Adventurers of KAOS

by MrMakepeace

A band of adventurers starts off as any other band of adventurers would... in a tavern. Not knowing one another, the group is asked to join a dark-elf in her trek across the country to a particular port where she has a boat waiting for her to exit the kingdom. Little does the band of adventurers know, this will spin-off a series of events that will lead them to save the world.

Stonewald Chapter One

It's midday, and the air is warm. A young human man by the name of, Erick Von Ivelltroff V is on his way toward the Towne of Stonewald, traveling through the hills of Euphoria for the past few days all alone. His hair is long and black, he has a thin goatee on his face and bright green eyes. By his side rests a gun that he's been working on for a couple of weeks since he left his hometown, and on the other hip is a short sword. He reaches the top of the hill before Stonewald, getting a good look over the town while taking a deep breath of the air. Erick throws his belongings over his shoulder in a sack, then proceeds to walk down the hill.

Entering town, there are loads of people everywhere, mostly dwarves populating the town, but there were some humans, gnomes, and halflings walking around as well. The street is bustling with people outside the tavern, so Erick walks in with a slight curiosity. When the doors open, he is overwhelmed with the scent of smoke and ale. He glances across the room, noticing a group of civilians surrounding a single human that is wearing plenty of golden accessories and fresh clean clothes. Erick walks to the bar and kicks out the stool with his foot. Sitting down, the dwarven woman tending the bar is cleaning a glass with a rag when she leans over to ask him, "Is there anythin' I can getcha?"

Erick's eyes shift from the crowd in the corner, "Ah, yes. Your finest ale please."

She slams a mug down on the bar in front of him, "The best we've got. That'll be five gold coins."

He stacks the coins on the bar in front of himself, his gaze fixed on the crowd in the corner again, "Let me ask you something. Who is that in the corner?"

"Oh, that's Ricky Robert. Do you not recognize him? He's the number one chariot racer in the country!"

He leans his head back to acknowledge her. The door to the tavern opens as a young half-elf woman walks in. Her hair is long and a dark brown, her eyes are a dark green, and her skin is a fair color. Most of the clothes she's wearing are the colors red, orange and yellow. Her things are hanging from her shoulder in a sack. She walks looking for a place to sit when she's approached by a mysterious figure that was hiding in the corner of the room. The figure passes behind her, whispering in her ear, "What's your name half-elf?"

The woman responds, "Sylvana? Um… who are you?"

She looks back to see a charcoal skinned dark-elf with long silver hair blank white eyes. The woman is wearing nothing but black leather with a couple of sharp weapons strapped to her side. "Name's Lucinda. I'm looking for some travelers. I've got money, and I'm willing to pay."

Sylvana hesitates, "I'm… not really interested… thank you though."

Lucinda walks around her, "You sure? It won't just be the two of us, I promise."

At this moment, she begins to scan the room with her eyes as Sylvana says, "I'm not really interested in traveling with a bunch of strangers."

Lucinda then walks away without acknowledging her. She walks up to another stranger that seems to be picking pockets as he bumps into people in the tavern, pretending to be drunk. While she has walked away, Sylvana walks over to the bar and takes a seat with Erick. Not facing one another, he starts speaking to her, "Passing through?"

She stares at his mug, "Yeah. Don't know where I'm headed. Just interested in finding something new. I need an escape. What about you?"

"Same. I'm traveling the world seeking adventure and getting away from home while I can. I need to see some of the world for myself."

"I understand. My name's Sylvana. What do they call you?"

"Erick. Erick Von Ivelltroff 5th."

"Wow. That is definitely a mouthful," she smiles, and they chuckle.

"Where are you headed next?"

"I don't know yet. I just needed a place to stop. I had to get away from home too. I have a lot of things going on. I just want to start over."

"Yeah, I've got a lot going on as well."

"Like what?"

The barkeep interrupts, walking over to ask Sylvana what she would like to eat, "Sorry, dear. I had to handle a drunken customer." As she says this, a halfling is being escorted out by both arms by a couple dwarves, kicking his feet into the air and flailing them all around, "Let me go! I haven't done a thin' wrong! All I've done is drink a couple 'o drinks!"

The barkeep yells, "And you can stay out for the night, Tomas! You've been here since one o'clock! It's past noon! Come back tomorrow night when yer nice an' sober!" she turns to Sylvana and Erick who are both picking their ears with a pinkie, "I'm sorry about that. I hope I didn't deafen ya too much."

Sylvana answers, "No, no. You're fine… it'll come back to me tomorrow."

The two travelers are then greeted from behind, "Good. You've met someone. Now you won't be traveling with complete strangers!"

They turn around to see that she has acquired a new traveler. A young tiefling man with red skin and ragged clothes stands in front of them with full pockets jingling with change while his entire body is full of dirt. His tail swings out to the side as he sticks out a hand to greet them, "Jarrison. You can call me, Jarrison."

Erick and Sylvana glance at each other, then Erick responds, "Erick. Nice to meet you. Now what's this about?"

Sylvana answers him, "It's about traveling. She wants someone to join her as she travels through Euphoria, but I told her no. I don't want to travel with strangers, no offense, and I don't know that I could trust anyone, including her."

Lucinda replies nervously, "But you already know someone, and I'm willing to pay you! Each! 100 gold coins for your troubles!"

Jarrison responds, "I'm in. I like money. I'm tired of sleeping in a tree beside a pond anyhow. Maybe then I can afford somewhere to stay."

Erick stops the conversation, "Wait a minute. I don't even know your name, dark-elf. I just met Sylvana one minute ago, and I don't know that I can trust any of you! Why would I travel with you? I don't need your money, so what can you offer me?"

Lucinda answers him, "My name is, Lucinda, and I'm afraid that I only have so much to offer. I am not asking for any other reason than safe passage. The dwarves of this country are racist. Elves are very unwelcomed here. Notice how I'm the only one here?"

The three of them look around the tavern and realize that she is the only pointy-eared creature in sight that isn't hobbit height. Lucinda continues, "It seems that none of you know the history. This used to be an elven country, but a war between elves and dwarves ensued, and the dwarves won if you haven't realized. They control this entire country, and elves are not trusted here. The only reason I haven't been kicked out is because I am a dark-elf and the others fear me and my weapons by my side. If I travel alone, however, I am likely not to make it out of the country. I am just trying to leave, and I cannot provide you with anything but money. If that is not enough for you, then I am afraid I will be traveling by myself."

As she turns away and heads to the door, Erick turns to sit back down, but Sylvana stops her, "Wait! We will travel with you!"

Erick's head whips back in Sylvana's direction as Lucinda turns right back around, "Good. Then I shall pay you when we arrive. Let us be on our way!"

Erick grabs Sylvana's arm, pulling her in to whisper in her ear, "I'm sorry, but when did I agree to this? I'm not gonna run off with a random dark-elf! I don't even know or trust her! Or you for that matter! I am not going to help a couple of strangers! I don't know the second thing about either of you!"

She whispers back, "We don't know that she has poor intentions. Come on! We are both looking for something new in our lives, and this is our chance. A fresh start to include some adventure! I mean, you wouldn't want to leave a defenseless woman like me all alone with a shady dark-elf and a tiefling thief, would you?"

Erick grunts, "I suppose you're right about the starting over bit, and about leaving a defenseless woman on her own. Perhaps I shall go. I need to get away from it all for a while. I am willing to take the risk, I suppose," he turns to Lucinda, "Alright, Lucinda. You have yourself a deal. I shall join you. If you so much as think of double-crossing me or this lovely lady, I shall have your head!"

With Erick's finger pointed at Lucinda, she knocks it out of her way as she gets closer, "Okay then. But first, a test. I want to see if it would be worth taking you with me."

At this moment, she digs into her leather jacket, pulling out a one-handed crossbow, aiming it at the legs of the three barstools with halflings sitting in each of them. She pulls the trigger, and a bolt flies across the room, splitting the back legs of the first two barstools it hits, then breaking one of the back legs of the third. The halflings sitting in them fall back onto the floor, rubbing their heads as they stand, angry and dazed. One of them grabs a shard of barstool, "Alright… which of ye four did it?" while pointing the pokey wooden shard at the group of them standing there, three of them very confused.

"Um… I'm sorry, but you must be mistake—" Sylvana is cutoff by the halfling, "I'm drunken… don't try to fool me boy… I can see that one of you did it. Don't try to—hiccup—pull the wool over my eyes."

Suddenly, there is a loud BANG! The room fills with a smoke and the unfamiliar smell of gunpowder. Everyone turns to Erick, who is holding his invention, a pepperbox, in the air, pointed at the ceiling. There is a hole straight above him where he fired his warning shot, yelling, "Alright! That's enough! I am not going to fight anyone here, and I won't warn you again. Back off."

The halfling snarls, throwing down the wooden stake and turning back to the bar, pulling up a new stool to sit on. The other two both walk away to sit across the bar. Erick then holsters his weapon by his side, "Well… let's go!"

He turns to Lucinda who says, "That'll do," before walking out, expecting them to follow.

Erick tosses a few more gold coins to the barkeep, "Sorry for your troubles."

The group walks out together, walking fast to catch up to Lucinda. Sylvana walks beside her, "So where are we going? I don't believe you said."

"Seatowne Skurvy. It's a pirate town mostly. Filled with scoundrels and, well, pirates. I've managed to get a boat ride to leave this dreadful kingdom. I hate it here, and I am going to Flamoria. The tieflings there aren't racist against my kind."

"I'm sorry that you've got to leave this place because of the dwarves. I know it must be hard. I had to leave home too."

"Well, the dwarves here would sooner kill an elf then take one prisoner if they can find a reason. I'm sure that wherever you're from, you've not had that sort of trouble. I can see you've kept yourself well cared for," Lucinda points out while looking down at her one-handed crossbow that she is currently reloading.

"Well, I suppose. I wasn't exactly living high on the horse, especially these past few years."

While the group is leaving the main stretch of buildings in the small town, they come across a couple of heavily armored dwarven guards carrying spears. They stop them before they leave Stonewald, "Halt! You two, elves. State your business, and where you are headed! Now!"

Lucinda says, "That is none of your concern."

Sylvana butts in, "Please, we are just trying to leave. We don't want any trouble."

The guard says firmly, "You are not to leave Stonewald without true cause. Where are you two headed and why?"

Ericks interrupts, "They're with me, sir. I am escorting them both to Seatowne Skurvy. I promise, I will keep them out of trouble."

"I'm afraid that I am gonna have to take all three of you in then!"

Erick and Sylvana turn around to notice that the tiefling is no longer standing behind them. When they turn back, Lucinda unsheathes her one-handed crossbow, along with another in her other hand, then shoots both of the guards in the neck, "I told you it was none of your concern."

As the guards drop their spears, they fall over to reveal that Jarrison is standing behind them with two daggers in his hands, one flipped upside-down, and ready to stab them both.

After a minute or two, the bodies have been well hidden in the overgrown grass up ahead. Sylvana stands to the side of the road, very reserved and visually uncomfortable with what just happened. Erick dusts off his hands as he exits the tall grass to resume their journey. As he starts on his way up the hill again, he asks Lucinda, "I was correct to hear you when you said Seatowne Skurvy, yes?"

"You were. May I ask why?"

"I had prearranged to meet an acquaintance of mine there. A gnome and entertainer. She is also in need of some money, and we are meeting up to travel together. She too wants to find a new life."

"Oh? Well I will set aside some money for her as well. Provided she join our travels long enough to be worth my money."

"Very well," Erick nods.

As the group comes upon a church approaching the top of the hill, a man is leaning against the wall in thin black clothes and brown eyes. His hair is an auburn and short, and he has a thin goatee. He is tall just as Erick but reaches a few inches higher. With a longsword swinging from side to side attached at the hip, he walks up to the group with a grin, "Nice to see you again, Lucinda."

She answers back, "It's about time you show up… late as usual."

Erick looks shocked, "Uh… who is this?"

"The name's, Daryon. Full name, Daryon Josephy Edwardo von Fredricstein Qualski Quintana DeRolo 8th," the stranger says.

Sylvana turns to Erick, "And I thought your name was a mouthful…"

Lucinda says, "He'll be joining us during our travels. I've already prearranged the journey, I just needed the travelers to follow-through."

Daryon says, "She saved my life once… I owed her a favor," he shrugs.

Erick says, "Well I suppose you can tell us all about it on the way to Seatowne Skurvy."

"He's right. Let's be on our way. We've got a lot of ground to cover before sundown, and I need to be in Skurvy by midday tomorrow," Lucinda hurries off ahead of them, walking at a quicker pace.

After a couple of hours, the day becomes late afternoon as the group has made it nearly half way to their destination. They are traveling up and down the hills of Euphoria, passing small farm houses and pastures along the way. When they've reached a wide-open area with no houses in sight, just a few trees here and there, their bellies begin to gurgle. Jarrison says, "Is anyone else hungry? I'm hungry. Shall stop to eat something?"

"No!" Lucinda barks at him, "We are not losing any time. We will travel a while longer before we stop. Until sundown if we must."

"But… I've got a few scrumptious rolls I'd like to share with the group!"

"Eat while you walk, then! I don't care. We are not stopping. I've hired you, and you will do as I command."

"Fine. I'll share with everyone else then," Jarrison says as he begins digging through his pockets. When he pulls out a couple of smushed and dirty rolls, he extends his dirty hand out to one person at a time, offering his likely stolen rolls. Daryon pretends not to notice or be hungry while Sylvana just looks away. Erick raises a hand with his palm facing Jarrison, although his facial expression is enough to tell him, "No thank you."

The sound of a horse-drawn wagon appears from thin air with a couple of human men driving. The back is covered, and when they pass the group, the inside is not visible to them as it is covered by a cloth. The group thinks nothing of it until it has disappeared over the hill in front of them. Daryon brings up the point, "I didn't hear that wagon until it was right behind us. Did anyone else notice that?"

Sylvana says, "Yeah, that was strange. Maybe they were off to the side and we didn't hear them entering the road."

"They were traveling at impossible speeds if that were the case because I didn't notice them anywhere along the road ahead or behind. I didn't see anything for them to hide behind either."

"Are you sure it wasn't a ghost wagon?" Jarrison suggests.

"I like that suggestion. Maybe they won't be there when we get over the hill. What do you make of it, Erick?" Sylvana looks to him.

"Eh… I don't." Erick shrugs.

"What if they were a couple of poltergeists?" Daryon asks.

"I think it was nothing. Don't startle yourselves over it, I'm sure it was just a traveling family or men on business. I don't think it was anything unusual. You are just being over analytical," but when the travelers approach the top of this hill, they find that the wagon is sitting at the low point of the valley between the hill they stand upon and the next.

"What were you saying about men on business?" Daryon asks, "They must have been spirits reliving their deaths!"

"Don't be so overdramatic, Daryon," Lucinda says sternly.

As the group approaches, the base of the wagon is sitting on the ground with no wheels. Erick runs ahead and checks inside. The inside of the wagon is empty, and there is no one in sight. Daryon turns back to look over the hill they just passed, but there is no one in sight that way either. Jarrison suggests, "Maybe they've gone off and left their horse and wagon because they were tired of sitting?"

Erick says, "Don't be ridiculous. And don't suggest ghosts again either, Daryon!" he shouts as Daryon's mouth was half open to suggest this very thing. Erick investigates the wagon in the back, looking into the distance on either side of the road. There is no one in sight for miles. Sylvana stands with Lucinda, both glaring at the road, looking for any sign of footprints. As Erick approaches the head of the wagon to look over the top of the next hill, he hears a scratchy voice of a man coming from the driver's seat, "Don't move or you're dead."

Erick raises his hands, turning around slowly. There are two gnomes sitting in the driver's seat with scimitars, the one that spoke with his raised at Erick. They are dressed in rags with daggers by their sides. Erick's face remains still, "What did you do with the travelers?" he says demandingly.

"Travelers? I didn't see any travelers. Did you see any travelers?" the gnome turns to his companion with his rhetorical question. When he looks away, Erick's hand begins to reach for his sidearm, but the gnome's head whips back around in an instant, "Don't think about it! Now… give us everything you've got, or we'll have to kill your friends too."

Erick glances to the back of the wagon where Sylvana, Lucinda, and Daryon are all standing with their hands raised in a circle, light crossbows aimed at them by multiple bandits. Erick demands again, "Where are the people that were driving this wagon?"

The gnome says, "Boy, you have a lot to learn. There weren't any people driving this wagon besides us. We were the travelers!"

At this, Erick quickly unholsters his weapon, blasting a shot into the face of the driver. Blood splatters onto his partner, the other's eyes wide open. He stands, yelling at Erick, "You bastard!" Erick quickly turns the revolving piece of his gun with his other hand before the gnome leaps from his spot, aiming the weapon and firing another round. The other gnome is shot in the heart, falling over and creating a bloody puddle on the ground.

Erick's outburst causes the rest of the group to lash out at the bandits that attacked. Sylvana raises her hand toward a couple of the bandits with their crossbows aimed at her, then a cone of fire swarms the two halflings in front of her. The bandits, both blackened, fall over as burnt crisps in the dirt. At the same time, Lucinda removes two of her daggers from within her jacket, throwing them and plunging them into the necks of two bandits before turning around with her rapier, stabbing one of the gnome bandits in the chest. Daryon unsheathes his short sword and parries a blow from the scimitar before spinning around and stabbing the halfling, then turns and slices off the front half of the crossbow another bandit held to his face.

The remaining bandits fire their crossbows or attack with their scimitars and daggers. One of the bandits fires a shot at Sylvana, a bolt slicing her side as it goes flying by, Sylvana shouting out in pain briefly. Lucinda parries the swings of a dagger with her rapier when a bandit runs at her. When Daryon turns around to block the attack of a scimitar, he is stabbed in the back of the left shoulder with a dagger. Another bandit tries to surprise Erick from behind the broken wagon as he runs for the group, but hearing the scuffling of the gnome's feet, he ducks as a sword swings over his head.

The group makes their retaliation when Erick stabs his attacker with his rapier. As the gnome falls, holding his bleeding neck with both hands, Sylvana knocks a bandit over the head, rendering him unconscious. Lucinda finishes off a bandit, slicing his throat with his own dagger from behind, having whacked his dagger into the air with her sword and catching it. Daryon moves for one of the bandits to throw a dagger into the heart of the other, then spills the other's guts out into the dirt.

When the skirmish is finished, the group stands in a circle, Sylvana says, "Well that was an interesting confrontation," as she is waving a hand over her side. A glowing light shines from her hand as the flesh wound from the bolt vanishes. Daryon is patching his shoulder with some bandages while searching the nearest body. Lucinda says, "Well, if I were unsure of you before, I am fairly certain that you can hold your own now."

Erick says, "Well, after that, now I am hungry. Do we want to stop and eat now? We don't have much daylight left it seems, and we've been traveling for hours."

Sylvana asks, "What about all of these dead people? What are we going to do with them?"

Lucinda suggests, "Leave them. Some hungry vultures might pass by in need of a snack… or a four-course meal," she looks to the wagon, "As for the wagon, we haven't found the wheels, but some poor sap that is tired of traveling on foot might use it."

Daryon turns around and stands with his pockets full of coins and a couple of daggers on his side, "So, does anyone want a couple of knives?"

Erick curiously says, "No… but I will take some of the metal scrap off the wagon if we are just gonna leave it."

Daryon then looks around confused, "Hey, has anyone seen the tiefling?"

As Erick turns to begin dissembling the wagon, a crossbow bolt flies past his face, and he removes his gun from his side once more, facing the cause of the attack. As he points his gun, there is a bandit standing there with his crossbow aimed at him. Before Erick can pull the trigger, the blade of a dagger splits his throat down the middle from behind. With wide eyes and an open jaw, the bandit falls forward and the blade exits through the back of his neck. Behind him stands Jarrison with the blade in his hand and says, "The name… is Jarrison."

The group decides to travel for one more hour before stopping for the evening. They set up camp in a flat clearing just off the road, cooking whatever provisions they have to feed their empty bellies. Lucinda enters her tent first, leaving the rest of the group to stare at the fire until it dies down. They go to sleep, pouring sweat as the summer is in its hottest month. They all close their eyes around nine in the evening, resting heavily after a long day of traveling.