Not You Again

[Alistair]

71st of Zi'da, Arc 716

"Blimey, it's cold," he muttered under his breath... of course, in-between shudders and shivers. As a result of this cold, now was not the time to be hunting Lurkers out in the woods, to be sure - they probably had a much higher constitution for the frosted days of Zi'da than Alistair. Yet, despite this clear message, he'd found himself staring at the bounty board. Well, after at least a few bits of clearing the frost and snow from its surface.

"Gorgolas," he read. "Lurker of the Cliffs".

Wanted Dead: Gorgolas, Lurker of the Cliffs
Crime: Gorgolas, one of the infamous Alpha Lurkers, has been a blight on Ne'haer for many years. He has murdered hundreds if not thousands in just the past decade, raiding small towns and slaying farmers around the suburbs of Ne'haer. He is known to be extremely volatile, aggressive and undeniably sadistic. His murder would be welcome - head must be brought to the authorities of Ne'haer. Any caught lying of the deed will be executed.
Reward: 1,000gn for evidence of his death. Extreme risk.
Expires: Never, unless another succeeds in the task

Hundreds if not thousands in merely the last decade? Well, well, he thought. The creature has quite a kill count.

A Lurker was deadly enough, as he'd learned. An Alpha Lurker was something else entirely. In fact, it was too bad they wanted the head; Alistair would have loved to reanimate the creature. Hmm.

"The bounty doesn't have to be completed," he whispered, talking to himself. "I'm sure they'll just be pleased that he's gone." The mage quietly nodded. In all likelihood, he could reanimate Gorgolas, and the authorities of the city would never know. He could store him in one of the... Coven facilities, locked behind a cell whenever Alistair's gone too far away - keep him as a trophy, and eventually a weapon to be used against the Necromantress, who likely had much more terrifying tools than even him.

He was lost in thought. It was only the bitter cold that brought him back. Right, he thought. Well, it's worth considering. An Alpha Lurker. It would be quite an accomplishment to kill one. And I don't think it would be all that difficult. Then again, he'd never... actually encountered one... but still.

The man snapped his fingers. Behind him, a portal opened, and four men came pouring out. They were silent, and cloaked. They were his undead soldiers - starting from the top to bottom: Icarus, Andreas, Grayson, Alaric. Alistair hadn't utilized them in quite some time. But they would be helpful in this endeavor. Even if it meant sacrificing them for a new minion - a much larger, more powerful one. He hoped not, but the possibility was there.

[Avrae Kyric]

“I mean it, Ailluin. This guy was such an ass. I wish you had been there- I would have had you poke that needle of yours into his neck. Preferrably into an artery.” Avrae was still ranting the next day. He had spent all night trying to find his target- the one Alistair had let get away- with no luck. Instead, he had returned to the inn with absolute exhaustion, and no leads. That night, Ailluin had convinced him to eat, which only made them even less wealthy. It was starting to get on Avrae’s nerves, which is why he was spending the better part of the day complaining to his tunawa companion.

They were on their way to the bounty board, to see if there was any other leads they could pick up on before heading out of Ne’haer. Avrae was dressed in his usual casual clothes, with his jacket on, and Ailluin sitting on his shoulder. She would have been on his head, but Avrae kept running his hand through his ginger hair in his frustration, making it stick out slightly funny. As he entered the inn, he was still bitching over Alistair, “The guy had the nerve to assume I’m going to die. Of all the pompous, ignorant, arrogant-”

His voice stopped dead, and so did he, as his eyes locked on a familiar male standing before a portal and four cloaked men. “Fuck…” Avrae mumbled under his breath, “Not him again!” He could feel his anger flare up immediately- even more so when he realized that Alistair was looking at the bounty board, at the Gorgolas quest.

“Woah! Hey, no, no way! There’s no chance in hell! That’s my bounty, Venora!” Avrae exclaimed, pushing his way through the room to the bounty board until he stood in front of Alistair. Gritting his teeth, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the nobleman. “Ailluin and I are taking it, and you’d get in our way.” He declared, briefly glancing at his tunawa slave from where she sat.

[Ailluin-Yelven]

Ailluin listened intently as she rode on her master’s shoulder, though if anyone were to inquire as to the nature of their relationship, she would say they were friends without hesitating. While not calling him master was a bit of an adjustment, she actually did think of him as her friend. Heck, she even thought of him as her family, the only family she had left after her parents abandoned her and left her with him. She shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts as she held onto his jacket to keep her balance on his shoulder, glad it was as broad as it was. It was easy to sit on and she was unlikely to fall if she was careful and didn’t move too much. He’d been going on about this guy he encountered essentially all day, though she knew why. They were getting tight on money, and that job was going to help, except he couldn’t find the guy after he was run in to by this guy. “I wonder if we’ll see him again, or if it's one of those chance encounters.” she commented idly as he spoke about the man. She glanced up at his hair and said, “You’re hair makes you look like you got struck by lightning with how it's sticking up.” and giggled, glancing around the room as they entered the inn.

When she saw the four men, she shivered. She didn’t know why, but something about them was….off. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe they were a new race? She only knew of a small handful herself but she was sure there were more than what she knew. She didn’t realize that Avrae had stopped until he swore, and it was only then that she realized that this was the man that had allowed the one Avrae was pursuing to get away. She frowned and stood up, glaring at the man and attempting to look her fiercest….for all of two seconds before Avrae started to push his way through and she nearly tumbled right off, making her squeak and grip onto his jacket tightly. “Yeah! That’s our bounty!” she said, puffing up her chest and trying to seem taller….until she read the bounty. “W-wait...you want to take on a creature that has killed thousands….by ourselves?” she whispered into his ear, looking rather concerned. “A-are you sure we are ready for something so…..challenging? Wouldn’t it be better to just...work with him?”

[Alistair]

He could already hear the bantering and trash-talking from afar, and the voice wasn't one he'd ever forget. It was a voice that perfectly aligned with the man it lived with: a gutter-trash, tough-guy punk. Fucking Aukari, he muttered under his breath, readying himself for the man - who was literally talking poorly about him at this very moment - to draw near. To look for another fight. That was, of course, Alistair's damn luck.

As soon as Avrae came closer, Alistair let himself rescind into fight mode, just like the trial before. "Shut the hell up, bitchface!" he cursed. He actually . . . very rapidly found himself getting angry. And low-class. Fuck. "This is a public-fucking-bounty!" he expressed, in a way that totally didn't befit his station. "Which means anyone can take it - and when you become Gorgolas' winter breakfast, someone's got to do the work for the city. It's going to be me, you shit-eating tyke. You know, someone that can actually do it. Sorry."

And then... he heard a voice. A squeaky, tiny little voice. Too tiny to be a woman or man, hell - too tiny to be a child. Children were known for being loud. And snot-faced, for that matter. Far too loud to be this weak voice, resonating from the Aukari's coat. He knew what the voice belonged to the moment it squeaked into his precious ears. It was a bloody Tunawa, a race he'd had to research quite a bit in becoming a doctor.

Yeah, that's our bounty! he... she... it exclaimed. And then his composure popped. Well, even worse than it already had. He was going full proletarian. And thanks to Syroa's messing with his head, it was going to feel damn good.

"You wanna fight me, you fuckin' twig?!" he yelled, stepping closer and very threateningly shadowing over the piece of bark clinging to Avrae's coat. "Just so you know, I don't have to burn you to kill you. I can just throw you into a portal and then fucking close it. Have fun recovering from being eighty million molecules, flower-brains!" He spat. On Avrae's coat. At Ailluin. He didn't even hear her logical statement, advising Avrae against taking on the bounty without Alistair's help. No. He was an animal from the Gauthrel savannah right now. Bark, and bite.

[Avrae Kyric]

Faldrun, I hope not. Avrae had thought the second his Tunawa friend wondered about meeting Alistair again. In truth, Avrae thought the human was hot. Like really, attractive, handsome, mouth-wateringly gorgeous. But at the same time, the guy was just an ass, and Avrae hated people like Alistair. He had hoped he would never see the cocky nobleman as long as he lived… but like most things, Avrae wasn’t very lucky. He moved to run his hand through his hair again even as Ailluin teased him, tugging at the soft red locks.

His jaw clenched as he looked Alistair up and down, ignoring the cloaked companions. He’s still hot… and still a major fucking asshat. It actually kind of surprised him when Alistair spoke, his eyes widening as he gazed at the noble. Earlier, their fights were banter and bickering- insulting but there was a point to the insults. In a weird way, anyway. This, the way Alistair was yelling at him now, was unruly and wild, his voice filled with a venom that even Avrae hadn’t been expecting. Even so, his eyes narrowed, fists clenching. It pissed him off, in a way, that Alistair was so pissed off. He was also furious that he had to run into this guy again. He didn’t like the way this guy made him so angry. Anger was Avrae’s least favorite emotion- and unfortunately, the one he felt most, second only to loneliness.

Avrae may not have been so mad if Alistair hadn’t said “Someone who could actually do it”. That filled the Aukari with fury, and he took what he hoped was a threatening step forward, hands clasped into fists at his side. “Why the fuck do you want a bounty that you know I wanted to take to begin with?! You have money, Venora, why don’t you let someone else have some? I need that reward, you don’t!” It made him mad that Alistair was trying to take a bounty that would give him money he didn’t need. Avrae was very much against the rich getting richer, while some people couldn’t even afford to eat.

Avrae would have let it go, though. He would have turned, stormed off, and just hoped to get to Gorgolas before Alistair. Even as Ailluin whispered with her concerns about the quest- which Avrae would have responded with “We need the coin”- Avrae would still have just gone and done the quest…

Until Alistair spoke to Ailluin, with more venom that he had in the entire time he’d been speaking to Avrae. If there was one person that Avrae cared about more than himself, it was Ailluin, the little tunawa who had been his constant companion for a few years now. Avrae didn’t even have time to think. He didn’t even have the thought to grab Ailluin. Instead, his arm cocked back, and in two seconds his fist- which was burning hot at the moment, probably enough to grin a steak if he put his hand on one- slammed into Alistair’s jaw as hard as he could. Which, in Avrae’s opinion, was pretty hard… but when he pulled his hand back he had to bite into his lip to avoid crying out, his other hand grabbing his wrist. The hand he’d punched Alistair with was shaking, and he was half certain he may have fractured all of his knuckles.

Faldrun’s fiery balls! He’s such a hardhead!

[Ailluin-Yelven]

Ailluin was normally the cool headed one out of the pair, but hearing about this asshole had riled her up a bit, not to mention that knowing he was a noble and yet was still going to try and take a quest that they needed the gold from more than he did. She also didn’t really have any good memories of any higher class, the doctor who had held her captive had been of a noble class and was the only one she’d met and by far had been held to a standard she was coming to expect from all upper class like him. The way he insulted her wormed under her skin and she scowled at him and shouted (though as small as she was it sounded more like a normal volume), “Who are you calling a twig? Me? HAH! I laugh at your failed attempt to insult me. If anyone is a twig, it's you! You call that muscle?” she burst into laughter, and it was because of this that when Avrae threw his punch, she toppled right off his shoulder and squeaked as she had to grab onto the bottom of his coat so she didn’t fall all the way to the ground. But, then she realized the advantage this gave her and she rocked forward until she could grab his pants from the jacket and shimmied down to the floor. She knew that Alistair would be distracted by the punch to his face, but only for so long before retaliating. She wasn’t sure on her timing as she dashed across the floor, pulling her needle from where she had tied it to her back with a bit of thread normally used for stitching wounds. Hoping she would get to him before he could hit Avrae in return, though she didn’t dare look up and risk fumbling or tripping, she dashed over to Alistair, lifted his pant leg up, and jabbed him right in the ankle with her needle as hard as she could, drawing blood before dashing off to the side with the small ‘weapon’ to avoid being kicked.

She skipped back towards Avrae, hoping he was okay as she grabbed onto his pants and started to climb up to her pocket. Maybe Alistair would think twice about just taking a bounty like that, and picking a fight by insulting her. Of course, even as she thought this, she felt guilty. Having the extra hands would be useful, especially taking down those lurkers. She didn’t fancy the idea of Avrae facing them without backup that wasn’t able to drag him away to safety. Sure, she’d fight to her last breath to protect him, but she was barely six inches tall, she couldn’t do much for him if shit hit the fan.

[Alistair]

The man . . . punched him. Heated knuckles cocked back, and bashed his jaw. For a moment - just a moment - Alistair was disoriented by the impact. He felt a tinge of pain, however slight, considering his own durability of physique. It wasn't the harm or danger of the act that mattered to him, though. It was . . . it was the audacity. For a non-mage -- a peasant at that -- to lay his hands upon Lord Venora?

Fuck no. Anger boiled within him. He felt infuriated. He wanted to hurt him back, fuck him up. Within him flared a fury, created by him, yet nurtured by the mark of Syroa bold on his back. That fury multiplied. And multiplied. And multiplied. From the time Avrae's fist impacted his jaw, it would only take a second for a thousand leagues of fury to grow within his body.

"Don't fucking touch me, Aukari," he said. He glared, his fists balling. His entire body seemed to recede into a primitive state. He wanted to hold back, for external reasons; to show that he could keep his cool. But internally, he was boiling. And then he just snapped. As Ailluin's needle punctured his ankle, Alistair went mad.

Within an instant, he cocked his own fist back and pummeled it hard against Avrae's face. Alistair's upper body strength was immense, and the impact would likely send shock throughout the Aukari's body, forcing him to recoil as the Venora's fist would stagger him. He could see blood already beginning to ooze from the man's nose. Good.

And that Tunawa? She was next. Alistair didn't forget her, no. He saw her crawling back up the legs of her ginger-headed thug, and Alistair refused to allow her to get away from her assault of him unscathed. Sweeping his legs under Avrae's feet, who was already staggering, to send him pummeling down... Alistair formed a small portal in the center of his palm and empowered it with a particular effect: pulling. A technique of Rupturing, one that he'd gone above and beyond in terms of mastery. He tuned it to focus its effect at Ailluin rather than its general surroundings, which would cause the little Tunawa to helplessly float towards Alistair's palm.

At that point, he had no quarrel. As the Tunawa grew closer, he pulled his fist back, and slammed it against her chest as she drew into the portal he'd crafted in his palm. She would be sent flying off, Alistair dispelling the portal immediately upon impact with her bark-like outer skin. The impact would hurt. In fact, he didn't know just how much it would damage her, considering the fragility of her body. He just knew it wouldn't kill her. This was a lesson: don't start a fight with someone you're not prepared to face.

Without saying anything, he'd given them their proof that Gorgolas was nothing more than a delusion of theirs, doomed to fail.

He stood firmly over the two, looming over Avrae especially, who he'd staggered onto the ground. "Go back to your fucking gutter, you shit-breathed peasants. And don't ever lay your hands on me again, got it?" he spat. The man turned around then, and left, with two soon-to-be hospital patients behind him.

[Avrae Kyric]

Avrae vaguely heard Ailluin’s voice, squeaking in his ears. However, she was the last thing on his mind, Avrae was too focused on Alistair. While the lord Venora might have been pissed off by the pure audacity, Avrae was the opposite. If anything, he was pissed that Alistair seemed to be of the opinion that he was better than him- than everyone else. Avrae couldn’t stand nobles for this reason- they were born into wealth and fame, and that gave them an entitled view of the world that was infuriating to Avrae. It only got worse as Alistair hissed at him, calling him “Aukari”. That was the worst insult Avrae could have been given. He had never wanted to be born an Aukari. His entire life he had only ever wanted to be something else. His hurt at the word being used as an insult was full across his face, eyes bright with fury. Fucking human! He opened his mouth, just about ready to chew Alistair up and spit him out- when the noble reacted to the punch.

Avrae as certain he had never been hit so hard in his life as Alistair’s fist collided with his nose. The Aukari stumbled backwards, barely managing to stay on his feet. He was certain it would have sent him flying if he hadn’t been at least semi-expecting Alistair to hit back. However, while the punch may not have knocked him down, Alistair’s leg tripping him up certainly did. Avrae went down fast, body slamming flat onto the ground. His amber eyes were wide, all his air being drawn out of his lungs. Avrae had been in fights before, but he had never been knocked flat so fast- and been so unable to get up, much less breathe. His world felt like it had spun, like gravity itself had gone against him. Breathing shallowly through the scent of the blood that was seeping from his nose, Avrae blinked, dazed, as he looked up at Alistair.

“Don’t-” He began to choke out as he saw Alistair using magic to pull Ailluin closer. Have to stop him… have to… help her~! Avrae thought desperately, tears building up in his eyes. But as much as he wanted to, he could barely move, still catching his breath. He could do nothing but watch, closing his eyes briefly in horror as he heard the punch, heard Ailluin’s scream as she went flying, the tiny thud as she hit a wall and fell to the floor. His tears burned as they slid down his skin, but Avrae felt he deserved it. If I hadn’t been so… so stupid, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Threatened, maybe, but not hurt.

In this moment, Avrae hated Alistair Venora. Opening his eyes again, there was nothing but pure fury as he peered up, listening to his insults. Peasant. The word made him even angrier, Avrae’s hands shaking as he reached out, trying to grab onto Alistair’s leg and stop him. But the Venora was already past his reach and out the door.

With a weak, quiet groan, Avrae managed to roll himself over onto his stomach. He lifted his head, watching drops of blood from his nose splatter on the wooden floors below him.

“Aill…” He called out. Groaning again as he began to crawl, pushing himself across the floor. “Ailluin. Talk to me.” He tried again, reaching up to wipe his eyes just before he reached where her tiny body had fallen. His eyes set on her, and Avrae’s guilt made his spirit plummet. “Ailluin… I’m so sorry.” He was not a man who apologized often- or to many people- but he couldn’t help but feel responsible.

I took her into my care… to protect her. How can I protect her if I make even more issues, bring her into even more danger? He thought, as his shaking hands reached to carefully scoop her up. He was burning hot to the touch, struggling to keep his calm as he took shaky, deep breaths. “...If I ever see him again… I’ll kill ‘im. I will, Aill.”

He didn’t know at this time, that Alistair would become someone far too important to him to kill.

[Ailluin-Yelven]

Ailluin felt a strange pulling sensation as she started to climb back up Avrae, and before she knew it she was being sucked back to Alistair, where she was then launched away again in a punch. She didn’t even have time to react before she was hitting the wall and sliding down it, dazed. Despite this, however, she was not knocked unconscious, used to such abuse from her previous master, it hurt, but not enough to stop her from shakily pushing herself up to her feet. “You noble bastards are all the same! You just adore throwing your weight around any chance you get. No wonder everyone wants you all killed!” She shouted at him, along with a few other profanities. It was doubtful he heard them, however, as his punch had knocked the air from her, so her voice wasn’t as loud as it could have been.

She sunk back to the floor after Alistair left, not giving him the satisfaction of her looking as beaten as she felt. After he left, she tipped forward, hugging her middle, which had taken the brunt of the punch. She didn’t notice Avrae until he was trying to scoop her up in shaky hands. She shifted, his hands uncomfortably hot for her, but she knew it was because he was upset, though it took her a moment to realize that she was the reason he was upset. “I-I’m fine.” she said, her voice soft as she looked at him. “I’ve been through worse, remember? This was a love tap in comparison.” her joke fell flat as she attempted to comfort him, but that didn’t really matter to her. She only tried to because she didn’t want him to catch on fire. “Come on, lets go get that bounty ourselves and show that bastard how it's done, hmm?” she reached up to pat his cheek and gave him a shaky smile, ignoring the throbbing ache in her middle from the blow. He had enough to feel bad about, she didn’t want to add more to it.

[Varthakh]

Rewards for the two-legs's

General Comment

Hahaha! That thread was awesome! I'll admit, I burst out laughing more than once! Oh boy, if I had to pick sides, I'd choose Avrae's. Power to the peasants! Well written, short and sweet. I hope the three of you learned a very important lesson from this, don't bite off more than you can chew.

Alistair

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Knowledge:
Detection: Familiar voices
Detection: The tiny squeak of a Tunawa
Endurance: The recovery of a punch to the face
Endurance: Fighting through a daze
Strength: Overpowering an opponent
Unarmed: Basic punch
Unarmed: Striking the head often results in serious injury
Unarmed: Punching smaller opponents will send them much further than someone your own size (you big bully)
Unarmed: Sweeping out an opponents legs
-
Avrae: A 'gutter-trash, tough-guy punk'
Avrae: Punched you
Avrae: Goes down easy
Avrae: Starts things he can't finish
Avrae: You punched him
Ailluin: A piece of bark that clings to Avrae
Ailluin: Stabbed you
Ailluin: Tiny and punchable
Ailluin: A Tunawa
Ailluin: You punched it
Gorgolas: Lurker of the cliffs
Gorgolas: Alpha lurker
Gorgolas: Murdered hundreds if not thousands over the past 10 arcs
Gorgolas: Would make an awesome zombie


Loot: None.
Injuries: A headache inflicted by Avrae's fist: 1-2 breaks to heal
Fame:

• Total: +2
  • Victory in single combat +4
  • Acts of Magic -2

Devotion:

• Syroa Total: +12
  • Commit an act of fury +5
  • Cause someone else to commit and act of Fury +7

Magic: The points may TOTALLY be used for Arcana.

Comment: Hilarious! I loved reading Alistair so mad. His hate for the Tunawa is just perfect, haha! God, I hope to see more of angry Alistair someday, keep up the good work!

Avrae

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Knowledge:
Detection: Recognising familair shapes in people
Endurance: Taking a punch to the face
Endurance: Getting back up
Endurance: Carrying on despite being injured
Intimidation: Difficult to work on stronger opponents
Unarmed: Basic Punch
Unarmed: Punching someone in the head can injure you more than your opponent
-
Ailluin: Tougher than she looks
Ailluin: You want to protect her
Ailluin: You can't protect her
Ailluin: Stabbed Alistair
Ailluin: The voice of reason
Ailluin: Wields a needle
Alistair: Such an ass
Alistair: Pompous, ignorant, arrogant
Alistair: Stole your bounty despite already having money
Alistair: Really, attractive, handsome, mouth-wateringly gorgeous
Alistair: Has a venomous tongue
Alistair: Hardheaded and strong
Alistair: Punched and tripped you
Alistair: Punched Ailluin
Alistair: Thinks he's above you
Alistair: You will kill him

Loot: None.
Injuries:
Bruised knuckles, punching a hard head: 3-5 trials to heal
A Bloodied nose, got punched by a thug: 1-2 breaks to heal
Minor concussion, the thug was a strong one: 2-4 breaks to heal
Fame:

• Total: -3
  • Broke a city law (assault) -2
  • General bad deed -1

Devotion: Nope
Magic: Nope

Comment: Didums! Poor Avrae, he'll hopefully think twice before engaging in combat with someone stronger than him in the future! Excellent work, enjoy the rewards! well deserved.

Ailluin

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Knowledge:
Blades (Needle): Stick 'em with the pointy end
Blades (Needle): Will draw blood if you stab hard enough
Blades (Needle): Makes people angry
Blades (Needle): Basic Stab
Climbing: Trouser legs
Climbing: Scaling down Trousers
Endurance: Taking the punch
Endurance: Getting back up
Endurance: Clinging on for dear life
Endurance: Saving face
Flying: Soaring
-
Alistair: Might be better to work with
Alistair: The real twig
Alistair: You stabbed him
Alistair: Just another noble bastard
Alistair: Punched Avrae
Alistair: Punched you
Avrae: Dislikes Alistair
Avrae: Stubborn
Avrae: Punched Alistair and toppled you from his shoulder
Avrae: Got punched by Alistair
Avrae: Swore to kill Alistair
Avrae: Difficult to comfort

Loot: None
Injuries:
A daze, punched by Alistair: 2-4 breaks to heal
Fame:

• Total: -3
  • Broke a city law (assault) -2
  • General bad deed -1

Devotion: Nah.
Magic: Nah.

Comment:I have to say, I was expecting Ailluin to be so much more savage than she was in this thread, I'm disappointed... Nah, only kidding. Good work! Hopefully, Ailluin will be strong enough with her needle to protect Avrae some day! Keep up the good work!

Also, if you'd rather have knowledge for needle in some other sort of weapon school, let me know via PM and I'll make amends.

Any problems, or if I've missed anything, drop me a PM! I'll be glad to sort it out.