Imaginary Dilemmas

“Now that you’re in the River of Souls, it’s a good time to go noodling for spiritual catfish.”

Apparently I said this, but I deny it. Arunta, Tycho and the gang were en route to the Underworld via the River of Souls.

Laws of the Land…

Well, the rules are up, finally! I think having some expectations in place will help people decide whether this is a good guild for them. I hope everyone finds the rules acceptable and easy to follow, however if anyone has any suggestions or anything to add, I will gladly listen.

Cheers!

~Melkiel

“We shouldn’t split up.” “No, let’s just run off in all directions and eat random plants.”

Any combination of Arunta, Tycho and Bharat (the gnome, not the city) whilst exploring the Underworld.

Welcome to the Battle’s End Inn!

This is going to be our Guild forum - feel free to post all you want with comments, suggestions, inquiries, requests, instance scheduling ideas, etc.

Woot!

~Melkiel, Dread Cannibal

“Oh man, we gotta call this in.”

Said by our Elf Ranger, Alagos, upon finding a large stack of crates full of stolen weapons inside a pirate cave.

Session 2, Part 4: Three Quarters

“So it is your cat after all, is it?” Arunta asked.

“Yes,” their captive replied, “and surely you can see that killing such a creature would be a waste.”

“Tell us the truth, then and your cat won’t get hurt.” Tycho said, letting a tone of annoyance slip into his voice.

“You wouldn’t believe the truth if I told you,” the man said with a slight sigh. “Do whatever you like with me, but spare the cat and the girl. This has nothing to do with them.”

“She tried to stab me,” Dev reminded them.

“Only because I made her do all of this. She’s frightened,” the man said, glancing over at Dev and Priya. “She’s just a girl.”

Priya made a mocking face at him after he turned his eyes back to Arunta and Tycho.

Presently, the cat made another attempt at escape, giving a funny little rumble and clawing at the net.

“Azfal, be still,” the man said sternly. The can immediately quieted and settled down to watch his master with concern.

Realizing he was getting nowhere, Arunta frowned, then cleared is throat to draw the man’s attention back to the task of interrogation. “Give us a try,” he said. “Tell us what you’re doing out here and let us decide if we believe you. You draw much suspicion, dressed as you are, but we are willing to listen and give you a chance to explain yourself.”

The man stared at Arunta for a moment as if trying to judge his character just by observing him. Finally, he spoke, never taking his eyes from Arunta’s. “I am wanted for several murders that I had nothing to do with. I had little time once I found out what had happened, and I was only able to escape with what I had on me, my cat and my niece. I am unused to being a fugitive, survival has been hard, and I have no idea how to go about clearing my name while the elves are out looking for me. Priya is here because I am her guardian and I don’t wish to find out what they would do to her just for being associated with me. The latest plan was to try and steal some food or money off of travelers. Obviously, it is a learned skill.” He paused to give a thin, humorless smile. “It seems any luck I had in my life has run dry. There. Believe that if you wish.”

Behind the man, Tycho raised his eyebrows and mouthed “this is that man!”

Arunta tried to make out what Tycho was saying without looking obvious. Tycho continued silently, “that man that the old man warned us about! This is he!”

Giving up after a moment, Arunta looked instead to their captive. “You’re Vasudhara, the cheetah trainer aren’t you?”

“The one and only,” he answered in a weary tone. He let out a little chuckle. “That much at least, I can prove.” He put his hand towards a map case that was strapped across his chest and Tycho made no move to stop him. From the case, he pulled a battered piece of paper and unfurled it in front of them. On it was a drawing of a handsome dark-haired man with a broad, showman-like grin on his face, gesturing grandly at several cheetahs beside him. Across the top was scrawled in large letters: “WANTED: For the murder of Senator Jannali, notorious cheetah trainer Vasudhara Narezda.” Along the bottom read: “25,000 s REWARD for live capture.”

Dev let out a snort. “Did they use one of your own posters for that?”

“They did.” Vasudhara said quietly. “They destroyed all of my cats, save for Azfal here and plan to auction off all of my estate if I cannot be found, if the rumors are to be believed. I have an idea of who did this, but I have no way to prove it as of yet and I fear going to trial with the elves with nothing to aid my story except my own word that I did not kill the Senator and his family.”

Watching Vasudhara, Arunta asked “Why do they assume it was you and who do you think is responsible?”

Vasudhara made a bitter, sickened face. “It was my cats they found in the Senator’s palace. The very ones I had just trained for him. The entire family was found dead in their beds, and there is no mistaking wounds that a cheetah makes.” He swallowed, looking very troubled. “My cats were found covered in blood.”

There was a thick silence for a moment, as everyone considered Vasudhara’s story. Arunta, Dev and Tycho simultaneously raised their heads to meet each other’s eyes.

After a while, Vasudhara broke the silence in a soft, nearly inaudible voice. “I knew those animals. I raised them from the day they were born as I had done with their sires and grandsires. There was not a mean bone in them, I chose them specifically for their temperament and intelligence. I wanted the Senator to have only my finest work. I swear I did not train them to kill, nor would they have done this of their own accord. ” He paused again, this time a look of anger stole onto his face. “I believe I know who did this though.”

“Who?” Tycho asked.

“A rival of mine. A man who goes by the name of Bakura. He is a liar and a deceiver who uses magic to disguise himself and bend people and creatures to his will. I have discovered that he is not who he says he is. His real name is Darshaniya Kazimir.”

At the name of Kazimir, there was a collective intake of breath. That name carried heavy meaning, even in Bharat. The Kazimir family was notoriously the most powerful and influential force on the continent aside from the Prime Minister himself, and even that was debated. There was barely a truce between the ancient gnomish family and the elves and more often merely thinly-veiled or open hostility. There was an elvish Senator in place in the city of Kazimir but there was no question of who truly controlled the city.

Arunta let out a sigh. Opposing a Kazimir would be nearly impossible, and it would not necessarily win elvish sympathy as the Kazimir’s were an obvious scapegoat. “Why would this Bakura or Darshaniya do this to you?” he asked Vasudhara. “Is it coincidence that he used you as a way to take out an elvish senator, or is there a reason?”

Vasudhara glanced down at his cat. “We have a . . . personal disagreement.”

“Of course you do,” Tycho said, looking at Arunta. Arunta shrugged slightly and glanced towards Dev. Dev was watching Vasudhara with an odd look on his face.

Vasudhara noticed Dev watching him and gave a slightly crooked smile.

“Yes, I remember you. Devdan, isn’t it?” he asked.

Dev merely nodded.

Tycho looked suspiciously from Dev to Vasudhara. “Remember Dev how?”

Still watching Dev, Vasudhara replied “I remember a little red-haired elf boy who wanted to work for me but then proceeded to question everything I told him to do.”

Even in the pale moonlight, they could see Dev’s face flush a bit red. Arunta watched them, noting the expressions on their faces. Dev’s face held no suspicion and no fear, and Vasudhara merely looked weary and overwhelmed. He met Tycho’s gaze and they nodded slightly to each other, silently agreeing to take the cheetah trainer at his word.

“We are on our way to Mandu,” Tycho said, releasing Vasudhara. ”We might as well take you with us. I’m sure there are enough supplies, so as long as you two behave yourselves . . .” he paused to glance at Priya who smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. “I don’t see why you can’t come along. Your name is too hard to pronounce though, half gnome, and you’ll have to come up with something else if you don’t want to be turned in.”

“I am three quarters gnomish.” he replied with a hint of pride.

“Fine then. Three Quarters it is.”

“Okay, let me write this down… Who all wants demon fingers?”

Tycho was in charge of doling out demon parts after the group’s first successful battle with one. Nothing (and I do mean that) went to waste.

Session 2, Part 3: The Captives

Everything seemed to happen at once. Tycho bore down upon a small man crouched within the shadow of a large rock and tackled him without hesitation.

Arunta immediately abandoned his kukri and began to load his own crossbow, while trying to ignore the pain of the bolt in his backside. Luckily, the crossbow bolt had merely grazed him. He knew he was bleeding but it was nothing that he could not deal with at a later time.

Dev balanced on his heels and held his falchions steady at Priya’s throat as she began to cry. A wicked snarling sound suddenly flared from off to the right and he whirled his head momentarily towards the sound, listening intently as Chandani’s growling became distinct amongst the sounds of struggling. Worried as he was, he turned back to his captive and disarmed her carefully, while still keeping one sword at her neck. Then he guided her around with the falchions until she was between himself and Tycho. His gold eyes flicked back and forth between Arunta and Tycho as he watched the drama unfold.

Tycho had the advantage of height, weight and momentum and he easily knocked the attacker to the ground. It took more work to pry the crossbow from his fingers. He wasn’t quite as small as he first appeared and was surprisingly strong. They twisted on the ground until finally Tycho got the upper hand. Pulling the man upright, Tycho wrenched his arms behind his back and hauled him out of the shadows to where Arunta stood ready with his crossbow.

Arunta studied the man closely. At one point he might have been handsome, with dark brown shoulder-length hair, vivid orange eyes and a striking mixture of elvish and gnomish features. He did not appear to be more than early middle-aged but his face seemed prematurely lined with worry, and what once must have been a neatly trimmed beard was now nearly lost in the stubble around it. His ragged clothing hung loosely on him but had clearly been very expensive. He wore linen and silk that was exquisitely crafted, and the leather armour on his chest was tooled and worked with images and designs of cheetahs in very fine detail. He kept silent as Tycho held him and stared right back at Arunta with a resignedly stoic expression on his face.

As Arunta was about to speak, the growling grew louder again from off in the darkness and the captive’s eyes immediately darted towards the sound. Arunta’s brow furrowed and he kept his crossbow steady but watched from the corner of his eye as two cheetahs came pelting into view. One was clearly Chandani and Dev let out a worried yell when he saw that on her heels was a much larger, stronger male.

“I have him,” Tycho said, tightening his grip on the man, “You get that beast.” He nodded his head towards the racing cats.

Arunta turned immediately and again having to abandon his weapon, drew out a net. With a steady, practiced hand, he swung the net like a set of bolas and it spun out and quickly wrapped around the two cats. Dev looked close to abandoning his guard on Priya to go to his beloved animal, but Arunta held up a hand to stay Dev and quickly went to the netted cats. They were neatly pinned within the net and Arunta had no trouble hobbling the male and releasing Chandani. She was badly torn and bleeding from when the male had raked his claws across her back. She spared one glance at Dev, then hovered next to Arunta, a low growl in her throat and her eyes locked on the strange new cat.

The cat was possibly the most impressive specimen Arunta had ever seen. As a game hunter, he could recognize and appreciate quality in most animals. The cheetah was sleek and muscular with a gorgeous coat and perfect composition. It’s worth was clear even before Arunta noticed the silver collar around it’s neck set with rubies.

As he re-loaded his crossbow, Arunta turned again to the captive and watched the man’s orange eyes carefully.

“Does that cheetah belong to you?” he asked.

“No,” the man said staring back.

“Would you care to explain yourself?” Arunta asked.

The man did not answer and fixed his eyes straight ahead.

Tycho looked eager to not be in charge of containing their captive.”Well, let’s tie them up until we decide to kill them or not,” he said.

Priya let out an overly pitiful wail.

“You’re not off the hook either, Missy,” Tycho said sternly, shaking his blond hair out of his face to look at her properly. “Would you like to explain to Arunta here what exactly you two are up to?”

“Up to? This is all his fault!” Priya yelled, suddenly abandoning her crying and stabbing a finger towards the man Tycho held.

“Is this your no-good uncle then?” Tycho asked, giving the man a slight shake.

Priya ignored Tycho and glared instead at the man. “He’s the one who got us into this mess and dragged me out into the middle of nowhere to be covered in filth and surrounded by nothing but wild, disgusting creatures with nothing to drink but hot, stinking water!” She paused for breath and leaned forward, forcing Dev to let up on the swords or risk slicing her throat. She stabbed at the man again with her finger. “This was his stupid plan and see how well it worked? Now we’re captured and probably about to be killed!”

“Just tell us what’s going on and why you two were trying to jump us at the well, and no one will get hurt,” Arunta said.

“Arunta, watch that cat!” Dev interrupted, nodding his head towards the netted male who was twisting and chewing at his bindings.

Arunta glanced at the cat, then back at the captive as an idea occurred to him. He caught Dev’s eye, gave a slight wink, then raised his crossbow and pointed it between the cat’s eyes.

“No!” the man yelled, twitching suddenly in Tycho’s grasp.

Everyone turned to look towards the man. The first hint of emotion had finally crossed his face as he looked from the cat to Arunta. His eyes were pleading.

“Please don’t kill my cat,” he said.

“We’re your conscience telling you where to stab him.”

This was Tycho referring to himself and Arunta as they tried to coach our Gnome assassin on how to do his job from about three cities away.

Merry Christmas!! I’m an Aunt!!

I’ve been slacking as of late but I have an excuse: It’s Christmas time and my very first nephew was born Dec 5th and we went out to visit him as he took his first big adventure into the world. YAY!

So, hooray for family and Happy Holidays to all! Whatever particular holiday you might be celebrating, I wish you all a fun and safe one!

*<(:D