Sooooo... my friends nagged me into making another chapter and here we are... with another chapter...
This story is kinda a follow-on from a D&D campaign me and my friends did and I also happened to make a fanfic story out of that as well... although it isn't finished...
If you want to get a bit more backstory for the characters then just head to 'A Shadow in the Mists' in the Dungeons and Dragons fanfic section and you'll know when you find it... although I'll give some backstory to the characters I won't explain them as in-depth as in my other fanfic...
Naughtbeast
Chapter 3:
Silence…. That was all that the solitary figure heard as he sat meditating in the deep forests of Vale. A wind rushed through the trees and straight past the figure, although it did nothing to ruffle the pure white cloak he wore. A single tome sat in his grasp, a thick collection of knowledge that sat splayed open in his palms, currently opened to pages containing information on the many different planes of existence. The figures hands moved from under the book and traced lines of words on the page as if to contemplate their very existence.
Holg had been sitting in the forest for the entire night, telling the others that he was scouting ahead and taking out any of the strange 'Grimm' creatures that might come close to the village. The massive wooden blockade had been completed and sentries were posted on the walls at varying intervals to ensure that an alarm would be sounded the second one of the creatures were seen.
He was sitting alone because he needed to check something, a nagging feeling that found presence at the back of his mind, the Paladin feeling as though something was wrong even though he hadn't had any actual message that it was set in stone. The book was a magical collection of all planes that had been, are being or ever will be… yet none of them pointed to where he was now. It was impossible for the spell to have teleported them to another location on the material plane as it was set for inter-dimensional travel and there were no other realms that harboured humans with the technological advancements such as those they had witnessed.
The lines he was reading over confirmed his suspicions… they were in a realm that had never been visited before. It was the only logical explanation given the circumstances but some things still didn't add up. The magic weavings of this world were exactly the same as the Material Plane yet the people here didn't even appear to be able to harness it like even the most basic of sorcerers.
"Just where are we…" he asked to no one in particular, turning to the very last page of the book to seek what could only be the last explanation of their strange appearance in this world. As he read it, his heart was beating faster and faster when the realisation came upon him.
In the events of which a spell requiring focus is broken by the departure of the caster's soul then the soul may still contribute to the closure of the spell although it is known to have affects severely different from what was originally intended. Known occurrences include soul-tearing of any beings in close proximity to the caster, summoning of an Orb of Destruction for more volatile spells, or, in very rare cases an acceleration of the spells effects that propel those in close proximity to the intended destination although it has been known to send them several years' latter of the intended target.
"No…" he whispered, slamming the book shut as if the action would erase any and all existence of what he had just read "It cannot be true…"
With a heavy heart, he broke his trance and put the book away behind the folds of his cloak and headed back to the village, hearing the muttering and cursing of the guards he had left from a mile away. He put more weight into his steps and a few seconds later the guards silenced themselves when he was sure he came into earshot. When the darkness cleared enough for him to get a good view of the village, he saw the large 9-foot tall wooden walls that surrounded it and the massive gates that barred entrance to the protected peoples.
"OI! Who's out there!" shouted one of the sentry's, hefting what Holg assume to be a large firearm in his grips. "State your business!"
"I am one of the adventurers that protected your village yester-night and I seek entrance once again into your village"
"Ummm… permission granted?" answered the sentry, being a bit phased by the man's formal speaking. He went over to tell the others to open the gate but by then, Holg had already walked over and pushed them open, barely spending any effort to move the thick gates. The Paladin left the villagers to the task of protecting it and walked purposefully towards where his companions were sleeping.
As he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Nora sharpening her massive greatsword on a whetstone, somehow not making a single noise with the normally very loud object. She nodded to him but otherwise didn't seem at all interested with his late night entrance. The paladin replied the curtesy and went over to where his bedding was, laying down but still not going to sleep for he had far too much to think about. If what he had found was true, then they were in far more trouble than they had originally thought.
Hours went by and before long the rays of dawn were shining through the windows of their borrowed dwelling. The other members of the party were yet to awake from their slumber and he guessed it would be the same for most of the village so that still gave him time to complete the second part of the defence.
His intentions were to remain a secret for the villagers as they were yet to discover the truth about magic and it would be easier for them to not witness the process but rather just find the end results. He carefully altered his mind and tapped into the deeper parts which he called the webways. Finding the connection he was looking for, he sent a mental message straight through and his efforts gave fruition when Morkai rose from his slumber and floated up to stand.
"I assume that you would now like to commence the ulterior plan of protecting the village?" Morkai telepathically sent, dusting off his robes and cracking his bones to relieve the pressure built up.
"How many times must I tell you to refrain from mind-reading Morkai?" Holg mentally replied, standing from his own bedding and walking out into the night once again with the mage in tow. The Paladin produced a large clump of iron from within the folds of his cloak, not even the practiced magician knowing where it came from. He handed it off to Morkai, or what could be considered handing it off as the mage just levitated it in front of him, then walked to the most derelict part of the village where most of the casualties from the night before were experienced.
"Transmutation…" Holg spoke, knowing it was all that Morkai would need to know what to do.
"Ahhh… excellent plan, I was wondering how you hoped to keep out those beasts and it appears I underestimated your tactician yet again"
"I thought you were able to read my mind and discern that quite a time ago"
"You are mistaken for I can only read the most fleeting glances of a being's thoughts be those only that have which passed their mind mere moments before I tap into them"
"Noted, now if you would…"
Morkai nodded and levitated the block of iron so that it directly in front of his face. His hands slowly lifted from beneath his midnight black cloak that was much the same as his skin, dark purple energy swirling around his palms. The mist continued swirling and growing in size until he pushed it forward with a gesture of his hands and it completely covered the entire block. It twisted a warped the block and melted it into a strange goo while still floating a few inches in front of his hands.
To complete the spell, Morkai floated over to the closest part of the wall and pushed the coalesced blob of melted iron into the wood, the wood immediately around the affected area starting to hiss and crackle at the assault to their existence. A blight began spreading across the wood and soon the wood of around 3 house blocks was covered in a twisted and pulsing growth. Morkai floated over to the wood and placed his hand on a blighted trunk and a sudden effect began taking hold. From where he touched, the blight turned solid and smoothed out until it held a slightly rusty sheen, the wood turning to solid iron.
It took little under ten minutes before the entire section of wall was now a solid block of iron that was at least a foot thick at its thinnest with the rest of the entire wall section soon to follow. Morkai floated back over to join the Paladin and bowed with respect to show he was finished.
"Much thanks my Tiefling friend, you continue to prove your magic invaluable in every situation"
"You are too kind Holg, it is merely parlour tricks you have me performing, I am yet to find a worthy adversary to unleash my true powers upon"
"And I hope you find them, for now it is the people of this village we must help until we learn all we can…"
"Understood my lord, I believe the others are awake so it is best we see what we can learn today after holding up part of our deal"
"Excellent plan, let us make haste and use these fleeting daylight hours"
Holg and Morkai both left the wall to continue its morphing and began heading back to their borrowed housing. As they entered, they heard a few more voices than those who they knew and went into a back room to find the others crowded around a strange box with moving pictures.
"Frath, I assume you're responsible for this?" Holg questioned, seeing that a woman was shown on the screen presumably talking with moving script beneath her.
"Yeah, I was looking around in one of the rich people's houses and I spotted one of them using this thing so I picked up a few tricks…" the thief answered, enraptured in the moving pictures "It's a lot like scrying but it is like the people on the other end know they are being watched and actually speak to whatever is capturing this image"
"Strange, is there anything useful you have learnt?"
"There are a multitude of different 'stations' as they are called with things ranging from people making stories out of moving drawings and weird shows that just watch people's daily lives but this one has proved to be most useful as it shows the current news as it happens on this world, it's like we are on an entirely new material plane!"
"What information have you gathered?"
"The biggest to note is that they really only have humans here, although they have a spin-off race of half-humans with animalistic traits"
"Like half-orcs or dragonborns?"
"Far from it, the most they have is maybe a pair of horns or a tail!" the thief exclaimed, sounding slightly surprised "the worst part is that they are regarded as degenerates or scum and so this nation appears to be in a passive war between the two species and the best talks between them border on strait up racism…"
"So they wouldn't exactly take too kindly to people walking around with black skin and a tail aye?" Morkai asked, cringing as he received another nod.
"Don't take it as a sign to hide again Morkai…" Holg warned, knowing just how much Tieflings were discriminated in their world.
"Far from it, magic will always show a solution" the wizard explained, glowing purple mist surrounding his body and completely encasing it before dissipating and revealing a burly middle-aged man with a beard who was wearing dark brown pants and a tan shirt. "I think this disguise will suit its purposes" spoke the man, his voice sounding much deeper and without the tell-tale lisp of a forked tongue.
"With that sorted, we should probably keep Zwelious out of sight for a while until we leave… on the topic of our dealings here, after today we shall be travelling back to the Material plane and relaying our findings to the Deva messenger sent to the Emerald Enclave temple, do we have any opposition?"
"But Daddy, didn't the people see dragon-man's scales and Nora's ears?" Genevive asked, not using Zwelious' name because she couldn't really say it properly and she didn't want to annoy him.
"I kept my wood-plate on every time I was outside…" Zwelious answered, gesturing to the bark armour that was lying on his bedding "It hides my tail and I had my moss veil to hide my face"
One thing that continuously stumped most of the party was the dragonborn's use of unconventional armour that somehow still stood up to steel and plate even when it was only made of armour. The tree-bark would stop axe slices much better than even the leather that Frath wore and the moss that covered most of it like a cloak acted like chainmail and had stopped arrows on more than one occasion.
"Plus I don't think that anyone was looking at her ears considering her… Elvish figure" Frath added, getting a slap on the back of his head for the comment.
"Back onto topic, Frath and I shall be with the mayor for most of the daylight hours so I hope you may find something to occupy your time but please ensure that the villagers do not find our races that easily"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO GO!" pouted the thief, glaring daggers at Holg.
"As we both know; you are far more adept at obtaining information from those that might otherwise not be obliged to inform us of"
"Oohh! Interrogation, just what I wanted to warm up a nice summer's day…" Frath cheered, getting off the floor almost immediately and heading for the door, putting on his cloak as he did... and then putting on another one… and another.
"Frath, why do ya keep puttin on three of dose cloaks?" Adrik put in, giving the thief a questioning look.
"It's like you don't even know me! I keep them around because wearing one cloak is too regular… and because it keeps my knives safe" answered Frath, pushing the edges of his cloak to the side to show rows upon rows of varying knives that lines the insides of the cloak's thick fabric.
"We must make haste, the mayor shall be expecting us soon" cut in Holg, putting picking up his axe and shield and putting them on his back beneath his own cloak. Roughly a minute later they were in the mayor's office sitting down at a large 12-person table that had five other people apart from the two adventurers. Twenty minutes after that, the conversation was in full swing and Frath was already getting extremely bored.
"And these CCT towers let you speak to those that are many thousands of leagues away"
"Yep, we can sit here comfortably in our own home and talk to people from all the way in Atlas, although right now the Grimm broke our connection to the tower so we'll be out of contact for a while… although the local city's bound to send someone to check on us"
As soon as Frath heard this, he felt a gut feeling deep down that whoever was coming would mean serious trouble for them, standing up and excusing himself from the table to leave, intent on gathering intelligence on whatever was coming their way. Holg ignored his compatriot and continued questioning the mayor.
"And this Atlas?"
"The northern most continent and probably the best equipped to take care of Grimm, although I should probably say that the army stationed there is controlled by probably the most uptight man in the world who'll shoot his men for anything that's akin to desertion, General Ironwood's his name"
"A General must earn his men's respect through trial by fire, not through the threat of sending his men into that fire"
"Ummm… ok then? Well is there anything else we can do for you?"
"It may be a very touchy subject for you but I must talk about the half-species that live around here"
"You mean the Faunus right?" the mayor asked to confirm, sounding a bit sceptical about where the conversation was going.
"If that is what they are known by then aye, I would like to know how you view them in this village"
"We don't think that the Faunus are below humans in any way at all, unlike the larger cities, and we're happy to have them around as much as possible"
"Then may I ask why do they stay within their homes and we can only catch fleeting glances?"
"We weren't sure that you felt the same way" nervously replied the mayor, not wanting to anger the massive warrior.
"If that is what you think would happen then you are sorely mistaken, for I do not harbour ill-intent among my brethren"
"You're a Faunus?" the mayor exclaimed as he went wide-eyed. "That would certainly explain your strength" he muttered under his breath.
"That is correct, although you might be a bit far-off when likening me to the half-animals"
Holg continued his explanation by pulling back his hood, revealing the shining silver helm that he wore, a thick block of iron with only two slits to see through and a few holes to breath, then continued by releasing the straps and taking it off. When the mayor saw the half-orc's face he gasped in disbelief, not at all believing what he saw in front of him.
"No offence at all but what are you?" he asked nervously, scared to death with what was sitting across the table.
"I am what is known as a half-orc and I would probably be considered far more likened to an animal that I am born from, do not be shamed with your response, I have experienced anything form refusal to converse to brawls just because of my appearance"
"Damn… if the Faunus get trashed because of what they look like then I can't even start to think of the stuff they would have done to you"
"Fret not for it is far behind me, one of the reasons I keep a hood on at almost all times… for now I believe my curiosity is sated and I can return to my companions with new"
"Many thanks to you all, I really wish I could thank you in some way, will you be staying?"
"My companions and I unfortunately must make Eastward on our journey, although I wish you all much fortune and we shall mourn your dead for days to come"
"Sad to hear, I wish you luck and safe travels!"
Holg stood and picked up his helmet, contemplating about it for a while before settling with putting it beneath his arm and then he walked out of the mayor's house, making way to their borrowed housing once again. He made it there in great steed, only receiving a few strange looks from the rest of the village and he noticed that a lot more Faunus were walking around the streets than before.
As he entered their housing, he set his helmet down on an armour stand with Nora's armour neatly placed on it, although there was still room for the helmet because she was notorious for not wearing headgear into battle. He heard the familiar sounds of the strange glass box and went over to find Nora, Zwelious and Adrik all sitting raptly in front of it.
"Bout time ya got back pig!" Adrik snorted as he tore a bit of meat off a chicken leg he was eating.
"I am having much the same thoughts my Dwarven friend, although I must ask where have Genivive and Frath gone to?"
"The cute one's off in the forest while dark and knifey is running along the walls for some reason"
"I've never heard Frath called cute before" Zwelious teased, getting punched in the side by Nora.
"Understood… piece together your belongings for we are heading out soon after I bring those two back, there is still much of this plane we must explore and I intend to do so within the days after consulting the Gods"
"Damn it, I was just going to get my hair done by one of the local ladies!" Nora complained, flicking out her hip-length blonde hair.
Holg smiled at her antics but then that smile instantly changed to a deep frown when he saw an image appear on the device they were watching. He pushed aside Adrik to get a better view and when he did, he nearly feinted. A map of the continent they were on was showing and he knew those coastlines. He had traversed this very land-mass a mere five years prior… back when the old multiverse was still in existence. The image zoomed out to show the entire world… and that was when he knew it for a fact… they were back in the old Material Plane they left for the 'Great One'.
Holg swore in every single tongue he knew and smashed in the screen showing the map, his eyes filling with rage that could rival even the hardiest of Barbarians. He barely managed to contain his rage long enough so that he could get out of the house and village until he was in the forest once again, choosing to relieve his anger by snapping tree's in half like twigs. If they truly were back in the old Material plane, then it meant that the Great One and all it ever did was still tainting the very fabric of this reality and he had no doubt that it had already sensed that they had arrived… but why was it not doing anything. A God of that power could have simple willed them into inexistence, yet by his knowledge it still hadn't acted.
His rage wore down enough so that he could see what he had done to the forest, making it look like a very angry giant had torn through it… which wasn't far from the truth. His thoughts shifted back to getting his companions back to safety, if the Great One hadn't done anything then he wasn't going to waste that opportunity… he would need to act now. Just as he stood up to collect his thoughts, the one sound he definitely didn't want to hear reverberated through the forest echoing against the tree's. The signature sound of Genevive's war-horn, a high-pitched wavering tone that was light and soft… although it only meant one thing.
He drew his axe and shield and quickly cast a Haste spell then sprinted full-boar in the direction of the sound. Any trees that were in his way he simple side-stepped or smashed through with his shield, thundering straight towards where she had blown the horn. Genevive was instructed that the war-horn she was given would only be blown in emergency situations, something which deeply troubled the Paladin.
It wasn't long before he thundered into a clearing and saw four people standing underneath a tree with a crying Genevive hanging onto a tree branch with one hand and holding the horn with the other.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he roared, causing three of them to jump away quickly while the last didn't quite have time to move so they were sent flying when a charging half-orc slammed into them. When Genevive saw that he had arrived, she pocketed the war-horn and jumped down onto the ground, hiding behind one of his legs. Holg prepared for battle and shrugged his cloak so that it sat behind his pauldrons and freed up his arm movements and revealing his pristine silver plate-mail beneath, his shield and axe already in a defensive position.
"What happened honey?" Holg asked quickly as the people recovered from the Paladin's barging in. As he observed them he noticed just how strange they were. They wore the weirdest of clothing choices, the half-orc noticing that they really only had two major alternating colours on their outfits. They only appeared to be teenagers and they were all girls, wearing colours of red, white, black and yellow.
"Mean girls are trying to hurt me!" she squealed, her voice muffled as she held tightly onto the folds of his cloak with her head hidden behind it.
"HEY! We were trying to help you!" argued the yellow one, not at all happy with Genevive's explanation and definitely didn't look happy with Holg either. Her hair looked vaguely similar to Nora's although it was very messy and the clothing she wore definitely reminded him of women that worked in a whorehouse.
"Well then would you care to explain what you were doing!" snarled Holg back, making the girl back down which he further enforced by setting fire to his axe-head with Elemental Weapon.
"We were coming to check on the village and we saw she was getting attacked by a beowolf so we tried to help!" the red one answered, looking a bit fearful of the massive axe and shield.
"She is my daughter so you better be careful that you aren't lying or I'll have your heads…"
"She's your daughter? That can't be possible when you're… whatever you are" the one in white spoke, her hands holding a rapier that looked to be made of silver and Holg could see a faint glow of what looked to be elemental magic near the hilt.
"Watch your tongue girl, now this just looks to be a miss-understanding so it is best that you leave before I have my friend slit your throats where you stand, I have much reason to be enraged right now so I will hold you to my promise if you do anything"
"What friend, your little girl?" mocked the white one again… before she instantly took back her response when she felt the cold embrace of steel press against her neck.
"If by girl you mean someone who can end your life in a second then yes… if not, then you are deeply mistaken" spoke Frath in a whisper, not drawing the attention of the others then slipping back into the tree's unseen thanks to his invisibility cloak.
"I recommend you get on your way and leave us in peace before you say something you will regret, for I hold my honor very high and I shall not have it squandered by your youthful ignorance" Holg warned while loosening the grip on his axe and de-activating the fire. Holg sheathed his weapons and began walking away… until a certain comment found its way into his already enraged ears.
"Pfft… I doubt a pig like you would have any honor"
He stopped on the spot like he was struck by lightning and his blood boiled to a point where he could no longer stare straight. Frath had just been out of earshot of the comment but he still saw what was happening to Holg… and he didn't like it. The thief teleported over to the Paladin's side while invisible and whispered into his ear to try and get him to stop.
"Don't do anything stupid Holg, they're just stupid teenagers with more ego than brains so can we just leave them and get back to smashing the living crap out of some demons?"
"It is not only them… it is this place"
"How does that have anything to do with this"
"This plane… it was where we left the Great One"
Frath was literally shocked into silence far quicker than he had expected, his hands immediately going to a holy symbol around his neck.
"God's protect us…"
Holg noticed that the girls still hadn't left so he turned around once again to face them. He could take being in his most hate place normally… but when you combine it with a half-orc personality, a really annoying group of teenagers and an already pissed Holg… it wasn't exactly a recipe for some nice cake.
"Why have you not left!" he growled, almost all of them except the one in white.
"Because we need to check on the village and you're blocking you path?" quipped the white one, saying it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"The village is fine so leave and tell whoever you work for to never come back here" the Paladin finished, expecting them to leave but finding no such result.
"And why should we take the word of a pig?"
Holg restrained himself enough to stop his arm from lashing out, though that didn't mean he was ready to slice the girl in half.
"Human, I will give you one last chance… or I WILL be forced to break you"
"And why should I be scared… I don't even think you can cut the hairs on the back of your head properly let alone an actual person"
Holg roared and drew his axe from its sheath, pointing is straight at the girl and growling loudly as he did.
"I challenge you to Nex Sacramentum trial by combat, if you do not accept then you shall die like the worthless pig you claim I to be" he announced through a gritted mouth while making the wood handle of his axe creak and moan with how tightly he was holding it.
"Fine, I accept your stupid challenge…" she said immediately, not even knowing what it meant. Frath, on the other hand, knew exactly what it entailed… and she had just signed away her life.
"YOU STUPID GIRL!" he shouted while pulling down his hood and pulling on Holg's arm, trying desperately to stop the Paladin as a bright white light began forming around his off-hand.
"What? It's not as if he's going to kill me!" she laughed.
"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU IMBICILE! NEX SACRAMENTUM IS COMBAT TO THE DEATH… ONLY ONE MAY LEAVE THE ARENA AFTER THE SPELL IS CAST!" he screamed, punching the half-orc's sides while not producing any results.
"WHAT!" she squealed, trying to run… only it was too late for that. With a flash of bright white light, a 60-foot wide circle etched itself into the ground and the girl was pulled back into the middle. She couldn't even conjure up a glyph to try and escape through all the sheer amount of fear that was passing through her. Frath and the others were blasted back with an unseen force until they were at the very edges of the arena.
"Through only death shall we pass through those walls and all others that enter shall be bound by the laws of Nex Sacramentum until but one walks out alive…" toned the half-orc, dropping into a combat stance and locking the straps of his shield in place.
"I CAN'T DO THIS!" the girl screamed, trying desperately to bash on the edges of the barrier but to no avail as a strange white energy met her every blow.
"You have agreed to the rights of the duel and are bonded by contract until a time at which the conditions are met… there is no way to retreat these borders except by magical means and I doubt you would be able to accomplish such a feat"
The girls on the outside were completely dumbstruck by Paladin's actions, it was the one in red that acted first after seeing the whole even unfold.
"WEISS!" she screamed, running forward to try and grab the girl… only to be stopped by a pair of hands grabbing her by the arm and holding her back.
"Don't…" spoke the thief solemnly, knowing it would be hard for the girl to just leave it "She is gone now and it is far better if you don't get yourself tangled up in her mess"
"BUT SHE'S GOING TO BE KILLED!"
"Yes, and you will be too if you do not leave it… if you take even a single step into that arena then you will have to face my friend and live… something which I doubt will happen"
"We can take him!" spoke the one in yellow, her bracelets extending into bracers that covered her fore-arms, leading the thief to believe she was a close-quarters fighter.
"Depends honey, ever killed an angel?"
"What? No!"
"Then you're going to have an awfully hard time taking out big, mean and armoury over there"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just watch and maybe your friend there will coax it out of him"
Said Paladin was staring the girl down, giving her his most intimidating glare he possibly could muster and it was damn well working, so much that he was sure he didn't even need to use his magic to make her scream for her mummy. The girl was slowly coming to terms with what was happening, although her skin was getting paler with every passing second, something the Paladin thought was impossible given her already fine complexion.
"I will begin when you are ready milady, let the best combatant win…" spoke the half-orc.
She gripped her rapier with renewed vigour and muttered something to herself before stranding as straight as she possibly could and trying to give her won intimidating look… and failing miserably. Holg almost had the urge to scoff at her pathetic attempt at intimidation but instead charged a Thunderous Smite into his axe, making lightning ripple along the cold silver of the axe-head.
The girl seemed to reply in kind and spun the small cylinder at the top of her rapiers hilt, the ricasso (blade part for all you non-medieval-sword fans) of the weapon being lined with a red tinge. She took in a deep breath and nodded, signalling she was ready.
And like that… the fight between god and girl began.
