Firstly Id like to start off by saying that this bio has been a long time coming for me, it started when I first made the character a few months ago. At the time I only had a vague idea of who this guy was, he was a farmer, he was from thay, would be good with a sword, and maybe a bit of a smartass, but little else. Today I take the next leap forward with this concept finally putting out his backstory. Now keep in mind, I am by no means skilled as a writter, and these pages will, to a degree reflect such, but if you can get past that, I think theres a good story here, and its not some fantastically over the top adventure either but a story that, I hope, comes off as more grounded and more believeable(although there is alot of action).
I will begin by stating some of the really basic info about the character, as I notice some other people do this, and it strikes me that it is a good idea.
Name: Dart Webber
Nation of Origin: Thay
Age: 18, at the start of the bio, but 23 in the current time of the server, (the bio is intended to cover that entire period of time, and this will be a very long work in progress)
Birthdate: Ches 19 which is also the Spring Equinox
Skills: Focuses on the longsword at the expense of other weapons, High Lore, Intimidate, Taunt, and Spellcraft, Decent UMD.
Unique Traits: Has a very tactical mind, and will usually hang back and gauge a situation if he feels it suits him, but also boastful, and enjoys a chance to test his mettle in combat, spent a lot of time reading in his youth, especially historical texts, and has gained some knowledge of magic in his travels(not how to use it, just knowledge OF it, thus the spellcraft levels), and is generally inquisitive, is watchful over those he travels with, and tends to exercise moderation in many aspects of life.
Alignment: True Neutral
Race: Human
Hgt/Wgt: 6ft, about 180 or so, just like basically every other human male on this sever.
Hair: Dark red, and thick but not very long, and a thick full beard.
Deity: None currently, but the character has been thinking about Chauntea for quite some time so he may convert
Now as far the story itself, I have decided that this will be a long work in progress and will come in chapters like many of these things do, so ill regularly update with a chapter every week or something like, they will vary in length from a few paragraphs, to a few pages but will all be in chronological order, will strive to cover the entire 5 year period spanning from when the character starts out as adventurer type, to when he arrives in baldurs gate, and will not skip any significant part of the story, which means its going to end up being really long. Also if you have any comment constructive, destructive, or otherwise, I have no averison to you posting them in this thread or PMing me.
The Life and Times of Dart Webber.
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Vanquisher
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:54 am
Chapter 1
(Also the last post didnt note this but the first three chapters are pretty long)
To begin my tale, I must recall that my father had just returned from a trip along the Eastern Way to tyraturos, with some new slaves for the family estate in Thalazatur, a small village just south of the much larger Moszabbar city, in Thazalhor Tharch, in Thay. We had just recently acquired a new, and rather large tract of farmland from another noble family who was leaving the area, and we looked to almost double the harvest for the next year with the annexation. This was about the third major purchase of land my family had made in the last few years, and the already considerable family fortune was greatly swelling in size. There had been of late, a rising of tensions in town over a ongoing feud between my father and another wealthy land owner in town one Thelot Doran. Ms. Doran was, much to our chagrin, a fair bit better at the conducting of business than me or my father, however she was childless, bitter, and alone, the years had taken a toll on her, now a woman in her 70s, and with no heirs to assist her in the affairs of her estate she had often resorted to unreliable slave and outside assistants to administer the business and as a result her fortunes had been somewhat reduced. The Rivalry between Ms Doran and my family, the Webbers had been a source of many a quarrel in earlier days, and had cooled some as the years passed. It has been said by some of the towns-folk, and even my fathers long time adviser and friend Otto, that at a point in the past there was a rather vile deed committed that left my father bitterly angry and that his anger had persisted for quite some time, until the more recent passing of my mother.
As had been already agreed upon before the onset of my fathers trip, I was to meet him at the town gate with a few of the house guards to take possession of the new slaves from the escort he had hired in Tyraturos. Me and the men approached the gate and there he stood with about 10men slapped in wrist-irons, and 4 armed men.
“Hail there, father. I see you have arrived back in good order” I said.
"I have indeed, and in good spirit, got these slaves for half of the going rate, how did things go here, any lip from the servants?"
"A few.. minor issues but nothing of import, had one of the slaves get a tad rowdy, but once he calmed down all was well"
"Ha!, bet he calmed down well after you beat him a good lick eh?"
"Yes, well, I didn't really see it much necessary to do that, settled down well enough on his own"
"What!?, You mean to tell me some pissant slave was running amok in MY farm in you didnt beat him bloody?" My father removed his leather glove, which was quite large, and proceed to slap me with considerable force across the face with it, "Next time, youll beat them, or ill beat you, and ill make sure it hurt worse than that little mark, now which of my servants was this insitgator?"
"Twas Jonah, father" I replyed, rubbing my numbed cheek.
"Get the guards and take these slaves home, im going to go beat that little rat properly" He took off quickly down the road, rager to impose his own strange brand of justice.
At this point I should of course stop and mention that, even by the standards of my homeland my father was an absolute bastard, brutal and crass, he displayed force sometimes overwhelmingly to attain his goals. Over all, he was, the epitome of the typical Thayan noble (or at least a very specific type of noble) he understood that the successful application of force was the key to achieving almost any goal.
I did as he asked. On the road back to the estate I could overhear two of the guardsmen talking to themselves.
“Did you see how hard he hit him?” One whispered.
“I thought he was going to cry!” The other added.
I promptly removed the club I kept at my waist and, walking up behind them, I cocked back my arm and walloped the one walking to the left of me with all my might. A satisfying crunch of wood and bone crackled through the air as it impacted, and he slammed into the ground. The other guard looked at me, expected the same I presume, I took a step forward to him quickly as if to lunge at him, and he jerked back, Served them right, just because my father had humiliated me that didn’t mean I was going to let these scrubs do it too.
We approached the estate, Otto was standing near the gate, he motioned for the guards to take the new slaves to the quarters just beside the house. The guard was still rubbing the back of his head as he passed, and it did not escape the notice of Otto.
“You’re Handiwork?” He asked grinning.
“I caught them mouthing off about me, they just needed some discipline”
“It looks like your father gave you some discipline as well” He said, pointing to my still reddened cheek.
“Yes well… I suppose I should know better at this point” I replied as I started to walk towards the house.
“Its really all for your benefit you know, he just wants to toughen you up” he walked up behind me as he spoke “There are far harsher people than him in Thay, and he wants you to be prepared to deal with them”
“You are right about this” I said as I reached the door, “As you seem to be about a great many things” I walked in.
“Well of course, you should never doubt my wisdom you know, by the way we should practice with the long sword again soon, I don’t want your technique getting rusty…”
Otto had been instructing me in the usage of the long sword for a good many years, Father had always said that he and Otto used to be traveling warriors of some sort, however he never offered any tales of his travels, and Otto only spoke of his travels in passing, never giving many details,
The day wore on for me, there was much work to be done, getting the slaves acclimated to the labors of the fields, disciplining the slaves, then the guard, the slaves again, and then both at once which was quite a scene! As the sun set and I returned home, I decided to take Otto up on his offer, and arranged to meet him in our typical sparring area behind the house. As I approached he tossed me a training sword, which was, in fact, little more than a flat piece of metal the length of a normal sword with a simple leather hilt, we set into our positions.
"Hope your in good form today Dart, im feeling pretty frisky myself!" Otto Exclaimed.
Frisky? I had never heard him say before... no matter I thought to myself
"Indeed, Ive been beating the slaves all-day, and now im going to beat you too!" I snapped back.
We began, Otto struck first with a quick forceful swing towards my upper torso, I managed to parry but the impact still sent me stumbling a bit
"Haha, cant be loosing your footing if you are going to beat me Dart old boy."
I struck back with a quick slash towards the leg, he evaded with a step back then countered with a forceful stab to the shoulder which I managed to deflect, and then responded with my own stab, before I knew it we were locked in another of our trademark duels, I countered, then he countered. We could continue like this for quite some time before one of us finally managed to land a blow and end the stalemate. He was fighting with a new found vigor tonight and I found myself in a struggle to keep up, somehow just managing to dodge the incoming strike, or parry the blade away from me. Finally the critical moment came, Otto lunged just a little too far forward while making a attempt at me, I knew the grip on his blade must be loosened , and I quickly thrust my blade upward through the center of his sword and managed to knock it from his hand.
"Well Done! It looks like you still got it." He gasped, clearly out of breath from all the fighting.
I was gasping as well, and was about to respond when I heard a sound coming from the nearby bushes.
"What was that" Otto said, "Is someone out there?" As soon as he said that a dark clothed figure bolted from behind the bushes, it moved with a dauntless speed, as if enchanted perhaps. I did not even attempt to give chase, for it was clear such would be in vain, within but a moment the figure had vanished from sight into the nearby woodline.
To begin my tale, I must recall that my father had just returned from a trip along the Eastern Way to tyraturos, with some new slaves for the family estate in Thalazatur, a small village just south of the much larger Moszabbar city, in Thazalhor Tharch, in Thay. We had just recently acquired a new, and rather large tract of farmland from another noble family who was leaving the area, and we looked to almost double the harvest for the next year with the annexation. This was about the third major purchase of land my family had made in the last few years, and the already considerable family fortune was greatly swelling in size. There had been of late, a rising of tensions in town over a ongoing feud between my father and another wealthy land owner in town one Thelot Doran. Ms. Doran was, much to our chagrin, a fair bit better at the conducting of business than me or my father, however she was childless, bitter, and alone, the years had taken a toll on her, now a woman in her 70s, and with no heirs to assist her in the affairs of her estate she had often resorted to unreliable slave and outside assistants to administer the business and as a result her fortunes had been somewhat reduced. The Rivalry between Ms Doran and my family, the Webbers had been a source of many a quarrel in earlier days, and had cooled some as the years passed. It has been said by some of the towns-folk, and even my fathers long time adviser and friend Otto, that at a point in the past there was a rather vile deed committed that left my father bitterly angry and that his anger had persisted for quite some time, until the more recent passing of my mother.
As had been already agreed upon before the onset of my fathers trip, I was to meet him at the town gate with a few of the house guards to take possession of the new slaves from the escort he had hired in Tyraturos. Me and the men approached the gate and there he stood with about 10men slapped in wrist-irons, and 4 armed men.
“Hail there, father. I see you have arrived back in good order” I said.
"I have indeed, and in good spirit, got these slaves for half of the going rate, how did things go here, any lip from the servants?"
"A few.. minor issues but nothing of import, had one of the slaves get a tad rowdy, but once he calmed down all was well"
"Ha!, bet he calmed down well after you beat him a good lick eh?"
"Yes, well, I didn't really see it much necessary to do that, settled down well enough on his own"
"What!?, You mean to tell me some pissant slave was running amok in MY farm in you didnt beat him bloody?" My father removed his leather glove, which was quite large, and proceed to slap me with considerable force across the face with it, "Next time, youll beat them, or ill beat you, and ill make sure it hurt worse than that little mark, now which of my servants was this insitgator?"
"Twas Jonah, father" I replyed, rubbing my numbed cheek.
"Get the guards and take these slaves home, im going to go beat that little rat properly" He took off quickly down the road, rager to impose his own strange brand of justice.
At this point I should of course stop and mention that, even by the standards of my homeland my father was an absolute bastard, brutal and crass, he displayed force sometimes overwhelmingly to attain his goals. Over all, he was, the epitome of the typical Thayan noble (or at least a very specific type of noble) he understood that the successful application of force was the key to achieving almost any goal.
I did as he asked. On the road back to the estate I could overhear two of the guardsmen talking to themselves.
“Did you see how hard he hit him?” One whispered.
“I thought he was going to cry!” The other added.
I promptly removed the club I kept at my waist and, walking up behind them, I cocked back my arm and walloped the one walking to the left of me with all my might. A satisfying crunch of wood and bone crackled through the air as it impacted, and he slammed into the ground. The other guard looked at me, expected the same I presume, I took a step forward to him quickly as if to lunge at him, and he jerked back, Served them right, just because my father had humiliated me that didn’t mean I was going to let these scrubs do it too.
We approached the estate, Otto was standing near the gate, he motioned for the guards to take the new slaves to the quarters just beside the house. The guard was still rubbing the back of his head as he passed, and it did not escape the notice of Otto.
“You’re Handiwork?” He asked grinning.
“I caught them mouthing off about me, they just needed some discipline”
“It looks like your father gave you some discipline as well” He said, pointing to my still reddened cheek.
“Yes well… I suppose I should know better at this point” I replied as I started to walk towards the house.
“Its really all for your benefit you know, he just wants to toughen you up” he walked up behind me as he spoke “There are far harsher people than him in Thay, and he wants you to be prepared to deal with them”
“You are right about this” I said as I reached the door, “As you seem to be about a great many things” I walked in.
“Well of course, you should never doubt my wisdom you know, by the way we should practice with the long sword again soon, I don’t want your technique getting rusty…”
Otto had been instructing me in the usage of the long sword for a good many years, Father had always said that he and Otto used to be traveling warriors of some sort, however he never offered any tales of his travels, and Otto only spoke of his travels in passing, never giving many details,
The day wore on for me, there was much work to be done, getting the slaves acclimated to the labors of the fields, disciplining the slaves, then the guard, the slaves again, and then both at once which was quite a scene! As the sun set and I returned home, I decided to take Otto up on his offer, and arranged to meet him in our typical sparring area behind the house. As I approached he tossed me a training sword, which was, in fact, little more than a flat piece of metal the length of a normal sword with a simple leather hilt, we set into our positions.
"Hope your in good form today Dart, im feeling pretty frisky myself!" Otto Exclaimed.
Frisky? I had never heard him say before... no matter I thought to myself
"Indeed, Ive been beating the slaves all-day, and now im going to beat you too!" I snapped back.
We began, Otto struck first with a quick forceful swing towards my upper torso, I managed to parry but the impact still sent me stumbling a bit
"Haha, cant be loosing your footing if you are going to beat me Dart old boy."
I struck back with a quick slash towards the leg, he evaded with a step back then countered with a forceful stab to the shoulder which I managed to deflect, and then responded with my own stab, before I knew it we were locked in another of our trademark duels, I countered, then he countered. We could continue like this for quite some time before one of us finally managed to land a blow and end the stalemate. He was fighting with a new found vigor tonight and I found myself in a struggle to keep up, somehow just managing to dodge the incoming strike, or parry the blade away from me. Finally the critical moment came, Otto lunged just a little too far forward while making a attempt at me, I knew the grip on his blade must be loosened , and I quickly thrust my blade upward through the center of his sword and managed to knock it from his hand.
"Well Done! It looks like you still got it." He gasped, clearly out of breath from all the fighting.
I was gasping as well, and was about to respond when I heard a sound coming from the nearby bushes.
"What was that" Otto said, "Is someone out there?" As soon as he said that a dark clothed figure bolted from behind the bushes, it moved with a dauntless speed, as if enchanted perhaps. I did not even attempt to give chase, for it was clear such would be in vain, within but a moment the figure had vanished from sight into the nearby woodline.
Last edited by Vanquisher on Sun Jun 26, 2011 5:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Vanquisher
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:54 am
Chapter 2
Myself and Otto burst into the family Den, my father, who had been sitting and reading, looked up expectantly.
"Something amiss? You look not well, as if disturbed by something." He asked.
"Look Victor, I'm certain you may recall the... creature we encountered long ago in this very spot, I and the boy have just seen it again just outside here", I had not the slightest idea what he referred to but I listened intently hoping to discern some knowledge of it.
"What?, this is most troubling, one can only hazard a guess as to why it would be dispatched now, I can only guess Doran has invented a new scheme against us, now that things are turning our way"
"What does she have to do with all this?" I exclaimed, inquisitively, "She just some annoying old hag." But as I was about to find out, she wasn't just some old hag, but also had a dark secret.
My father proceeded to explain to me his knowledge of Doran, apparently when he, and Otto decided to retire from there adventuring lifestyle, and moved to Thalazatur, they felt that farming might be a good career choice, as the risk of death was much lower than adventuring, and having lived this long they thought it might be nice to make it to old age. However, at this time Doran was younger and, somehow, even more spiteful and evil, she was quickly gobbling up all the farmland in the area and the profits from her ventures skyrocketed as a result of this. When they arrived few wanted to sell, however one area had some land available and the landowner did not much wish to deal with Doran, so then father seized upon this opportunity and bought the land at a steal. As one can guess this did not much suit her, and, after several failed attempts by the madam, to purchase the land from father, it became clear there would be nothing but bad blood between them. For a time afterward tension seemed to dissipate, however, this did not last, for soon the slaves reported seeing a man in black watching them from afar in the woods, moving with unnatural speed, whenever they might try to approach him. One day when father and Otto returned home, they found this very man ransacking the house, and when a battle ensued they discovered that it was not a man at all, but a undead, golem-like creature. They fought valiantly against it, but it did not seem that they could do much in the way of harm to such a fast enemy, however at a point during the encounter my father managed to land a blow on the beast, impaling its chest, and wedging within it his sword. The blow seemed effective, however it may have been too effective, for the creature charged out of the out of house in an attempt to flee. In this state weakened and slowed, they were able to, just barely, keep up with it, and track it back to Dorans estate, needless to say they were not surprised overmuch to discover this was the source of the trouble. They attempted to confront her, but when they did, they discovered not only did she have this creature at her disposal but powerful magics as well, and they had little chance of victory, especially with my father disarmed, his sword still in the gut of the beast, loathe as they were to do it, they found themselves forced to quit the scene. However the next day they returned, seeking vengeance, and the return of the blade, however she denied it all, and in fact pretended that the entire incident never occurred, and with no evidence that could be traced back to her that it had, they found that they could do little at the moment. They however resolved that they would see justice done, she had violated our home, and the blade that was now in her possession was a family heirloom of at least 4 generations, and according to father had at least some nature of magic about it. Although they had desired a immediate chance to strike back, they never found a way, and to this day the rivalry between them merely simmered under the resentment of the past deed.
"And so you see son, that this is not a new threat but merely the.." his words were cut short, as suddenly a dark mass burst through the den window, and onto the floor, it then lurched up from the ground and I could easily recognize the form.
Father wasted no time, he grabbed one of the long pokers that had been sitting near the fire and swung at the undead, it produced a small blade from the innards of its black garb and parried the strike with astonishing speed. Otto joined the fray charging at the creature with his training sword, it dodged but father struck again at the same time and scored a blow over the top of its head. It seemed mostly unaffected by the blow and let loose a bone-chilling hiss throughout the room. Otto turned to me quickly and threw me a set of keys.
"Upstairs in my room you will find a silver ring with black gems in the top of the bureau, bring it to me and quickly!" He exclaimed.
Keys in hand I ran up the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, whilst the sound of battle roared in the den below me. I entered the room and threw open the top drawer of the bureau. A menagerie of rings and other jewelry awaited my inspection, gold, silver and copper variants, and with basically any color of gemstone that one could think of, even pink... why did he have a pink ring?! I would have to inquire later. I fumbled through the mass of metals, as below me the sound of another metal continually rang aloud, then finally, "Aha!" I said aloud to myself, I had found it. I tore out of the room, and quite literally leaped down the stairway, as I ran back into the den I saw Otto, "Catch" I exclaimed and tossed him the ring. He quickly donned it upon his finger and pointed it at the dastardly undead. A cloud-like ball of milky white magic shot out from the ring, and impacted against the creature, and upon doing so a magical aura around the fiend became visible, then at once dispersed. It had been weakened in a easily perceptible way, I could see that it now moved much slower, and with less vigor, the now weakened undead attempted to strike at Otto, but he deflected it easily, and struck back forcefully in the abdomen sending it reeling back. I joined in, grabbing a lamp sitting on the nearby desk I slammed it into the creatures head and it fell to the floor, now taking my training sword from my side I began to strike at it while it was grounded, as did Otto, we beat the cretin mercilessly until finally it ceased to move, and we assumed it dead. Looking around I saw no sign of father, but saw Otto running outside, I followed, and saw him sprawled out on the ground and would later find out he had been thrown there during the battle. Otto kneeled beside him and inspected the wound.
"Its a good one alright, but he should survive it" He surmised.
"Well we have that to be thankful for at least, that and our victory" I replied.
"Ugghh, we need to... go after her" My father choked out as he leaned up.
"You`re not in condition to go after anyone Victor, you need to recover" Otto answered, "We`ll handle the rest"
"Something amiss? You look not well, as if disturbed by something." He asked.
"Look Victor, I'm certain you may recall the... creature we encountered long ago in this very spot, I and the boy have just seen it again just outside here", I had not the slightest idea what he referred to but I listened intently hoping to discern some knowledge of it.
"What?, this is most troubling, one can only hazard a guess as to why it would be dispatched now, I can only guess Doran has invented a new scheme against us, now that things are turning our way"
"What does she have to do with all this?" I exclaimed, inquisitively, "She just some annoying old hag." But as I was about to find out, she wasn't just some old hag, but also had a dark secret.
My father proceeded to explain to me his knowledge of Doran, apparently when he, and Otto decided to retire from there adventuring lifestyle, and moved to Thalazatur, they felt that farming might be a good career choice, as the risk of death was much lower than adventuring, and having lived this long they thought it might be nice to make it to old age. However, at this time Doran was younger and, somehow, even more spiteful and evil, she was quickly gobbling up all the farmland in the area and the profits from her ventures skyrocketed as a result of this. When they arrived few wanted to sell, however one area had some land available and the landowner did not much wish to deal with Doran, so then father seized upon this opportunity and bought the land at a steal. As one can guess this did not much suit her, and, after several failed attempts by the madam, to purchase the land from father, it became clear there would be nothing but bad blood between them. For a time afterward tension seemed to dissipate, however, this did not last, for soon the slaves reported seeing a man in black watching them from afar in the woods, moving with unnatural speed, whenever they might try to approach him. One day when father and Otto returned home, they found this very man ransacking the house, and when a battle ensued they discovered that it was not a man at all, but a undead, golem-like creature. They fought valiantly against it, but it did not seem that they could do much in the way of harm to such a fast enemy, however at a point during the encounter my father managed to land a blow on the beast, impaling its chest, and wedging within it his sword. The blow seemed effective, however it may have been too effective, for the creature charged out of the out of house in an attempt to flee. In this state weakened and slowed, they were able to, just barely, keep up with it, and track it back to Dorans estate, needless to say they were not surprised overmuch to discover this was the source of the trouble. They attempted to confront her, but when they did, they discovered not only did she have this creature at her disposal but powerful magics as well, and they had little chance of victory, especially with my father disarmed, his sword still in the gut of the beast, loathe as they were to do it, they found themselves forced to quit the scene. However the next day they returned, seeking vengeance, and the return of the blade, however she denied it all, and in fact pretended that the entire incident never occurred, and with no evidence that could be traced back to her that it had, they found that they could do little at the moment. They however resolved that they would see justice done, she had violated our home, and the blade that was now in her possession was a family heirloom of at least 4 generations, and according to father had at least some nature of magic about it. Although they had desired a immediate chance to strike back, they never found a way, and to this day the rivalry between them merely simmered under the resentment of the past deed.
"And so you see son, that this is not a new threat but merely the.." his words were cut short, as suddenly a dark mass burst through the den window, and onto the floor, it then lurched up from the ground and I could easily recognize the form.
Father wasted no time, he grabbed one of the long pokers that had been sitting near the fire and swung at the undead, it produced a small blade from the innards of its black garb and parried the strike with astonishing speed. Otto joined the fray charging at the creature with his training sword, it dodged but father struck again at the same time and scored a blow over the top of its head. It seemed mostly unaffected by the blow and let loose a bone-chilling hiss throughout the room. Otto turned to me quickly and threw me a set of keys.
"Upstairs in my room you will find a silver ring with black gems in the top of the bureau, bring it to me and quickly!" He exclaimed.
Keys in hand I ran up the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, whilst the sound of battle roared in the den below me. I entered the room and threw open the top drawer of the bureau. A menagerie of rings and other jewelry awaited my inspection, gold, silver and copper variants, and with basically any color of gemstone that one could think of, even pink... why did he have a pink ring?! I would have to inquire later. I fumbled through the mass of metals, as below me the sound of another metal continually rang aloud, then finally, "Aha!" I said aloud to myself, I had found it. I tore out of the room, and quite literally leaped down the stairway, as I ran back into the den I saw Otto, "Catch" I exclaimed and tossed him the ring. He quickly donned it upon his finger and pointed it at the dastardly undead. A cloud-like ball of milky white magic shot out from the ring, and impacted against the creature, and upon doing so a magical aura around the fiend became visible, then at once dispersed. It had been weakened in a easily perceptible way, I could see that it now moved much slower, and with less vigor, the now weakened undead attempted to strike at Otto, but he deflected it easily, and struck back forcefully in the abdomen sending it reeling back. I joined in, grabbing a lamp sitting on the nearby desk I slammed it into the creatures head and it fell to the floor, now taking my training sword from my side I began to strike at it while it was grounded, as did Otto, we beat the cretin mercilessly until finally it ceased to move, and we assumed it dead. Looking around I saw no sign of father, but saw Otto running outside, I followed, and saw him sprawled out on the ground and would later find out he had been thrown there during the battle. Otto kneeled beside him and inspected the wound.
"Its a good one alright, but he should survive it" He surmised.
"Well we have that to be thankful for at least, that and our victory" I replied.
"Ugghh, we need to... go after her" My father choked out as he leaned up.
"You`re not in condition to go after anyone Victor, you need to recover" Otto answered, "We`ll handle the rest"
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Vanquisher
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:54 am
Chapter 3
Myself and Otto approached the Doran estate, a brisk wind blew through the fields scattering dust along the air and thunder cracked in the distance. We walked to the door, swords and shields in hand, and knocked heavily upon the door. There was no response. Once again, we knocked. We heard some sort of rustling inside, but no answer. One last time we knocked. Finally the door creaked open, a short and older gnome peeked out of the doorway.
"WHO DARES DISTURB AT THIS HOUR OF THE NIGHT" a booming voice emanated from the small frame, as if something spoke though him.
"You know good and well who it is treacherous, harlot, skank!" Otto exclaimed with anger picking up the small man and shaking him violently, "You cannot hide behind such tricks show yourself before us!"
"Ahhhhh, de-wrest me please!, My back is brittle and old, and I can scarcely afford the draconian health care of this country as it is!" Bewildered as to what that was actually supposed to mean, he dropped the little man.
"Where is the lady of the house?" I inquired to him.
"In her study good sirs, but tis not accepting any visitation at such a late hour, and has instructed me to turn you away" He replied.
"Ha, that's cute, we aren't going to leave just like that" I conjectured.
"Hm, well you just don't have any manners at all then do you!, I'm afraid I cannot let you in!" The little fellow, ran into the house and shut the door behind him.
"Well, I never claimed to be polite" I stated, "Nor did I" chimed in Otto.
The two of us promptly kicked down the door. As we walked into the foyer, the gnome stood inside, clearly in fright, then took off down the hall. After about a moment had passed two armed men ran from the same hallway to confront us.
"Hey deez dem fellas from across the way that the mistress don't hardly like, wot day doin hurr I wonder" One of them stated. The other responded with a equally vacant look.
"I don curr bout none dat, we don get pay for think, and gud cuz I not gud at dat, jus kill!" The gnome that just moments ago was trembling fearfully popped back out from the hallway.
"That's right you stupid dregs, it doesn't matter, JUST KILL!"
The two morons charged at us, and all the meanwhile the gnome seemed to be preparing to cast a spell. One of the idiots swung at me with his sword, but it was a easy act to evade, I quickly countered with a slash across his chest, which left a brilliant red line all the way up the torso, he stumbled back in visible pain, but came back for more. I parried the blade and dislodged it from his hand sending it flying though the room, but before I could capitalize a searing pain rushed into me, the gnome had pelted me directly in the face and torso with a barrage of magical energies, and I collapsed into the floor in agony. Otto meanwhile was still dueling with his fool, who it would seem twas a fair bit better than mine, they both locked swords, but Otto took advantage by hammering the buffoon in the face with shield, the stooge ambled back, and Otto landed the decisive and bloody strike, dropping his shield and going at it with both hands he decapitated the man in a single powerful swoop. A explosion of crimson gore splattered across the room, as the headless corpse fell into a blood-soaked heap on the ground. The gnome released another wave of magics, this time at Otto and it sent him recoiling back into the wall. I began to regain my senses and stand as the fool approached me again his blade now back in hand, I was still recovering from the pain and it was all I could muster to hold off his strikes, finally I was able to deflect his blade, and landed a kick squarely in his lower stomach, he seemed stunned for just a moment and it was all I needed as I thrust the point of my sword into his chest. He looked down at the metal protruding into him, and as I removed it fell on the ground as well. Otto was getting up at this time too and we could see the gnome preparing another spell but we wasted no time, both of us charged directly at him, a look of gloom overtook his face as he realized what was coming next, we both reared back our foot, and kicked the little bastard down the hallway. He landed in the darkness with a resounding thud. With the fools out of the way we proceeded forthwith.
We entered the study at the end of the hall, within we found bookshelves, packed with tomes of all sorts and sized in the center of the room, two red chairs, with tables and lamps accompanying them, and within one of them, a woman of advanced age sat, asleep. We approached her.
"Should we wake her" I asked quietly.
"No lets just kill her and get out of here" Otto replied as he started to walk toward her.
"We cant just kill and old lady while she sleeps!" I answered moving to stop him.
"I don't bloody see why the hell not! She just tried to kill us a few hours ago if you don't recall?, This is probably some sort of trick anyway I bet its a trap"
"Mmmm, Ummm, who's there? Did you see off those little pests yet Mr. Twigs?" she mumbled half-asleep.
"Twigs?" I said, my gaze diverting to the still twitching gnome down the hall.
"IT IS US YE SHREW!" Otto interrupted in a booming voice. "Wake up and face justice!" Her eyes opened slightly.
"Oh you are that odd little man from the Webber house, do go away I was having such pleasant thoughts before you came in" she mumbled, still not much within her faculties.
"Why did you send your undead cretin upon us, Ye old hag" I asked hoping for a tad more lucidity from her.
"Oh yes, I was mumbling to myself about how much I hated your family and he just took off", she stammered, "It is increasingly more difficult to control him these days."
"Well your malefactor is dead now, and soon you will be too!" Otto exclaimed, still in fury.
"Yes, well, I very much doubt that, he always comes back, had fallen into a mine shaft one time, twas down there 4 years before we got him out... don't ask" she now seemed fully aware of herself. "I presume now, you have come here seeking blood?, I am little more than an old woman I cannot stop you, so take it if that is your wish."
"This hardly seems sporting old fellow, I was expecting a bitter old sorceress, not an decrepit old bitty" I said to Otto, "Return our family sword to us and your free to go" I proclaimed, Otto guffawed, "Absolutely not!, I'm not gonna let this old hag off the hook, dangerous or not!"
"The sword? You must mean that old Sliver that was stuck in my golem" She paused briefly. "I had Twigs sell that to a merchant group that was heading up north not but a day ago, man was named Bo`bums I believe, that's all I know."
"Well then" I responded. "I guess that's it, your free to..." As I was speaking Otto stepped forward and effortlessly stabbed her straight in the chest, she fell forward and out of the chair almost immediately. I looked at her, then I looked at Otto, he was a little astonished, I guess he expected her to burst into flames or something.
"Hm,... maybe we should get out of here" I suggested.
"You know, since we are heading out we should probally stab the gnome too, he did see it all" Otto said. As I looked into the hallway I saw he had quit the scene, and I suggested that so should we.
"WHO DARES DISTURB AT THIS HOUR OF THE NIGHT" a booming voice emanated from the small frame, as if something spoke though him.
"You know good and well who it is treacherous, harlot, skank!" Otto exclaimed with anger picking up the small man and shaking him violently, "You cannot hide behind such tricks show yourself before us!"
"Ahhhhh, de-wrest me please!, My back is brittle and old, and I can scarcely afford the draconian health care of this country as it is!" Bewildered as to what that was actually supposed to mean, he dropped the little man.
"Where is the lady of the house?" I inquired to him.
"In her study good sirs, but tis not accepting any visitation at such a late hour, and has instructed me to turn you away" He replied.
"Ha, that's cute, we aren't going to leave just like that" I conjectured.
"Hm, well you just don't have any manners at all then do you!, I'm afraid I cannot let you in!" The little fellow, ran into the house and shut the door behind him.
"Well, I never claimed to be polite" I stated, "Nor did I" chimed in Otto.
The two of us promptly kicked down the door. As we walked into the foyer, the gnome stood inside, clearly in fright, then took off down the hall. After about a moment had passed two armed men ran from the same hallway to confront us.
"Hey deez dem fellas from across the way that the mistress don't hardly like, wot day doin hurr I wonder" One of them stated. The other responded with a equally vacant look.
"I don curr bout none dat, we don get pay for think, and gud cuz I not gud at dat, jus kill!" The gnome that just moments ago was trembling fearfully popped back out from the hallway.
"That's right you stupid dregs, it doesn't matter, JUST KILL!"
The two morons charged at us, and all the meanwhile the gnome seemed to be preparing to cast a spell. One of the idiots swung at me with his sword, but it was a easy act to evade, I quickly countered with a slash across his chest, which left a brilliant red line all the way up the torso, he stumbled back in visible pain, but came back for more. I parried the blade and dislodged it from his hand sending it flying though the room, but before I could capitalize a searing pain rushed into me, the gnome had pelted me directly in the face and torso with a barrage of magical energies, and I collapsed into the floor in agony. Otto meanwhile was still dueling with his fool, who it would seem twas a fair bit better than mine, they both locked swords, but Otto took advantage by hammering the buffoon in the face with shield, the stooge ambled back, and Otto landed the decisive and bloody strike, dropping his shield and going at it with both hands he decapitated the man in a single powerful swoop. A explosion of crimson gore splattered across the room, as the headless corpse fell into a blood-soaked heap on the ground. The gnome released another wave of magics, this time at Otto and it sent him recoiling back into the wall. I began to regain my senses and stand as the fool approached me again his blade now back in hand, I was still recovering from the pain and it was all I could muster to hold off his strikes, finally I was able to deflect his blade, and landed a kick squarely in his lower stomach, he seemed stunned for just a moment and it was all I needed as I thrust the point of my sword into his chest. He looked down at the metal protruding into him, and as I removed it fell on the ground as well. Otto was getting up at this time too and we could see the gnome preparing another spell but we wasted no time, both of us charged directly at him, a look of gloom overtook his face as he realized what was coming next, we both reared back our foot, and kicked the little bastard down the hallway. He landed in the darkness with a resounding thud. With the fools out of the way we proceeded forthwith.
We entered the study at the end of the hall, within we found bookshelves, packed with tomes of all sorts and sized in the center of the room, two red chairs, with tables and lamps accompanying them, and within one of them, a woman of advanced age sat, asleep. We approached her.
"Should we wake her" I asked quietly.
"No lets just kill her and get out of here" Otto replied as he started to walk toward her.
"We cant just kill and old lady while she sleeps!" I answered moving to stop him.
"I don't bloody see why the hell not! She just tried to kill us a few hours ago if you don't recall?, This is probably some sort of trick anyway I bet its a trap"
"Mmmm, Ummm, who's there? Did you see off those little pests yet Mr. Twigs?" she mumbled half-asleep.
"Twigs?" I said, my gaze diverting to the still twitching gnome down the hall.
"IT IS US YE SHREW!" Otto interrupted in a booming voice. "Wake up and face justice!" Her eyes opened slightly.
"Oh you are that odd little man from the Webber house, do go away I was having such pleasant thoughts before you came in" she mumbled, still not much within her faculties.
"Why did you send your undead cretin upon us, Ye old hag" I asked hoping for a tad more lucidity from her.
"Oh yes, I was mumbling to myself about how much I hated your family and he just took off", she stammered, "It is increasingly more difficult to control him these days."
"Well your malefactor is dead now, and soon you will be too!" Otto exclaimed, still in fury.
"Yes, well, I very much doubt that, he always comes back, had fallen into a mine shaft one time, twas down there 4 years before we got him out... don't ask" she now seemed fully aware of herself. "I presume now, you have come here seeking blood?, I am little more than an old woman I cannot stop you, so take it if that is your wish."
"This hardly seems sporting old fellow, I was expecting a bitter old sorceress, not an decrepit old bitty" I said to Otto, "Return our family sword to us and your free to go" I proclaimed, Otto guffawed, "Absolutely not!, I'm not gonna let this old hag off the hook, dangerous or not!"
"The sword? You must mean that old Sliver that was stuck in my golem" She paused briefly. "I had Twigs sell that to a merchant group that was heading up north not but a day ago, man was named Bo`bums I believe, that's all I know."
"Well then" I responded. "I guess that's it, your free to..." As I was speaking Otto stepped forward and effortlessly stabbed her straight in the chest, she fell forward and out of the chair almost immediately. I looked at her, then I looked at Otto, he was a little astonished, I guess he expected her to burst into flames or something.
"Hm,... maybe we should get out of here" I suggested.
"You know, since we are heading out we should probally stab the gnome too, he did see it all" Otto said. As I looked into the hallway I saw he had quit the scene, and I suggested that so should we.
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Vanquisher
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:54 am
Chapter 4
The blue haze of twilight bathed the landscape in its dim radiance as I headed north along the road from Thalazatur. The wind blew seldom, but when it did, it was as cold and as wet as it could be. Large, deep clouds loomed heavily upon the sky, and they seemed ready to burst at the nearest opportunity. I had a lot of ground to travel, I figured I was two days behind my target at this point, and with each passing moment it seemed that I may soon find myself even further behind.
Father did not approve of my traveling out here alone on this errant quest, and had protested greatly against it, I suppose had he been in the condition to stop me he would have, but in his weakened state he could do little, and just as well for my purposes. Granted, the recovery of our family heirloom was of significant import to me, but of much greater import was the chance to get away from home and see new sights. For certain I did not expect some grand adventure or to acquire any boastful tales for back home, but nevertheless, after having been cooped up at the farm for the time I had been, any sort of reprieve was welcomed thoroughly. I presumed it would be a simple matter, if I could find this merchant "Bo`bums" to reacquire the sword, I had a sum gold I thought most reasonable, and if that did not suffice... then other methods could be implemented.
The telltale sound of thunder rumbled above me, and a slow trickle of rain fell from the sky. Luckily a large tree was not but 20 yards away just off the road, and I ran to partake of its cover. The rain assaulted the ground mightily at this point, and small drops permeated the shield of leaves above and trickled down upon me, I pulled my hood over my head, and held my cloak to me closely, seeking to partake of what small comfort they may afford.
Father did not approve of my traveling out here alone on this errant quest, and had protested greatly against it, I suppose had he been in the condition to stop me he would have, but in his weakened state he could do little, and just as well for my purposes. Granted, the recovery of our family heirloom was of significant import to me, but of much greater import was the chance to get away from home and see new sights. For certain I did not expect some grand adventure or to acquire any boastful tales for back home, but nevertheless, after having been cooped up at the farm for the time I had been, any sort of reprieve was welcomed thoroughly. I presumed it would be a simple matter, if I could find this merchant "Bo`bums" to reacquire the sword, I had a sum gold I thought most reasonable, and if that did not suffice... then other methods could be implemented.
The telltale sound of thunder rumbled above me, and a slow trickle of rain fell from the sky. Luckily a large tree was not but 20 yards away just off the road, and I ran to partake of its cover. The rain assaulted the ground mightily at this point, and small drops permeated the shield of leaves above and trickled down upon me, I pulled my hood over my head, and held my cloak to me closely, seeking to partake of what small comfort they may afford.
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Vanquisher
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:54 am
Chapter 5.
My travels up to this point had been, mostly uneventful, save for the poor weather which slowed my progress and wore my patience thin, rains had beset me for the last two days but here at last I found myself but a mile from the gates of Moszabbar. The sun had finally broken the veil of clouds and retaken its triumphant place in the sky, its warmth shining upon the land, a welcome change of pace from the last few days. The road into town was abuzz with activity, at least in comparison to what I had seen previously, wagons, horse-drawn and loaded fully, being pulled to and from the city, as behind them slaves worked the golden fields which flanked the road on both sides, and lay spread out for miles before the great city walls. I approached the great city gate, and upon going though found myself in awe of the great bounty of civilization upon which I now gazed, I knew for certain that this was not even among the worlds greatest cities, far from it, but to have seen something on this scale for the first time, these high-flung towers, these large houses bigger and better than any I had before seen, all lined up in what seemed a limitless myriad of streets and lanes for as far as my eye could see, and my mind could envision, I had gone from imagining this world, to being in it.
After the initial awe had worn off of me I resolved myself to attend to my mission, before going off and getting lost in all the various sights of the city, to the east of me I could see the sights of vendors who had set up shop, several of which had armaments, and armors of all types. If this "Bo`bums" did business in the city and traded in magical weaponry, perhaps these people would know of him. I approached the stalls all sorts of fantastic items littered the stands in front of me and even more in the large in-door shops which loomed in the background. I approached many of the tradesmen, but none had any knowledge of the gentleman that I sought, however one of them quietly suggested to me, that I should go to the "Dark Tentacle Tavern" and inquire about the "Study Group" that they hold every night, which is apparently a cover for some sort of black market type activity. I thanked him for the information, however I was weary of going to any sort of black market. Could my simple family heirloom really be found in such a place? And if I did go to such a place, I would stick out sorely, attracting attention I hardly desired. I continued my search throughout the city, inquiring in all manner of places that I thought, may have such things as I sought, the day waned slowly and with it the hope of any quick resolution to my quest. As I approached the central district of town, the blue hour of the evening was just falling upon the sky, and the light of the stars just barely peaked from beyond the otherwise solid curtain of sapphire. I had exhausted much of my options, and decided lodging would be needed for the night, I took note of my surroundings, several inns, some houses, and a tavern, the sign read "Dark Tentacle T.." the rest of it had been snapped clean off.
"Hm," I muttered to myself, not really wanting to go in, it seemed as if I was destined to go into this place as much as I may be loathe to do so, I let loose a long sigh, then stepped forward and opened the door.
The sound of loud music and boisterous revelry flooded out of the building like a wave and crashed against the relative silence of the street outside. Walking inside and closing the door I saw tables filled with all sorts of rowdy rough looking types, singing, and drinking and generally just having a merry old-time. Tavern wenches rushed to serve up the hastily drunken booze just as quickly as it was being imbibed, and upon a stage in front of them, a bardly looking fellow was playing a flute just as fiercely and loudly as he could, whipping up the whole of the crowd in the mesmerizing tune. In spite of all this, on the opposing side of the room things were more tame, along the bar sat two patrons, against the wall, was a woman in a thick black dress, perhaps made of some sort of fur or hide, although not ragged or unkempt in its looks, with jet black hair pulled into a bun of sorts, her face was obscured and turned away from my direction. Two seats over sat a man clad in leather armor, a blade was holstered at the side and he hunched was over the bar, his hand clutched loosely around a half full glass as he quietly stammered something unintelligible to himself. I took a seat at the edge of the bar at the barkeep approached.
"What`ell ya have" he asked. I moved my left hand up, as if to somehow hide my mouth from the drunken fellow beside me.
"I was hoping I might find a few people for a... "Study Group" tonight" I whispered, trying to be as sly as I could.
"Not many people studying round here tonight, or any other night fellow" he replied dismissively, craning his head towards the drunken crowd behind me.
"Look I know I'm not the type for this sort of thing but I gotta get in there tonight" I whispered, half pleading.
"For what?" He said, his voice low.
"Got something I need to get back, and I'm willing to pay for it... I just need to get in there and see if they have it, I`m looking for this man "Bo`bums" no one seems to know who he is, so I think maybe he deals with only a certain company"
"Yer willing to pay for it huh..." The barkeep said, eyes gleaming.
I reached into my pocket and revealed a bag, and loosening the string that fastened it, a glimmer a gold peeked through.
"OK OK.. maybe we can work something out.. you`re an outsider, no one knows ya, and they anit got no reason to trust ya, maybe give me some insurance and ill help you out"
"Two-hundred gold coins in here" I said tying the string on the pouch, then siding it forward across the table to him. "All yours just get me in the front door" A smile spread across his face as he pocketed the coinage.
"Yeah, this is good for me, but its not time yet. You come back at a quarter till midnight, knock on the basement door, out back, and ill get you in that door, but there anit no telling whats gonna happen next" He laughed a deep almost mocking laugh.
"Now, you want some booze or not?"
"Sure, your darkest ale" I replied, putting a few coins on the table. He responded by setting down a towering glass of pitch black liquid, with just a small bit of it swaying out the glass and onto the wood below. I stared into it deeply, wondering if I would come to regret this later.
After the initial awe had worn off of me I resolved myself to attend to my mission, before going off and getting lost in all the various sights of the city, to the east of me I could see the sights of vendors who had set up shop, several of which had armaments, and armors of all types. If this "Bo`bums" did business in the city and traded in magical weaponry, perhaps these people would know of him. I approached the stalls all sorts of fantastic items littered the stands in front of me and even more in the large in-door shops which loomed in the background. I approached many of the tradesmen, but none had any knowledge of the gentleman that I sought, however one of them quietly suggested to me, that I should go to the "Dark Tentacle Tavern" and inquire about the "Study Group" that they hold every night, which is apparently a cover for some sort of black market type activity. I thanked him for the information, however I was weary of going to any sort of black market. Could my simple family heirloom really be found in such a place? And if I did go to such a place, I would stick out sorely, attracting attention I hardly desired. I continued my search throughout the city, inquiring in all manner of places that I thought, may have such things as I sought, the day waned slowly and with it the hope of any quick resolution to my quest. As I approached the central district of town, the blue hour of the evening was just falling upon the sky, and the light of the stars just barely peaked from beyond the otherwise solid curtain of sapphire. I had exhausted much of my options, and decided lodging would be needed for the night, I took note of my surroundings, several inns, some houses, and a tavern, the sign read "Dark Tentacle T.." the rest of it had been snapped clean off.
"Hm," I muttered to myself, not really wanting to go in, it seemed as if I was destined to go into this place as much as I may be loathe to do so, I let loose a long sigh, then stepped forward and opened the door.
The sound of loud music and boisterous revelry flooded out of the building like a wave and crashed against the relative silence of the street outside. Walking inside and closing the door I saw tables filled with all sorts of rowdy rough looking types, singing, and drinking and generally just having a merry old-time. Tavern wenches rushed to serve up the hastily drunken booze just as quickly as it was being imbibed, and upon a stage in front of them, a bardly looking fellow was playing a flute just as fiercely and loudly as he could, whipping up the whole of the crowd in the mesmerizing tune. In spite of all this, on the opposing side of the room things were more tame, along the bar sat two patrons, against the wall, was a woman in a thick black dress, perhaps made of some sort of fur or hide, although not ragged or unkempt in its looks, with jet black hair pulled into a bun of sorts, her face was obscured and turned away from my direction. Two seats over sat a man clad in leather armor, a blade was holstered at the side and he hunched was over the bar, his hand clutched loosely around a half full glass as he quietly stammered something unintelligible to himself. I took a seat at the edge of the bar at the barkeep approached.
"What`ell ya have" he asked. I moved my left hand up, as if to somehow hide my mouth from the drunken fellow beside me.
"I was hoping I might find a few people for a... "Study Group" tonight" I whispered, trying to be as sly as I could.
"Not many people studying round here tonight, or any other night fellow" he replied dismissively, craning his head towards the drunken crowd behind me.
"Look I know I'm not the type for this sort of thing but I gotta get in there tonight" I whispered, half pleading.
"For what?" He said, his voice low.
"Got something I need to get back, and I'm willing to pay for it... I just need to get in there and see if they have it, I`m looking for this man "Bo`bums" no one seems to know who he is, so I think maybe he deals with only a certain company"
"Yer willing to pay for it huh..." The barkeep said, eyes gleaming.
I reached into my pocket and revealed a bag, and loosening the string that fastened it, a glimmer a gold peeked through.
"OK OK.. maybe we can work something out.. you`re an outsider, no one knows ya, and they anit got no reason to trust ya, maybe give me some insurance and ill help you out"
"Two-hundred gold coins in here" I said tying the string on the pouch, then siding it forward across the table to him. "All yours just get me in the front door" A smile spread across his face as he pocketed the coinage.
"Yeah, this is good for me, but its not time yet. You come back at a quarter till midnight, knock on the basement door, out back, and ill get you in that door, but there anit no telling whats gonna happen next" He laughed a deep almost mocking laugh.
"Now, you want some booze or not?"
"Sure, your darkest ale" I replied, putting a few coins on the table. He responded by setting down a towering glass of pitch black liquid, with just a small bit of it swaying out the glass and onto the wood below. I stared into it deeply, wondering if I would come to regret this later.