Chương 24: The Road to Berdusk
By the time my invisibility ran out we were already travelling along the road on the way to Berdusk. Speaking of travelling, my seven new companions were rather disgruntled at the rather rapid escape of a city they had been looking forwards to relaxing in. Adaneth, Eldalótë were rather unphased by the entire upheaval and were more excited to speak with me in Elvish, an oddity apparently amongst other adventurers. Ethillar was rather stoic, staying at the front of the cart with the driver, ensuring that he felt secure enough to be journeying to Berdusk with just women.
During this time I also found the name of our other members. The Dwarven lady was called Ragana of the Marshes. She apparently came from a mountain region called The Stormhorns, which was right up against something called the Marsh of Tun. I had no further understanding of why she had a title, but that would be a question for once we get to know each other better. The sly rogue on the other hand was called Whisper, a name she came up for herself no doubt. No one really wished to explain her 'deal' to me, so I aptly dodged the topic entirely, preferring to make cordial small talk with the young woman when she came talking to me.
As for the last, well she was my 'secret' admirer. Her name was Angelica and was apparently given to her by her father who died fighting against Fiends in Elturel when it descended to Avernus some time in the past. Apparently she and her mother were visiting friends in the country side of Elturel when it descended. Thanks to the efforts of some random Adventurers the city was saved and they came to learn of her father's death... I stopped asking further questions as it would seem invasive, especially considering I had given no information about myself yet. Qal was still energetic past the heavy conversation though, as she constantly pestered me with complex questions as to the origins of my magic. It was a topic that everyone was listening to but 'not' at the same time.
"I learnt from self study..." My answer didn't leave her satisfied at all and she puffed her cheeks to show it too.
"That's not interesting! How did you learn? Did you experiment and hurt yourself!? Did you try to cast a spell and remove the ability to have emotion!?"
"Why are those circumstances so specific...?"
"No reason... Now answer the questions!" She pointed her right index finger at me as I stared at her right in the eyes. She was quite adamant about this and had an underlying sense of nervousness. Although intelligent and perceptive beyond measure, she hadn't known about my magical skills and she was most likely considering that I was a potential threat to her and her friends.
"I am being honest, I studied in a bookstore called the Ubiquitous Binder. Most of my understanding of magic and the world came from said store."
"Hmmm... What else can you do other than turn yourself invisible?"
Frowning I licked my lips a little, glancing off to the side to see if the other women were going to stop their youngest member. Which they weren't. I was caught here with the infinitely curious woman and her disarming level of EQ. Honestly the thought that I had messed up in choosing to come with them was pervasive throughout my heart at this time, but I had no choice but to at least show her something small.
"Aegis" A shield of pure force bubbled out from my skin until it expanded to maximum range, stayed for ix seconds and then dispersed into nothingness. Breathing deeply from the stamina it had drained I gazed at Qal before me, her eyes practically aglow in excitement and wonder. Scanning the inside of the cart, everyone was like that. Apparently none of them were used to such use of magic, except the two elven women.
"Can you show me more...?"
...
After several hours of showing her some small tricks I had learnt, mainly light cantrips and a mending cantrip, I was eventually pulled off of the hook. Qal was summoned by Ethillar who apparently wanted to spend some time hammering in her teachings to the woman's rather fragile looking head. My time wasn't silent however as the two Elf women started to speak to me about their homeland and the semi-distant land of Cormanthor.
Rituals and various stories that were sourced from their homelands. Eldalótë, the pale elf, was especially insistent on speaking to me of Elminster Aumar, one of the authors of a book I had read. Apparently he had gone to the 9 Hells and beyond all for his love of a Goddess called Mystra, the goddess of magic that I knew of distinctly. Based off of her stories he had even learnt from the mighty Elvish nation that had once existed within the heart of Cormanthor before it fell to dimensional tears and the arrogance of its' mages.
These were all conjecture as far as Adaneth was concerned, but Eldalótë was adamant that it was truth, all of it. Apparently it was stories passed down through ages long past. A collective myth so to speak. Finding interest and beauty in the tails, no matter their accuracy or not, I bit at every little slither of information. All three of us became fast friends of sorts as even Adaneth had to admit that my questions and own understandings were rather unconventional but apt.
Eventually, after a fully afternoon of speaking and getting to know one another we set off a little ways from the roadway, which was rather plain and was more of the same rolling planes I had experienced in my entrance to Iriaebor. We had chosen a small outcropping of trees that were a couple hundred feet away from the edge of a sparse forest. The cart was parked in the middle of the camp with the horses being fed and watered by the Teamster that served as our driver. Just a small jaunt away from said cart was the campfire, started by Whisper. Currently there were a couple pheasants broiling over a metal pan that sat above the fire, recent hunts from Angelica's small trapping stint on the outskirts of our camp for half an hour.
Very little conversation was had however as most of the women went to sleep, all except me and Whisper, who was rather eagre to ignore my existence and simply sharpen her daggers. Some would have construed her act of maintenance as ignorance to a watch of any kind, but I could easily see the intrepid dedication that lingered in her small scans over the very edge of her blades... She was more on edge than any would truly consider, always alert and ready to jump into a fray. Considering that we were the only ones up I figured that we were the first watch and that when a couple of hours had gone by we were to wake two others. Most likely the two elves, who were the ones to do the least in this journey so far, in manual work.
The night whistles on as wind swept through the sparse treetops above, the long left fallow fields dancing with tall grasses and left over wheat crops. Nocturnal creatures of all sorts cooed and scratched away in the darkness of the night as silence was maintained by us, the fire so small that light was barely slipping out of the area of the camp. It was peaceful, sombre, but also calming in a weird way. Especially given the light from Selune that dripped down like small droplets of celestial warmth between the constantly shifting branches above. Distant constellations filled the sky, the lack of light pollution opening the entire night for one's observations.
"Lumina. Do you hear that?"
Squinting my eyes and focussing on my hearing, the faint sounds in the environment around us exploded into my brain. This wasn't especially rare or unique so I focussed more heavily on weirdness or unique bits of sound... That was when I heard the distant screams of a woman and the roars of some beast or creature.
"Wake the others! I will go and scout the mess out..." Whisper frowned at my intention to go alone but she soon followed my instructions as she sprinted into Ethillar's tent.
Deciding that things were moving quick and that the woman was most likely in danger I created Dancing Lights, four of them, roughly each of them equivalent to a torch's flame. Following that up I cast the spell Blur on myself, running into the woods towards the scream that was sluggishly getting closer. The lights may seem stupid but they were also for my allies to keep track of where I am, I didn't have time to think of anything else and simply rushed into the moderately tall grass.
~[New Quest]~
{9- Save the Damsel | +1 Dexterity , +2 Charisma , ???????}
'Well, shit...'
With grass whipping at the sides of my travel clothes, switched now from my Bard clothing, I felt several insects crawl over me before taking off with my movements. Screams resounded again, blood curdling and desperate. Sweat dripped off my head after a minute of running, sounds behind me informing me of my 'allies' following. Then, as if in a whirlwind the grass was flattened and slapped to the ground in front of me, the weave screeching almost in agony as shadowy dark energy infested and seeped into it and began to twist it, as if there was another force trying to encroach upon its boundaries.
"HELP!!! PLEAS-E...Eh,Ehugh..."
Stepping into the small clearing with confidence etched into my bones I saw a creature of pure red hatred and anger, standing over the top of a woman who was currently being choked. Smoke rose from the distance as the sky bloomed in evil crimson hue, the smell of ash mixing with the fart-like sulphur that wafted from this entity. But not only was there a fowl stench to it or certain demonic features, there was a dark shadow of purple and the darkest night slithering over its form as it speared outwards and stabbed at the bright purple and blue weave.
"Quis es tu? Cur venatum et predae tormentum perturbas?"
The words of the creature were guttural, primeval, ancient sounding and beyond anything as torchy as brimstone itself. Flame licked around its mouth as bull horns rose from its elongated stag head and it's disgustingly human-like eyes peering towards me eerily. Ears of elvish lineage shot off from the side of its head in long spindly lines that drooped down to its mid back. Its height itself was unknowable as it was hunched over like an old hag, bumps and lumps obvious despite the limited light that my dancing lights provided.
"Let her go... Or, I will kill you."
It would have squinted, could it have, as it's animalistic jowls wobbled to and froe in laughter. The sound itself was less like what normal people would consider laughter, but more like the slow rumbling of a distant mountain about to shed itself of rocks in a landslide. Discomfort flooded into my mind as the sickening presence lathering itself upon the creature was prodding at the magic that I had cast previously. That was all I needed.
"Ictus Arcane!" Darts of force slid from the weave between my fingertips as the light spun and flung above the battlefield before me. At the same time my figure was phasing between afterimages of my movements. Four magic missiles slapped into the face of the creature as its grip released. The woman staggered to the ground, her hands reaching for her throat as I released another volley of magic missiles. "Ictus Arcane!"
Burning black blood exploded from one of the creature's eyes as it imploded from the force of my magical projectiles, a shrill screech akin to the sound of a saw cutting into metal at high speed. With that I rushed forwards and scooped up the woman behind me, standing before her as I burned through one of my 2nd level spells to create an additional magic missile. "Ictus Arcane!!" Five darts perforated into the abdomen of the abominable creature, it's shriek almost eardrum popping as red flashed over the exterior of its body.
"STULTA...! ANIMAM TUAM CRUCIABO ET IN AETERNUM EX TUIS AFFECTIBUS EPULABOR PROPTER HOC!!!"
It's tone shifted from the brimstone-laden timbre to a more feral and rage-filled resentment. No longer was there conversation, only the baleful hatred of a creature that I barely understood the origins of, though I could make speculations.
"Yeah, yeah, fuck off dickhead!" , "Ictus Arcane!!!"
I used one of my only 3rd level, a total of six missile now splintering into his form amidst the fire infested veins that now popped on his exterior. The blow wasn't enough this time however as it leapt forwards and tried to scrape at me with its claws, noxious and unkempt as they were. Extending my hand upwards, as I hovered in a crouch above the still prone woman, I used the only spell I could.
"Aegis!"
The domed shield sprung forwards and met the claws headfirst, the momentum causing ripples to manifest in the magical barrier. Soon following the ripples came slight tears as one of its revolting claws scraped through air towards my breasts and neck, it's long humanoid hands large enough to catch both areas. Fingernails slid through the air and punctured ever closer to my skin. Anxiety, frustration, anger and a veritable slew of other emotions exploded within my mind and heart amidst my helplessness...
*SHINK*
A dagger somersaulted through the air as the nails slid through the afterimage of my blur spell, landing into the neck of the demonic creature. A screech tried to slip out once more from it's mangled body, but it was cut short as an arrow thwacked into the back of its skull and sprouted from its mouth, followed by a hammer blow to its knees and then a final great sword slash into the depths of its skull. It was pulped in but an instant as the woman below me fainted from the desperation of her plight, and subsequent saving from it.
"Maledicam tibi... venator tuus ero... in aeternum..."
As the creature spoke its last gasp a vile flex through the weave tried to stretch out to me... Only for a small pulsation in said weave to cascade over it and absolutely drown it out, the currents of the weave stabilizing comfortable around me and even flowing more verdantly around me.
"Oi! Lumina? You okay!?"
"Sure...?"
{Completed, Save the Damsel | +1 Dexterity , +2 Charisma , ???????}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|>Ascendant Soul Framework<|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name- Lumin'ara'el | Species- Aasimar |
Titles- Book Worm Wizard | Religious Connection- Ao, God of Creation
(Wizard) LEVEL- 7 |5200/64,000|
Section Points- 6
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Status Sheet-
STRENGTH: 13
DEXTERITY: 15
CONSTITUTION: 15
INTELLIGENCE: 27
WISDOM: 20
CHARISMA: 14
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Proficiencies-
Bonus (+2)
Athletics : +3
Acrobatics : +2
Sleight of Hand : +2
Stealth : +4
Arcana : +14
History : +16
Investigation : +8
Nature : +14
Religion : +8
Animal Handling : +5
Insight : +8
Medicine : +5
Perception : +5
Survival : +4
Deception : +2
Intimidation: +2
Performance : +2
Persuasion : +2
Magic Schools-
~Proficiency in all schools of Basic Magic (Transmutation, Enchantment, Necromancy, Divination, Abjuration, Evocation, Conjuration and Illusion)
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Quests-
1- Lose Virginity | +1000 Experience, A happy ending? (ADJUSTED DUE TO AQUISITION OF CLASS TYPE)
2- TRAINING MONTAGE | Proficiency in Simple Weapons, Proficiency in Longbows, Quiver of Retrieving
3- Find Meaning? I guess? | A Golden Star? , Charisma + 2 , A Random OP Magic Item
4- Kill the Tyrant of Ash and Ruin | Achievement: Dragon Slayer , Strength + 4 , Constitution + 4 , Charisma + 10 , Knowledge on Ancient Red Dragons, The Dragon Hoard of Vermithraxxis , Levels + 5 , Sword of Dragon Slaying , Knowledge of Spells at a 9th weave level (Only the knowledge, not the capability) , Section Points + 40
5-Book Junky Supreme| +1 to Arcana Proficiency, +1 to History Proficiency, +1 to Nature Proficiency, +64,000 Experience| (Read 20 Books: 1259/1280)
6-Become a Polyglot| Abyssal Language, Primordial Language, Drowic Language, Under-common, Volothamp Geddarm's Book on Species
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Completed Achievements-
Stranger to the Lands
Survivor of the Tyrant of Ash and Ruin, Vermithraxxis
Iriaeboran Princess's Saviour
Create a Spell
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Inventory (200m^3) - Map of Faerûn , Compass, Adventurer's Camp Clothes, Spell Book of Cantrips, 2050 Gold, Ring of Protection, Soul Bound Grimoire, Immovable Rod, Evocation Spell Book 1st, Abjuration Spell Book 1st,
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