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

Bender grinned and chuckled a bit."Not completely, ya say? Tell that to me shoulder. The bloody wound's killin' me." He stood back up."We're dealin' with scum 'ere. Yer used ta me by now, I bet. These people're basically me, but with lots less patience." He described them."Except fer Eli'Syn. Th' woman's plain ol' nuts. So let me handle 'er. She'll just try 'n scare ya 'nyways."

Bender walked down the hallway, and it didn't take long for a duo of bandits to bump into them. Two women, one human who stood as broad as Bender and without hair wearing a thick hide armor, the other a slender elf, wearing the same hide armor and wielding a giant hammer on her back. Before they had the chance to scream for back up, Bender raised his arms with that usual sly grin of his."Ladies, I ain't here ta rob robbers. Bring me to Eli'Syn. There's a couple o' armored goons headin' this way 'n I wanted ta warn me ol' cutthroat."

The women looked at one another. The big bald one spoke."Keep your hands up, both of you. Once we got your weapons, you can meet the Lady." Bender nodded and allowed them to search his weapons. The same would happen to Stevie as they took her knife away, together with Bender's pistol and saber.

Soon they'd get escorted in what seemed like a throne room. It was an open cavern, filled with more of those crystals, only this time they shone bright white, making it feel as if there was sunlight coming inside of the area. It felt quite welcoming, except for the pile of corpses that was piled next to a make shift throne of wood and bones for armrests.

On it sat a tall woman. The Eladrin were known for their distinctive looks that humans so adored, and this woman was not different. She was a slender figure with long legs and a milky pale skin tone. Her black hair fell down to her shoulders and her knife like ears stuck out of it and even seemed to have a slight curl. Her eyes were almond shaped and had a deep purple color. her lips had a matching purple color.

It was hard to believe Bugface could find her so scary. By all accounts, she looked like a rogue princess. She had two shortswords tied to her thighs with red glowing handles. Her outfit of studded leather seemed tailored just for her. She adorned it with white fragments and even wore a tiara in her hair.

"Eli'Syn!" Bender cried out for her when they entered the room."Well ain't that a long time ago since we last saw? I think it was right after ya cheated me out o-" The Eladrin woman jumped up from her throne."Shut it, old man. I don't need to hear nothing of you!" She cried out at Bender in an angry and rather intimidating voice. She walked up to the pair, pushing Bender rudely aside and looking at Stevie."I'll hear it from her. Her tongue might not be as sharp as yours. Tell me, little runt. Why should I not gut you and throw you on my pile of dead men?" She snapped. Now that she stood so close, it was obvious the white fragments in her armor were actually pieces of bones. Ribs, fingers, they were all there. Even her tiara looked ike it was carved out of lower jaw.

Stevie shrugged. "Yeah but it'll heal though, right? Yer not dead, so the worst didn't happen," she laughed. Though as he explained things, she grew a little less giggly. Now, she lapsed into silence as they continued to walk. She nearly had a panic attack when they were bumped into! Especially when the bald one began searching for weapons. She felt uneasy now without her dagger, but wouldn't say anything about it.

Now that they were before Eli'Syn, the Halfling grew confused. Despite the throne and pile of corpses (which near about sent Stevie into a hysterical panic had she not stared at the ground as quickly as she did), the woman was rather lovely. That is, until she spoke. Yep. She might have hid a little bit behind Bender.

Stevie jumped when Bender was pushed away, and that left her alone and exposed. "Uhm...," she paused. What was the story again? Oh right! "Cause... we um, we wanna help? There's a buncha knights - I forget the name of 'em - Silver somethin'? Well I met one and he said he was gonna investigate this place and I dun' think he'll be comin' here alone..." She looked at Bender for approval, hoping she did alright, then looked back to Eli'Syn so she could run away if the lady was going to start throwing punches or stabbing things or something. "So no pile right?" she grinned widely. The sentence was butchered by nervousness, but the gist of it was likely understood. You're not going to add us to the pile, right? was essentially the phrase she meant to say. Ah well.

((Wanted to post, then the computer did an emergency reboot. This post will suck ._. ))

Bender gave a nod. Stevie said it well enough. Eli'Syn seemed amused."You're a scared little girl, aren't you?" She spoke as she pinched Stevie's cheek."You're a cutie. I might just not gut you but keep you on a lees instead." She giggled as she turned to Bender."Now where did you find this street rat?" She asked as she took a few steps back.

"Yer wonderin' where I got me companions? Ya ought ta worry 'bout Silver Order knights burstin' through yer caverns." Eli'Syn did not drop her amused look."Very well. Sar!" She cried as she turned around."Sar, get over here!"

From the shadows of a hallway near Eli'Syn throne room appeared a Human woman with short black hair and dark makeup around her blue eyes."My Lady called?" The Eladrin nodded."She did. Read them. Are they speaking the truth?" Bender grinned."Ya still don' think I'd lie to ya, lass? Where the trust we used ta have?" The woman spoke before Eli'Syn could raise her voice at her old captain."I sense no lies." She spoke in a sweet voice."Shall I warn our Sisters to stand guard?" Eli'Syn nodded."Do that. Make yourself useful."

Before the dark robed woman left, though, she looked at Stevie with a sly smile. When she did, the Halfling would hear a voice in her head. A soothing, echoing woman's voice."He will deceive you." She would speak."Once he has the last fragment, he will dispose of you." When the voice ended, the crone walked away.

Meanwhile, Bender and Eli'Syn were arguing. She demanded why Bender was here after she had betrayed him, and Bender would explain he was here for the fragment and to make amends."I'm done fightin' ya. Ya've got yerself an impressive group o' women. I'm just collectin' me fragments, lass. Obviously ya didn't use 'em the way ya intended to." This only angered Eli'Syn."You must think you're so smart, you fat oaf! You always did think you were better than me." Bender only laughed."Don' compare me to a daddy who didn' give ya what ya deserved. It's in the past, 'n I'm gettin' old. Just hand it back ta me, will'ya."

The Eladrin shook her head."I don't even know where I left the damn thing. Somewhere in my trinket box I think. But it doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that you think with a little courtesy you can enter my lair and my family! Give me a reason not to tear off your head and offer it to Yeenoghu?" At that, Bender's eyes widened."Yeenoghu... Lass, what kind o' crap are ya toyin' with 'ere? Is this why there's Silver Order goons on yer tail?"

Stevie might have figured out about the whereabouts of the map fragment now. A trinket box, now the only question is where it is. No one was paying attention to her at the moment.

((It doesn't at all suck! .))

"...No," she lied. Hell yeah she was scared! She'd never seen so much morbid crap in all her life before she stepped foot in this part of the carverns. And then came the comment about keeping her on a leash and she grew pale and nervous. Although she wanted to retort to the street-rat question, the Halfling remained silent.

The following moments flew by with Stevie standing there in silence. She wasn't completely sure what anyone was talking about, but knew what she needed to do. How to do it and where to go, though, were questions she didn't know the answers to. Interrupting her thoughts came a surprising echo of another's voice, but within her own head! Her pointed ears twitched in an attempt to pick up the direction of the noise, but she realized it came from herself. Inside. A little whimper came from her, as she didn't trust and feared magic of any kind and telepathy was considered magic in her book. Dispose...? she repeated in thought. Surely the voice meant that he wouldn't need her help anymore and he'd merely want to retire. It didn't mean to kill, right? The Halfling looked up to her friend as he fought with Eli'Syn and she bit down on her lip. He wouldn't do anything like that, right? ...Right?

When Stevie heard something about a trinket box, off she went. She walked at a casual pace, trying to mask her movements as just glancing around and checking the place out, judging it on its appearance without making a peep. She hoped she was convincing enough to be able to walk into any other room that may have nifty things like trinket boxes in it. The voice's words still bothered her and were heavy on her mind, distracting her a little, but Stevie was slow enough so that her eyes would still potentially spot things of interest.

The cavern was not as confusing as it had looked on the outside. These shafts were straightforward, and Stevie would be able see the outside in the distance of most hallways. So it was a matter of following those that didn't show the night's sky in the distance.

Many bandits passed by Stevie, most of which were women of various races, though mainly Human. They had been ordered to prepare the defenses, so they either ignored Stevie or simply didn't notice her. It was a good thing the duo had betrayed the Silver knight they gave a ride to, if you don't stop and think about the fact he and his friends will most likely die because of that.

After passing a few questionable rooms filled with bones and more gems, Stevie would find a rather large open space with a king sized bed, a study with bags of copper and silvers on top of it, more strange colored crystals scattered over rugs made out of various animal skins. This looked like the quarters of a person of importance, indeed.

On this study was a small box, though inside it was simply filled with bone charms and a few rings and necklaces.

After she had been walking for a little bit, Stevie decided no one was really paying her much attention and she didn't have to be too sneaky anymore as long as she didn't make any loud noises or anything. She didn't much approve of the rooms filled with bones, so she rushed past those. Her thoughts were also avoiding the topic of the Silver Knight, now mostly focused on the voice that had echoed in her head just moments ago.

When Stevie finally found Ely'Syn's quarters, she entered and began to look around. This seemed like the place for a --- Oh! The trinket box! As Stevie spotted it, she quickly scurried over to it and struggled to reach for it. Deciding not to fight it for too long, she hopped on the chair and opened the box while there. The halfling let out a defeated sigh and closed the trinket box after a moment of scooting everything around and looking for the tablet.

"She musta been lyin'," mumbled Stevie as she got down from the chair. She paused in moving and looked back to the trinket box, fighting internally with taking something.

Don't do it, Stevie, if you get caught you'll prolly get eaten 'r somethin'...! she thought to herself.

While Stevie was thinking about stealing some stuff from a bandit leader, a soft growling sound could be heard, and from underneath the bed. A little grey colored scruffy puppy suddenly hurried from underneath the mattress, hopping around and tilting its head towards the newcommer.

The creature didn't pay all that much attention to Stevie, though, as it suddenly growled towards a shadowy corner of the bedroom. A voice appeared from that nook."Oh, be silent, Nekki." The voice sighed. She soon revealed herself, and she was the same dark robed woman who had gone and gathered the bandits to stand guard for the Silver Knights. From closeby, she seemed to be much less scary. She had a sweet face, and though her lips were blue and she wore rather thick eye shadow, but besides that there was not all that much too eerie about her.

"Hello, little friend. I believe it's this you're looking for?" She offered a gentle smile as she opened her hand and showed a piece of marked clay. The fragment.

Stevie near about jumped out of her pants when she heard the little growls. When the puppy showed itself, she backed away, but still felt a bit relieved. Sure, she didn't like angry dogs, but little ones weren't so bad.

When the strange woman showed herself, the halfling nearly fainted she grew so nervous! However, when the woman revealed to her the fragment, the tiny person inched a little closer, paying little heed now to the dog and the doorway.

"Uhm...," she muttered. How the hell was she supposed to respond to this? Lying would probably be dumb, she felt screwed either way. "Yeah, prolly pretty obvious, huh? So can I have it?" she asked, grinning ridiculously. Well, no sense in not trying!

Sar smiled."Of course you can." She said in a friendly manner as she opened her hand. All Stevie had to do was approach her and take it from her."I had waited for someone to find the true value in this." But before Stevie could grab it, she closed her hand again."On one condition, little friend."

"Surely you've heard my warning?" Her mouth was shut. The voice was inside of Stevie's head once more."Your pirate friend is going to deceive you. Once he has his riches, you'll be expendable." The next part wasn't."I know his sort. Him and our Lady are of the same cloth. But enough of that. I'm about to die." She said as casually as can be.

"I've foreseen it. These knights will not be stopped by mere bandits. Loyal bandits, to be sure, but they're ill disciplined. Not many will survive the massacre that is about to ensue. They'll burn me for being a witch, ignorant sods." Sar took a deep breath."I will give you your fragment, only if you carry me with you." From underneath she took a crystal similar to the ones that were held in the cages around these caverns. Only this one didn't glow. it was clear, like a piece of glass.

"In this gem, I will store part of my soul. I have spent months, nay, years researching how to safely carry my own entity around in an inanimate object. Keep this gem with you, and I will be able to appear once I'm at full strength again. Dying is... let us say exhausting. Simply carry me around at all times, and you may have this fragment. Do we have a deal, little one?"

The halfling approached. Stevie's eyes widened though when she heard what Sar had to say. "That was you?" she asked, in awe. When she heard her go on, she thought about it. Sure, she didn't believe her one bit, but she was much more friendly than the others so there was this little part of her that made her concerned she was not lying.

"What d'ya mean expendable?" she asked. She was sure she knew, but she wanted to hear it. As she thought, she figured there was no harm in keeping the woman's spirit with her. Especially since she was going to give her the fragment in return. "So you will revive?" she asked breathlessly, almost too surprised to hear that.

"I can do that though, that's an easy job. That's pretty teeny, too. I'll find a pouch to put it in or somethin'!"

Sar smiled at her answer."You are wise." She said as she handed the map fragment to Stevie."But gullible, I'm afraid. Your pirate friend will not need you anymore once you reach the treasure depicted upon this fragment. I'm not sure what he'll do, but he won't treat you fairly. His kind is capable of killing, don't you forget. But no worries. You have my to protect you, little friend. If the man tries to harm you, and I'm at my full strength once more, I'll send his soul straight for the depths of hell itself."

With that, she tapped the crystal, and a small light appeared inside of it, though it didn't shine brightly. It looked more like a blue petal floating inside of a glass."It begins." She suddenly said as she closed her eyes.

A scream was heard, which sounded like that of Bender's. And once that was done, a series of explosions were heard in the far distance.

Stevie frowned a little and pocketed the fragment. She wasn't sure what to believe. If Bender turned out to be a big butthead she may kick him in the shins or something because yes, she was capable of getting angry. "Thanks," she said in response. She made a friend! A friend who was a friend of bandits... yay. Oh well, at least she was pleasant! A very gentle woman it seemed.


Stevie heard her friend's scream and she wanted to run out to him. "Do- do I just leave ya? Take the crystal? I gotta help or do something or-- what should I do?!" Aw panic. She didn't wanna get hurt, but she also didn't want to stand by and let her friend die. He may very well remain as he always had toward her.

"Calm down, little friend. You stand before a choice. You either flee the caverns, or you go back to your pirate friend. It matters little what you do, but please, don't be in the room with me. I'll be dead soon, and you will too if you stay here. The crystal is prepared. Simply go." She said as she patted the Halfling's head.

The explosions stopped, and more voices could be heard. Angry voices. A whole mob had appeared by the sound of it. It weren't merely knights who were attacking.

Steve breathed deeply and smiled a little when her head was patted. "I'll take care o' yeh," she muttered before turning tail to flee the room. At first she thought of running away from the caverns entirely, but knew that would be wrong of her to do.

The girl instead attempted to sneak her way closer to her friend, at the very least to monitor. She wouldn't do so well in a fight like this, but if she had to, she'd try. The entire scene near about put her in shock, though. She'd never seen something so violent and crowded! The battle with the orcs was a little different because there weren't nearly as many, but here...

Stevie swallowed, inching closer, observing what lay in front of her.

Back in the throne room, a rather horrid scene had unfolded. Bender laid on his back, covered in dust, Eli'Syn stood over him, a magically produced fireball in her hand... and Bender's mechanical arm in the middle of the room with nothing attached to it. Strangely enough, no blood had surrounded the copper mechanism. Still, it was a rather disturbing view.

The mob ventured closer and closer. A duo of knights leading the charge. One a human, the other a Tiefling, a familiar one at that. Hansel looked determined, but also wounded. His bright white armor was soiled with red and black smudges, and his face looked cut up as well. The mob nor the knights were close enough to the throne room yet to see what unfolded there, nor would Stevie catch their eye, but they were getting ever so close, and there was no telling how Hansel would react to seeing Stevie here.

Eli'Syn had turned around now, but didn't seem to realize yet that the noise she was hearing was a stampeding mob."Go check on that noise." She said to two of her more heavy armored goons."And bring me back the Halfling. I want to see her face when this bastard dies in righteous fire."

Alright, so, that wasn't so good. Now she was beginning to think maybe she and Bender did the wrong thing. Hell, she even felt a bit selfish. People were getting hurt and she was standing by and letting it happen? What would happen if the fireball flew toward an individual as she had planned? Was Bender still alive? So many questions flew through her mind so quickly she didn't have time to answer a single one of them.

Stevie would have more than likely tried to stay hidden until this was over until she was mentioned by Eli'Syn in such a way. Well, that's just sick. It dawned on her that hiding and waiting wasn't going to do anything good, so without thinking much on it, the tiny woman jumped out of her hiding spot and ran to Eli'Syn. But it didn't stop there, she'd likely try to knock her down if at all possible, hoping to do so with the impact of their collision. It might've been a bad idea, but she didn't feel too hopeful about anything she could have done any way. There was a chance she could explain the situation to Hansel and his men if they got on their side during the fight. But Stevie didn't think they'd leave there unscathed if Eli'Syn and her group succeeded.

Eli'Syn had been a frail creature. When the guards had left, her attention would go back to Bender, until she heard something scurrying over to her. Her almond shaped eyes widened when Stevie smashed into her, which for an instant felt like a bull headbutting her in the gut. The Eladrin fell down, losing control over her magic and the fireball disappeared.

But Eli'Syn was far from down. She had flinched for a short moment, but she would grasp the situation once more very quickly."You little sewer rat!" She cried out as she attempted to grab her by the arm. If succeeded, Stevie would feel the Eladrin's hand heat up very quickly, and it would feel as if her arm was trapped within an oven."At a second thought, I don't keep mongrels in chains. I'll burn you up right here and now!" She spoke in a maddening tone.

At that moment the mob had arrived into the morbid throne room. Some of the farmers hid their face in disgust of Eli'Syn's pile of corpses. The one who didn't flinch was Hansel. His eyes were caught upon the brave Halfling."...The girl from the cart?" He would mumble, in confusion. But after seeing Bender, who was still not moving, Hansel was quite sure these people were the same as those who gave him his ride.

Stevie was surprised that she actually succeeded in knocking the woman over. A moment of pride passed before she soon found herself realizing that the situation was much more dire than expected. Stevie, who was less used to conflict, didn't have the reflex to jump away from the woman the moment they landed.

Needless to say, Eli'Syn was able to grasp her arm. Rather thoroughly too since the limb was so thin. The heat was not a welcome feeling, and it took all she had not to be noisy from both panic and, well, feeling like her arm was stuck in an oven. Her free hand flailed about in an attempt to punch the lady, primarily in the arm that held her own, but she wasn't very strong. She'd probably need help. At that point, she turned and saw Hansel.

"Don't jus' stand there starin'! Help me!" DUH HANSEL. Get with it, man.

Eli'Syn only squeezed her hand tighter around the poor Halfling's arm. A sizzling sound was heard and Hansel shot into action. But it was not the Silver Knight who came to her rescue.

Awkwardly crawling over to the pair of women, Bender planted his fleshy fist into Eli'Syn's face with all the strength he could produce, which was not really all that much. Never before did the pirate feel so weak. No gun, no sword, and not even his arm. He felt as useless as his punch, which wasn't strong enough to knock the Eladrin out.

She did lose her grip on Stevie, however. Now her burning hand was wrapped around the neck of ol' Bender. But that didn't take long. Hansel pierced his longsword through Eli'Syn's forehead. With a final sigh, she let go of Bender and just lied there, her purple eyes wide open as if she was in disbelief of her demise.

Having a coughing fit, Bender attempted to stand up, but out of instinct, he tried to lean on his ghost arm and dropped to the floor again. It was quite a silly look, if not an incredibly tragic one. Some farmers helped the old man up and Hansel did the same with Stevie."Are you okay, milady? How did you get here? Did this woman kidnap you?"

All her efforts to remain strong and quiet were for naught as she squeezed her arm tighter. Good thing her voice wasn't the only one crying out among this battle, that'd be embarrassing. Not at the moment, but at a later date perhaps.

Stevie was surprised to see Bender punch the lady in the face and the hugest wave of happiness and relief swept over her. He helped her! He's alive, too! That totally meant that the hooded woman was wrong about him. Still, her heart was in the right place so she wasn't offended or mad. Regardless, the Halfling's mind shot back into current events as she witnessed Eli'Syn's hot hand collide with Bender's throat. She opened her mouth to scream at her to let go, because you know, she'd totally listen. Before she could say anything, that sword pierced through the Eladrin's head.

The Halfling let out a tiny squeak-like noise and covered her eyes with her good arm, bringing her shoulders up and kept them there stiffly. When she was aided to her feet, she looked up at Hansel, then to Bender, who she desperately wanted to hug and ask if he was alright. Hearing the Silver Knight's question, Stevie thought for a moment. Ooh, she could run with this!

"...Yeah! She did... But Bender came by n' tried to steal me back. Thanks fer yer help, too," she replied. She felt like a baby for crying right now, but her arm felt like it was still being burned. She doubted that'd pass for a while.