...:~Chapter One - To See The World~:...
...:~Seven Years Previous~:...
Gelrei quickly put a hand on his stomach as it protested the lack of food with an angry, petulant growl. The elf muttered to himself, tossing his short blonde hair out of his mismatched eyes. One gold and one violet, it was an odd sight to be sure. "Damn woman." he growled in sync with his hunger. At the thought of Starnaya, he glanced down at his wedding band, his eyes softening with a sigh.
Yeah, she was annoying. Yeah, she couldn't cook worth a copper. But she was his wife, and, he begrudgingly admitted to himself, he loved her.
But not enough to stay at camp when it's her cooking night. he thought to himself. Now then, money, money...
Gelrei was broke. This was unusual. The elf was a rather apt thief, but he had come to something of a dry spell. Recently, he had even been caught, and captured. Starnaya had been placed in the chain gang with him for practicing necromancy. That had been where it all started, after all. The chain gang was where he had met the others.
Neocount, the marginally insane priest of Athena. Funf, the legitimately insane psionic gnome. Davron, the ninja who couldn't have been older than fifteen. Finally, Xenos, the violent and apathetic dark elf, of whom little was known - but Davron seemed dead set to keep an eye on him. There were a couple others, but the handful of them had formed a small group, along with a mysterious elven woman who had only introduced herself as Arela. The others were making camp just outside the city of Anbergh. After all, who knew if there was still a reward on all of their heads? But it was Starnaya's night to cook, and he would be damned if he had to choke down more of the necromancer's herbal concoctions.
But to eat in the city, one needed money. And he couldn't risk stealing again so soon. His hand fell across the rope hanging at his side, and Gelrei stopped. He had an idea.
---
"Come see the amazing tightrope walker!" the elf called out. The rope was strung between two buildings, and he acrobatically cartwheeled across the swinging fibers. If Gelrei was one thing, he was a kleptomaniac. But if he were two things, he was nimble and a kleptomaniac. His bag open and empty on the ground, passers-by glanced up at him, tossing coppers in to show their varying degrees of approval. Greedily, the elf leaned over to see how many he had already collected, when suddenly...
...his balance thrown off....
....his footing began to waver....
Gelrei had barely enough time to let out an uttered cry of surprise until his world abruptly became black.
---
"Gosh, he's waking up...You okay, mister?"
Gelrei groaned. His head throbbed. What had happened again? Oh yes...he had fallen from the tightrope. The elf's eyes squeezed closed a little tighter as he uneasily draped an arm over his eyes. "Money...where's my money?" he moaned.
"Money?" the voice asked. "I didn't see any money. Just an empty bag."
Gelrei's eyes shot open and he lashed a hand forward. "You stole it, didn't you? The money -I- earned: MY money!"
His wrist was suddenly gripped by a force that far surpassed any strength he had in his body. The hand around his wrist was small, but grabbed him agonizingly tightly. Gelrei followed the hand to an arm...to a shoulder...and to a face.
He was in a small apartment, one room with a nightstand and a bed and a small stove. He was lying on the bed, and sitting at the bedside was a girl. She smiled dopily as she held his wrist, bright red hair tied in stubby pigtails jutting out from the nape of her neck. He could barely see over her shoulder the shape of a massive, yet simple sword hanging on the wall.
"Gosh, that's a funny way to thank me for helping you out." she giggled good-naturedly. "I think you need some more lay-down time." With that, the girl shoved him back down to the bed, gently, but firmly. "Stay there while I get you some soup."
Suddenly the situation wasn't so bad. Gelrei leaned back on the girl's bed, eyes wide. So he was up some money...then down his health...then down his money...then up his health...and now he was in a bed, being waited on by a cute girl and given free food.
Overall a beneficial situation.
"So..." the elf hesitantly tried to initiate conversation. "I guess I fell, huh?"
"Yep!" the girl responded cheerfully. "Right on your head! You should be more careful about dancin' on ropes. You scrawny types ain't very durable, ya know."
Gelrei lamely noted that she seemed far, far too dumb to have even thought of stealing his money.
"Right." he said aloud. "I'll be more careful about that in the future."
"Good!" the girl said with a grin. Turning, she sat back on the bed near his knees with a small, wooden bowl of a nice smelling soup. Setting it on his lap, she smiled. "It's Mama's recipe! You should like it, it'll fatten you up and help you grow muscle!"
"Uh...right." Gelrei said skeptically. The soup was more like a stew; hearty and meaty with large chunks of potato. It did smell good, though, so the elf dug in.
"So what's your name?" the girl asked as she began cleaning up the cooking mess, her back to the bed. Waiting a few moments, she received no response. "What's your name?" she repeated, turning around.
The bed was empty. The bowl of soup had been devoured. The curtains flapped on the open window and the elf's bag was gone.
"....Ne?" was all the girl could say, head cocked to the side in mild confusion.
---
"Where have you been!?" Starnaya angrily questioned her husband as he slunk into camp. "It's nearly three hours after dusk! You missed dinner and everything! I was worried about you! You left me here alone!"
"...Do us a favor and shut up." came the cold voice of Davron from above. The ninja had found a branch to lay on, hidden from view. "Some of us need to sleep."
A whoosh of wind announced the presence of Funf, swooping past Gelrei on the back of his little songbird. Funf wasn't a normal gnome; he was only four inches tall (six with the hat). But then again, there was very little that was normal about Funf. "Welcome back, my friend. You smell like town."
"Yeah, I went to scope out the town." Gelrei said unsurely. "Sorry I didn't get back till late. It's big, you know."
"You didn't steal anything, did you?" Davron asked, lazily opening one eye to glare down at the elf. The human had very little patience for the antics of his compatriots.
"Uh...No, no." Gelrei hastily assured the others. "I was just thinking we need some...protection."
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[NEXT TIME:]
...:~Chapter Two - On The Road~:...
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
...:~Chapter Two - On The Road~:...
"This is such a stupid idea." The elf groaned, trying to hide his face.
The group had gone to town for preparations before the next short leg of their trip. Xenos, Funf, and Neo had gone off to some magic store, Starnaya was gods knew where, and Gelrei and Davron were walking together through the city center. Davron seemed nervous, glancing around at times. He didn't want to let Xenos out of his sight.
"...You said you were thinking of hiring some protection." the ninja stated quietly, eyes scanning the crowd.
"Well, y'know." Gelrei replied in a mild sulk, shuffling his feet. "Look at who we've got. We've got the psycho priest with a big sword, we've got the psycho drow with the big sword, we've got the psycho gnome with the psionic abilities. We've got my wife, who, I love her dearly but is a few caltrops short of a bag and can command zombies. And there's you, who - no offense - I don't trust farther than I can throw."
"None taken." Davron replied offhandishly. "The feeling is mutual, theiving scoundrel."
"I just want someone with an effective stabbing implement that won't shove it in our backs, you know?" Gelrei finished with a shake of his head.
The two of them continued through the center, the crowds thickening as the reached the fighter's guild district. The streets were thick with large, burly men with large, burly weapons who all seemed to be gathered around a large, burly seeming building.
"....I suppose that is as good a place as any to start." Davron said, shifting his glance aside to Gelrei. Gelrei was paler than usual, the elf swallowing uneasily as he quietly shuffled his short swords in their sheaths.
Stepping into the Fighter's Guild main hall (for that is what it was) elicited a whole new world of smells for the two young men. Sweat, booze, leather armor, and uncomfortable heat tying it all together in the dim light. Tables were scattered across in a large, arena-style circle, and busty waitresses served huge tankards of ale to men who looked as though they could snap most elves over their knee without much effort. In the center of the circles of tables was one huge square arena, caged in by iron posts and the focus of most of the lights. In peripheral rooms outside the ring were stores: weapon stores, armories, storage rooms, blacksmiths, and the like.
Davron and Gelrei took a seat at a table unsurely, looking around. Davron's expression remained neutral, eyes narrowed as he carefully took in every person within striking distance. After all, if things came down to it, he had to know exactly how to escape.
While he was deciding who he would have to kill first, Gelrei was glancing around with a bit of disappointment. Nobody around here seemed remarkable enough to warrant a quick pocket search.
A group of barmaids had noticed the two, and stood together in a busty, giggling cluster. The next moment, they had shoved a smaller barmaid towards them, though she was dressed rather differently, her breasts covered far more modestly and her corset a little looser. She was a bit stockier than the others and seemed more muscle than the cushy flesh of most of the other staff.
"Hey, aren't you --" Gelrei gaped at the girl with the stubby red pigtails.
"You're Mister Tightrope Faller Guy!" the girl chimed happily. It was the same girl who had taken the elf home after knocking himself unconscious.
"'Tightrope Faller Guy'?" Davron asked, shifting his gaze to Gelrei with the raising of a singular thin eyebrow. "Do you two know each other, Gelrei?"
"Oh, your name is Gelrei!" the girl said happily before the elf could reply. "I'm Nena. Nena Treval. I never got to introduce myself before you vanished. But I'm glad I got to see you again! You're looking much better today." she prattled. "Who's your friend?"
"Call me Davron." the young ninja replied cooly.
"Okay Davron!" Nena said happily. "I didn't know you guys were in the Fighter's Guild!"
"...Uh...We're not." Gelrei piped up. "We actually just came to --"
"Not in the Fighter's Guild!?" a voice roared from behind them. As the two young men turned simultaneously, a huge man towered behind the two of them. He had sandy orange hair as well, and seemed to be built like a brick wall, thick sideburns adorning the sides of his face. "Then what the hell you doin' drinkin' our booze an' shmoozin' up to my sister?"
"C'mon, Thel." Nena protested with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure they're just here to join."
"These scrawny kids?" Thel laughed in reply. "I doubt that either of them could last one minute in the ring with me."
"I'll take that bet and raise it to three minutes." Davron said softly, standing and pushing the stool out from behind him. He regarded Thel with his piercing, unforgiving eyes as he tightened the cowl about the lower part of his face. "The only stipulation is that if I beat you, you have to let both me and my companion in."
"Deal." Thel snarled.
---------------
The lights focused in on the caged arena. Thel stood, accepting the roars of the crowd with a flex and a grin, as the small Davron quietly stood at ease in the opposite corner. It seemed darker there for his presence, and he coldly stared at his opponent.
"Hi everybody!!" Nena's voice called out over the crowd. She liked to announce the matches - she had a loud enough and nice enough voice to be an effective emcee. "Today's match is... DUMDUMDUMMADUM! Our very own Thel, The Arm of Ares, the Hammer of Hephastus, the big guy himself! Versus Davron, a newcomer guy! Yaaaaaay!"
The crowd cheered in turn, and the match was on.
"I'm gonna crush you so hard your balls'll be diamond by the time I'm through with you." Thel growled.
"They already are." Davron replied, unentheaused.
"Well they're certainly brass." the larger fighter laughed as he swung his massive arm down for a punch right to the ninja's head.
But Davron wasn't there. The boy had nimbly darted off to the side at Thel'd blow, and his gloved hands moved precisely, striking at Thel from behind with a single finger. It didn't hurt him, but the large man turned with an annoyed glower. Backhanding at Davron, the small boy leapt back, tumbling on the sand.
"You'll have to be faster than that, big brother." he said, with a taunting edge to his cold voice.
Thel smashed forward, releasing blow after blow at the ninja, who aptly dodged and weaved with seemingly effortless ease.
Then, almost startlingly, he began to fight back. Davron darted at Thel with a flurry of blows to the chest, striking faster than an unpracticed eye could see. The large man swung down at the ninja but was unable to land a blow as Davron countered with his left arm and threw all his weight into a headbutt straight to his gut.
With a groan, Thel wheeled backwards and hit the ground like a fallen Goliath.
Davron dusted the sand off his gi amid stunned silence.
"Davron wins!" Nena's impeccably cheerful voice rang out over the crowd.
------
"That. Was. AWESOME!!!" Gelrei muttered as Davron returned to the table. The young ninja offhandishly tossed a pair of bronze emblems onto the table as Nena presented them with a pair of tankards.
"Eh." Davron muttered.
"So you're in the Fighters' Guild now!" Nena practically sang. "Don't worry about Thel, he's okay! Mama's hit him harder with the ladle before at home, after all." Smiling sunnily at them, she tilted her head. "You guys need anything else? Don't forget we've got the tournament on next Wednesday and --"
"Oh, uh, we're not gonna be here." Gelrei replied, sipping the ale and then glaring at it as if it had offered him a personal insult. "We're actually travelling around. We just came here to see if we could get some muscle."
"Really!?" Nena gasped, her eyes widening. "Can I go? Please? Please? Please? I'm really strong and I have a big sword and I really wanna go please let me go please oh please oh PLEASE!!"
Gelrei snorted. "I don't know. Is your big brother free?"
Davron had spent the last few minutes eyeing the girl. She did seem very muscular, and her movements denoted someone who at least had peripheral training in the art of war.
"I don't know, Mister Tightrope Faller Guy." he said, calmly, taking a sip of the ale with a neutral stare. "It sounds to me like you owe her a favor."
----------------------
"Nice to meet you!" Nena said happily to the group gathered outside the town's gates. Her greatsword strapped to her back on an angle so it wouldn't drag on the ground, she had a one-piece simple outfit on with a breastplate, a belt and sleeves that were rather long. She wore boots reinforced with steel shielding, and her hair was out of pigtails, a short burst of shaggy red.
"You have got to be kidding me." Xenos snarled, the dark elf's red eyes narrowed fiercely at the girl. Funf was circling her appraisingly on the back of his songbird, and Starnaya was literally dancing with glee.
"Finally another girl!" the necromancer elf cried happily.
With introductions more or less taken care of, the group headed out onto the road....
[NEXT TIME]
...:~Chapter Three - Aristowhat?~:...
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
...:~Prologue~:...
Long had they travelled through the fifth layer of Hell. The group's entire journey led up to this moment as the double doors of the throne room of Eglizred, the demon lord, creaked open in mock welcome. Tired, sweaty and bleeding, the adventurers stepped in cautiously.
All except for her.
The majestic woman, dressed in shining green armor, strode forth with determination in her shimmering emerald eyes. Her hair rippled down her back in tangerine curls, two vulpine black and red ears shyly poking out. In her hands she gripped a sword, glowing brilliantly with the power of her determination. Words were written upon the blade, carved deep within its metal; written in a perverse and cruel language. The sword was very nearly larger than the woman, as she was small of stature, but solid - her muscles firm and toned from years of battle.
Her eyes fell upon the demon, standing before them on a raised platform. A curtain was behind him to his right, and to his left was a canopy bed.
"Welcome...Chosen of the Goddesses...Lady Lieutenant of the Citadel, Nena Treval." he rasped tauntingly.
"We have come for the Champion." Nena said in a commanding tone. Her voice was high, betraying her youth, but her gaze was steady as she levelled her sword in Eglizred's direction. "Surrender her to us immediately."
"The Champion?" The demon laughed heartily at this. He was handsome, not grotesque like the others they had encountered in hell. His huge wings of skin and scales arced over his back like a canopy. "Haha, yes. Then I will show you the Champion of the Virgin Goddesses."
Stepping over to the bed, he reached down. A baby was cradled in his arms, sleeping peacefully.
"This..." he said quietly, "...is Yuberia. Your so-called 'Champion.'"
The adventurers gasped. Nena's sword lowered an inch, eyes widening in surprise. "That's...Yuberia?" she murmured. "But she's just a baby! The Goddesses said I had to come to hell to rescue the Champion!"
"Indeed, she is no Champion now." Eglizred said with a soft, sly grin, placing the babe back onto the bed. "But she will be. And as such, I will control her and keep her from becoming the thorn in our side that she is destined to become."
At that, the group scowled. Spells were readied. Arrows were nocked onto well-oiled bows. Nena gripped the hilt of her sword and narrowed her eyes.
"Not so fast, friends, not so fast." the demon taunted. "I have a proposition for you. You have a choice to make...Miss Treval."
With that, he turned towards the curtain, pulling it aside. Nena gasped. "Xenos...!?" she cried, her sword lowering.
The man that hung on the wall was in poor condition indeed. He was a dark elf, scarred from head to toe with wounds that far outlived most of the group. The glow of his crimson eyes was dim. Groaning in pain, he bled from scores of wounds, his head hung in a combination of delerium and semi-consciousness. "Nena..." he croaked. "N...Nena...."
"What did you do to him!?" she lashed her gaze to Eglizred, eyes burning with fury. "Release him this instant!!"
"I've done nothing worse to him than you did." he taunted. "Now a choice stands before you, my dear Miss Nena. Will you fulfill your duty to the Goddesses that have been so fickle with their affections, and save this would-be Champion that is of no use to you? ...Or, will you let me keep the child, and allow me to free this man: the object of your forbidden desires, to be with you, love you, for all eternity. You can make your home here, away from the world, and live in riches and decadence with all your needs accounted for. Your friends will live...no-one will have to die today. Give in, Nena. You know you have longed for this for a very long time. You deserve --"
"Shut up." Nena snarled, raising the sword again to Eglizred. "Xenos...It's true, I love him. I have always loved him, and I will always love him. But it is his deeds that have brought him here - my fault or not, I cannot abandon my duty. Give me the child!!"
A blinding flash of white filled the room with brilliance for a split second...
-------------------------------------------------------
[NEXT TIME:]
...:~Chapter One - To See The World~:...
((OOC: This will be the story of one of my characters on Virtue, Nena Treval. Some of the other characters you will see in this story also exist in game, all on Virtue. When that occurs, I will highlight the name in yellow.
The stories are based off of a D&D campaign that spanned three years and a total of 40 characters between at least 12 players. Please send comments or criticisms via PM, as I would like to reserve this thread for story content.))
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace