• Closed • The Fleshcrafter

[Devin]

“Dula can also have reagents and stuff”, Devin assured the ex-zombie in his incredibly broken Xanthea, just in case her memory started to come back before their little hunting trip was over, and she complained about his vision. He didn’t need whatever reagents they harvested on their trip anyway. He just needed the claws. Having said that, he pointed at Rakvald and said, “He’s the Dubaebo expert. He’ll tell you what to do!”

He stepped a little closer to the hairy man so that he wouldn’t miss a thing of what he said, trying in vain to curb his enthusiasm. He was just so very excited! When Rakvald revealed that he planned on using sleep powder, the thief furrowed his brow somewhat thoughtfully before he nodded, a sign that he approved of the other man’s plan.

“Sounds good!” he decided before he leaned a little closer to the hairy man who had warned him about scratching the Sev’ryn beauty’s back and lowered his voice to a mere whisper, “Some ladies like it a little rougher!” He winked at him, straightened himself and beamed at aforementioned Sev’ryn beauty who looked at him in confusion.

“I’ll protect you against any magic!” he promised.

~~~

The trip through the forest took much longer than Devin had expected, and it was also incredibly boring. There wasn’t anything to see, apart from nature, nature and even more nature. He distracted himself by flirting with the Sev’ryn beauty that walked near him.

When they got closer to their destination, he stopped doing so though and tried to walk quietly so that the monster wouldn’t be able to hear him. He knew nothing about hunting, and he wasn’t particularly in tune with nature either, but he could be quite stealthy if he wanted to!

And then he could hear a deep growl all of a sudden. Devin froze for a moment because the sound was much louder than he had expected before his eyes widened – with excitement!

The Dubaebo was close!

A moment later, as Rakvald screamed, he froze again though and covered his ears with his hands. “What the f…?” he asked before he remarked somewhat amusedly, “Well that’s one way to attract the Dubaebo’s attention!”

Having said that, he drew his sword – and positioned himself behind Rakvald the hunters, next to the little old lady who was staring in the direction of the sound. He was not afraid – absolutely not – he had just decided to leave things to the experts, as any reasonable man would!

[Rakvald]

At some point, Dula fell behind them, perhaps spooked by tales of the Dubaebo she'd taken her leave, or had urgent business elsewhere that wasn't communicated in the flurry of words that passed between Rakvald and she. Nevertheless, they were down one alchemist, which was a fairly bad loss, as they could've used an extra healer when the Dubaebo had run its course.

Whatever the case, the hunters were there and ready for the beast to spring out. Rakvald waved his left arm at them, scowling, "Away from beast, fence it in don't kill!"

Which was easy for Rakvald to say, until he was tackled by a very large, very angry Dubaebo. The creature bowled him over, its fangs and teeth flashing in his face. Swiftly as he could, he swept some sleep powder from the crust of his eyes, and guarding his neck with his right forearm. The beast bit into his right forearm, shaking its head as the piece of Lotharro meat filled its maw.

"Ah! I fix you!" Rakvald shouted at its face, and then smothered its nose with the sleeping powder. For a few trills, it appeared to do nothing. But then, the more he held the sleeping powder to its nose, the weaker its struggles. Eventually, it fell to its side, sharp black spines cutting into the ground.

Rakvald winced as he rolled up onto his knees, and inspected the wound it'd left on his forearm. There were other minor scratches across his body, but those would be fine. For now, he needed to sterilize the wound. He grabbed his skin of wine from his belt, and began pouring the alcoholic drink over the open wound, letting it run down and rinse it of filth and Dubaebo saliva. This done, he took out his field surgery kit, and applied a tourniquet to slow the blood flow. Then, using a combination of graft and his skill at surgery, he slowly over a few bits knitted the flesh together.

The hunters circling the Dubaebo looked uncertain, as if unsure what to make of this magic. However, they stayed their weapons from Rakvald and the Dubaebo, which was sound asleep and would likely be so for an hour.

Within a few bits, the wound was knitted. Rakvald unwrapped the tourniquet and placed it back in his kit. Once there, he turned to Devin, and beckoned him closer to where the Dubaebo lie. "I will make you the nails, to stick on top of your own... Won't be perfect, don't think to scratch people with them or they might fall off. But they will look pretty on ya boy."

So saying, he began the process of shaping the black spines on the back of the Dubaebo into nails that would fit on top of the con man's dainty hands. One after the other, until he had ten in the rough shape of a nail. He beckoned Devin closer, and held his hand. With a swift motion, he took each nail from the end of each spine, and placed it on each of Devin's fingers and thumbs. The process all told took about twenty bits, but by the time he was done, Devin had his magic manicure of non-functional, blackened claw-like nails. They were adhered to his own keratinous structure.

"If we meet again, and I am more advanced in my magics, can help make functional, so you can use as natural weapons, maybe."

He nodded to the man, and then to the Sev'ryn beauty that'd accompanied them. Several of the hunters peeled off from the main group, and followed behind Devin now. "You go now, my payment IS Dubaebo." Rakvald grinned widely, as he turned his attention to the creature before them.

The Lotharro began working his graft magic, growing flesh from the slumbering beats. Flesh, bone, blood, all were concentrated into a small black marble that he would use to form a totem later. The process took another few bits, but once it was done, he slipped into the untold and crossed to his camp in the badlands.



There, in the camp, he spent the better part of the next trial meditating over the material for creation of a Dubaebo totem. Already flush with ether from his graft spark, he began reaching out with his becoming magics to sculpt it further, and bring it more in line with that magic, repurposing some of the ether that was already in it from his grafting.

By then, the Dubaebo surely would have awoken, unsure of what had happened perhaps? But then Devin and his hunters would be long away and safely back at the village.

Rakvald took the marble in his hand, and focused on it. He imagined the Dubaebo he would become, a large monstrous black beast with sharp spines jutting out of his hide, a great sense of smell, and nearly blind, green glowing eyes. He focused on the marble, until it began to shimmer and shine with a polish, like a true marble. The sun had come and gone in the sky by the time he was finished, and he was exhausted, nearly drained of much of his ether.

He picked up a poorly made rock club from nearby, ready to defend himself in case any hyenas came to visit him. His totem was completed though, and he was satisfied with the work he'd done today.

[Devin]

Devin was actually kind of sad about Dula’s departure. Having a zombie/ex-zombie in your group was just a lot of fun. He’d also considered introducing her to his pet zombie Bitey. Bitey was lonely, spending almost the entire time in his basement and could probably use a friend. On the bright side, there’d be fewer people to buy beer for with Dula gone!

With that thought in mind, the Mortalborn waited for the beast. When a very angry Dubaebo left its lair and tackled Rakvald, Devin abruptly jumped back in order to get a bit further away from the creature, his eyes wide. A moment later, when the Dubaebo suddenly fell asleep, he smiled all over his face though and came closer in order to take a look.

“Wow”, he murmured, impressed, before he turned to face Rakvald again, frowning momentarily as the hairy man warned him not to scratch anybody less the nails fell off. Hadn’t he said something a little different before? He didn’t like this, but on the other hand, he liked looking pretty a lot!

So, without further ado, the Mortalborn positioned himself wherever Rakvald wanted him to be. He was so excited about finally getting fancy black nails, just like Faith, that he actually held still for the entire twenty bits – which was pretty much a new record for him. Once Rakvald was done, he stood and wiggled his fingers, a smile of pure delight on his face.

“Awesome”, he remarked. “I’ll definitely visit you again!” he proclaimed. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but the prospect of Rakvald reshaping his nails into actual weapons did sound tempting, nevertheless. “The Dubaebo is yours!” he added since Rakvald had requested it as payment. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with such a monster anyway; besides, it would be a small price to pay for such a fantastic magical manicure!

Since the hairy man didn’t seem to be interested in talking to him further and had focused his attention on the monster that was fortunately still unconscious, Devin put an arm around the beautiful Sev’ryn woman and decided to return to the city, to enjoy her company – and show his fancy new nails to his friends. Aidan and Talieson would be soo impressed!

[Yrmellyn Cole]

Thread Rewards

Overview

Devin is like a character from a matinée movie of the old, a charming scoundrel, a trickster and thief. His vanity, his desire for cool nails and the lengths he’s prepared to go to for those nails is extreme.

Rakvald...there's something mindboggling about the concept of a freelancing adventurer also doing some flesh sculpting. Rakvald’s degree of whimsical irresponsibility with magic is unsurpassed. Now he’s a nail sculptor too. Also a black monster with sharp spines, soon. I don’t even dare to think of how his story will continue or how it will end. Dula ... I was already laughing but when “Zombie-Dula” turned up it became even more fun.

This was a crazy farce and incredibly entertaining during most of the tread, but also a bit scary in the end. I liked how the story became something totally else than had met the eye. The crazy farce suddenly opened toward the insanity behind Rakvald’s clumsy joviality. And Devin happily walked away with his new nails, unaware it, promising to visit Rakvald again...

Great story all of you. Dula if you come back and want to request your pieces of knowledge, please send me a PM!

Devin

Rewards and consequences

Points: 15

Knowledge:

Seduction x2
Persuasion x3
Endurance x3
Discipline x2
Stealth x1

Renown: 5, for the nails

Loot: Fancy black nails

Consequences: No

Skill Review: Appropriate

Rakvald

Rewards and consequences

Points: 15 can be used for becoming and graft

Knowledge:

Becoming: Totem: Dubaebo: A shiny black marble made of the three sovereign substances.
Graft: Adhering a foreign flesh to a human.
Graft: Energizing: Healing a bite wound.
Graft: Growing three sovereign substances from a Dubaebo as it sleeps.
Unarmed Combat: x2
Surgery: x4
Endurance: x1

Renown: 10 for putting the monster to sleep while people were watching

Loot: No

Consequences: No

Skill Review: Appropriate

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