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i_love_freddieThe piece of parchment was pinned right in the middle of the adventurer's guild noticeboard, its placement intentionally obscuring several older jobs. The request was written in bold, strong lettering but it had a rather frantic element to it:
Urgent! My only daughter had been kidnapped by a vampire lord and taken to his castle in Witchwood. Large reward for any adventuring group brave enough to bring her back to me.
“So what is the deal with this one?” Kane Theaza asked the half elf who just happened to be in charge of the guild that day.
“Ah, that one only came in the morning. Lord Elgetor Armorsmith is convinced that his daughter has been kidnapped. She disappeared at some point yesterday evening and then a threatening note was left on her father's doorstep this morning. He is offering a lot of gold, a special weapon from his personal armoury and a plot of farmland to anyone who can find her and bring her back. But Witchwood is reported to be cursed, so I doubt there will be many takers.”
The raven-haired warrior grinned. “Can I see that threatening note?”
-----
“I have taken your daughter. She is mine now and will be forever. Forget about her. Should you attempt to hunt her down, your lands will be burned and your family cursed for eternity. Signed Count Logahn, Vampire Lord of Witchwood.”
“He actually signed himself using the title of Vampire Lord?” Jonas asked incredulously. “Wow. That's just... weird.”
“Should be fun to take him down though,” Kane laughed as he rolled up the note. “The arrogant ones are always the most fun to fight. Here, Benny – have you ever heard of this Count Logahn character?”
“Yes,” was the elder assassin's brief response. “I killed him.”
“What?” Five pairs of eyes immediately swivelled in his direction and questions came fired from all sides. “When? How? You mean before he was a vampire?”
“No,” Benny's steely grey eyes looked troubled. He stared off far into the distance. “It was a request I took on alone quite a while ago; very private and very urgent. I can not reveal details but he should most definitely be dead.”
“Well it seems like he got right back up again,” Jonas said.
“Maybe. Or maybe things are not exactly as they seem. We should proceed with caution.”
They moved forward at a steady pace. Most of the journey involved crossing plains – long and boring but not overly dangerous. Eventually the hard ground began to grow mushier, signalling the presence of a stream nearby, and the ground turned greener.
“If we get some farmland, can I have a goat?” Cory randomly asked, after several minutes of thoughtful silence. “I always wanted a goat.”
“I want some rabbits,” Phellan chimed in, “and some of those funny birds that lay eggs. Then we could play with them.”
“Oh yes,” Valia sighed dreamily. “We could milk the goat and collect the eggs and...”
“Are you guys living in a dream world?” Jonas asked, his tone sarcastic. “What next? You want a little farmhouse where you can sit and bake pies?”
“Why not?” the druid shot back. “We can't live like this forever. What is wrong with having a dream?”
Thankfully Riandur arrived back at that moment, just in time to prevent things from developing into an argument. “I have bad news and good news,” he said, panting just slightly from the effort of running over such a long distance. “I found the woods and there is poisonous bog surrounding it. The good news is that I found a path.”
“Nice going,” Kane said admiringly. “What are we waiting for?”
“It's overrun with spiders.”
------
The Witchwood turned out to be covered with a thick fog, with patches of marsh all over the place. It took hours to navigate and even then most of them ended up soaking wet and chilled right through. The spiders did not help; they were small but their bites were painful. Strange glowing orbs drifted through the mist, trying hard to lure them off the path and into the pools of quicksand.
“I hate these trees!” Cory complained, as long and twisted branches grabbed at his arms, trying to drag him away from the group. With a growl, Phellan leapt at the vine and broke through it with his teeth. “I see why they say this place is cursed.”
“Why are the trees moving?” Phellan asked warily, watching the broken branch intently. It was still thrashing around where it had landed. “That isn't right, is it?”
“There is dark magic here,” Riandur answered, keeping his voice low. “We should not be here.”
“I see something!” Benny called back to them. “A tower ahead. But tread carefully, the water is deep here.”
The castle they had found was a little smaller than they had expected – more like a tall tower with some crumbled blocks of stone around it.
“Do you think that this is the right place?” Valia asked tentatively, rubbing a sore spot on her arm where she had been bitten by large flying bugs.
“Well, just one way to find out,” came Kane's response. “Go easy and watch out for vampires.”
There was a sudden yelp from Jonas as something shambled out of the mist and launched itself at him. The wizard sent out a small fireball, then another and another. But more were coming. Humanoid creatures but somehow deformed, all made up of different body parts stitched together. They walked in a strange shuffling motion, but at least they were slow. Low moaning and groaning sounds filled the air.
“At least they aren't vampires!” As usual, Cory found the bright side in a rather grim situation.
So engrossed were the mercenaries in reducing the monstrous creatures into a pile of twitching limbs that they did not hear the tower door opening silently.
“Ah, visitors...”
The woman who appeared in the doorway was beautiful in a 'creepy kind of way' as Cory later put it. She wore a tight leather dress which was laced at the front, pushing up her heavy breasts. Her skin was eerily white, her blond hair immaculate, her eyes were like pools of deep water. A faint smile touched her pale lips as she eyed them up and down. “And what can I do for you gentlemen?” she purred.
“Elvira Armorsmith?”
“It is Elvira Logahn now. Am I to presume that my father sent you to 'rescue' me? The poor fool just could never understand my desire for power, the experiments I needed to perform. I regret to inform you that if you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time. I neither need nor want your help, and I have no intention of returning home. However, you have brought me one thing that I desire... the demonspawn assassin.”
“You were Logahn's wife?”
“My poor lover knew that you would stalk him to the ends of the world and back. I tried to reassure him but he would not listen... and he was right. You took him from me, but not before he made me his. And now you shall regret coming to this place.”
Her fangs lowered and she made to fly at him. Riandur leapt at her out of the mist, knocking her backwards. Valia, Phellan and Cory were restricted by the marsh, so they just threw rocks at her in an attempt to keep her off guard. Meanwhile, Jonas summoned some long and thin thread, almost like that of spider webbing, which he commanded to wrap around her hands and feet, and to bind her mouth.
“It is magical rope,” he was quick to explain. “It should keep her restrained until we can get her back to the city.”
“Should?” Kane said sceptically. “Never mind.” A scowl darkening his face, he stepped over to where Elvira lay on the ground, Riandur still holding her down despite the bindings. “Lady – we have been bitten by bugs, poisoned by spiders, attacked by vicious trees, wandered through the mist for hours, fought off your mangled creations. I don't care what you say or what you want; I am taking you home and getting my payment! Riandur?”
The powerful wolf-man picked up the young woman with ease, flinging her unceremoniously over his shoulder. “I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that she is a vampiric necromancer. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Kane shrugged. “We only get the reward if she is alive. Once we get her back to the city, it'll be her father's responsibility to deal with her. The chances are that she will be executed and we still get our reward.”
Riandur's eyes narrowed. “Very well, but one wrong move on her part and I will tear out her throat. Let's get out of here; this place gives me the creeps.”
Urgent! My only daughter had been kidnapped by a vampire lord and taken to his castle in Witchwood. Large reward for any adventuring group brave enough to bring her back to me.
“So what is the deal with this one?” Kane Theaza asked the half elf who just happened to be in charge of the guild that day.
“Ah, that one only came in the morning. Lord Elgetor Armorsmith is convinced that his daughter has been kidnapped. She disappeared at some point yesterday evening and then a threatening note was left on her father's doorstep this morning. He is offering a lot of gold, a special weapon from his personal armoury and a plot of farmland to anyone who can find her and bring her back. But Witchwood is reported to be cursed, so I doubt there will be many takers.”
The raven-haired warrior grinned. “Can I see that threatening note?”
-----
“I have taken your daughter. She is mine now and will be forever. Forget about her. Should you attempt to hunt her down, your lands will be burned and your family cursed for eternity. Signed Count Logahn, Vampire Lord of Witchwood.”
“He actually signed himself using the title of Vampire Lord?” Jonas asked incredulously. “Wow. That's just... weird.”
“Should be fun to take him down though,” Kane laughed as he rolled up the note. “The arrogant ones are always the most fun to fight. Here, Benny – have you ever heard of this Count Logahn character?”
“Yes,” was the elder assassin's brief response. “I killed him.”
“What?” Five pairs of eyes immediately swivelled in his direction and questions came fired from all sides. “When? How? You mean before he was a vampire?”
“No,” Benny's steely grey eyes looked troubled. He stared off far into the distance. “It was a request I took on alone quite a while ago; very private and very urgent. I can not reveal details but he should most definitely be dead.”
“Well it seems like he got right back up again,” Jonas said.
“Maybe. Or maybe things are not exactly as they seem. We should proceed with caution.”
They moved forward at a steady pace. Most of the journey involved crossing plains – long and boring but not overly dangerous. Eventually the hard ground began to grow mushier, signalling the presence of a stream nearby, and the ground turned greener.
“If we get some farmland, can I have a goat?” Cory randomly asked, after several minutes of thoughtful silence. “I always wanted a goat.”
“I want some rabbits,” Phellan chimed in, “and some of those funny birds that lay eggs. Then we could play with them.”
“Oh yes,” Valia sighed dreamily. “We could milk the goat and collect the eggs and...”
“Are you guys living in a dream world?” Jonas asked, his tone sarcastic. “What next? You want a little farmhouse where you can sit and bake pies?”
“Why not?” the druid shot back. “We can't live like this forever. What is wrong with having a dream?”
Thankfully Riandur arrived back at that moment, just in time to prevent things from developing into an argument. “I have bad news and good news,” he said, panting just slightly from the effort of running over such a long distance. “I found the woods and there is poisonous bog surrounding it. The good news is that I found a path.”
“Nice going,” Kane said admiringly. “What are we waiting for?”
“It's overrun with spiders.”
------
The Witchwood turned out to be covered with a thick fog, with patches of marsh all over the place. It took hours to navigate and even then most of them ended up soaking wet and chilled right through. The spiders did not help; they were small but their bites were painful. Strange glowing orbs drifted through the mist, trying hard to lure them off the path and into the pools of quicksand.
“I hate these trees!” Cory complained, as long and twisted branches grabbed at his arms, trying to drag him away from the group. With a growl, Phellan leapt at the vine and broke through it with his teeth. “I see why they say this place is cursed.”
“Why are the trees moving?” Phellan asked warily, watching the broken branch intently. It was still thrashing around where it had landed. “That isn't right, is it?”
“There is dark magic here,” Riandur answered, keeping his voice low. “We should not be here.”
“I see something!” Benny called back to them. “A tower ahead. But tread carefully, the water is deep here.”
The castle they had found was a little smaller than they had expected – more like a tall tower with some crumbled blocks of stone around it.
“Do you think that this is the right place?” Valia asked tentatively, rubbing a sore spot on her arm where she had been bitten by large flying bugs.
“Well, just one way to find out,” came Kane's response. “Go easy and watch out for vampires.”
There was a sudden yelp from Jonas as something shambled out of the mist and launched itself at him. The wizard sent out a small fireball, then another and another. But more were coming. Humanoid creatures but somehow deformed, all made up of different body parts stitched together. They walked in a strange shuffling motion, but at least they were slow. Low moaning and groaning sounds filled the air.
“At least they aren't vampires!” As usual, Cory found the bright side in a rather grim situation.
So engrossed were the mercenaries in reducing the monstrous creatures into a pile of twitching limbs that they did not hear the tower door opening silently.
“Ah, visitors...”
The woman who appeared in the doorway was beautiful in a 'creepy kind of way' as Cory later put it. She wore a tight leather dress which was laced at the front, pushing up her heavy breasts. Her skin was eerily white, her blond hair immaculate, her eyes were like pools of deep water. A faint smile touched her pale lips as she eyed them up and down. “And what can I do for you gentlemen?” she purred.
“Elvira Armorsmith?”
“It is Elvira Logahn now. Am I to presume that my father sent you to 'rescue' me? The poor fool just could never understand my desire for power, the experiments I needed to perform. I regret to inform you that if you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time. I neither need nor want your help, and I have no intention of returning home. However, you have brought me one thing that I desire... the demonspawn assassin.”
“You were Logahn's wife?”
“My poor lover knew that you would stalk him to the ends of the world and back. I tried to reassure him but he would not listen... and he was right. You took him from me, but not before he made me his. And now you shall regret coming to this place.”
Her fangs lowered and she made to fly at him. Riandur leapt at her out of the mist, knocking her backwards. Valia, Phellan and Cory were restricted by the marsh, so they just threw rocks at her in an attempt to keep her off guard. Meanwhile, Jonas summoned some long and thin thread, almost like that of spider webbing, which he commanded to wrap around her hands and feet, and to bind her mouth.
“It is magical rope,” he was quick to explain. “It should keep her restrained until we can get her back to the city.”
“Should?” Kane said sceptically. “Never mind.” A scowl darkening his face, he stepped over to where Elvira lay on the ground, Riandur still holding her down despite the bindings. “Lady – we have been bitten by bugs, poisoned by spiders, attacked by vicious trees, wandered through the mist for hours, fought off your mangled creations. I don't care what you say or what you want; I am taking you home and getting my payment! Riandur?”
The powerful wolf-man picked up the young woman with ease, flinging her unceremoniously over his shoulder. “I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that she is a vampiric necromancer. Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Kane shrugged. “We only get the reward if she is alive. Once we get her back to the city, it'll be her father's responsibility to deal with her. The chances are that she will be executed and we still get our reward.”
Riandur's eyes narrowed. “Very well, but one wrong move on her part and I will tear out her throat. Let's get out of here; this place gives me the creeps.”
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no subject
Date: 2014-05-29 10:31 pm (UTC)I do so enjoy these stories. As a Gamer I really saw this coming (it this or she ran away with a field hand) but still so very funny.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 06:00 am (UTC)Funny how sometimes, being utterly fed up pushes you right past an obstacle you might otherwise find daunting!
no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 12:22 pm (UTC)Here are all the nopes. Take them, because that's all you're going to get from me. Ugh.
no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-01 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-02 02:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-02 10:24 am (UTC)A smidge predictable Elvira ran away but thoroughly enjoyable anyway.
Spiders are never a problem when you have a wizard with fireballs
no subject
Date: 2014-06-02 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-02 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-02 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-06-03 12:35 am (UTC)