Fantasy The End Is Slow - Act 1

[DemetrioMachete]

The Pine Forests surrounding Acuity, 1:46 P.M.​

Bloodless carnage. How curious a concept. Broken, smoking goblin bodies surrounded him, as he hobbled forward. The stench they gave off... it compared nothing to that of their killer. Only one goblin of the camp remained. Flat on the ground, he was, at least until he began to try and scoot backwards, away from his impending death. Not wishing to die, his mouth, filled with sharp, but timid teeth, scrambled out a desperate cry.

"B-bree yark! Paiche... bree yark!" [I surrender! Please... I surrender!] But alas, they fell on deaf ears. The killer of his minions hobbled over the goblin's prone form, as he took in what his attacker looked like up close...

He had a bulbous head, with ashen black skin and yellow eyes. His limbs were long and gangly, even though it was only three feet tall. It wore a fine brown tunic, with trousers to match. The stench it exhumed was worse than anything the Goblin had ever smelled, and as it held up a single finger to the Goblin's head, it uttered a single phrase.

"I'm afraid I don't speak Goblin." there was a sound of ethereal energy lashing out, as a purple beam of energy skewered the Goblin's head, its expression going slack as it fell limp. The short and smelly creature's business here was done.

. . .

Acuity, 4:10 P.M​

It was quite to walk to return back to the village. Schmuckles had been tracking that Goblin band all morning. It surprised him that he remembered how to make it back. The small Boggle's first stop was the Barracks, where the town guard resided. Once he had found the Captain, without a word, he slammed a sack down at his feet, spilling forth a number of Goblin teeth and ears, as well as a sheet of papyrus detailing a bounty.

"Do you know what this is, Captain?" the Boggle asked him cheerily. The Captain, a Human with a beard at least half as thick as a dwarf's gazed down at the spilled sack and bounty, his gaze sleepy and uninterested.

"... teeth, ears n' blood I expect you to clean up?" Came his calm, dull response. The Boggle snorted, as he emphasized the bounty in his hand.

"It's... it's the bounty you sent me out to claim. The goblin raiders? The ones harassing the farmers' animals? Well this is them. They're dead."

"Oh really...?" His expression didn't change, as he looked around, finding the nearest guard and gesturing for him to go and get the Boggle's reward.

"As tiny as you look I didn't think you'd actually kill 'em. Alrighty... 100 gold. As detailed." As the guard returned with a sack of coin, Schmuckles had set to sweeping the goblin pieces back into the sack, trying to scrub up the blood with the sack itself. A trade was made, and the boggle walked out of the barracks a wealthier fairy.

Time to waste it all on food and drink, he thought. Off to the tavern! As he hobbled along, the tiny Boggle thought aloud to himself.

"To think... 400 years ago I had tried to destroy all of this. I think it so preposterous, now. But even without my old self, there is still danger. A danger which lurks out of our reach, waiting to strike. Why is no one... reacting to it?"

Inheritance Trombone Geek Gaius Danius Griinia SexyStonerRoleplaygal ithinkcat Feywild Coffeepot Giraffe Nyq Damafaud DapperCat Xemanorth darkborn DistressedDisaster Will_0121

 

[Trombone Geek]

Nimue watched as Acuity's resident leatherworker mended the newest worn patch in her armor. Dressed in a plain black tunic and pants, the bored woman had taken to pacing in circles, wishing that Acuity maybe had some issue an unarmored warrior could take care of--but it was all bandits and goblins and the like, and even for the undead minion of ancient and powerful gods was something like that dangerous. There wasn't a single manual chore in sight. So she paced.

And then she scrunched up her nose and covered her face with a sleeve, trying to not gag as a horrible smell assaulted her senses. She suddenly wished she'd been risen without a nose and not in this perfectly-preserved condition. She didn't know anything could smell that bad--

She caught sight of some weirdly hideous creature hobbling its way to the tavern and she scowled. Normally she was all for being understanding of others and all that jazz, but right now she was just irritated that the foulest creature on the planet just had to be walking only a few feet in front of her. Her crest feathers shifted with irritation, but she managed to keep them lowered from what would be an obvious statement of aggression. Instead, she approached the creature, sucking it up and dropping her hand from her face out of politeness. It was a struggle not to gag as she approached the creature to walk beside it.

"Did you ever consider, I don't know--bathing? Because you're ruining some people's evenings right now." She gave the goblin-dwarf-looking-hybrid a sharp glance from the corners of her eyes. "Mine included," she drawled. She hadn't caught the words it had been mumbling earlier--if she had, her interest might have been more professional and less personal. Right now, she just wanted that thing to either leave or clean up. Or maybe she'd just dunk it in the river herself--but she wasn't really sure she wanted to touch it.

DemetrioMachete

 

[DapperCat]

location: Close to the inn.
addresses: x
music: x

The town bustled with stalls selling their wares, blacksmiths and cooks tending to their craft and the whinny of horses from the stables. Surprisingly soothing for a town ready to be invaded by scoundrels at a moment's notice. It might have been for Alygin too, were it not for the pounding headache making every sound drill into her head like a hammer.

To outsiders, she was but a cloaked figure. Discernible was her height and her possible gender by her slender proportions, but nothing else was visible. A tattered black cape was curled around her form, displaying her as if she were a derelict. Only the old hints of silver hinted that once, this coat was of grand quality and price. Her hood was pulled down to cast a dark shadow across her features- all intentional. She hadn't been dropped on her head -enough- to ignorantly show her heritage in the surface world.

With a low voice, the woman interacted with a local apothecary.
"I seem to have run out of medication for my head-ailments. Do you happen to have anything for that?"

The apothecary nodded, a little hesitant at the robed figure. She could easily be yet another danger to the town, after all. The middle-aged woman produced a small pouch and put it upon the old wooden table in front of her. "Good for ten uses ma'am, only three gold."

Alygin's gloved hand slipped into a pocket, her quarterstaff rustling a little upon her back as she moved. Carefully producing the three coins she plopped them upon the table. "You have my grattitude," she outed in a near hiss of pain, taking up the pouch as she turned to head to the town's inn. The merchant tried to call out the instructions, but the Drow was all too aware. It was just one of the many medications she had to take.

She had to mix it with water. Stir it. It would taste revolting, so she would need to buy a meal to not throw it back up to boot. The robed figure moved ever so flowingly, almost gliding towards the inn. And as if the headache wasn't enough- a putrid smell soon entered her nostrils. Great.

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

River ran across the forest floor in pursuit of the harpy. This particular harpy had been stealing food from the local bakery, which led to a bounty being placed on this head. The reward was ten gold pieces, which River was willing to risk his life for. He had no other qualifications except mixing potions, stabbing things and PRAISING THE LORD. Sliding under a dead tree, River found himself in a enclosed area. The harpy sat atop a rock and stared at him before squawking. This drew the attention of an Ogre who stood tall with multiple harpies flying around his body. It would appear as if the harpies revered this Ogre as some sort of deity or guardian. There was no time to analyse the situation further as the Ogre roared and hurled a boulder at River. Just managing to dodge it, River started to formulate a plan in his head. First step: Immobilize the harpies. Picking up a rock and throwing it at the nearest harpy, he got the thing to swoop him. Grabbing its leg, he threw it onto the ground and trod on its neck. Pulling out his crossbow, River shot another one in the wing. Two down, only three more to go thought River as he quickly began reloading his crossbow. Having been made by an excellent Dwarven craftsman, this weapon had a quicker reload time than most crossbows. Though this was at the cost of overall stomping power.

The Ogre roared again and charged at River. River used the next bolt to blind one of its eyes. The creature haphazardly yanked out the bolt as its eye gushed out blood. Another harpy swooped him as River was distracted, which led to him being thrown to the ground. The creature attempted to peck his eyes out, slicing his cheek with its beak. River managed to grab its tongue and tore it out. The surprised animal was then kicked off of River as he pulled his knife from his belt and stabbed its throat. The Ogre shoulder-bashed River, which threw him against a tree. This hurt his back and stunned him temporarily. The Ogre then struck River across the face with its fist, which made River spit out blood. Managing to dodge the next blow, River drew his silver edged sword and cut its hand off. Turning around to meet the harpy he had been chasing, River ran it through and killed it. Distracted and wailing in pain, River was able to catch the Ogre off-guard and decapitated it.

"I'd better get paid extra for this..." said River as he began to collect his spoils.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

The Boggle stopped in its tracks as it heard a voice, no doubt addressing him. It was the odor, it was always the odor. Himself, he acquainted the scent with a cadaver roasting in the sun, mixed together with sweat and manure. Not pleasant by any means, but goodness, even Schmuckles had smelled worse! Something he would defend as he turned to face his accuser.

"I bathe, and I lose this." he spoke to her, as he pointed a single finger to the ground, as it began to pool with a black liquid, produced from the Boggle itself. His already rigid face scrunched up further to emphasize, letting his finger slide through the slick fluid."My oils are useful in aiding escapes, as well as thwarting them, and I cannot produce them after a cleansing of the body. I'll apologize in advance, but I'm sure after they've been toiling with unwashed animals all day, this is nothing new." The fairy shook its head. Not many were willing to take up arms to defend a little hamlet like Acuity. Schmuckles had been at it for some time now; he had liked to think the villagers had learned to tolerate him. But this stranger, one with a nose untainted by farmwork, had the audacity to judge him? Naive, Schmuckles thought her.

"Guess I'm doubling my intake of ale, tonight."
Trombone Geek DapperCat

 

[Trombone Geek]

Nimue grimaced at the boggle's demonstration, but she supposed she could understand the reasoning. The blue tinge on her cheeks burned a little brighter as she realized she'd been more than a little bit rude about the ordeal. He sharper-than-average nose couldn't exactly be blamed on the boggle, after all. She scuffed a boot in the dirt. "Um..." All of the points the boggle brought up were valid, and she felt pretty terrible now. It was a habit of hers to jump into a situation without thinking, even after being alive for a couple centuries, but it didn't really excuse her words.

The last sentence the fae said made Nimue flinch a bit. The boggle had been nothing but courteous about the entire ordeal, despite the condescension she had treated him with. Her demeanor took a 180, from irritated soldier to contrite young woman.

"I, uh. I'm sorry for acting how I did. I--" She paused, two steps away from explaining herself, but she didn't think the boggle wanted to hear her excuses. "Can I, uh, buy you a meal to make up for it?" She didn't really want to spend too much more time around the foul-smelling individual, even if she was adjusting to the smell a little, but she was born with social ineptness combined with a need to make up for her faults. "It's not right of me to say what I said without trying to make it up to you," she said, more confident now. On the bright side, this would help her burn time while she waited for her armor to be fully repaired.

DemetrioMachete

 

[Inheritance]

Elodin Swift​

"And THAT my friends, is how you turn wine, into a dragon!" He finished, with a brilliant smile on his face. The dragon roared behind him, before flying up with a graceful loop, then back towards the crowd. The crowd shrieked as the dragon neared, and just as it seemed to be upon them, it exploded into little bits of paper confetti. Elodin bowed to the audience as a cheer rose up. It wasn't a large audience, but it was getting bigger. Ever since he arrived at this town he was recognized as an outsider. One of them, the magic users that tampered with things better left alone. He didn't know that not everyone was magical, as where he was from even the common beggar had at least a small amount of magical talent. Here, while there were certainly other talents, magic was just not near as common as it was in Bracada. Still, he turned himself from being an outsider to being rather wealthy pretty quickly, using his illusions to put on shows and using his magic to change the copper into gold when he bought things...until the next night, when the gold would change back and he was safely away. He was sure never to use the same face-as he was quite adept at disguising himself and changing his appearance. He had several faces he bought with, so nobody knew it was the obvious illusionist cheating them out of money.

After he collected his sum, he made a show of pouring the hat filled with coins into nothing, and strolled off his little stage (not that it was a stage, but he used it well enough). Time for a drink...and perhaps another show. He thought to himself, knowing full well that taverns were great places to fill up a belly with ale and a purse with coin. So on he strolled, noticing a hooded figure that stood out from the crowd. He always found it strange why people wore cloaks. Why would you be wearing a cloak with a hood up unless you were hiding or didn't want people to see you? And if that was the case, being someone with a hooded cloak on will make you stand out anyway! Regardless, he did not recognize whoever this was, and decided that he would investigate. What was the worst that could happen?

He strolled in and intercepted her path, purposely making a show of fumbling with the door. "Damn, I might be a little too drunk for more drinks. You'll have to help me drink mine-can I buy you one?" He said smiling, quite obviously trying to look at her face. He held open the door for her. "Lovely day for a bit of a buzz, don't you think?"

DapperCat

 

[DapperCat]

location: Stepping into the inn.
addresses: Inheritance
music: x

Alygin made no effort to hide the annoyance at the stench, but she also did not voice it. Simply putting her gloved fingers to the sides of her nostrils she pressed on, pacing past the two oddballs to put her hand on the doorhandle of the tavern. But as her long fingers stretched out, she just as swiftly pulled them back. A man had appeared in front of the door. A theatric one at that.

"Damn, I might be a little too drunk for more drinks."

Her hidden eyes studied him. Human. Neatly curled hair and for the surface world, what seemed to be a conventionally attractive set of features. But the expectant smirk on the man's lips along with the words that followed, made her guard rise.

"You'll have to help me drink mine-can I buy you one?"

A slight glint of teeth showed within the shade of her hood. The only other feature that he saw under that far too low hanging piece of cloth, was the glint of a few strands of hair. White hair.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you're flirting with me darling."

She'd chuckle, but the headache still threatened to make her fall over. So she kept it in. She made sure to lower her head, hoping to prevent the man from seeing any more. As she passed through the doorway, if the man had a sharp eye, he may have noticed the woman moved uncannily. Too smoothly. It was as if gravity did not exist for her.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

The Boggle had turned his back to the woman mocking his scent, but as her tone changed from irritated to apologetic, he paused. How exactly was this change in tone warranted? Could it be, that this stranger actually had empathy? Not many were willing to give the time of day to such an ugly fairy, yet here was this one, offering to buy him meals! The grimace had left his face as she announced her sorriness and willingness to buy for him. Schmuckles didnt take her for the kind to reject her own charity... now he had to think on what she would buy him for dinner, since he didn't think his objections would be accepted. Although choosing that was a simple matter.

"...anything poultry will do." came his simple answer as he slid inside the tavern, beckoning for the stranger to follow, easily sliding past the flirty commotion near the entrance He certainly was small enough to move past them.

Trombone Geek Inheritance DapperCat

 

[Trombone Geek]

Nimue grins, her previous distaste almost forgotten. She followed the fairy with a new bounce in her step, happy to have been able to make amends. The will of the Goddess still flowed through her heart, it seemed--for such a long time, she'd been convinced she was simply the Dragon's agent of war.

As they entered the tavern, she closed her posture off and kept an eye on the few personal belongings she still carried on her, nudging those who failed to make room with her broad frame. "I'll leave whatever you get up to you, so just get what you want and I'll cover the cost," she called over the din, settling into a chair at an empty table. She keeps an eye on the drunken patrons harassing a bartender for more drink with a wary gaze, but doesn't get up to intervene.

"What's your name, anyways?" she asks, directing part of her attention to the boggle.

DemetrioMachete

 

[DemetrioMachete]

The small fairy tried to hasten his pace, using its gangly long arms to propel itself forward like a smelly hairless monkey. Once inside, he pulled himself up into a chair, standing upright upon it to his arms upon the table.

He was grateful that she would front costs for anything he ordered, but this was something he would not take advantage of so maliciously. A plate of chicken and a mug of ale would do nicely. The closest thing he could manage to a smile was plastered upon his face, excited at the prospect of being able to relax after a long time spent in the wilds, with a new friend, no less.

His expression did not drop until Nimue had asked for a name. His name. That name was notorious for belonging to a murderer and a villain. But at the same time... that name was 400 years old. That villain was dead and reborn quietly into an unsuspecting world. Would this girl know who he was? Would she even care? With a tense swallow of food, Schmuckles took a deep breath, and spoke, ridding his voice of all anxiety or fear.

"....Grend Schmuckles."

Trombone Geek

 

[Trombone Geek]

Nimue still found herself a little bit bothered by the appearance and smell of the fairy, but she seemed to be adjusting to it fairly quickly. The smell really wasn't unlike how a battlefield smelled, and that made it a little easier to bear. Nimue was used to battlefields.

The boggle does some sort of grimace-smile, which Nimue assumes is good, and she smiles back. Her crest feathers twitch uneasily as there's a rise in the rowdiness of the crowds, and she scoots forwards in her chair as if the extra centimeter would do her any good.

When the boggle revealed his name, her eyebrows shot up. "Grend Schmuckles? As in, the sorcerer who almost triggered the apocalypse four-hundred years ago?" Nimue wasn't skittering away--she really wasn't intimidated by the boggle at all, truthfully. But Nimue had become a bit of a historian both before and after her death, so she recognized the name well enough, and was aware that he had almost wiped out the Dwarves. If not for Sledge, he probably would have destroyed the world.

And here he was, walking the world again, sitting across from her. Small. Hideous. But apparently much more powerful than she had anticipated. Maybe it was a coincidence--but that was unlikely.

Although, he currently seemed benevolent and sane. Or, as close to that as an avid practitioner of magic could be. Nimue stared Schmuckles down for a long moment before resting her chin on her hands. A light of true interest seemed to flicker on behind her eyes.

"What was the world like when you were alive as a human?" she asked, practically bouncing in her seat now. Her teachers had never told her of the world outside the Unforgiving Cold. They never thought they would need to.

DemetrioMachete