The Death of the Beast

[Maecius]

The notorious criminal and outlaw, Randall "The Beast" Armstrong, was hung south of the Wyrm's Crossing earlier this evening. A crowd of witnesses gathered, as did a rather large contingent of Flaming Fist soldiers.

It was clear that this man was regarded as a dangerous criminal, and Baldur's Gate's authorities were not taking any chances.

During the execution, one of the soldiers enraged Randall with a comment about "The Beast's" deceased wife. The criminal headbutt the soldier, and sent him careening off the scaffold.

Several battlemages quickly got the situation under control with holding and binding spells, and another soldier quickly took the injured executioner's place.

As the rope was corded around Randall's neck, "The Beast" began to sing a sad song, while the crowd reacted with mixed sympathy and jeering. As his last note sounded, the lever for the trap was pulled, and Randall was hung.

His neck broke with the drop, and his death was therefore quick. The criminal was afterward removed to Baldur's Gate.

So ends the story of Randall "The Beast" Armstrong ...

(( OOC: Feel welcome to respond to this thread with your own take on the execution. Keep responses IC, please. ))

[Simian]

Once there was a beast who climbed to a leafless tree, and with a snap, came down along with the whole branch...

[ Quin Waynn is seen leaning to a haldberd. ]
Move along people, move along, there is nothing to see here anymore, dead as a deader.

[Randall]

"It is time, beast."

After being denied the right to speak with a priest of Llira, Randall was brought out of the fist prison, in chains, surrounded by flaming fists soldiers. The beast didn't want to try an escape. Perhaps he could have, no one will ever know, though, he didn't want to hurt anyone that day. As much as he hated many fist soldiers and officers, he knew that most of them were just men and women with familly to feed, trying to make this world better with whatever means they had. He also knew he could still be usefull to this world, and that his story could still go on, but the end was near.

Randall wasn't sure if Jonas had recieved his letter, he wasn't sure if the paladin would take care of his body after the hanging. He simply wanted to rest near his wife, and the thought that maybe that letter never reached the paladin was torturing him while he was walking in the streets, then on the bridge.

His body, usually well fed and musculated, though bearing many scars, wasn't in shape. The months in jail, with little food and water, no training, had an impact on his overall health. He wasn't the same. Veins were out, and bones could be seen where they wouldn't usually.

A few friendly faces were there.

A few words could be heard amongst the "Burn him! Burn him! Slice his throat! Kill him the same way he killed his victims! Hang him!"

"Randall.."

"You are not without friends here, Randall."

"You don't even know the man! Shut it up!"

"Shut it, blood thirsty fools!"


After headbutting off the stage a flaming fist champion who spoke badly of his wife, the beast was ready to leave. He glanced one last time to thoses who wanted him dead, thoses who didn't even know his story, and then, to his friends. Among these friends were a few known faces, from.. paladins to known and unknown rogues, clerics, wizards and fighters, who played each a different role in Randy's life, and who all had a good side the beast loved in them, despite the differences.

Randall closed his eyes, ready. His life was in front of him, and the only thing that came to his mind was a poem, recited by Leonia Nightsong, a long time ago, even before the gods turned him into a woman.

It went as follows.


Lay yer hurting heart.. my love,
Bleeding in my faithless palm.. I absorb yer sorrow,
Smell it seeping softly.. in the hollow center of my chest.
Yer painful thoughts.. in my embrace,
Trickling.. through the cracks of my soul.
But I shall keep them within,
Locked away.. securely..
Behind a forced facade of perfect joy.
Until ye are born.. and born again.
Mortal, guilty, but to me.. forever friend.

His eyes closed, he saw the pretty smile of his wife surrounded by the dark void, and raised his large hand to reach her cheek, to feel her skin.

He didn't feel his life leaving him. He simply fell... and went into another world, let's hope, a world in which he would finally find peace and happiness.

[Charraj]

Sitting in Candlekeep's inn, Charraj eventually hears word of Randall's execution. His fork clatters to the table as he rushes out of the Keep, determined to find out exactly what happened.

Memories of Randall flash through the wizard's mind as he hurries along the Lion's Way.
First meeting in the Farmlands after I had just arrived in Baldur's Gate; s/he helped me reach Beregost safely.
Singlehandedly demolishing roomfuls of insectoid abominations in the Cloakwood Mines, saving my life and those of my companions. Realizing just how insanely strong Randall is.
Dragging my cooling body into town to get me medical attention.
Getting Lael'sae'roth off of me, Catam, and Nathaniel.
Helping me learn more about combat (and smashing my nose).
Helping my companions safely escape from the Underdark.
Our trip back down with Kaltyra.

Charraj mutters to himself. "Did they finally get you, you human tornado? I won't believe it! Not until I see the body!"

[BlueHero45]

Rhys simply sighs and says "Thank the gods that's over with"

[dzidek1983]

Kald walks by... he smiles slightly when he sees the gathering around the hunged man...

Ding-Dong the witch is dead - he says cowering his face with a hood - and walks away towards the FAI....

[Ivan38Rus]

A hooded person was watching the execution from the gathered crowd. His eyes were fixed on the exhausted man who would soon be dead. "A shadow of his former self", Jero thought to himself as his lips formed a cruel smirk underneath his mask. As the fists pulled the lever and Randall's neck snapped, a look of deep satisfaction mixed, surprisingly, with regret and symphaty could be seen in the hooded spectator's eyes.

Without a word, he departed South and vanished into the woods.

[Aikura]

A woman in a fine dress and feathered hat stands on the shadowed periphery of the mob. Despite her appearance she seems to go unnoticed by virtually everyone. As the condemned is led to the noose, she tilts her head up and catches his eye. She holds his gaze for a brief moment, and mouths words easily discernable to him even from a distance:

"You will be with her soon."

She continues to watch as the noose is placed around his neck, and he makes no further effort to resist. As the trapdoor beneath his feet gives way, the woman tightly pulls the brim of her hat down over her face, obscuring her expression. Whether this effort hides a characteristic smirk, or some other display of emotion; no one notices either way.

She turns and slips away as silently as she came. Her thoughts remain behind, dwelling on the condemned and his final fate. He had cheated death so many times before, but she knew all too well that the Beast's fire had died along with his wife. For better or worse, it was his time.

Goodbye old friend.

[Xanfyrst]

At the back of the crowd, Alistair is standing, watching the whole drama with anticipation. Not that he has anything against the soon-to-be-hanged or he wishes anyone ill, but... he has never seen a hanging before. As the executioner is about to press down the lever, something catches his interest on the ground.

"oh a shiny!" it bursts out of him as he bows down to pick it up. As he raises again, the whole thing is over and the Beast is no more.
"Aww damn it! I missed it!"

Next to him, a half-elf walks by. The man does not seem too interested in it all though does react to it before he continues his way;

"Good riddance."

[Maecius]

[ Coast, South of Candlekeep ]

The coast south of Candlekeep was quiet tonight. Waves gently lapped the sand, and the sun hung low in the sky. Dusk was coming on fast, and would be here soon.

Fffwwissh.

Outside of a very special cave, a shimmering sphere of light formed in the air, growing rapidly into a door-shaped portal. A foot stepped out from the portal, and it was followed by a leg, then a man. His eyes were as red as freshly-spilled blood, and two small horns crowned his head.

Ffwwochh.

The portal snaps closed behind Valerius, but the wizard pays it no mind. His eyes are already on the sky. Seconds pass. Seconds become minutes. The sun crawls slowly across the sky, sinking lower into the horizon. Then there is a shape, moving on the skyline. It grows larger by the moment, as Valerius stoically watches it approach.

An avian cry pierces the sky and then the gryphon alights upon the beach, spraying sand. The wizard sweeps his hand lightly, and the arc of sand is swept to one side by an invisible wind. The magnificent animal approaches, and Valerius smiles.

"Hello again." The wizard says gently to the animal. "What did he call you? ... Ah, that's right. Twiddle."

Valerius places his hand on the gryphon's beak, and continues smiling softly at the sadness in the creature's intelligent eyes. "Yes, I know. I, too, grew fond of him."

Although the gryphon had once been a gift to Randall, Twiddle, as he came to be known, was originally meant as a spy. An animal meant to keep an eye on a man (then woman) that Valerius considered dangerous.

But that man fell in love. And that man's hard heart softened. The spy turned into a guardian, and then a friend. Valerius was content with how things had transpired, and once more inspired by the redemptive capabilities of love, hope, and friendship.

"You did well ... Twiddle." The tiefling chuckles gently, running his hand down the animal's beak. "Ilallium."

A word is spoken, in that unknowable language of magic, and that is all it takes. The gryphon, Twiddle, shrinks rapidly from view. Those watching very closely would realize the animal had not disappeared, however. It had turned into a tiny stone statuette, which Valerius held calmly in his palm.

Pocketing the figurine of wondrous power, Valerius turns towards the cave, pursing his lips. His eyes shift from the cave to the far-away view of Candlekeep, on its cliffs to the north. Finally, Valerius turns his gaze up at the sky, the sun nearly gone now.

"May your soul find peace at last in Brightwater, Randall."

Brightwater ... It is a plane dedicated to joy, to beauty, and to luck. It is a place where life is lived to the fullest, sparkling with adventure and chances. It is the realm of those who worshiped Lliira, Sharess, Sune, Tymora, and Waukeen in life.

Valerius truly hoped Randall was there.

A small but sad smile on his lips, the wizard walks towards the Sea of Swords. Just before his shoe touches the waves, a portal of light tears open the air, and Valerius disappears.

The coast south of Candlekeep was quiet tonight. Waves gently lapped the sand, and the sun hung low in the sky ...

[LeslieMS]

[A wreath, woven by a familiar hand, large, adorned with a red ribbon and boasting many wildflowers, drifts quietly away from the cliff near Candlekeep.]

"You kept your promise to me... Even if it didn't change the mortal end, what comes after is what matters. I had hoped it would be different, but in this, you and your wife are together. It isn't the second chance hoped for, but in a way... it is. Mercy smile on you both."

[As quietly as she came, she walks back home. Smiling softly as the moon is hidden by rain clouds.]

Edited because I can't type and talk at the same time today. Sorry

[Duster47]

Several days after hearing the news of Randall's execution, Reader Valqis sadly goes to the Candlekeep jail to retrieve his gear he left behind. The jailor gives her a heavy bag containing Randall's worldly possessions.

Their last conversation returns clearly to her mind. Death. Afterlife. Loved ones.
A Candlekeep guard interrupts them. "It's time to go." She recalls how it felt as if there was more to say...
"Listen girl. I am sorry for all of this. If I stay alive, I will never ask you for anything. Ever."
"Remain living."
"If I die, I am sorry I will not make up for it. Take care of my gear."
He seemed to be in good spirts as the Fist guards walked him away from Candlekeep. But she could not avoid the idea that she somehow could have saved him. But, she could not save him. And he did not remain living. She remembered Qonsu' did not shine in the nite sky.

Valqis lugs the bag into the Seeker's Quarters and respectfully removes everything onto the table. There was the red spiky armor and big saw-tooth-edged sword she remembered well. Clothing items with no exceptional value. There is a leather pouch containing a pretty ring and neckless which tumble onto the table. The pretty neckless shows the Lliira symbol but is otherwise a mystery to her. She recognizes the ring as one Randall wore for after his marriage to Marjolaine; the woman who turned his heart around. She was killed after their wedding. In truth, Valqis believed his heart died with her on the beach that day, though he seemed to hide it well. She pauses a moment to wipe a tear from her pretty hazel eyes.

Last from the bag she finds a small orb-shaped thing that emitted a faint green glow. Valqis recalled Randall's outrageous story about how little green men changed his form from human to dwarf. Given her distant travels for Candlekeep, she did not dismiss the crazy-sounding tale out-of-hand. He mentioned to her about him having a "glowing ball" and he was considering giving it to Valerius whenever he returned from his wizardly walkabout. Now she held that same glowing ball in her hand.

She carefully folds the armor and clothing and return them to the bag, then adds the sword. She puts the jewelry back into the little leather pouch and puts it into her own satchel. She puts the orb into its bag and leaves it with First Reader Tethtoril.

Then she gathers her own gear, puts on her armor, and leaves Candlekeep telling the gate guards she is going to Baldurs Gate. Once there she leaves the armor and clothes at the Temple of Tymora. She keeps the sword. Then she visits the Temple of Helm, requesting an audience with Sir Jonas Rokranon of the Radiant Heart. Then she solomly returns to Candlekeep.

That night, she lauched a fiery arrow from the keep walls, arching high across the night sky before falling into the sea. She said to herself, marjolaine DuDevchu' HovmeyDaj nut.*

*Nut's stars will clearly guide you to Marjolaine.

[Charraj]

Charraj goes to Randall's cave with Mia, intent on finding his . . . friend? Role model?
. . . Hero?

[rokranon]

Then she visits the Temple of Helm, requesting an audience with Sir Jonas Rokranon of the Radiant Heart.

Although it takes a bit of time to summon Jonas to the temple of Helm from the temple of Torm, he nevertheless comes at Valqis' summons. Smiling as he enters, the tall aasimar goes straight to the woman.

"Valqis. To what do I owe this honor?"

[ThatPirateGuy]

A monstrous half-orc, feral and half-crazed is seen frequently passing by the entrance to Randy's lair, after several visits, he carves into stone, with a dagger shaped like an elf's ear, a few sigils, those capable of reading orcish or dwarven would read "Orcheart"....

The orc is seen disappearing back to the north, deep into the Cloakwood.