D&D: Legacy of Furry - Chapter 2: Searching the Dunes
Well, here comes the second chapter of the story.
Since many told me in private that my grammar sucks and I don't flesh out the characters, I just say that I am expressing myself and you need to read it with emotion and not grammar nazism.
As for characters, I want to give you a chance to flesh them out yourself and see how you interpret them.
Dungeons and Dragons: Legacy of FurryChapter 2: Searching the Dunes This story is made by Sasha W.S. for public entertainment and freedom to express the creativity of the human brain and hands. You can post this story on another site as long as you give me credit for it, but if I find out you have stolen it and taken claim for it yourself, I will gladly come over to your house and... honestly I've run out of threats. This story is part of a big project and will continue for as long as it possibly can. If you wanna be part of it, then simply send me a message at [email protected] /* <![CDATA[ /!function(){try{var t="currentScript"in document?document.currentScript:function(){for(var t=document.getElementsByTagName("script"),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute("data-cfhash"))return t[e]}();if(t&&t.previousSibling){var e,r,n,i,c=t.previousSibling,a=c.getAttribute("data-cfemail");if(a){for(e="",r=parseInt(a.substr(0,2),16),n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)i=parseInt(a.substr(n,2),16)^r,e+=String.fromCharCode(i);e=document.createTextNode(e),c.parentNode.replaceChild(e,c)}t.parentNode.removeChild(t);}}catch(u){}}()/ ]]> */ and give it the subject "Legacy of Furry Application". Aneedan the Toxic is based on a character owned by Nadeena on FA. Dame Amethyst is based on a character owned by Amethyst_Mare on FA. Gillis Haege is based on a character owned by someone anonymous. Jaeger the Venomous is based on a character owned by Clockwerk on FA. Nolat is based on a character owned by Raptor052 on FA. Queen Shadoweye is based on a character owned by me. Ranger Lord Snake is based on a character owned by CHSnake on FA. Seras Irongreil is based on a character owned by SerasGreil on FA. Sir Tonyx is based on a character owned by Ypsilonx on FA. Sir Veedway is based on a character owned by Veedway on FA. Sister Onyx is based on a character owned by OnyxheartWolf on FA.
"I've heard the talk on town, you nine are lucky to have captured that criminal and brought him in for justice. I got no other one to go to, so I will ask that you all meet me at the temple of Sehanine in the morning. I have a contract for you that will pay well. Signed, an anonymous seeker." Gillis read out to the others as they ate their morning meal, looking over his fellow mercenaries, all of them listening to each word he had read them before he asked them, "Should we accept this stranger's wish and meet them at the temple, or should we stay and wait for Lord Afir to hand us a mission?" It was the honor that had been put on trial here, they couldn't know when the lord would come and ask them to do something, but at the same time it would be honorable to show that they help the lower class too. Nolat spoke up for the rest, "I think we should take the offer, always good to actually show that we are honorable to help anyone with anything." The rest nodded as Gillis gave a smile to them, "I wasn't expecting any less from you all. Okay, lets finish up our breakfest and then get our gear before we head out to the temple."
Taking their time to finish up the meal, they went one by one to the room to gather up their package and putting on their armor, all the loot they had found was kept in a chest under the supervision of Lord Afir's guards, all to make sure it was safe. They had planned to buy land to build a house for them at so travelers could come and ask them for help instead of having to track them down at any point. Once they had put on all their armor, they thanked the innkeeper for his generous hospitality and for the wonderful meal he had cooked up, heading out towards the temple of Sehanine, after asking around for directions.
Heading out of Solan, they found the temple standing right near the entrance to a forest, the quartz stone pillars reflecting the true beauty when they watched it getting closer and closer as they walked, the sudden scent of blood filling the air as they stopped and observed a monkey wearing an outfit matching those of a mountain bandit, laying on the stairs to the temple entrance all covered in blood. Next to him, leaned against a pillar was a cloaked individual who seemed to not even bother with hiding a broadsword covered in blood before speaking up with a clear, heavy feminine voice with a slight accent on each word, "You came. I was wondering when you would show up." Everyone tried to keep their head calm, but something about her made them feel slightly unease, but a client is a client after all. "Yes, and we are willing to take your quest." Veedway spoke before seeing the hood of the cloak being pulled back and the face of their client was revealed, a snake lady and she was inspecting them further now, "And you are?"
Taken by the question, she cleared her throat, "My name is Aneedan, also known as Aneedan the Toxic, a skilled assassin and unfortunate traveller. The reason why I seek your help is because a friend of mine has been captured by a band of hobgoblins and she was injured during their assault. I got away, but they said that if I want her back, then I need to pay them an astral diamond in ransom. I know that I can't pay them that, so I want your help to save her from them. I will help you out as much as I can, please." She looked at them with begging eyes, something that took Veedway, Shadoweye and Onyx to the hearts with their honor code. "Okay, we will. Lead us the way, miss Toxic." Veedway spoke up before a small bag of coins was pressed into the palm of his hand, which he quickly handed to Shadoweye when they began to follow Aneedan, Nolat leaning in closer to Gillis, "You think we should trust her? She admits being an assassin after all." Gillis just looked at the eagle and nodded his answer.
As they travelled, they had taken a few rests to eat or to allow some of them to get their non-sexual needs taken care of so they wouldn't be slowed down by it on the field of battle, which was quite a good idea when they took a break near the bridge crossing over the Clearspring river. While sitting and enjoying the wonderful sunlight, they could hear faint mumbling from the bridge and it was clearly nothing good. Quickly gathering themselves together, they could hear a male monkey call out from the bridge, "If you wanna cross, then you will surrender all your valuables or die!" Sighing for themselves, they prepared to cross blades with the bandits, Gillis calling out a reply, "It is not our day to die, prepare yourselves!" Seeing the undeniable will to put up a fight, the monkey grins before calling out to the others on the bridge, "Come on, my brothers! We got some people who don't know their place." Hearing the wild cheer coming from them, they knew that a battle was unavoidable now. Armed with that realization, they rush in to meet the assault waiting ahead of them.
Taking the lead, Gillis was the first to charge in on the first bandit, swinging his broadsword after having pulled it from the sheath, hearing the cry when the blade cut into the chest and manages to pierce the skin to leave a trail of blood pouring out from the wound, just as a light blast of radiant energy is getting visible in the wound as Tonyx had brought out his holy symbol and aimed a ranged attack well enough to take the bandit by surprise, the wound opening even more during the loud cry from the bandit as he grabbed his chest and felt the thick blood pouring out the wound. Onyx took after Tonyx's example by bringing out her own holy symbol when he did, firing off a stream of radiant light, but misses by just a few inches and hits the bridge instead, giving Nolat the cover he is needing to bring out his fullblade and swing at the bandit in the cover of the light, the loud scream of pain being heard as the bandit is engulfed in green flames, fighting to stay alive even at the brink of death. Having watched the bandit's suffering from their attacks, Snake slithered closer and brought out an arrow and placed it against the string of his bow before pulling it back slowly and taking aim before letting it go, watching as the arrow hits the bandit right in the throat, letting them all watch as he is gasping for air as he stumbles over to the edge of the bridge before collapsing against it after the last of his life spirit is disappearing, leaving the other bandits a bit angered by this display of ignorance for their lifestyle.
Wanting to not miss out on the party, Jaeger was quickly moving to stand beside Onyx as he brought out the quarterstaff and took aim at the next bandit standing, the spell quickly flying out of the staff and right at the unexpecting monkey who took it quite well, even after watching his fellow bandit fall, only to feel that a burning pain erupted inside his body, Jaeger having hidden the curse he placed on the bandit before firing off the spell, holding onto his chest while the other bandits were still making their decisions how they were going to approach this group without actually getting themselves killed, watching how Amethyst was moving into a better position, blocking off the fact that Aneedan had managed to cast a spell upon the bandit, but leaving it at that after she had moved forth next to the main assault group for the moment.
Shadoweye and Veedway both moved closer, none of them getting into attack range for the bandits as they began to charge in now, angered beyond their normal limits, the first one quickly grabbing his mace and striking for Amethyst, managing to get a light hit on her head, just making her rub the spot and growling at him, just as another bandit pulls out a dagger and throws at her, but missing and hitting his friend in the back instead, causing him to call out in pain before turning towards him and calling out angrily, "You did that on purpose! It is not the first time either!" This was awkward and the group watched as the two bandits got into a heated debate, their other friends moving in quickly to stop it. Maces and daggers were flying everywhere on the bridge, before Aneedan got an idea, "With these guys blocking our path, we are never going to find the great treasure of the gods." She winked in hopes of the others joining in on their little bluff, Jaeger taking the hint quickly and grinning when the bandits couldn't see it, "I know, it is a pain. It is said that only one can truly obtain it and become the most powerful in the world. Now we will never get to see you find it."
The bluff did work and Jaeger told all details where it was that the treasure was located, the bandits now fighting one another to stay alive, leaving soon one of them bloodied and unable to move from all the assaults by his allies. At this point, Gillis had moved up behind the bandit with his shortsword, asking to be forgiven for this dishonorable act, as he stabbed the bandit right through the throat before turning the blade and cutting the head clean off his shoulders. Taking their time to gather up whatever the bandits had on them at the moment, they all laughed at how well that bluff had gone, and Jaeger got most credit for making it sound real. Eating another meal from their bags quickly, they soon got up and travelled across the bridge and into the Arion Desert. The gazing sun was tormenting them as they walked, keeping their spirits up while listening to the winds blowing around before they arrived at what seemed to be a big tower made out of sandstone. Looking around for a moment, they soon found the entrance located near the bottom of the tower and entered.
The air inside the tower was very hot and Veedway began to rub his forehead, "Well, it isn't better than the outside in here." he said before noticing Snake looking around and soon pointing towards a direction. "There are voices coming from that room." he told them before they began to silently move towards the room, the voices getting louder and louder the closer the got to it before they could hear exactly what was said in there, "The hobgoblins have taken another hostage and wanted a ransom? Seems like they are profitable. It is a shame that we aren't that profitable like them. I would gladly leave this life behind me." At this moment, Jaeger's mind began working and soon he whispered to the others and moved into the room, much to the surprise of the bandits in there, quickly raising his hands, "Calm down, I'm here in peace. Me and my fellow travelers overheard your conversation, to which we apologize. We came here to take care of the hobgoblins and prevent their plan for coming to fruitation." The bandits looked at one another before looking at Jaeger, moving in closer, "And what plan is that then?" their weapons ready in case of an attack, but Jaeger gave them a serious look, "You can disbelieve my words if you like, but they have a powerful artifact that will bring them so much power that they rival even the gods themselves. They are needing a special type of enchanted gem to unlock the power stored within it. This is why they are kidnapping others and wants ransom for it."
The suspicion was hanging in the air and Nolat quickly made his decision to help out with making Jaeger's bluff work by bringing up some history, "It is true, the artifact is known as the Grail of Tiamat, and it is told to contain a part of power from each god ever known, from Asmodeus to Moradin." The bandits only needed to look at each other before they bowed to the group, "Thank you for this information. We are going to take that grail then and sell it to the highest bidder." then they turned around and ran for what seemed to be the door to the next floor. Looking around them, they quickly found a treasure chest and looted it, then proceeded with avoiding concealed pits, all which they avoided without a single scratch before pushing the door open. Following them, the group noticed arcane runes having been engraved into the wall, but a quick check cleared them off the suspicion as they kept on following the bandits, soon arriving at the stairs that leads up to the first floor, since they were right now in the basement.
When they came to the first floor, they were seeing the bandits running past a corner and quickly resumed to follow them, soon seeing them a bit away as one of them ran towards another way while he ran for a room, soon coming back with five hyenas following him, having rallied them up. This left the party shocked and they stood there for a while before they had gathered their thought and began to run quicker to catch up with them, passing by more arcane runes, some withered corpses hanging nailed to the corridor walls, a tile labyrinth and a classy iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling, before they finally reached the stairs to the top floor, hearing loud screams of pain upstairs before they ascended into the field of war. Or so they thought.
When arriving at the first room, they saw dead hobgoblins laying there in pools of blood, almost for them to just walk around and pick up the things they were currently wearing and some more, and from the looks of it, the bandits hadn't cared for the treasures either, so it was a free loot party for the party as they walked around, Aneedan getting more and more irritated before finally yelling at them, "You are all a bunch of gold-huggers! If she dies because we take too much time, then I am going to kill you all!" At this moment, Shadoweye grabbed Aneedan by the throat, "Listen to me well here, miss Toxic. We could have just said no to you and gone with our own business, but we are taking our time to search all the rooms to find her and if you gonna keep complaining at it, then we can always leave and have you lose your friend forever." Aneedan was quiet after that, just nodding before she was dropped on the floor and they proceeded with heading to the next room, finding the corpses of the bandits and hyenas outside the locked door. Looking over the lock, Shadoweye takes out her axe and swings at it with aimed blows before the third swing cuts the lock apart and she is pushing the door open for them to enter, ready to attack if someone is in there.
Looking inside as they entered, they could see a few hobgoblins stand inside there, before Amethyst charges in, stepping on a tripwire, which sets off all the arrowtraps in the room, being happy they are single shots only as they are aiming at the hobgoblins from behind. Using the distraction she had created from using the trap, she lunges in quickly and attempts a strike on one of the heavier armed ones, but misses as she grunts when Gillis suddenly rushes in and quickly delivers a stab against the hobgoblin that Amethyst tried to hit while at the same time also aiming for the one near it, killing them both in one single movement, the spellcasters not noticing it yet. Jaeger could see the possibility here, quickly getting into place and putting a curse on one of the hobgoblins before waves in Aneedan who quickly uses her a spell on another hobgoblin, both opening their mouths before unleashing an enormous cloud of poison at the unsuspecting hobgoblins remaining, before triggering their spells to hurt them further, but soon Jaeger stretches out his shadow to have it bite all of them at the same time. At the end of the bite, two of the spellcasters fell to their knees, covered in blood from the deadly combination of attacks, leaving the remaining two to fend for themselves.
The two remaining hobgoblins turned around to look at Aneedan and Jaeger, seeming afraid by what they had just felt, unable to see as Nolat rushes over and quickly swings his fullblade towards one of the spellcasters, managing to cleave right through the gut as the now only remaining hobgoblin could hear the death cry from the other, now paralyzed in fear from knowing that he was the only one left. Throwing his staff on the ground, he got onto his knees and began to pray as Onyx held up her holy symbol towards him, but lowers it and instead lets someone else finish him. Taking the hint from the cleric, Shadoweye moved in and put a hand on the head of the hobgoblin, almost looking as if she comforted him a bit and leans in before a gasp was heard when she lunged in and bit into his throat, biting down so hard that he died on the spot, everyone watching as without even thinking about it herself, Shadoweye had began feasting on the blood of the hobgoblin and savoring it with great delight.
Onyx and Nolat turned away in disgust from it, the rest following to let her finish the meal, heading for the door after looting the chest in the room, quickly disarming the trap on the door before they unlock it and go through, just to find another door, which they disabled the trap on and began to break down by force, only to hear how Shadoweye approaches and punches the stone door hard enough to turn it into gravel, soon getting pulled onto the ceiling by the big zone of reversed gravity, their eyes focused on a blue hybrid sitting at the edge of the room, slowly bleeding to death.
Seeing the severe condition she is in, Onyx and Veedway moves over quickly and attempts to heal her, Aneedan moving over quickly to them too while calling out in fear, "Hang in there, Seras, I'm here now. And I brought some adventurers with me!" Taking their tries, Seras coughed up more blood, almost dying from the blood loss she had suffered during the attack. But after their hard work, they could soon begin to heal her up and soon Aneedan could feel the gentle touch of Seras on her cheek and began to tear up before they all took turns of holding up Seras and her package on the way back to Solan.
Taking a day's walk to get back, they were soon back in Solan and could finally rest up at the inn, ordering in a big feast, which the lord had offered to buy them when they had met him at the inn and told him about what they had done. During the feast however, Aneedan and Seras had told that they planned to head to the next region and find if there were any bounties to be found there, but that they would stay here for another day. Taking the chance, Veedway asked them both to join their mercenary band, to which with his good way of speaking quickly won over Aneedan and Seras to their side, all toasting with the finest wine for the new allies. But there was however something that remained a mystery, a letter they had found in the chest with the hobgoblins, telling about a dark necromancer who planned to bring eternal chaos to the land, and one suspicion was already on Nolat's mind, could Shadoweye be connected?