Authors' Notes: It's been a very long time guys and gals, but Archer83 has returned, to an extent. As such, and our shared, rather nerd level love for Critical Role, we thought we'd give this little tale a shot together. We hope you all enjoy, and we hope to capture the charm and hilarity that is the trademark of Vox Machina and their many strange and wondrous adventures. See ya!
And just so we're clear from the get go, we're not going to be doing an exact copy of the show. That'd be boring and pointless, needless to say, so if you're expecting a word for word, look elsewhere.
Disclaimer: All of the characters from Critical Role and those inspired by the awesome show itself belong to their respective owners, as do all the worlds, lore, and everything else. Dungeons and Dragons and their variants also belong to their respective owners, mostly Wizards of the Sword Coast. Any Original Characters and their ilk however belong to us, but we're not making any money off of this, so I doubt there'd be a problem. This is just for the hell of it, and because we love the world of Exandria and its denizens quite a bit. At any rate, enjoy folks!
Prologue
Gods, they stick their noses wherever they please, and none too subtly screw over their mortal pawns as they so desire. Some of the more benevolent gods are nice about it for the most part, while some of the more chaotic minded entities out there are downright malicious, but all of them share the same need to pick on us mortals for their own reasons, that are so far beyond us, or so most of them would claim, that we'd never be able to comprehend those reasons. If you want my opinion though, they just like to think they're smarter than us, but such is the arrogance of godly beings I suppose, even the ones that work with mortals in a far more helpful sense than some of their far more evil counterparts.
Giselle
Hello dear readers, you are cordially invited to partake of one such tale. And though I dislike the author's haughty tone, I will allow it. So dear authors... how do you want to do this?
Mercer, the god of exploration and master of dungeons
Episode 1.1: Mercered
Tal'Dorie, the main continent of Exandria, is home to many of the world's more civilized regions. The dwarven stronghold of Kraghammer in the northern mountain reaches, nestled in the Cliftkeep Mountains, while the west, on the edge of the Ozmit Sea, resides the capital city of Emon. The south holds the ever cold, ever frigid Frostweald, just north of the Stormcrest Mountains. The east is mostly empty plains and fields as far as the eye can see, but the few towns of note, of which Westruun is one of the more well known of the bunch, can be found after a few days of hard riding. Our story however, begins on the edge of Emon, with two lone wandering souls, far further from home than most could ever claim. Of course, such claims couldn't be made without someone with divinity backing them up, sticking their holier than thou's nose in their affairs, and throwing their lives into disarray on a whim.
Dark almond eyes gazed out over the sprawling metropolis, unimpressed with its gilded glory. The newcomer and her gentle companion had seen far more incredible sights in their time together. Emon was beautiful, in its way, true, but the taller of the two, by only a few measly inches, still wasn't impressed by the sight before her as they stood on a large hill overlooking the area. The slightly shorter of the two was a little more wide eyed than her dark skinned companion, but that was nothing new for them. They were as different as fire and water, yet they had been together for years, and were the stronger for their mutual partnership. A partnership that had morphed into an unbreakable bond of friendship.
That didn't stop the annoyed tone in the taller of the two elven women's voice. "Why did I let you talk me into yet another stupidly dangerous plan?" The older of the two elven women asked, her almond orbs remaining fixed on the road ahead of them even as she addressed her longtime companion. Despite her audible annoyance, there were few places she'd have rather been than beside the wood elven cleric on her right despite the trouble they often got into, or more accurately, or so the speaker liked to point out, that the cleric attracted to herself like flies to shit.
"How exactly is this any worse than our usual mornings?" The light skinned elf asked her far darker skinned counterpart, her blue eyes flicking towards the left as she did. No sooner had the words left her mouth, did the cleric's armored boot fall into a puddle of mud, and she looked down, aghast at the sight of the muck now clinging to her boot.
"Thank you for making my point." The dark elven woman deadpanned, her lips pulling up into a small smirk as her companion pouted at the teasing and the mud on her person. It was an old routine with them, she'd complain and groan about her companion's incessant need to get involved with anything that took her interest or demanded she do her best to correct, the dark elf would argue about the practicality of it, let alone the danger often associated with whatever mission the cleric had talked her into undertaking, but it was just how they were. They shared far more than most people would have ever guessed, and their willingness to fight for the right reasons, of taking down evil and monsters wherever they found them, was just one of many things they shared a passion for.
"You'll thank me when we have a soft bed to sleep in and coin to spare soon enough." The cleric countered, earning an amused snort from the ranger for her trouble even as the wood elf stomped her now mud splattered boot into the dry grass in an effort to shake off as much as the offensive muck as she could. "How often is it that a ranger argues with a cleric over creature comforts and how to gain them?" The light skinned elf asked, her blue eyes gleaming in good cheer as a strong breeze tugged at her tightly bound brown locks, ruffling a few stray hairs over her fair face.
"Not as often as the cleric would like." The ranger noted as she started down the hill, her stride as silent as it was confident, a pair of twin, wickedly sharp scimitars, looped through an old, but sturdy, leather belt on her hips that swayed with every step. The right hand blade had the hilt and jewel encrusted pommel, made of black adamantite, carved into the likeness of a hunting cat's open, fang filled mouth, with the heavily enchanted blade coming out of the cat's maw. Her left however, had a star-cut azure sapphire on its pommel. While ultimately far simpler in its design compared to its companion, the blade bore its own powerful enchantments that weren't to be underestimated. An old, dark green, worn traveling cloak followed and billowed in her wake. Old, worn brown leather boots adorned her feet, splattered with mud and dirt, but such was the case when you traveled as extensively as she did.
Her fairer, lighter skinned companion however, was far more clean and proper looking than she'd ever be. Not that there was a contest there, but one couldn't help but notice the stark contrasts when they were side by side that went beyond the physical. Like most rangers, the dark elf was adorned in simple, but sturdy, brown leather armor that clung and moved to her tall, slender frame as easily as a second skin. Her silver gray hair was bound in a long ponytail which fell down to the middle of her cloak covered back.
As for the wood elven cleric though, she was dressed from the neck down in heavy, elven mithril armor platemail that clanked and clunked with every step. Unlike the ranger however, not a speck of dirt or mud clung to any of it, with the exception of her boot, leaving her with an almost polished sheen that caught the light of the morning sun very beautifully. The cleric had a large, one handed kite shield that had a silver crescent moon emblazoned proudly on its dull gray surface on her back, and a long sword, the hilt in the shape of an intricate series of rays emanating from a matching silver crescent moon, their sharply pointed edges pointing upwards towards the softly glowing blade, on her right hip, sheathed firmly and attached to a brown leather belt much like her dark skinned companion's own. Both women had matching, well worn and traveled backpacks on their backs as well, holding their few possessions as well as their supplies, such as they were.
Unsurprisingly though, at least for them anyway, their shared, good cheer evaporated almost instantly when they were stopped at the main gates to Emon by a heavily armored city guard in red and gold robes. "Oy! Who goes there? What the 'ell... State your business or piss off back the way ya came, Drow." And as was expected, the guard took one look at the dark skinned elf and did a double take before jabbing his spear in her face. The ranger only rolled her eyes and let her far more, fair tempered friend handle the man and the prejudice he brought to bear in her direction. For the ranger, it was an old song and dance, one that had little power over her in most cases.
Without wasting time, the sun kissed elven woman offered the guard her best, charming smile and stepped a little closer than proprietary normally allowed, especially on first meetings, and soon had the guard's full attention. Already, the dark elf could see how easily her beautiful friend had entranced the city guard long before she started to speak. There was no enchantment or magical illusion though, her friend didn't rely on such cheap tricks, the cleric just knew how to talk to people, how to throw them off, and the city guardsman before them had no idea how persuasive she could be when the need came up. She had that effect on almost everyone though, so it came as no surprise to the ranger her charms were as effective as ever. "Greetings good sir, my... bodyguard and I merely wish to explore your grand city, and perhaps find a night's lodging somewhere other than on hard packed earth and stone."
The guardsman had no chance against such a practiced, if gentle, hand despite the fact both of them had the look of hardened warriors that had seen many miles and hardships together. It was all he could do not to let all the blood rush out of his face as he grinned and stammered out a response. "Um, ah... yeah sure. Whatever you wish my lady, just keep your drow bitch in line eh? Last thing we need is more trouble."
"Oh don't worry, she's exceedingly well trained, aren't you my pet?" Before even a hint of outrage could show on her face, the light elf kissed her dark companion deeply. The muffled yelp of surprise was a nice bonus as both Drow and guard about fainted for different reasons before the wood elf pulled back, a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes as she turned to the guard.
As far as persuasion methods went, it was unique, to be sure, but it had the desired effect as the guard tripped all over himself to get the gates opened for the pair of elves. The gates of Emon slowly swung open at last once the signal was given to the gatehouse guards on either side of the passage, and the two elves were allowed entry with a muttered, still somewhat confused sounding blessing from the man the cleric had thoroughly confounded, following on their heels.
When she was able to think coherently, and in complete sentences, again, the ranger made a mental note to get some measure of sweet, sweet revenge for the underhanded trick on her long time friend's part. While she was a ranger, which meant a fair fight was rarely in the cards whenever violence ensued, but even she hadn't expected that from the wood elf at her side. To make matters worse, the cleric was still smiling mischievously as she turned, the same gleam in her eyes as bright as ever. "There seems to be something wrong with your face, I see a bit of color that isn't dirt or blood related." The ranger could only shake her head and mutter something less than flattering in response to the teasing, which had a musical peal of laughter escaping the wood elf. "Oh, quit sulking Giselle, it does not become you."
Giselle's deadpanned response had the wood elf giggling sweetly once more. "Neria, old friend? Kiss my heart shaped rear end." The moment the words left her mouth however, the ranger knew she had made a mistake, because the wood elf's lips quirked up into a full on grin.
"Right this very moment, or shall we find a bit of privacy first?" Neria asked, and promptly giggled softly yet again when Giselle slapped a hand over her face.
"Ugh, I forgot, I shouldn't joke about such intimate matters with the likes of you. I'll just end up losing every time." She groaned, before letting her hand fall to her hip with a sigh.
"I can only hope you are able to fare better during our latest audience with the Sovereign." Neria replied, but despite the teasing grin still plastered on her perfectly round, amber skinned face, her companion could see she was a little nervous for their future appointment with the Sovereign, Uriel, and his ruling council. Of course, what reasoning person wouldn't be a little nervous when faced with such a powerful man, in his own home no less?
"Hence the stupidly dangerous plan. One wrong step and you'll have us in a less than ideal spot. Which of course I'll have to spring us from... again." Despite the fact she had had to do just that on more than one occasion, Giselle put her arm over her friend's armored shoulders and offered her a reassuring look. Neria leaned into her friend's embrace and relaxed into her side, grateful for the silent reassurance despite the complaints that had preceded it. "We'll be fine. You had that guard eating out of your palm with just a wink and a smile. Uriel doesn't have a chance."
"We first have to get to the Cloudtop district, which is heavily guarded if you'll recall." Neria was quick to remind Giselle, who only shrugged as she let the cleric pull away from the arm she had put over her shoulders. The Cloudtop district of Emon was reserved for the upper class of the city, and like a gated community, not just anyone was allowed to wander about as they pleased. Only those on official business for the city, such as reputable mercenaries or visiting dignitaries, to name just two examples, were allowed in the district.
"So, knock out a couple guards and disguise ourselves it is." When Neria's blue eyes widened in alarm and she gave her a worried look, Giselle was quick to hold her hands up in a placating gesture. "I was joking Neria….although it would be a simple thing for me, at a distance at least." She was quick to mutter under her breath, while Neria sighed this time and shook her head in resignation.
"We could just introduce ourselves like normal people. We aren't so unknown to this world that we couldn't ask to be allowed in." The wood elf muttered back, just as Giselle shoved her back to the side of the cobblestoned path as a richly adorned carriage barreled down the street at a breakneck, reckless pace that had the people on either side of the street scrambling back in alarm.
Once the immediate crisis had passed, a stream of curses coming from the carriage's driver that neither elf paid any attention to, Giselle snorted and rolled her eyes in response. "That is so boring though, Neria. I like my plan better."
"And you say I'm the reason we get into trouble so often." Neria replied, before both women shared a laugh and started on their way towards the upper reaches of the grand capital of Tal'Dorie.
"Halt, what business do you have in the Cloudtop District?" One of the three guards before an intricate, metal wrought gate demanded, leveling a pike in the pair's direction.
"We're here on business for the Sovereign, Uriel. We've returned to collect a bounty." The ranger stated, and slowly stuck her hand into a leather satchel on her right hip, mindful of the scimitar hilt, as was the guard as he tensed a little when her hand got close to the weapon, revealing the hint of a rather large skull that, under normal circumstances, shouldn't have fit into the bag. But her satchel was a Bag of Holding, allowing for the storage of a fair amount of items that otherwise wouldn't have fit as they were stored in an extra dimensional space.
"Ah, the wyvern that was terrorizing some of our outlying villages. I'll need your names, before I allow you to enter the Cloudtop." The guard stated in turn, which earned a nod from the ranger. It was simple procedure, and she had no problem with a guard simply doing his job. It only became a problem, as far as her opinion was concerned at least, when it got in the way of common sense and there was far more important things to worry about than proper procedure.
But this was a simple mission, and one they had done well, so she was more than willing to play along with the normal running of things here in the city. "Giselle Do'Urden and Neria Zathrial." Giselle was tempted to say more at her friend's expense, but held her tongue for the moment. As much as she teased the cleric about some of her….divine empowered magic, she couldn't count the number of times the wood elf had saved her life.
"Very well. Wait here while I take this up the chain of command." Giving a few quick orders to the two guards on either side of the gate, the man with the pike waited only a moment once the way was clear, and made his way up to the palace that was just visible on its own high hill off in the distance, behind a large, stone and metallic guard wall.
It wasn't long after that that Giselle heard one of the two gate guards whisper something to his companion. Her ears twitched ever so subtly, a subtle clue to her longtime companion. Neria nodded and said nothing as Giselle listened in on what was said. "What's a Drow doin' here with that pretty elf?"
"Don't know, can't be nothin' good though." The other man muttered in response and gave the first speaker a shrug for emphasis.
"Whatever I damn well li-" Giselle started to say, but Neria, in typical peacekeeping fashion, slapped a hand over her mouth before she could draw further attention her way.
"Loyally following by my side, of course." Neria quickly said, and gave her friend a placating look while the guard that had spoken up blanched when he realized he'd been overheard.
"Right..." Giselle growled, giving into the glance from Neria. It wasn't for her that she got so easily annoyed by the less than reasonable people like the guards, but rather for Neria that she got worked up over being given such suspicious glances. Giselle knew what she was, what it represented to most that didn't know her story, her goodly demeanor, in this world or the one they had come from, so when racial prejudice was thrown in her face, she let it slide off her shoulders without a worry or care. But when it got in the way of her friend, when that hatred and fear was extended to Neria just because she associated with her, that's when it became a problem for her as well.
"That's a good dog." The guard snickered under his breath, only Neria's strong grip on her arm kept Giselle from doing anything they'd regret.
"Let it go, he knows nothing." She whispered softly, so softly that only Giselle could hear her. Giselle nodded and relaxed, but that didn't stop the ranger from glaring at the guards. Neria sighed since this was another old song for them, one they could have done without, but she smiled warmly at her friend's attempt to keep her honor intact, albeit in her uniquely heavy handed fashion.
"I need to kill something... after we get this sorted." Giselle whispered back, her tone curt and annoyed with the moronic guards not ten feet away.
"Would a 'little death' satisfy your cravings?" Neria gently teased, enjoying the sight of her stoic ranger blushing twice in the same day. Before she could come up with a response, Neria saw Giselle look over her shoulder and nod to the gate, just as the guard that had wandered up to the palace make his way back down to them.
"My apologies, that took longer than expected. You're clear to enter so long as you don't cause any trouble."
"It is no trouble, your companions were perfect gentlemen." Neria replied sweetly, which earned an uncomfortable sounding cough from the man on the right side of the gate. Giselle had to bite her tongue, suddenly overcome with the desire to chuckle since there were few people she knew that could make a perfectly pleasant sounding statement sound like a scathing insult.
The pike wielding guard didn't miss the uncomfortable glances his two underlings exchanged with each other and frowned deeply as he addressed the elven women. It didn't take a genius to know what had likely occurred in his absence. "Most people are fools, while others actually care to look beyond the surface. I'm sorry that you had to deal with the former Lady Do'Urden."
Giselle offered a silent nod of respect, mildly surprised that the man was a bit more open minded than most they encountered in their travels. As such, the dark elven ranger offered the man a small smile on her way past. "It is something you get used to after a while, but it's always a nice surprise, finding people like you in the world. My only problem I have with the unfortunately well earned reputation of my kin, and the racial prejudice that often follows, is when it extends to my good friend here simply because she chooses to travel with me."
"A wise, enlightened view of the world. I hope you never have reason to let it go." The guard said as they made their way past.
"As do I." Giselle whispered under her breath, words that only Neria heard as they left the guards and the gate behind. The mood that had soured somewhat brightened almost as quickly once they had left the guarded gate behind. The populated, upper class streets of the Cloudtop District, well maintained and paved with more than a few colorful flower gardens, situated before the ornately decorated houses on every side, had a far more pleasant air about it than the middle and lower sections of the city they had passed through that morning thus far.
Despite the peaceful setting, that didn't stop Giselle from darting her almond eyes at every darkened alleyway and every shadowy corner. Neria blew out an annoyed breath at her old friend's well meaning paranoia. "Stop fidgeting. You look like you're expecting an ambush at any moment."
"Because I am, as should you. Cities aren't exactly my favored terrain." Giselle groused as her gaze darted from rooftop, to alleyway, and back again. The simple fact that they had been ambushed a couple of times by would be thieves in the past, in cities much like this one, didn't help the ranger's opinion in the slightest.
"I know, but we won't be here longer than necessary." Neria reassured her.
"No, just long enough for us to find a couple of soft beds, a hot bath, and a warm meal, and not necessarily in that order." Giselle countered, unconvinced that staying in the city for an extended amount of time was a good idea.
"Exactly." Neria cheerfully replied, which had Giselle rolling her eyes but giving the cleric a quick, warm smile all the same.
A short while later, they found themselves being escorted to the Sovereign's throne room at a brisk pace. The throne room itself was almost as big as the palace grounds themselves, a giant glass ceiling, with a domed top that allowed an enormous amount of light into the room, was the first thing the eye fell upon. The rest of the throne room followed soon after, the eye naturally falling on the leader first and foremost for first time visitors. They had been to the palace a few times before, but the richly adorned chamber still managed to take even the somewhat taciturn Drow's breath away for a moment.
Sovereign Uriel, as was habit at this point anytime they met the man, was sitting on his grand throne, surrounded by his guards and a few members of his council. He had dark hair that was beginning to gray on both sides of his older, wrinkled if still handsome face. A well kept, gray streaked beard completed the image of the ruler of Emon, who was once more dressed in red and bronze-gold robes, much like the guards they had passed on their way up to the palace. "Ah, our lovely hunters have returned victorious yet again. And you honor me with a trophy I see." Giselle had chosen that moment to pull out the wyvern's horned head and hold it up for everyone to see. While it was unusual for wyverns to be so far inland, the few that made their way past Emon were still hardy opponents, and it took skilled adventurers much like themselves to handle the problem.
"We have, your Majesty." Giselle stated simply yet with a measure of respect few people had heard from her outside of close friends. One of the guards took the wyvern's head from her and brought it up to the man on his throne, who nodded his approval. "It was no easy task, but it wasn't outside of our ability to handle."
"As we can see. Your reward is well earned, along with our gratitude my lady." With a wave of his hand, a well dressed attendant stepped forward, bearing a small but heavy looking chest of gold cradled in his arms. Giselle looked to Neria, who did not respond visibly save to shrug at the Drow's inquisitive glance since she was fairly sure the chest of gold coins she put into her small Bag of Holding, was a little heavier than they had agreed upon when they had originally taken the job. Not that she was about to complain, but Giselle couldn't help but wonder, and not for the first time, if her friend's charms weren't magically assisted in some way after all. Whatever the truth of the matter, she didn't let it bug her overly much as they were soon dismissed, and were even given permission to wander about the Cloudtop District with Uriel's blessing. That surprised the Drow a little, but she didn't comment on it as they started to leave once their business was concluded. Earning the respect of the ruling members of the city would hopefully help them out in the long run, and make life a little easier for herself and Neria. And while it hadn't been their objective by any means, she wasn't about to turn down the extra aid that having the Tal'Dorie council in their favor would likely provide if they ever needed it.
Neria's little knowing smile she saw as they started for the door had Giselle chuckling under her breath since she didn't need to hear the wood elf say what was on her mind to know what it was. "Yes, we have some respectability now, now come off it."
"Oh don't be such a crab apple Giselle, we have reason to celebrate now that we're allowed to wander the upper district of the city." Neria was quick to point out, and despite her best efforts to point out the obvious, that they had only been allowed to wander the Cloudtop District by Sovereign Uriel, Giselle conceded the point and shook her head as a smile started to tug at her lips. Neria pounced on her friend's change of mood, proudly declaring, "There we go! I knew you couldn't stay negative for long."
"You say that now, but just wait, our small streak of good fortune won't last." Neria's reply was to playfully shove at the Drow ranger at her side for her continued, if feigned, pessimism. Without missing a step, Giselle easily regained her balance and proceeded to ever so casually try and trip her long time friend by swinging her left leg forward in the cleric's path. Neria, for her part, only stumbled but didn't fall as she hastily moved to the side at the last second, a loud clanging following as her armored plates bunched against each other from the sudden movement. "Watch your step there."
"Oh, I'll get you back for th-" Both women stopped mid step, and mid sentence, when the doors opened to the throne room, and allowed the strangest group of people either of them had ever seen. At the head of the line was a young, at least in elven terms, dark haired man in a dark hood, which obscured his face in shadow, so much so even Giselle found it hard to penetrate what was underneath. What little they could see of it revealed the smooth cut of his jaw and his only partially angular features that were typical of all elves, regardless of origin, suggested he was only half elf. As for his chosen profession, the number of throwing knives on his belt and the all too practiced ease at which he moved silently screamed 'rogue' to the two hardened adventurers.
At his side was his twin if the eerily similar hair color and facial features were anything to go by, but unlike the rogue, the bow on her back and the armor wearing bear that brought up the rear suggested familiarity with the ranger arts, something Giselle could appreciate a great deal in her own right. She simply favored the sword over the bow, which was the only ready difference between them, beyond their skin tone of course. The long, equally worn traveling cloak, the boots, leather armor, and a similar ease of near silent movement said that she knew her way around a forest as easily as her brother likely knew his way around a city if Giselle was any judge. While Giselle's almond eyes were on the twins, Neria's blue orbs had since fallen on the pair of gnomes that followed after the two half elves.
One wore what could only be described as, at least in her mind, garishly bright purple vestments trimmed in gold and black thread. While his boots were just as well worn as the rest of his companions', the little bard, for only a bard would look half as handsome and well traveled in her experience, the rest of him was all but immaculate, despite the fact most of his friends looked like they had just come out of a sewer, covered in grime and dirt and blood if she were to make an educated guess, most of it not their own.
Dark haired like the twins in front of him, the little bardic gnome took one look at her and Giselle and offered them a cheeky grin that had the wood elven cleric smiling wryly in response. She knew what was coming long before the gnome ever opened his mouth, and he didn't disappoint. "My my, what visions of beauty stand towering before me."
"Now's not the time you little shit." The rogue grumbled even as he took a moment to glance in their direction on his way by, and stopped for a second when Neria flashed him a winning smile.
Blinking and shaking his head, the rogue pressed on without a backwards glance, but his sister shot the cleric a quick smirk over her shoulder. "I don't think I've seen my brother do that before, unless Gilmore was in the room. Congratulations darling."
"Not helping sister." The rogue grumbled without breaking his determined stride.
"Don't take offense, he's always got a stick up his bum. Where I on the other hand am far more charming." It was only when his fellow, and far more heavily armored counterpart, chuckled at his no doubt well known antics among the group, that the bard stopped short and blushed, his cheeks turning almost as bright as his vestments. "O-of course, I only have eyes for you sweet Pike."
Pike, a heavy metal mace resting within easy reach on her right hip, smiled endearingly at the gnomish man at her side, her long, wavy platinum blonde hair falling over her armored shoulders, and patted the bard on the back as she said, "It's okay Scanlan, but we do have a bit of business to attend to."
"Oy! When do I get to kill somethin?! It's been thirty minutes since I murdered someone, and I'm worried I'm losin' my edge ..." Both elves looked up, and up, when a gray skinned, heavily muscled, tattooed goliath walked into the hallway. Having seen giants and their lesser cousins before, neither elf were that alarmed by his presence, only that he seemed to be willingly following the others of his group. What was surprising though, was the fact it wasn't often that a giant of any kind followed elves, humans, and what looked like a lizard or dragon like humanoid, who stood beside another well dressed human on his right.
"It's okay Grog, we'll find you a nice cow to slaughter after we're done here." If the staff the red scaled dragonoid didn't give away his chosen profession, the sorcerer, arcane marked robes the spectacled dragon creature wore made it all too easy to see where his power lay as the goliath grinned down at the sorcerer in approval. When the red scaled dragon turned to them though, he gave a slightly surprised huff and let his eyes sweep over the pair before smiling at the two, revealing more than a handful of sharp little teeth in his otherwise friendly, scaly face. "Ah, greetings. I am Tiberius Stormwind, and I hail fr-"
"No one cares Tibby! Now get up here! You're holding up the works!" The rogue shouted over his shoulder.
"No need to be so rude Vax, oh hello." The man by Tiberius said and adjusted the spectacles that had started to ride down the bridge of his nose before nodding his head of gray hair at the two elven women. "Please allow me to apologize on behalf of Scanlan for whatever disgraceful comments he has no doubt already made towards you." Out of the group, this fellow with a pair of strange, at least to them, metallic tubes, one far larger and longer than the other, seemed the most aristocratic of the bunch with his blue overcoat with gold buttons, a white undershirt, dark black leather pants, a pair of mostly clean black boots, and an air of nobility, true nobility and bearing, the kind that made one that would go out of his way to help those worse off than him, was thick about his person.
"Hey! I was a complete gentleman I'll have you know! This time at least." Scanlan protested as he turned on his heel to argue with his well dressed, and far better mannered, human counterpart.
"There's a first time for everything I suppose." The well spoken man offered with a doubtful grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, please allow me to introduce myself-" He never got the chance to finish because the aforementioned Grog chose that moment to none too gently shove the gentleman to the side.
With a 'oomph' and a glare at the goliath's back, which Grog ignored completely, the giant barbarian wasted little time in berating the man on his way to the throne room. "Ah for fucks sake Percy, we don't have all day here! ... Or do we? I'm not very good at readin' those sun dially things."
Just when the two elves thought they had seen everything, the goliath paused mid stride and blushed when he saw Pike had put a comforting hand on one ridiculously oversized arm, at least when compared to her tiny gnome hand. "It's alright Grog, you're good at a lot of other things, big guy."
"Like whoring and drinking ale!" Scanlan offered with a cheerful laugh.
"Oh for the love of... am I the only one here capable of having a mature conversation?" Percy grouched this time as he gave the gnome a dark, scathing glare that had him looking past the spectacles on his face.
"Yes." The rest of his unique companions readily replied.
"I know the feeling." Giselle replied, and smirked when Neria gave her a dirty look for the remark before her mock frown disappeared as she nodded and shrugged in agreement.
"Glad I'm not the on-hello." A rather pretty elven woman stammered out as she locked eyes with the pair leaning against the side of the hall as the rest of her group pushed onward. "Um….that is a Drow right?" The druid, half elven like the ranger and rogue ahead of them, blinked large, brown eyes as she flicked her gaze over the dark elven ranger.
"Yes….why do you ask?" Percy asked, obviously not getting the reason why the druid was giving her dark skinned counterpart such a strange look.
Giselle waved him off before he could stumble about further. "Long story short, our two peoples don't get along." She stated simply, only giving the human enough information to put the pieces together.
"Oh...gotcha." Percy said as he caught onto what had his companion so uneasy.
"That's putting it mildly. But you're….up here on the surface….on purpose….so you can't be so bad, right?" The druid replied, two parts awkward shyness and one part shame at having jumped to the exact same assumption that the dark elf was evil and to be feared as so many had done already.
Neria was quick to step in her friend's defense the moment the druid had shut her mouth. The hard, almost unforgiving glare she gave the woman said more than her words did alone. "No, she is not, I can promise you."
"Too bad, I hear Drow are demons in the bedchamb- OW!" He yelped and jumped, clutching at his right foot as he did and hopped about in place.
"Scanlan?" The half elven ranger asked sweetly, having turned around and stomped, hard, on the bard's foot while he'd been distracted before roughly tugging at one of his ears. "Be a good little bastard won't you?" At that moment, the ranger's animal companion growled and grunted right behind the bard as she viciously tugged on his ear for good measure. "And shut it, before I have Trinket sit on you. Alright?" The sweet tone she adopted at the end of her threat was somehow more menacing than the cold, furious note her voice had held at the start of it.
Either way, it got her point across pretty thoroughly as Scanlan swallowed the rather large nervous lump in his little throat. "Yes ma'am." He replied, his voice rising several octaves before he let out a relieved breath in a great 'whoosh' when the ranger let go of his ear.
"Good. Now come along, we're keeping Sovereign Uriel waiting." With that, the group of assorted adventurers that ranged across the spectrum of professions and races, left Giselle and Neria in the hall to stare after their departing forms.
"What an intriguing bunch those people are." Neria stated, her blue eyes wide in awe and admiration, as well as more than a little good cheer at their endearing antics.
"If you say so." Giselle muttered, already shoving the incredibly odd group to the back of her mind. While they seemed like a nice enough group overall, save for the druid who had been quick to correct herself once called out on her reaction, there had been something off about two of them that hadn't sat well with the Drow ranger. Her almond eyes kept falling on two of the strange individuals, mainly the well dressed human, and the giant goliath near the back of the group. It was then that she felt an all too familiar presence, something she'd dealt with for as long as she could remember, call out in the dark recesses of her very being.
Follow them…..
Gritting her teeth at the foul, yet equally alluring, overpowering presence in the darkest reaches of her soul, Giselle, with a reserve of willpower and stubbornness that would have put her dwarven friends back home to shame, shoved the impulse away with a powerful mental shove. The voice fell silent, as did its almost overpowering command, and she was able to breathe a little easier once she had buried the impulse once more.
Not quite fast enough though, as Giselle opened her eyes and saw Neria giving her a slightly concerned look when she met her companion's gaze. "Strange... I'd swear you almost look pale. Well, slightly more grim at least. Unless-"
"Let's….just get out of here Neria." Giselle interrupted her before she could ask what was really on her mind. Only a very small group of people knew the truth of the matter, and such talk was not meant for unfamiliar ears. Taking her hint, the wood elf cleric silently, solemnly nodded and put a hand on Giselle's shoulder, a gesture that she accepted gratefully. "I'm alright, I promise." The Drow ranger reassured her, but Giselle could see the concern didn't leave her long time friend's eyes.
"If….it is that problem raising its head again, you know I can't let you endure it alone for long." Neria whispered quietly, knowing from long experience that Giselle wouldn't agree to having her….problem, handled in public, no matter how bad it got. The fact that it had raised its head at all suggested there was something wrong with one or more of the group that had passed them by. Something almost as dark and corrupted as the….thing Giselle had trapped inside her, if not darker in some way that scared the good natured cleric to her core to even consider.
"I know….but not here." Giselle replied softly, having come to a similar conclusion as her gaze kept falling on Grog and Percy before she was forcefully pulled away by her rightfully worried friend.
"Right, let's find a cozy little inn for the night. I won't even complain if you trap the windows and door like last time." The jest, even if that had been exactly what Giselle had done during one such stay at a less than reputable inn a few towns back, was well received by Giselle as she snorted and shot her friend a grateful smirk as they left the palace's throne room at a brisk if still dignified pace. The tension that had started to filter into the Drow's face melted away almost as quickly as they put distance between themselves and the group that had entered the throne room, and it wasn't long before they were laughing freely once more as they made their way into Emon's busy streets.
The rest of their morning went on without a hitch, which somehow only managed to make Giselle all the more apprehensive. They found a relatively clean and well respected inn for the evening and spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon going about the city, having a decent meal at an open air restaurant in the Cloudtop District before they moved on. Deciding to take some time to stock up on supplies, they found their way to a rather colorful, arcane looking shop of some sort around midday, named Gilmore's Glorious Goods. Having since left the Cloudtop District, mostly because the few shops in the upper class section of Emon they'd found after their meal were far too expensive and just downright snobby for her tastes, Giselle chose to lead the way down to the Abedar District, before her almond eyes fell on the shop that was almost as ostentatious as the man himself, as they found out the moment they entered the establishment.
The first thing they noticed was that Gilmore's shop was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, which only confirmed their assumptions that they had entered some kind of arcane oriented place of business. The smell of incense was thick in the air, and it didn't take much to see there was a number of everburning candles nestled in sconces scattered about the main floor, filling the air with scented smoke that was almost sickeningly overpowering. There were no doors on the first floor, instead each passageway was divided by curtains of colorful beads. Towards the back of the shop there rested a large wooden counter behind which a couple of attendants patiently waited. While the far left wall seemed to be dominated by items of a herbalist nature. A wide set of stairs led up to an unseen second story, cleverly hidden from outside view, which only further proved the simple fact that the single story building, at least when viewed from the outside, was much bigger than appearances suggested.
"Welcome, my fine elven ladies, to my humble little establishment!" Giselle found herself fighting the urge to step back from the exceedingly boisterous man as he leaned closer. "My you have good taste, I dare say I've seen less than a dozen paired scimitars of such fine quality."
Giselle shrugged and crossed her arms, a small little smirk tugging at her lips. "Thanks, they might be old, but they're still two of my most treasured possessions."
"I can tell, but they still emanate quite a bit of old magic, or I'm not the proprietor of this little slice of paradise." Gilmore said and put a hand on his hip while the other rested casually on the counter at his side. "So, what can I do for you this fine afternoon?"
No sooner had the words left the man's mouth, did they hear a number of feet heading to the door. Giselle started to speak again, only to hear an annoyingly familiar gnome bard behind her. "It must be fate! How many times does this happen? I swear we were just coming here to shop from our favorite friend here in Emon, and here you are!" Giselle groaned while Neria beamed as both turned and saw Scanlan at the head of his group of companions as they piled into Gilmore's shop. "Now what are the chances of that?"
Giselle only sighed and shook her head at the boisterous bard's overabundance of cheer. "Not nearly bad enough."
End Notes: Well that happened lol. You can blame Archer83 for this one, but it was truly good, working with him again after so long of not talking to him. I and Nomad-117 missed him a great deal, far more than either of us could ever hope to express honestly. So when he came to us after his several months of absence with something we all shared a passion for to some degree or another, we jumped on the chance to work with him like we used to, as you can imagine.
At any rate, we sincerely hope you've enjoyed our combined efforts in this, and the inclusion of a couple of our own additions to the story as they find themselves entangled in the wild and whacky adventures that is Vox Machina's bread and butter. Take care folks, and hope to hear from you all again. See ya!