Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Promises of gold, bad luck and more gold (1x1)

As they stood there, looking at the gates, Bender was pondering Stevie's words. Adventuring... would he continue once he's rich? Could he live the calm life? The old man had not been thinking about what to do AFTER he got incredibly rich. It kept him busy on the way to the gates.

They did not travel alone. A whole bunch of Half-Orcs and Dwarves walked alongside them. After walking for about ten minutes, they reached the incredibly tall gates. The entire wall was made out of wood, but tall enough to keep giants out, which could possibly be a common threat to these Orcs. There were woods nearby as well, overgrowing the eastern part of the mountain's wall. The wooden wall barely met with the forest.

Inside, this place was a sight to see. There were few wooden homes, that were built against the mountain's wall in the back of the stronghold. Most of the homes here were large tents made out of hides. These were the homes for the common Orcs. Most other races preferred an actual house. the road was a simple dusty one, but it had much traffic on it. Mainly soldiers who marched from one side to the others. Orcs were a rather military race, and so the newcomers were greeted with a brawl in the middle of town. A pair of Orcs smashing each other's faces in while a whole bunch of other green skinned humanoids cheered them on.

"Charmin' place, ain't it?" Bender grinned."Somewhere in this mess is Bugface. Keep yer eyes open fer any bounties 'r rumors 'bout spiders." He said as he walked for the local tavern, which was a larger tent.

The place was nameless, but inside were two long tables with one bar. It was owned by a Half-Orc, sitting on top of the many kegs of ale while the patrons were cheerfully singing in their own tongue. It was noteworthy how many taverns this pair had been to so far.

Steve. Hates. Brawls. She always wound up involved some how without intending to, by getting too close and getting dragged in, or asking them to stop and winding up getting punted into a stack of hay. So this time, she grabbed Bender's pants and kept close, much like a child was. In some ways, one could suppose, she never really grew up.

"Bounties? Is Bugface a bad person...?" she questioned, following him into the tavern. And it did seem pretty routine that they always fled to a tavern right after entering a town, but taverns were great places to get information. People were drunk, their lips were loose. Then she realized she'd be going into a tavern full of drinking orcs and grew incredibly nervous. Maybe she was racist, but could one blame her? Something that tiny, even for one of the smallest races, afraid of something so huge and frightening?

Of course if they were kind to her she'd calm down and grow relaxed around that particular orc, but.... bah, she was thinking too hard on it. If she wasn't full, she'd order a tall glass of the hardest alcohol they had, just to calm her nerves. So instead, she ordered an ale. That'd work well enough.

"I wouldn't say bad. But if ya were ta see a giant bug like beast runnin' 'round, I think ye'd be scared of it 's well. People don' think these abominations ta be friendly." He explained on his way to the tavern.

Through the noise of singing orcs, bender order himself a pint of ale as well. Today might not have been a great day for information, though. These loud drunk Orcs made it impossible to overhear any conversations one might have have. And there weren't many going on. This visibly frustrated Bender. He was hoping to at least hear something spider related so this visit wasn't a complete waste of time. Normally rowdy taverns were Bender's favorites, but not now. He was on a schedule.

"We ought ta take a look 'round town, lass." He said as he took a large gulp from his mug. But as he was about to stand up, the victor of the brawl outside walked inside, carrying a horned helmet, in which everyone in the tavern loudly cheered for the burly Orc."A pint for all my fellow warriors! Today we have proven ourself! We will hunt and find the Spiderbeast tonight! We're prepared!" He screamed in a loud but heavy voice.

Bender blinked and put his mug down."Looks like our ol' pal's in trouble, lass. Finish yer ale, we're goin' on a hunt o' our own."

She got her ale and downed it quickly, as if it was the only thing she had to drink for a week. When through, she let out a gross little belch and deposited the large mug on the table. The halfling listened to the hubbub around them before noticing the victor walk in. Before Bender even said anything, she knew what they would likely have to do.

Great. And just after she downed that drink, too! Right now she was alright, but soon that ale's effects would have a good hold on her. "This is gonna be rough," she mumbled. Because she was done, she waited for Bender before jumping up and following him. She felt less concerned about encountering the creature they were pursuing because, apparently, they were off to save it. However, she was still very worried about the Orcs.

Once Bender stepped outside, he took a deep breath. It was time to think. His face was ponderous when he walked to the middle of the town, where wooden boards were littered filled with bounties, thefts and general messages. A couple of them showed a rather creepy looking creature with four eyes spanning over its entire face and huge mandibles with plenty of saliva covering them. The words "Wanted: Spiderbeast for slaughtering our cattle" underneath them. Orcs were such original creatures when it came to names. That was sarcasm. There's at least twenty Orcish clans out in the world with the word "skull" in its name.

"Think, think..." Bender mumbled."Think lass. Think like you're a spider. Where would ya be hidin'?" The pirate was playing with the thought the woods were too far off for for Bugface to actually sneak into the hold. But she couldn't possibly be hiding inside the fortress itself, right?

Stevie thought on this. "Spiders hide in trees in their webs. Or in the corners of a room, way up high. Or in the bathin' room, right in the basin!" she called, shuddering some. She was staring at the wanted posters and continuing to contemplate.

"Or maybe... It's exactly where you don't think it would be. It knows what it's doin', so it might know not to be where people would wanna look for it!" Stevie felt like she was a genius. She might be completely wrong about it, but she decided it was an amazing thought and she deserved a thousand gold for the idea.

Or maybe she was being too cocky.

Bender thought about Stevie's words. There was wisdom in those, and it made the him think out loud."Bugface always had a fascination fer man-build structures. The fact she wanted ta be part o' me crew was partly fascination. The other a place fer hidin'. She knew yer not likely spotted by bounty hunters when out in the' ocean." He mumbled out loud."There ain't no way she can sneak o'er the wall 'ere. Too high, too well guarded." He turned around to where the wooden homes stood."Let's go check out if one o' them is abandoned, lass."

Walking over to the plaza of the wooden homes, two of the houses were for sale. Meaning no one lived in them. Both of them looked old, dusty and pretty much like they could collapse at any moment. When Bender tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge."Hmm, I can't smash th' door in. People'll get suspicious." He said as he looked around. Very few people were out."Lass, I'm goin' ta need ya ta break in 'ere." He said as he took a few steps back and spotted a missing window in the second floor.

"I'll throw ya high enough, ya hold on to th' balcony, 'n ya open the door from the inside. Sound like a plan?"

Stevie grinned widely. She was right! Well, it was too soon to tell, but she was thinking like Bugface and that was what mattered. Excitedly, she trailed with him, the dizzying effects of downing too much alcohol finally beginning to surface. She fought them, but maybe it was for the better that she felt this way? She wasn't as nervous anymore, and didn't seem too bothered when he mentioned throwing her up at the balcony.

"Whaaat? Really? Awh, okay... don't miss!" she said, then stood in front of him, facing the house. Her arms were lifted up a little so he could grab beneath them, seeing as though she needed her arms for grabbing. She'd never been thrown like this before, and thank goodness she was feeling a bit on the drunk side, or she'd be panicking like no other!

Bender raised a brow."What, no objections? Not even one? Even I think it's a bad idea." He chuckled, preparing his mechanical arm."Sadly 'nough, tis the only one." He spoke as he grabbed the frail little Halfling."Get ready, lass. I don' want ta pick up yer broken remains!" He laughed as he threw her like she was a throwing spear, head first.

The arm proved its strength as it threw Stevie like she was a paper airplane. Bender's aim was decent. Though she probably wouldn't fly straight through the window, she would easily be able to hold on to the balcony, or fall down if she didn't hold on, which would definitively break a leg or two.

Inside though, she could see the dark dusty room that was once a bedroom. There was still an empty bed, a dirty closet and even a dusty mirror. The place was riddled in cobwebs, though that meant nothing. Abandoned houses always had cobwebs hanging around.

Steve wasn't in her right mind, and she knew her fears weren't as important as saving a life. So when she was tossed, she suppressed a scream of terror and flailed her arms until she grew close enough to, completely by accident, snatch the railing of the balcony and pull herself up. She rested momentarily before slipping inside via the window.

Her eyes were narrowed into slits to help her see, which didn't help too much inside this dark place. "Ello?" she asked, rotating her head this way and that. Couldn't see anything. The cobwebs she ran into frustrated her and made her squeak and jump and shudder, but she pressed on and half stumbled her way around in search of the front door. "Shouldn't have drank so fast...," she grumbled under her breath.

The bedroom itself was uneventful. Though a few spiders scattered at the sight of the Halfling, there was no sign of danger around.

This would change should Stevie open the door into the hallway, though. There she'd see a stairway that lead downstairs, three doors that lead into other rooms, and when she looked above... a giant frickin' spider at least the size of Stevie herself! The massive bug blocked a top window and only allowed but a few beams to light up this area. It didn't seem to react to her, though. Perhaps it was asleep. Or it could have been dead? Whatever the case, Stevie would have to be careful. The doors and the staircase were still covered in webs, more than in the bedroom. The possibility of getting stuck for such a small Halfling like herself was a plausible one.

It was pretty damn dark in here, and her vision was shaky at best. That probably didn't help much. When the spiders scattered, she'd shriek and slap her mouth to keep herself from doing it for longer, then pressed on. It was hard to see, yes, but she could see decently enough. Her ears picked up on noises, too!

Steve was just minding her business, venturing about, when the silhouette of a giant freaking spider blocked the light from the window. Of course she froze, wouldn't you? But upon realizing it was staying awfully still and didn't seem to be actively seeking her out, Stevie slowly crept along the hall.

Her hands graced the walls as she went downstairs. All was well for a few steps, but she found herself having difficulty lifting her foot too far from the previous one. Looking down, she noticed her foot indeed caught in a web, so she sat down and began to quietly (and nervously) tug like hell. She even pulled at the webs with her fingers! After some difficulty, she managed to free her foot. When she tried to get up, though, she noticed her butt was now stuck! The halfling let out an agitated groan and began to free her bum as well.

Someone, quick, come laugh at the halfling!

If spiders could laugh, they definitively would. Instead they scattered at each vibration Stevie made in the webs. They were connected with one another. Though none seemed to be connected with the ones up the roof. Perhaps it was for the best. The giant spider was not dead, though. One of its many legs started moving. It twitched a couple of times.

Downstairs there was slight movement as well. Once she got stuck with her bum in the webs on the wall, a shadow disappeared, revealing downstairs was a small window as well. Another spider perhaps? It was but a little light that came into the downstairs hallway, so it was impossible to tell how big this thing truly was.

Nothing came after the unfortunate Halfling, though. Until a shot was heard outside. A familiar shout could be heard outside, though it was muffled through the walls of the house."Ya basterds stay 'way from me home, or th' next shot'll be through yer bloody 'ead!"

This noise made the spider move. The giant bug moved, slowly, but it moved. The black thing let through more sunlight once it started crawling for a nearby wall.

Steve was still having trouble, but Bender helped her out more she thought he would've in this situation by firing that shot. The surprise from it caused her to jump up so fast that her bum broke contact with most of the webs and she was sent stumbling down the rest of the stairs. As she regained her footing, she noticed the twitching and movement of the spider above at the window. Sure, now she could see a bit better, but the GIGANTIC FREAKING SPIDER WAS MOVING!

Panic mode engaged.

The halfling tried to slow her movements so she wouldn't startle the big bug, but she was far too excited to run to the door to do so to any great degree. "Whydohugespidersexistohgodwhyyyyy?!" she mumbled quietly to herself, bothering not to pause in between words. Didn't like spiders. Nope.

Now she was trying to look where she was stepping to avoid stepping in web again, head facing the floor at her feet. She couldn't see well in front of her, but at least she wouldn't get her foot stuck in webs again! She wanted to yell out to Bender to abandon ship, that it's too freakin' scary in here, but she didn't know if spiders had ears. She found herself wondering whether or not they did, now, as she walked in search of the front door, head lowered.

Downstairs there was a little round window, letting through a bit of light and three more doors. One, who was closest was clearly a front door as it had a peeping hole. The other rooms probably lead to the living room and the kitchen, or the basement if this home had one.

Stevie might not realize it, but a spider has a great sense of feeling as well as sight. Though her movement was swift and stealthy, someone on a stairway was very easily noticed by one of the creature's eight eyes. The spider attempted to sneak closer to this fresh meat, but with such a large size came a lack of sneakiness. The spider would likely be seen, crawling over the staircase, half of its legs on the planks leading down and the other on the wall.

Stevie could try opening the front door, but it'd be closed. She'd need considerable strength to open it, or be able to pick the lock open somehow. Otherwise, the unfortunate Halfling could attempt fleeing for one of the doors. One was slightly opened, but revealed only part of a chair. The rest of the room was shrouded in darkness. But the door seemed narrow. Perhaps the spider wouldn't fit through.

The spider went unnoticed for maybe a moment or two, but not for too long. Knowing now there was no real reason to be quiet since she was detected, the tiny halfling started to shriek in her panic. Scrambling down with her hands on the walls, using them as a guide, she ran first to the front door.

She had nothing on her to pick the lock with, and her strength was severely lacking. She had even propped both feet up on the door, tugged as hard as she could, and still nothing! Without much left to work with, she looked around and quickly fled for the narrower door, which was slightly ajar.

Once inside, she slammed the door shut, pressed her back against it, and panted.

"Beeendeeerrrr!" she yelled, doubting her voice would reach him but she had to try. If the room was as dark as it looked when she was outside of it, she'd start searching for a window or another door, hands used as her eyes for the time being. And if there was light, she likely would just have a quick look around.

There were curtains for the Halfling to open, which would instantly light up the entire room. She was safe from the spider. It tried knocking against the door a few times, hoping to smash it down. The creature was big, but not strong. It could not enter.

Bender looked over his shoulder at the shout of terror. But he had his own problems right now. There were five Orcs demanding access to the home. All of them looked like they were about to snap, but none dared to come close while the old man still had his pistol. Plus, they noticed his mechanical arm as well. No one wanted to get hit by that. Instead they shouted insults Bender gladly answered. If the world had an automatic sensor, boy would there be a lot of beeping.

Inside, the movement inside the living room did wake something else. On the ceiling slept something else. Something that fit the description Bender gave of an Ettercap.

She lowered herself, whether it would be light or not with a loud thud on the ground. The creature looked not much like a spider. She had four massive legs supporting her gigantic body. She had a dark brown skin tone with a gigantic pot belly, as if the creature had swallowed a keg of ale. Her entire skin was covered in what seemed to be small craters, some of which spiders emerged or crawled back into. On her shoulders was a thick bright white fur which hardly looked natural.

The only thing spider like about her was her head. She had eight eyes and gigantic mandibles which seemed to sparkle of saliva.. or was it poison?

Looks like the pair of brainiacs thought right! This was Dreadvile, A.K.A. Bugface. A truly massive creature. It was nothing less of a miracle she managed to stay hidden so well for so long.

Jittery like a bug, Bugface twitched her head and arms."Fidget?" The creature suddenly said in a high pitched and gurgling voice."Fidget find me?" There was no hint of fear in her voice. She sounded rather surprised.

Stevie ran over to the curtains and opened them up. It was instantly relieving that there was light, so she relaxed a little. When she turned back around, staring at the door out of fear the spider would break through, she noticed Bugface. Both an increased feeling of anxiety and relief surfaced. Anxiety because, well, look at her! Relief because Bender knew her, which meant she likely wouldn't come after her like that spider was trying to do. Right? Well, she'd hope. The voice seemed to hint at that much!

"F-f-uh... Fidget...?" she mumbled. Fidget find her? "I dunno what a Fidget is, but- but uh... orcs are here! They wanna um..." God, she was nervous.

"Orcs wanna kill ya!" she finally blurted. "Bender's here, we wanna help - don't eat meeee!"

Aww. Fear was hilarious sometimes. She wiggled over to the window and tried to open it, not to really run away from Bugface right away, but to have an escape route in case things went awry or if the two needed to leave in a hurry. Could she even fit through that window?

"You no Fidget?" The creature asked confused."Little one look Fidget. I call you Fidget." She turned around, her four legs making loud thuds as she looked at the door. She shouted something that sounded odd. A lot of clicking was involved."Ffktsha, kitsklk phre" Whatever she just said, the knocking on the door stopped. The creature turned around once more for Stevie, not really grasping what she was trying.

At the sound of Bender's name, her voice shrieked."Bender!? Captain? No! No! Bad!" She yelled as she tried to grab Stevie rather roughly. Clearly she was afraid being seen. If succesful, she dragged her back into the shadows."Bender want clay. Cannot have!" She sounded distressed."Lys hurt Bugface. Bender cannot have! Don't want hurt no more!"

So Stevie had a nickname now, apparently. She didn't mind it though. Stevie shrieked when she was tugged back into the dark. She seemed sort of pitifully cute in her own little way, so the halfing wasn't entirely convinced she'd eat her. Even when she was stuck in the shadows! "Bugface, they're gonna hurt you if you don't leave! And Bender's tryin' to help ya. The least ya owe 'im is the tablet. If you leggo, and if you listen, he can help, yanno? If you don't, he's gonna get hurt too and then you'll get hurt because he can't protect you anymore!"

She noticed the creature spoke almost like a child, so Stevie decided to talk in a similar way. "Bugface, please let go, I don't like the dark and we gotta gooooo!"