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Post by Plague on May 7, 2023 12:41:42 GMT -5
Plague never viewed herself as the damsel in distress type, she was more often the one causing problems or starting violence. But fate had landed her in a rather precarious situation, having failed at fleeing a group of violent kidnappers. Having spotted a lone orphan in the streets, the abductors snagged the young chemist up, stuffed her in a bag and threw her into the back of a wagon, one that had several other bags of people stuffed in them as well. Without evening knowing it, Plague had been swept up in a complex ritual orchestrated by an ancient group of fanatical cultist. They had been rounding people up all night, capturing as many people as they could to use for the offering.
From her position within the bag, Plague could hear the rickety sound of the wagon wheels, quickly heading out of town and into the night. This cart was moving fast, and the voices of her kidnappers could be heard frantically trying to figure out what to do. She cursed under breath, unsure how it was always her that ended up in these situations. Plague had just been out strolling, minding her own business when the thugs jumped her, clubbing her across the head and knocking her unconscious.
The alchemist was wearing her usual olive green jumpsuit, fitted with a hood that hung over her head and a leather plague doctor mask attached to her face. Her alchemy satchel was luckily still attached to her hip, along with her variety of potions still in her bag. Fortunately the girl was rather adept at escaping, and quickly began to work on her bindings as the wagon crossed the threshold of Stargazer's and began to make its way east, towards the marsh flats and king's valley.
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on May 7, 2023 14:02:49 GMT -5
The story of Jacob the Sneak Thief
Even from a young age, Jacob liked stealing things. As one of 7 brothers, Jacob always felt like he was being shorted on something. Clothes, food, affection, he was the runt of the litter so he always had a burning hunger for more. Not a fighter or particularly good at magic, the salty human found that he had one talent that set him apart from everyone else, thieving. First from his brothers then his neighbors then bigger and bigger fish. He found he could get in and out if anywhere and no one was ever the wiser.
As he couldn’t actually advertise his services, Jacob made a close secret network with the black marketers and seedy underbelly of Charon. He had connections with the Royal house, with the mobs and even more legitimate organizations like the Fighters and Mages guild. It had taken him years, but he was now quite comfortable with where he was. And today, would just be another pay day thanks to his sneak thievery. Money in the pouch.
Jacob had built a small fire just outside of Stargazers Village. He was planning on meeting a band of cultists and delivering a certain ancient artifact that he had acquired for them. He didn’t like too many eyes on his business so doing deals outside was what he felt more comfortable with. As he lazily poked the small campfire, a group of hooded people with a wagon soon appeared from the west.
Greetings Jacob said a tall man, a dark cloak over his face. I trust we are doing well this evening? That all depends Jacon retorts do you have my money? The cloaked man smiles and tosses a small leather pouch to Jacob. The weight feels right in his hand but he doesn’t want to risk taking his eyes off such a group. This was the first time dealing with them on a recommendation so they would still need to earn his trust. The item…if you please? Sure sure, this wasn’t easy to get you know. You need to provide more intel up front. Jacob walks over to a large locked chest and hefts it up. He starts walking towards the wagon, wobbling a bit as he stumbled closer. That is not necessary, we can take it.. hedged the robed man cautiously. No, no, goods aren’t delivered until they are delivered. Don’t need anyone coming back saying I didn’t actually give it to you. No, stay back….
As Jacob hefted the chest, he was surprised to see several bags of tied up people in the wagon. Hey hey, what’s the deal? You trying to get the authorizes looking for us? A nicked bauble is different than making people disappear. Why would you bring a bunch of hostages to the drop off? This is very… Jacob would have kept going but two of the hooded figures could be seen with hands outstretched, fireballs starting to form. What are you. The fireballs race towards the frightened sneak thief. He manages to wrest the trunk in front of him just in time to catch the blast. The impact is hard enough however to knock him to the ground, chest clattering to the side. As soon as he hits the ground , he rolls to the side, stands and takes off into the darkness. The mages are about to pursue him but the hooded man stops them. We have what we came for. There is no time for this, we have an appointment to keep. The sneak thief will say nothing. With that, the figures tossed the chest to the wagon and moved on.
Jacob, however, was not quite done. He had run for a good 20 minutes until he was sure he was clear of a fiery death. This was unacceptable. Of course, there was a certain amount of danger that went along with his job. It was expected. But these were not normal customers. These were guys who had no problem ending him and moving on with their day. Letting them get away with something like that would hurt his reputation and that was something he could not afford to ignore. Unfortunately for them however, Jacob knew just what to do. They we’re heading west. And as it happened, Jacob knew a very large Minotaur who was currently braking bones in the fight pits that way. A Minotaur who he happened to know, had a very large bone to pick with cultists in general. It would be very unfortunate for them if the Minotaur were to say, be informed of their coming by messenger bird…and that he knew that they had kidnapped a bunch of innocent people, probably kids….very very unfortunate for them indeed…..
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Post by Plague on May 16, 2023 10:16:13 GMT -5
The tiny, masked girl was still wrestling with her bindings, getting close to slipping the ropes that bound her arms and legs off when she felt the wagon she was being carted off on come to a stop. She froze, not wanting to alert anyone outside to what she was doing. She had learned to play dead, spending years living on the streets and back alleys taught her how to go undetected. So Plague just laid there, stuffed in this sack, as voices began to be heard from outside her prison. Whoever was driving this wagon had meet up with someone else, and they were now discussing matters pertaining to this wagon and some odd artifact, she could not really make out most of what was being said, but after a few minutes it dawned on her that no one was going to check the bags, as they were more preoccupied with this stranger.
Some kind of heated interaction was taking place, but Plagued ignored whatever the hell was going on outside, for as the wagon jolted and began to move once more, the young chemist went about loosening her bindings again. It took a bit, but eventually she was able to free herself from the ropes, releasing her arms and legs. It only took the girl a few seconds to get out of the bag, roll off the cart and slip into the darkness. Her body hit the dirt road with a thud, now watching the cart rumble down the road towards the marshes. A part of her wanted to turn back and run, flee towards Moonglade, but she knew more kids were in those bags, and even if she did not understand why they were being kidnapped, she knew it meant no good.
Cloaking herself in shadows and silently following behind, Plague decided it was the right thing to do, even if she hated doing it. Unfortunately, she was not prepped to take on a cart full of cultist, and even if she wanted to help, there was not much she could do. So as the cart continued towards the Marsh Flats, Plague silently followed, hoping something bigger and much stronger than her would magically intervene.
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on May 17, 2023 6:55:16 GMT -5
It was the third day of a very special tournament at the dark and foreboding local known as the Gazablaak Fight Pits. Crowds had gathered from all around to watch the world famous Sigmund Corvinus, leader of the Royal Winged Guild, take on all comers. The rules of the tournament stated that opponents had 10 minutes to knock the man out. For days, fighters and adventurers had been trying to no avail. Sigmund was an a amazing fighter to be sure but this was different. Apparently during one of Sigmund’s expeditions, he had come across a very curious set of magical armor. Armor that made him impervious to blunt damage, elemental damage, stab wounds, mental attacks and the list went on. It seemed to anyone concerned, the armor made him…invincible.
As interim leader of the fighters guild, Shaa was very familiar with the large man although they had only actually met a handful of times and only briefly. Like Shaa, Sigmund spent the vast majority of his time out in the world and not shifting the ever growing piles of paperwork at the guild. By all accounts, they should have been really close friends who understand each other and could commiserates the trappings of guild leadership. But, for some reason, they were more like frenimies. There were very few people in the entire world that could push Shaa’s buttons like Sigmund. Maybe it was his connections to the royal family. But Shaa had always felt like Sigmund was talking down to him although overtly, he was overly friendly. For someone as blunt and open as Shaa was, the duplicitous behavior was maddening.
Shaa was 5 minutes into his match with Sigmund and things were not going well…..
Shaa looked at the large metal man and tried to catch his breath. Sigmund looked fresh as a new born baby, his red magical armor glistening off the sparse light of the swamp. The crowd was hooting and hollering from the stands. It was nit often that they saw the beleaguered Minotaur on the wrong end of a match and the blood thirsty ghouls and gamblers were drooling. What’s the matter Shaa? Mr. Interim Fighters Guild Captain. Getting tired? If you spent more time training my friend, perhaps you wouldn’t be so winded. More muscles and less muffins I think. Sigmund laughed heartily at his own jokes. Oh don’t you worry Siggy, I’ll be there to beat the crap out of you shortly..l just need a minute….to decide….how. Sigmund points to the time keeper, a small gnomish girl he had co-opted into the job, who was sitting in the stands with a watch. Tik Tik Tik. You have such a reputation, this is just….well it’s just embarrassing really. Embarrassing for you because…well…your you. And embarrassing for me because I can’t get a decent challenge. All this hoopla with nothing to show for it. Might as well get back to work, it would be about as exciting. Sigmund does an exaggerated yawn as if super bored with the situation.
Shaa stared at the situation in front of him and snorted a bit. That armor. Where in Ginma’s beard did he get it? No, that didn’t matter now. The question was, how do you beat it? Shaa and the other fighters had kicked it, punched it and thrown all manner of attacks at it without making so much as a dent. Then it dawned on him. The armor was invincible….but Sigmund wasn’t. He just needed to get him out of it…
Shaa rushed at Sigmund full bore. The cocky fighter just stood there in the middle of the arena waiting for the charge. As Shaa gets within striking distance, Sigmund twists and crouches to brace himself against the coming impact. There! As Sigmund lowers his head, there is a small gap between him and the armor behind his neck. Shaa grabs a rod from his pouch and jams it in the gap. The armor is too bulky for Sigmund to reach far enough back to pull it out. Haha he snarks sarcastically. I’ll give you this, no one as tried to annoy me to death yet. What’s your next attack? Are you going to pour a cup of water in my bed? Shaa smiled and slammed his hands together. Suddenly a giant mass of vines explode from INSIDE of Sigmund’s armor. More and more the pour out of any open space, stabbing and slicing Sigmund until the straps keeping his armor burst, leaving him naked in the arena. The last thing he sees is a giant furry fist coming towards his face.
Having won the tournament, and pissing off Sigmund who was still getting thorns extracted, Shaa was enjoying a well earned victory drink at one of the stands outside the pit. Between the congratulations, a messenger comes over to him from the side. Mr Shaa sir, this hawk brought a message from Moonveil. Shaa cocked an eyebrow curiously. He moved around so much, mail was a rarity. Shaa takes the note and reads the content. Jaaacooobbb…..what are you up to…. Shaa knew Jacob as a necessary evil for when he needed to get things that were a bit tricky. Why was he talking about some rando cultists…..who had kidnapped children? Shaa scrunched the paper up and angrily ate the note in front of the messenger who nervously scrambles away. If there was anything that got in Shaa’s craw, it was cultists. AND KIDNAPPING KIDS ON TOP OF IT!?! They were headed this way and Shaa would be waiting for them….
Arcane Proxy (rod) Vine Field ( cast through the rod) Bare Hands
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Post by Plague on Jun 13, 2023 11:58:26 GMT -5
Plague had been trailing the wagon for what seemed like a life time now, doing her best to stay in the shadows and out of the way. Luckily for her they were now leaving Moon glade proper and were crossing over into the Marsh Flats. With it being the middle of the night, there were not many travelers out and about, and those who were did not bother with striking up small talk with strangers. The young alchemist used the darkness, lack of people and marshy back drop to blend in and hide, allowing her to successfully follow the wagon. Their destination was still unknown to her, it could be days before the arrived, leaving Plague with a difficult choice. She could not take these men down on her own, so fighting them herself was out of the question, but she also could not bring herself to let these children get carried off.
More time passed, the wagon making its way across the marshy bog with Plague still several yards behind in the muck. Just up ahead, on the main road, a large figure could be seen approaching. It was hard to make out anything from her distance and the darkness of the night, but someone was in fact making their way along the road, and was headed directly for the cultist leading the wagon. The likely hood of this person stopping or being of any help was extremely low, so Plague only watched, knowing that if this was going to get solved, she was more than likely going to have to do it herself.
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on Jun 13, 2023 20:24:13 GMT -5
Contrary to what one might think, Shaa loved hanging out in the gentle pour of the rain. Large muddy puddles had started to form in the road as Shaa sat on an old stump and waited patiently for his unsuspecting guests to arrive. An odd sight for most Minotaurs to be sure. Being someone who was constantly on the road, hanging out in bad weather and waiting for the cultists to show up was no big deal for the burly adventurer. His Hydromancy kept him dry and the down time gave him an opportunity to recover from his fight in the pits. It also helped get himself prepared with a plan for the jerks that were coming. The only tricky part about the scenario were the hostages. If it was just a bunch of chanting hoodies, he would simply step on them, break their stuff and call it a day. The potential for innocent children to get caught in the crossfire was to great for him to be careless about the approach. The fact that they didn’t know he was coming would be the key to the whole encounter.
In the distance, the normally boisterous insects go quiet, leaving only the sound of the rain. Shaa reaches out with his senses and can feel the small falls of footsteps along with the long pull of a wagon coming from up the road. He can also feel another smaller presence following the larger group from behind. A secret back up perhaps? No time to worry about it now, he would just have to keep an eye out just in case. For now, he needed to get into position.
Shaa starts walking casually down the road as not to raise any alarm. If this wasn’t the group that he was looking for, he didn’t want to scare away his targets who may catch wind. He had to be sure. As the wagon drew closer, Shaa counted 5 hooded figures. One driving the wagon, a second in the seat next to the driver. The remaining three were walking beside the wagon and started to shift positions as he drew near.
Shaa held his hand up as friendly and casually as possible. Greetings friends and fellow travelers. A dark night for travels to be sure. How does the road find you? The figure who was driving, a tallish human, called from his seat. Miserably to be sure, Monster. Make way for your superiors or be trampled under foot and heel. Shaa almost had to check to be sure that he wasn’t talking to someone else. Despite the almost constant negative bias for his Minotaurness, it was very rare for a perfect stranger to just outright dismiss him like this. Walk around, ignore, whisper about, sure. But dismiss like he was some sort of crusty goblin? Shaa could already feel the knot in his stomachs forming.
I’m sorry sirs, but dangerous times lend the need to check your wagon for contraband. What? Ridiculous nonsense. What gives you the right to harrass innocent travelers on the road. Checking for safety sir. You know if it’s contraband here, it must be really bad. Shaa watched carefully as two of the cloaked figures who were walking start to make subtle hand signs, as if preparing to cast something. Surely, but what gives YOU the right specifically. Me. No one really. Just a concerned traveler. My name is Shaa Rhunn. Voices start to hiss from the side. It’s HIM. It’s that damn Minotaur from the reports. I don’t care if you are the King of the Moon Elves. Out of the way! Shaa walked casually over to a large puddle in the road. You sure about this? Move! If you say so. In a flash, Shaa drops into the puddle and vanishes. What? Where the hell did he go? A moment later, Shaa re-emerges from another large puddle from behind the wagon. He kicks the rickety wagon axel hard, cracking it down the center and causing the wagon to violently tilt to the side. The shift throws the driver and passenger roughly into sticky mud below.
The three on foot rush around the side of the wagon to try and attack him. Shaa moves around the other side to keep the wagon between himself and his pursuers. The rain is making the road slick and hard for the cultists to keep up with him. As he turns the corner, he comes back around to his original position in the road. As he does so, he jumps back into the puddle again and again emerging in the back of the wagon. How is he doing this? Yells one of the cultists who is out of breath. Shaa summons 5 rods around the puddle and he jumps back in, emerging again in his original spot. I can do this all day guys. Guard the other puddle! Barks the tall man who had gotten up from the mud with his companion. We’ll take him and you attack him if he tries to escape…
The tall man pulls a large steel saber and rushes at him, swinging down with all his strength . Shaa chuckles a bit at the awkwardness of the strike and grabs the sword by the blade as it swings down. The man’s eyes go wide with fear as Shaa yanks the sword out of his hand and tosses it casually off to the side. Shaa takes his left hand, and grabs the man by the throat, lifting him off of the ground. Pulling out a cudgel, the passenger cultist tries to help his boss by running at Shaa from behind. Apparently…you guys need better reporting. As the cultist gets in range, Shaa swishes his tail, smacking the cultist upside the head, leaving him bleeding on the ground.
Meanwhile, in the back of the wagon, the three cultists watch as their companions get slapped around. One of the cultists, an Avian named Braddah, gets an idea. You two, stay by the portal just in case. Braddah pops open the door to the wagon and grabs two of the children by the legs. The children wriggle and scream as he stuffs them under his feathered arms and takes off into the swamp. As he rushes away, children in tow, Shaa can sense him taking off. Just where do you think your going? He calls out into the darkness. The distraction is enough for the tall cultist to wiggle lose enough to toss a shiny black powder into Shaa’s face.
Geosense Puddle Portal Lightning Lure Bulls Strength Bare Hands Hands are Weapons Fighter Sense Iron Grip
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Post by Plague on Jun 16, 2023 11:03:01 GMT -5
Plague hunkered down, dropping to both knees in the muck and mud as she watched the scene play out before her. A massive minotaur was approaching the wagon which had now begun to slow, the cultist now on guard as the stranger neared. She had no intention of getting any closer, at least not at the moment, and decided it would be much better if she just observed, hoping whatever this interruption was, it was going to be helpful. Using the darkness as cover, she cloaked herself in the night, barely within range to see and hear the exchange that was about to take place. Over the next few minutes, this minotaur stranger confronted those driving the cart, probing them with questions in an attempt to get them to confess to something. When it was obvious that the questioning was not going to produce anything successful, the interaction turned into a straight up fight.
The large horned man began to attack, slipping in and out of puddles, using his skill to assualt his enemies, of which were now scrambling around to organize themselves. It was impressive to watch, he appeared to have a knack for fighting, and the longer it went on, the more compelled she felt to help. But what could she offer, everything looked like it was under control, that is until the back of the wagon opened and a winged cultist took to the skies, two of the hostages tucked under his wings. Since it was obvious they could not defeat this man, they were trying to escape with their prize still intact.
In a panic Plague began to move, not really thinking about her next step. As she emerged from the thick marshy under brush, the young chemist uncorked a bottle of purple liquid and quickly downed it. In a matter of seconds the potions effects took a hold, causing every foot step, every motion and every sound she made to be completly silent. If she was going to help, she needed the element of surprise on her side. The avian was now ascending upwards, and would soon be out of reach of either of them. So as Plague hurried towards the wagon, where the remaining cultist were attempting to fight back, she unzipped the front of her olive green jumpsuit and summoned forth a swarm of hornets.
From deep within her clothing, a swarm of angry, violent hornets stirred, exlpoding forth from the girl and moving in unison towards their goal. A sick grin spread across her face as she watched the swarm rise up to meet the bird cultist, clouding him in a wave of stings and bites. The hornets knew not to attack the hostages still stuffed in bags, as the avian was there only target, but took out every ounce of anger and vengence held within Plague on the man. The cultist panicked, screaming and yelling as dozens of insects assualted him, causing him to abadon the bags containing the children. Still trapped inside, the hostages now fell to the ground, helplessly falling to the earth. Plague quickly uncorked a second bottle of mysterious liquid and altered her destination, now running towards the falling bodies.
The bull strength potion she had just consumed was now working, causing the tiny girl to bulk up, her muscles expanding and becoming much stronger. Through her cracked goggles Plague barely managed to spot the bodies, but was quickly able to move directly under them after locating them. With her now enhanced arms out stretched, she was able to catch both of the bagged bodies before they hit the ground, saving them from a very painful death. She set them both down and tore open the bags, letting them get free as the cloud of hornets were beginning to vanish, leaving the cultist to fly off on his own in a torrent of pain. She quickly turned her gaze to the minotaur, trying to see what had come of their battle.
1. Used Potion of Shadows 2. Used Staff of the Hive 3. Used Bull Strength Potion
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Post by Shaa Rhunn on Jun 16, 2023 14:57:19 GMT -5
Shaa can feel the cultist squirming in his hand. As he turns to right him, Shaa feels the dark power splash across his face. Darkness. He can’t see anything but he can still feel the cultist moving around trying to free himself from his grasp. His eyes stinging, Shaa tightens his grip and pulls the tall man into a headlock. What did you throw in my face you jerk?! The man probably would have answered but the Minotaur’s grasp was too tight he was having a hard time even breathing. As the two struggled against each other, the passenger, his face now bloody from the tail strike, stands up again and jumps for Shaa’s legs in an attempt to knock him over.
Even though he can’t see him, Shaa’s Fighters Sense still allows him to feel the attack coming. The tall man still in a headlock, Shaa pivots hard and manages to avoid the cultists grasping hands. Shaa tries to wipe the dust fro. His face but the rain has turned it into a gooey paste, only smearing it further. In frustration, he starts punching the tall cultist in the head until he can feel his body go slack under the assault. Dropping him in the mud, Shaa tries to force more water into his eyes to clear out the goo. Sir! Sir! Are you ok? Shaa can tell the cultists by the wagon haven’t moved so escaping through the portal wasn’t an option. He could also feel the jumper was still moving around as well.
He had to do something fast. The more time that he spent messing around with these guys, the bigger chance they would get away with their victims. Fortunately, he didn’t need to see them to hurt them. Shaa forced a freezing force out from his body. His immediate area including the unconscious tall man and the jumper, soaked with the rain, starts to become covered with frost and ice. Several puddles near him have started to freeze as well. He takes a deep breath and starts to make several strange turns. As he does so, a mirror image of the giant Minotaur emerges from one of the frozen puddles. Minion…attack.
Fighters Sense Crystalization- Turn 1 Mirrored Dance
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