Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine felt her heart twinge as Tak'we began relating bits of his time as a slave. All she could do was stand there and listen; the alcohol had rendered him a sobbing mess. When he finally slumped against the bedpost, she carefully approached, picking up the now empty bottle of moondrop wine and setting it on the nearby dresser. Then, she gathered the rumpled blanket and wrapped it around the thri-kreen as best as she could.

 

Leaning close, the Doomguide patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "We love you too, friend. Sleep well."

 

With that, she tiptoed out and shut the door soundlessly behind her. Descending the stairs, she made her way back into the common room, where the patrons had become significantly more rowdy. Dodging and weaving through the crowd, she returned to her place across from Arva and the others.

 

"Well, I think Tak'we beat you to the drink. He's passed out upstairs," she said with a sigh.

[Macman253]

Lokii walked calmly, his eyes locked on Valknr. He could feel his heart pound in his chest like an orc war-drum. Loudwater had the scent of a usual human city, it smelled of waste and mud. Its streets made of cobblestone and used as the sewer. Despite these distracting scents he easily kept on Valknr's scent. When he ducked into an alley to avoid a group of paladins Lokii followed him inside, he quickly grabbed the human and pressed him against the wall of the alley as a Paladin started to walk in. He placed a hand over Valknr's mouth and uttered an Invocation. He and Valknr vanished in a shroud of invisibility. He motioned for the man to remain silent, he knew the best way to get into this Cult was to appear as a friend and this was his opportunity.

 

The Paladin drew his blade and walked closer, he passed Lokii and Valknr. His armored shined in the moonlight and his blade had many notches in the hilt. "By the order of Torm reveal yourself..." He spoke to the darkness. Lokii picked up a small rock from the ground and tossed it into the smaller alley at the end. The Paladin took off after the sound, his armor clanking as he ran. When the footsteps were far away he sighed in relief and released Valknr, the invisibility effect wearing off. "You are a Gith? I thank you for saving me... I am a wanted man." He said, lying about his reasons.

 

Lokii nodded, he looked into Valknr's eyes. "I know, I sought you out because I want to join the Cult. I had heard of your involvement and as you can see I am no friend of the Paladins." He spoke quietly so as to not draw attention. Valknr nodded and looked into the Gith's eyes. The Order Of Torm could be deceptive but they would never have a Gith in their order. Confident this mans words were true he waved for him to follow. After an hour of walking through the back alleys and taking long routes they arrived at a rundown section of Loudwater, there an old half ruined church stood. Valknr walked up to the door and knocked on it twice, then once and then twice again. The large wooden door opened slowly and light came from inside.

 

Inside there was perhaps fifty patrons in red robes and the leader stood on an alter with a naked young woman bound to the blood covered black stone altar. A long dagger in his hand, Valknr raised his hands high and bowed to his lord. "My lord I bring you a new and powerful member..." Spoke Valknr as he bowed. The Lord looked at Lokii, his eyes suddenly widened as the demon stirred within him. Barabas appeared next to him in his vision form.

 

"Good work my slave, there are too many for you to handle but maybe we could play a different game..." Spoke Barabas as he stroked his chin. The Lord put his dagger down on the altar and walked over to the Gith. He could smell the ancient devils influence on this new man. "You are possessed by a Devil, a powerful and ancient devil." He said as he approached, he accent foreign. He pulled back his hood to reveal a red-skinned face. His eyes a pure black with little black horns protruding from his skull.

 

"A tiefling... " Spoke Lokii as he recognized his kind, The Tiefling nodded. He was handsome and he noticed that many of the patrons were young women. Most likely enthralled by him. Lokii noted he was a man of influence and charisma. "I see you have many females... I must ask you. How do you know of my Possession?" Barabas growled in anger, since they were in the presence of a cleric he could not harm his slave but he would not wish him to know this. He merely stayed quiet. "I can see the devil inside of you, Lucifer is his name... and I am Torlan." He spoke softly, with a slight hiss.

 

Lokii noticed the woman struggling on the Altar, she had not been influenced. Probably to make the sacrifice more pleasurable. Lokii turned his eyes back to Torlan. "Release the woman..." He commanded. Torlan smiled and shook his head. Lokii drew his blade with lightning speed, the tip of the blade at Torlans throat. "Release the woman..." He repeated, slightly pressing the blades tip into his skin. The tiefling waved his hand and the two attendants released the woman. The naked woman ran into Lokii's arms and cried. "Now leave Lucifer... Before I take your life..." Threatened Torlan. Lokii glanced over his shoulder to see the door clear of enemies. With a quick flick of his wrist the blade cleaved Torlan from waist and neck. The tiefling fell to the floor in a fountain of Arterial spray that coated him and the woman in black blood.

 

"Go! Run for help!" He shouted, the woman nodded and bolted for the door. He blasted Valknr with a bolt of Eldricht energy that caused him to explode in a cloud of dust. Two of the attendants drew their daggers and charged him. Lokii parried the first strike but the second attendant's dagger struck him in the shoulder. He roared in pain and kicked the man in the stomach. The man fell to the floor in a loud clatter and his dagger slid across the floor. He returned his attention to the first attendant, he struck the man in the face with his gauntleted hand and then flipped his sword into an inversed grip and sliced across the mans stomach. He clutched his abdomen as his intestines began to fall out in a bloody mess. The doors quickly shut behind him, Lokii growled at his misfortune. He turned to the door and uttered a phrase in Dark Speech, "Vulrun!" he shouted and the door exploded off its hinges.

 

He slid his blade into the scabbard on his back and ran as fast as he could, the young woman was waiting around a corner outside. He stopped when he saw her and grabbed her arm. "C'mon we have to go!" He yelled, he looked over his shoulder to see that the cultists chose not to follow. He knew they would come searching but they must be attending to their wounded. He scooped the girl into his arms and wrapped her in his cloak and hood. Revealing his face entirely to the elements.

 

It took less then an hour for them to arrive at The Green Tankard, as he strode in his companions were drinking and reveling. He walked up to the upstairs rooms and entered his. He gently set the woman on the bed and went about making a fire to warm the room. She was ice cold and her temperature was dropping. It only took a few minutes and soon the room was bathed in a warm glow. The young girl slept, the adrenaline that fueled her exhausted self long gone, his own body ached from exertion. Black blood ran down his arm, Barabas appeared in front of him in a vision.

 

"Good, you have given me three beautifully black souls from which to feast..." He said tauntingly as he clapped his black nailed hands. The demon stroked her chin and smelled her, he shuttered with ecstasy as he smelled the purity of her flesh and soul. "She is exquisite, her soul is as pure as her body... Virgins are beautiful and delicious souls." He spoke with a sick sense of pleasure, Lokii roared at Barabas, "Do not touch her foul devil! Leave her be!" He yelled, Barabas smiled and bowed, he then faded away. Lokii sat in the chair facing the door and hung his head and soon drifted off to sleep.

[Flipout6]

Weyland had gone about a quarter way through his pint when Lokii came through with the barely-covered woman, who looked incredbly scared of something...and took her upstairs to his room. Weyland narrowed his eyes suspiciously. It didn't help anything that the Githyanki was covered in black blood and his blade had recently seen use. Weyland found this incredibly suspicious, especially considering it was Lokii involved (everybody knew how supernatural creatures-in this case Barbaras- got around young women and virgins.) He stood up from the table, his eyes narrowed, and insisted Amendale follow him. He strode up to the room, identifying it by the wet footprints and black blood trail, and hammered on the door, shield in hand. Amendale stood on the far side of the door. Weyland kept his hand near his sword.

 

"Lokii! What are you-or Barbaras- doing with a terrified, nearly-naked woman in private?" He spoke loudly, but didn't yell. It was likely that only a few downstairs could hear him.

[tokyobiohazard]

Arva watched the nude woman being carried in and immediately stood up. "I have to go investigate this... For research purposes."

 

Reona pushed him back down into his chair and shook her head. "I'll just have to report my findings to you when I get back, pervert. Why don't you go and mingle with the first woman to ask for your attentions tonight?"

 

She followed behind Weyland and Amendale.

 

Arva's hand wrapped around his tankard's handle and he stood, untying his hair and letting it tumble down over his shoulders. As he made his way across the room, he took a flower from a vase on the bar - obviously placed there by the owner's wife or daughter - and took hold of the stem between his teeth, tankard in hand. "I think I will."

 

He slid into the chair next to his admirer, which he now recognized as a half-orc, and smiled at her warmly, placing the flower in front of her. "My name's Arva! Thanks for the drink!" He took a sip and chuckled as she blushed, which seemed to make her turn an even deeper shade of red.

 

"I'm Rena." Her voice was light and timid, contrary to what the two short tusks poking from beneath her deep grey lower lip would lead one to think. Her hair was thick and long, black as pitch, and her skin was a smoky grey color.

 

"What a nice name." Arva found himself blushing by this point, noticing her generous bust and hips. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad night, after all.

Edited January 24, 2013 by tokyobleach

[josh900]

Tannin sighed as Lokii walked into the inn carrying the young women. "I do hope that woman's simply had a few too many drinks and he's taking her up to a room with no intentions of taking advantage of her. Cause otherwise i will wake up to find myself in the bottom of a bottle out of sheer disappointment." Watching Arva go over to the half-orc did put a smirk on his face. "Though i suppose there are worse places to wake up. He's lucky, last I saw that happen well.... I'm still not sure it was a women. Had more facial hair than I do." He said with a shudder. Knowing that he would be of no help with the situation upstairs he chose to instead stay down in the common room.

[Macman253]

Lokii awoke to the girl crying, she had gotten into his pack and was wearing his spare tunic. He looked down to see his arm bandaged with a scrap of cloth from a spare tunic he had and his arm was coated in drying black blood. His head swam with blood loss, he slowly but steadily stood up. The girl reached up and clutched his hand, she looked into his eyes and all he could see was fear. He knelt down next to her and spoke softly, hoping his voice would calm her.

 

"Do not worry, just tell them the truth and you will be fine." He said, when he stood she stood. He glanced over his shoulder and when he took a step forward she followed. He sighed and realized she wasn't going to leave his shadow. He walked towards the door. His steps were heavy slow. He felt as if the room was spinning. His shoulder and arm began to hurt three times worse then it did before. He looked over to see that blood had begun to pour once more. The flow was heavy and the tourniquet was soaked wet with his blood. His eyesight became fuzzy as he reached out for the door, he felt himself begun to rock back and forth and soon he fell to the floor with a loud thud.

 

______________

 

Katerina screamed in shock as her savior fell to the floor, woozy from the blood loss she instinctively ran over to him. She patted him on the cheek but he would not rouse. He tried to speak but could not, he looked her in the eyes and smiled. Gently touching her face, it was as if he was peering at someone else. She had been an apothecaries assistant and she had seen many wounds but when she inspected it she smelled the poison. "Spider Venom..." She said to herself. She stood up quickly and yanked open the door, not knowing if the men on the other side were friends or enemies but either way it could be life or death so she had to act. She was relieved to see it was a pair of men, despite being armed she still found her words.

 

"Get help he's wounded and bleeding!" She yelled to them, normally she would never open a door without being decent but in this case she made and exception. Time was of the essence and her bandaging did not stem the flow of blood. Her fear all but washed away entirely she barked orders at both the men. Katerina tied her long brown hair back with a strap of leather and returned to the Gith's side. She clinched the wound tight in her hands and waited for the other two to return with help.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Macman253

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine first watched Lokii wade into the crowd with a half-covered woman, himself drenched in blood...then Weyland and Amendale trail after the gith, followed closely by Reona...then Arva begin to flirt with the half-orc woman. The tavern was getting increasingly loud and bawdy as the free drinks began to do their work.

 

"Gods above," the Doomguide sighed again, draining her own wine glass. Despite the innkeeper's offer, it would be her only glass that night.

 

There came a series of muffled yells and thuds from upstairs. Concerned that Weyland and Lokii had finally gotten into a brawl with each other, she rose from her seat once more and pushed her way through the now drunken patrons towards the stairs.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Maydiira landed on her face with a grunt.

 

Angry that they hadn't gotten anything out of her, the Red Wizards had deposited her back in her cell without food or water. At least they had allowed her to keep the robe.

 

After the two left, she rolled over and squinted at the iron bars. She was no rogue, and there was no doubt that the bars themselves would take exception to being tampered with. The only way she could even try to escape would be after the wizards escorted her out of the cell. Even then, she stood little chance. This underground complex was massive, and it was likely that the wizards would kill her before she even had a chance to begin a spell of her own.

 

Going limp on the floor of the cave, she closed her eyes and dug her fingers into the soft clay.

 

Ah well. All she had to lose now was her life...and even that would be taken from her sooner or later.

[Flipout6]

Weyland rolled his eyes, exasperated, at the woman's pleas for aid. It was not anything against her, but rather against Lokii. Amendale, of course, had the physical components of a powerful healing spell in his hand, as he didn't know how severe the wound was. Weyland fished some first aid supplies and a bottle of antivenom from his backpack, as he didn't know if the warlock was poisoned or not.

 

"I am your help." Amendale said, kneeling beside the Githyanki, and motioned with his hand as he muttered something under his breath.

 

His hands glowed with magic, and most of Lokii's wounds knitted themselves up. Feeling the considerable sap of his power, Amendale switched to a weaker spell to heal the rest of the injuries. Amendale stood back up, cringing at the amount of energy that had taken.

 

"I do not know any spells to abolish poison, should he be afflicted."

 

Weyland put the first aid supplies away and held the bottle of antivenom in his hand and looked to the woman. "Is he poisoned? I'm not wasting this unless I have to."

[Macman253]

Katerina nodded, She checked his veins to feel his pulse rising. "His heart is fine, the venom hasn't reached it yet but he needs the anti-toxin. The blades were covered in a spider venom. Causes the victim to bleed out then begins to rot them from the inside out." She explained, Lokii grumbled and sat up. His hand gripping his head, he could feel the constant pounding in his skull. He felt like he had a few too many drinks. The woman clutched his chest to keep him from rising up too fast. "Calm yourself, you have been poisoned but it will take a few hours. These men stopped the bleeding..." She added.

 

Lokii looked up to see his rescuers, Amendale and Weyland. "Great, my own personal hate club..." He thought, his mood going sour in a hearts beat. He grabbed his blade from next to his chair and used it to stand himself up. He could feel his breath getting slow and heavy, He looked to the pair and growled. "Why did you save me? Would have thought you would have just let me die? Me being such a monster... isn't that what you humans do?" He spoke foully, his mood was black and uncaring to them but the woman he oddly felt a closeness too. She saved his life, he owed her much.

 

Barabas appeared next to Amendale and Weyland, his spectral form invisible to them. Only Lokii could see him. He chuckled evilly as he inspected them, "Wow, the great Lokii The Fellheart being saved by a pair of zealots like these two... You've lost your touch." He said as a black piece of fruit spawned in his hand and he took a large bite out of it. The fruits juices were blood, that ran down his arm and chin as he chewed. Lokii realized it was a soul in the form of a heart, he ignored the demon as he stood at full height.

[mythicdawnmaster]

Xallistine sat in the corner of the tavern, long since returned to his true form, his bony fingers rubbed his temples in circles, his brow dropped in frustration at all of the noise, and the events of late. First a pair of adventurers, then a man that dropped from the sky, and now a Githyanki that was possessed by an evil devil. Th Ulitharid had seen strange, but such a large group was a difficult task for the socially inept sorcerer. It was times like this one he longed to be home, reading through his books. But he had promised to stay with Rhaine, and it was a promise he intended to keep.

 

In front of him lay a large tome, just another of his books, flicked to a page regarding the desert they had to cross- Xallistine was slightly worried that he would be unable to make the trip- His race needed their skin to be moist and well hydrated, unless of course they had slipped into Lichdom, which the Ulitharid had not. The baking sun would dry him out very quickly.

 

He heard the commotion as the Gith entered with some naked damsel, but paid no heed, humane as he may have been becoming, it was still not his nature to care about just anyone. The thuds and screams from upstairs further irritated the ageing sage, and he closed his book hastily, stuffing it into his satchel. As he passed Rhaine he spoke "I shall be by the river should you need me, M'lady... this racket is beyond my abilities to cope with." And he walked tall and proud, the bustling crowd stepping out of his way for fear of what he'd do to them should they block his path.