Tales of Faerun

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen tried to get to the others but the very angry innkeeper got in her way and started yelling at them. She decided not to say anything but hoped that somehow they'll be able to change his mind, but then Weyland kicked the man down the stairs and she knew that there's no chance now that they'd be allowed to stay.

 

She went downstairs to get her things and noticed Shalena standing with the suspiciously large pack. "I was wondering when some innkeeper is going to kick us out," the pirate said, "has this happened before?"

 

"No," Nawen shook her head as she picked up her bow, "this is the first time we've been told to leave, actually."

 

Shalena nodded as she took a map out of her pocket and marked something on it.

 

"What are you doing?" The drow asked.

 

"Marking another location where I won't be welcome anymore." The pirate replied as she folded the map and put it back in her pocket.

[AurianaValoria1]

"Thanks," Rhaine said flatly to Tenebris as he passed by. Then, as Weyland surprisingly kicked the innkeeper down the stairs, she barked, "Weyland! That was entirely uncalled for! This man's livelihood will be damaged for months after this; he doesn't need his ribs broken as well. I don't want to see such a reaction from you again...I had thought you were better than that." Nodding to his sister, she added, "Sybille is right. We're leaving immediately. I suggest everyone rearm themselves and stay wary."

 

Conall sighed heavily, glancing at Marie, "This is all on my head. I knew Raidan's assassins could follow me, and the only reason they were here is because of me. It is my fault, and mine alone - and thus I shall pay for all damages caused." He picked up his things, found his money pouch, and then went over to the innkeeper and offered it to him as recompense. The now winded and bruised man hesitated before taking the money and muttering, "Just go."

 

Argyros watched the aftermath silently, but taking in the actions of everyone. His gaze was unnaturally observant, and his silver eyes seemed to appraise them all. At Rhaine's command, he quickly packed his things and donned his armor again, meeting the others downstairs. He stood beside Nawen and Shalena, wondering what would happen next. Zorica soon joined them, having scooped up Sir Meowsalot and replaced him in her belt pouch. She had glimpsed the paladin in his werewolf form, and she contemplated his words as she waited on the rest of the party. Why would he be hunted by his own kind? The half-drow decided it would be a question to save for later.

 

Meanwhile, Rhaine herself went about reciting the Passing for the dead, sprinkling a bit of holy water on each body before leaving them for the guards to handle. She didn't know what kind of investigation the guard would want to conduct, and so she left the corpses as undisturbed as possible. Afterwards, she went back to her room and put her armor back on, strapping her sword to her waist once more and shouldering her pack. The Doomguide was contemplating taking them outside the city to camp; at least being in the open country would provide less shadows and alleyways for assassins to hide in, and those who had already slept could keep watch for the rest of them.

 

Conall joined her, fully armed and armored, Aodh standing on his shoulder, and the two entered the common room together. As they did so, there was a ringing voice from the paladin's side: Ariel.

 

"Pity I had to miss that fight."

 

"Shh!" Conall suddenly hissed, smacking the pommel of the sword, his eyes widening, "Do you feel that?"

 

Zorica glanced up, her hands sliding to her own sword hilts once more, "Yes..."

 

Rhaine had had enough experience in the past to know what that feeling was; the bristling, almost feeling of pure evil, but not something that was native to the Prime. It had been years since she had felt it, but she recognized it right away as the hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and her nerves felt exposed and raw...

 

"Demon nearby," she warned, "On your guard."

 

"Ohhh, that sounds like fun."

 

The Doomguide concentrated. The fiend did not seem as powerful as most she had been exposed to - either that or he was farther away. Still, she was slightly worried considering their fatigued state. She glanced around, taking a head count...

 

"Where is Tenebris?"

[Brutii]

Daud scanned the area, guarding himself if required. Mostly however, he stayed out of the way. He wasn't sure what the hell was happening, nor who was who, and figured it would be better to restrain himself rather than risk killing an ally. When it was done, he scowled at the yelling inn keeper

"Shut your trap, before I slit your throat!" He barked, but was shocked slightly when the inn keeper was kicked down the stairs. He cursed under his breath, before speaking again "Are you trying to get us arrested?" He sighed, and just followed them for now

He shook his head slowly "Colourful people you have hunting you" He commented as he watched Rhaine work on the bodies. Today had gotten bitter fast, and he was tired after his long days awake now. As soon as he heard the comment 'Demon nearby', he could have sworn this had gotten to be too close to a dream to be reality. And yet here he was, sword in hand as he fought to keep his eyes open, fearing for his life because there was a Demon.

Could this get any worse? Next there would be Demon Weresharks Half Drow creatures trying to take his soul. He was out of his depth, he had barely seen races other than Humans before and now this? Overwhelming...

[josh900]

"A demon eh?" Tannin remarked in a bored tone. "If he's anything like that last fellow we ran into, uhh Locky or whatever his name was.... I vote that we simply put him out of our misery, that last fool gave me quite the headache." He said with a smirk.

 

Azuris let out a sigh after hearing the yells and seeing Rhaine and the others come down. "Sounds like we got kicked out of our first Inn. So who do we blame?"

 

"I blame Lakie." Tannin chuckled.

 

"Who?" Azuris asked, looking back at Tannin with an arched brow

 

"No one you want to know." Tannin said as he stood out of his chair. "So where to now? Another Inn I hope."

[Deleted6317247User]

"I suppose a town this size should have another inn," Nawen said, "but the innkeeper would probably kick us out too after what happened here."

 

"You think the rumors spread this fast even at night?" Shalena asked as she started heading towards the door.

 

"Probably. Some patrons ran outside after all," Nawen replied, "we'll probably have to camp outside the town." She said while trying to sound disappointed while in truth the drow missed camping in the wilderness even if sleeping in a warm bed was much better than on a cold hard ground. Even to her.

 

"Really? No beds or roof over our heads?" The pirate complained. "That's just great." The obvious disappointment in Shalena's voice made Nawen chuckle. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. You could always snuggle with someone to stay warm." The drow said as she gestured for Rhegar to follow before going outside. The half-elf followed. "Now here's the idea!" Shalena exclaimed rather happily.

[Quintatas]

Marian didn't even flinch as a stranger cast Light, thoroughly illuminating the half-fiend, hidden though he was. Quite confident he could take the man on in a fight, but wary of the magical arts, he stood where he was.

 

"You could say I'm waiting for someone," he replied, his calm but rough voice belying the crazed expression on his face. "But I prefer to do less talking, and more killing!"

 

The half-fiend raised his mace and prepared to jump at the man, but stopped when he saw others coming out of the inn. It would not do to raise the alarm; the last thing he needed was a pack of angry guardsmen chasing him down. He muttered a string of profanities as he retreated full speed into an alley, hoping to find a way out of the city before he was caught.

[tokyobiohazard]

Arva gathered up his katana and belted it on, then grabbed his satchel and slung it on his shoulders. He took Ianthe by the shoulders as she belted on her own scimitars, then kissed her hair again. He turned and began to walk out of the inn, then heard Shalena's comment about snuggling being "the right idea" and winked at her as he walked by, flashing a toothy grin.

Ianthe took no notice and promptly stuck her tongue out at the innkeeper as she walked out, closing her eyes and throwing her entire body into the childish gesture, leaning in his direction as she stepped toward the exit.

Aera walked over to Conall, meaning to ask him to talk with her once they got outside the city, until she heard some commotion about a demon. "Oh... Gods, does this happen often?"

[spyro1201]

After the commotion, Adroroar felt the harsh words of the innkeeper applied to him as well, even if he wasn't part of the large group of adventurers. Adding the fact that the place was in shambles, there were bloodied bodies everywhere and the innkeeper himself getting kicked down the stairs; that guarantees that the tiefling would not be resting here tonight, whether he was welcome or not.

 

The winged woman, who appears to be the group leader, started going downstairs and out of the inn, Carter quickly followed her.

 

"E-excuse me, M'lady,...I know this isn't the best time to ask, but I couldn't help but overhear one of your party mentioning the Shaar. A-Are you b-by any chance headed in that direction? If so, m-may I join along?" - the tiefling asked. He then proceeded to take off his straw hat to introduce himself. - "Oh dear, where are my manners? My name is Adroroar Carter."

Edited March 18, 2014 by spyro1201

[AurianaValoria1]

"Nawen has the right of it," Rhaine replied to Tannin, "We're going to camp outside the city gates. It is doubtful anyone else would let us stay in their establishment, and it would be wrong of us to risk the lives of more innocents when we know we're being targeted at the moment. It will be safer both for us and the citizens of Iljak."

 

Turning to the tiefling, the Doomguide smiled slightly, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Adroroar. We are indeed traveling across the Shaar. Depending on your specific destination, it may or may not be worthwhile joining us. Yet, the plain is indeed treacherous, and it is a good idea to travel in groups. You are welcome to join us for as long as you desire...or as long as we are going in the same direction. I must admit, I find it interesting you would risk joining us after this attack, but it is your decision."

 

Conall glanced at Aera, "Hasn't happened since I've been with them...though I have heard of demons surfacing and causing trouble from time to time. It's just our luck one would pop up nearby."

 

Rhaine stepped outside to find Tenebris not far away from the inn, a Light spell illuminating the street. She just caught a glimpse of something running away, but it vanished quickly into the shadows of the city. Conall, Zorica, and Argyros followed close behind, glancing around cautiously, whilst Dagny was still unconscious in Tak'we's arms. The Doomguide waited a few breaths before sighing, "Let's move for the countryside, quickly, where the moon will be bright and we can see far."

 

Conall nodded, "Very well, I shall get the horses on the way."

 

With that, Rhaine led the way eastward, towards the gates of Iljak. After some persuasion, the guards let the group pass, and it was not long before the comrades were following the road out of town, open wheat fields sprawling before them. The clearness of the night and the brightness of the moon allowed the party to see quite a long ways, the path and small outlying ponds glimmering silver. The edge of the Chondalwood was visible to the east-southeast, a tall and dark mass on the horizon.

 

Rhaine did not stop walking until she reached a lone, old hickory tree standing just beyond the road, past the fields. There was a good, flat area beneath its canopy, perfect for a campsite. Conall brought the horses shortly thereafter, loosely tethering them to the remains of a rotting fence nearby. Once finished, he immediately set to work building a fire, gathering old limbs, twigs, and dry brush. He seemed to be immersing himself in work to avoid meeting anyone's gaze.

 

Zorica put her hands on her hips and looked around, sighing as she felt the presence of the demon fade away, "Beautiful place."

Edited March 19, 2014 by AurianaValoria1

[mythicdawnmaster]

In the aftermath of the battle, Aurora breathed a sigh of relief that her companions had dealt with... well whatever little horror those rat-creatures happened to be, and sighed in equal measure, only this time in frustration, as the inkeeper ordered them from his establishment. She was tempted to make an attempt at persuasion, but after Weyland's little batch of gentle persuasion, she imagined such an undertaking would be impossible upon a man stripped of both his livelihood and now his dignity. Could this night become any worse?

 

Aurora's thoughts were answered promptly with the words Demon, and she slunk behind Tannin as her companions bristled at the proximity of the creature "A demon?! My oh my..." her eyes widened, giving her a rather doe like appearance, and as they made their way outside towards the city gates, kept in the shadow of the half-drow in whose presence she felt safe. Time to camp in the wilderness once more... well, it couldn't be all that bad, what was life without a little adventure?

 

Xallistine too, felt the surge of evil emanating from a source outside the inn, and caught too sight of the perpetrator of such an aura running into the darkness. He remained silent and pondered over such a state of affairs... Conall had been attacked by demons of his own, and now, a creature of the literal sense had surfaced to sew it's strife. The taint of dark gods clung ominously indeed, but to which diabolical entity did this demon owe it's soul to? These were surely questions to which the answers would be revealed in due time, and spontaneously too, Xallistine imagined. How long would it take for the creature to attempt to strike? Or for more of Conall's past to swipe it's claws? The Ulitharid allowed these thoughts to settle, and drifted alongside his companions through the city streets and into the purity of the moon outside. Their respite was in the form of a hickory tree it seemed. How soothing it was that nature was, for once, a blessing to their cause. He heard Zorica's words and agreed silently. It was indeed beautiful.

 

"May I offer my assistance in igniting this fire, Conall?" The Ulitharid suggested, a dancing flame curling around his fingers.