptible to vampiric suggestion. Soon, the children are in a dazed like condition. "See? Now they won't even experience the horror of watching me kill you all. Shall we begin?" Without another word, you unleash terrible violence upon the peasants. Despite their promise to comply, most of them try to run anyway. Human instinct you suppose. Though it doesn't matter much since they stupidly don't scatter very far you easily catch the lot that do run anyway. Others do thankfully comply. Some of these are the parents who are tearfully spending their last moments with their children (even if they are currently hypnotized). After you finish off the last mewling mother and drink her dry, you turn your attention to the children who are thankfully still under your suggestion. "Okay then, let's go children, we've got a lot of ground to cover and unfortunately you lot don't run as fast as me...hmm. Maybe that cart will do..." You load all the children onto an undamaged cart and push it as fast as you can. It's slower than if you were by yourself, but then its also faster than if they all had to follow you on foot. Difficulty comes when you reach the forest since you have to start maneuvering between trees, eventually you have to stop, but it's not too bad since you're almost at your destination anyway. "Come on kids, we're running from here." It's a tedious task of herding these children and having to slow down for them, but eventually you reach your destination. Just in time too since it's almost dawn. You're just glad you haven't attracted any unwanted attention during this whole thing. You make your way down the steps and probably due to all the footsteps, Isabella comes to meet you. She looks like she was prepared for a fight too. "What the hell?! With all the footsteps I heard, I thought it was some group of hunters or something!" Isabella remarks. "Well this should make you a bit happier." You answer and present the children behind you. "What's all this then? Children? Where did you get them from? Not Dert I hope." "No, not from Dert, not from Holgard either. They're from a place that actually no longer exists." "Did you finally lose control and wipe out an entire village? So much for laying low." "No I only wiped out half of one. Bandits already fucked up the place before I even got there. Killed them and the remaining villagers. The only witnesses are these children, which I thoughtfully brought home to you." "Really? Just for me huh?" "Well I know you really like child blood and it isn't like I'm going to have the patience to stretch the little bastards out like you do, so they're all yours." Isabella is very happy with you right now, she embraces you lovingly and gives you a playful bite which you return. "Mmm, I knew I picked you for a reason..." "Just one request though. Could you keep the kids hypnotized? I mean I know you tend to do that with your food anyway, but uh, I sort of promised that no harm would come to them." "What? What deal is this? I thought you said you didn't leave anyone alive." "I didn't, and I mean officially I'm NOT harming the kids since I'm giving them to you, but... I dunno...I'd feel a little less like a liar if the kids don't feel any pain while you drink their blood." Isabella smiles a bit at your odd sense of "morality." "Aww, that is so adorable. You have a twisted code of honor. Very well, but you didn't really need to worry about it anyway, last thing I need to hear are children caterwauling throughout my crypt. I know some vampires love to hear their lunch beg and scream and claim it makes the blood taste better. Not me. I prefer my food to just be silent so I can eat in peace. In any case, let me get these lovelies locked up and I'll be meeting you in the bedroom. I hope you aren't too tired from your earlier actions, because I suggest you prepare yourself." Whether you were tired or not, wouldn't make any difference to you anyway. You make your way to the bedroom thinking that while you might not be a king over some groveling peasants, you'll certainly be king in here and that's a whole lot more fun. When Isabella comes to the bedroom, she stands in the doorway just staring at you for a moment. At first you think she's just taking in all your manliness, but then she beckons you off the bed. "You come with me, I got something else in mind. Something special...but don't worry we'll still get to that." You do so and soon realize that she's taking you to her garden. She's NEVER done that. When you enter, the garden is quite sizeable and bathed in a glowing blue light. You always knew there was a light source in there due to the glow you could see whenever Isabella exited it, but now you know it comes from some sort of luminescent fungus that is all over the walls and ceiling. "It's not sunlight, but it works well enough. Come walk with me." Isabella says and takes your hand to enter her garden. The garden is unsurprisingly very well cared for. There are all sorts of flowers, though you've never been an expert on such matters, but you're fairly certain there are types of plants here that don't normally grow in this environment. You weren't aware there was a small reservoir of water here either, almost like a pond, but then you imagine that would make having a garden here a lot easier with a water source. Isabella doesn't say anything and just takes you through the garden. She begins pointing to the various plants and giving small histories of them. She also starts to tell you about her own memories of when she first saw these various plants and flowers. It becomes a very intimate history of her life and who she is. It's actually all very enlightening mainly because even after all these years you STILL didn't know much about her past. All these years you believed her to be some sort of royalty. Perhaps even a princess of some sort of long lost Empire. But no, her beginnings are actually very humble, possibly even more humble than your own. She was a simple peasant girl that worked in a flower shop. Then one night she caught the eye of a vampire who was of minor royalty (Though trying very hard to keep it secret from the general public). He revealed his true nature immediately to her, but insisted that he had no intention on hurting her. Isabella explains that she at first complied with him out of fear, but eventually she didn't mind spending time with him. She says she doesn't know if it was because he was working his dark charms on her, or that she was young and foolish, but she said whatever the reason, she did come to love him. She says she never really knew why he chose her. She suspects her looks helped initially, but it wasn't like she was special in that regard. He could have easily had any upper class lady, but then perhaps he knew that marrying one of them would have drawn more attention to himself while marrying a lower class girl might just be grateful for the uplifted standing and if he had to silence her, well who would care? Still, marrying someone of such lowly birth raised eyebrows anyway. Didn't take long before everything started to fall apart and those that would seek to harm him started focusing on various eccentricities, oddities and other things that caused people to start to wonder. For a time, Isabella mostly stayed on his castle grounds spending much of her time in the gardens. She said it was the only place that put her at ease since she knew even with as much power as her husband had, there would be no way he could fight all the forces gathering against him. Of course he wouldn't leave either. He would fight and die. Isabella was prepared to die with him, but he realized that none of this would be her concern if he hadn't dragged her into this life in the first place. So he did the only thing he could think of to save her, he gave her the gift of immortality and told her to live her life as she saw fit. She didn't want to leave at first, but he insisted and perhaps to some degree Isabella did love her own life more than him. Isabella left in the middle of the night, just before the siege of his castle started. A few months later she had heard that he had died and they had a priest of Joachim dowse his burnt corpse in holy water after removing his head. Isabella goes on about a few other bits of her life, but her origins are what are most fascinating. Makes you wonder why now all of a sudden she's decided to tell you. "Because I'm finally comfortable with you. Sure, you mess up every now and then, but ultimately you listen and do something special for me. I know living with me hasn't been easy because you probably were always wondering where exactly you stood with me. Well tonight I revealed my soul to you...so to speak. You must understand that this was very difficult for me. I've tried this before, and it's never ended well." Isabella says. "Well, I guess you have probably had a very eventful past." You reply. "You only know a minor bit of it, but enough about the past, I want to embrace the future. Embrace me here in the garden, in the soil and amongst the plants. Maybe we're dead, but I want to make love with life surrounding us." Rather poetic. You can't say all this doesn't emotionally move you somewhat. You and Isabella proceed to be intimate in the garden and it's definitely the most positive experience you've ever had. You might have thought in the past that you were in love before, but now you truly know it. > Time passes.. Year 34... The more Holgard changes the more it stays the same. It's a

good thing everyone has such short memories here. Then again, hard for anyone to worry about vampires when nobody actually found you. Most of the real hunters have moved on. There's still the Joachimites, but they're more likely to go burn a poor old woman as a witch before they actually go hunting for a vampire. Lot easier for one thing. Nowadays Holgard is back to being under the plain old paranoia it normally suffers from. You've heard rumors of that the Delantium Kingdom is going to try to reclaim this city, but that's about the only major thing and it's not likely true anyway. Still, laying low in the backwoods and only coming here occasionally was a good idea. Of course you tend to spend more time with Isabella now since the two of you are a proper couple now. You find stories about her old life fascinating (Though you tend to want her to gloss over any bits about ex-lovers) though you know who would really find them interesting, your sister. You bet she could make an entire opera or something out of Isabella's life. Probably a couple of them. You've sort of been thinking about your family lately and how they might all be doing. You assume that they're all still alive of course. You sort of miss them all as strange as that may seem given what you've done and what you are now. Your last shred of humanity you suppose. Regardless, you'd never be able to visit them even if you weren't wanted for murder in your hometown. Or rather, you could go back because nobody could stop you or you could be stealthy about it, but you don't think you should. It's a closed chapter in your old life and going back in person would just cause more problems. Still, you wonder if you shouldn't get a message to your mother. You're sure she'd at least like to know if you were doing okay. You'd send one to your sister, but who knows where she is. Maybe you could write a letter and send it off via one of those courier services. You suppose you better put a quill, ink and parchment on the list of shit you need to get along with the items Isabella sent you to get at the flower nursery here. Funny that after everything that's occurred in your "life" you still have to do a little roguery the occasional store every once in awhile. You guess the more you change the more you stay the same as well. You of course find it much simpler now. It also no longer gives you the rush that it once did, but then that's no surprise, you've come a long way since those simple rogue days. You head to the nursery and easily break in like you've done many times before. You imagine the old couple that run this place wonder where they've misplaced their various seeds, supplies and such on many occasions. After grabbing the things Isabella sent you to get, you start rummaging through the small office there to find potential writing supplies, then you suddenly sense something living nearby and it's not the plants. At first you wonder if it's one of the old couple that runs this place because if it is, you'll just stealthily sneak out as you've done before. (No point in killing a business owner of where you do most of your "shopping") However, you can see that this figure is not carrying a lantern of any sort and is actively trying to stay hidden in the darkness. The form is definitely female and they haven't noticed that YOU'VE noticed them yet. This person is obviously following you and while it would be a simple matter of just killing her, you'd like to know why first. You maneuver around behind furniture and aisles a bit and then just when you get behind this person, they turn around and attempt to dodge you. Quick, but not quick enough to avoid your grasp. You easily disarm them and finally get a good look. The face is older, but you'd still be able to recognize it anywhere. You're still taken aback though. "Lisa?" you ask. "Long time no see." Lisa says unruffled. "What the hell are you doing here?" "I might ask you the same. Even when you weren't a vampire you weren't exactly stealing flowers." "Long story, but I've questions of my own. Like why you were following me. However, I'd rather continue this discussion elsewhere." "Sure, but are you going to let me go first? Your grip is like fucking iron and it's obvious that if I wished you any harm, I'm far outclassed." You remember a similar situation like this with another "ex" however that was a little different. You didn't really have a proper relationship with Heather like you did with Lisa and also that was when you were a bit of a "wilder" vampire. You've started having a little more restraint since those earlier years. You release Lisa who heads outside and you follow her out before relocking the door. "You re-secure the places you break into now?" Lisa asks. "Not usually, but this place is a bit different. Alright, let's get in that alley and you can tell me everything." You say and start motioning Lisa to follow. "An alley? I thought we'd go to a tavern at least if we're going to catch up." "Yeah, I don't really mingle with the crowds unless I have to anymore. Besides, I actually feel safer in an alley than a tavern given how many eyes are in those places." "Understandable, I guess it makes sense for you to lay low given that there's a price on your head." "What?!" "Yeah, but I figured you knew that already. I mean it's not on your head personally; it's just on the Vampire of Holgard. I was very surprised when I found out that might be you." "Wait, what?! I thought all that shit had been forgotten about and you're a hunter?!" "No, of course not. I'm an Ebony Claw assassin. Maybe the general public forgets shit when it dies down, but the ECS NEVER forgets." "But I haven't even been targeting ECS members." "Yeah, I've been getting that impression, but so far you're the only vampire I've been able to track in this city." This is nuts. Lisa is an Ebony Claw assassin. You always wondered if she joined while you were away, but she took a very different path than you thought. You guess she learned how to take care of herself all too well. Strange to think that she was once just a simple peasant girl that longed to see the world. But then Isabella was once a simple peasant girl at one time too. And the fact you're finding out you have a contract on your head is even more of a shocker. Though you suppose that you may have very well killed some of their members during the religious faction war, but you haven't been killing any of them recently, at least not that you know of. Is someone setting you up? "Wait, how long have you followed me and how the hell did I not know it before?" you ask. "Heh, well I AM a very skilled assassin and I kept my distance for a long time. In fact it wasn't until I figured out it was you that I decided to get close like I did. Had you been any other vampire, I would have been executing you from afar. No way I'd really want to tangle with a real one up close no matter how good I am. As far as how long I've tracked you, well I've noticed you come here over the course of a few months now. I know you must have a lair somewhere nearby but it's probably not actually in the city. In any case since I'm fairly certain it isn't you, I can only imagine it might be another one. Someone you know?" "I doubt that, I only know one other and she's a bit...reclusive. Look are you even sure if it's a vampire?" "Well from all the information I've been given the ECS leadership here seems to believe it to be the case. Hmmm, maybe a new approach is in order. I think you should come with me so we can straighten this all out." "Wait, you seriously expect me to go walking into an ECS hangout? You just told me I got a contract on my head!" "You mean to tell me you're worried? Judging by your skills, you'd be able to wipe out everyone there. Honestly, the Holgard branch of ECS is hardly anything for you to worry about, that why they got me from the Delantium Kingdom. I'm just suggesting though that maybe it still might be a good idea to clear this all up directly. I mean after all I'm not the only assassin and as good as I am, I'm nothing compared to a Fel touched shadow blade assassin. Now someone like that might actually give you problems. They're also less likely to bother getting down to the truth and just carry out a hit. Better to clear things like this up, trust me. The ECS is not an organization you want on your ass." While you're sure Lisa has a point, you really aren't sure about all this. "Look, I know this is pretty strange for you seeing me like this under these circumstances. I know it's been a long time and we've both moved on in very different life directions, but I still remember the good times we had. So for old times sake, will you trust me on this?" You look at Lisa and despite the fact that the years have taken their toll on her and cynicism has taken root in her demeanor, that last bit she said reminded you of the young girl you once were very fond of. Once again some things remain the same. "Very well, since this is you, I'll go, but as soon as I sense I'm going to get attacked, I'm killing everyone there. I mean if I'm already on a contract list, I might as well give them a reason at this point." "Fair enough, but I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Mantis is the current ECS leader here. He's a sonofabitch, but he's pretty reasonable." "Mantis...that name sounds familiar. I think I spoke to him once when I tried to ask the ECS for help with an affliction I had." "Oh? You tried to cure your vampire condition?" "Uh, no. This actually was a different condition I had due to Ral on top of being geased. The vampirism ended up curing me of it actually...yeah things got a bit complicated for a while after we parted ways. In any case, I don't remember him being that high up or all that reasonable." "Well the original old leader, Rook moved on to bigger things and well, the ECS tends to have enthusiastic violent promotions so to speak and eventually Mantis made his way through the ranks. Still with all the extra responsibility he's learned to be a little more patient I suppose." "Haven't we all..." You and Lisa make your way to Mantis's hang out which apparently is still the Poisoned Blade Inn. She mentions he prefers to stay at the "hub" of things Along the way, Lisa asks why you never met her again since she waited a long time for you; you explain Ral's experiment and what happened exactly to you. Lisa listens intently and offers her sympathies. She says that during that time you were out of action she had to deal with the Holgard civil war. She mentions this was when she joined the ECS. She said after it was all over, the ECS transferred her to the Delantium Kingdom and there is where she learned to be an assassin. "So...you've been in the Delantium Kingdom all this time huh? Guess that's why I never ran into you." You say. "You looked for me?" Lisa asks. "Initially I did, but as I said, I eventually figured you moved on or were dead. Not to mention I didn't think you'd want me anyway by that point." "Oh...I dunno. I was falling in love with you even when you were forced to work for Ral. I'm certain I might have been able to look past what you are now. It isn't like I'm in any position to judge you morally after all. Well looks like we're getting close to it." Before you can reply, you sense several figures lurking nearby. "You've got some balls showing up here!" a voice shouts and before you know it a person literally materializes in front of you and Lisa. It's enough to catch you a bit off guard, but you react quick enough to attack your assailant, though apparently not enough to land a hit. This person cannot possibly be a normal human. You wonder if this is one of those Fel touched Lisa mentioned. You then hear a shot of a pistol, followed by a burning sensation in your upper back. You collapse to the ground on one knee in pain and feel like part of you is on fire. Good thing you aren't human. However, Lisa's the only one behind you, and it's obvious that she just shot you in the back. You aren't sure if it was an accident or if she's just lead you into a trap. > Accident Considering that Lisa is supposed to be a well trained assassin that knew what you were before you even met her, seems like if she was going to do any real damage, she would have at least loaded her pistol with silver shot or something similar. You're going to chalk it up to an accident for now, besides you've already got someone right in front of you trying to kill you. Your attacker in front of you attempts to stab you in the face while you're still hurt, but you dodge, grab his wrist and make him stab himself in the stomach while breaking his arm at the same time. Standing up again, you sense another person nearby and sure enough they once again appear right in front of you. "Get out of the way!" you hear Lisa shout and you hear several more shots fired off. Seems like Lisa has herself one of those fancy repeating pistols. This time however you avoid getting hit, but dodging to the right while your attacker is hit twice in the chest. "Shit!" you hear Lisa shout and another Fel assassin materializes in front of her. She's not quick enough and you see her fall to the ground when the assassin shoots her with crossbow. You're about to run over to help, but another assassin with a shock of white hair appears and throws a lit firebomb in Lisa's direction before running off. You jump to catch it and throw it to the left, and it ends up going right through a window of the Poisoned Blade Inn. "Well...so much for diplomacy..." you say and run back to avoid the upcoming blast. Lisa is currently struggling with her attacker, but by the time you get the both of them, the bomb finally goes off. The impact of the blast knocks you down and the three of you are rolling on the ground on top of one another. At some point in the chaos you feel a blade in your ribs from the person who is on your back. Since this person isn't very heavy and you can feel the tits on your back, you're assuming this person is a woman. For Lisa's sake, you hope that this is a female EC assassin... You smash your head as hard as you can backwards into the assassin's face. It's enough for her to lose her grip. You notice that he other figure crawling from underneath you is indeed Lisa, so happily you know she didn't just accidently wound you again. The female assassin tries blink away or whatever it is they do, but you catch her arm just as she turns herself invisible. Well not invisible to you though. You pull the blade out that she shoved in your rib and shove it into her ear, then you drop her. While all this is going on, a few EC members have been running out of their now fiery hang out screaming and burning. Lisa is leaning up against a nearby wall looking down at the bolt in her thigh. "What the hell happened?" she asks. "Well after you shot me in the back, it all became pretty chaotic." You answer. "I'm sorry about that...shit...I need to take this..." Lisa says and takes out a vial of something and swallows the contents, and then pulls out the bolt. "You alright?" "Yeah, come on, we gotta get that bastard...the Watch is probably coming anyway." "Wait, what bastard?" "Mantis, of course. He probably got away through a trapdoor to the sewers, come on there should be a sewer entrance around here. Maybe we can still track him." Lisa starts limping away as fast as she can, but stumbles. "Shit...that poisoned bolt is still fucking me up...I'll be alright. I just..." "No you won't. Here." You say and just pick Lisa up over your shoulder and get out of the immediate area before you have to massacre the Holgard Watch. After ducking into alley a couple blocks away from the chaos, you finally put Lisa down who is looking slightly better. While you don't think she set you up, given all that's happened you are getting the impression that Lisa has not told you everything. "Alright Lisa, out courtesy for what we once had, you got ONE chance to explain yourself." You say. "Or what...(ugh) you gonna drink me dry?" Lisa says wincing at the pain of her wound and unconcerned about your tone. You pick Lisa up by her shoulders and your more monstrous threatening face becomes visible. She tries her best to not look scared, but you can sense the fear. "You need to drop the tough girl act, right now. Because I've done a hell of a lot worse than kill an old girlfriend since the last time you saw me." You say. "Oh yeah? Well maybe you'd be doing me a favor if you did. At least it would be you then." You can see the desperation now in her eyes and it's enough to calm you down. Well you guess not all of the "human" has left you. "Lisa, just tell me what the hell is going on already, because I'm getting the impression that I'm not the one that needs to worry about a contract on my head." You say. Lisa keeps it together and tells you the story. The contract is actually on her head, specifically Mantis put it on her a few years ago, or at least set it up. She mentions he's been a thorn in her side shortly after she joined the ECS. At first he would constantly hit on her when she was stationed in Holgard. Then when she got transferred to the Delantium Kingdom to become a better trained assassin, she thought she was done with him, but eventually he was also in the DK for awhile making upwardly mobile moves of his own. For whatever reason he continued to harass her and trying to make things harder for her. He eventually returned to Holgard when another member, Rook, was promoted. Mantis took over the ECS in this city and now had direct ties to Fel Temple as well. With all this extra influence and power, he set things in motion to set her up on some job that resulted in the death of another high ranking ECS member. Since then, she's been on the ECS hit list. She knows it was Mantis though that was behind it all and she fully intends on killing him. You take all this in and ask one question. "Okay, so where did I come in on all this?" you ask. "You didn't. Not initially anyway. You might have missed me, but I actually was in Dert for a brief period of time. I was sort of hiding, pondering my next move, along with making peace with my father since I didn't exactly leave that village on good terms. It's funny; when I got there I actually missed how boring it all was. At least I didn't have a crime syndicate trying to kill me when I lived there. Didn't know there was a vampire living in the graveyard nearby though." "Wait, you saw me? I'm usually so careful." "You were careful, but you're also probably used to the people in Dert not wandering near there at night. I was actually there lost in thought about my own situation and that's when I saw someone skulking out one of the tombs. It was actually a little unnerving since while I've experienced some out of the ordinary shit in my life, undead was not one of them. I couldn't quite make out your face at first, but for a very brief moment I saw it in moonlight and the resemblance was unmistakable. I couldn't believe it. I mean I thought you were dead, but not like this!" Lisa holds on to her side and pauses for a moment before continuing. "So I followed you since you seemed to have purpose about what you were doing. You're very quick of course so I probably caught up to you in Holgard just as you were getting ready to leave it. From there I got a good look at you and knew there was no mistaking who you were." "So wait, why didn't you contact me then?" "Because I saw you bite some hooker and drink her dry, that's why! I sort of figured that it might not be the best idea to confront you. I didn't even follow you back to the Dert cemetery, I just stayed in Holgard since I figured I needed to get on with my revenge. That was a couple months ago." "Seems like you should have gotten on with it before now." "Well I still had to do some reconnaissance. Get myself prepared and all that other shit." "Seems like it would be very dangerous being here in the manticore's den and all." "Actually it seemed like it was easier. Mantis may have security up the ass, but he tends to keep it all around himself. Sort of makes other parts of the city under less watch by his people." "Yeah, but still seems like something you'd want to do quick and get the hell out as soon as possible." "Unfortunately, there was no easy way to do it. If I tried what we just did, I would have gotten cut down easily and Mantis himself is a Fel worshipper or at least he pays enough lip service that he has powers of his own. He's never alone either in the rare moments he leaves his place. I couldn't reliably ask for any help on this, but then I randomly noticed you enter the city again. So I followed you again and every other time you came here since despite how stealthy you are, you tend to follow a routine. Always saw you go into that plant nursery and tonight...well I thought I'd risk getting your help." "Well okay, but why didn't you just tell me that? Why all the subterfuge?" "Wasn't sure if it was going to work at all first. Second, I got the impression that maybe you'd be more willing to help if YOU were in trouble rather than me. Third, I've relied on subterfuge so much in life now, that it just comes naturally." "I suppose I understand, but this really would have been easier had you just told me. I mean I would have helped if you had just asked flat out." "Truly? Even though you have a special vampire lady in your life?" "How do you know I have a special vampire lady?" "You mentioned you only knew one other vampire and that SHE was reclusive. I'm willing to bet she's the one that also made you. I'm sure it's an interesting story." "It is. She really helped me out and in time it became more." "Hmm, I'm not looking for a rekindling or anything, but is it possible that you could..." "Ah...no. I mean trust me, I would if I could since I think it would make shit a whole lot easier for you, but yeah, I can't transform anyone into a vampire. Not old enough yet. Best I can do is ghoul and trust me, you definitely don't want that." "I see. Well figured I'd ask, shit...I've spent so much time resting, Mantis is probably long gone by now." "Would he have left the city?" "No, but he's probably at one of his many safehouses or even the Fel Temple. And even with your help, I realize I'm in no condition to assault any of these places. I'm going to have to heal up and try again. It's going to be difficult staying low now that I've made my presence known. Look, I appreciate the help even though I tricked you into it, but this really isn't your concern. You have your own concerns and our paths split long ago. You are under no obligation to help me any further." > You help Lisa While you don't like that you were lied to, there's not much for it now. While you aren't sure if someone saw your face, at least one of those assassins got away and is probably undoubtedly going to say that Lisa had help. You might as well help Lisa, if only to potentially save your own ass trouble in the future. Plus, you'd be lying if you didn't feel a little something to actually want to help her. "While I wished you had told me the truth immediately, I'm not going to just leave you hanging because honestly, I think this is a suicide mission for you. You can't take down this Mantis without some help." "Well I'm not going to turn down your help and I will fully appreciate it, but you helping me isn't going to be a problem is it?" "Oh, you mean with my special lady vampire as you put it? Well, I'm inclined not to tell her, but I probably shouldn't since she's not an idiot and will find out anyway." "Won't she be upset with you?" "You might think that, but I dunno she's been around a long time and certain things don't necessarily bother her the way you might think they would. I mean I'll explain the situation...and well I guess I'll think of something." "Hey, I don't want to mess your shit up so if you can't do it. That's perfectly fine.

I mean this is my problem and we aren't together anyway. However, if you can help, meet me in five days at the Holgard graveyard at night. I need to heal up a bit and probably track down where Mantis is actually hiding out at now anyway. Who knows, maybe if we're really lucky that firebomb killed him after all." "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it. Take care in the mean time and hopefully we'll meet up later." You take your leave of Lisa and get out of Holgard as quick as possible. When you get home, Isabella immediately notices you look a little battle worn. "You run into trouble dear?" Isabella asks. "Ran into an old...acquaintance. It was a mess and uh...well there's still unfinished business." You answer awaiting the storm. Isabella looks at you for a moment. "Okay, first question. Did you at least get my supplies?" Isabella asks. "Yes, I have them right here." You say handing over your pack to her. "Good. Second question. This acquaintance, wouldn't happen to be a girl would it? Possibly even an ex from your mortal life?" "She is. Or was. She was a girl from Dert that I was with during my time enslaved to Ral. I lost contact with her during my time getting experimented on by Ral." "Truly? Odd that you've never mentioned her before." "I didn't want to talk about my old flames with you." "You really think I'd get jealous about that?" "No, I just felt it was respectful not to bring them up." "Hah...nice answer. You always do know how to say the right things. Okay, so I guess my next question would have been are you fucking this mortal, but I'm going to guess that's a no, so just tell me what's going on and why you're involved." As short as you can, you explain your entire night; you also add that part of the reason you want to help is you think that in all the chaos one of the assassins got away and while probably not recognizing you they will definitely know there was another helper and the last thing you want is to bring chaos home. "I see. Well under normal circumstances, I'd say kill this little mortal bitch for lying and present her head to the Ebony Claw since she got you into this mess in the first place. However, I get that you probably don't want to do that and knowing the ECS, that might not help anyway. Pftt. The Syndicate. I remember when they were still just a petty gang of thugs in the fledging Delantium Kingdom at one point. Okay, you're supposed to meet her in five days right?" Isabella asks. "Yes, in the graveyard there." "How original. Okay, since this is potentially going to impact our home and life together, I'm going to help you and your little human ex out. However that means I'm going to do some of my own investigation." "Um, okay! That's great! I mean this will definitely make everything easier. I guess we can..." "We? Oh no no no no my dear. I'm going to do this by myself. I work better alone in situations like this. You are going to stay as far away as possible from Holgard." "Wait, you're not going to attack the ECS yourself are you?" "Of course not, I'm just going to do my own reconnaissance because I haven't been to the city in decades and it might help if I knew the lay out. Not to mention I can probably gain information that you or this Lisa girl would not be able to. You just take a break and I dunno, collect dinner from Dert while I'm out. Then in five days we'll meet up with your human." Isabella's reaction to this wasn't at all what you were expecting. You thought that maybe she'd be mildly annoyed and maybe she'd be fine with you taking care of this due to potential repercussions. You didn't however expect her direct help. You guess it makes sense as you are mated after all, but the fact she doesn't want you to get in her way is puzzling. Well in any case, she trusts you, so you trust her and if this is how she wants to do it, then this is how its going. You spend the next four nights basically hanging around the home. You go to Dert once to lure a couple of people to the cells, but for the most part that's it. Meanwhile Isabella nearly leaves immediately when the sun goes down and then stays out until it's nearly time for it to come back up. She never elaborates on what she's doing except to mention that Holgard has only gotten worse since the last time she was there and says the whole city should be cleansed from the map for the good of everyone. On the fourth night she comes home a little earlier and is entirely in the mood to have a round of wild rough sex. You aren't sure what's prompting this, though it could be the potential idea that you'll all be going into battle soon. Either way, you've never complained before so why start now? Finally the fifth night arrives. "Get up my love. It's time to end this." Isabella remarks. As you and Isabella make your way to Holgard, you start to ask her questions about what she was doing during her time in Holgard, but she just smiles and says to not worry about it since she'll reaveal all when you get to the graveyard. "You trust me don't you?" she asks. "...well I trust that you aren't planning anything sinister for me, but I must admit all this secrecy is a bit concerning." You answer. "You worry too much." Eventually you get to the graveyard. Lisa isn't really hanging around in plain site, but you can sense she must be around, Isabella on the other hand calls her own immediately. "Little human, come on out from behind the fifth tomb from the left with the broken statue on top of it. Don't worry it's safe, nothing but us vampires out here." She says. Reluctantly and very cautiously Lisa steps out from her hiding space. Her guard is up causing Isabella to roll her eyes. "Honestly, your ex offers to bail your ass out after you lied and you give this sort of welcome? And please, if I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead so put that away." Isabella remarks. "I take it this is your better half? Didn't expect her to actually help. Where are her clothes?" Lisa remarks putting her weapon away. "Isabella has long since abandoned the desire to wear such things." You answer. "I thought maybe it was just her way of bragging of how beautiful she was." "Hm. I'll take that as a compliment, human. And I suppose you were probably pretty back in your younger years. I can see how he would have had a fondness for you." This is getting weird, so you step in before it turns worse. "Okay, you're both pretty princesses, now let's get on with this. The both of you have been stalking these city streets so what's the situation?" you ask. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I mean I've interrogated a few EC members and done what investigating I could without alerting the EC of my presence. All I know is Mantis is indeed alive and he's either in a safehouse down in the sewers under Dagger Row or he's hiding out in the Temple of Fel. I'm really hoping it's the safehouse, because I don't fancy the chances of attacking a Fel Temple and I doubt if we'll even be able to sneak in. I mean these are followers of the God of Shadow." "Oh he's definitely in the Fel Temple, in fact we should go make our way there now." Isabella remarks. "Wait, you're saying he's there for certain? How do you know that?" "Because I'm better than you human, that's why, now are we settling this or what?" "Isabella, you have been fairly mysterious about what you've been doing here." "And that's because I don't want to ruin the surprise for you dear. Both of you just follow my lead in all this and we'll all get home before the dawn." "Okay, I know you're probably old and..." Isabella glares at Lisa for that remark. Meanwhile Lisa looks like she just pissed herself. "Um... powerful, but..." "Dear, tell your human to stop speaking before this act of kindness becomes for naught." Isabella remarks in an annoyed tone. "I think you better just keep quiet Lisa." You say. The three of you make your way to the Temple of Fel. Isabella gives exactly zero fucks as she walks naked through the streets of Holgard. As expected she gets more than a few looks by the few folks still out at night, but nobody says anything. Not lewd comments, not protests, nothing. Not even the group of watchmen that you walk by say anything. Isabella's powers of mind control are in full affect. "Your girlfriend isn't exactly subtle." Lisa whispers to you. "Yeah well when you're that powerful, you tend to not give a shit about things. I'm actually less concerned about the Watch and more concerned about EC assassins, Fel touched or not. I feel like being so obvious like this we'd be getting attacked by now given that they've been looking for you." "And they won't, I told you, all will be revealed when we get to the temple now cut the chatter and keep up." Isabella snaps. The rest of your journey is uneventful until you get close to the Fel Temple and that's when you see a group dressed purple and blue robes. Dornans? What are they doing here? An old man steps from the group when the three of you approach. "Isabella, always a pleasure to see you." He remarks with a bit of a upbeat tone. "Yes, yes, Flynn I know you love me, but we're here on important business. Is all the shit sorted out with the Felians? Because I was planning on getting this done with quick." Isabella remarks. "Yes, The Felians are more interested in keeping the religious peace rather than protecting one of their Ebony Claw associates. So yes, they are completely willing to turn this Mantis character over and apparently his treachery has been exposed by whatever limited process that their shadow magic does anyway, so this appears to be a settled affair as soon as you meet with them." Flynn remarks. You and Lisa are overwhelmed with surprise. You can't believe this. "Wait. That's it? We're not fighting anyone?" you say. "Mantis is just being turned over? Just like that? I'm actually cleared?!" Lisa adds. "Yes, you may provide your undying thanks to me later, for now though let's continue." Isabella remarks eager to get on with it. As the three of you start to leave, Flynn calls out. "Isabella..." Flynn says, causing Isabella to turn around exasperated. "Flynn, look, I thanked you for this already, but that's all it was okay? Nothing more." "But I just thought..." "Yeah I know what you thought and you were wrong as usual. This is why I always went for Ral instead of you back in the day. You were a spineless worm that thought just being a compliant was good enough for me. Goodbye Flynn." Isabella looks at you. "What?" she asks. "Didn't know you went out with the leader of the Dornan temple." You say. "Yeah well I used my ex to help out your ex. Come on." The three of you head to the Fel Temple, which you see a single cloaked figured looming at the bottom of the steps of it. Near him is a crumpled figure. You notice that this is the same assassin with the shock of white hair throwing around firebombs last time. He nods at the three of you. The crumpled figure on the ground is Mantis, he's alive, but he doesn't look too good. He's pale and emaciated looking and he's shivering the entire time while mumbling nonsense quietly. Certainly looks different than the last time you saw him years ago. "Greetings again. I am here on the behalf of the Master of Shadows as he has other important matters. As I remember you are the one called Lisa?" he asks, pointing to her. "I am...what did you do to Mantis?" Lisa asks. "Only what was required to keep order and peace. This man attempted to use Fel to hide his actions, but he didn't realize that he can't hide his actions from Fel who sees all things hidden. Things might have gone better had he not resisted. Perhaps even a compromise could have been reached, but as you can see he chose otherwise and by the time he begged for mercy...well it was far too late." Lisa steps forward. "And what about me?" Lisa asks. "Your name has been cleared...well more or less. I'm sure thanks to your actions, you have most likely angered other EC members and you will most likely still have to watch your back, such is the nature of the business. However, the general order of elimination will be lifted and more importantly, Fel is not seeking retribution. Still, you may want to watch yourself for awhile." The man says. "So that's it then." "That is indeed it for this situation. I leave you with your revenge, though perhaps it may be a mercy now. And since you have caught the attention of Fel, perhaps if you ever feel you're up to the challenge, you would be more than welcome to join the shadow of Fel. You will find that being obedient to him, will make you much more efficient in your tasks." "I'll keep that in mind." The man then turns around and then suddenly cloaks into invisibility, though you can still sense him until he goes back into the temple. "Okay, looks like that's done. Let's go." Isabella remarks. "Wait. I don't know how to thank you." Lisa says. "You can't mortal, think of this as your lucky night." "Actually I can think of a way." You say. "You best pick your next words with care." Isabella remarks. "No, not that! It's just before all this shit happened, I was thinking about home and getting a message to my family. Lisa, do you remember my stories to you about Teckleville?" you say. "Yes, I do remember." Lisa remarks. "Well, do you think in between your assassinations, you could go see my family and assure them that I'm doing okay? I mean I'd do it...but..." "Say no more. I'd be more than willing to relay a general message of your happiness." "Thanks Lisa." "No, thank you. I mean that and will never forget this." "Alright now we really are going. Say goodbye to your little human and for her sake she better never cross your path, let alone mine ever again." Isabella remarks. You and Isabella leave Lisa to her revenge on Mantis. You turn to look one last time and see her finish him off. Odd night, you were expecting a huge and very likely deadly battle, but it all worked out very easy. In any case, you follow Isabella who probably is anxious to get back to her garden. She's been away from it for far too long for her. You know she went out of her way to help you and you also know that she's annoyed that she had to, but you also know that she must care about you very much that she did. And that's why you love this woman. > Epilogue Epilogue 7: Blood Bond Year 36 "Oh what do you know? You're no expert on this!" Isabella says. "I'm just saying I think the Blood Nettles would probably work better away from the Deathshade." You say. "Yeah, that's not going to work. Those two plants need to be together, as they tend to grow with a more colorful hue when in close proximity. I've only seen it once, but sometimes they even become so symbiotic that they become one beautiful plant. So I'd like to try to cultivate that." "But they probably require as much blood as we do like that! If you plant them apart, their requirement is much lower." "Yeah, I'm fully aware of that, but that's not what I want." "You do realize that Dert isn't going to sustain all of us right? Because with this kind of plant, it would be like having a child or two." "Well this is probably the closest we're going to ever get because I'm certainly not transforming one of those annoying brats anytime soon. You're resourceful, I'm sure you can drag some fools from Holgard or capture bandits in the nearby area. However if you really want to save yourself extra trips in the long run, you might want to head to Gnarlwood and grab some sprites. Even pixies would do. Their magical blood will sustain the plants for much longer." "Great. You know how difficult it is to catch one of those?" "Yes, actually I'm well aware, that's why you'll be doing it." "Of course I will. Still wish I had contact with Tych, he'd really be able help in luring his people to their doom. Well, maybe I'll run into him. I seem to bump into past acquaintances a lot." "Hmm, yeah well make sure if you do, it doesn't result in what happened last time." You can tell she's getting a bit irritable, so you don't respond and just quietly start to leave the garden, causing Isabella to stop what she's doing and go over to you. "I'm sorry, I just really want to successfully get this project going. I shouldn't take it out on you. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'll keep the plants apart until we gather up enough fairy blood, then it won't be a constant pressure for you to go chasing them down. I know you do a lot around here." You embrace Isabella and the two you kiss. It's always a reminder of how even when you have disagreements you two truly are bonded for...well... ever. As the pair of you begin to step it up a bit, Isabella stops which is unusual for her. "You hear that?" she asks. "Hear what?" you answer. "It's music. Or the faint sound of it. Sounds like it's coming from above us." "You can hear it all the way from here?" "Yeah, I mean it's very faint, but I can. It's a lute or something. It has to be coming from the graveyard and yes I agree it is strange since even I can't detect something that far away from our location." "Wait a minute...I think I might hear something too...I think I better check this out." You start to leave and Isabella follows, but the pair of you feel like you're not following the music out of curiosity, but rather due to it being rather soothing and pleasant. "That music...I can only make a bit of it out, but it's very nice." You say. "Let's be careful now. I'm starting to suspect magic at work. And you're starting to sway dear." Isabella points out. "What?" "You're starting to sway back and forth to the music. Didn't you notice?" "Shit, no I didn't. The music has got some sort of hypnotic effect." "Maybe I better take the lead." You follow Isabella up the stairs and to the top of the crypt. The music is now no longer faint and you can clearly hear it. It's taking quite a bit of effort to resist being charmed by it. Isabella doesn't seem to be suffering the effects, but you do catch her sort of humming along with the music very briefly. You exit the crypt and enter the graveyard proper. You sense a single living figure nearby, but this person isn't exactly hiding and the figure of a female from can be seen sitting on one of the wider grave stones, strumming a stringed instrument. You know who this is instantly, though you don't believe it. It's your sister! You have to stop Isabella from running at her when all of you catch sight of each other. "Wait stop! I know this woman! She's my sister!" You say catching Isabella just a few feet from your sister who looks so shaken up that she's actually frozen a bit in panic. "The twin?" Isabella turns asking you. "Yeah. I mean it's been awhile, but I'd still recognize her." "Hmm, I suppose I can see the family resemblance. Well what the hell is she doing here? Playing magical music no less?" "I have no idea! This is a surprise for me as well! Sis, what are you doing here and how did you even know I was here?" You sister tries to compose herself a bit before answer. "I just wanted to visit you and see for myself if what I was told was true. Shit...this is a lot to take in...okay...anyway you know a woman named Lisa?" your sister asks. "Yes." You answer. "Unfortunately." Isabella adds. "Well I was recently visiting mom and dad and she showed up with a message from you. While mom and dad seemed pretty satisfied with it, I felt like she wasn't telling the whole story so I spoke with her personally and...well you know how easy I get people to open up. So here I am! Hi bro! Surprise!" Your sister attempts to lighten the situation up a bit, but you can tell Isabella's annoyed. Still, she's never been unreasonable. Isabella turns to you. "Okay, I'm going to go tend to my plants and leave you here to your little family reunion. Take all night if you have to, but she better not play that damn thing again, or else she's going to find out how easy I can get people to open up as well." Isabella then turns to your sister. "Nice meeting you at last." She says and walks back into the crypt leaving your sister speechless. "You okay?" you ask. "Yeah. So that's the better half huh? She's pretty intense. I thought Lisa was joking when she said she didn't wear clothing. Actually I think that makes her scarier." Your sister says. "She has her soft side, just not with most humans." "I got that impression. I mean I've been close to death before, but never quite get used to it, y'know?" "Well all things considering..." "Oh right. Guess you are used to it." Your sister laughs. "Still feels odd sometimes. I have to say that's an interesting instrument you have." "Oh my mandolin? Yeah, went through quite a bit to acquire it actually. Apologies for playing it, but Lisa didn't exactly tell me how I could contact you, just where you were. I figured if I started playing, you might show up." "Well it certainly made an impression, so start from the beginning about everything. Your travels, visiting mom and dad, I'm very interested. Let's go over into the crypt, don't want people potentially seeing us out here." After your sister follows you and the pair of you find a "soft" slab of marble to sit on, she addresses your questions. Your sister goes first and briefly goes into some of the places she's been. She says she actually passed through Holgard at one point, but of course she didn't know you were occasionally visiting the place at the time. She eventually gets to visiting your parents and besides being glad to see her, they also told her what happened with you a few months after she left. What's fascinating to you though is apparently you were cleared of murder months after you left! Your father managed to save Annah's life and with her statement and a few others who saw everything reluctantly stepped up to tell the truth, your actions were considered a justified crime of passion rather than outright murder. "So wait, am I still wanted there?" You say. "Well...a lot of time has passed and that sheriff who hated you is long dead now. Klint's father also isn't there anymore, so I think you're in the clear legally, but I wouldn't exactly say you're wanted if you know what I mean. Though Annah apparently still thinks highly of you." "Heh, glad she survived. What about mom and dad?" "They're fine. I suppose this would be a good time to tell you, we got a new brother." "WHAT?! They had another child?! When?!" You exclaim. "I guess shortly after we both left. I think he's about twenty or around that age. He's okay, a bit on the straight laced side. Guess mom and dad finally got the well behaved child they always wanted." "I guess so...sheesh...well I guess it's just as well. Not like they're going to ever see me again." "Oh come on, you could go visit them during the night. Mom would probably still want to see you and she wouldn't even realize what you were. Not sure about Dad though, but I doubt if he'd just throw you out on your ear as soon as he saw you." "Yeah, I just don't think it's a good idea, but maybe if you ever visit them again, just let them know I'm doing well still." "Of course." "Thanks sis. And again, I've really missed you. I'm very surprised you came to see me even though you said Lisa explained most of it." "Well as I said, it's still very strange to wrap my head around, but you're my brother and no matter what, I'll be by your side." Your sister says touching your hand. You and your sister look at each other in silence for a moment, knowing that despite your changed form, some bonds never die. "Well now that I've filled you in on some of my journeys, it's time for you to do likewise! Give me all the details because I trust that this will definitely be a very interesting story!" your sister says. "Well, you might be surprised how dull day to day life can still be for a vampire. Still, I'm sure there will be more than a few bits that will interest you. Some of which happened before I became one. I warn you though, it's a long story." You say. "Best ones usually are." Your sister responds. You begin your tale...

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero] Considering that Lisa is supposed to be a well trained assassin that knew what you were before you even met her, seems like if she was going to do any real damage, she would have at least loaded her pistol with silver shot or something similar. You're going to chalk it up to an accident for now, besides you've already got someone right in front of you trying to kill you. Your attacker in front of you attempts to stab you in the face while you're still hurt, but you dodge, grab his wrist and make him stab himself in the stomach while breaking his arm at the same time. Standing up again, you sense another person nearby and sure enough they once again appear right in front of you. "Get out of the way!" you hear Lisa shout and you hear several more shots fired off. Seems like Lisa has herself one of those fancy repeating pistols. This time however you avoid getting hit, but dodging to the right while your attacker is hit twice in the chest. "Shit!" you hear Lisa shout and another Fel assassin materializes in front of her. She's not quick enough and you see her fall to the ground when the assassin shoots her with crossbow. You're about to run over to help, but another assassin with a shock of white hair appears and throws a lit firebomb in Lisa's direction before running off. You jump to catch it and throw it to the left, and it ends up going right through a window of the Poisoned Blade Inn. "Well...so much for diplomacy..." you say and run back to avoid the upcoming blast. Lisa is currently struggling with her attacker, but by the time you get the both of them, the bomb finally goes off. The impact of the blast knocks you down and the three of you are rolling on the ground on top of one another. At some point in the chaos you feel a blade in your ribs from the person who is on your back. Since this person isn't very heavy and you can feel the tits on your back, you're assuming this person is a woman. For Lisa's sake, you hope that this is a female EC assassin... You smash your head as hard as you can backwards into the assassin's face. It's enough for her to lose her grip. You notice that he other figure crawling from underneath you is indeed Lisa, so happily you know she didn't just accidently wound you again. The female assassin tries blink away or whatever it is they do, but you catch her arm just as she turns herself invisible. Well not invisible to you though. You pull the blade out that she shoved in your rib and shove it into her ear, then you drop her. While all this is going on, a few EC members have been running out of their now fiery hang out screaming and burning. Lisa is leaning up against a nearby wall looking down at the bolt in her thigh. "What the hell happened?" she asks. "Well after you shot me in the back, it all became pretty chaotic." You answer. "I'm sorry about that...shit...I need to take this..." Lisa says and takes out a vial of something and swallows the contents, and then pulls out the bolt. "You alright?" "Yeah, come on, we gotta get that bastard...the Watch is probably coming anyway." "Wait, what bastard?" "Mantis, of course. He probably got away through a trapdoor to the sewers, come on there should be a sewer entrance around here. Maybe we can still track him." Lisa starts limping away as fast as she can, but stumbles. "Shit...that poisoned bolt is still fucking me up...I'll be alright. I just..." "No you won't. Here." You say and just pick Lisa up over your shoulder and get out of the immediate area before you have to massacre the Holgard Watch. After ducking into alley a couple blocks away from the chaos, you finally put Lisa down who is looking slightly better. While you don't think she set you up, given all that's happened you are getting the impression that Lisa has not told you everything. "Alright Lisa, out courtesy for what we once had, you got ONE chance to explain yourself." You say. "Or what...(ugh) you gonna drink me dry?" Lisa says wincing at the pain of her wound and unconcerned about your tone. You pick Lisa up by her shoulders and your more monstrous threatening face becomes visible. She tries her best to not look scared, but you can sense the fear. "You need to drop the tough girl act, right now. Because I've done a hell of a lot worse than kill an old girlfriend since the last time you saw me." You say. "Oh yeah? Well maybe you'd be doing me a favor if you did. At least it would be you then." You can see the desperation now in her eyes and it's enough to calm you down. Well you guess not all of the "human" has left you. "Lisa, just tell me what the hell is going on already, because I'm getting the impression that I'm not the one that needs to worry about a contract on my head." You say. Lisa keeps it together and tells you the story. The contract is actually on her head, specifically Mantis put it on her a few years ago, or at least set it up. She mentions he's been a thorn in her side shortly after she joined the ECS. At first he would constantly hit on her when she was stationed in Holgard. Then when she got transferred to the Delantium Kingdom to become a better trained assassin, she thought she was done with him, but eventually he was also in the DK for awhile making upwardly mobile moves of his own. For whatever reason he continued to harass her and trying to make things harder for her. He eventually returned to Holgard when another member, Rook, was promoted. Mantis took over the ECS in this city and now had direct ties to Fel Temple as well. With all this extra influence and power, he set things in motion to set her up on some job that resulted in the death of another high ranking ECS member. Since then, she's been on the ECS hit list. She knows it was Mantis though that was behind it all and she fully intends on killing him. You take all this in and ask one question. "Okay, so where did I come in on all this?" you ask. "You didn't. Not initially anyway. You might have missed me, but I actually was in Dert for a brief period of time. I was sort of hiding, pondering my next move, along with making peace with my father since I didn't exactly leave that village on good terms. It's funny; when I got there I actually missed how boring it all was. At least I didn't have a crime syndicate trying to kill me when I lived there. Didn't know there was a vampire living in the graveyard nearby though." "Wait, you saw me? I'm usually so careful." "You were careful, but you're also probably used to the people in Dert not wandering near there at night. I was actually there lost in thought about my own situation and that's when I saw someone skulking out one of the tombs. It was actually a little unnerving since while I've experienced some out of the ordinary shit in my life, undead was not one of them. I couldn't quite make out your face at first, but for a very brief moment I saw it in moonlight and the resemblance was unmistakable. I couldn't believe it. I mean I thought you were dead, but not like this!" Lisa holds on to her side and pauses for a moment before continuing. "So I followed you since you seemed to have purpose about what you were doing. You're very quick of course so I probably caught up to you in Holgard just as you were getting ready to leave it. From there I got a good look at you and knew there was no mistaking who you were." "So wait, why didn't you contact me then?" "Because I saw you bite some hooker and drink her dry, that's why! I sort of figured that it might not be the best idea to confront you. I didn't even follow you back to the Dert cemetery, I just stayed in Holgard since I figured I needed to get on with my revenge. That was a couple months ago." "Seems like you should have gotten on with it before now." "Well I still had to do some reconnaissance. Get myself prepared and all that other shit." "Seems like it would be very dangerous being here in the manticore's den and all." "Actually it seemed like it was easier. Mantis may have security up the ass, but he tends to keep it all around himself. Sort of makes other parts of the city under less watch by his people." "Yeah, but still seems like something you'd want to do quick and get the hell out as soon as possible." "Unfortunately, there was no easy way to do it. If I tried what we just did, I would have gotten cut down easily and Mantis himself is a Fel worshipper or at least he pays enough lip service that he has powers of his own. He's never alone either in the rare moments he leaves his place. I couldn't reliably ask for any help on this, but then I randomly noticed you enter the city again. So I followed you again and every other time you came here since despite how stealthy you are, you tend to follow a routine. Always saw you go into that plant nursery and tonight...well I thought I'd risk getting your help." "Well okay, but why didn't you just tell me that? Why all the subterfuge?" "Wasn't sure if it was going to work at all first. Second, I got the impression that maybe you'd be more willing to help if YOU were in trouble rather than me. Third, I've relied on subterfuge so much in life now, that it just comes naturally." "I suppose I understand, but this really would have been easier had you just told me. I mean I would have helped if you had just asked flat out." "Truly? Even though you have a special vampire lady in your life?" "How do you know I have a special vampire lady?" "You mentioned you only knew one other vampire and that SHE was reclusive. I'm willing to bet she's the one that also made you. I'm sure it's an interesting story." "It is. She really helped me out and in time it became more." "Hmm, I'm not looking for a rekindling or anything, but is it possible that you could..." "Ah...no. I mean trust me, I would if I could since I think it would make shit a whole lot easier for you, but yeah, I can't transform anyone into a vampire. Not old enough yet. Best I can do is ghoul and trust me, you definitely don't want that." "I see. Well figured I'd ask, shit...I've spent so much time resting, Mantis is probably long gone by now." "Would he have left the city?" "No, but he's probably at one of his many safehouses or even the Fel Temple. And even with your help, I realize I'm in no condition to assault any of these places. I'm going to have to heal up and try again. It's going to be difficult staying low now that I've made my presence known. Look, I appreciate the help even though I tricked you into it, but this really isn't your concern. You have your own concerns and our paths split long ago. You are under no obligation to help me any further." > You leave Lisa to deal with this Maybe if Lisa had been upfront with you it would be different, but you really don't like being lied to and given that Lisa is telling you that you don't need to help her and she's got this, you don't feel exactly obligated. "Okay, if you say you got this then I'll take my leave. Just be careful all right and good luck." you say. "I will, and it was good to see you again...I...I wish things had been different." Lisa says with a mildly sad tone in her voice. "Yeah, me too sometimes." You leave Lisa behind in the alley and make your way as quickly as you can out of Holgard. You're ready to be done with this night. When you get home, Isabella immediately notices you look a little battle worn. "You run into trouble dear?" Isabella asks. "Ran into an old...acquaintance. It was a mess. It's settled though." You answer not really wishing to go much into it, but prepared to explain if you have to. Isabella looks at you for a moment. "Okay. Did you at least get my supplies?" "Yes, I have them right here." You say handing over your pack to her. And that's the type of relationship you have with Isabella. She trusts you. If you say it got taken care of, then it's taken care of. You avoid Holgard for a while. While you don't think you're in any danger, the last thing you need is to run into some other old face causing shit for you. It would be just your luck that you'd run into Tych again. Months pass and you eventually go to Holgard again to pick up some things for Isabella. Not that you're doing much mingling or listening to rumors, but you know enough that the Ebony Claw Syndicate is still firmly in control of the underworld here so you guess Lisa didn't exactly bring them down, but then she was only trying to kill one specific person. You have no idea about this Mantis though, if he's dead, alive, or what. Same for Lisa. In any case you hope she got her revenge at least. Year 35 You wake up to the sounds of several feet coming the stairs. You can't tell how many, but you already are getting the push by Isabella who is awake and ready for a fight. "Get up! We're being attacked!" she shouts. You get up and you're already hearing shouting from the foyer. "Fucking hunters! I'll water my garden with their blood for intruding on my home!" Isabella shouts and is already gone to meet the invaders. Screams soon follow. You head out to join the fight and there is a whole lot more light than usual thanks to all the torches. After striking down a few of them, you notice an ebony claw tattoo on some of them. These aren't hunters. "Shit! There's two of them! Why didn't someone check this?!" one of them shouts. Multiple gunshots are fired at you and Isabella and in these narrow catacombs, even as quick as you are, you're still catching a few bullets. Unfortunately, the Ebony Claw has prepared well and loaded their firearms with silver shot. It hurts like hell, but you fight through the pain and take out the closest fucker with a gun in his hand. You feel a blade sinking into your back, which feels like a burning piece of steel, though it's probably silver again. You turn around and find yourself face to cowl with one of those Fel assassins that teleported behind you. You get another silver blade in your gut before you twist his head backwards. Severely wounded you quicken your pace to where Isabella is. She's managed to push them all the way back to the foyer all by herself. Blood and bodies are everywhere. You're damn glad she's on your side. You reach the foyer just in time to see several round metal objects bounce down the stairs and on the floor. Isabella is finishing off two more assassins and hasn't seen the cluster of firebombs yet. You immediately pull her away and throw her into the nearby corridor just as the bombs are exploding. You try to shield Isabella, and catch some of the blast. Your flesh burns from your bones, your bones crack and break, some of your internal organs melt and it feels like your whole body has been dunked in acid. You scream out something unnatural, but it isn't for long because everything goes black. You're out and you don't know for how long. "Beloved! You there? Can you hear me?" you hear, but your vision is still black. "Mufh hungh...gh..." is all you can utter before you're out again. Time passes... You open you eyes and find your vision is severely impaired. You have no depth perception and the eye that does work is very blurry. You still feel like your body is on fire, but you can't scream out. You must be laying on a table or something because you are elevated. Still, you can make out an outline of a woman standing near someone in a chair nearby. Your hearing works at least. You struggle to sit up, but it's no use. You don't have the energy and collapse again. More time passes... You open your eyes again. Still no depth perception, but your vision is a little clearer. You can finally tell where you're at. You're still at home, and lying on one of the many slabs in the crypt. Your body hurts less, but you're still not feeling good. You try to sit up again and that's when you realize you're a bloody mess. Both of your legs are missing, or at least missing enough that you wouldn't be able to walk. Attempting to reach out only results in your right arm being able to do so since your left is a skeletal stump at the elbow. Speaking of skeletal, you can sense that part of your spine is exposed to the world and what lies inside you isn't fairing much better. You can see your blackened heart beating through your ribcage. While you're an undead monster, that doesn't mean that you don't find all this a bit alarming. "Oh shit...shit...shit...fuck...fuck!" you start to say with an increased tone in your voice. Isabella soon comes running in. You notice she's in relatively good condition though one side of her face is scarred and parts of her body are also burned. "You're up! What's wrong?" Isabella asks. "What's wrong? Look at me! I...I can't fucking live like this! Please just put me out of my fucking misery!" you say and you're almost close to tears. Isabella goes over to sooth you as you continue to panic. "Shhhh, it's okay. This is the first time you've been maimed severely. Yeah, I panicked a bit too when it first happened to me centuries ago and I didn't even have anyone with me to help either. We're more resilient than you think. You'll heal up. It's gonna take a long time, but you WILL be in one piece again eventually." "I...I...I will?" "Well yeah. Just takes blood. How do you think I got you this healed up in the first place? I'm been using the blood of the assholes that attacked us, the Dert citizens and my own for days trying to heal you and myself up. We're going to have to be moving on soon though, as much as I hate it, but it's just not ideal anymore. The Ebony Claw will undoubtedly regroup and send more of their fools to try to kill us." "Wait, did you kill them all?" "I probably would have had it not been daylight. I only managed to run down three of them before the sunlight was burning my fine undead ass to a crisp. Still, got quite a bit of information out of them. Didn't know you were wanted by them for helping an old girlfriend of yours a year ago. Guessing that's the thing you thought was taken care of? Looks like it wasn't." You're at a loss for words. "I...I fucked up." You finally utter. "You most certainly did fuck up. I hope she was worth the poke and cuddle, because after they caught and tortured the shit out of her before they killed her that's how they found out about where you lived. Fortunately she didn't know anything about me. I'm guessing you never told her." Isabella responds. "Shit. I DID tell her about you! I mean not in so many words, but she guessed I had a special vampire lady in my life as she put it. And I most certainly did not have sex with her! I swear!" You give a brief rundown of what exactly happened that night you met Lisa. Isabella listens intently. Now you're worried that Isabella isn't going to believe you and is keeping you alive to make your existence horrible. "Calm down, I believe you. Though I'd almost say it probably would've been better if you'd fucked her. At least you would have gotten something out of all this. Also might have been better if you had helped her. She might not have blabbed about this place. Apparently they were planning on ambushing you in Holgard, but since I haven't needed anything from there lately, you haven't been going. So they fell back on attacking directly and have been gearing up to raid this place for the past few months. Well what's done is done now." "At the risk of actually pissing you off, I'm curious to as why you aren't angrier." "At you? Well, I am pissed at you, but considering you're currently a piece of mutilated meat that's still in pain and has a long way to go before getting back to normal, I think this was your punishment. Honestly my anger is directed towards the bottom feeding mortals that dared attack in the first place. I don't care what sort of connections they have; I'll take down the entire ECS in Holgard and then some just so they remember they picked the wrong vampire to order a hit on. You'll be helping of course." Nothing like a purpose. "Well I'd love to, but I'm not exactly able right now." "I didn't mean now. We're going to move to a new location. Probably Ral's old home in the meantime. I already checked it out and surprisingly nobody was even squatting there. That will just be temporary though, until you're healed up enough to walk on your own. We'll probably need to wipe out the remainder of Dert in order to get enough blood, but it's not like it's we're going to be living here anymore anyway. After that we're both going to Holgard, and we're going to cause so much mayhem, they'll think there's a new civil war going on." "I'm glad you didn't give up on me for this." "No, I made a commitment to you, for good or bad times and right now this is bad, but it's nothing we can't get over. Come on, hold on to me, we're heading to our new temporary home....I'm really going to miss my garden. Oh well, let's go my love." Isabella turns around and with all your energy you hoist yourself and hang on to her back. It's a little awkward with only one good arm that only has three fingers left wrapped around her, but Isabella's more than strong enough to carry your dead weight. The pair of you are soon off and running through the moonlight to your new home. You're down now, but things could definitely be a lot worse. You've got a lot to plan and think about though with this new conflict with the entire ECS though. Your life as a common rogue might be over, but your "life" as a vampire has only just begun.

[Themes: fantasy, humor] Year 34... The more Holgard changes the more it stays the same. It's a good thing everyone has such short memories here. Then again, hard for anyone to worry about vampires when nobody actually found you. Most of the real hunters have moved on. There's still the Joachimites, but they're more likely to go burn a poor old woman as a witch before they actually go hunting for a vampire. Lot easier for one thing. Nowadays Holgard is back to being under the plain old paranoia it normally suffers from. You've heard rumors of that the Delantium Kingdom is going to try to reclaim this city, but that's about the only major thing and it's not likely true anyway. Still, laying low in the backwoods and only coming here occasionally was a good idea. Of course you tend to spend more time with Isabella now since the two of you are a proper couple now. You find stories about her old life fascinating (Though you tend to want her to gloss over any bits about ex-lovers) though you know who would really find them interesting, your sister. You bet she could make an entire opera or something out of Isabella's life. Probably a couple of them. You've sort of been thinking about your family lately and how they might all be doing. You assume that they're all still alive of course. You sort of miss them all as strange as that may seem given what you've done and what you are now. Your last shred of humanity you suppose. Regardless, you'd never be able to visit them even if you weren't wanted for murder in your hometown. Or rather, you could go back because nobody could stop you or you could be stealthy about it, but you don't think you should. It's a closed chapter in your old life and going back in person would just cause more problems. Still, you wonder if you shouldn't get a message to your mother. You're sure she'd at least like to know if you were doing okay. You'd send one to your sister, but who knows where she is. Maybe you could write a letter and send it off via one of those courier services. You suppose you better put a quill, ink and parchment on the list of shit you need to get along with the items Isabella sent you to get at the flower nursery here. Funny that after everything that's occurred in your "life" you still have to do a little roguery the occasional store every once in awhile. You guess the more you change the more you stay the same as well. You of course find it much simpler now. It also no longer gives you the rush that it once did, but then that's no surprise, you've come a long way since those simple rogue days. You head to the nursery and easily break in like you've done many times before. You imagine the old couple that run this place wonder where they've misplaced their various seeds, supplies and such on many occasions. After grabbing the things Isabella sent you to get, you start rummaging through the small office there to find potential writing supplies, then you suddenly sense something living nearby and it's not the plants. At first you wonder if it's one of the old couple that runs this place because if it is, you'll just stealthily sneak out as you've done before. (No point in killing a business owner of where you do most of your "shopping") However, you can see that this figure is not carrying a lantern of any sort and is actively trying to stay hidden in the darkness. The form is definitely female and they haven't noticed that YOU'VE noticed them yet. This person is obviously following you and while it would be a simple matter of just killing her, you'd like to know why first. You maneuver around behind furniture and aisles a bit and then just when you get behind this person, they turn around and attempt to dodge you. Quick, but not quick enough to avoid your grasp. You easily disarm them and finally get a good look. The face is older, but you'd still be able to recognize it anywhere. You're still taken aback though. "Lisa?" you ask. "Long time no see." Lisa says unruffled. "What the hell are you doing here?" "I might ask you the same. Even when you weren't a vampire you weren't exactly stealing flowers." "Long story, but I've questions of my own. Like why you were following me. However, I'd rather continue this discussion elsewhere." "Sure, but are you going to let me go first? Your grip is like fucking iron and it's obvious that if I wished you any harm, I'm far outclassed." You remember a similar situation like this with another "ex" however that was a little different. You didn't really have a proper relationship with Heather like you did with Lisa and also that was when you were a bit of a "wilder" vampire. You've started having a little more restraint since those earlier years. You release Lisa who heads outside and you follow her out before relocking the door. "You re-secure the places you break into now?" Lisa asks. "Not usually, but this place is a bit different. Alright, let's get in that alley and you can tell me everything." You say and start motioning Lisa to follow. "An alley? I thought we'd go to a tavern at least if we're going to catch up." "Yeah, I don't really mingle with the crowds unless I have to anymore. Besides, I actually feel safer in an alley than a tavern given how many eyes are in those places." "Understandable, I guess it makes sense for you to lay low given that there's a price on your head." "What?!" "Yeah, but I figured you knew that already. I mean it's not on your head personally; it's just on the Vampire of Holgard. I was very surprised when I found out that might be you." "Wait, what?! I thought all that shit had been forgotten about and you're a hunter?!" "No, of course not. I'm an Ebony Claw assassin. Maybe the general public forgets shit when it dies down, but the ECS NEVER forgets." "But I haven't even been targeting ECS members." "Yeah, I've been getting that impression, but so far you're the only vampire I've been able to track in this city." This is nuts. Lisa is an Ebony Claw assassin. You always wondered if she joined while you were away, but she took a very different path than you thought. You guess she learned how to take care of herself all too well. Strange to think that she was once just a simple peasant girl that longed to see the world. But then Isabella was once a simple peasant girl at one time too. And the fact you're finding out you have a contract on your head is even more of a shocker. Though you suppose that you may have very well killed some of their members during the religious faction war, but you haven't been killing any of them recently, at least not that you know of. Is someone setting you up? "Wait, how long have you followed me and how the hell did I not know it before?" you ask. "Heh, well I AM a very skilled assassin and I kept my distance for a long time. In fact it wasn't until I figured out it was you that I decided to get close like I did. Had you been any other vampire, I would have been executing you from afar. No way I'd really want to tangle with a real one up close no matter how good I am. As far as how long I've tracked you, well I've noticed you come here over the course of a few months now. I know you must have a lair somewhere nearby but it's probably not actually in the city. In any case since I'm fairly certain it isn't you, I can only imagine it might be another one. Someone you know?" "I doubt that, I only know one other and she's a bit...reclusive. Look are you even sure if it's a vampire?" "Well from all the information I've been given the ECS leadership here seems to believe it to be the case. Hmmm, maybe a new approach is in order. I think you should come with me so we can straighten this all out." "Wait, you seriously expect me to go walking into an ECS hangout? You just told me I got a contract on my head!" "You mean to tell me you're worried? Judging by your skills, you'd be able to wipe out everyone there. Honestly, the Holgard branch of ECS is hardly anything for you to worry about, that why they got me from the Delantium Kingdom. I'm just suggesting though that maybe it still might be a good idea to clear this all up directly. I mean after all I'm not the only assassin and as good as I am, I'm nothing compared to a Fel touched shadow blade assassin. Now someone like that might actually give you problems. They're also less likely to bother getting down to the truth and just carry out a hit. Better to clear things like this up, trust me. The ECS is not an organization you want on your ass." While you're sure Lisa has a point, you really aren't sure about all this. "Look, I know this is pretty strange for you seeing me like this under these circumstances. I know it's been a long time and we've both moved on in very different life directions, but I still remember the good times we had. So for old times sake, will you trust me on this?" You look at Lisa and despite the fact that the years have taken their toll on her and cynicism has taken root in her demeanor, that last bit she said reminded you of the young girl you once were very fond of. Once again some things remain the same. "Very well, since this is you, I'll go, but as soon as I sense I'm going to get attacked, I'm killing everyone there. I mean if I'm already on a contract list, I might as well give them a reason at this point." "Fair enough, but I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Mantis is the current ECS leader here. He's a sonofabitch, but he's pretty reasonable." "Mantis...that name sounds familiar. I think I spoke to him once when I tried to ask the ECS for help with an affliction I had." "Oh? You tried to cure your vampire condition?" "Uh, no. This actually was a different condition I had due to Ral on top of being geased. The vampirism ended up curing me of it actually...yeah things got a bit complicated for a while after we parted ways. In any case, I don't remember him being that high up or all that reasonable." "Well the original old leader, Rook moved on to bigger things and well, the ECS tends to have enthusiastic violent promotions so to speak and eventually Mantis made his way through the ranks. Still with all the extra responsibility he's learned to be a little more patient I suppose." "Haven't we all..." You and Lisa make your way to Mantis's hang out which apparently is still the Poisoned Blade Inn. She mentions he prefers to stay at the "hub" of things Along the way, Lisa asks why you never met her again since she waited a long time for you; you explain Ral's experiment and what happened exactly to you. Lisa listens intently and offers her sympathies. She says that during that time you were out of action she had to deal with the Holgard civil war. She mentions this was when she joined the ECS. She said after it was all over, the ECS transferred her to the Delantium Kingdom and there is where she learned to be an assassin. "So...you've been in the Delantium Kingdom all this time huh? Guess that's why I never ran into you." You say. "You looked for me?" Lisa asks. "Initially I did, but as I said, I eventually figured you moved on or were dead. Not to mention I didn't think you'd want me anyway by that point." "Oh...I dunno. I was falling in love with you even when you were forced to work for Ral. I'm certain I might have been able to look past what you are now. It isn't like I'm in any position to judge you morally after all. Well looks like we're getting close to it." Before you can reply, you sense several figures lurking nearby. "You've got some balls showing up here!" a voice shouts and before you know it a person literally materializes in front of you and Lisa. It's enough to catch you a bit off guard, but you react quick enough to attack your assailant, though apparently not enough to land a hit. This person cannot possibly be a normal human. You wonder if this is one of those Fel touched Lisa mentioned. You then hear a shot of a pistol, followed by a burning sensation in your upper back. You collapse to the ground on one knee in pain and feel like part of you is on fire. Good thing you aren't human. However, Lisa's the only one behind you, and it's obvious that she just shot you in the back. You aren't sure if it was an accident or if she's just lead you into a trap. > Trap While you know you and Lisa went separate ways in life, and this betrayal was always a possibility, it still stings enough to fill you with rage. Your attacker in front of you attempts to stab you in the face while you're still hurt, but you dodge, grab his wrist and make him stab himself in the stomach while breaking his arm at the same time. You then turn your attention to Lisa who is pointing the pistol at you again. She shouts something, but you don't even hear it, you just rush her. She doesn't even get off a shot, you knock her to the ground and get on top of her. "Wait..." she utters and then you rip out her throat with your fangs and taste her blood. You then sense another figure hovering near you and you throw a punch to his kneecap, shattering it. He screams and falls to the ground, but he manages to shoot you with a bolt before doing so. At this point you feel several bolts go into your back. They hurt like hell, but it's nothing compared to when you're hit by a firebomb. "Come on, she's dead! Let's get the hell outta here!" you hear someone shout and then a deafening explosion. The explosion knocks you into the wall of a nearby building and you separately attempt to roll out the flames. It's during this that you realize that you've partially lost a leg in the blast. At this point all this noise is enough to alert everyone in the nearby area. Several Ebony Claw members come out of the bar and even some of the Holgard Watch come running to the scene. Meanwhile, you're burned badly, wounded severely, and attempting to crawl away. Someone shouts "A monster! Kill it!" and then even more hell breaks loose. You are no longer attacked by the Fel touched assassins anymore (Who apparently have made themselves scarce), but instead you're attack by a combined mob of regular Ebony Claw members and a few of the Holgard Watch. You attempt to fight off the mob, but in your condition you can't fight effectively or even get away. Normal weapons might not normally kill vampires, but when there are enough of them cutting you into bloody pieces they will still do the job, especially when you're beheaded. After you're a heap of almost unrecognizable gore, one of the Watch takes his torch and sets your remains on fire. The only consolation in all this is Holgard is probably going to be stalked by an even more powerful vampire in the near future.

Year 25 "I've looked through ALL of Ral's writings along with researching various tomes we have at the temple and I can't figure out exactly WHAT he did to you. I mean I can guess what he did, but even if I'm right, I still have no idea how to reverse it." Heather remarks. You know Heather's done more than you ever expected from her, but you can't help but feel frustrated by all this. If your condition wasn't getting worse, it probably would be tolerable, but it is getting worse. Not so much for you in terms of life and death directly, but you're starting to effect things in a wider area. At this point your home is freezing to most (or at least to Heather when she visits) and frost covers everything you come in contact with now. You don't even have to touch it for long. Even Spikey makes his home outside the house rather than inside, though it's just as well since he's huge now. Which is leading to the other issue and that's the fact your icy home is starting to look very out of place compared to the rest of the surrounding landscape. Granted you're isolated from most major population centers, but there is Dert. Dert is close enough that it's only going to take a few of the more adventurous young folks to go wandering from that backwards village and bring back tales of an "Ice Castle" with a manticore guarding it. (Fortunately Spikey has never wandered towards Dert and his hunting grounds are mainly elsewhere.) Heather herself has been trying to keep your presence a secret since apparently Elder Flynn has been sensing a minor growth in magical energy in the area. So far he assumes it's Ral just working on something, but Heather stresses that if he finds out the truth, he'll definitely be heading to your home. Heather is also stressed out due to the fact that she's been keeping all this from her comrades and on top of everything else, there's the beginning of religious faction war going on in Holgard. Since she's out of any ideas that you might find acceptable, she suggests the last thing she can think of and that's that you leave and head north. She believes your condition is exaggerated by the warmer climate. (Even more so now due to it being a hotter summer than usual) While you've sort of guessed that to some extent, she thinks that if you were just constantly living in a colder environment, your condition would even out and you might not attract as much attention. "So...what then? I'm supposed to just go live on a mountain top somewhere?" you say. "No, I'm just saying that you could probably live some place colder and your condition not be as much of a problem. You'd at least blend in a bit better. As it stands now, you're starting to attract a lot of attention and you were previously pretty isolated before. Not to mention you've got a big ass manticore wandering around nearby. You stay here and you're probably going to have groups of hired adventurers beating down your door." Heather remarks. "You just want me to leave because you're worried about your own ass." "Damn right I am! I mean I'm risking every time I come here, every time I lie to Elder Flynn. You realize how much my stomach is in knots about this? And you know what? Fuck you. I've been helping you out trying to figure out how to cure you! I've tried potions, spells, salves, rituals and even prayers to Dorna on your behalf!" "You've also been helping yourself to magical shit I have." "So? It's been mutually beneficial, but now it's starting to get risky to a point of where I'm no longer comfortable." "Alright, I get it. I get it. But I'm just not too keen on this idea that I'm supposed to just pick up and leave." "Well, I dunno any other solutions. I mean when was the last time you went to Holgard and didn't start drawing a crowd? Didn't you say that the guards actually prevented you from entering last time? You said you had to sneak in and then you soon got run out of there. I mean it's only going to be a matter of time that you start drawing the attention of someone you aren't going to be able to deal with." "Your boss is really getting that suspicious huh?" "Elder Flynn is a concern of course, but it might actually be lucky for you that there's religious strife going on in Holgard right now. But I was talking in general. Look, we've gotten along for a while now, and maybe if circumstances were different I'd say stick around longer, but..." Heather turns away from you a bit and exhales. In fact she starts to sniffle a bit. "What? Wait a minute...no...really? You never gave any indication! Hell, we've never even kissed! Though I suppose given my condition that might cause problems. That's why you never acted on it" you say. "Oh trust me, there's ways we could have gotten around that aspect. A simple protection of cold would have done that. It's just... it could never really work okay? And yeah initially I was helping you because it was beneficial to me personally, but I did genuinely want to help because you seemed like an okay guy that was in a bad situation. Even with you telling me tales of your shady past, there was always a charm about you." Heather remarks wiping her eyes a bit. "If I ever run into my sister again, I'm sure she'll be amused to hear that some of her charisma finally wore off on me. Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had more than my fair share of thoughts about you as well." "I'm sure." "I don't mean just the dirty ones though, I mean I figured even if you were only helping for the magic knowledge and items, it still was nice that someone was helping me." "Sort of wish you were only thinking of me in a dirty way, it would make this a lot easier. (Sigh) I shouldn't have said anything." "I wish you have said something sooner, I mean now what am I supposed to do? Just leave, knowing all this?" "If you do have feelings for me like you say then I beg you to leave because you'll just make it harder for me in the long run. I know it's selfish to put myself first, but it is what it is." "Okay, I'm not mad because I get it, but I don't see why WE can't just leave together. I mean you could continue trying to figure out how to cure me and you could probably start up another Dorna church up north and convert barbarian tribes or something. " "Heh, nice idea. Tempting even, but no. My life is here." You're getting frustrated at this point. "What are you fucking this Elder Flynn or something?" "What? No! He's like a hundred years old and I don't have daddy issues!" "Well what's really keeping you here then?" "Look, maybe an infidel like you can't understand, but my temple is also my family and with all the trouble going on right now, I'm not going to just abandon them." "Haven't you been hording knowledge and the shit you get from me?" "Yeah, well it's a complicated family relationship." "Guess I can't relate much...(sigh) Okay, fine. I'll leave, but only because you did try to help me, I'm a sucker for a pretty face and the fact I don't really have any other ties here and it'll make things easier for you." You start to get ready to pack, but Heather stops you. "Hold on a second. You don't need to leave right this minute." She says and makes a few little hand gestures causing a brief blue glow around her. Then she kisses you. It doesn't feel as good as you remember the last time you did this with Lisa. Even the good stuff is dulled, but what the hell, you'll take it. You and Heather get to it and you have a rather interesting time going about your intimacy. Heather's spell is working, but it's obvious she's still feeling some mild...well the word isn't exactly discomfort, but let's just say she has never pleasured herself with an icicle in the past so it's a cool sensation down there for her. However she's a trooper and you must be doing something right because by the time you're done she's covered in frost. No, that's not a euphemism either; she's literally covered in frost. (In fact if this was all taking place in a modern setting, there could be a whole joke about "The Iceman Cometh") You on the other hand were sort of hoping that experience while pleasant enough would maybe raise your body temperature a little, but no, you're still as cold as ever. After a moment of basking in frosty bliss, Heather brushes herself off and gets dressed. "I hope that you can somehow find a way to cure yourself, but whether you do or not, take care okay?" With those last words she gives you one more kiss and leaves you alone. This experience has arguably been the best thing that's happened to you since you woke up in your condition. Of course maybe you're just sort of feeling that way due to the fact that you haven't exactly been with anyone in a long damn time. Part of you wants to just go to her temple, but going to Holgard isn't going to do anything but cause problems for her and you, so you'll wait. You know she'll be back. You figure Heather will probably come back here in a couple days to see if you're still around and to potentially look for any items she may have missed. When she comes back, you'll make every effort to convince her to come with you. So you wait. A week passes, then a month, then two months... By this time, you're still laboring under the delusion that she's going to come back and mainly subsisting on frozen berries, fruit and roots that you don't go too far to collect from your home. In the meantime Spikey, being an apex predator in the area has steadily over the past few years been depleting most of the wildlife. He was also supplementing this with the many bandit groups that make their homes in the woods at times. However, even bandits eventually get wise to the fact that it might not be the best idea to have a hideout where many of their fellows are disappearing at an alarming rate. If his attention wasn't in the direction of Dert before it is now. You however don't really know any of this until you get a knock on the door one night. Thinking that it's Heather, you spring from your chair, and open it. And you're met by a woman, one you even know, but not Heather. "...Isabella?" you say upon seeing her. Isabella frowns as you just stare at her naked body in surprise. "Glad you remember what my tits look like." She says. "...Apologies, but I really wasn't expecting you. I thought another...nevermind, what are you doing here?" you ask. "I'm here to speak to Ral...what the hell happened to you? You're as pale as I am and you're giving off some serious cold. This whole house is, given the frost and ice in the area. What the hell IS Ral doing in there?" "Well..." "Look, no offense, but I'm not in the mood to speak to his magic slave. I want you to go bring his ass out of his lab to come speak to me right now. I mean I thought we had an understanding at least that if we HAD to be neighbors he wouldn't fuck things up for me. Now I got a bunch of dead people in Dert due to his escaped manticore or pet or experiment or whatever the fuck. I told him that backwards dung heap of a hamlet was MY ongoing food source and was not to be messed with." "Wait, Spikey attacked Dert?" "Spikey? That its name? Real original. But yeah it was a damn blood bath there. Hell, I could smell it even from my crypt. The beast killed ten people. I would have tracked it down easily, but considering its scent was also leading in this direction, I'd pay Ral a visit first since I was sure this was all his fault. And judging from what I'm seeing, I was right. So get his ass out here!" "That's going to be a problem given that he's dead." "Dead? Bullshit." "I'm serious. He's been dead for like two years now." Now Isabella is the one showing some surprise. The fact that she is surprised means you must have really caught he off guard. You remember that Ral and her had a relationship in the past. From some of her brief sad expression, she perhaps didn't have complete loathing for him. Isabella looks down a bit and closes her eyes before speaking again. "(Sigh) Damn. Didn't think I'd still feel something for the bastard, but I guess you never know until it happens. I guess this means you're no longer a magic slave and you're in fact responsible for this mess then. How? You're no wizard. And how did you kill Ral anyway?" Isabella asks. "I didn't kill Ral, he just died of natural causes in his bed." You quickly say. "Hah! Nice try, but you're lying. Look, I don't care if you killed him, if he'd made me a slave I'd have killed him too." "Well, I had help and it wasn't easy." "I'm sure. So what's with the eternal winter here?" "Ral's last gift to me." You give a quick explanation of events of your condition to Isabella who listens to everything. "So...it was this Heather was the one you were waiting for then?" Isabella asks. "Yeah, but well...that's a long story." You say with a sigh. "Let me guess you fell for your nurse." "She wasn't a nurse, she was a priestess." "Nurse, priestess, whore, doesn't matter. Your circumstance is as old as time. You fell for the one taking care of you when nobody else would. It happens a lot, but I think your case its just desperation." "Excuse me?" "Well, you've been waiting for this girl for two months you said. It's obvious she isn't coming back." "She could just be busy! There's a religious war going on in Holgard right now! You know, we made love the last time I saw her!" "And? That probably was just a goodbye pity fuck. Look, I didn't see how you two interacted and I'm only getting some of what you're telling me, so I'm not going to say this girl didn't have feelings for you, but its obvious she cares more about herself or at least her own life." "You don't know shit!" you snap. "Okay, look, whatever. I actually don't care that much, but we still need to settle this issue with your pet manticore along with your snowman condition because both of them are going to fuck up my shit. The manticore can be settled easily since I can just kill the beast and be done with it. But you are a whole other problem." "Wait a minute you can't just kill my pet! And why the hell am I a problem, I don't even go near Dert." "Yeah, but your aura might. I mean from what little you've told me, your condition is getting worse and if that's the case, the last thing I need is for it to freeze over Dert and cause all the peasants there to pick up and leave due to failed crops. It's bad enough some are already talking about leaving due to the manticore attack. Others are even talking about hiring adventurers. Last thing I need is a group of fortune seekers stomping around the area and stumbling on my place of rest." "I'm sure you'd be able to handle them." "That's not the damn point, my point is I like things peaceful and they can't be, if there are certain elements in the area fucking everything up! So the way I see it, is you got two choices. You either leave, or I cure you." Once again Isabella has given you a little surprise. "What? You can cure me? How?!" you ask. "Invite me in and I'll show you." Isabella responds with a smile. "Uh...no...things aren't quite bad enough for me to want to commit suicide." "Who said I was going to kill you? I'd make you into a vampire." "Wait. Why? Would that work?" "Sure. The transformation process practically gives you a clean slate. I'd be very surprised if it didn't work. As for why...well let's just say why not?" "...I feel like there's a catch..." "Well of course there's a catch, I don't just offer the gift to anyone. I'd require you to help me around the crypt as it were." And there it is. "A slave. You want me to be your slave." You say. "You wouldn't be a slave, you'd be my...companion. You think your few years of no meaningful intimacy are bad? Come back when you've had a century or so of it. I just felt a pang of loss over a man that I practically loathed for decades. Now I know I'm moving in quick on you, but when you've been as solitary as I have, you tend to not let social rules dictate your actions. I'm offering not only a cure for your condition and immortality, but also a chance for you not to worry about having to be alone ever again. You can't say you aren't tempted. I still remember that night we had years ago. Look, I'll be back in a couple nights. If you're still here, then I'll know you've accepted my offer. If you're gone, I know you haven't. And when I say I'll be back in a couple nights, you can bet that I'll mean it." Isabella says and leaves. And once again you're left alone with a big decision. You knew you were going to have to make one soon, but these events haven't definitely given you more to think about. > You stay and reject the offer You're not going anywhere and you're not going to be a slave again even if the offer is from beautiful naked vampire. Isabella can't do shit to you anyway as long as you stay in the house at night. You're not even concerned that much about Spikey, as you're sure that a beast of his size can probably at least fly away from Isabella if she proves too much. You're a little concerned about when Heather shows up however, but hopefully Heather shows up during the day. She's a priestess too, so it isn't like she's completely defenseless. Defying a vampire is going to be dangerous, but probably no more dangerous than killing a wizard that had enslaved you. You stock up on food over the next two days along with gathering what few magical items you have left only to remember that Heather probably already took the most useful stuff. No matter, you'll just have to be careful. Later that night you hear a knock on the door. You open it and as expected it's her. "Well, given that you're here, I'd say that means you've decided to take me up on my offer. I have to say, this pleases me and you will soon see just how lucky you are that I chose you. Now, if you'll just invite me in, we can get to this, or you can step out here, if you prefer. Up to you." Isabella says. "Thanks but no thanks, I've decided to turn down your offer. While I'm sure you wouldn't go out of your way to make my life miserable, we still would not be equal and I've had enough of having to deal with sort of situation." You say. Isabella frowns at your statement. "I see...so I take it that you have stayed around to politely inform me that you're leaving then?" she asks. "No." you respond. "Excuse me?" "Look Isabella, I can appreciate your situation and I will definitely try to train Spikey to hunt elsewhere, but I'm not going to just leave because you're making lightly veiled threats." "Oh believe me, when I make my threats, they are never light or veiled." "Well you certainly implied a threat as far as I'm concerned. You gave me two choices, well I'm taking a third one. I need to stay here and you're not running me off." "Hmm, this Heather girl must have really laid it down good. I guess I can see your point even if I think you're being short sighted on this matter. Perhaps I came across a little too aggressively, but as I said, isolation has made me a bit less focused on the whole courtship process. In any case, apologies." "Oh...well I accept. I have to say, I thought you were going to be madder than you are." "Why would I be mad, I said I get where you're coming from. You clearly have strong feelings for this girl. Strong enough that you risked facing me believing I was going to go into some frothing vampire rage no doubt." "Well that was the concern." "Hah, you needn't have done so. Takes more than that to really make me that mad." Even in your condition, you were still a bundle of nerves and worry about this moment. You feel much more relaxed now that you see Isabella isn't mad or even showing signs of wanting to retaliate. Isabella talks with you a bit more saying that she hopes that Heather feels the same way about you. She's really surprising you with how understanding she is, and you continue to just feel calmer with her. And that's when you're done for... She couldn't use it on you when you were magically tethered to Ral, but since that's no longer the case, Isabella easily uses her powers to charm you so gradually that you don't even realize it. You foolishly allowed yourself to get into an extended conversation with her and when she tells you to step outside for a moment, you obey. As you embrace her, Isabella takes you into her arms and looks into your eyes. "If only you hadn't been defiant and just taken one of the other choices...such a waste." She says and then bites you on the neck. And she has no intention on turning you either. It's an odd sensation from the last time she did it since you don't even feel any pain. Isabella herself is having a mildly difficult time sucking your blood which is probably a little slushy due to your frosty condition, but she gets through it. You don't.

Year 25 "I've looked through ALL of Ral's writings along with researching various tomes we have at the temple and I can't figure out exactly WHAT he did to you. I mean I can guess what he did, but even if I'm right, I still have no idea how to reverse it." Heather remarks. You know Heather's done more than you ever expected from her, but you can't help but feel frustrated by all this. If your condition wasn't getting worse, it probably would be tolerable, but it is getting worse. Not so much for you in terms of life and death directly, but you're starting to effect things in a wider area. At this point your home is freezing to most (or at least to Heather when she visits) and frost covers everything you come in contact with now. You don't even have to touch it for long. Even Spikey makes his home outside the house rather than inside, though it's just as well since he's huge now. Which is leading to the other issue and that's the fact your icy home is starting to look very out of place compared to the rest of the surrounding landscape. Granted you're isolated from most major population centers, but there is Dert. Dert is close enough that it's only going to take a few of the more adventurous young folks to go wandering from that backwards village and bring back tales of an "Ice Castle" with a manticore guarding it. (Fortunately Spikey has never wandered towards Dert and his hunting grounds are mainly elsewhere.) Heather herself has been trying to keep your presence a secret since apparently Elder Flynn has been sensing a minor growth in magical energy in the area. So far he assumes it's Ral just working on something, but Heather stresses that if he finds out the truth, he'll definitely be heading to your home. Heather is also stressed out due to the fact that she's been keeping all this from her comrades and on top of everything else, there's the beginning of religious faction war going on in Holgard. Since she's out of any ideas that you might find acceptable, she suggests the last thing she can think of and that's that you leave and head north. She believes your condition is exaggerated by the warmer climate. (Even more so now due to it being a hotter summer than usual) While you've sort of guessed that to some extent, she thinks that if you were just constantly living in a colder environment, your condition would even out and you might not attract as much attention. "So...what then? I'm supposed to just go live on a mountain top somewhere?" you say. "No, I'm just saying that you could probably live some place colder and your condition not be as much of a problem. You'd at least blend in a bit better. As it stands now, you're starting to attract a lot of attention and you were previously pretty isolated before. Not to mention you've got a big ass manticore wandering around nearby. You stay here and you're probably going to have groups of hired adventurers beating down your door." Heather remarks. "You just want me to leave because you're worried about your own ass." "Damn right I am! I mean I'm risking every time I come here, every time I lie to Elder Flynn. You realize how much my stomach is in knots about this? And you know what? Fuck you. I've been helping you out trying to figure out how to cure you! I've tried potions, spells, salves, rituals and even prayers to Dorna on your behalf!" "You've also been helping yourself to magical shit I have." "So? It's been mutually beneficial, but now it's starting to get risky to a point of where I'm no longer comfortable." "Alright, I get it. I get it. But I'm just not too keen on this idea that I'm supposed to just pick up and leave." "Well, I dunno any other solutions. I mean when was the last time you went to Holgard and didn't start drawing a crowd? Didn't you say that the guards actually prevented you from entering last time? You said you had to sneak in and then you soon got run out of there. I mean it's only going to be a matter of time that you start drawing the attention of someone you aren't going to be able to deal with." "Your boss is really getting that suspicious huh?" "Elder Flynn is a concern of course, but it might actually be lucky for you that there's religious strife going on in Holgard right now. But I was talking in general. Look, we've gotten along for a while now, and maybe if circumstances were different I'd say stick around longer, but..." Heather turns away from you a bit and exhales. In fact she starts to sniffle a bit. "What? Wait a minute...no...really? You never gave any indication! Hell, we've never even kissed! Though I suppose given my condition that might cause problems. That's why you never acted on it" you say. "Oh trust me, there's ways we could have gotten around that aspect. A simple protection of cold would have done that. It's just... it could never really work okay? And yeah initially I was helping you because it was beneficial to me personally, but I did genuinely want to help because you seemed like an okay guy that was in a bad situation. Even with you telling me tales of your shady past, there was always a charm about you." Heather remarks wiping her eyes a bit. "If I ever run into my sister again, I'm sure she'll be amused to hear that some of her charisma finally wore off on me. Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had more than my fair share of thoughts about you as well." "I'm sure." "I don't mean just the dirty ones though, I mean I figured even if you were only helping for the magic knowledge and items, it still was nice that someone was helping me." "Sort of wish you were only thinking of me in a dirty way, it would make this a lot easier. (Sigh) I shouldn't have said anything." "I wish you have said something sooner, I mean now what am I supposed to do? Just leave, knowing all this?" "If you do have feelings for me like you say then I beg you to leave because you'll just make it harder for me in the long run. I know it's selfish to put myself first, but it is what it is." "Okay, I'm not mad because I get it, but I don't see why WE can't just leave together. I mean you could continue trying to figure out how to cure me and you could probably start up another Dorna church up north and convert barbarian tribes or something. " "Heh, nice idea. Tempting even, but no. My life is here." You're getting frustrated at this point. "What are you fucking this Elder Flynn or something?" "What? No! He's like a hundred years old and I don't have daddy issues!" "Well what's really keeping you here then?" "Look, maybe an infidel like you can't understand, but my temple is also my family and with all the trouble going on right now, I'm not going to just abandon them." "Haven't you been hording knowledge and the shit you get from me?" "Yeah, well it's a complicated family relationship." "Guess I can't relate much...(sigh) Okay, fine. I'll leave, but only because you did try to help me, I'm a sucker for a pretty face and the fact I don't really have any other ties here and it'll make things easier for you." You start to get ready to pack, but Heather stops you. "Hold on a second. You don't need to leave right this minute." She says and makes a few little hand gestures causing a brief blue glow around her. Then she kisses you. It doesn't feel as good as you remember the last time you did this with Lisa. Even the good stuff is dulled, but what the hell, you'll take it. You and Heather get to it and you have a rather interesting time going about your intimacy. Heather's spell is working, but it's obvious she's still feeling some mild...well the word isn't exactly discomfort, but let's just say she has never pleasured herself with an icicle in the past so it's a cool sensation down there for her. However she's a trooper and you must be doing something right because by the time you're done she's covered in frost. No, that's not a euphemism either; she's literally covered in frost. (In fact if this was all taking place in a modern setting, there could be a whole joke about "The Iceman Cometh") You on the other hand were sort of hoping that experience while pleasant enough would maybe raise your body temperature a little, but no, you're still as cold as ever. After a moment of basking in frosty bliss, Heather brushes herself off and gets dressed. "I hope that you can somehow find a way to cure yourself, but whether you do or not, take care okay?" With those last words she gives you one more kiss and leaves you alone. This experience has arguably been the best thing that's happened to you since you woke up in your condition. Of course maybe you're just sort of feeling that way due to the fact that you haven't exactly been with anyone in a long damn time. Part of you wants to just go to her temple, but going to Holgard isn't going to do anything but cause problems for her and you, so you'll wait. You know she'll be back. You figure Heather will probably come back here in a couple days to see if you're still around and to potentially look for any items she may have missed. When she comes back, you'll make every effort to convince her to come with you. So you wait. A week passes, then a month, then two months... By this time, you're still laboring under the delusion that she's going to come back and mainly subsisting on frozen berries, fruit and roots that you don't go too far to collect from your home. In the meantime Spikey, being an apex predator in the area has steadily over the past few years been depleting most of the wildlife. He was also supplementing this with the many bandit groups that make their homes in the woods at times. However, even bandits eventually get wise to the fact that it might not be the best idea to have a hideout where many of their fellows are disappearing at an alarming rate. If his attention wasn't in the direction of Dert before it is now. You however don't really know any of this until you get a knock on the door one night. Thinking that it's Heather, you spring from your chair, and open it. And you're met by a woman, one you even know, but not Heather. "...Isabella?" you say upon seeing her. Isabella frowns as you just stare at her naked body in surprise. "Glad you remember what my tits look like." She says. "...Apologies, but I really wasn't expecting you. I thought another...nevermind, what are you doing here?" you ask. "I'm here to speak to Ral...what the hell happened to you? You're as pale as I am and you're giving off some serious cold. This whole house is, given the frost and ice in the area. What the hell IS Ral doing in there?" "Well..." "Look, no offense, but I'm not in the mood to speak to his magic slave. I want you to go bring his ass out of his lab to come speak to me right now. I mean I thought we had an understanding at least that if we HAD to be neighbors he wouldn't fuck things up for me. Now I got a bunch of dead people in Dert due to his escaped manticore or pet or experiment or whatever the fuck. I told him that backwards dung heap of a hamlet was MY ongoing food source and was not to be messed with." "Wait, Spikey attacked Dert?" "Spikey? That its name? Real original. But yeah it was a damn blood bath there. Hell, I could smell it even from my crypt. The beast killed ten people. I would have tracked it down easily, but considering its scent was also leading in this direction, I'd pay Ral a visit first since I was sure this was all his fault. And judging from what I'm seeing, I was right. So get his ass out here!" "That's going to be a problem given that he's dead." "Dead? Bullshit." "I'm serious. He's been dead for like two years now." Now Isabella is the one showing some surprise. The fact that she is surprised means you must have really caught he off guard. You remember that Ral and her had a relationship in the past. From some of her brief sad expression, she perhaps didn't have complete loathing for him. Isabella looks down a bit and closes her eyes before speaking again. "(Sigh) Damn. Didn't think I'd still feel something for the bastard, but I guess you never know until it happens. I guess this means you're no longer a magic slave and you're in fact responsible for this mess then. How? You're no wizard. And how did you kill Ral anyway?" Isabella asks. "I didn't kill Ral, he just died of natural causes in his bed." You quickly say. "Hah! Nice try, but you're lying. Look, I don't care if you killed him, if he'd made me a slave I'd have killed him too." "Well, I had help and it wasn't easy." "I'm sure. So what's with the eternal winter here?" "Ral's last gift to me." You give a quick explanation of events of your condition to Isabella who listens to everything. "So...it was this Heather was the one you were waiting for then?" Isabella asks. "Yeah, but well...that's a long story." You say with a sigh. "Let me guess you fell for your nurse." "She wasn't a nurse, she was a priestess." "Nurse, priestess, whore, doesn't matter. Your circumstance is as old as time. You fell for the one taking care of you when nobody else would. It happens a lot, but I think your case its just desperation." "Excuse me?" "Well, you've been waiting for this girl for two months you said. It's obvious she isn't coming back." "She could just be busy! There's a religious war going on in Holgard right now! You know, we made love the last time I saw her!" "And? That probably was just a goodbye pity fuck. Look, I didn't see how you two interacted and I'm only getting some of what you're telling me, so I'm not going to say this girl didn't have feelings for you, but its obvious she cares more about herself or at least her own life." "You don't know shit!" you snap. "Okay, look, whatever. I actually don't care that much, but we still need to settle this issue with your pet manticore along with your snowman condition because both of them are going to fuck up my shit. The manticore can be settled easily since I can just kill the beast and be done with it. But you are a whole other problem." "Wait a minute you can't just kill my pet! And why the hell am I a problem, I don't even go near Dert." "Yeah, but your aura might. I mean from what little you've told me, your condition is getting worse and if that's the case, the last thing I need is for it to freeze over Dert and cause all the peasants there to pick up and leave due to failed crops. It's bad enough some are already talking about leaving due to the manticore attack. Others are even talking about hiring adventurers. Last thing I need is a group of fortune seekers stomping around the area and stumbling on my place of rest." "I'm sure you'd be able to handle them." "That's not the damn point, my point is I like things peaceful and they can't be, if there are certain elements in the area fucking everything up! So the way I see it, is you got two choices. You either leave, or I cure you." Once again Isabella has given you a little surprise. "What? You can cure me? How?!" you ask. "Invite me in and I'll show you." Isabella responds with a smile. "Uh...no...things aren't quite bad enough for me to want to commit suicide." "Who said I was going to kill you? I'd make you into a vampire." "Wait. Why? Would that work?" "Sure. The transformation process practically gives you a clean slate. I'd be very surprised if it didn't work. As for why...well let's just say why not?" "...I feel like there's a catch..." "Well of course there's a catch, I don't just offer the gift to anyone. I'd require you to help me around the crypt as it were." And there it is. "A slave. You want me to be your slave." You say. "You wouldn't be a slave, you'd be my...companion. You think your few years of no meaningful intimacy are bad? Come back when you've had a century or so of it. I just felt a pang of loss over a man that I practically loathed for decades. Now I know I'm moving in quick on you, but when you've been as solitary as I have, you tend to not let social rules dictate your actions. I'm offering not only a cure for your condition and immortality, but also a chance for you not to worry about having to be alone ever again. You can't say you aren't tempted. I still remember that night we had years ago. Look, I'll be back in a couple nights. If you're still here, then I'll know you've accepted my offer. If you're gone, I know you haven't. And when I say I'll be back in a couple nights, you can bet that I'll mean it." Isabella says and leaves. And once again you're left alone with a big decision. You knew you were going to have to make one soon, but these events haven't definitely given you more to think about. > You pack up and leave While Isabella's offer is tempting, you can't risk being a slave again even if it means a cure for your condition. You'd also just be trading one condition for another, what would being a vampire even be like? You'd be dead and feeding on blood. You're not quite ready for that either. However, you're wise enough to know that you really can't stay either. Even if you stayed inside at night. Isabella is still a powerful vampire, she'd probably figure out how to get to you eventually. Last thing you need is an enemy of that magnitude. So you have to leave. There's nothing tying you here anyway. Heather hasn't showed up and is unlikely to do so, you were just holding out hope for something that was never really there in the first place. Remembering Heather's advice about going north, you start looking at various maps that Ral had stashed around his lab. For someone who spent most of his time in his lab, he certainly had some detailed ones. You never really looked at them before, but now's the time. You focus on his northern maps to see where you might be heading. Besides your forced foray into the wintery wilderness, you honestly don't know much about the great north other than there are some small settlements up there. After some perusing of a map, you decide to make your way to some place just called "Evergreen." It's probably the closest northern settlement you'll reach from your current location. You have no idea what you're going to do there; assuming you can even fit in or stick around. You imagine you'll end up just living by yourself in the outdoors. You've probably spent more time in uncivilized wilderness than populated centers. You never thought that would happen, but it has, and you've gotten used to it. Then of course, you never thought a lot of stuff would happen. Your roguish days have slowly been coming to an end for years now, in fact it probably could be argued that you haven't really been one since you left Teckleville. Though you suppose in some ways your skills have just been used for other purposes. Maybe you could set yourself up as a trapper or hunter? You've certainly got more skill in tracking large animals and beasts now. Speaking of large beasts, you remind yourself that you're going to have to try to get Spikey to follow you. It's not going to be easy, but you figure you can't really leave him to prowl around here or else Isabella will kill him. You pack what you can and leave note on the door for Isabella saying you've left since you figure it doesn't hurt to be polite to a vampire that did at least give you an option. After a bit of searching (Doesn't take long) you finally manage to get Spikey to mildly follow you, though he does a lot of wandering off for long periods of time presumably to hunt. You aren't really sure if he's going to follow you the whole way or disappear along the way, but at least you're getting him away from potential danger. You briefly wonder if maybe you could try to ride him to make the journey faster, but while Spikey is tolerant of you, you doubt if he's going allow himself to be anyone's steed! Being driven away from a place you called home for so very long seems very familiar. While it was always your sister that had the wanderer's spirit, it would seem that same spirit has been forced upon you. You still hope she's doing better than you are. It's literally a cold harsh reality that your future is uncertain. However, you're confident that you'll probably survive it. Who knows, maybe you'll even discover a cure to your condition one day. In any case, your life as a common rogue is over.

[Themes: fantasy] Maybe it's because you're in a shitty situation yourself that you're feeling a bit sorry for the pitiful creature that presumably just lost its mother and now has to fend for itself. "Fuck it." You say, and slowly start backing away, though the beast never lets its own guard down. "What the hell are you doing. Shoot the little bastard!" Tych remarks. "I don't feel like it alright? Besides, I'll probably need to save all the bolts I can for the wazia." You get out of the line of sight of the manticore, but Tych won't let this go. "Are you actually feeling sympathy for the creature? This thing would eat you if it was big enough! In fact, given that its probably hungry without its mother around now, I'm surprised it isn't at least attempting to anyway! Think of it this way, it can't survive very long on its own, you'd be performing an act of mercy if you killed it and at least its death would help us." At this point you take off your pack and look for some of your remaining rations. Dried meat, it's as good as anything. "Wait, are you actually going to feed it now? Have you gone completely barmy?" "Probably." You say. You go back to the manticore which once again has adopted a defensive stance, but you toss the meat in front of it which it cautiously moves close to, sniffs and then starts to eat, all the while still eyeing you suspiciously. You leave the beast to feed. "You know, you could have at least poisoned the food if you didn't have the balls to just shoot it." Tych remarks. "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to get my balls back by killing this wazia, now stop bitching at me and let's get this done." You snap. You enter the cave with Tych barely following ahead of you. He's flying as high as he can which provides just enough light for you to not break your neck walking around the cave. As you were travelling here earlier, Tych was telling you a bit about wazias. He mentioned that they resembled very large moles with a huge gaping maw where the face would be. The mole comparison doesn't sound very threatening, but he also said that it has a very tough hide and layers of fat, which is why Tych doesn't think your bolts, would be as effective as they might otherwise be. You suppose you'll find out. You start to hear loud sounds, you can't see anything yet, but you have to be getting closer. The loud sounds soon become rumbles and then Tych suddenly shouts to you. "Shit, it's digging under you! Get the hell out of there!" Tych begins flying back towards the exit and you do likewise as the rumbling is nearly right under you. While its hard to keep up with Tych, you manage to do so. By the time you see the light of the exit, the rumbling is nearly coming from right underneath you. You instinctively jump forward just in time for the wazia finally come up and try to eat you. You get up as quickly as you can and that's when you finally see the creature. And it does indeed resemble a giant mole. A giant mole with nothing but a giant mouth with rows of teeth for a face. It also has pretty large claws as well, but you're too busy trying get out of its immediate grasp as opposed to admiring them. You make it outside with the wazia following close behind. When you're out in the open, you take advantage of the light and space and begin firing your crossbow at the thing which has mixed results. Your aim isn't exactly true due to nerves and generally trying to staying away from the wazia, but it hardly matters when it's as big as it is. Most of your shots hit, but much like Tych warned, its tough hide seems to be outright deflecting a lot of them. And for the bolts that are actually sinking in, you certainly hope the poison starts working soon, because so far it hasn't had any notable affect. The only thing that's in your favor is that the beast isn't exactly the fastest when not underground, but it tries to keep you off balance by smashing its claws on the ground and causing minor quakes. Large clumps of snow begin to fall from above and given your location, you're wondering if an avalanche won't just bury you at this rate. (Of course maybe that's its intent, it can just easily dig itself out and eat your corpse later) You see Tych keeping his distance, flying about watching everything. "Tych, distract it damn it! I need to reload this thing!" you shout while running and fumbling with the cumbersome crossbow magazine. To his credit, Tych actually listens somewhat to you and shouts at it (in his high pitched squeaky voice) and even flies near it very briefly, but his presence is mostly ignored. Tych doesn't try too much harder than that, but you do get another helper. The manitcore cub that you fed earlier and completely forgot about starts flinging its own spikes at the wazia. They don't seem to do anything to it, but between it and Tych, it's enough to refocus its attention briefly giving you enough time to reload your crossbow properly. You fire a few times at the wazia with mixed results again, the manticore cub runs fast enough that the wazia doesn't bother to follow it and quickly turns its attention back to you. It charges at you, but now you're starting to notice the beast is getting even slower and now begins making loud wailing noises and they aren't just due to anger. The wazia is finally feeling the affects of the poison and begins flailing about. It begins smashing its entire body into the ground and now even larger chunks of ice and snow begin to fall from above. Along with it trying to cause an avalanche, it begins trying to dig underground again since it isn't sure what is exactly causing it such great pain, and is trying to escape. You can't allow that to happen though, because if it does, even if it dies, it's going to be so deep underground that digging its carcass out is going to be a nightmare. Throwing a bit of caution to the wind, you get closer to wazia and fire upon it. Your fortunate enough that this stops it from digging long enough to try to swipe at you with its claws. It clumsily tries to do this several times. At this point you've run out of bolts and drawn your sword though realistically you wouldn't be able to get close enough to it that it couldn't still kill you. You're just trying to keep the beast from escaping and hoping the mountains don't come crashing down on your head. Eventually as its motions towards you stop altogether and it opens its maw completely one last time to let out a woeful howl and then collapses. It twitches a few more times and finally stops moving completely. You just look at the wazia for a moment before slowly moving closer to it. Just as you get to its body, Tych sneaks up on you. "Is it dead?" he asks, buzzing in your ear. "Damn it Tych, you fucking startled me!" you snap. "Apologies, but I figured you'd be more aware of your surroundings." "I guess its dead. Shit, I was wondering if that poison was ever going to kick in." "Yep, looks like I saved your ass on this one." "Hm, I guess you did your part." "Damn straight I did, which is why I think YOU should help me now!" "How the hell am I going to help you?" "By killing Ral obviously." "Nice idea, but I'm still bound by a geas remember?" "Well after he takes it off of you, just chop his head off." "Yeah, like he isn't going to take precautions. I'm fairly certain that if he does stick with his promise, I'm not going to be able to just chop his head off as you say. In fact I imagine he's set this up so I stay bound to him so he can reverse this condition I have." "Wait, you aren't actually going to DO that if freedom is an option are you?" "What choice do I have? It's not like I want to go through the rest of my life like this." "Shit, I'd go through life with my wings fucking clipped if it meant not spending most of my life in a jar and being at that plivik's whims!" You suppose Tych has a point and it is one you're more inclined to go with since it might be possible to get your condition reversed elsewhere. All this might not mean anything however, if Ral has no intention on releasing you from the geas anyway. In the meantime you have a heart to carve out of the dead beast in front of you. About midway through Tych starts calling to you again. "Hey! Watch out, the manticore is back!" he exclaims and hides on the other side of the dead wazia. You turn from your bloody work and look. The manticore cub is indeed back and watching you, but its not in a defensive stance anymore, it seems to be more curious than anything else. "I'm not worrying about it since it probably isn't going to do anything, but if it makes you feel better..." Tych probably thought you were going to follow up that statement with you trying to kill it, but you instead you just reach into your pack and give it another piece of dried meat, which it happily eats and no longer is interested in anything else. "There you go Spikey." You say coming up with an on the spot name for him. "You just gave away the last of the food!" Tych exclaims. "What does it matter? As soon as I dig this heart out, and you perch on my shoulder, Ral will teleport us back anyway right?" "I guess, I just don't understand why you're indulging that creature." "Good thing I did, since it distracted the wazia better than you did." "Hey I did my best considering my size, you dick!" You go back to your unpleasant work. Not so much because of the gore and blood, but the smell is awful even with your dulled senses. Eventually you cut the large organ out and carry the thing out of the wazia's body. You then sit down to take a breather. "Shit, I think that was almost as much work as killing this thing." You say. "Did you get it?" Tych asks. "Yeah, why are you so far away? I figured you'd be anxious to get out of this cold at least even if you don't like the jar." "I would, but that thing is nearby!" Tych remarks and points to the manticore that is now coming up to you. "Tych, you're worrying over nothing. He'd fling spikes at me before you given how close he is. Just get over here and get us home." "Fine. Did you think anymore on killing Ral yet?" "Yeah I've thought about it, and I guess you'll know soon enough." Tych isn't enthused by your response or the manticore being nearby, but he flies to you anyway. He sits on your shoulder, makes a few weird hand gestures and before you know it, a flash of blinding light hits you and you're in the lab again. You also feel something bump your leg. You look down and see that the manticore cub has teleported with you and is currently nuzzling against your leg. "Shit!" Tych remarks and flies away to hide again. Meanwhile Ral walks in from one of his other rooms in the lab wondering what all the noise is about. "So you're back and successful as I knew you would be. Hello, what's this?" Ral asks. Spikey growls a bit when he sees Ral. "Spikey no!" you say and do your best to try to calm him which involves petting his head and neck. This seems to work somewhat since he relaxes, but still eyes Ral warily. "Hmm, I see you brought back more than just the heart. You didn't need to go beyond what was required, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. The manticore parts will come in handy for spell components." Ral says. "What? No, it helped take down the wazia and I guess it got caught up in the teleportation process." "So?" "So, I dunno seems sort of fucked up to just hand him over to you for parts after he helped me." "What are you going to do with him, keep him as a pet?" "Well I suppose I could..." "A pet manticore? What do you think you are a frost giant? That's silly, you aren't going to have the means to tame such a beast when he starts to grow! You sure you don't want to hand that beast over? I could give you something extra." "Can you reverse this fucking condition you imposed on me?" you ask. "I imagine could, but that would require that you stick around a bit longer. I mean that can be arranged..." You're not getting trapped. You can't get trapped again. "No, I'll figure out another way." You say. "Very well. Put that heart on the table and... wait a minute where did Tych go? I saw him fly off to hide, not sure why he bothers to do that, since he knows I can just teleport him back in the jar at anytime." Ral says as you lift up the oversized organ and slam it on the nearby table. "Can we get on with this?" you ask getting impatient. "In a moment and don't presume to give orders, I still haven't freed you yet and you'd be well to remember that. Now step back, you're very cold you know." Ral says. "Of course I'm fucking cold, you did this to me!" "And I offered to reverse the process, but you declined." "Damn straight I declined, I'm not going to fall for your tricks again. The first time you enslaved me, the second time you made me into a freak!" "If you like, that can remain your reality." Ral warns. Ral raises his hands as if to cast a spell and that's when you see Tych flying over his head struggling with a small-uncorked glass tube that's as big as him. "Hey glakface, try casting magic now!" Tych shouts and then pours a clear fluid on Ral, who looks up just in time for it splatter on his face, and he even gets some in his mouth. "Gargh! (cough) (hack) blagh!" Ral gags and begins hacking up and rubbing his eyes. "He can't cast magic! Don't just stand there plivik, kill the bastard!" Tych squeaks. > You do nothing Considering you're still under a geas, there isn't much you can do in the first place. In fact you're sort of pissed at Tych right now considering you were about to get released by Ral! "What the hell are you waiting for plivik?! Move in! Attack!" Tych shouts. "Tych, you're a fucking asshole! I was close to freedom! I'm not helping your sparkling ass now!" you shout back. "Wha...shit..." At this moment Tych realizes his plan has fallen through and he desperately goes to find something else that could possibly help him in the lab. Meanwhile Ral is already starting to get over his situation and stumbles over to one of his tables and downs some potion. Whatever it did, its helped him significantly. Tych is nowhere to be seen at this point, but that soon changes when Ral instantly teleports him back. The little bastard has never looked so terrified. "I allowed you to live and this is how you repay me? Not too surprising I guess, but I thought you at least had enough sense to not try to kill me. You're going to pay dearly for this." Ral says. You continue to stand back, keeping Spikey in check and watch as Tych suddenly clutches his head. He begins making high pitched screeches and eventually drops to the floor like a stone, which is quite the height since he was still hovering and a fair distance from the floor. He's probably broken his little legs, but that's the least of his problems. Tych continues to writhe in agony on the floor. Blood starts pooling around him. You aren't sure exactly what Ral is doing, but it apparently causing Tych to bleed from every orifice. Eventually the sprite's body can't take it anymore and convulses a couple times before finally dying. You aren't sure if he deserved all that, but you're just glad that wasn't you. Ral now turns his attention to you and already by his stare you're feeling a little nervous. "Hey, I didn't plan that! That was all Tych. I can't even do anything against you remember?" "Maybe not, but you didn't do exactly that much to help me either." "Wha...what? I figured you had it! I mean what damage is a sprite going to do to you?" "Apparently more than I anticipated. I have a very hard time believing that he didn't try to convince you to help, he seemed VERY sure you were when he shouted at you. Why else would he make such an attempt?" "Because he was desperate! I swear I wasn't conspiring against you!" "I dunno, you were pretty argumentative earlier..." At this point you feel so threatened that you begin to think about acting against Ral, despite the geas. It takes everything within you, but you suddenly shout "Spikey attack!" You instantly fall to the floor clutching your groin in pain, Spikey attacks, but given that Ral was already in a state of alertness, he waves his hand and teleports himself out the way of the barbs, then follows up with freezing Spikey in solid ice. "That was a very silly thing to do. If I didn't think you were against me before I do now. Last thing I need is to release you and you cause problems for me later no matter how minor that would actually be." "No wait!" Those are the last words you utter before you're put into some sort of magic stasis. Instead of killing you, Ral keeps you around to experiment on from time to time and do tests. (Spikey on the other hand is ground up into spell components) The only good thing is you're completely oblivious to any of this and you definitely don't experience any passage of time. Your mind is there, but in a dream like state. Most of the time this is positive as you often dream about having a pleasant experiences with people you were on good terms with in real life, such as you sister or Lisa (Or rarely, even Annah or your parents) for you like this, but of course thanks to Ral's magic, you suffer no physical effects of this coma state. However, there does come a day where you're having one of your more pleasant dreams and suddenly everything starts getting ripped away from you. In the dreamland all sorts of horrors attack you, from lizardmen to wazias and manticores. You see those close to you killed many times over, driving you insane for you can do nothing to stop it. In the real world something even worse is going on. You'll never know what exactly of course (Let alone why), but it involves Ral destroying your sense of self or quite literally wiping your mind. The sudden chaos of your dreams is just the beginning of your brain failing to make sense of it all, but eventually everything you know starts disappearing and being replaced by other unfamiliar images. Well a few of them are familiar, but the fact that all the familiar ones are related to Ral, is a little concerning. "Your world" shrinks and one by one all those you knew independent of Ral disappear. People like Tych and Isabella are still there, but you begin to perceive them in a very different way. Even "you" are not feeling yourself. You start to feel like a stranger in your own head. And then finally, you cease to exist as you know it and only Ral remains.

[Themes: fantasy, humor, anti-hero, serious] You're not paying him shit, this is probably some sort of set up. "Yeah, I think I'm good on my own." You say. "Grm. Suit yerself." Warts says and then without another word he disappears back into the forest. You thought for sure he'd at least try to lower his price if you declined his help, but you guess not. In any case you still aren't sure of which way to go, so you gamble and just pick a path that looks the most promising. You figure you could always backtrack if feels like you're going the wrong way. (You hope) You walk along your chosen path for a while, still keeping an eye out for any potential ambushes. In fact you don't even walk directly on the path, you mostly just stick close like you were following a river. Speaking of which you eventually come across a real river with a bridge and everything. There even looks to be a sign post nearby, which makes you think that you are probably going in the right direction. Unfortunately it also looks like a group of four bandits has boldly decided to set up a blockade of sorts here. They haven't seen you yet, so that's at least one good thing in your favor. Of course while you only see four bandits, who knows if there are more hiding nearby with bows or something. In fact you probably shouldn't linger here too long. You slink away and head upstream hoping you'll find another way. (And not get too lost in the process) You don't have too much luck for the most part, but then you see one area where the water looks low enough to cross. You decide to make the attempt. All goes well until it turns out the water wasn't as low as you thought and you're now knee deep in it. You're already a third way across however and you press on. By the time the water is nearly up to your chest, the current begins to pull you and you're soon not walking across the river bottom anymore. You try to maintain control of the situation, but the current is swifter than you anticipated, not to mention you don't know how to swim. You're fortunate in that you don't get pulled too far downstream or go completely underwater before you manage to grab hold of a rock which is close enough to the other side that you pull yourself to the other side of the river bank. Your possessions are another story however. You've lost your coin bag, along with the pistol you just managed to acquire. About the only thing you have left is your dagger. You curse your luck along with the forest, the river and your situation in general. After releasing a torrent of swearing, you move on. Eventually night falls and along with now being cold and wet, you're also starting to feel tired. You aren't even sure if you're heading in the right direction anymore since you got a bit discombobulated when you were struggling not to drown. Still, you press on and that's when you think you see a slight respite in this mess. You see a cabin, though probably an abandoned one as there is no light coming from it. You just hope there isn't anyone or anything lurking inside. You cautiously approach the cabin and while you have a feeling of unease the entire time, when you explore around it, you don't find anything out of the ordinary. Of course it is dark, so maybe you're missing something, but so far it doesn't look like anyone is making camp here. As soon as you try the door though all your senses start to scream danger and you draw your dagger and spin around. You are met with the sight of a man in a robe standing nearby. It's hard to see his face, but the light of the moon shows he's a lot older than you. You lift your dagger up in a defensive stance, but the man isn't moving. "Put that away son, it wouldn't do you any good again me or anything else out around here I'd wager. In fact you shouldn't even be around this cabin. Bad things happen here." The man says. "Yeah? Well what're you doing out here then?" you ask. "Good help is hard to find nowadays. What's your story, you look a little worse for wear." "What's it to you?" "Sheesh, just trying to make conversation. You don't look like one of the many bandits out here. You ain't green, so you aren't hobgoblin. Can't see any points in those ears, so not an elf either. Given your age though, what you do look like is a lost lamb in the woods. Is that what you are?" "No and I'm doing just fine out here." "Bullshit, kid. You look like a half drowned rat. What'd you do, fall in the river?" he says and starts to step forward. "Get the fuck back old man! I'm no damn lamb in the woods, I've killed people!" you say thrusting your dagger in his direction a bit. "Is that right? Hmm, perhaps you could be useful. You just a fighter? You got any other skills?" "Yeah...I mean what the hell you wanna know for?" "Because as I said, good help is hard to find and I got a lot of tasks that need doing. Now I know you're lost out here, but I'll tell ya what, I'll get you out of this forest and set you up with a place to stay and whatever else you might need if you help me in my tasks." "No thanks, I already killed one old pervert in exchange for his so called help." "Well that explains why you're so mistrustful. Look kid, I barely even think about that anymore and you don't have the right equipment anyway. I'm a wizard and I do a lot research and experiments. Unfortunately, the material that I sometimes need requires me to come outside which I'd rather not do. I used to have an apprentice of sorts to help out on that front, but well let's just say shit happens." "A wizard that does experiments? And how do I know that I'm not going to be one of those experiments?" "Because if I wanted you for that purpose, I would have already cast a spell to immobilize you and taken you back to my place already. I'm just looking for someone to help me do the grunt work I don't want to be bothered to do. I can also promise to pay you, if saving your life just isn't good enough." "How much?" "We can discuss that later, but I need to know if you want the job, because I'm not staying out here all night." "Well where is your place? Holgard?" "Pfft, not that cess pit. Though it isn't too far from there." "How far is it?" "Oh, don't worry about that, I can get us there real quick. So you in or not?" > You decline the offer "No, I don't think so. If you're as powerful as you say you are, there's gotta be a catch if you want me to willingly agree to help you." You say. "Hmm, you're more clever than you look, but perhaps a bit short sighted as potential opportunity. You can't gain something without risk, boy. Oh well, I won't bother you anymore, it was just an offer after all." The man says and disappears into the forest. You're still a little leery of the man's intent so you get in the cabin as fast as you can and close the door. You look out the window a few times, but see nobody lurking around. You don't even hear any noise outside. The cabin itself is completely dark save for the moonlight coming from the window and the few small holes in the roof. It's also a simple one-room abode with barely any furnishing, so if anything were hiding in here, it would have to be doing a very good job of it. In any case, you don't have anything that would get the fireplace started, but there is a simple straw bed in the corner. You prod at it a couple times just to make sure it isn't infested with anything and then you lay down. No sooner have you lain down your lids begin to get very heavy. Odd, you were sort of still wound up from your recent encounters, but you guess the stress of the day has finally caught up with you. You close your eyes and sleep takes you. You dream of your home in Teckleville except you're not living with your parents and you're actually happily married to Annah. In real life this would be very unlikely situation, but since this is a dream you don't think much about it. Life is good. You're well respected in the village and you work as a locksmith. Not too much of a stretch given your familiarity with locks, but as the dream builds upon this perfect life, you start to feel uneasy. Still, you're so happy with Annah and your brand new son. One night you and she are looking at him sleeping in his crib. "Isn't he beautiful?" Annah asks. "Not as beautiful as you." You say and then kiss her. "Mmmm, that's how we go this one here." She says as you both enter your own bedroom. You stare into her eyes and caress her hair. "I wish this moment would never end." You say "Do you mean that?" "Of course." Annah suddenly then looks at you more seriously and squeezes your hand. "No, I have to know, do you really mean it? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" > Yes Something about this all seems so wrong somehow...but yet you can't help but feel finally at peace here. "Yes, I do want to spend the rest of my life with you." You say. Annah hugs you tight and you embrace her and you never worry about anything else ever again. You two live a lifetime in bliss and happiness in Teckleville and you watch your child grow up and then your grandchildren. You grow old and so does Annah, but towards the end on your deathbed when Annah is hovering over you, her face changes, in fact she is no longer the same woman and a much younger one to boot. This new smiling young woman with red hair touches your face just before you close your eyes for the last time. Years later a group of adventurers find your skeletal remains still lying on the bed in that cabin. As they search through your remains, they can't help but notice that your skull seems to be smiling.

[Themes: fantasy, anti-hero, humor, fantasy] "No, I don't think so. If you're as powerful as you say you are, there's gotta be a catch if you want me to willingly agree to help you." You say. "Hmm, you're more clever than you look, but perhaps a bit short sighted as potential opportunity. You can't gain something without risk, boy. Oh well, I won't bother you anymore, it was just an offer after all." The man says and disappears into the forest. You're still a little leery of the man's intent so you get in the cabin as fast as you can and close the door. You look out the window a few times, but see nobody lurking around. You don't even hear any noise outside. The cabin itself is completely dark save for the moonlight coming from the window and the few small holes in the roof. It's also a simple one-room abode with barely any furnishing, so if anything were hiding in here, it would have to be doing a very good job of it. In any case, you don't have anything that would get the fireplace started, but there is a simple straw bed in the corner. You prod at it a couple times just to make sure it isn't infested with anything and then you lay down. No sooner have you lain down your lids begin to get very heavy. Odd, you were sort of still wound up from your recent encounters, but you guess the stress of the day has finally caught up with you. You close your eyes and sleep takes you. You dream of your home in Teckleville except you're not living with your parents and you're actually happily married to Annah. In real life this would be very unlikely situation, but since this is a dream you don't think much about it. Life is good. You're well respected in the village and you work as a locksmith. Not too much of a stretch given your familiarity with locks, but as the dream builds upon this perfect life, you start to feel uneasy. Still, you're so happy with Annah and your brand new son. One night you and she are looking at him sleeping in his crib. "Isn't he beautiful?" Annah asks. "Not as beautiful as you." You say and then kiss her. "Mmmm, that's how we go this one here." She says as you both enter your own bedroom. You stare into her eyes and caress her hair. "I wish this moment would never end." You say "Do you mean that?" "Of course." Annah suddenly then looks at you more seriously and squeezes your hand. "No, I have to know, do you really mean it? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?" > No You sense something wrong...this isn't your life and this is no mere dream. Something is trying to make you "stay here." Somehow you manage to wake yourself up and when you do, you really wish you hadn't. You see a ghostly rotting figure hovering over you. It looks female in appearance, but only vaguely. "I TRIED TO MAKE YOU HAPPY!" it shrieks and attacks you. You of course have no weapon that can defend against such a supernatural creature. You try to get up, but an unnatural force holds you down. You scream as you feel an icy pain envelope your body and your mind is filled with terrible images. Your screams are followed by your entrails and vital organs being ripped out, your bones being broken and your head ultimately being twisted all the way around and pulled off. Afterwards the apparition nuzzled up to your decapitated corpse making cooing noises, cradling your bloody head and whispering "It'll be better next time...next time my love...next time...."

[Themes: fantasy, serious] You aren't going to let this fat fuck get a chance to possibly shoot you in the back, plus you're too pissed about him trying to molest you. With a couple quick moves you pull out your dagger, stab him in his arm and relieve him of his fancy pistol. Graham screams out like a little girl and now pleads for his miserable life. "Please! No, don't kill me!" he whimpers pathetically. Once again, much like how it was Klint, you show no remorse and pull the trigger of the pistol. It's the first time you've ever used one; so the unexpected kickback nearly causes you nearly drop it. You also weren't expecting it blow half of Graham's stinking face off. His obese corpse slumps lifelessly against the carriage wall. "Shit." You remark to yourself being in awe of the power of the weapon. Never being one to miss an opportunity, you quickly deprive Graham's body of the jeweled rings on his fingers. You then also go through the pockets that you can get to and get a bag full of gold coins. After looting Graham's body, you remember that there is a skirmish going on outside. A quick glance shows several bandit types fighting the mercs. The mercs are out numbered, but thanks to their armor and better training, they're doing a good job of fending off the bandits. You get out of the carriage with the intent of just running off into the woods, but then you might get lost. It occurs to you that you do have an advantage that will allow you get away a lot faster and still stay on your course. While one of the mounted mercs bashes in the head of a bandit you take the opportunity to shoot him while his back is turned. The merc's armor is of no protection and he cries out as he falls from his horse. "Who the hell is that guy?" one of the bandits shouts. "Dunno, but who cares, he's killing their side!" another says. You quickly run to the now ownerless horse and clumsily get on. You're a bit vulnerable for a few seconds, but fortunately the bandits seem to now think you're on their side and don't focus on you (and the remaining mercs have their hands full) You soon manage to control the horse (which is anxious to get away from the chaos anyway) and gallop away until the skirmish is far behind you and you're basically left alone again. Unfortunately your horse suddenly starts wheeze and wobble. You manage to hastily get off before it collapses. There on it's left side you see what the problem is. In all the ensuing the chaos, the horse actually took a few crossbow bolts. Probably damage to vital organs and its adrenaline is finally wearing off. Bad luck for you and even worse luck for the horse. Not having many more options, you start walking. In any case there's two more bodies to your count now. Granted Graham deserved it, but that merc...well he made a living risking his life, it just happened that today his time was up. You had to survive a dangerous situation and that's it. That's how you're justifying that one anyway. Still, you at least acquired a few goodies for your troubles. You're going to have to learn more about how to take proper care of this pistol because it's far too valuable of a weapon to neglect. It'll certainly make dealing with shit in Holgard a bit more manageable. The rings are what surprise you most. You're no jeweler, but you have stolen enough cheap baubles in the past that you can tell a fake when you examine it in greater detail. The gems in the rings are actually common, but altered slightly (especially their color) to resemble more valuable ones. Even the ring is gold plated rather than pure. Looks like Graham wasn't as rich as he made out. However, the little pouch of coins is real money so there's that at least. You continue along the road, which as you guessed starts alternating from being intact, to dirt with a few stones to being little more than a well worn path in the grass. Even the occasional signs aren't much help given that many are flat out damaged in some way. Your natural instinct to just keep going in a straight line like you were doing, but unfortunately for you, the path completely disappears into forest. Doesn't help that the road also branches into several paths that twist in different directions. You weren't expecting that so you aren't sure which way to go. While you're pondering this decision, a voice calls out to you. "Hey! Where youz tryin' to get to?" You then see a person dressed in simple clothing coming out of the forest. He's a little shorter than you, in fact he's a little greener than you too. Doesn't look like an orc though, not nearly big or massive enough. Goblin perhaps, but he's taller than one and almost a bit human looking. A short green human with a few warts on his face and a bigger than average nose. In any case, you maintain your usual caution. "Okay, that's far enough. Who are you?" you ask. "Me? I'm just Warts." He answers picking his big nose. "Appropriate name." "Grhm. So youz tryin' to get to Holgard?" "Yeah, why?" "Well cuz, I can lead you to it. Lotz o' paths in this forest lead lotz o' places. Easy to get lost if you don't know da way." "You know the way huh? How do I know you aren't going to lead me into an ambush?" "Youz don't I suppoze. Take yer chances going alone an' getting lost, don't care. I just try to earn a little extra coin for drink an' leadin' clueless humies like yerself gets me some...well when they aren't throwin' rocks at me that is." "What are you exactly?" you ask. "Huh? What you mean?" Warts replies. "I mean, you don't look quite like any greenskin I've ever seen." "You seen a lot o them have ya?" "Well no, but I've heard tales..." "Then you don't really know nuthin' then do ya?" Warts says in a perturbed tone. Actually he's got a bit of a point. You decide to get right to the matter. "Alright, assuming I take you up on your generous offer, how much is it?" you ask. "Oh, yeah price...hmm, you want to go to Holgard right? Five gold coins." Warts answers. "Five gold coins just to lead me through the forest? That's fucking outrageous!" "Holgard is tricky to get to if you don't know the way. Lot of false paths get made. Besides, you lot usually have more than enough gold. I see you humies travelling all over in your rolly boxes filled with goods." "Do I look like I'm in a rolly box carting around a wagon full of treasures? I'm just a simple traveller down on his luck." "Down on luck huh? You should pray to Yag more. Anywayz five gold. Final offer." This greenskin obviously has no concept of haggling. It really isn't like you don't have the coin, it's more like you don't want to give so much to the likes of him after being fortunate enough to acquire it in the first place. Ultimately, he's either telling the truth about the forest being that treacherous or he's completely bullshitting you. You'll just have to decide for yourself. > Threaten Warts Why risk getting lost or paying this greedy greenskin when you can just force him to lead you out of this forest? You get closer and then pull out your pistol. Warts eyes go big for a moment. "Iz dat one of those shooty things?" Warts asks. "Yep, and better yet, it's one of those multiple shooty things." You respond. "Hey, I don't got no money humie. The only thing I got in my pants is muh dick and I ain't givin up dat." "What you're going to do is lead me out of this here forest for free or you get a hole in you bigger than one of your nostrils." "Grm. So that's how it is huh? Ol' Warts gets cheated again. (Sigh) Fine. You got the upper hand, follow me." Warts says in a resigned tone. Warts begins to walk and you follow close behind. Several times you get the impression he's going to try to run off, but it seems like he's so reconciled to his fate. Almost like this has happened to him before. Time passes and it feels like you've been walking through this forest longer than expected. "Hey greenskin, how much further is it?" you ask. "We still got a ways ta go. The damn bandits are all over dis forest and I'm trying to keep us away from their camps. So we gotta go the long way less you fancy a fight." Warts responds. "No, I guess not." "Grm. Didn't think so. You wouldn't last in a real fight without dat shooter." "Alright watch it, pimples." "Dat's Warts!" "Whatever just shut up and keep moving." Warts continues to remain silent about his situation as you keep the pistol trained on him. Night begins to fall and once again you begin to get agitated. "Great, it's getting fucking dark now. If you think you're going to..." you start to say. "SHHHHHH! Hear dat?" Warts says and stops to listen. "No." you say, genuinely not hearing anything. Warts stands still for a moment moving his head as if to hear the sound he heard again, then all of a sudden... "SHIT! IT'S A BLOOD STALKER! RUN! RUN!" he shouts and takes off ahead of you. You're actually so surprised by Warts exclamation that you don't even try to shoot him, you just try to follow him as you also run through the trees. You aren't sure what a blood stalker is and you still don't even hear anything, but Warts never stops shouting about running for your life. He even turns his head to see if you're still following and that's when he takes a fall over something on the ground. "ARGH SHIT FUCK! MY LEG!" he yells. "Come on get up!" you say momentarily stopping. "Can't! My leg's all twisted! You'll have to carry me!" "Fuck that, you're on your own!" you say and just continue running ahead. You fully expect Warts to shout obscenities about you leaving him behind, but you don't. Since you haven't looked back, you actually think the blood stalker caught him, but you don't hear any screams. Then you soon believe that the blood stalker has caught you because you feel multiple sharp sensations go into your chest. However, you're conscious enough to realize it isn't any sort of creature at all, but instead a swing trap that you triggered while running and not paying attention. You look down and see several sharpened branches puncturing your body, yet keeping it held up at the same time. Blood comes out of your mouth and despite the pain being fairly terrible, you cannot even utter anything louder than a dying groan. "Hey Warts! Ya cowardly little grub, youz can come out now! Got da bastard!" you hear a gruff voice exclaim. "I wasn't hidin' ya idjit, I was pretendin' to be hurt in a fall." Warts shouts back. At this point the pain is becoming more of a numbness and your vision is beginning to blur. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a green figure bend down to pick up something, most likely the pistol you dropped when you triggered the trap. "Hey a shooty. Dis what the humie was threatin' you wit?" the hobgoblin asks. "Yeah, an watch where you point dat thing! I had enough of that already." Warts exclaims. "Guess you were lucky me an' da boys were out huntin' this way. Too many humies in da forest nowadays." "Yeah an' fortunately I noticed the signs since I nearly stepped in hobgoblin shit a couple times. Just glad this dumb humie couldn't tell the difference between it and regular animal shit." "Well you always were an expert on shit Warts." You can barely hear the two greenskins now as your body continues to bleed out and your organs shut down. "Heard ya yellin' about a blood stalker. You still usin' dat ol' lie?" The hobgoblin asks. "Hasn't failed yet surprisingly. Guess people just don't know there ain't no such creature." Warts replies. "Well, guess let's start strippin' him. Huntin' been a bit thin, so this is actually a bit of luck for us. Tell ya what, you can have what's in his pockets and I'm just gonna keep da shooty and his body for eats, deal?" "Better deal than I got from this asshole." "K, hey you lot! Get yer asses over here an' help us pull dis meat off the trap." Soon several hands grab your limp body and pull it off the spiked trap. At this point any remaining life your body might have had is gone and you don't even hear the further taunts of Warts or his hobgoblin buddies.