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Throne Of Cards 68


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#1 Laufey

Posted 18 December 2017 - 08:29 PM

Throne Of Cards 68 – The Twisted Trail

 

If you find yourself sneaking around the stronghold of an Evil Overlord, always try your best to be alert about your surroundings. You never know what clues to his one weakness or badly hidden self-destruct button to the stronghold you might find lying around. Even the smaller details can prove useful later. Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’

 

“What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

“None of those are exactly encouraging, Big Brother. I’m trying to convince myself Immy will be all right, after all.”

 

“I’m just being realistic about what to expect in the stronghold of an Evil Overlord. Oh, it could also be some infernal machine designed to destroy the universe or the marching hordes of enraged minions about to join Yaga Shura’s army.” The large warrior pursed his lips in thought, his golden eyes narrowing. “I suppose it would be more giants in that case, unless there are creatures in here we don’t know about. Fire themed creatures, it would almost have to be.”

 

“Well if it is, I hope Immy doesn’t decide to try to sneak past them on her own.” The bard slid down the wall and sat down on the ground with a sigh. “May as well get comfy, this could take a while.”

 

Sarevok nodded, and sat down beside her, his towering presence oddly comfortable. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” He said. “This seems like a good opportunity.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You didn’t deny it. I thought that worth discussing.”

 

“Deny what?”

 

“Back in the kitchens. I brought up your potential as the new goddess of Murder.” Sarevok turned his head to look straight at her, his eyes burning into hers. “You didn’t deny such a possibility. So I ask you, little sister. Should we reach the end of the path, the power there for you to grasp, a willing tool to shape the world as you wish – will you seize it?”

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

“Why hesitate?” A large hand landed on her shoulder. “You are worthier by far than any of these fool pretenders who still stand against you.” He gave her a quick grin. “After all you beat me, the only one more suitable.”

 

“Because it isn’t just about me.” She sighed, looking up at her brother through her messy red curls. “Not anymore. If I take the power, nothing will be the same again. I’ll have to leave everybody behind. Even the ones I love the most. Even…even Edwin. I wouldn’t be me anymore, not really. I’d be something else.”

 

Sarevok’s eyes narrowed. “And yet you still consider it. You haven’t ruled it out. Why, if it pains you so?”

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

“You would give him up forever in order to save him?”

 

“Yes. In a heartbeat, if that’s what it takes. I just…I just hope there’ll be another way. Somehow. Even if I can’t think of one.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her suddenly blurry eyesight. “That’s not so wrong of me, is it? To hope?”

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

 

Light footfalls padded towards them at that point, and then there was Imoen, practically skidding around the corner with her pink hair dancing around her excited face. “Hey, you two!” She exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I…why so serious?”

 

Rini was just wracking her mind trying to tell her sister and best friend something that would be evasive but not an actual lie, when Sarevok cleared his throat.

 

“I was merely describing my more interesting battle scars,” He said. “Many of them have quite the interesting story behind them.” He pointed at his chin, where there indeed was a small, round scar. “Would you like to hear about how I got this one?”

 

“I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

“What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

“Ooooh no!” The half-elf said, raising her hands in defense. “Not gonna get dragged into an argument about you and romance, Immy. Nope. It’s none of his business anyway.”

 

“Ha, that’s right!” Imoen said, sticking her tongue out at Sarevok who merely gave her a mild look. “And I’m a very worldly and jaded rogue, so there, and that’s all there is to it.” She put on what was probably intended to be a look of haughty disdain, but mostly made her look constipated. “Pfffrtt. Take that. Anyway, I was about to show you what I found. Come along, and you’ll see.”

 

She took off back along the winding corridor, walking just a little faster than normal, and the warrior and the bard followed close behind. It took Zaerini a minute or so to fully appreciate how deftly her brother had changed the subject, and by then they’d nearly reached a large bronze door at the end of the hallway. There was a regular, banging noise, coming from behind the closed door, and what sounded like muffled curses.

 

“I unlocked it already,” Imoen whispered. “I managed to be pretty quiet, so I don’t think she noticed me.”

 

“She?” Rini said. “Who’s in there?”

 

“I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t talk to her yet, I figured we’d want to that together. I just peeked through the keyhole. You’ll see.”

 

The heavy door was pulled open with some effort, mostly from Sarevok, and behind it lay a large and fairly unsettling bedroom. It was dominated by an enormous bed, round and covered with red sheets and a multitude of shiny satin pillows. There were mirrors on the ceiling above the bed, and there was a large lever with three different settings and a button next to it. The options available were ‘Mama’s Boy’, ‘Volcanic Eruption’ and ‘Inferno’, and Rini was somewhat reminded by Ust Natha, while simultaneously wondering if there would be actual lava involved. There certainly was lava present, flowing in channels around the edges of the room, presumably kept eternally hot by magic. A second door was at the left-hand side of the room, firmly closed.

 

“Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

So that’s what we heard.

 

“Are you deaf?!” The woman shouted. “Free me!”

 

“Well, excuse us,” Rini said, rolling her eyes briefly. “Clearly we’re not the rescuers you were hoping for, but we’re the ones you’ve got. Maybe you’d like us to leave you there until somebody better comes along?”

 

“No! I’m…look, it’s been a very bad time. Can you blame me?”

 

“No problem,” Imoen said with a friendly smile. “I guess I’d be grumpy too. I’ll see what I can do about those locks, ok? It’ll take a little while, so why don’t you tell us who you are in the meantime?”

 

“And anything you know about Yaga Shura’s private quarters,” Rini added. “If you know where he’d keep his hidden treasures, so much the better.”

 

“Looters eh?” The woman said as Imoen started working on the locks. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you what I know. My name is Varda, and I’m an adventurer. A while back I met some others in an inn, as you do, and it turned out one of them had a plan lined up for robbing this place blind.” She grimaced. “As you see, it didn’t end well. The regular giants were bad enough, but…then there was Yaga Shura.” Her face had gone a disturbing pale grey, and was clammy with sweat. “He was like something out of a nightmare. He slaughtered them all, as easily as a child might squish ants.”

 

“And not you?” Sarevok said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Did you turn on your companions, perhaps?”

 

“No. I might have done, had I thought it’d spare me. I was scared shitless if you must know. But I didn’t. Yaga Shura captured me, his magic snared me just like that.”

 

“Why?” Rini asked. “Why would he kill the others and spare you?”

 

“I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

“There,” Imoen said, as the last tumbler of the lock clicked into place. She carefully eased the collar and manacles off and Varda slumped to ground with a sigh that sounded like a mixture of pain and relief. “Will you be ok now? This place is kinda crawling with giant zombies but we can’t go back yet.”

 

“I’ll take my chances,” The blonde woman said. “If I die, I die. It would still be better than being Yaga Shura’s pet.”

 

“First things first,” Rini said, holding up her hand. “You promised to give us information about this place. Do you know anything about Yaga Shura’s secrets?”

 

“Not much. He didn’t exactly talk to me, you know. But he didn’t care I was here either, treated me like furniture, so I saw a thing or two. There’s something in the next room over, something precious he was really careful with, but I don’t know what it was, I was stuck here so I never saw it. The door is locked though.”

 

Rini looked at the solid metal door. No handle, no lock, not even any door hinges that she could see. It didn’t look promising. “Anything else?” She asked.

 

“One more thing. You noticed the bed, right? The controls?”

 

“Hard not to. What about them?”

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

“Not like that. Yaga Shura could activate a second system, somehow. I didn’t get a really good look at it, but it runs far more than the bed. It could do something useful for you. That’s all I can tell you. Now I’m getting out of here, hopefully in one piece, and don’t’ try to stop me.”

 

“Fair enough,” Rini nodded. “Good luck to you.”

 

The filthy and emaciated woman’s features softened marginally, almost making room for a smile. “Sure. You too.” She walked out the door, leaving behind three very puzzled Bhaalspawn and one giant bed.

 

-*-

 

“So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

“What?! The upper points of the stars…”

 

“Branches.”

 

“And the lower point is clearly….”

 

“Roots.”

 

“Inconceivable! How could you possibly…”

 

Viconia cleared her throat. “Personally, I think it looks like a disemboweled man, his limbs splayed,” She said with an ominously sweet smile. “A future I’m perfectly willing to make come to pass, should the two of you prefer to carry on with this. Can it be opened or not?”

 

“Of course,” Dekaras said with a quick grin. “Edwin knows what to do, don’t you, Edwin?”

 

The wizard nodded. “It will take me a short while, but yes, it can be done. Normally one would require a wardstone to unravel the seal, but fortunately my own skills and knowledge of arcane lore will suffice to do so.” He flexed his fingers and ran them slowly along the seal, tracing the magical currents.

 

“Perhaps we might have a look around in the meantime,” Dekaras suggested to Viconia. “You never know, there might be something interesting to be found.” The room they were currently standing in seemed to be a study of sorts, with bookshelves along the walls, a writing desk covered with piles of paper and even a small safe. Well, small by giant standards, it was actually as tall as a tall man.

 

Minsc nodded sagely. “Boo says that a trail of papers can lead us to our prey just as well as a trail of footprints or droppings. Either way, we must chase the Evil Giant down, our noses quivering with anticipation!”

 

“I think both I and my nose would prefer a trail of papers in that case,” Dekaras said, turning to the safe. “But yes, your Boo is quite right. Perhaps you might quietly converse with him while we search, and determine whether he has further insights?”

 

“Minsc is always happy to help!”

 

Having successfully tuned out the large ranger’s mutterings to his hamster, the assassin busied himself with examining the safe, while Viconia started rifling through the papers on the desk. The lock might have seemed complex to one who didn’t know better. It didn’t have a keyhole per se, but a series of numbered buttons, clearly meant to be pressed in the correct order. And usually that’s a combination of four, non repeating. Let’s see if we can’t narrow it down a little. He took a certain pouch of finely ground grey powder out, and gently blew some across the buttons. Some of it settled on all of them, but on four particular buttons he could also see clear, and very large fingerprints. There. Now we should have only twenty-four permutations to choose from rather than ten thousand. Hm. Could it be? He swiftly pressed four buttons in turn, and the door gently swung open. 1-2-3-4. Honestly, don’t people even bother trying with these things? It takes all the fun out of it.

 

Inside the safe, he found only a box containing a very odd thing. It was a transparent sphere, clearly magical, about the size of a human head and quite empty. It was hard, and slick to the touch, but the magical field was…peculiar to say the least. It’s practically inert, but stable…and with a very long half-life, it would seem. I’d have thought it was a very small Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, but it’s both too solid and too lasting. He took another look at the box, which had ‘proto-type’ written on the side, but no, it was otherwise completely empty. Interesting. Well, it’s worth making note of, but otherwise it probably won’t be of any help right now.

 

“I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

“And the list?” Dekaras asked.

 

“It is not here. The giant probably took it with him, but we can guess what names are on it, can’t we?”

 

“Regrettably so. However, it changes little.”

 

“How can you say that?” Edwin asked. “He wants to kill my Hellkitten!”

 

“Yes, I’m sure he does, and probably Imoen as well. But we already knew that, and we are already taking steps to prevent it. I’m more concerned with these other names mentioned, and with who sent the letter in the first place, but that is a matter for later. First, the giant’s heart, and then the giant himself. Speaking of which, how is that seal coming along?”

 

“All done now,” Edwin stated with a slightly smug smile. “A most elegant dispelling, if I say so myself. Observe, no flaking even of the inner arcane energies. It is perfectly safe. A clear 97% chance of survival.”

 

Dekaras nodded. “Well done,” He said. “Shall we see if we find anything else interesting in here then? Just be careful, because…”

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#2 Theodur

Posted 19 December 2017 - 02:32 PM

 

If you find yourself sneaking around the stronghold of an Evil Overlord, always try your best to be alert about your surroundings. You never know what clues to his one weakness or badly hidden self-destruct button to the stronghold you might find lying around. Even the smaller details can prove useful later. Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

Mind you, booby trapping a teddy is pretty low. I hear even some Evil deities look down upon such practice.

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

 

I feel like it's a failing of some otherwise good stories in which their main characters act with knowledge that they're going to have a choice in the matter. There's no reason whatsoever for that assumption. In fact, from everything our characters have learned and experienced, I feel like they would think that this is a 'last man (or woman) standing' scenario that might not involve any personal choice. I'm glad to see that Rini is acting without certainty here.

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

 

And there's of course Cyric lusting after Bhaal's power, too. As for the other thing... there's more you could do than to protect Edwin, you could protect and help out everyone you care about. Then again, since she earlier remarked how she wouldn't be able to be with Edwin anymore if she took the power... will she still care enough to protect him or anyone else if she ascended?

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

 

Aww. See, Rini, one of the things you could probably do is to reunite Sarevok with Tamoko. It's probably a not very Lord of Murder thing to do, but I think you would probably have the power to do so.

 

“Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

 

I am currently replaying ToB but haven't made it to the fortress yet... but now I seem to remember Yaga-Shura disturbingly having some concubine chained up there... unless my memory fails me entirely, I guess this would be her.

 


“I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

 

Well. I think we all know in what ways her story could have been so much worse.

 

“Fair enough,” Rini nodded. “Good luck to you.”

 

The filthy and emaciated woman’s features softened marginally, almost making room for a smile. “Sure. You too.” She walked out the door, leaving behind three very puzzled Bhaalspawn and one giant bed.

 

I guess, try to do something with the bed? After all... you want to have a heart, Rini.

 

“So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

I don't know, it looks more like a Tree than a Star to me...

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

Haha! Called it. :) A classic.

 

 

“I think both I and my nose would prefer a trail of papers in that case,” Dekaras said, turning to the safe. “But yes, your Boo is quite right. Perhaps you might quietly converse with him while we search, and determine whether he has further insights?”

 

 

Keyword being 'quietly' :)

 

“I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

 

Such a shame it's not signed, ey? Now it's a real headscratcher!

 

“Regrettably so. However, it changes little.”

 

“How can you say that?” Edwin asked. “He wants to kill my Hellkitten!”

 

Often it seems it's harder to find someone who doesn't want to kill your protagonist...

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

 

 

I don't know Dekkie, don't you miss that hearty borshch they eat all the time? Yum yum.

 

 


The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold


#3 Nimloth

Posted 19 December 2017 - 04:01 PM

Hi laufey, nice to see you back!

 

Quote: Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

ROFL, an Evil Overlord sleeping with a teddybear would be quite a sight

 

 

Quote: “What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

Wow, he surely has a very vivid imagination

 

 

Quote: There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

Aawwww, Sarevok in full "big brother mode" is so adorable :-)

 

 

Quote:I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

*grins* Point, set, match: Sarevok wins!

 

 

Quote: There were mirrors on the ceiling above the bed, and there was a large lever with three different settings and a button next to it. The options available were ‘Mama’s Boy’, ‘Volcanic Eruption’ and ‘Inferno’, and Rini was somewhat reminded by Ust Natha, while simultaneously wondering if there would be actual lava involved.

 

Oh-ho, seems like Yaga Shura is a very naughty boy!

 

 

Quote: “One more thing. You noticed the bed, right? The controls?”

 

“Hard not to. What about them?”

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

 Well, if Sarry wants to try it out, I could, ahem, sacrifice myself for the cause

 

 

Quote: There. Now we should have only twenty-four permutations to choose from rather than ten thousand. Hm. Could it be? He swiftly pressed four buttons in turn, and the door gently swung open. 1-2-3-4. Honestly, don’t people even bother trying with these things? It takes all the fun out of it.

 

Well, he probably needed something easy to remember

 

 

Quote:You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

Don't forget to bring a lot of Poké Balls then! And now I can't get rid of this mental image of Ajantis with Pikachu ears...

 

 

Quote:At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

Ah, nobody can be as subtle and discreet as Minsc

Very nice chapter and best wishes for a Merry Christmas! *smile*



#4 Laufey

Posted 19 December 2017 - 04:20 PM

 

 

If you find yourself sneaking around the stronghold of an Evil Overlord, always try your best to be alert about your surroundings. You never know what clues to his one weakness or badly hidden self-destruct button to the stronghold you might find lying around. Even the smaller details can prove useful later. Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

Mind you, booby trapping a teddy is pretty low. I hear even some Evil deities look down upon such practice.

 

But it would work! You know I am all about what works. :) 

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

 

 

I feel like it's a failing of some otherwise good stories in which their main characters act with knowledge that they're going to have a choice in the matter. There's no reason whatsoever for that assumption. In fact, from everything our characters have learned and experienced, I feel like they would think that this is a 'last man (or woman) standing' scenario that might not involve any personal choice. I'm glad to see that Rini is acting without certainty here.

​Yeah, this is how I feel as well. She has good reason to suspect it is a Hunger Games scenario (Discounting Imoen of course) and she has no idea exactly what will happen even if she does end up the winner. All of this stuff is basically her speculating and trying to prepare for different possibilities. 

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

 

 

And there's of course Cyric lusting after Bhaal's power, too. As for the other thing... there's more you could do than to protect Edwin, you could protect and help out everyone you care about. Then again, since she earlier remarked how she wouldn't be able to be with Edwin anymore if she took the power... will she still care enough to protect him or anyone else if she ascended?

​Again, she does not know. There is no way anybody could know for sure. 

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

 

 

Aww. See, Rini, one of the things you could probably do is to reunite Sarevok with Tamoko. It's probably a not very Lord of Murder thing to do, but I think you would probably have the power to do so.

​Oh, true! It could be possible, but I honestly don´t think Sarevok would want her to give up her life as a mortal just for his sake. 

 

“Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

 

 

I am currently replaying ToB but haven't made it to the fortress yet... but now I seem to remember Yaga-Shura disturbingly having some concubine chained up there... unless my memory fails me entirely, I guess this would be her.

​The concubine thing was just entirely too creepy for my tastes, especially since she´s human sized. I decided to make it a little bit different. Still his prisoner, but no intercourse.

 


“I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

 

 

Well. I think we all know in what ways her story could have been so much worse.

​Exactly. It was bad enough in game, I didn´t want to spell it out. 

 

“Fair enough,” Rini nodded. “Good luck to you.”

 

The filthy and emaciated woman’s features softened marginally, almost making room for a smile. “Sure. You too.” She walked out the door, leaving behind three very puzzled Bhaalspawn and one giant bed.

 

 

I guess, try to do something with the bed? After all... you want to have a heart, Rini.

​Could be!

 

“So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

 

I don't know, it looks more like a Tree than a Star to me...

​Dekkie agrees. :) 

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

Haha! Called it. :) A classic.

 

 

“I think both I and my nose would prefer a trail of papers in that case,” Dekaras said, turning to the safe. “But yes, your Boo is quite right. Perhaps you might quietly converse with him while we search, and determine whether he has further insights?”

 

 

 

Keyword being 'quietly' :)

​You can tell he is used to managing this sort of thing. 

 

“I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

 

 

Such a shame it's not signed, ey? Now it's a real headscratcher!

​Who could it possibly be!

 

“Regrettably so. However, it changes little.”

 

“How can you say that?” Edwin asked. “He wants to kill my Hellkitten!”

 

 

Often it seems it's harder to find someone who doesn't want to kill your protagonist...

​Very true that. 

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

 

 

 

I don't know Dekkie, don't you miss that hearty borshch they eat all the time? Yum yum.

 

​I think he's willing to pass on that if it means no berserking in his immediate presence. 

 

 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#5 Laufey

Posted 19 December 2017 - 04:23 PM

Hi laufey, nice to see you back!

​Thank you! 

 

Quote: Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

ROFL, an Evil Overlord sleeping with a teddybear would be quite a sight

 

​Sarevok would have spikes on his, I think. :) 

 

Quote: “What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

Wow, he surely has a very vivid imagination

 

​Oh, absolutely. He knows these things. 

 

Quote: There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

Aawwww, Sarevok in full "big brother mode" is so adorable :smile:

 

​Glad you liked it!

 

Quote:I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

*grins* Point, set, match: Sarevok wins!

​Most definitely!

 

 

Quote: There were mirrors on the ceiling above the bed, and there was a large lever with three different settings and a button next to it. The options available were ‘Mama’s Boy’, ‘Volcanic Eruption’ and ‘Inferno’, and Rini was somewhat reminded by Ust Natha, while simultaneously wondering if there would be actual lava involved.

 

Oh-ho, seems like Yaga Shura is a very naughty boy!

​Yes. At least I spared my readers the idea of the human sized concubine. 

 

 

Quote: “One more thing. You noticed the bed, right? The controls?”

 

“Hard not to. What about them?”

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

 Well, if Sarry wants to try it out, I could, ahem, sacrifice myself for the cause

 

:D

 

Quote: There. Now we should have only twenty-four permutations to choose from rather than ten thousand. Hm. Could it be? He swiftly pressed four buttons in turn, and the door gently swung open. 1-2-3-4. Honestly, don’t people even bother trying with these things? It takes all the fun out of it.

 

Well, he probably needed something easy to remember

 

​It it was letters, his password would be 'password'

 

Quote:You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

Don't forget to bring a lot of Poké Balls then! And now I can't get rid of this mental image of Ajantis with Pikachu ears...

 

​We must make certain to remind him!

 

Quote:At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

Ah, nobody can be as subtle and discreet as Minsc

Very nice chapter and best wishes for a Merry Christmas! *smile*

Merry Christmas likewise!​

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#6 wrhunter

Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:48 AM

Quote:“What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

What done is done, Bhaal was kinda hurry at that time.

 

Quote:

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

Rini is much better now. That's what Big Brothers do. I hope Rini would talk with Eddie soon.

Quote:

“I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

“What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

“Ooooh no!” The half-elf said, raising her hands in defense. “Not gonna get dragged into an argument about you and romance, Immy. Nope. It’s none of his business anyway.”

 

“Ha, that’s right!” Imoen said, sticking her tongue out at Sarevok who merely gave her a mild look. “And I’m a very worldly and jaded rogue, so there, and that’s all there is to it.” She put on what was probably intended to be a look of haughty disdain, but mostly made her look constipated. “Pfffrtt. Take that. Anyway, I was about to show you what I found. Come along, and you’ll see.”

Maybe Dek was lucky for not present. XD

Quote:

Dekaras nodded. “Well done,” He said. “Shall we see if we find anything else interesting in here then? Just be careful, because…”

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

Maybe next time, they could try sleep dart on Minsc. XD



#7 Laufey

Posted 20 December 2017 - 04:44 PM

Quote:“What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

What done is done, Bhaal was kinda hurry at that time.

​Yes, he wasn't being all that selective!

 

Quote:

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

Rini is much better now. That's what Big Brothers do. I hope Rini would talk with Eddie soon.

​She needed some encouragement from Big Brother for sure. And yes, she and Edwin do need to talk - Edwin is also fretting about this but doesn't want to stress her out over it. 

 

Quote:

“I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

“What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

“Ooooh no!” The half-elf said, raising her hands in defense. “Not gonna get dragged into an argument about you and romance, Immy. Nope. It’s none of his business anyway.”

 

“Ha, that’s right!” Imoen said, sticking her tongue out at Sarevok who merely gave her a mild look. “And I’m a very worldly and jaded rogue, so there, and that’s all there is to it.” She put on what was probably intended to be a look of haughty disdain, but mostly made her look constipated. “Pfffrtt. Take that. Anyway, I was about to show you what I found. Come along, and you’ll see.”

Maybe Dek was lucky for not present. XD

​I dare say he'd have been pretty embarrassed! 

 

Quote:

Dekaras nodded. “Well done,” He said. “Shall we see if we find anything else interesting in here then? Just be careful, because…”

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

Maybe next time, they could try sleep dart on Minsc. XD

​I think Dekkie is very close to considering it. :) 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#8 Ophidia

Posted 28 December 2017 - 06:11 PM

Throne Of Cards 68 – The Twisted Trail

 

If you find yourself sneaking around the stronghold of an Evil Overlord, always try your best to be alert about your surroundings. You never know what clues to his one weakness or badly hidden self-destruct button to the stronghold you might find lying around. Even the smaller details can prove useful later. Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

Ohh now that is just unfair play! I'm not sure I could turn an innocent teddy bear into a trap.

 

“What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

“None of those are exactly encouraging, Big Brother. I’m trying to convince myself Immy will be all right, after all.”

 

“I’m just being realistic about what to expect in the stronghold of an Evil Overlord. Oh, it could also be some infernal machine designed to destroy the universe or the marching hordes of enraged minions about to join Yaga Shura’s army.” The large warrior pursed his lips in thought, his golden eyes narrowing. “I suppose it would be more giants in that case, unless there are creatures in here we don’t know about. Fire themed creatures, it would almost have to be.”

 

They never think of throwing a little ice or lightning magic in there, do they? They could do so much damage to the adventurers in their best fire resistance gear.

 

“Well if it is, I hope Immy doesn’t decide to try to sneak past them on her own.” The bard slid down the wall and sat down on the ground with a sigh. “May as well get comfy, this could take a while.”

 

Sarevok nodded, and sat down beside her, his towering presence oddly comfortable. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” He said. “This seems like a good opportunity.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You didn’t deny it. I thought that worth discussing.”

 

“Deny what?”

 

“Back in the kitchens. I brought up your potential as the new goddess of Murder.” Sarevok turned his head to look straight at her, his eyes burning into hers. “You didn’t deny such a possibility. So I ask you, little sister. Should we reach the end of the path, the power there for you to grasp, a willing tool to shape the world as you wish – will you seize it?”

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

I can't believe anyone would be truly uninterested in that amount of power. I honestly couldn't tell you what my choice would be...especially if I could be a God of something nicer than murder.

 

“Why hesitate?” A large hand landed on her shoulder. “You are worthier by far than any of these fool pretenders who still stand against you.” He gave her a quick grin. “After all you beat me, the only one more suitable.”

 

“Because it isn’t just about me.” She sighed, looking up at her brother through her messy red curls. “Not anymore. If I take the power, nothing will be the same again. I’ll have to leave everybody behind. Even the ones I love the most. Even…even Edwin. I wouldn’t be me anymore, not really. I’d be something else.”

He would make an excellent high priest.

 

Sarevok’s eyes narrowed. “And yet you still consider it. You haven’t ruled it out. Why, if it pains you so?”

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

“You would give him up forever in order to save him?”

 

“Yes. In a heartbeat, if that’s what it takes. I just…I just hope there’ll be another way. Somehow. Even if I can’t think of one.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her suddenly blurry eyesight. “That’s not so wrong of me, is it? To hope?”

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

 

It's a nice touch that Sarevok is the only one who she can really talk to about this.

 

Light footfalls padded towards them at that point, and then there was Imoen, practically skidding around the corner with her pink hair dancing around her excited face. “Hey, you two!” She exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I…why so serious?”

 

Rini was just wracking her mind trying to tell her sister and best friend something that would be evasive but not an actual lie, when Sarevok cleared his throat.

 

“I was merely describing my more interesting battle scars,” He said. “Many of them have quite the interesting story behind them.” He pointed at his chin, where there indeed was a small, round scar. “Would you like to hear about how I got this one?”

 

Uhh...no? Hmph, come to think of it, I guess I'm the only one in our group of friends who has scars from fights. Shame I didn't leave any on anyone else...

 

“I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

“What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

You totally are :D. Also, it doesn't change who you are.

 

“Ooooh no!” The half-elf said, raising her hands in defense. “Not gonna get dragged into an argument about you and romance, Immy. Nope. It’s none of his business anyway.”

 

“Ha, that’s right!” Imoen said, sticking her tongue out at Sarevok who merely gave her a mild look. “And I’m a very worldly and jaded rogue, so there, and that’s all there is to it.” She put on what was probably intended to be a look of haughty disdain, but mostly made her look constipated. “Pfffrtt. Take that. Anyway, I was about to show you what I found. Come along, and you’ll see.”

 

A disdainful and wordly rogue who needs more fibre in her diet.

 

She took off back along the winding corridor, walking just a little faster than normal, and the warrior and the bard followed close behind. It took Zaerini a minute or so to fully appreciate how deftly her brother had changed the subject, and by then they’d nearly reached a large bronze door at the end of the hallway. There was a regular, banging noise, coming from behind the closed door, and what sounded like muffled curses.

 

“I unlocked it already,” Imoen whispered. “I managed to be pretty quiet, so I don’t think she noticed me.”

 

“She?” Rini said. “Who’s in there?”

 

“I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t talk to her yet, I figured we’d want to that together. I just peeked through the keyhole. You’ll see.”

 

The heavy door was pulled open with some effort, mostly from Sarevok, and behind it lay a large and fairly unsettling bedroom.

'Unsettling' and 'bedroom' are words that really don't belong together.

It was dominated by an enormous bed, round and covered with red sheets and a multitude of shiny satin pillows. There were mirrors on the ceiling above the bed, and there was a large lever with three different settings and a button next to it. The options available were ‘Mama’s Boy’, ‘Volcanic Eruption’ and ‘Inferno’, and Rini was somewhat reminded by Ust Natha, while simultaneously wondering if there would be actual lava involved. There certainly was lava present, flowing in channels around the edges of the room, presumably kept eternally hot by magic. A second door was at the left-hand side of the room, firmly closed.

 

The first of those settings is the worst one. Urrgghhhhh!

 

“Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

So that’s what we heard.

 

“Are you deaf?!” The woman shouted. “Free me!”

 

“Well, excuse us,” Rini said, rolling her eyes briefly. “Clearly we’re not the rescuers you were hoping for, but we’re the ones you’ve got. Maybe you’d like us to leave you there until somebody better comes along?”

 

“No! I’m…look, it’s been a very bad time. Can you blame me?”

 

“No problem,” Imoen said with a friendly smile. “I guess I’d be grumpy too. I’ll see what I can do about those locks, ok? It’ll take a little while, so why don’t you tell us who you are in the meantime?”

 

“And anything you know about Yaga Shura’s private quarters,” Rini added. “If you know where he’d keep his hidden treasures, so much the better.”

 

“Looters eh?” The woman said as Imoen started working on the locks. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you what I know. My name is Varda, and I’m an adventurer. A while back I met some others in an inn, as you do, and it turned out one of them had a plan lined up for robbing this place blind.” She grimaced. “As you see, it didn’t end well. The regular giants were bad enough, but…then there was Yaga Shura.” Her face had gone a disturbing pale grey, and was clammy with sweat. “He was like something out of a nightmare. He slaughtered them all, as easily as a child might squish ants.”

 

“And not you?” Sarevok said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Did you turn on your companions, perhaps?”

 

“No. I might have done, had I thought it’d spare me. I was scared shitless if you must know. But I didn’t. Yaga Shura captured me, his magic snared me just like that.”

 

“Why?” Rini asked. “Why would he kill the others and spare you?”

 

“I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

I am really, really glad he didn't do anything to her. But being a placeholder...implications unpleasant.

 

“There,” Imoen said, as the last tumbler of the lock clicked into place. She carefully eased the collar and manacles off and Varda slumped to ground with a sigh that sounded like a mixture of pain and relief. “Will you be ok now? This place is kinda crawling with giant zombies but we can’t go back yet.”

 

“I’ll take my chances,” The blonde woman said. “If I die, I die. It would still be better than being Yaga Shura’s pet.”

 

“First things first,” Rini said, holding up her hand. “You promised to give us information about this place. Do you know anything about Yaga Shura’s secrets?”

 

“Not much. He didn’t exactly talk to me, you know. But he didn’t care I was here either, treated me like furniture, so I saw a thing or two. There’s something in the next room over, something precious he was really careful with, but I don’t know what it was, I was stuck here so I never saw it. The door is locked though.”

 

Is there a lub-dub noise?

 

Rini looked at the solid metal door. No handle, no lock, not even any door hinges that she could see. It didn’t look promising. “Anything else?” She asked.

 

“One more thing. You noticed the bed, right? The controls?”

 

“Hard not to. What about them?”

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

“Not like that. Yaga Shura could activate a second system, somehow. I didn’t get a really good look at it, but it runs far more than the bed. It could do something useful for you. That’s all I can tell you. Now I’m getting out of here, hopefully in one piece, and don’t’ try to stop me.”

 

“Fair enough,” Rini nodded. “Good luck to you.”

 

The filthy and emaciated woman’s features softened marginally, almost making room for a smile. “Sure. You too.” She walked out the door, leaving behind three very puzzled Bhaalspawn and one giant bed.

 

-*-

 

“So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

“What?! The upper points of the stars…”

 

“Branches.”

 

“And the lower point is clearly….”

 

“Roots.”

 

Even I will concede it looks like a star. Sorry, Dekkie.

 

“Inconceivable! How could you possibly…”

 

Viconia cleared her throat. “Personally, I think it looks like a disemboweled man, his limbs splayed,” She said with an ominously sweet smile. “A future I’m perfectly willing to make come to pass, should the two of you prefer to carry on with this. Can it be opened or not?”

 

“Of course,” Dekaras said with a quick grin. “Edwin knows what to do, don’t you, Edwin?”

 

The wizard nodded. “It will take me a short while, but yes, it can be done. Normally one would require a wardstone to unravel the seal, but fortunately my own skills and knowledge of arcane lore will suffice to do so.” He flexed his fingers and ran them slowly along the seal, tracing the magical currents.

 

“Perhaps we might have a look around in the meantime,” Dekaras suggested to Viconia. “You never know, there might be something interesting to be found.” The room they were currently standing in seemed to be a study of sorts, with bookshelves along the walls, a writing desk covered with piles of paper and even a small safe. Well, small by giant standards, it was actually as tall as a tall man.

 

Minsc nodded sagely. “Boo says that a trail of papers can lead us to our prey just as well as a trail of footprints or droppings. Either way, we must chase the Evil Giant down, our noses quivering with anticipation!”

That reminds me, I had a little musine visitor to my bedroom last night. Jim just glanced at it and gave it an 'Oh, hey bro' look. The mouse stared at me, gave me a 'Yeah what?!' look, and carried on with its mousey business. I am less than impressed. Mousetrap time! I keep telling the birdie to stop feeding the mice, but she won't listen...

 

“I think both I and my nose would prefer a trail of papers in that case,” Dekaras said, turning to the safe. “But yes, your Boo is quite right. Perhaps you might quietly converse with him while we search, and determine whether he has further insights?”

 

“Minsc is always happy to help!”

I like the 'quietly' there.

 

Having successfully tuned out the large ranger’s mutterings to his hamster, the assassin busied himself with examining the safe, while Viconia started rifling through the papers on the desk. The lock might have seemed complex to one who didn’t know better. It didn’t have a keyhole per se, but a series of numbered buttons, clearly meant to be pressed in the correct order. And usually that’s a combination of four, non repeating. Let’s see if we can’t narrow it down a little. He took a certain pouch of finely ground grey powder out, and gently blew some across the buttons. Some of it settled on all of them, but on four particular buttons he could also see clear, and very large fingerprints. There. Now we should have only twenty-four permutations to choose from rather than ten thousand. Hm. Could it be? He swiftly pressed four buttons in turn, and the door gently swung open. 1-2-3-4. Honestly, don’t people even bother trying with these things? It takes all the fun out of it.

Fun fact: most security keypads on doors will accept any code that uses the first two correct numbers, and the last two correct numbers. The actually sequence is irrelevant. A door that has a code of 1234, for instance, will accept 2143, 1243 and 2134. Try it and see :).

 

Inside the safe, he found only a box containing a very odd thing. It was a transparent sphere, clearly magical, about the size of a human head and quite empty. It was hard, and slick to the touch, but the magical field was…peculiar to say the least. It’s practically inert, but stable…and with a very long half-life, it would seem. I’d have thought it was a very small Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, but it’s both too solid and too lasting. He took another look at the box, which had ‘proto-type’ written on the side, but no, it was otherwise completely empty. Interesting. Well, it’s worth making note of, but otherwise it probably won’t be of any help right now.

Hmm, that's not a heart...

 

“I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

“And the list?” Dekaras asked.

 

“It is not here. The giant probably took it with him, but we can guess what names are on it, can’t we?”

 

“Regrettably so. However, it changes little.”

 

“How can you say that?” Edwin asked. “He wants to kill my Hellkitten!”

 

Well, duh.

 

“Yes, I’m sure he does, and probably Imoen as well. But we already knew that, and we are already taking steps to prevent it. I’m more concerned with these other names mentioned, and with who sent the letter in the first place, but that is a matter for later. First, the giant’s heart, and then the giant himself. Speaking of which, how is that seal coming along?”

 

“All done now,” Edwin stated with a slightly smug smile. “A most elegant dispelling, if I say so myself. Observe, no flaking even of the inner arcane energies. It is perfectly safe. A clear 97% chance of survival.”

 

How good is Edwin's maths? Btw, I taught my six year old niece algebra the other day. For the lulz. She was convinced she's really bad at maths, and I thought it'd do her ego some good. Her parent's reaction was hilarious!

 

Dekaras nodded. “Well done,” He said. “Shall we see if we find anything else interesting in here then? Just be careful, because…”

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

 

Minsc and Dekkie are pretty much polar opposites, aren't they? I'd imagine Minsc likes Dekkie, and Dekkie..tolerates Minsc.



#9 Laufey

Posted 28 December 2017 - 06:27 PM

 

Throne Of Cards 68 – The Twisted Trail

 

 

If you find yourself sneaking around the stronghold of an Evil Overlord, always try your best to be alert about your surroundings. You never know what clues to his one weakness or badly hidden self-destruct button to the stronghold you might find lying around. Even the smaller details can prove useful later. Something as small as knowing he sleeps with a stuffed animal can let you booby-trap his teddy and spare you a tedious battle later on.

 

Ohh now that is just unfair play! I'm not sure I could turn an innocent teddy bear into a trap.

​...it seems I'm the only one with a mind twisted enough for it? 

 

 

“What is that noise?” Zaerini mused as she leaned against the wall in one of the upper corridors of Yaga Shura’s castle. There was a rather hideous painting hanging above her, of an old lady giant with a very severe bun. Yaga Shura’s mother? Not Nyalee but his biological mother? Ugh, don’t want to think too much about Bhaal fooling around with her.

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

“None of those are exactly encouraging, Big Brother. I’m trying to convince myself Immy will be all right, after all.”

 

“I’m just being realistic about what to expect in the stronghold of an Evil Overlord. Oh, it could also be some infernal machine designed to destroy the universe or the marching hordes of enraged minions about to join Yaga Shura’s army.” The large warrior pursed his lips in thought, his golden eyes narrowing. “I suppose it would be more giants in that case, unless there are creatures in here we don’t know about. Fire themed creatures, it would almost have to be.”

 

They never think of throwing a little ice or lightning magic in there, do they? They could do so much damage to the adventurers in their best fire resistance gear.

​But that would break all the rules!

 

“Well if it is, I hope Immy doesn’t decide to try to sneak past them on her own.” The bard slid down the wall and sat down on the ground with a sigh. “May as well get comfy, this could take a while.”

 

Sarevok nodded, and sat down beside her, his towering presence oddly comfortable. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” He said. “This seems like a good opportunity.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“You didn’t deny it. I thought that worth discussing.”

 

“Deny what?”

 

“Back in the kitchens. I brought up your potential as the new goddess of Murder.” Sarevok turned his head to look straight at her, his eyes burning into hers. “You didn’t deny such a possibility. So I ask you, little sister. Should we reach the end of the path, the power there for you to grasp, a willing tool to shape the world as you wish – will you seize it?”

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

I can't believe anyone would be truly uninterested in that amount of power. I honestly couldn't tell you what my choice would be...especially if I could be a God of something nicer than murder.

​I honestly don't think it would be possible to even fully comprehend the choice while you're still a mortal. How could you? 

 

“Why hesitate?” A large hand landed on her shoulder. “You are worthier by far than any of these fool pretenders who still stand against you.” He gave her a quick grin. “After all you beat me, the only one more suitable.”

 

“Because it isn’t just about me.” She sighed, looking up at her brother through her messy red curls. “Not anymore. If I take the power, nothing will be the same again. I’ll have to leave everybody behind. Even the ones I love the most. Even…even Edwin. I wouldn’t be me anymore, not really. I’d be something else.”

He would make an excellent high priest.

​Edwin or Sarevok? :)

 

Sarevok’s eyes narrowed. “And yet you still consider it. You haven’t ruled it out. Why, if it pains you so?”

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

“You would give him up forever in order to save him?”

 

“Yes. In a heartbeat, if that’s what it takes. I just…I just hope there’ll be another way. Somehow. Even if I can’t think of one.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her suddenly blurry eyesight. “That’s not so wrong of me, is it? To hope?”

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

 

It's a nice touch that Sarevok is the only one who she can really talk to about this.

​I think it makes sense. He's the one who has gone furthest down the path she's currently walking, and can best understand how it could affect her. 

 

Light footfalls padded towards them at that point, and then there was Imoen, practically skidding around the corner with her pink hair dancing around her excited face. “Hey, you two!” She exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I…why so serious?”

 

Rini was just wracking her mind trying to tell her sister and best friend something that would be evasive but not an actual lie, when Sarevok cleared his throat.

 

“I was merely describing my more interesting battle scars,” He said. “Many of them have quite the interesting story behind them.” He pointed at his chin, where there indeed was a small, round scar. “Would you like to hear about how I got this one?”

 

Uhh...no? Hmph, come to think of it, I guess I'm the only one in our group of friends who has scars from fights. Shame I didn't leave any on anyone else...

​You and Sarevok can bond then. :) 

 

“I dunno,” Imoen said, looking a little doubtful. “Is it something rare and unusual, like…like being impaled by a fluffy unicorn that wouldn’t let you ride it because you weren’t a virgin?”

 

“No. I’ll leave the unicorns to you, little one.”

 

“What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

You totally are :D. Also, it doesn't change who you are.

​True on both counts! 

 

“Ooooh no!” The half-elf said, raising her hands in defense. “Not gonna get dragged into an argument about you and romance, Immy. Nope. It’s none of his business anyway.”

 

“Ha, that’s right!” Imoen said, sticking her tongue out at Sarevok who merely gave her a mild look. “And I’m a very worldly and jaded rogue, so there, and that’s all there is to it.” She put on what was probably intended to be a look of haughty disdain, but mostly made her look constipated. “Pfffrtt. Take that. Anyway, I was about to show you what I found. Come along, and you’ll see.”

 

A disdainful and wordly rogue who needs more fibre in her diet.

​Ha ha! 

 

She took off back along the winding corridor, walking just a little faster than normal, and the warrior and the bard followed close behind. It took Zaerini a minute or so to fully appreciate how deftly her brother had changed the subject, and by then they’d nearly reached a large bronze door at the end of the hallway. There was a regular, banging noise, coming from behind the closed door, and what sounded like muffled curses.

 

“I unlocked it already,” Imoen whispered. “I managed to be pretty quiet, so I don’t think she noticed me.”

 

“She?” Rini said. “Who’s in there?”

 

“I don’t know. I mean, I didn’t talk to her yet, I figured we’d want to that together. I just peeked through the keyhole. You’ll see.”

 

The heavy door was pulled open with some effort, mostly from Sarevok, and behind it lay a large and fairly unsettling bedroom.

'Unsettling' and 'bedroom' are words that really don't belong together.

​Then again, sometimes they really do...

 

It was dominated by an enormous bed, round and covered with red sheets and a multitude of shiny satin pillows. There were mirrors on the ceiling above the bed, and there was a large lever with three different settings and a button next to it. The options available were ‘Mama’s Boy’, ‘Volcanic Eruption’ and ‘Inferno’, and Rini was somewhat reminded by Ust Natha, while simultaneously wondering if there would be actual lava involved. There certainly was lava present, flowing in channels around the edges of the room, presumably kept eternally hot by magic. A second door was at the left-hand side of the room, firmly closed.

 

The first of those settings is the worst one. Urrgghhhhh!

​Ugh, yes, I'm afraid so. 

 

“Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

So that’s what we heard.

 

“Are you deaf?!” The woman shouted. “Free me!”

 

“Well, excuse us,” Rini said, rolling her eyes briefly. “Clearly we’re not the rescuers you were hoping for, but we’re the ones you’ve got. Maybe you’d like us to leave you there until somebody better comes along?”

 

“No! I’m…look, it’s been a very bad time. Can you blame me?”

 

“No problem,” Imoen said with a friendly smile. “I guess I’d be grumpy too. I’ll see what I can do about those locks, ok? It’ll take a little while, so why don’t you tell us who you are in the meantime?”

 

“And anything you know about Yaga Shura’s private quarters,” Rini added. “If you know where he’d keep his hidden treasures, so much the better.”

 

“Looters eh?” The woman said as Imoen started working on the locks. “Fair enough. I’ll tell you what I know. My name is Varda, and I’m an adventurer. A while back I met some others in an inn, as you do, and it turned out one of them had a plan lined up for robbing this place blind.” She grimaced. “As you see, it didn’t end well. The regular giants were bad enough, but…then there was Yaga Shura.” Her face had gone a disturbing pale grey, and was clammy with sweat. “He was like something out of a nightmare. He slaughtered them all, as easily as a child might squish ants.”

 

“And not you?” Sarevok said, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Did you turn on your companions, perhaps?”

 

“No. I might have done, had I thought it’d spare me. I was scared shitless if you must know. But I didn’t. Yaga Shura captured me, his magic snared me just like that.”

 

“Why?” Rini asked. “Why would he kill the others and spare you?”

 

“I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

I am really, really glad he didn't do anything to her. But being a placeholder...implications unpleasant.

​I just didn't want to go there, the implications in the game squicked me out. Since she's only a minor npc I decided to do things differently. 

 

“There,” Imoen said, as the last tumbler of the lock clicked into place. She carefully eased the collar and manacles off and Varda slumped to ground with a sigh that sounded like a mixture of pain and relief. “Will you be ok now? This place is kinda crawling with giant zombies but we can’t go back yet.”

 

“I’ll take my chances,” The blonde woman said. “If I die, I die. It would still be better than being Yaga Shura’s pet.”

 

“First things first,” Rini said, holding up her hand. “You promised to give us information about this place. Do you know anything about Yaga Shura’s secrets?”

 

“Not much. He didn’t exactly talk to me, you know. But he didn’t care I was here either, treated me like furniture, so I saw a thing or two. There’s something in the next room over, something precious he was really careful with, but I don’t know what it was, I was stuck here so I never saw it. The door is locked though.”

 

Is there a lub-dub noise?

​Nope

 

Rini looked at the solid metal door. No handle, no lock, not even any door hinges that she could see. It didn’t look promising. “Anything else?” She asked.

 

“One more thing. You noticed the bed, right? The controls?”

 

“Hard not to. What about them?”

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

“Not like that. Yaga Shura could activate a second system, somehow. I didn’t get a really good look at it, but it runs far more than the bed. It could do something useful for you. That’s all I can tell you. Now I’m getting out of here, hopefully in one piece, and don’t’ try to stop me.”

 

“Fair enough,” Rini nodded. “Good luck to you.”

 

The filthy and emaciated woman’s features softened marginally, almost making room for a smile. “Sure. You too.” She walked out the door, leaving behind three very puzzled Bhaalspawn and one giant bed.

 

-*-

 

“So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

“What?! The upper points of the stars…”

 

“Branches.”

 

“And the lower point is clearly….”

 

“Roots.”

 

Even I will concede it looks like a star. Sorry, Dekkie.

​I think it probably depends on the artist! 

 

“Inconceivable! How could you possibly…”

 

Viconia cleared her throat. “Personally, I think it looks like a disemboweled man, his limbs splayed,” She said with an ominously sweet smile. “A future I’m perfectly willing to make come to pass, should the two of you prefer to carry on with this. Can it be opened or not?”

 

“Of course,” Dekaras said with a quick grin. “Edwin knows what to do, don’t you, Edwin?”

 

The wizard nodded. “It will take me a short while, but yes, it can be done. Normally one would require a wardstone to unravel the seal, but fortunately my own skills and knowledge of arcane lore will suffice to do so.” He flexed his fingers and ran them slowly along the seal, tracing the magical currents.

 

“Perhaps we might have a look around in the meantime,” Dekaras suggested to Viconia. “You never know, there might be something interesting to be found.” The room they were currently standing in seemed to be a study of sorts, with bookshelves along the walls, a writing desk covered with piles of paper and even a small safe. Well, small by giant standards, it was actually as tall as a tall man.

 

Minsc nodded sagely. “Boo says that a trail of papers can lead us to our prey just as well as a trail of footprints or droppings. Either way, we must chase the Evil Giant down, our noses quivering with anticipation!”

That reminds me, I had a little musine visitor to my bedroom last night. Jim just glanced at it and gave it an 'Oh, hey bro' look. The mouse stared at me, gave me a 'Yeah what?!' look, and carried on with its mousey business. I am less than impressed. Mousetrap time! I keep telling the birdie to stop feeding the mice, but she won't listen...

​Birdie want a friend! 

 

“I think both I and my nose would prefer a trail of papers in that case,” Dekaras said, turning to the safe. “But yes, your Boo is quite right. Perhaps you might quietly converse with him while we search, and determine whether he has further insights?”

 

 

“Minsc is always happy to help!”

I like the 'quietly' there.

​Dekkie has practice with this sort of thing, after all. He's had to ask Edwin to 'quietly help' with things more than once. 

 

Having successfully tuned out the large ranger’s mutterings to his hamster, the assassin busied himself with examining the safe, while Viconia started rifling through the papers on the desk. The lock might have seemed complex to one who didn’t know better. It didn’t have a keyhole per se, but a series of numbered buttons, clearly meant to be pressed in the correct order. And usually that’s a combination of four, non repeating. Let’s see if we can’t narrow it down a little. He took a certain pouch of finely ground grey powder out, and gently blew some across the buttons. Some of it settled on all of them, but on four particular buttons he could also see clear, and very large fingerprints. There. Now we should have only twenty-four permutations to choose from rather than ten thousand. Hm. Could it be? He swiftly pressed four buttons in turn, and the door gently swung open. 1-2-3-4. Honestly, don’t people even bother trying with these things? It takes all the fun out of it.

Fun fact: most security keypads on doors will accept any code that uses the first two correct numbers, and the last two correct numbers. The actually sequence is irrelevant. A door that has a code of 1234, for instance, will accept 2143, 1243 and 2134. Try it and see :).

​Oh, intriguing! I must try this. 

 

Inside the safe, he found only a box containing a very odd thing. It was a transparent sphere, clearly magical, about the size of a human head and quite empty. It was hard, and slick to the touch, but the magical field was…peculiar to say the least. It’s practically inert, but stable…and with a very long half-life, it would seem. I’d have thought it was a very small Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere, but it’s both too solid and too lasting. He took another look at the box, which had ‘proto-type’ written on the side, but no, it was otherwise completely empty. Interesting. Well, it’s worth making note of, but otherwise it probably won’t be of any help right now.

Hmm, that's not a heart...

​Nope!

 

“I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

“And the list?” Dekaras asked.

 

“It is not here. The giant probably took it with him, but we can guess what names are on it, can’t we?”

 

“Regrettably so. However, it changes little.”

 

 

“How can you say that?” Edwin asked. “He wants to kill my Hellkitten!”

 

Well, duh.

​Exactly. Most people they run into do. 

 

 

“Yes, I’m sure he does, and probably Imoen as well. But we already knew that, and we are already taking steps to prevent it. I’m more concerned with these other names mentioned, and with who sent the letter in the first place, but that is a matter for later. First, the giant’s heart, and then the giant himself. Speaking of which, how is that seal coming along?”

 

 

“All done now,” Edwin stated with a slightly smug smile. “A most elegant dispelling, if I say so myself. Observe, no flaking even of the inner arcane energies. It is perfectly safe. A clear 97% chance of survival.”

 

How good is Edwin's maths? Btw, I taught my six year old niece algebra the other day. For the lulz. She was convinced she's really bad at maths, and I thought it'd do her ego some good. Her parent's reaction was hilarious!

​Aw, that's sweet!

 

Dekaras nodded. “Well done,” He said. “Shall we see if we find anything else interesting in here then? Just be careful, because…”

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!

 

 

As flames came roaring out of the open door and angry roars and growls filled the air, Dekaras just had time to reflect that this was yet one more of the many, many reasons he never wanted to set foot in Rasheman again.

 

Minsc and Dekkie are pretty much polar opposites, aren't they? I'd imagine Minsc likes Dekkie, and Dekkie..tolerates Minsc.

I think Dekkie likes Minsc - it's just that sometimes, he gives him a headache. 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#10 username

Posted 15 January 2018 - 09:11 PM

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

And now we know what Sarevok's childhood was like...

 

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

“Why hesitate?” A large hand landed on her shoulder. “You are worthier by far than any of these fool pretenders who still stand against you.” He gave her a quick grin. “After all you beat me, the only one more suitable.”

 

 

Coming from him, that almost sounds like a compromise. 
 

 

“Because it isn’t just about me.” She sighed, looking up at her brother through her messy red curls. “Not anymore. If I take the power, nothing will be the same again. I’ll have to leave everybody behind. Even the ones I love the most. Even…even Edwin. I wouldn’t be me anymore, not really. I’d be something else.”

 

 

Very true - this is a very hard choice she is facing. Hopefully she won't be forced into it, one way or another. :( 

 

Sarevok’s eyes narrowed. “And yet you still consider it. You haven’t ruled it out. Why, if it pains you so?”

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

“You would give him up forever in order to save him?”

“Yes. In a heartbeat, if that’s what it takes. I just…I just hope there’ll be another way. Somehow. Even if I can’t think of one.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her suddenly blurry eyesight. “That’s not so wrong of me, is it? To hope?”

Oh Rini... :(
I really hope she finds a way to stay human and still alleviate all her worries, but I like that the choice is still left open at this point. :) I'll be very interested in how that Elminster drama might develop further. 
 

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

That is awesome character development from Sarevok - definitely different from his old self, but still fundamentally himself. 

 

 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

 

And he's giving actually good advise! Someone give this man a medal for character development, seriously! 
Also, I'm simultaneously really looking forward and dreading that conversation; knowing that Rini might give up her humanity for him would crush Eddie. 

 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

Well, to be fair, none of them look particularly alike, so you can't blame her for suggesting... xD 

 

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

“What?! The upper points of the stars…”

 

“Branches.”

 

“And the lower point is clearly….”

 

“Roots.”

 

“Inconceivable! How could you possibly…”

 

Even with the best of intentions (pretences), I am 100% convinced that sometimes Dekkie just loves to wind people up. Just because he can. xD 
 

 

 

 

 



#11 Laufey

Posted 16 January 2018 - 04:20 PM

 

 

“Oh, who knows,” Sarevok said. “It could be anything, really. The sound of the boots of some unfortunate victim banging against a door…the machines of the torture chamber…heads being thrown into baskets…”

 

And now we know what Sarevok's childhood was like...

​Reiltar was a very, very horrible adoptive parent. Part of this is probably coming from Sarevok's own Evil Overlord experiences though. 

 

 

Rini squirmed. This wasn’t what she’d expected at all, but she cursed herself for a fool for not doing so. Her brother could be perceptive about things that interested him, she knew that. She should have known he’d bring this subject up, the one she really didn’t want to think about. “I know it might come to that,” She reluctantly admitted. And she did, deep in her blood and bones. She didn’t need Bhaal telling her to believe it, she knew it was the truth. Her power had already grown so much, who knew where it would end? If it would end? “And I don’t know what I’ll do. Not for sure. I know what I want, but…”

 

“Why hesitate?” A large hand landed on her shoulder. “You are worthier by far than any of these fool pretenders who still stand against you.” He gave her a quick grin. “After all you beat me, the only one more suitable.”

 

 

Coming from him, that almost sounds like a compromise. 

​He's no longer insane, and has unwound a bit. :) 

 

“Because it isn’t just about me.” She sighed, looking up at her brother through her messy red curls. “Not anymore. If I take the power, nothing will be the same again. I’ll have to leave everybody behind. Even the ones I love the most. Even…even Edwin. I wouldn’t be me anymore, not really. I’d be something else.”

 

 

Very true - this is a very hard choice she is facing. Hopefully she won't be forced into it, one way or another. :(

​I'm glad I managed to make it come across properly how tough a choice is ahead! 

Sarevok’s eyes narrowed. “And yet you still consider it. You haven’t ruled it out. Why, if it pains you so?”

 

“Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

“You would give him up forever in order to save him?”

“Yes. In a heartbeat, if that’s what it takes. I just…I just hope there’ll be another way. Somehow. Even if I can’t think of one.” She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her suddenly blurry eyesight. “That’s not so wrong of me, is it? To hope?”

Oh Rini... :(
I really hope she finds a way to stay human and still alleviate all her worries, but I like that the choice is still left open at this point. :) I'll be very interested in how that Elminster drama might develop further. 

​We'll see...don't want to spoiler it!

 

There was silence, and then the unexpected pressure of a large hand enfolding hers. “Tamoko never lost hope about me,” Her brother said, his voice a deep rumble. “Not until the very end, and perhaps not even then. You, little sister, would be a glorious goddess, but I say hold on to your hopes until you truly have no other choice.”

 

That is awesome character development from Sarevok - definitely different from his old self, but still fundamentally himself. 

 

​Thanks! It's a long way to go from his Chaotic Evil BG1 self, so I'm glad it's working out more or less plausibly. :) 

“I’ll try. Thanks.” She tried on a smile, and found it came nearly naturally. “Please don’t tell any of the others we talked about this? I…guess I may have to eventually, but I’d like to keep things normal for a while yet. To pretend this is just an upgraded version of the Nashkel Mines, and that we’ll celebrate together, every single one of us, with Eddie being all grumpy about having been named a Hero for the umpteenth time.”

 

“As you wish, but do not put it off forever. That could make it even worse.”

 

“I won’t. Promise.”

 

And he's giving actually good advise! Someone give this man a medal for character development, seriously! 
Also, I'm simultaneously really looking forward and dreading that conversation; knowing that Rini might give up her humanity for him would crush Eddie. 

​Oh, it would. Mind you *he* has convinced himself that she has to do it for *her* sake, and it hasn't even occurred to him that she might be trying to rescue *him*. 

“They’re more than they seem. You should try them out, you’ll see.”

 

“Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

Well, to be fair, none of them look particularly alike, so you can't blame her for suggesting... xD 

​Not really, no!

“You know, I always thought it was perfectly obvious it was shaped like a tree,” Dekaras mused, trying hard not to let even a glimmer of amusement show in his eyes. This was an old point of contest between them, with neither willing to change his mind. He knew he probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it was too tempting not to. Besides, Edwin could do with a bit of distraction, annoyance had always been better for him than moping.

 

“What?! The upper points of the stars…”

 

“Branches.”

 

“And the lower point is clearly….”

 

“Roots.”

 

“Inconceivable! How could you possibly…”

 

Even with the best of intentions (pretences), I am 100% convinced that sometimes Dekkie just loves to wind people up. Just because he can. xD 

​Oh, absolutely. He would never admit it, but it's true. 

 

 

 

 

 


Rogues do it from behind.

#12 Weyoun

Posted 12 November 2018 - 08:24 PM

“Back in the kitchens. I brought up your potential as the new goddess of Murder.” Sarevok turned his head to look straight at her, his eyes burning into hers. “You didn’t deny such a possibility. So I ask you, little sister. Should we reach the end of the path, the power there for you to grasp, a willing tool to shape the world as you wish – will you seize it?”

 

Laska: Don't do it! Responsiblity is da poop!

 

Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

You'd think gods can do whatever they want to do, but I guess that;s the irony of being a god in the Realm. So many rules, you might as well stay mortal. There's no real point as being a god in the Realms is literally a zero-sum game.

 

 

Light footfalls padded towards them at that point, and then there was Imoen, practically skidding around the corner with her pink hair dancing around her excited face. “Hey, you two!” She exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I…why so serious?”

 

What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

Laska: the last unicorn I came across ran away screaming.

 

Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

It's Fay Wray! :)

 

 

I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

Oh, dear, it's the non-giant giantess thing! Implications unpleasant.

 

Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

Laska: I'll take them! …. what? Why are looking at me like that?

 

So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

You next mythos card will be a gate burst!

 

Gah, I want to play Arkham again. We have Elder Gods left unkilled!

 

 

I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

You know, a lot more evil plots would succeed if the lackeys won't let the letters just lie about.

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

Miinnnnsssccccc Jenkins!


TnT Enhanced Edition: http://www.fanfictio...rds-and-Tempers

---
Sith Warrior - Master, I can sense your anger.

Darth Baras - A blind, comotose lobotomy-patient could sense my anger!

---

"The New Age? It's just the old age stuck in a microwave oven for fifteen seconds" - James Randi

#13 Laufey

Posted 14 November 2018 - 04:19 PM

 

 

“Back in the kitchens. I brought up your potential as the new goddess of Murder.” Sarevok turned his head to look straight at her, his eyes burning into hers. “You didn’t deny such a possibility. So I ask you, little sister. Should we reach the end of the path, the power there for you to grasp, a willing tool to shape the world as you wish – will you seize it?”

 

Laska: Don't do it! Responsiblity is da poop!

 

*sigh* So true. I just got home from work, and it really feels like that once in a while. 

 

 

Two reasons.” Rini paused, trying to arrange her thoughts. It was oddly easy to speak with her brother about this, she found. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it with her other friends. She wasn’t sure it was right to burden them with it for one thing, and also she worried that they’d tell her what she wanted to hear. Sarevok wouldn’t try to shelter her from the truth, and he’d walked the same path she was walking now, for a time. “For one thing, if I don’t claim the power, then who will? Yaga Shura? Some of these other, even worse Bhaalspawn out there? Suppose they break the world because I’m scared?” She swallowed hard. “But there’s another reason too, more personal. More important. If I don’t claim the power, how can I protect Eddie? He’s in danger, the pointy-hatted old bearded Chosen of Mystra is coming for him and will do something horrible to him. If I do become a goddess, I’d be able to keep him safe, wouldn’t I?”

 

You'd think gods can do whatever they want to do, but I guess that;s the irony of being a god in the Realm. So many rules, you might as well stay mortal. There's no real point as being a god in the Realms is literally a zero-sum game.

 

However, if Mystra can protect Jerkface, logically Rini should be able to do the same for Edwin, so it's a possibility she must at least consider. 

 

Light footfalls padded towards them at that point, and then there was Imoen, practically skidding around the corner with her pink hair dancing around her excited face. “Hey, you two!” She exclaimed. “You’ll never guess what I…why so serious?”

 

 

 

What?! Rini! Tell him I’m not a…that I couldn’t…” Imoen’s cheeks were getting as pink as her hair by this point. “Just tell him!”

 

Laska: the last unicorn I came across ran away screaming.

I can imagine! :D

 

 

 

Hey you! Let me down!” The shout came from a stranger, a woman chained to the wall right next to the bed. She wasn’t a giant, but a human woman, somewhat worse for wear. She had short, blonde hair, now dirty and matted, and was wearing chainmail armor that tended more towards skimpy than practical. Certainly it left her entire midriff exposed. Large chains were affixed to heavy manacles around her wrists and ankles, as well as thick metal collar, and kept her mostly immobile. She growled in frustration and tried to yank herself forward, but immediately fell back again, crashing into the wall with a heavy ‘thump’.

 

 

It's Fay Wray! :)

Pretty much, but I think I'd rather have Kong than Yaga!

 

 

 

 

I…I don’t know. He said it was ‘practice’. I don’t know what he wanted me for. He kept me here, but he never really did anything with me, said I was just a ‘placeholder’.” Varda blinked away angry tears. “I was lucky if he remembered to feed me. And then he up and disappeared, and this place went to the Nine Hells. Are you almost done?”

 

Oh, dear, it's the non-giant giantess thing! Implications unpleasant.

 

I know, that felt squicky even on my first playthrough. 

 

Not with my brother and sister, no I won’t!”

 

Laska: I'll take them! …. what? Why are looking at me like that?

Down, girl!

 

 

 

So, this is clearly an Esoteric Elder Sign,” Edwin said, eyeing the door in front of him. He folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his robes and nodded to himself. “Yes, it is evident. The shape of the magical seal, in the form of a seven-pointed star, is quite typical.”

 

You next mythos card will be a gate burst!

 

Gah, I want to play Arkham again. We have Elder Gods left unkilled!

I know, but next summer they will all fall before us! 

 

 

 

 

I found something,” Viconia said, holding up a paper. “It is a letter to Yaga-Shura, not signed.” She cleared her throat and read out loud. ‘It is time to make your move, the sooner the better. The greater bulk should fall easily into your hands, any that slip through your net will be picked up separately. Do not concern yourself with the others, we all have our parts to play for the great glory of Bhaal and they are where they should be, as must you be. Amkethran you know of already. Sendai and Abazigal consolidate their forces in their strongholds, and once all is ready the Five will sweep across the face of Toril, covering all the land in blood and fire. Enclosed you will find a list containing names of particular interest, those strong in the Blood. Learn it well. You’ve got to catch them all, if you wish to triumph.’

 

You know, a lot more evil plots would succeed if the lackeys won't let the letters just lie about.

 

 

So many stupid, incompetent and disappointing minions!

 

At this, Minsc bounced to his feet. “Minsc and Boo will lead the charge, our sturdy hides and stalwart souls will keep our good companion safe! Just stay behind us, friends!” Before anybody had the time to protest, he landed a large foot square in the middle of the now unlocked door, kicking it so hard it flew wide open and nearly fell off its hinges. “MINSC AND BOO, GOOOO!”

 

Miinnnnsssccccc Jenkins!

Very much. :)

 


Rogues do it from behind.




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