The Demon's weregild: chapter 1

[agentaaa]

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T-H-E D-E-M-O-N-S W-E-R-E-G-I-L-D



Chapter one:
The Jewel thief

Steve Frankenson and Angus Magec walk to the doors of the bright city of Ashta, grateful for the rest from their wandering, likely. As they come near the city, the gigantic metal gates of the walled fortress in front of them open, without any guards nearby. The gate didn't appear to be in possession of an automatic unlocking system, and whatever suspicion you might have had of it's condition is soon cut short as the door falls off it's hinges, and the smell of blood rushes into your nostrils.
Walking into the city, all you find is dead guards, townsfolk, animals, killed in spectacular amounts of butchery. What could do all this damage? The guards seem well armed and armored, and this town had resisted attacks from orcs, wizards, trolls, ogres, and even dragons in the past. there seemed not to be a threat the city couldn't handle, and even the drow had concluded it impossible to take the town after many attempts. Surely an army had come, and destroyed this city....
"Just give the ruby to me, you stupid woman, before I get angry." A man's voice could be heard shouting.
"You killed them, you bastard! They were the first to accept me! I'll kill you!" A woman's voice could be heard, as you round the corner. "Die, you heartless-" The woman, a dark haired beauty in a red dress, created a red fireball in her outstretched hands...
only for it to be dissipated with a snap of the man in front of her's fingers. The man had a long, brown beard, and wore violet robes filled with arcane energy. The staff he carried was long and black, the top appearing to be carved in the shape of a demon, but like none any mortal had ever seen. "hehehehahaha! Oh, you little fool! Your power truly is nothing next to mine.
as you hear the man say this, however, you hear a sickening crunching sound. Looking all around you, you see the remains of the dead piled around you move through the air, creating a barrier around you, leaving only one path open - right to the mage - for mage the man must be - and the woman.
"Right on time, Angus Magec, Steve Frankenson." The man remarks, regarding them with a smirk. "I can't use my own magic to steal this ruby, so I might as well take it from your corpses. I don't doubt you'll attempt to fight, of course - heroes always do, particularly when a little bit of power has managed to inflate their little heads - but, well, I'm prepared for you, and you must surely realize, by now.
I am the creature that destroyed this town."
Raising his staff, he readies himself for battle. Perhaps you should do the same.

[agentaaa]

(Meh, you're the one who sat down in a formerly hostile camp and just up and fell asleep, I don't feel bad about this.)
"What? You're just going to fall asleep! What about the tied up dwarves?" Alexis asks. "Grrrr... Fine, I'LL deal with it!" She says, slapping you(3 damage)
"Moron..."
as you lie down, you feel a small bite on your left shin. a fever suddenly overtakes you(Failed this roll, better hope you pass the next one). You see a small spider skitter away as you feel a little woozy.

[Angusm3]

Angus wonders why his carpet didn't follow his orders and takes an antidote out of his bag, sits up, Slaps the carpet to get it moving and downs the contents of the flask. "Damnit, only two left and my sleep was interrupted, if I had a mind to do it I'd replace you ya damn carpet for not moving when i told you to!"

[agentaaa]

(the carpet did move, but had a spider on it. also, didn't count as a sleep. no dailies for you.) You get over the filth fever by drinking the antidote.

[Nut_Column]

(Did you factor in my +3 to attack rolls due to me having Combat Advantage from "Seize the Moment: Gain combat advantage over foe with lower initiative than you." and "Nimble Blade: +1 to Attack rolls with Light blade and Combat Advantage"? Also, the first attack was a Surprise Attack, which should give me some bonus, shouldn't it?)

[agentaaa]

(For starters, now you're in a forest setting, they get a +2 bonus, and were not actually surprised by your surprise attack. Secondly, I recently found out the half your level thing applies to damage too.... Goddamnit. nimble blade was factored in, but these creatures have decent reflex, and AC.)

[Angusm3]

Angus continues trying to meditate while following Fred around on his carpet.

[Nut_Column]

(Wait... Decent AC? What are they wearing? WAIT! I Forgot about Artful Dodger! "Artful Dodger: You gain a bonus to AC equal to your Charisma modifier against opportunity attacks.")

[agentaaa]

(Well, doesn't change the matter, so... just post your gorramn attack.)

[Nut_Column]

(Stupid Natural 20's...)

Steve, now naturally annoyed, uses Walking Wounded on the lead Troll with Steve. Assuming the troll is Dead (and with Half Damage Miss, how wouldn't he be?), Steve advances on the remaining troll, and rather than killing him outright, knocks him to the ground and cuts his hands off with ravager. He then grabs his own axe and cuts off each foot with it.

"Now then, you're going to tell me what I want to know, and I'll kill you. Otherwise, I'll leave you here, to bleed out. Alright?"

[agentaaa]

Steve Jumps in the troll's path, the troll raising his weapon and charging. Moving so fast the average man couldn't trace the path his weapon created, Steve struck not once or twice, but in 5 different places, each strike meant to halt mobility. However, it wasn't necessary, as the troll could not take such a strike from an enchanted weapon, and fell, letting off a fountain of blood.
The other troll paused, a fatal mistake. Steve, a dark look on his face, moves straight up to the troll, and cuts both of his hands off, before kicking him onto the ground with his foot. The troll, seeming terrified for the first time, pushes himself away with his feet, as Steve grins. Grabbing the trolls own axe, he cuts off first one leg, and then the other, taking his time to line up each swing. Steve looks at the troll in the eyes, blood spattered on his face, saying "Now then, you're going to tell me what I want to know, and I'll kill you. Otherwise, I'll leave you here, to bleed out. Alright?"
The troll says "Don' kill me, don kill me! I tell you what you wanna be knowin', please..."

[Nut_Column]

"Good. Now then, how many trolls are there, what is that Spire, and who lives there? And for that matter, why are there so many trolls on this Island?"

[agentaaa]

"Well, there's our tribe, the smalles, and then there's the witherbark and greywood tribes, so maybe a tousand? Not tha' we get along, hehehehe... That ugly black ting in out landscape was some wizard's livin' place. Got an apprentice who be an utta' dipshit... but he died a while ago. Some dragon decided he wanted it, and he be keeping it, though dose' dwarves tried takin it from 'em. If not for that stinkin' lying drunk in their midst, I think we mighta' let em..." The troll laughs, a primal, frightening laugh "Already ate one, though, so just gotta keep going, eating anotha... and anotha... man, i's been so long since I had a taste o' dwarf flesh....

[Nut_Column]

"Dragon eh? Also, Lying Drunk? What do you mean?"

[agentaaa]

some bahstad with a little running mouth. claimed he be' the best rogue in the world. He insulted us and tried to kill us, but he was so drunk he just done' fell over and fell asleep, so we took heem and his little posse for snacks."

[Nut_Column]

"That sound about right for a dwarf. Still, I'm curious about that dragon. How big is it, and what colour is it? And do you think it has treasure in that tower of its?"

[agentaaa]

"dwarf? Nahhh, mon' was a huuuuuuman." The troll says, coughing up blood, as it comes out of the last remaining hole that it hadn't. "It be a black dragon, by the name of Temnayasila. Pretty big for a dragon...It's a male, but i has little whelps with it, and no mate. Perhaps it hit up yo mudda' for a queeck feex." The troll says, laughing.

[Nut_Column]

"Oooh, *Breathes in sharply* You shouldn't have said that." Steve Grabs a stick and wittles it into a spike with Steve "You see, I can't use this on you, as it would kill you, and I don't want that. I want you to suffer. So, *Steve stabs the stick into one of the trolls eyes* I'm going to do this, and *steve stabs the other eye* this. I'm also going to leave a cyanide tablet somewhere on the ground near you, but without eyes or hands, I think you're going to have a hard time finding it. Have fun!" Steve walks away toward where the dwarves are, conveniently forgetting to leave a cyanide tablet for the troll.

[agentaaa]

The troll laughs "I hope there be' a special place in hell reserved just fo' you." The troll says, spitting at steve, before falling over. "Ahhhhh... why you' gotta be like that, mon?" He says, before seeming to go unconscious.
Steve merely ignores this, and heads back towards the encampment where the dwarves are held. "thank god one of you, at least, remembered their existence. Help me cut these binds!" Alexis says, cutting the ropes of the dwarves.
"Och, ye might say we're in a bit of a bind." one of the dwarves says, smirking. "bloody trolls!"

[Nut_Column]

Steve cuts all the dwarves free, using a piece of Jagged Shrapnel instead of Steve.

[agentaaa]

"Might thanks, friend!" A man says, coming out of hiding nearby. Wearing polished leather with six different knives on it, he regards you "That was some fancy bladework out there. Might even match mine one day. Good work helping these guys, not that I didn't have it handled..."

[Angusm3]

Angus snaps out of his meditation "We did all the work! Would you have it handled if we just did nothing or something?" he shouts from up high.

[agentaaa]

yes, you killed the eight trolls inside while I dealt with the thirty outside the fortress. I basically did none of the work." Alexis says sarcastically. "And might I say, I was able to kill thirty quicker than you killed eight!"

[Nut_Column]

Steve looks at the man. "Well, according to a reliable source of mine, you couldn't really be blamed. I mean, it's not like you got so drunk you started bragging to a group of trolls and got your entire party captured, right before the trolls were going to let you go through... Right?" Steve asks, very subtly. He then turns to the dwarves. "What exactly were you planning on doing in the spire there?"

[Angusm3]

Angus gives up on his meditation "Bah I'll just have to do until we reach a town somewhere." He moves down to the people on the ground "So you killed 30 of them eh? Are you sure that's not just what you can remember all of a sudden because I was asking and some higher force wanted to make it clear to me that you were a force to be reckoned with?"

[agentaaa]

(didn't you hear my earlier posts about reinforcements, followed by the trolls going "where are those reinforcements" followed by her busting down the door with a dead troll carcass?)"ehhh... were you ever, um, dropped on your head as a child? Like, a lot?" Alexis says, raising one eyebrow as she looks at you with a confused glance.
The man laughs "Hardly, my friends. The trolls initially acted friendly, and i, being ever trusting in the innate goodness of all, reciprocated. They offered me a few drinks, but quite obviously drugged them. Knocking the biggest threat, me, unconscious, they then came on my trusty band of dwarves and tied them up." The man says with a big smile
"We swear we though' he was competent when we took the job! Very good at hiding how much he sucks, he is." One of the dwarves in the small group yells. you can't tell which one.
"Er.... ignore my servitors there. "I am Luke Echerms, greatest rogue in the land. Listen, if you help me out here, I might just teach you some skills, my boy. See, we are trying to take the treasure held by the black dragon, Temnayasila.he's got a beauty of a treasure horde, and apparently an ancient spellbook up in there. if you'd help us out, we'd be mighty-" He pauses, raising an eyebrow, "Appreciative, ya know what I mean? We'll give you an even share and everything."

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