#dragonborn's infamy

[gamerism]

the mindset of my current hero of kvatch is so fucked up i love it. he immediately joined the dark brotherhood weeks after getting out of prison, did all his contracts, became listener yadda yadda now he's an assassin bored out of his mind with the job, since he doesn't carry out contracts any longer. so he goes looking for other work, all the while amassing wealth via his payments as listener & his pirate band based just outside anvil. he joins the fighters guild not for the money, but out of pure boredom. he doesn't have any thirst for death or blood, he just needs a strict code of interesting tasks to complete, and the brotherhood happened to be where he found himself first up so that's what he's come to expect. the thieves guild could have offered him something, but they missed the chance and he finds the idea quite dull now. even with all the necessary skills to be a great thief (sneak, illusion, security). he's willing to join the mages guild to further hone his magic, but the busy work given to initiates turns him off the idea of pursuing full membership. his only loyalty is to his clan members in the brotherhood.

[jiubilant]

before i came up with ayo my original concept for a dragonborn character was a velothi mage who'd only just begun his rise to infamy when he was killed outside of sky haven temple by a young forsworn rebel named connach. the mage cast a desperate (and mostly accidental) final spell and bound his spirit to connach's, effectively turning him into a walking waiting-door, and conn then had to fulfill the dragonborn prophecy with a bootleg dragon soul. he and the spirit grafted to his own gradually became friends. separated in sovngard and fought alduin together. etc

[cold-b-writing]

Thanatophobia: Chapter 16

“So, what is the big plan on taking down the bandits?” Pil sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “What’s the big plan on having us kill the leader?”

Ancal smiled, getting up from his seat, flask in hand. He made his way over to the barrel with a faucet at the end. Messing with the cork for a couple of seconds, he held the flask underneath. The contents from the barrel began to fill it in seconds.

The wizard decided to remain silent while this was happening, waiting for the Dragonborn to give a response. Ancal turned around and raised the flask in the air. “Not us…you…”

“But we don’t even know where to find the rest of them.” Pil shrugged. “I mean, it was an entire trip just to find one of their camps.” He looked down at the table in the middle of the room. The empty flask that was closest to him.

“We got Corvoril with us now…” Ancal smiled, gulping down a large portion of the ale he just poured for himself. “Oh my bad, how rude of me…” he picked up Pil’s flask and brought it over to the barrel. Once Pil’s flask was full, he made his way over and sat it back down on the edge of the table, closer to the wizard.

“So, your friend is going to make that much of a huge difference?” Pil looked down at his own reflection within the ale.

“As long as we stick together, work together, we’ll find the leader.” Ancal sighed. “Have you heard of him?”

The wizard shook his head and silently picked up the flask. Staring down at it before drinking a large amount himself. Some of the ale made its way past his lips and began sliding down his chin, but he didn’t care. When he put the flask down, he wiped his face with his sleeve, then looked back up at the leader of the Roaring Banner.

“Careful there, friend.” Ancal raised the flask. “We’re still having a serious conversation, so I need you to still be thinking straight…” the lizard took another sip from his own flask. “…for the most part…”

“No…” the wizard sighed. Looking up at the senior spellcaster. “Can’t say I have…I don’t know much about them other than the fact that they’re bandits…”

“Well, despite the fact that they have been here for a while,” Ancal started. “They weren’t always the local crew.”

“So, where the Hell did they even come from?” Pil shook his head in frustration.

“No one can say.” Ancal admitted. “It doesn’t really matter where they first started, but what does matter is that they used to be a traveling band.” Ancal got closer to the table, pointing at the edge of one. “Let’s just say that this edge is the sword coast. If you really need to be specific, the earliest reports I could find came from the City of Sails, Luskan. I doubt that’s where they’re from, but that is definitely where their infamy would start as we should call it. They would go deeper into the lands, heading East, all the way through the Evermoors and whatever stood in their path there did not stand for long. Then after that, they started to make their way South, all the way until they ended up here in Loudwater.”

“This is an interesting history lesson; I’ll give you that.” Pil shrugged. “But I don’t think that I really see the point.”

“With a traveling band as large as theirs, it shouldn’t take so long for a group to travel from the coast all the way to here.” Ancal pointed out. “Unless if they travel incredibly slow.”

“That doesn’t make them much of a traveling band, then does it?” The wizard sighed.

“And why do you think that is?” Ancal smiled. “Why would they take so long just to get here?”

“Well, they’re bandits…” Pil sighed. “They’re not stupid either, but I can’t really figure out why.”

“Because they wait.” Ancal sat down. “They plant themselves wherever they travel, stay a while. Drain as much of the resources from the area as they can before they decide it’s time to pack up and move.”

“Okay, that tells me all about the bandits in general.” Pil shrugged. “But I still don’t know anything about their leader…”

“His name is Zyrsius.” Ancal sighed. “He’s under suspicion of raiding multiple villages between here and the Sword Coast. Can you imagine what that would do for you, if you were to take down a guy like that?”

“It would be impressive…” Pil nodded.

“More than that,” Ancal got up to sit next to the wizard. “you would be a hero, no a legend. You would finally get the respect you deserve. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“Yeah…” Pil admitted. “It would…”

“I see the way they’ve treated you, friend.” Ancal sighed.

“I’m tired of being invisible.” Pil stared down at the floor. “I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m just this burden. I’ve dealt with abusive people my entire life. Every time these people just step over me, or attack me, it’s like…it’s like I’m back home with my parents…”

“I take it they weren’t exactly the nicest people…” Ancal put a hand on the wizard’s shoulder.

“No…” Pil shook his head. “They were animals. They were always just so fixated on themselves, on their own misery. They never even bothered to even acknowledge mine. In fact, not only were they ignoring all of my pain. I think they enjoyed it…” The wizard was tensing up along with the feelings building inside of him. “I still have nightmares…I still see myself as that little kid. They didn’t even bother making another room for me in the house, they just gave me a roll in the barn with the animals. I would have been fine with it if I was actually left alone in there. But do you know what the worst parts of my nightmares are…?”

Ancal frowned. “It’s okay, you can tell me…”

“I’m still that little kid in that barn…” Pil was clenching tightly as his arms were crossed, his nails digging deeply into the skin of his own arms. “Even though I’m laying down in that sheet roll. I’m not asleep. I keep my eyes closed, but I’m still awake. And I still hear the rusty hinges creaking as the door was slowly opening…right before he would come inside…”

“Did you leave?” Ancal leaned back. “Is that why you’re out here?”

“Not quite…” Pil sighed. “You see, my village burned down long ago…killed by a traveling group of bandits…”

“You’ll finally get your revenge.” Ancal smiled and pat Pil on the back.

“For Dante, sure,” Pil nodded. “the rest of the village, I couldn’t care less about. They did keep some of us alive. I managed to escape actually, didn’t even bother breaking anyone else out. And I don’t even regret it…”

“Who is Dante?” Ancal took another sip from his flask.

The wizard sighed, staring into his drink yet again. “He was my friend…the only one who treated me like I was a person…I would have been a very different person if it weren’t for him…”

“To Dante…” The leader of the Roaring Banner raised his flask in the air, there was a pause as Pil just watched him for a moment. “Go on…” the lizard muttered, motioning for Pil to do the same.

The wizard reached for his tankard, lifting it up. “To Dante…” he sighed as both drinks clanked. Both spellcasters soon downed the rest of the contents. Pil looked around the room, then towards the exit. “So, who is this Corvoril?”

“Would you like to meet him?” Ancal smiled, standing up, holding out his hand to pull the wizard up from the seat. The pair left the room, locking the door behind them before making their way back to where the crowd was. The people of Loudwater were still gathered around, watching Nayola performing her miracles as everyone watched the older elf’s wounds heal in real time.

The cleric noticed the pair approach and waved, excitedly getting up. “He’s awake!” she exclaimed. “But he does need to rest,  so I would keep it short and simple.”

“Let’s start getting these people out of here so he can.” Ancal nodded.

The Tiefling turned, raising her hands in the air so that more people would notice her. “Alright everyone!” she called. “We love you all, but it’s time to go!” Some people in the crowd were already leaving, but others had to be led out. Escorting a large crowd of people to move somewhere was much more difficult than it looked. It was like trying to herd a large group of cats. Nayola was doing a good job so far, but she needed help.

More people started to move the moment that Kelrac stood up. Nayola was one thing, a small Tiefling didn’t look nearly as threatening as the hulking monster that he was. The people in the crowd would not want to test him, or give him a reason to be angry.

While this was all happening, Ancal and Pil made their way over to the bed. This Corvoril, despite looking quite healthy, was still showing his age. There were grays in his hair, crows feet reaching out from beyond his eyes, he looked peaceful as he laid back on the bed. His emerald eyes were fixated on the two spellcasters approaching him. Smiling wide as Ancal approached. “You guys really started the party without me.” He started to push himself up, his back leaning against the bed post. “I’m disappointed.”

“The fun waits for no one, my friend…” Ancal shook his head. “Though believe me, we did miss you while we were out there…”

“It’s good to see you…” Corvoril sighed, then he turned towards Pil. “And you too, though I don’t know who you are….”

“You can just call me Pil…” the wizard smiled.

“Now, someone told me that your group got the monster that did this to me…” Corvoril looked down at his own bed, then back up at Pil. “You lot seem to be quite capable.”

“I wouldn’t say so.” The wizard sighed. “I mean, it took almost all of us to beat it and we just barely survived.”

“Either way, we owe you one.” The older elf shrugged. “But now, what is this about the bandits? You guys still need help finding them?”

“The last time we went out, we only found one camp.” Ancal explained. “A small one at that, but this time around, I want everyone to come along. We’ll need every reliable person we can get.”

“Just need a little more time and I’m good to go.” Corvoril nodded. “Count me in.”

“Really?” Pil shook his head. “Just like that?” The older elf nodded, and the wizard got a pat on the back by Ancal.

“We’re in this together.” Ancal smiled. “Whether you like it or not.”

“Alright…” Pil shrugged and shook his head.

“We’ll meet together again later.” Ancal smiled. “For now, let’s just call this a night. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to go, okay?” Pil looked back down at Corvoril and Ancal only laughed in response. “Nayola will take care of him, we’ll be fine.”

The wizard said his farewells before leaving and making his way back over to the Trenton manor. Surprisingly enough, Breonna and Kayla were waiting by the gates upon his return. They started marching over as soon as they saw him.

“So how did it go?” Breonna had her hands on her hips.

“Well, I’m not quite sure what to make of it yet…” Pil shrugged. “He says he wants to be friends with me, but I have no idea if he actually trusts me or not. The guy is unreadable.”

“We can still work with this.” Kayla nodded. “At best, he trusts you and has his guard down. At worst, he underestimates you and has his guard down.”

“He wants to head out again tomorrow.” Pil sighed. “So, we’re heading back out I guess.”

“Damn!” Breonna hissed and shook her head. “We need supplies before we can head out like that. We need at least another day. We just got done recovering from our last fight.”

“So, he makes the decisions for all of us?” Pil shook his head.

“It isn’t like that,” Breonna shook her head. “But we need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Before more people get hurt.”

“I can head out and get the supplies.” Kayla offered.

“Wait, please no.” Breonna shook her head. “Don’t torture yourself for us.”

“No, I’m serious.” Kayla smiled. “Just tell me what you need, and I’ll go out and get it for you. I know which shops are still open and I’m a night-owl anyway.”

“Thank you.” Breonna smiled. “Health potions, at least a couple for all of us.”

“Understood.” The blonde woman nodded. “You guys can all stay here overnight.” She motioned for the guards to let the warrior and the wizard back in before heading off. Breonna turned around and saw that Kayla was already heading out. The woman didn’t even bother to head back in and grab her cloak.

Breonna motioned for Pil to come with her inside, once inside, a servant would lead them all to their own individual rooms. Each guest room had a roughly similar look, a bed, a wardrobe, a mirror among other such things.

Pil quietly folded his robes on the rack, Princess circling the perimeter of the room, she was perched onto the bed post, watching the wizard from above.

The wizard sighed, thinking about the dynamics between both groups. How was he going to keep this up? He wasn’t sure if he could just keep up with giving an act for Ancal. He was hardly doing that today, he shook his head, visibly frustrated.

Princess cawed, getting his attention right away. She flew down and landed right on his shoulder. He smiled and scratched the bottom of her beak and fed her treats. She would adjust her head so that he would scratch the better spots.

The wizard smiled; the familiar spell was the best spell he thought he ever learned. She was able to sense when he was feeling down and would come to him right away just to make him feel better.

He soon went to bed with her keeping a watchful eye over him. Despite usually screaming as loud as possible most of the time, Princess kept quiet for most of the night.

The next thing the wizard knew he was back home at Arrington. “What?” he muttered, he looked around to see himself surrounded by several farm animals, inside the barn. He immediately got up and rushed out the door, looking into his own reflection, he was small, he was a child again.

“How in the…” the boy looked off into the distance. He was back home, it was a bright and sunny day as well. There wasn’t even a cloud in the sky. For just a moment, he forgot about everything. He was just taking in the view and somehow he was filled with wonder. He looked up at the mountains, wondering what was at the top. He looked into the woods wondering what was lurking inside. For some reason, even though he was confused, he couldn’t help but smile.

That moment was cut short when he heard shouting. Turning around, he could hear a man and a woman arguing from inside the nearby house. He rolled his eyes, knowing exactly who they were. He ran away, wanting to get out of sight before either of them would rush outside.

He ended up getting closer to the center of town. He thought about making his way over to Dante, he would try to rush past everyone. But for some reason, at some point, he paused. He turned his head, feeling as if he was being watched. That was when he saw another young boy, roughly the same age as he was. Only this boy had dark hair and pointed ears. The boy just had a blank expression, watching Pil curiously. There was no malice or ill will. Pil just shrugged it off at first and then kept running. He wanted to see Dante once again, it had been so long. He wanted just one more day where he could be with his friend. He frowned, not wanting to have to say goodbye again, but at the end, he knew that it would eventually come to that.

The small cabin that was torn up sat upon a small hill just at the edge of the village. The boy poked his head inside, expecting someone, but no one was inside. Pil huffed and entered the small cabin, whistling to himself, looking around in random directions before kicking a pebble that was on the floor.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” A familiar voice called from behind, causing the white haired boy to turn around. There stood another young boy who was both slightly older and taller than Pil. This one had dark curly short hair, light brown eyes that could have been mistaken for ruby red. While Pil’s pale skin was reminiscent to the snow atop the mountains, this boy was more reminiscent to the dark oak trees that surrounded the landscape. He wore long red robes with black embroidering along the accents. Despite living in a broken-down shack, he still managed to give off the same aura as a young prince from a fairy tale. “Thought you would never show up…”

“To be honest, I never thought I could come back here?” Pil shrugged. He watched as the older boy took a bite into a bright red apple, the audible crunch could be heard from across the room. “Stealing from our tree again.” Pil chuckled and wagged his finger.

“Want one?” Dante reached down and grabbed another. Pil nodded his head and the older boy gently tossed the apple for Pil to catch. The younger boy caught it with one hand before taking a large bite out of it. The way the juices entered in, tantalizing his tastebuds, he was hit with a perfect mixture of sweet and sour. He might as well have been eating candy. “So what have you been up to?” Dante pulled up a small wooden stool for himself.

“Where do I even begin?” Pil had his back against the wall. “You know how people call homeschooling hard? Try self-schooling, in magic no less…”

“One of the wonders of our world.” Dante smiled, leaning closer to the younger boy. ”So how is that going?”

“About as well as expected.” Pil shrugged. “I mean, I’m learning a lot from all kinds of people, making all sorts of friends along the way.”

“Wait, really?” Dante raised an eyebrow. “How many? What have you guys been doing together?”

“About this many…” Pil raised both his hands raising his fingers in the air for his friend. “As far as what we’ve been doing. Well, I guess you could say everything. We go out drinking, we argue all the time, we go out on adventures, and we have all risked our lives for each other. I wouldn’t get rid of any one of them. They all make me feel special, appreciated, and they really care about me; I can tell.”

“Wow…” Dante looked up at the ragged ceiling, there was a large hole where he could still look up at the sky if he wanted to. “I wish I could be there…”

“Me too…” Pil’s eyes started to well up. “You know what? I want you there so badly, I’ll figure out a way to do it. One day, we’ll go out together and we can finally leave this trash heap like we always said we would…” tears started streaming down his cheeks. “So just hold on okay?”

“But how are you going to do that?” Dante sighed with a skeptical look.

“I’m learning magic, remember?” Pil gave him a thumbs up, using the sleeve to wipe away his tears. “Sooner or later, we’ll be together again just like these days…”

Soon enough, the wizard finally woke up, he groaned when he sat himself up in bed. Princess was sitting next to him on the blanket, staring blankly up at him. He smiled before petting her to which she cooed in response. He wasted no time in getting himself ready for the morning, a servant came to show him where he could wash himself. Overnight, his robes had been cleaned thanks to them. By the time he was out, he had a unique lime sent that he couldn’t help but give a small smile of satisfaction to.

The servant who showed him the way to the washroom came back and guided him into the large dining hall. Everyone else including Kayla was already awake, each person with a plate in front of them. Pil sat himself down next to Aryanna who smiled when he got close.

“Enjoy this while you can.” Kayla announced, sitting across from the wizard. “You never know what can happen out there.” Pil looked down at the plate, it had eggs, cheese, bread, and some ham. It was a lot of greasy food. The wizard churned at the thought of eating all of that.

“Do you have coffee?” the wizard finally looked up at the blonde woman. She nodded and raised her hands, one of the servants who were serving the others in the group stopped what she was doing and went into the kitchen. Moments later, she emerged with a small cup and presented it to the wizard. Pil decided that he could at least wake himself up.

“We like to hope for the best.” Breonna shrugged in response to Kayla’s previous statement. “Granted, we’re not foolish, we know what’s out there. But we’ve gotten out of some scary situations.”

“Just barely…” Morqen muttered to himself at one end of the table. He was merely poking at the ham with his fork, bored out of his mind.

Kayla cleared her throat as she noticed both the rogue and the wizard avoiding their meals. “If you two would like, I could have them cook something else for you.”

“No, it’s fine.” Aryanna laughed, elbowing Pil as hard as she could while doing so. “We’re grateful for the hospitality, really.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you anyway, Pil was it?” Kayla’s expression turned serious. “Were you able to learn anything last night? Sorry that we had to send you there by yourself.”

“No, I get it, it’s fine.” Pil relented and started eating the eggs which were getting cold at this point. “The plan is that we’re all tracking down the rest of these bandits together. Like us, they got another person they plan on bringing along too. They say it’s to help track down the rest of the bandits, but I think that part is a bunch of shit. I think they already know because of what Nayola did to those corpses.” He looked to Aryanna.

“What else did they learn about the bandits?” Kayla leaned closer, resting her chin on her hands which were clamped together. Her elbows sitting on the table, breaking all table manners now to the disappointment of one of her servants.

Pil sighed before continuing. “This isn’t the first town that they’ve tried raiding. In fact, it’s a miracle that this town hasn’t been destroyed yet by then, like mine was years ago…they’re the same bandits…”

“Are you sure?” Aryanna held his hand, her eyes widened out of shock and concern.

“Yeah…” Pil nodded. “With what they told me and what I already knew, I was able to put two and two together, it’s them…”

“Then it’s time we finally put a stop to them.” Breonna nodded. “I just hope that we’ll be enough for The Roaring Banner once that’s done.”

“Yeah…” Pil looked down at the plate of food silently. Aryanna couldn’t help but give him a concerned look. Eventually, after the meal was finished, everyone gathered their belongings and started making their way to the town gates.

While they were making their way out, Kayla pulled out a satchel and started handing everyone the health potions she bought overnight. Once again, she had her cloak up. She had explained that if she could delay the realization that she is of the Trenton household, even for a little while with the Roaring Banner that it would be worth it.

The Greyhawks had all of their gear ready as well. Luckily, there was plenty of fabrics from the Trenton manor to take with them, just in case if they would end up having to scale the mountains at the end of the forests.

Once the group finally made it to the edge of town, all of the members of The Roaring Banner were waiting for them. Ancal, Kelrac, Nayola, and the older elf Corvoril. Pil thought about him and realized that he bore a striking resemblance to Morqen. It was like the two of them were the same person, just at different points of life.

“Is everyone ready?” Ancal smiled, reaching out to Pil to shake his hand. Pil, at first surprised at the gesture regained his composure after a moment and smiled, shaking the Dragonborn’s hand.

“As ready as we’ll ever be…” Pil sighed, looking to the group.

“Who is this?” Kelrac spoke up for once. His voice was much deeper and unwelcoming than his brother’s. The hulking brute was staring daggers down at Kayla. The young woman hissed and crossed her arms impatiently but said nothing.

“A friend of mine.” Breonna cut in, stepping between both parties. “She can help us too. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

Kelrac snarled, taking a step closer. Kayla reached down for her sword, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice. Neither party was backing down. Both were ready to kill each other here and now if that was where this was going.

“No…” Ancal stepped in front of Breonna. He had his hands raised passively. “No problem at all. Forgive my brother, he’s very protective of us and doesn’t like surprises…” He immediately looked to his brother. “But he’s gonna just have to live with this one…”

Kelrac looked down at his brother but relented. He took a step back and shook his head, turning his attention to something else. He had his hands on his hips.

“So much for sorry…” Vedetta muttered, but Aryanna elbowed the ranger right away.

“Guys…” Ancal tried to get everyone’s attention. “I know that we’ve all been through a lot the last time we went out. But please, we need to work together on this.” All eyes were on him. “I know that we all have our own reasons for being here. Some are not as glamorous as others, I know that we got a lot of personalities here. Personalities can clash, that just comes naturally, but please. Each and every one of you here, at some point, for one reason or another, thought that despite all of this, us working together was worth it. So please, I’m not so foolish as to expect everyone to hold hands the entire time, but I do want everyone to remember their reasons for why they came here…understood?”

Both groups talked amongst themselves at first but then eventually, in one way or another, each person would either agree, or agree to disagree. No one wanted to drag this moment out for any longer, and both groups started to move out.

Hours had passed since both groups entered the woods. They had been traveling for the entire day without pause. They made it past the old camp they attacked from before. The remains had been completely removed. In fact, almost all of the equipment from the camp was gone. The only indication that this location was the campsite was that there were so many footprints and a few discarded items that weren’t worth scavenging. Both groups pushed onwards, deeper into the woods more than ever before.

The Roaring Banner of course was leading the way. Despite every moment being drowned with silence, tensions were high. It wasn’t bad enough that they were on the hunt for an extremely dangerous bandit group. Tensions between both groups were starting to boil over. How much longer can this act keep going? Where they have to pretend to like each other? Sure, there were some members of the Banner that genuinely wanted to be friends with the Greyhawks, but that sentiment was not entirely shared.

Pil and Aryanna would catch up with each other at this time. “So, what happened last night?” the warlock muttered.

“Well, I met with him…” the wizard pointed at Ancal. “We sort of connected really. Had drinks together and he told me about these bandits.”

“But was there anything else…?” Aryanna frowned. Pil hesitated and looked at her, she was genuinely worried about him.

He shook his head in response. “He just said that he wants to be my friend…”

“Right…” Aryanna chuckled to herself, shaking her head. But Pil just looked at her and she paused. “Wait, you’re not joking…”

“I don’t think he was lying either…” Pil sighed.

“No, Pil…” Aryanna put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t want to be friends with a man like him. You’ve seen what that entire group does yourself. With how many enemies that we are surrounded with every single day, can you really afford to have a friend like him?” The wizard just looked to the ground, not giving her a response.

Kelrac eyed the both of them from ahead, suspicious that they were talking amongst themselves. He grunted to himself, not paying attention to the fact that his leg snapped a tiny wire laid out from the bush. He looked down the moment he felt it, but by the time he realized what happened, it was too late. Soon enough, a wooden stake shot out from the bush and pierced the brute right in the torso. He roared in pain, already in a fit of rage, he pulled the stake out from his torso and tossed it aside. If any other, smaller, person triggered that trap, the stake would have pierced their heart and they would have dropped dead instantly. Kelrac’s eyes were bloodshot, searching for any enemy nearby.

“Get ‘em!” A voice shouted from above. Soon enough, arrows started raining down from all directions.

“They knew we were coming!” Nayola cried as she ran for cover, she caught up with the two spellcasters who were talking earlier.

“No shit!” Aryanna barked as she hurled a ball of fire out into the trees. A thunderous boom echoed through the woods as bandits were flung into the air, one was hit directly by the fireball, but he became a simple pile of ashes.

“You think now’s a good time to argue!?” Ancal snarled, a couple of arrows sticking out from him. He hurled a beam of blue light that shot out in three different directions. Hitting three different archers from above, each one being cooked alive in a blue fire as they were hit.

Kelrac charged at a tree and hit it with enough force that it became uprooted. The archers up in the branches were falling down, hitting the ground as fast as the tree itself did. The brute opened his mouth and hissed, in a flash he jerked his head and the next moment, one bandit was screaming in pain as acid was all over his face. The bandit was blinded already, screaming in pain trying to get it off. The other bandit who hit the ground froze, and Kelrac charged forward, his jaw growing larger. Soon enough the bandit felt a sharp pain on both sides of his head, and then nothing. Kelrac spit the head of the bandit out and looked for more prey.

More bandits were shooting arrows at Breonna and Kayla. Breonna had raised her shield and Kayla hid from behind. The shield had soaked in most of the arrows. Kayla drew her sword which glowed brightly, more than that, there were all kinds of rune engravings carved into the blade. The young woman held that blade in one hand, while her other free hand was glowing as well. She raised that hand and soon enough lightning streaked across the woods, hitting multiple bandits in a chain.

Pil saw the girl in action, he didn’t doubt Breonna earlier. He figured that the woman was going to be reliable. But, when he finally saw it for himself, he came upon the realization. Kayla was no ordinary noblewoman; she was far more capable. In fact, she was more than likely out of Breonna’s league. While hiding behind cover, he charged Princess with a necrotic spell. Shadows enveloped her as she flew right into a bandit that was above in the trees, she disappeared, ended up inside of the bandit. However, soon the bandit screamed as the raven burst out of his chest. Princess let out a triumphant caw once she did and the archer fell.

Some bandits saw this and decided to climb down and try to pick off the spellcasters, get them out from hiding behind cover. That was when Morqen and Corvoril both jumped out from hiding, taking all the bandits who landed by surprise. Daggers were being planted deep into the backs of the bandits, in a fluid dancing motion, Morqen and Corvoril worked together in this instant. “Introductions are overdue.” Corvoril smiled.

“Perhaps later!” Morqen shook his head.

“Right, sorry.” Corvoril shrugged and went back into hiding amongst the bushes. Morqen was baffled and paused for a moment. However, a moment later, an arrow pierced him in the back. The elven rogue grunted and turned to the archer.

“Wait!” A bandit called to the others. “That’s Reshert!” The bandit started laughing excitedly and motioned for the bandits to continue their onslaught. “Reshert gets the same treatment as traitors!”

The elf panicked and dove for cover, right in time too. His flight response saved him from a barrage of arrows that came raining down in his direction. He disengaged and tried to find a new place to hide so that he could regain his composure and get the jump on the bandits again.

Ancal looked at the rogue’s last location with an eyebrow raised. Right before he fired off more spells picking more archers out from the trees. Soon enough, less and less arrows were being fired. At this point, it was no longer a barrage, but only a couple flying across the woods every moment. The bandits, even though they had the element of surprise were losing their ground.

“They’re almost done!” Nayola cried out as she focused on rushing to Kelrac, healing the brute with her magic. The warrior himself had gathered the corpses and started hurling them at the archers that refused to come down and fight him.

Eventually, a couple of more bandits came down and tried to stick to the original plan of picking off the spellcasters. But Breonna and Kayla saw them descend, and the two fighters descended upon the bandits. Both fighters made quick work, Breonna smacking a bandit so hard with her mace that his head caved in and he was dead before he hit the floor.

Kayla swung her sword and the man tried to parry it with his own. He was able to hold his own against her for a moment, but then not long after he started getting tired. He was loosing his grip, this was no natural occurrence. The man looked at Kayla’s glowing sword and saw that she was chuckling to herself. Soon enough, the man dropped his sword and Kayla pierced him right away.

Aryanna hurled another ball of fire, Ancal shot lighting, Pil charged Princess with another attack. More and more archers were being picked off. In fact, just about every bandit left was hit with one of those attacks. The bandits that were hit with the lightning died instantly, same with the one bandit hit with Pil’s necrotic force. Aryanna’s fire disintegrated the bandit the fireball hit directly, another was caught into the blast radius and knocked out of the tree branch. He fell to the ground, his back hitting a tree stump. The bandit was paralyzed, he was in too much pain and his legs broke upon hitting the ground, he was not going anywhere. However, he was still alive.

That was when Morqen came out from hiding, the fight was now over. The bandit hissed when he saw the elven rogue approaching. Morqen pulled out his dagger, and the bandit spat blood in his direction.

“You wretched conniving keeb bastard…” The bandit looked up at the rogue. “We should have killed you a long time ago.”

“What did he say?” Ancal approached as both groups were gathering together once more. Everyone looking rough from the ambush.

“What?” Morqen knelt down and plunged the dagger into the bandit. “Those fuckers sold me out, I’ve already explained this a million times! They gave me to her!” he pointed at Vedetta.

“So, you guys knew about this?” Ancal looked to Pil immediately. The leader of the Roaring Banner looked back to the elven rogue.

“What!?” Morqen barked, stepping closer, staring down the Dragonborn. “I don’t answer to you! I don’t owe you an explanation! I don’t owe you shit!”

“Ancal…” Pil muttered. “He hates them as much as we do. He’s already told us what he knows…”

“What, because you asked nicely?” Ancal shook his head. “No, I’m not buying it. I want the truth, and I want it now.”

Kelrac was towering above the rogue at this point, but Morqen wasn’t relenting. He had his hand on his dagger and he was thinking about how many escape routes he had, which were starting to narrow down. Soon enough, however, he was being restrained. “What the!?” he gasped.

“Sorry friend…” A familiar voice sighed from behind, it was Corvoril. “We won’t hurt you…”

“Get the Hell off of me!” Morqen elbowed the older elf, reared his head backwards, stomped on the older elf’s feet. But Corvoril was not letting him go. The other Greyhawks drew their weapons but Kelrac stepped before them, shoving back anyone the brute deemed was getting too close.

“He already told us everything he knows!” Breonna called out. “He only stole for them, and he hardly knew what they were up to. They hardly trusted him at all. He wasn’t involved with their plots!”

“Then tell me…” Ancal looked to Breonna. “Why is it then that he had a bounty? That the law went out of their way to remember him and give them to a bounty hunter like her?” he pointed at the ranger. She had an arrow pointed right at the Dragonborn, but he wasn’t fazed. “You know, if he really is such a nobody…”

“Now…” Nayola started focusing on a spell and she started glowing white. Pil was about to try to cancel it, but Ancal raised a hand and stopped the wizard.

“She won’t hurt him…” Ancal promised.

“Why was there a bounty for you?” Nayola’s spell caused the ground beneath to glow white like her.

“What is she doing?” Urenakk stepped forward, but Kelrac shoved him back.

“Something that only clerics can do…” Ancal smiled. “They can make you tell the truth…that’s what this spell is…a zone of truth…”

“I…Okay fine, I wasn’t just stealing for them…” Morqen growled. “Sure, I did that, but…I also scouted for them, I killed for them. What I told you guys before, I lied, alright? Is that what you fuckers want to hear? I lied!”

Nayola smiled and Ancal followed her with a triumphant grin of his own. The Greyhawks stopped trying stop this. They didn’t want to fight the members of the Roaring Banner, not yet. All they could do was watch this mess play out.

________________________________________________________________

Sorry for the small delay on this one. I’ve been sick for a while and I needed to rest for the day. But I wanted to make sure I still updated this week with the next chapter. Don’t expect any delays, just letting you guys know I’m just tired and sick, but not burned out. The show must go on. 

[aro-simp]

Are they a part of any factions, guilds, or organizations?

How do they feel about consorting with daedra? Do they collect their artifacts? Are there some they would never interact with vs. some they would consider calling upon?

Which areas of Skyrim do they find most beautiful and most dangerous?

I'm just gonna answer each for both Freymir and Tallen :) They're both Dragonborn OCs who don't exist alongside each other, and both OCs come with their own changes to the game's lore.

Factions/Guilds/Organizations?

Freymir: Most notably she is part of the Companions, and the Circle. She also fought in the Civil War alongside the Imperial army.

Other than that she does not really consider herself part of any other factions. Tho she does eventually get roped into their business.

Part of her story is that she is immortal, and thus cursed to walk Skyrim's lands forever. And eternity does get quite boring!

So while she is involved with the Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild and Mage's College as well she doesn't really align herself with their general ideologies and identity.

Tallen: He's an S/I so he's just kinda forced to do everything I find interesting >v<

He's a soldier in the imperial army (I PROMISE I have OCs who aren't in the imperial army...), he's reluctant member (and listener) of the Dark Brotherhood, he is part of the Thieves Guild but largely more casual until Mercer Frey got him involved in stuff that got... pretty major, he's also part of the Dawnguard!

Idk how far this counts as a faction but after Ulfric Stormcloak was defeated he was temporarily placed as Jarl of Windhelm until he stepped down but stayed as consultant to Brunwulf Free-Winter.

Daedra?

Freymir: Much like the whole factions thing, Daedric relations are much less something Freymir does but much more something that happens to her. She is mostly very reluctant to align herself with Daedric Princes because she is a very kind-hearted and peaceful person, and considers most Daedra to be malicious.

Through her curiosity (about the artifacts) and naivety she has come in contact with nearly all Daedra against her will, some of them forcing her to do their willing to a breaking point. She regrets her actions deeply, and is frequently overcome by immeasurable guilt.

She wouldn't outright admit it but she is somewhat afraid of Hermaeus Mora, not just because of his power and infamy, but his appearance and the apocrypha freak her out as well.

She is usually quite ambivalent towards Daedra worship, but she steers clear of those that consort with Hircine, Molag Bal, Hermaeus Mora or Namira.

Tallen: He has pretty complex relationship to the Princes. Tallen is a worshipper of Meridia's and consorts with her frequently, he is also in occasional contact with Sanguine and one of the Prince's elected favorites.

His bond to Hircine is quite specific, he carries the title "Son of Hircine" for himself. He tells a story of a lost child in a forest with an unusually strong and animalistic bloodlust, who was encountered by Hircine who granted him the gift (or curse) of lycanthropy, and eventually took it upon himself to raise his own champion. Their bond is somewhat patchy as Tallen holds an anger towards the countless murders Hircine encouraged him to, but in the end he was the closest to a father Tallen ever had.

He has once worked with Namira, but after he was forced to cannibalize a friend of his he tried to keep his distance.

He's very wary of the stronger and less benevolent Daedra. He's very interested in the artifacts and spends a lot of his time pondering whether or not they're worth it. He does proudly carry Meridia's Dawnbreaker tho. He also got his hands on Namira's ring and Sanguine's rose.

Tallen is generally skeptical of Daedra worship as he's sure few worshippers realize the potential and willingness the Princes hold to take advantage of their followers, as long as one is perceptive to the risks he sees no issue in it.

Most Beautiful/Most Dangerous Areas

Freymir: She prefers to stay on Solstheim, which she considers both beautiful and dangerous. But the most overwhelming sense of beauty, and alongside it danger, she has experienced in Sovngarde during her final battle with Alduin. She is at peace knowing friend she lost might spend eternity in such place.

Tallen: He could never pick a place he considers most beautiful, for he sees (almost) all of Skyrim as being of incomparable beauty. In very broad senses he does consider its nature the most beautiful place. Most dangerous he thinks by far are the dwarven ruins, and alongside it Blackreach.

Thank you anon :3

[chaoticbard]

Who was your first OC?

What caused you to start writing? What was your key point?

@galefcrce || Munday

My first ever OC, with their very own blog, on Tumblr specifically, is actually Alaara. And if I think waaaaaaaaaay back, the earliest I can recall at all was when I was a kid over on Neopets. I'd RP as my pets some through neomail of all things. I cringe at that SO hard. It did get me started with writing and gave me growth. But oof.

I'd thought about writing Alaara on a few occasions in some form or another. I wanted to continue her story first in IRL DND campaigns, since she started out there, gosh, over five years ago now. Long story short, that didn't happen, so she stayed dormant. She got peace for a while in Waterdeep, heh.

Early this year, my friend found Baldur's Gate. She was positive I'd love the game, to the point she bought it for me. When I was in the character creation screen, I was elated to see dragonborn as an option to play as. And when I saw that option, I knew immediately: Alaara has to come back. This is a huge chance to further her story, to add to it. What new and legendary shenanigans can she get into?

As I got closer to the game's end, this itch was still there to get more. More of everything. There were still so many people she could talk to in this world. There were so many little gaps that could be filled in, be it at camp or along the road. What sort of mundane or funny or profound conversations is she having that we don't see in the game, be it with companions or NPCs? And I didn't know it until my friend told me, but I got to add to the question roster: what does it look like for Alaara to fall in love and keep a relationship going? To legitimately find someone who puts up with her brand of wild? How does that shape and change her?

And of course- once you're through with the game entirely, what happens afterward? Where does she go? Who does she see and help? What does her life look like after being branded as a hero of Faerún, after she had this sort of perceived infamy to her name for so long? How does her world change in her tavern, with her friends and family?

So many questions to answer, and I'm glad I get to answer pretty much all of those. 😌

[infinitcnexus]

Captain McCown. Rivan didn't know him personally, but the man's infamy preceded him. He had heard a few tales of his ruthlessness, cruelty, and fervent disdain for anything that wasn't a human like him. A part of the dragonborn wondered if a powerful man such as McCown would forever be out of reach for retribution; an assumption that has been swiftly and recently disapproved.

It brought him a degree of relief to hear about the tyrant's downfall, but he would be lying if he pretended that he had no concern for the orc who took his life. Righteous or not, countless many were out for his blood.

And the female orc seemed to be hiding something behind that facade of concern.

"If you don't mind, allow me to accompany you," Rivan suggested. "I believe there might be traces of his whereabouts at the inn I'm staying at."

"Ma'am, are you part of the 4th Orc Battalion?" asked an elven weaponsmith.

The orc in particular loomed over him, a slight growl leaving her throat. "And what. If. I am?" The elf's eyes widened as he shrunk underneath her.

Rivan lifted his eyes from the book he was currently reading, studying the elf and the orc's body language intently. Who the 4th Orc Battalion were nor their significance to the latter didn't matter as much as the signs of a simple inquiry possibly taking a turn for the physical before him.

Quickly slipping a paper bookmark between the pages, the dragonborn closed his book and walked towards them.

"Leave him be," Rivan said. "He meant you no offense."

[leolovesthings]

Dragonborn’s Infamy is by far one of the craziest, funniest, and in-depth p*rn mods for this game! Let me elaborate on one (1! there are many) of the quests from that mod

Warning: Major Spoilers! (Of a p*rn mod. Do you care? You decide)

You start in Whiterun, where there is a sweetheart couple from two families that hate each other. Classic. In vanilla, they are trying to somewhat hide their relationship, and it never evolves. Jon Battle-Born and Olfina Gray-Mane.

In this mod you get an intense romantic (and sexual) story that could go... so many different ways. I am going to tell you what my character has witnessed (and by that I mean the plot!). In his own words.

This one met Jon Battle-Born, an aspiring bard. He wanted to go to Solitude and join the Bards College, but was worried his girlfriend would run away with someone else. This one supported him in pursuing his dreams, and so he left for the capital.

Soon after his girlfrind, Olfina Gray-Mane, approached this one and told this one how she misses her beloved. This one assured her that love survives distance.

Then, another bard approached this one, called Mikael. He was interested in Olfina and was hoping to get this one’s help in making her his. His suggested methods were less than honorable. This one did not help him. They had lunch and Olfina made it clear she was not interested.

Olfina asked if she should try and visit her beloved, and this one supported her. After some time she received a letter from him saying it was over. She asked if she should try and get him back. This one said he believes in their love. And so got back together. She decided to run away and live with him there, in the capital. (This one walked in on them in the inn. Embarrassing.)

Long after that, this one went back to Whiterun. And there this one witnessed a fight between two old men: lovebirds’ parents. They shouted at each other all over the marketplace (at night). Olfrid Battle-Born, Jon’s father, has accused Olfrina of being a paid-for wench, trying to distract his son from studying. And her father  uncle argued she was an honest woman and was kidnapped against her will. Thankfully, the guards stopped those fools from fighting.

Some time after that this one went to Solitude inn only to discover a murder (that did not quite take). Olfina was (supposed to be?!) assassinated. Jon wanted to go to Whiterun to avenge her, and this one chose not to dissuade him. This one chose to help.

We arrived to Whiterun and Jon confronted his father. Olfrid would not admit it, but the way he was talking about her before long since convinced this one it was true, and he did hire her killer(s). Jon killed his father, and we escaped back to Solitude.

Illdi, a young bard from the Bards College, same one who discovered the body and tried to stop Jon from risking his life for revenge, was relieved to see him return. Turnes out she had a vested interest.

This one now thinks to give it time, but eventually convince Jon to move on. However, right after that conversation this one walked in on the lovebirds AGAIN.

This one now believes in corporeal (and sexually active) ghosts.

* * *

Well, realistically, it’s probably a mod conflict. And some other mod might require her alive or something. But the amount of choices (!) in this quest (or rather, series of quests) seems to be tremendous. And those choices have consequences.

From what I could see so far, you can break them up (several times). You can get Olfina to choose you instead (probably? not Jon though, unfortunately, that might have been tempting). You can roofie Olfina for Mikael (ew).

There could be, according to the mod’s page, a horse involved... Potentially... (yep. There is this scene in the very beginning, where you have to catch them in the act - Jon and Olfina are getting it on at night behind the stables - and confront them... And I suppose one of the things your character can do is tie up Jon and bring a horse instead. Why.)

Speaking of the horse, in the very beginning, as you are initializing this mod (by the way, do not install it on an existing save - it will sort of work, but not really, and might completely destroy your save file) you can choose what content would you like to see. You can disable non-consensual stuff and/or bestiality, and choose your moral guideline and sexual orientation.

The main feature of this mod is that it adapts to your personal moral (or immoral) choices. And by making those choices you gain a certain reputation. You can be a saint slut or an evil puritan. Or an evil slut, it’s really up to you.

It also connects to some other mods in a certain way and takes that info into account too. And that reputation you get further affects other quests and choices you can make there.

[musetta3]

Hey dear! Here are some asks for any OC you'd like! 💖

Pre relationship: 2 and 6

General: 3 and 7

Love: 6 and 8

Domestic life: 1 and 9

AHH! @ellie-effie, I have all kinds of fun questions here, thank you, my dear! I’ll answer for... Vilkas and Iseult from Skyrim, I think. Rana and Fenris have been getting a lot of attention lately; I’ll go with Vil and Izzie. (I made the answers fandom-blind friendly, for those who aren’t familiar with the Elder Scrolls and Skyrim). 

2. What was their first impression of each other?

Vilkas thought Iseult was an upstart nobody and a royal pain. A beautiful royal pain, but a pain, nonetheless. She sauntered into Jorrvaskr, asked to join the warrior’s guild, and the guildmaster said ‘sure,’ despite Vilkas’s protestations. To top it off, the guildmaster asked Vilkas to test the girl’s abilities. What should have been an easy spar led to Vilkas’s humiliation in front of everyone, when Iseult bests him. He gives her a wide berth after that.

Iseult considered Vilkas a prideful, annoying know-it-all book nerd, more scholar than warrior. She questioned why he was even at Jorrvaskr.

6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

They would’ve laughed in disbelief, for sure... although Vilkas would’ve blushed the moment Iseult turned away. 

3. What was their first kiss like?

Hahaha! Oh man, it was a classic. Bloody, dirty, and tasted like bitter health potions. Picture this: what should’ve been an exploration of a dwarven ruin turns into a trek through an underground realm, the remnants of the dwarven civilization. The roads stretch on and on, dotted by giant mushrooms the size of trees, glowing in eerie blues. Creepy, right?

Not as creepy as the horrible creatures that live down there in the dark.

They didn’t expect the ambush. One minute, they were walking towards only the gods knew where, the next, they were attacked by goblin-like falmer. Iseult was shot in a chink in her armor and went down. When Vilkas could finally attend to her safely, he was frantic with worry: she’d lost a lot of blood. When the health potion worked, he was so grateful she woke up, he kissed her. 

Just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, Iseult returned the favor. Vilkas didn’t mind one bit.

7. Who takes the lead in social situations?

Iseult. As the Dragonborn, she’s one of the most important people in the land, and is used to receptions and parties. Vilkas is not, and would rather be home knitting or hanging out with his brother.

6. Who’s more protective?

Vilkas. He’s very protective of Iseult, even though she’s perfectly capable of protecting herself. It’s one of the ways that he shows affection, through acts of service.

8. What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?

Ooh, this is a good question. I would say... 

‘Heartlines,’ from Florence + the Machine: The lyrics are especially apt, because no matter how far the narrator’s beloved goes, or what circumstance they find themselves in, the narrator will always be right there beside them and support them. Iseult and Vilkas are like that for each other. They each face tragedies and danger in their lives, and they support each other through it.

‘Thank You,’ from Led Zeppelin: this, to me, is the perfect love song. ‘Your hand in mine, we walk the miles.’ That’s them, with their packs on their backs and the swords at their sides as they set off on another adventure. 

1. If they get married, who proposes?

Vilkas. Iseult has helped him through the loss of his father-figure, his rage/vengeance, helped lift a curse off Vilkas and his brother: he couldn’t imagine his life without her. 

9. Who’s the better cook?

Hahaha! The ever-heated debate at Heljarchen Hall (their house) is who’s a better cook, because both Izzie and Vil are terrible cooks. Vilkas is slightly better than she is, but only barely... his porridge has gone down in infamy for being a good substitute for plaster; the spoon stands up straight in the bowl.

[bretongirlwrites]

honestly you would not believe how much of my ocs' personalities i built from random elements of gameplay

when i first played oblivion, i was terrified of doing anything illegal. not because i actually have a clear sense of right and wrong, but because i was scared of getting caught. those guards are frickin terrifying. anyway my original hok corinne never committed a single crime, hence why in headcanon she is lawful good, sticks very closely to the rules, and is a former member of the imperial watch

marianne was the character i specifically made to play through the thieves guild. the whole robin hood thing going on influenced her personality no end; as did my decision, when her infamy hit 31, to go on a pilgrimage, hence her changing relationship in headcanon with religion and the divines

julianne was the character with whom i attempted a pure mage runthrough of oblivion, and then of skyrim. her excessive cheerfulness is almost purely due to the fact that i went into her skyrim runthrough determined to do everything right this time, and also because i was doing a no-fast-travel run, which in the early stages required a lot of patience, and the ability to find excitement in just about everything

when i first played skyrim, i was quite amused by the fact that my character had a permanent middle distance stare. i was also at this point massively comparing the game to oblivion, and finding myself hopelessly nostalgic for third era cyrodiil. i fed this nostalgia into my dragonborn julienne, along with the fact that she looked like she was having a constant existential crisis, and the rest is history

[ask-them-bois]

Oh Heck yeah AU'S let's go pal, this is @abysmaltourmaline giving you 150 percent permission to make AU'S including my ocs. Yes, I'm opening this box

*points at you* Know that this is Pandora’s Conan’s box that you have opened, foolish mortal, and I am not to blame for what you find within. I WILL make aus for your ocs, do NOT tempt me. But fine, I will indulge the previous ask:

“Angrec - Describe a royalty au with your muse. What position would your muse be in? How would they feel about their station? all bois?”

(Instead of just straight up royalty, I’m gonna dive into my Fantasy AU, because it’s the one I have the most developed.)

Vornik- A fae king with powers unknown. He skulks through the densest, darkest forests, singing with the birds. Anyone foolish enough to follow his song comes to find a field of glowing flowers, where Vornik waits. He does not lie about who he is, and offers them things in return for objects of non-substance. A cat’s scale for riches, the fur of a bird for knowledge. A name for the adventure of a lifetime. A dead name for a lifetime of adventure. To those who can give him what he wants, he is benevolent, dancing with them as the sun sets. To those that cannot, they dance for much, much longer.

Makeno- A siren prince that lures handsome sailors into the rocks. He “saves” them from this cruel fate and pleads for them to stay with him, lamenting his loneliness. Some say they will, and he drags them to the bottom of the sea. They never again see the surface, but are pampered, safe, and happy in a palace made of coral. As for those who don’t stay, well, Makeno doesn’t have the heart to wound a pretty face, but that doesn’t mean he will help the now stranded men.

Corden- A war-forged automaton, with a skin of steel and heart of gears. A brain of ruby and amber gave him the ability to think and feel, before his masters cast him aside. Now he patrols the ruins of his birthplace, his heart ticking time away as he waits for someone to find him, to use him as he was meant to be used.

Musrio- A powerful necromancer of infamy. His palace of bones and mushrooms is hidden in the darkest of places, only found at cross ways on old roads at three in the morning precisely. To those that step inside, he bids them welcome with a friendly tone. Those who find him are always seeking something, even if they themselves do not know what it is. Those who bow and scrape and show respect, he will try to help. Many widows and widowers, grieving mothers and mourning fathers leave the crossroads with lighter hearts and tear-stained smiles. But those who demand the use of his powers, with no respect for his art- those people are never seen in daylight again, only spotted as shambling, rotting thralls that loiter in the dark alleys.

Drayco- A dragonborn hero, set out on a journey to right the world’s wrongs. With a blade from their master, a shield from their mother, and the cloak of their father, they rush forward towards adventure on the back of their steed. They have taken on dragons and gods alike, and comes out with new scars and loot each time. They have earned the favor of the people, but the rage of lords and kings who send armies after them. Never have they been caught, but every hero has a flaw that brings about their downfall.

Gehero- A wise hermit and sage, just as he is now. Except this Gehero sits atop a mountain, brewing potions and teas as his dozens of cats trip about his feet. Weary adventures seek his wisdom, asking of their futures and fortunes. He sits with them, offers them tea and a place to sleep for the night. He cannot tell them what they want, he says, for he cannot see the future, but he can offer advice on how to get there.

Rufuss- A humble dwarf, who forges tools and items of value. No blade has ever come from his heated irons. Instead, he produces hoes and rakes that will never dull, hammers that never break, and nails that never bend. Horseshoes never need replacement, and his pliers never rust. The local humans adore him, and he is gifted many things for his hard, earnest work. Everything they request is promptly given, often with a twist or surprise that makes the tool even more amazing than the buyer was expecting.

Ashhur- A young king, only recently given the throne. He is inexperienced and afraid of his future, but he forges ahead for the good of his people. The serfs and poor are raised to the heights of the wealthiest, and the rich are stripped of their soiled coins. He rules with a steady hand and fair heart, his lands protected by the mountains and sea. No man is left without a home or bed, and no child without a meal at night.

Innocent- A ranger and druid of the night. He hunts the rarest, darkest creatures, his arrows glowing with a holy light as he strikes down monsters with hordes of gold and blood on their claws. He leads a band of warriors who have lived too long under the boot of the monster that controls their land. Their forests are covered in corpses, and they refuse to let these bodies continue to pile up.

Incoding- A tiefling rogue with the fury of a thousand suns. Cast from his homeland for something he didn’t do, he wanders the human world, his shoulders hunched against the whispers and stares of men and women in the streets. He has the power to call upon thunderstorms and lightning at a moments notice, and has fought battles that never need happen. He is burdened with scars and a bone-deep need of justice. He moves ever onward, seeking the one who can take him home.

Ruthless- The patron god of seas, storms, and heartbreak. His temple sits by the sea, where the people offer him gifts. Seashells, fish, and photos of fallen loved ones appear on his pedestal, and are never removed by mortal hands. He is a merciful, soft god, who looks out for the brokenhearted men and trembling women that seek shelter within his temple walls. To the ones who know the dark pain of loneliness, he appears in the night. Their candles go dark, but they know who is in their bedroom without needing to speak. He holds them and loves them as a midnight lover would, until the sun rises and he fades away. Women who were wronged seek his guidance and protection, and always finds that the one who had hurt them is no more.

Hounding- A barbarian orc warlord that craves power. He turned to the dark arts and ancient gods for help in his bloodbath of a mission. Nothing will stand in his way, he thinks. His blade is bloodstained, his armor polished, and his army strong. He feasts each night before the burning ruins of his latest conquer. But his people are restless, hungry, and unhappy. He doesn’t care, he snarls, unaware of the looks his civilians give one another, the subtle nods that say ‘its time’.

Bluegill- An old bard who travels with a merry band. They play in taverns and in the street, retelling tales of old, only asking for what people can spare. He has nothing but his guitar and the clothes on his back, but that’s enough. He lives to hear the children laugh, and give the people a reason to dance, even in the darkest of times.

Decaying- A banished king, who’s kingdom was ripped from his bleeding hands. With a rusted crown upon his head, and a cloak upon his shoulders, he seeks those who can win him his title back. But his people were quick to forget the man who tried to save them, and turned their backs when he begged their help. Cast from his home, he wanders other lands in search of a purpose. He hides in ancient ruins, staring too long into the flames of his camp fire as he wonders what will become of him.

Survivor- An ancient paladin, sworn by a curse to see the end of the world. He is older than the stars, as everlasting as time. He aches to rest, but his oath keeps him awake. He needs not sleep, drink, eat, or even breathe. He exists for one purpose: to live. He cannot die in battle, illness, or otherwise. He is a champion unrivaled, though he goes into war with nary a blade in his hand. Only one can free him from this pain.

[glasyasbutch]

The Ballad of the Ghor Dranas

It was originally written as a drunken bet that Glint couldn’t make up a song with everyone in it, which they immediately did on the spot, and now it exists mainly as a gag among the crew more than anything else. The crew of the Ghor Dranas sometimes sing this song in port (omitting the final verses) to build up their reputation and scare off other sailors from interacting with them. It hasn’t really taken off as a staple shanty, though a handful of sailors might remember hearing it at some point.

Full 11 verses included under the cut

Chorus: The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy

Solo / all

1. I’ve sailed the sea for many years, my lads, and so they say There is a ship so fearful even the best do run away Her sails seem white but then turn black, figurehead poised to attack If you see shadows fill her deck, you won’t live another day Chorus: The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 2. (Verse for Aaliyah, halfling rogue/sea monster hunter ranger, lookout) Up waiting in the crow’s nest is a lass so strong and small Her eyes search like a hawk and when she spots you she will call It’s not her sight you need to fear, but rather the blades that she keeps near For when she picks her targets, oh, you know she hits ‘em all The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 3. (Verse for Eweyn, merfolk/elf druid, botswain’s mate) There’s a deckhand there who at first glance may seem so soft and sweet But underneath the satin dress and hair all seaweed green There lies a force like nothing else, and at her words the waves will swell She’ll call the waters up to drag you down into the deep The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 4. (Verse for Hale, half elf oathbroken paladin, carpenter) Working on the deck he keeps the ship a-lookin' swell Beneath the tight-shut lips lie many secrets he'll never tell Hammers are tools his of trade, he just as good holdin' a blade Though he's sworn to gods above, he'll send your rotten soul to hell The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 5. (Verse for Sydreth, dragonborn warlock, cannon master) Hulking in the belly is the fearsome cannon master If he sets his sights on you, well, it’s sure to spell disaster Scales as gold as the coins he takes, his voice so loud you’ll start to shake Never mind the guns, my boys, his (fire) breath’ll get ya faster The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 6. (Verse for Bormir, dwarf runechild sorcerer, retired first mate/cook) A’stirring in the galley is the magic slingin’ cook He’ll make a stew then cast a spell that leaves you feeling shook The power dances on his skin, the purple markings faded in A older sailor yet with strength  to string ya on the hook The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 7. (Verse for Gent, tiefling fighter/wizard, navigator) Upon the deck, a strapping lad, a compass in his hand And under his true guidance there’s no storm the ship won’t stand Although he has skill with a blade, he’ll craft a spell like a master mage And with a mind so cunning there’s no telling what he has planned The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 8. (Verse for Myra, human tempest cleric, first mate) Standing at the bow, first mate with hair so firey red You’ll see her from afar and then your heart will fill with dread She bends the thunder to her will, in drowning you she’ll find a thrill Attend her every word or else she’ll have your fuckin’ head The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 9. (Verse for Crystal, human wizard, captain) And leading every one of them, a fearsome Captain true To get what she desires there’s no telling what she will do Wisdom like an elder sage, and magic like a wicked mage If you even think to cross her, a sword will run you through The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 10. (Verse for Glint, gnome bard, botswain) So now you know the tale of pirates who know no defeat Even up in Darktow, they run the whole damn fleet You want to avoid a tale of woe? Remember the bard who warned you so The Ghor Dranas is a fate no sailor ever wants to meet The dread ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost she sails the sea She can’t be found, she won’t go down But she plunders in infamy 11. We’ve sailed the sea for many years, my friends, and so they say We crew a ship so fearful even the best do run away Our sails are white, we turn ‘em black, before we ready our attack And as the shadows fill our deck, you’d best begin to pray The good ship Ghor Dranas Like a ghost we sail the sea We can’t be found, we don’t go down And we plunder in infamy Forevermore (Forevermore!) ‘Til our bodies wash ashore (Wash ashore!) We plunder in infamy

[landofzhoum]

Session 16: Falinor Shenanigans

Date: Monday, September 6, 2021 Adventurer Level: 8

Roll Call: Players Present: 6 - Broot - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: 2 - Gladius-5 - Haldir

World Map Region(s) Explored: - The town of Falinor

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Dragonborn

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Infamy: Grom Buff summons his trident

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Various spell scrolls - Slight sharpening of Grom Buff's trident

New named NPCs met: - Didn't write them down, sorry

Session Summary: - The group enters the town of Falinor - Town guards stop them, demanding that Gloro and his "creature" stay outside - Everyone else is permitted to enter the town, so long as they surrender their weapons; they can pick them up from the town guard on their way out of the city - The group goes around shopping; Fussin, Wilvalor, and Broot acquire a few new spells in a smoke-filled magic shop - Bit of a romance thing between two new NPCs, whose names have been forgotten - Amazing Italian-style restaurant owned and operated by a family of halflings - Grom Buff summons his trident, breaking a window and summoning the entirety of the town guard - Gladius-5 and Cheetara go inside to steal back the group's weapons - Grom Buff is taken outside of the town, where he fights one of the guardsmen - Gloro, unable to tame Trevor's bloodlust, narrates a horrifying scene wherein a National Geographic tour guide gets just absolutely mauled and sucked dry… poor guy - Town guards make it back to their station, realize the party's weapons are gone, and start a manhunt

[a-midwinter-night-dream-86]

My Masterlist

A Dance of Fire and Darkness (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

An Unexpected Dragonborn (Ongoing, multi chaptered) deviantART (gallery) — The Elder Scrolls x The Hobbit, K+/PG

As the World Falls Down (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Lord of the Rings, K+/PG

The Biting Pear of Salamanca (Complete, one shot) deviantART PDF download | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls x Doctor Who, K+/PG

Fair Lavender Maidens (Complete, poem) deviantART | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, K/G

How We Saved Harry Potter (Complete, one shot, gift fic) deviantART — Doctor Who x Harry Potter, K/G

In the Dark of the Night (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

Infamy’s Daughter (Ongoing, multi chaptered, on hiatus) deviantART (gallery) | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

It Started On a Fredas… (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction | ao3 — The Elder Scrolls, K+/PG

Jolinar Telvanni and the God of Mischief (Complete, one shot) FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls x Thor (MCU), K/G [Updated: 03/26/18]

Lokasenna: An Anachronistic Retelling (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction | ao3 — Norse Mythology, T/PG-13

The Midnight Ordeal (Complete, one shot) deviantART — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

The Mortality of Moirane Carvain (Complete, multi chaptered, discontinued) dA vol. I | dA vol. II — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

Ordering Madness (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

Recollections (Complete, one shot) deviantART — The Elder Scrolls, K+/PG

The RoseCloak Collection (Complete, multi chaptered) deviantART {gallery} | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, K-T/G-PG-13

Tamriel Tidbits (Ongoing, multi chaptered) dA vol. I | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, K-T/G-PG-13 [Updated: 02/04/18]

To Observe in Silence (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Elder Scrolls, T/PG-13

Winds Over the Savanna (Complete, one shot) deviantART | FanFiction — The Lion King, T/PG-13

[fjordish]

So I've had many characters in the past. My first character was THallin Delmirv, A Dragonborn Fighter who went the Champion Route. In one of the games I played him he got a magic weapon called Infamy, the Void Saber which did normal greatsword damage plus 1d4 Bleeding damage, but if the weapon natural 1'd he would have to roll a d20 and take that from his health perminately, so to counteract that I took the Lucky feat. My DM now no longer allows the Lucky Feat in their game. More stories soon

lol thats fantastic. the best thing about magic/legendary weapons imo is the names. also, i think one of the greatest feelings is when you find an item after a fat boss fight and the dm starts to describe the item in great detail only to give you a piece of paper that has awesome shit on it.

actually, luck has already been banned from my group and its funny because whenever we make new characters or have an ASI, we always ask “soooo, luck?” and my DM just says, “never.”

[chaoticbard]

Alaara accepted and even returned the embrace so as to sell the charade. So long as it was passable enough to keep trouble at bay that was very much all that mattered. For the time being, that seemed to be the case.

As she was let go, Alaara smoothed her vest back down and appraised the drow before her. Smaller than her, as most other people were. A female, which meant she held power in whatever position she held back home... But her thoughts paused and posture stiffened as her infamy reared its ugly head.

The Underdark had heard of her. Drow practically worshipped her. She was a celebrity, but for the worst event of her life. Alaara kept her posture and face schooled as she took the information in, processed it, and formulated an answer.

{{ Performance: 16 }}

"Well met, Nyssala. It seems my name and reputation vastly precede me. Lightning was only involved in a part of that fight. Plenty of punches were exchanged that day and plenty of weapons clashed against one another before it got to that point..."

"All Dragonborn have the potential to unlock within them an element with which they can breathe like a second breath. I can breathe lightning because of my blue dragon ancestry; there is no grand magic behind it, no need to beg for power from a goddess."

Was she dancing around the subject while still coming off as a hero? In a way, she found herself not wanting to disappoint Nyssala or let her idea down. It brought the drow great delight to be here for one thing. For another, if the drow thought of her in a positive light... that could be of some use in the future.

"I would politely rebut the idea of having used fury, however. There is no honor in fighting with fury unchecked. Only a barbarian knows how to use such intense levels of anger while still thinking and acting on their goals. I fought to protect myself, to spare others that had nothing to do with the quarrel, and ultimately to end it before the entire tavern burned to the ground."

@chaoticbard

"Ah, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Nyssala practically flung herself at the dragonborn, wrapping her in a tight, grateful hug. "You saved my hide! Those sore losers couldn’t handle being beaten by a girl—they were about to throw a full-blown tantrum!"

[Deception: 7]

She let go, offering her new acquaintance a sheepish smile as the most blatant lie slipped from her lips.

"Sooooo... The Ravager in person!" Nyssala flashed a wry smile, extending her hand for a shake. "I'm Nyssala. It's an honor to meet such a celebrity on my first day in the City of Splendors!"

Nyssala could hardly contain her excitement as she looked up at the blue dragonborn, her eyes wide with admiration.

"The stories they tell about you in the Underdark—how you unleashed this incredible storm of electricity in Cormyr, taking down dozens in a furious frenzy—it’s just… WOW! Is it true? It must be! You’re so powerful, and, well, terrifying in the best way possible!" She leaned in, eager to hear more. "How do you do it? The lightning, the fury—I’ve never met anyone like you! Honestly, this is amazing! I never thought I’d meet a living legend, let alone be saved by one!"

The drow's words tumbled out in a rush, full of awe and curiosity, as she practically buzzed with energy.