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Stitia, Plane of 13 Deaths (RPG Style Saga/My First Saga)
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As you get closer, you notice the old villages are completely gone. Nothing remains of your hometown, not even the ashes where it once burned. As you approach the strange new tree, you see that there are people inside, including two guards and a ranger...
@EpicBoss99 The guard looks at you and smiles.
"I'm proud to see you already carry our purpose deep in your heart," the guard praises. "Now. Lend me your hand." You reach out, and the guard holds his palm over your hand. In a moment, a mark is left on your hand, one in the same shape as the one on the wall.
"I am proud to announce that you are hereby part of our growing family. As of right now there's not much to do around here, especially since the Great Monk is away, but-"
*SNAP*
@EpicBoss99 @TAHMURAS The guard turns towards the source of the snapping sound, and in front of the entrance stands a tall leonin, bearing a Bloodwood insignia.
"Halt!" The guard yells out to the leonin. "You bear the insignia of the Bloodwood, the mark of an enemy. I must ask you to turn around and leave."
"I demand answers now!" I say to the guard. "What have you done with my home? With my people?! Everything I know is gone! Are you the ones that attacked my village?!"
"Speak of the devil," Verth thought. Just when the Rootforged guard said nothing was going on, a former Bloodwood member returns to Woewedt, out for revenge. If he found out that Verth was the one who killed the High Bloodelf Vallelika, things would get ugly very quickly. Since Verth felt fairly confident in his abilities as a fighter, his main priority was to protect the guard from whatever attack the hostile person would throw at him. Without saying anything, Verth takes on a defensive stance, bracing himself for an attack. He trusted that the guard could use his words to calm, or at the very least shoo away, the Bloodwood member. Should control slip out of the hands of the guard, Verth would take over with some words of his own.
- Aggroman15
- Abu_Jafar
- Bowler218
- EnvyReaper + KorandAngels
- Tahmuras/EpicBoss99
- DrakeGladis
- Advancing The Invasion of The Beyond
- Advancing The Summoning of Khantsievth
As you slip out of the shed, a shot whips past you and strikes a partolman.
"Rats!" Kregg yells out. "I can't see Vin!"
"You keep an eye out while I get 'im," Durst replies.
Suddenly, another gunshot can be heard. Finally clear of the smoke, you look, and you see the elderly couple, Kregg and Durst's mother and father, step out. The father has a blunderbuss and the mother has a flintlock pistol.
"What in tarnation- 'ey!" The father notices you as you slip out. "Where you goin' boy?!"
"S**t!" Kregg snaps. "I think I heard those guards rat us out to 'em!"
"It ain't worth the trouble of sparing him," the mother responds as she aims her gun at you, hands shaking. "He's got a pretty penny."
Two balls whip past you. One strikes a thin tree, which falls behind you.
"They're trying to kill him!" One of the patrolmen call out. "Everyone! Advance on the house!"
You run as fast as you can into the nearby woods, dodging a couple stray shots along the way. You hear fighting in the distance, and you can't figure out where you're headed. All you know is that it's away from these people. With those that gave you refuge suddenly against you, you may not be able to stay around anyways...
You huff and puff as you stagger through the woods. You're exhausted, and really need to sleep. You look around, and it's apparent that you managed to escape. However, you soon realize you're in familiar territory. Your mind is somewhat foggy, but you remember this area, a tree stump with moss pointing in the direction of... the Duskwood Hometree. You must be back in Delvad.
You didn't want to return, but it's too late to turn around. You feel your legs giving out, and somewhat wished you would of leveraged your werewolf form to make the run. You need to go to sleep now, but you know Delvad. You know you aren't safe.
You are in a small clearing with a downed tree. There should be enough vines and leaves lying around to cover the tree, allowing you to sleep under it. Will you rest, or will you push on? Resting brings a risk of a sneak attack, but continuing has its own set of risks...
As it turns out, the cave you searched in Racrion led to a sealed off chamber full of mysterious artifacts and treasure. However, as with all parts of the business, you couldn't of performed this raid without making some enemies. While cleaning the chamber of everything you could sell, you were confronted by a mysterious hunter covered in blood, wielding a glowing sword and holding a bloody artifact in his hand. You barely escaped the ordeal, but something about that man still haunts you to this very day...
The sun hasn't shined in about a month. A lantern above your horse-drawn carriage is the main source of light other than the red, glowing moon. A heavy wind blows as you pass through uptown Wishex, and the streets are fairly empty, but those few who are out seem oddly interested in your wares. Some are paranoid and losing faith in the gods, and seek the protection your artifacts can provide. Others are preparing for a riot, chaos, and even the end of the world. You've turned a pretty penny, especially considering the circumstances, and you smile as you set another 100 G coin into your lockbox. You must have made at least 50,000 today!
As you go through town, you find yourself settled at a fine establishment, the White Rose Diner. You're starving, so you decide to grab something to eat while you're here.
As you enter, you notice the dining room is completely empty, and there is no one at the front of the establishment to seat you. You wait for about five minutes, when finally, someone comes to serve you, walking slowly with glassy eyes.
"Sorry... for the w-wait, sir," the man almost whimpers out. "Come with me, and I'll get you set down."
You follow the man to an empty bench table and sit down. The man leaves for a moment, then returns with a wine glass and a bottle of high end wine. The server pours you a glass, takes your order, and sets to work in the kitchen preparing your meal. However, you notice he keeps looking at you, almost impatiently...
You take a taste of the wine. It's definitely the good stuff. However, you take another taste, and something seems off... it has a strange aftertaste, and you soon realize the truth...
Miracle! You managed to avoid being poisoned!
The man gives you a nervous look, but other than that he looks emotionless as he walks over to you.
"Is... something the matter- w-with the w-wine sir?!"
There is... this man just tried to poison you!
"L-look! I'm losing money here! Y-you looked rich so I figured I'd try to get some money off of-"
You turn to leave the establishment. This man deserves none of your service.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"
Suddenly, the man pulls a knife out of his back pocket, and begins to run after you.
You trip, and the man pins you down.
"Look... I need this! I need this! The town's gonna kick us out if I don't pay up! Give me everything you've got or... I'll do it!"
The man seems fairly weak. Will you defend yourself, or will you oblige with his plea? If you defend yourself, you can either make a card to deal with the Bloodstained Knife (making the Chef's attack useless), make a card to deal with the Meager Chef, or make a card to protect yourself. The target score is 10 points out of 15. Cards are judged based on realism, balance, originality, and syntax.
With no strangers in sight, you sit down to speak with your allies.
"So... your priority is Khantsievth?" Nohel acknowledges. "Very well. There's a summoning going on in Nasita, but we won't be able to stop it in time. We'll need to make a plan to," Nohel shudders, then gulps, "deal with him."
"Hrm..." Levin clears her throat. "If you're planning on killing Khantsievth, I doubt my master will have any qualms. They may even be able to lend you a helping hand. And then once it's over," Levin suggests as she walks over to you, "maybe we could get to know each other a little better..."
"Sorry to be the bearer of the news," Arlin declares as she steps between you two, "but he's taken."
"You know, I've never been one to believe in monogamous relationships..."
"Fitting, but I'm sure Vryx feels otherwise. You know, he had to watch me die once, and nearly lost me again. He'd never leave me for a bawd-"
"Now now! Ladies!" Uvras intervenes. "Can we set aside our affairs for a time when the world isn't in imminent danger?"
"I couldn't agree more," Nohel scorns. "Such moral follies will divert us from our course. So... I'll take a moment to survey Reighart. I can use my powers to analyze the potential of our newfound allies, and how willing they'll be to oblige. I may even be able to make them have 'visions' of your grandeur, perhaps?"
"I'd be careful making them dream of me, dear," Levin warns jestfully.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing. Go on."
Nohel returns after about 30 minutes. If it weren't for her attire, Levin would look exactly like a queen sitting upon her throne. Meanwhile, Uvras has been uttering incantations on a set of rings he has.
"So..." Nohel begins. "Do you want the good news, the great news, or the bad news?"
"Bad news first," Levin announces.
"Very well. Bad news is, the mages' specialize in only two forms of magic: Sangromancy and transmutation. We probably won't earn any points with the people of Stitia by demanding blood to fuel our army, but as for the illusions, this entire castle is one massive illusion. It goes to show that these mages are quite capable. You could ask them to rebuild this castle however you wish, and it could be done in just a few hours."
"Interesting!" Levin exclaims. "So what's the good news?"
"The militant force on this island is great. We have about 10,000 soldiers to work with, with at least a thousand capable of flying. The mages are few and far between, however; those performing that summoning ritual were the only mages on Reighart. The great news is that they will be fully willing to support our war efforts; these vampires are quite vengeful, and will never forgive Khantsievth for his betrayal. There's just... one small problem."
"What?"
"I honestly don't think we have enough manpower to deal with the Archdemon."
(I mean, the card isn't interesting but whatever.)
I going to attempt to get unpinned from the ground and deal with the chef, preferably not by killing him, that puts a bad name on my business.
As Ishka holds her hand to Lilith's head, healing magic radiates from her hands.
"Ishka... you don't know, do you?" Schoren says mournfully. "The plague can't be cured by magic. The most we can do is stabilize her symptoms and buy her more time to live."
Lilith coughs. "I'm... fine... trust me."
As Ishka attempts to heal Lilith, she realizes that it is having little effect.
You officially have enough evidence to diagnose Lilith with the plague. Will you prioritize trying to find a cure or continue with Danny? If you continue, will you bring Lilith with you?
The guard turns to Tahmuras and responds.
"This territory was left in ruin by an act of the Gods. We simply nurtured it back to life. Now, please leave. Your kind is forbidden here."
I've been thinking about this wrong! How do you take down a beast much bigger than you? You take out it's food source. You want to take down an archdemon? Take out the supply chain!
That's what's going to happen: I'm going to do guerrilla warfare. Take out the soft targets and that should weaken Khantsvieth or his army
"You think I haven't done it before?! I'll cut you into pieces and boil you in stew!"
With a quick flip and a kick, you free yourself from the chef. He drops the blade, then scrambles to pick it up.
"No! Please! Get back here! GET BACK HERE!"
As you run out the door, a knife flies past you, and you can hear the chef's frenzied breathing as he dashes full force to the door. You quickly climb into your carriage, grab hold the reigns, and settle off as quickly as you can. The chef comes out the door screaming profanities, and as you turn the corner, his knife bounces clumsily off the side of your carriage...
A few hours later...
As you reach the south side of Wishex, you check the time. It's getting pretty late, so you decide to find the nearest Inn. The search isn't fruitful, until you come across a black-winged angel with an eyepatch wearing dark armor and carrying a sword.
"Hey there!" The angel calls out. He inspects you very well, soon noticing your scythe. "So you're the merchant I've been hearing about. Heard through the grapevine you've got the best wares around! Care if I take a look?"
You'd be pleased. While he looks through what you have to offer, you ask him about where you can find an inn. He chuckles a little.
"The nearest inn is about 15 miles South. But... I have an offer to make. See..." the angel looks around to see if anyone's watching, then leans into the carriage, revealing a dark clad locket. "I'm Denver. Member of The New Order, rebels against The Six's tyranny. My allies have been looking for you. If you promise you won't tell anyone about it, we have a base close by. You can stay there for the night, and maybe we can make a deal..."
Card rating notes:
-1 Point Syntax (Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to that creature this turn.)
Verth felt that his words would only raise hostilities within the conversation, and the guard seemed successful in calming down the Bloodwood member ever so slightly. With this, Verth let the guard take over in his explanation, still bracing himself for a potential incoming attack.
"Of- of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Demon hunting?" Levin scratches her head. "As long as you aren't killing me I'm fair game."
"Hmph... Vryx can trust you, so you're apparently not hostile now, but I must ask... who is your master?"
"My master?... I can't say."
"Are you sure you can't tell me?" Nohel looks into Levin's eyes, then suddenly grunts. "So you tell the truth... Levin is bound by pact not to speak her master's name, but it's definitely not Khantsievth."
Nohel begins thinking, but after a moment, he steps out of the room, returning with a mage.
"So. I think if any time was a good time to establish a war room, it would be now."
You agree. The mage takes a moment to perform a ritual, and in the wall, behind the thrones, appears a set of doors.
"Your war room is r-ready, Master Vryx." The mage says as he steps away from the doors. "I hope it is suited to your needs."
You open up the doors, and walk down a long corridor. Inside the doors lies an incredibly large table with an overview of Stitia. You approach it, and you can tell it's magical. The mage comes in and hands you a stone tablet that glows, showing the same view of Stitia as the table.
"You can use this tablet to manipulate the view over Stitia. I hope this will help you plan your... conquest."
It definitely will. The mage leaves the room, and you take a moment to look around. There are chalkboards around the room, along with a few desks with paper and a few fancy chairs beside a fireplace. Other than that, everything else is just how you would picture a war room being.
"So... we're skated to wage war against demons," Uvras thinks aloud.
"Demons and angels, yes," Nohel confirms. "Vyrx. Hand me that tablet."
You hand Nohel the tablet, and he wastes no time getting used to using it. He even discovers he can draw on the map.
"So. If we're looking for more manageable prey, I remember three of Khantsievth's closest allies." Nohel marks three locations on the map, then zooms in on Nasita. "Our first location, a cathedral in Nasita. A cleric who holds much sway over Khantsievth's worshippers is hiding there. Given the recent circumstances in Nasita, stealth probably won't be an option. If we eliminate them, Khantsievth will have a harder time summoning his minions." Nohel zooms out, then moves the view to Padetra. "Next, there is a lich hiding somewhere in Padetra who is incredibly skilled at necromancy. I know their general location, but no specifics. With him gone, Khantsievth's army should have a harder time springing back from attacks." Nohel moves the view one more time to... The Center of Prayer. The capital of Hitcherald. "Lastly, I suspect a cell within the chain of command in Hitcherald. The... new Lord Arbiter has been acting suspicious as of late, and I think they may be an enemy. Should my findings be true, it should hopefully stop the infighting and bizarre behavior amongst the angels. We'll have to cooperate with rebels in the area, but as long as we can assure them we're allies we won't have anything to worry about."
With the information you have, which target will you pursue?
Taking out the cleric would be good, but it's the farthest away and any enemies we kill during and after that operation would be brought back over and over. But there's only so many beings to summon.
So we'll go for the necromancer. And this makes sure any future targets won't just be resurrected. (And if possible, we can try to hire (wink wink nudge nudge) the guy as well to bring our own troops back)
"We only know secondhand what happened. From what we know, a group of three, led by the demigod Arne, attacked the Hometree after discovering that the Bloodwood planned to commit genocide. The Bloodwood was going to kill... the other two elf clans..."
"No. that can't be true. What motivation could my bretheren possibly have to kill the other clans? And how do I know you sren't lying?"
"...Khansievth will come forth. He will be reborn. He has given me his wisdom. His power. His rise to fruition is grand. It is fated. And with this power, will be the fall of you all." Verth recited Vallelika's words, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact with the Bloodwood warrior. "Those were the last words of High Bloodelf Vallelika. I know this to be the truth,..." He paused. There was no way the Bloodwood warrior would leave the Rootforged peacefully if Verth lied. Even more so, there could be a chance that he could gain his trust if he spoke very carefully from this point forth. Verth took a deep breath, and spoke the truth.
"...Because I was one of the three who confronted her. I was witness to the High Bloodelf's entire plan. Indeed, she wished to commit genocide against the other Clans." Verth spoke with a calming tone, his words laced with calming white mana. Verth then raised his hand, showing the marking on his hand to the Bloodelf warrior. "My allegiance to the Duskwood is what forced me to intervene. Too many innocent lives were at stake to let her live.
Stitia is changing. People we could trust, and even the gods themselves, are being corrupted. Friends that I once cherished as my allies have betrayed me. And so I fight now, and stand with the Rootforged, to bring an era of peace and prosperity that this plane so desperately needs. If you still have grievances against me, I understand. I only ask that you do not bring anyone else into our potential conflict."