A/N: Hello, once more! I got this chapter out rather quickly. Quite surprised by that myself.
Seen giving it some thought and I realized after last chapter that save maybe one, every single single encounter could be considered a Deadly encounter for our poor characters. I suppose that that makes sense, the World of RWBY is pretty frightening when you think about it, but still, I'm glad that in the coming chapters our heroes will be getting allies to help them.
Also, for those of you who have played Paizo's Pathfinders, you may fight the backstory for Arcadia to be familiar. That's because I based it off of Old Cheliax. For those of you who don't know, that is a theocracy-led country, one specifically led by the Church, or Cult, of Asmodeus, the mightiest of the Archfiends in the Nine Hells and basically a God in the setting.
Of course, that makes Vale Taldor, which isn't necessarily a good thing, seeing as that nation in Pathfinder is an ancient, corrupted and rather xenophobic country for the most part. Oh well...
Enjoy!
RWBY was created by the late Monty Oum, and own by Vis Media
RWBY DnD
Chapter 7
Upon leaving the dead-end alleyway the bloodied pair took off into the depths of the various winding tunnels, hoping to avoid anymore conflicts before they got back to their room for the night. Especially as they could hear the distant sounds of yelling coming from several of the entrances to the connecting network of back roads and walkways that made up the narrow confines of the back alleys of the village.
Who knew that such a small town could have so labyrinthine of a network of corridors in its midst. It made Jaune wonder at who could be using them. Certainly not the guard.
Speaking of which…
On hearing more yelling and the sounds of armored men approaching the two opted to duck into yet another side path to avoid the coming guardsmen. Only to fail as a captain and five regular guardsmen all armed with spears approached them.
With no recourse left to them, the pair stepped to one side, hoping that the deepening shadows and their huddled forms would hide their bloodied forms from the guards scrutiny. Ruby stuck out the most due to her red cape, though faded, drawing the eye.
(Deception Check (Ruby Rose) (Disadvantage (Bloodied Clothing); Roll Result: 19 + 2, 20 + 2 (Natural Twenty) = 21, 22) (Damn. A Nat 20, too. For those of you who don't know Disadvantage means that you roll two, or more, dice and take the lesser of the two, or more, results. By the by, I'm going by the Critical Role form of doing this and saying that Disadvantage and Advantage tend to cancel each other out, leaving a straight roll instead.)
(Perception Check (Guards) (Disadvantage (Distracted); Roll Results: (Guard 1) 18 +2, 4 +2 = 20, 6; (Guard 2) 9 +2, 4 + 2 = 11, 6; (Guard 3) 3 + 2, 7 + 2 = 5, 9; (Guard 4) 12 + 2, 15 + 2 = 14, 17; (Guard 5) 2 + 2, 5 + 2 = 4, 7; Roll Results are Five Failures) (Woo. Now, for the Captain.)
(Perception Check (Captain) (Disadvantage (Distracted); Roll Result: 18 + 3, 11 + 3 = 21, 14; Roll Result Failure) (Thank goodness for that.)
The pair breathed easier as the squad past them by without really noticing them. Jaune took that as an opportunity to heal himself and Ruby did the same, whispering a small prayer to the Great Tree as she did so.
(Swift Action, Lay on Hands (Self): Heal 5 HP)
(Action (Spell-casting), Cure Wounds 1st level, 1d8; Roll Result: 4 points healed to Ruby)
The girl winced and hissed softly in pain as the magical energies reknitted her flesh and muscle back together. She glanced over her shoulder as she did so, looking toward Jaune to see the big man stoically doing the same. She didn't know how he could maintain such a facade, especially after almost dying.
She would have to ask him when they got back to the safety of their room. In the meantime, she would do her best to to aid him in any way on the way back. After all, what happened… was kinda… her fault. She winced at that again.
They made it to the end of the alleyway without anymore incidents, only to pause as they saw a pair of guards standing at the entrance. They looked at each other before shrugging in tandem and starting towards the pair of guards.
As soon as they saw them the guard on the left raised his hand and commanded them to "Halt! In the name of the Law!" while his partner readied her spear for a possible confrontation.
"State your business here? Why are you walking out of that alleyway?"
(Perception Check (Guard); Roll Result: 14 + 2 = 16)
(Deception Check (Ruby Rose) (Disadvantage (Bloodied Clothing); Roll Result: 1 (Nat 1)+ 2, 14 + 2 = Critical Failure)
Then his eyes focused on Ruby and her bloodied shoulder before moving over Jaune and his equally bloody garments. He narrowed his eyes at that as he pointed at them and demanded, "And, why are you wounded? What happened to you two? Explain!"
Ruby winced at the sheer volume of that final command and stopped in place, frowning. She didn't know what to do in this situation. Jaune merely patted her on the shoulder before walking up to the pair with ingratiating smile and said, "Greetings, Guardsmen. Jaune Arc, is the name. My partner and I were merely hoping to return to our room to rest and heal, after having a rather stressful event earlier."
(Persuasion Check, DC15, Roll Result: 12 +2 = 14, Failure)
The guard narrowed his eyes even more at that but said nothing as he looked between the two of them for a moment.
(Insight Check (Guard); Roll Result: 10)
Then he asked, "And, just what was this situation? Sir Jaune?"
Jaune grinned again as he answered, mostly honestly, with, "Well, you see, Good Guardsman, my friend and I were just assaulted by a group of thieves, further back in that maze of alleyways back there. - Rather strange feature that, by the by. -They stole something very important to her and we foolishly ran after them, only to immediately regret it.
"As you can see."
(Deception Check; Roll Result: 11 + 2 = 13; Success)
The guards blinked at that and looked at each other then back to the pair of adventurers. The demanding guard then held up a hand to Jaune and motioned him to stay there before the two backed away to converse between themselves. Jaune smiled and nodded before motioning silently that he was going to stand with Ruby.
The guard nodded and agreed before move off to stand with his partner where they began conversing quietly while occasionally looking their way to ensure that they were complying with their orders.
Ruby looked at him with concern as he stood next to her. He gave her a softer, gentler smile than the one he had given the guardsman as he said, "It'll be fine, Ruby. We got this." Then he took one gauntleted hand and deftly shifted the top of her cloak over the butt of her rifle just as the guards came back.
"Alright," The guardsman said on return. "Your story seems truthful to me. Do you need aid, Sir Knight? Or your companion? That is a fair amount of blood on the two of you."
After another look her way, Jaune smirked again as he said in an artificial, boastful manner unbecoming of his usual, contemplative mannerism, "Do you really think a group of hapless thieves had any chance against a Paladin of the Order of The Sacred Light, Guardsman?"
(Deception Check; Roll Result: 6 + 2 = 8) (Ha! That's hilarious. The only time - so far - that Jaune's failed a Deception Check is when he's boasting about his ability. Especially, as he did fall during that fight. Ah, Classic Jaune. Well, Volume 1 Jaune, anyway.)
The man paused at that boast and shared a quick glance with his partner at that before replying hesitantly with, "Oh-kay. Very well then, Sir Knight. We'll let you by, but I'll need to know the name of the inn you're staying at. Just in case we need to corroborate your story with whatever our captain finds back that way. You understand, sir?"
"But, of course, Guardsman." Jaune answered genially. "It's the Evening Star Inn, right off of the Central Square."
"Ah, I know it well, sir." The guardsman said with a knowing smile. That inn was the only really reputable one in the town, with both decent rates for the rooms as well as for the food that they served.
"Well then, if you have no more questions for us, then I and my associate will be leaving now." Jaune returned before taking Ruby by the arm and leading her off without looking back at the guards.
"Well, there is one more thing, Sir Knight." The guardsman then said in a contemplative manner as they started away from the pair.
"Oh," the paladin returned, allowing just enough annoyance to show in his voice as they stopped to look back over their shoulders. Jaune made certain to keep the guards eyes on himself and not on hidden budge of weapons Ruby was carrying by physically blocking their line of sight as he turned around and ask, "And, what is that?"
"Yes, well, do either of you have any idea as to what cause that loud noise earlier. It sounded like thunder, but there was no lightning, no storm overhead." The female guardsman finally spoke up, scrutinizing the two as she did so. Particularly the silent form that was one Ruby Rose. "Just what is your name anyway, Miss?"
(Deception Check; Roll Result: 8 + 2 = 10) (That is a low roll, my dude.)
"Why, no, actually." Jaune said loudly, in an apparently confused manner. "I didn't really have the time to observe such strange happenings while we were fighting for our lives." He shrugged before saying, "Didn't even cross my mind that it was strange until you brought it up, Madam."
(Insight Check; Roll Result: 4 + 2 = 6; Failure) (Nevermind. Hers was worse.)
The guardswoman paused at that statement, fulling ignoring the fact that Ruby hadn't answered her as she looked towards Jaune again quizzically. "Really? It was quite loud, sir." She said in answer to his statement.
"Yes," Jaune returned as he crossed his arms, and faintly motioned Ruby to walk on. "But, as I said, I was too busy fighting to take notice of anything else that was strange. But, yes, it was rather loud, guardsman." The woman flinched at that final patronizing remark even as he put a hand to his chin and stroke it while looking like he was deep in thought before musing, "Perhaps that's why your captain and his men let us go by without stopping to question us?"
"Uh, yes, s-sir. Perhaps you're right about that." The male guard quickly stepped in to say as he noticed the sudden annoyance on his partner's face.
Ruby left the area as she heard Jaune remark, "Indeed." Acting, for all the world like the very pompous, boastful windbag he had just declared himself being. Ruby almost smiled at that, knowing that Jaune would soon make it so that the pair wouldn't even remember her at all for all the pomposity he was showing.
She certainly wouldn't, having had to "escort" a few minor nobles out of the forest she once guarded years ago.
/ /
Twenty minutes later…
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door their room, having finally made it back. Then she unstrapped the shoulder sling she had for her bow and arrows, and rifle, with only the slightest of winces, her wounds having closed by now, and set it down on the table next to her bed. Then she sat down on her bed and waited, tapping her hands on her knees uneasily.
She didn't like this.
And she hated that she almost got Jaune killed. Again.
Just what were they going to do now? And, what was that about the pair of them having bounties on them now? She never had that happen before. The local Sheriff of the small town she had lived around before coming here had only ever given her warnings and made her pay him for why she did something against the rules.
… Rules, she just now realized, that he seemed to make up on the spot at times. Still, it had been her home for the longest time before she finally decided on doing this. And she had only done that after her mom, Summer Rose, had died mysteriously.
At least, that's what the Sheriff had said. She thought to herself. She paused at that, thinking it over again. Now that she finally had a moment to after all this time.
Her mother's body had been found in the forest alone, so he had said. The corpse so mutilated that he had only been able to tell who it was by her white cloak and the same red and black hair as her daughter's. ruby paused and shivered in place as she remembered the last image she had of her mom, and her eyeless corpse.
She had thought at the time that some form of scavenger had gotten to her before the Sheriff had found her, as they were want to do. But now, now she wasn't so sure. Not after finding out what the Church of Salem maybe wanted her for.
She really had no idea why they wanted to sacrifice her, or why she was considered a demon by the god's clergy. Beyond somehow having the ability to kill Grimm better, that is.
They did seem particularly vulnerable to her and her weaponry, for some reason. She wished her mother had been able to teach her more about her heritage, seeing as apparently her Silver Eyes meant more than being a rare eye color.
Was that, perhaps, the final thing her mother was going to teach her before she left on that final, failed Hunt? Ruby didn't know.
She was snapped out of her thoughts as the door once again opened, revealing a far more weary looking Jaune Arc than she had seen before. He smiled at her as he made his way over to her after closing and locking the door behind him.
"I think," he said on approach, "that we might want to vacate this town promptly come sun up." He grimaced and shrugged before clarifying with, "Just in case. Those guards made me nervous that our cover might be blown, should they choose to come back and question us again." Then he shrugged and said with a chuckle, "Not that we did much to hide who we were to begin with, of course."
Ruby wasn't amused, though. She shrunk in on herself, clutching at her chest as she bit out earnestly, "I'm sorry! That was dumb of me. Really, really dumb, of me. I won't do it again. I promise."
Jaune snorted at that as he began taking off his breast plate and said, "S'all right, Rubes. No lasting damage, after all."
Ruby jerked up at that, blinked in silence for a moment, then bow at the waist as she continued with, "Please, believe me, Jaune. I mean it. I won't do something so stupid as that ever again. I swear."
Jaune looked over at her before he sighed and sat down opposite of her on his own bed. He rubbed at his face for a moment before staring at the still bowing young woman in silence then he sighed again before saying, "Listen… uh… don't, do that. Ruby. I get it. You're worried that you screwed up. That I'm angry at you..."
She glanced up at him through her bangs, waiting.
"Well, I'm not." He continued, talking while gesturing with his hands. "Yeah, it was dumb. Yeah, it was stupid. But it was also something that was very important to you." He paused, mulling over what to say for a moment then shrugged as if to toss away whatever it was he was hesitant to say and said instead, "That means it's important to me. So, don't worry about it, Ruby. Cause I got your back. No matter what."
(Persuasion Check; Roll Result: 20 (Nat 20); Success) (You know, I was going to have Jaune roll at advantage seeing as their Charm Points are at the first threshold now, but nevermind. Ruby's BFF has got this on lock. Damn.)
Ruby blinked at that for a moment in silence, then she nodded slowly. Jaune smiled at her and patted her on the knee before he got back up to finishing taking off his armor. He couldn't sleep in the armor, no matter how proficient he was with.
Ruby sat there in silence, thinking, while he did so. Finally, as he was getting ready to undress to his shower she finally asked, "Hey, Jaune? Why aren't you more upset about this? You almost died out there. I was terrified for you. So, why aren't you?
Jaune paused, midway through taking off his undershirt, then he sighed as he pulled it back down so he could see her. She stared at him earnestly in silence, waiting for his answer. Once again, he smiled at her, but this time it didn't reach his eyes as he stated, "You have to have something to live for, to fear death, Miss Rose."
Then he turned and left, taking off his shirt as he walked to and went through the door to the room's bathroom. Ruby stared after his in shocked silence.
As the door closed behind him, she whispered to herself, "Damn it."
(-5 to Charm Stat)
(Welp, you have to have a give and take to every proper relationship. Fortunately, the negative result to Ruby's pushing of Jaune was low. This time. Next time, maybe not so much. Of course, this does mean that if the Charm Points are reduced too much then the bonuses for reaching the first major level between and Ruby are no longer active. Fortunately, it's Jaune and Ruby, they'll be right as rain soon enough.)
(Anyway, back to the story.)
/ /
An hour and a half later,
The other side of the town Sunsett,
Near the North Gate…
Cardin stalked into the Weary Drag-On Inn's front door to glare about the crappy-looking interior before making his way up the rickety staircase after a jerk of the head from the Inn's bartender-cum-innkeeper. One of the more comely barmaid made to walk up to him as he did so but thought better of it after seeing his face.
He gritted his teeth and hissed in pain as his wounds from earlier made themselves known again while he stomped up the stairs. "Damn it," he growled harshly under his breath at the burning ache before ignoring it and stormed up to the door of the shared room for his men.
As soon as he reached the door he raised one boot high and kicked out against the door forcibly.
(Strength Check; Roll Result: 11 + 3 = 14; Door AC11; Success)
With a thunderous crash the door was flung open and banged against the wall next to it with enough force that one of the hinges broke, leaving the door to hang their limply as Cardin stalked into the room and glared at the trio of men within.
"For fuck's sakes, Cardin, the door wasn't even locked!" Whined the heavily bandaged, mohawked man snarled before wincing as he went and sheathed his blades after brandishing them in a hurry alongside the two more armored warriors next to him. "An' jus' who's goin' ta fix that? You! Nah! Thought not!"
"Ah, shut it, Russ!" The big man barked as he preceded to stalk over to an overstuffed and mangy looking chair to sit down, trying to hide just how embarrass he actually was from that while doing so. "It'll be fine once I smooth things over with Brick, anyway."
He then paused and nodded to himself at that as if he was trying to convince himself of that statement while the trio of men made their way over to him and relaxed as best they could and waited for him to say something more.
"So, uh, that could've gone better." The blue-haired man finally said in the silence while nervously tapping at the floor with one armored foot.
"Ah, shut it, Sky!" "The Hell you say, Lark?" "Fuck off, Sky! You didn't even fight 'em!" The other three immediately began berating him all at once. The man stiffened before taking a step back away from them all with his hands raised out in front of him in a vain attempt to ward them off.
"Hey," he finally said in a defensive whine. "You can't blame me for everything, okay? I only did what Cardin ordered. Besides which, I wasn't going to stay around for whatever that crazy girl was going to do next. I mean, did you see that, that thing that she was carrying?! What if she had something even worse on her?! Or, or, what if - Ack!"
Sky immediately stopped talking as he was punched in the guts by the shorter, bowl-cut man next to him. Who then said, "Shut it, Sky. No one here cares for your excuses anymore. This wasn't the first time you ran off and left us to handle a situation that we weren't prepared for."
The taller man stifled anything else he had to say at that. He only nodded before stepping back to hang his head in silence. The shorter man nodded at that before turning back to the large man sitting before him as he then said, "That being said, he's not wrong, Cardin. Because of that stupid obsession of yours almost got us all killed-"
"I'll say!" Interrupted the skinny man next to him. "I told you beforehand that this was stupid, Car! Gods damn it! I nearly died out there! If it wasn't for a damned healing potion I swiped earlier, I would have!"
The big man sat there in silence, letting his men ream at him for his unprofessionalism. He sat and watched as they unloaded their complaints, their fears. Then he sat forwards in the chair placed his hands before him where he then took in a deep breath before expelling it to say, "You're right."
"I, uh, beg your pardon?" The more wounded one asked. "I, don't think I got all that."
Cardin sighed again before saying as he looked at his men, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. That paladin was far tougher than I initially realized, than I expected. To say nothing of the girl."
He then paused and rubbed at his chin in thought for a bit before saying as he stood, "To that end, Lark! Go and see what you can find out about whatever kind of weapon she was carrying. Maybe we can get some ourselves. Dove, I want you and Russell to go and round up our horses. I want us out of this town. Just in case the guards decide that my little explanation wasn't good enough for them."
"Right. Got it, boss," The blue-haired man said and nodded, perking up from where he was standing. He took off and left the room as Russell turned and made his way back towards the table where he had been standing over before Cardin made his abrupt entrance into the room.
"Hey, boss. You might wanna check this out," The green-haired man said as he turned, with a wince, and held out a pamphlet for him to read.
Cardin took it and asked as he made to read it, "Oh, and what's this then?"
"A newer bounty for the girl. They raised the bounty to 5,000 Lien while keeping her to Live capture only. The man remained the same. No change to his bounty." Russell answered him.
Cardin blinked at that and read the bounty over. It was exactly as Russel had said. Curious, and worrying. Finally, he said, "Russ, go and see if you can find out anything about this. Dove, get the horses. We're leaving this town, now."
"Okay. You got it, boss. But, uh, what are you going to do?" Dove asked as Russell nodded and left the room as well.
"Me?" Cardin answered with a grin as he held a hand to his chin. "I'm thinking that I might make a couple of new friends before we leave."
Dove twerked an eyebrow at that before giving his boss a questioning look. Cardin sighed and decided to let him in on the joke, as it were. "I want to know why whoever ordered this bounty raised it, and why they ordered in the first place. To do that, I'm going use my charms to smoosh my way into their graces."
Dove thought about it for a moment, nodded his head, and then asked, "But won't they be suspicious of you after the attack earlier?"
"They will be, but they'll need a guide to the next town over, I'm sure." Cardin responded with a knowing grin. "Also, this way, not only can I keep an eye out for any other bounty hunters who might try and snatch our prize, but give you guys information on when to spring our next trap."
"Got it, boss." Dove agreed with a nod. He sighed before clapping his a couple of times as he turned and made his way out of the room, saying, "Welp, guess I'll go get the horses now." He turned at the entrance to the room and said, "Good luck, Winchester." Before closing the door behind him.
Cardin said nothing in answer, he merely smiled to himself before undressing to bed down for the night. Next time he thought. Next time, I'll beat you. And, then we'll see who was worthy of joining the Order after all.
/ /
Later night Cardin came awake as he felt something heavy suddenly plop down on top of him. He blinked awake and spoke up with, "Wha-urgh!"
(Roll to Attack, (?) (Advantage): 12 + 12, 14 + 12 = 24, 26; Cardin AC 10; Roll Result: Success)
(Roll for Damage 1d8 + 10; Roll Result: 5 + 10 = 15 points of damage to Cardin)
He began looking around for whatever was on his but didn't see anything. Then he groaned aloud as he felt something stab him in the chest. His vision went dark then only for him to feel something get shoved into his mouth and liquid pour down his throat.
(Action, Potion of Healing, Minor, 2d4 + 2; Roll Result: 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 points healed to Cardin)
Cardin came to and immediately began coughing from the aftermath of having whatever it was shoved down his throat. Finally, he turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. It was then that he realized that the weight remained on his lap. He shook the lingering fog of sleep and death from his head and looked around again, squinting through the tears, only blink as a small, if very attractive woman suddenly appeared before him, straddling his lap in skintight, white leathers.
Cardin couldn't help it has his cock twitched to life at the sight of that and he found the woman sudden grin terrifying. Especially with her mismatched eyes of different colors and the long, narrow blade she held aloft. A blade currently glistening with fresh blood.
He didn't have to be told that it was his blood, or that she was the one who had stabbed him. He glanced around again and noticed that his mace was not where he had left it. It was now within reach, if he wanted force woman off of him to get to it. He could do that, she seemed light enough, though the simple act of her pressing the blade's tip against his open wound made him decide against it.
(1 point of damage to Cardin)
He groaned lightly as she pressed tip into the meat of his chest with that same manic grin of her face all the while. He blinked at that and looked down at the blade pressed against him now then back up at the woman as she softly grinded against him and groaned again for a different reason. She still hadn't said anything to him.
In fact, she hadn't yet made a single sound. That was… disturbing.
He grunted again, clearing his throat, as she continued to grind against him while holding him down with her blade, and said as calmly as he could, "So, what's this all about then?"
She paused and looked up at him for a moment in silence then she sighed, almost in pleasure, as she leaned back away from him and pulled out a couple of pamphlets. Pamphlets that he recognized. The bounty posters of the two people he had just encountered… yesterday?
He blinked at that and shook his head lightly to refocus before looking back at her and asked, "Okay… What about 'em? Want to go at it together? I'm easy, and there's enough Lien for the both of us…"
The woman immediately shook her head at that while making a silent tsking motion with her mouth before she brandished her blade and drew an X across both etchings of the paladin's and the girl's faces. The X was red in color from his blood.
"Okay," Cardin started to say in confusion. "So, what do you wa-" Then he jerked up with his hips and twisted in an attempt to buck off the woman.
(Action, Strength Check; Roll Result (Cardin): 14 + 3 = 17; (?) 15 + 4 = 18; Cardin fails) (We know who the person is, but Cardin doesn't, so that's why I haven't put Neo's name down as his opponent. Also, the reason while there's no initiative in this fight is cause it started as an ambush, so no Initiative for the surprise round, but also because it wasn't really a fight yet.)
The woman, though a look of surprise graced her face, shifted with him before stabbing down with her blade yet again.
(Roll to Attack, (?) (Advantage): 16 + 12, 10 + 12 = 28, 22; Cardin AC 10; Roll Result: Success)
(Roll for Damage 1d8 + 10; Roll Result: 1 + 10 = 11 points of damage to Cardin)
Once more the blade sank into his chest, in the exact same spot as before, piercing his heart. He jerked once, blood once more leaking from his mouth as his vision faded.
(Action, Potion of Healing, Minor, 2d4 + 2; Roll Result: 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 points healed to Cardin)
He jerked to wakefulness as healing liquid was once more forcibly poured down his throat and immediately went into a coughing fit followed by him vomiting forth a stream of bloody vomit. Then he collapsed back onto the bed, panting. He blinked and looked up to find the woman still there, straddling him and realized that she hadn't moved from her position on his lap at all.
He collapsed back on the now thoroughly soaked mattress and laid there in silence for a moment before looking up at the woman again. She twerked an eyebrow at him while smirking, as if to say, "By all means, try again."
He shook his head at that before dropping back flat on what was left of his pillow and sighed with his eyes closed for a moment. He stayed that way for an indeterminate amount of time, trying to calm his breathing. As he did so the woman began grinding up against him again. His cock immediately betrayed him by getting hard at that.
He sighed again at that before opening his eyes and looking at the woman to say, "Okay. so, don't try that again. Got it."
She paused in her grinding to look at him with a curious tilt of her head. He noticed in the dim light of the morning glow from the windows that her hair, like her eyes, was multicolored as well. "If I can't claim the bounty on them, what do you want me to do here? Leave?"
The woman tapped a gloved finger to her chin in thought then, with another grin, pulled out a map of all things. Cardin blinked at that as the crazy bitch unfurled the map across his chest and then, in an almost seductive manner, placed a finger on his chest and drew it in circles for a moment before drawing his gaze to the next major town over, Arcadia, where she tapped at the map twice.
All the while she gazed at him, a mad light in her eyes even as her smirk turned into an eerie grin.
"What? What do you want me to do? Lead 'em there? Do I look like a guide to you, or what?" Cardin gritted out with sudden annoyance, over this woman's strange and deadly behavior by now. The woman's only answer was to raise her blade yet again and twerk an eyebrow at him. His gaze zeroed in on a sudden swelling of blood at the edge that then dripped off of the blade and landed on the bed next to him. "Very well then. Where do you want me to take them?"
She smiled at him in response to that and shoved the map off of him before once more pulling something out from behind her. What, did she have some kind of Bag of Holding back there or something? He thought to himself at that before focusing on what she held before her.
It was the name of a business. A business that he knew of. He swallowed at that before looking up at the woman and asked, "And, uh, all I have to do lead them there, yes?"
The tiny, and very deadly, woman only nodded silently in agreement before stuffing the business card back into her pants, he assumed, before making her way off of him, blade still held at the ready. Cardin couldn't help but mutter bitterly as she did so, "So, am I going to be paid for this or what?"
The woman paused at that, tilted her head, and looked at him in silence. He couldn't help the pout that appeared on his face as he mused at the sudden loss to both his pride and his coffers, let alone his chances of getting his revenge of the Order. Then he noticed as the woman's eyes drifted down from his face to his bloody, if toned chest and settled at the large bugle in his pants.
She twerked her eyes up at his briefly before going back to his cock. Then she gently took one of her small hands and began to caress it. He stiffened before groaning at her skillful administration, jerking his head back at the sudden pleasure, a growl in his throat. The woman grinned at that before with a single deft tug release his swollen and aching member from his pants.
She made an O face as she looked at it with an almost giddy look in her mismatched eyes then she took the whole thing in her mouth in a single looking pull. She glared at him as he gasped at that and looked down at her, his hands almost jerking towards her instinctively from the pleasure before he dropped them as she raised her blade in a threatening manner. She continued to slurp at him in silence for a moment more before with yet another long, slow drag she released him from her mouth and sat back up.
She wiped the saliva from her mouth while staring at him in silence. His cock twitched at that and the absence of her warmth. Then she grinned as she undid the button on her pant and somehow shimmied out of her leathers to expose her naked mound. He absently noticed that even the thatch of hair above her vagina was mismatched in color, a pink, white and brown.
Then she grasped his cock in a strong grip, one tight enough that he jerked and hissed at the sudden pain, and when to plunge herself down on him. He braced himself for the explosion of pain that was to come, closing his eyes as he did so, only for nothing to happen. He frowned at that and peeked open one eye to see her holding herself right above him with a look of consideration on her face. Then she looked at him and grinned cheekily before backing off away from him.
He growled at that and her teasing, leaning forwards to grasp at her, only to stop as he raised her blade. He fell back, watching her warily only for his eyes to widen as she suddenly grasped the blade in one hand and drew it down the length of it, removing his still wet blood from it. She rubbed the blood between her fingers before looking at him.
Then she grinned as she suddenly slavered the redden lips of her pussy with his blood, getting the already slick folds wetter before taking his dick in hand with a sudden, commanding hold and rose up up over it once more. He couldn't brace in time for the sudden slamming plunge she made. He gasped at the pain, unable to do anything as she swiftly began to pound him, rising up and down in a quick, jerking manner.
All he could do was hold on to the sheets as she rode him, hard. She bit her bottom lip in concentration as she continued, blade in hand, as she bounced up and down. He closed his eyes to it all, even as he wanted to watch her pink-tipped breasts bob up in down with her moments.
It was going to be a long night for him, it seemed.
/ /
The next morning,
At the Evening Star Inn…
(Tinkering check, DC 15; (Ruby Rose) (Advantage) 2 + 3, 17 + 3 = 5, 20 Roll Results: Success)
(Tinkering check, DC 17; (Ruby Rose) (Advantage) 16 + 3, 17 + 3 = 19, 20 Roll Results: Success)
The morning sun of the new day revealed Ruby Rose working on her Hunting Rifle, repairing it with the new parts Jaune had bought for her as well as strengthening it. After a moment, where she paused in thought, she then decided to tweak the design just a bit more.
(Tinkering check, DC 10; (Ruby Rose) (Advantage) 4 + 3, 9 + 3 = 7, 12 Roll Results: Success) (Results of Success: One Time Advantage on first attack with this weapon in the next combat Encounter.)
She frowned at what she had done as she gaze at her new and improved rifle. She had once again given herself advantage on the first shot of the day, and that was on top of the permanent improvement to its range and accuracy anyway, but, if only she had the time and supplies to make the advantage permanent.
Perhaps another time, another day.
For now, it was to for sleep and - oh, it was morning. She blinked at that, before looking at the nearby clock to double check, and, yep. Definitely morning.
(Ruby Gains a Level of Exhaustion)
She sighed at that, and rubbed at her face. She hadn't been able to sleep after worrying over whether she had broken the newfound bond she had made with Jaune and so, had eventually decided to work on her rifle while she tried to think up some way repair this… thing between them.
Jaune woke to Ruby sitting there, staring out the window at nothing. He blinked as he notice that she was only wearing a sheer, white nightgown. One that did nothing to hide her… assets. In fact, as he stared at her, he realized he could see the darken nubs of her nipples through the gown.
He immediately averted his eyes and shook his head to clear those particular thoughts from his mind as he got back up, tossing aside the sheets and blanket on the bed as he did so. He staggered a bit on rising before making his way over to Ruby's side, glancing at the clock as he did so to find that it 5AM.
The girl still hadn't noticed him.
He place a hand on her shoulder and shook it, saying, "Rubes? You good?"
She jerked in his grasp, startled before looking his way, and immediately wished she hadn't. Jaune was shirtless, and his chest and abs were toned beyond all measures as were his arms, the biceps bulging slightly on the arm that grasped at her shoulder. Not to mention that he was still dripping wet.
She felt her face redden as her eyes widen at that.
Oh she thought as she her gaze drifted down the light splattering of hair on his chest that eventually gathered in a thickening bunch towards the V of his pants, following a droplet of water as she did so. She swallowed at that before she blinked and looked up at him. "You okay, Ruby?" he asked, concern in those deep blue eyes.
She jerked up from the chair, knocking it over, as she said overly loud, "I got to take a shower!" before all but flying into the bathroom, her hands clutching at her chest and the hardening nubs therein.
Jaune blinked in confusion at that as he said slowly, "Oh-kay, then."
/ /
About an hour later, Ruby exited the bathroom, drying her hair with a spare towel, and let out a sigh of relief. The perfect cure for Exhaustion, a shower.
And a bit of Me Time she thought with a smile.
(Ruby Loses a Level of Exhaustion, Temporarily)(Duration: 8hrs, or until she take a Long Rest)
"Feeling better then?"
She squawked in surprise at the question before looking over to see Jaune, in the far more familiar, and more comfortable, image of his armored form, sitting by the door with two plates of food before him, one was clearly for her. She immediately shook her head in an attempt to avoid the other image she now had of him.
She failed.
"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm good." She said as she made her way over to him, face flushed, before sitting down. "Sorry about that." She muttered to herself.
Jaune shrugged and said, "It's fine. Didn't mean to startle you like that."
Ruby nodded in agreement before smiling at him as she sat down opposite of him. He grinned back at her as he pushed the second plate across to her and said, "How about you get some food in you before we go, eh?"
She nodded again in agreement. Then the two of them ate in a companionable silence.
Eventually, Ruby mustered up the courage to say, "Hey, Jaune?"
"Hm?"
"About last night?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm s-sorry, for pushing you about… About everything."
Jaune paused in eating the next bite of his food and sat there, seemingly lost thought, before, finally, with a small smile, he shrugged and said, "It's no matter. But, thank you, Ruby."
Ruby smiled at him in more of her usual manner as the two of them went back to eating.
(+3 to Charm Stat)
/ /
One hour later…
A hooded Ruby nervously tapped at the cobblestone road as she await Jaune's return from the local stables, a gentle breeze just strong enough to move the tails of her cloak. She whined to herself as she shuffled around a bit and adjusted the strap of her rifle and longbow yet again before looking over to where he had entered.
He had yet to reappear.
She sighed at that before once again going back to kicking at the stones.
It wasn't that she was afraid of horses, but… they were just so Big! Too big! Bigger than her, bigger than anyone she had ever met! And that wasn't all. No! There were such things as Grimm Horses! - They were called Nightmares.
No, she wasn't afraid of horses… except when she was. She didn't used to be… But… she remembered the first time she saw a Nightmare. She shuddered at the memory.
It had been dark, and raining. She had been following a trail of a local group of poachers in an attempt to apprehend them in the act so that that damned Sheriff would finally imprison them. She had stumbled upon a strange set of tracks as she followed their trail. They had resembled a horse's, but so much larger.
She had followed the tracks and eventually stumbled on the poachers' camp. They men had not fared well. Whether it be the rain or the darkness, they had failed to spot the beast before it fell upon the group, and it had slaughtered them to the last.
She shuddered again as she remembered the sight of the beast that first time.
She had accidentally tripped over a semi-submerged root and fallen to the muddy ground just as lightning flashed overhead. As she had looked up in that flash of light she had frozen in place as it revealed the beast. A great black, seeming undead horse, much like most other mammalian Grimm, with a narrow, hairless head exposing a nose-less, lip-less snout. A lip-less snout that was munching on - no, gnawing on - the mauled and mutilated torso of the lead poacher with fanged teeth that no horse had ever held in their maws, at least not for eons, of that she was sure.
The beast turned its pupil-less, blazing red eyes towards her collapsed form as it finally snapped through whatever tendon or ligament had held it back and it swallowed, letting the headless torso drop from its mouth. She had watched as its neck bobbed for a bit before the ruined and slimy meat of the man had then fallen out of the exposed and ribbed, stomach-less, organ-less, hole of its torso.
She had gasped in horror at that and shifted backwards as the beast then took one sure step towards her before -
"Oi, you doin' alright there then, Lass?" A voice called out then, snapping her from the nightmarish memory. She shuddered once more before looking up from under her hood to spy a familiar figure.
It was the man, the thug, who had almost killed Jaune. The ginger-haired brute! She gasped at his appearance and made to stumble back away from him as she tugged at the modified sheaths she had for her scimitar and sickle.
"Whoa, whoa!" The towering brute said in a placating, if dismissive tone, one hand raised outwards like he was trying to calm some terrified, little dog. "Easy there, now. There's no need for that."
"Oh, yeah?" Ruby returned as she finally drew her weapons and readied them in front of her, the scimitar held out front while the sickle was held up next to her chest. "And why is that?"
"Because, I come in peace," The man answered, his weapon still attached to his belt by a cord, a sardonic smirk on his face.
Ruby tsked at his answer and shifted to better face him should he strike at her, or should one of his men attempt to do so. "Well, I don't believe that!" She retorted angrily, her grip tightening on the handles of her blades. "I certainly haven't forgotten how you attacked us yesterday, how you- You almost killed Jaune! I won't forgive that!"
The man scoffed at that before snarling at her as he shifted into a more aggressive stance, "Well, I don't really care if you do. Where's the knight? I want to talk to him, not you."
Ruby's eyes narrowed at that and readied herself for an attack as she said, "He's not here. And if you want to find out where he, you'll have to beat it out of me!"
"Well, then," the man chuckled as he shifted into an almost grappler-like stance, "That's just what I'll do." Then he jerked back as a blade suddenly appeared at his neck and an unfamiliar, feminine voice called out, "I think not."
The two turned just enough from each other to see an unfamiliar, and rather short, woman in white, with silvery-white hair, holding the elegant grip of her rapier in an expert hand as she held it's needle sharp tip to the brute's throat. The man relaxed as much as he could under the threat on impalement, shifting his hands away from his sides while relaxing his stance as much as he could. Seeing the growing threat ended early, Ruby resheathed her blades. Though, she kept a hand near to both, just in case.
The stranger nodded in approval at that as well as the thug's compliance before sheathing her blade with a slight twirl. Then she smiled a cruel smile, one just familiar enough to the man that he almost deflated completely at the memory of what happened the night before, as she looked over at Ruby, revealing beautiful pale blue eyes as she did, and winked at her, saying, "Well now, that seems to have deflated the situation, don't you think."
Ruby blinked at that, not sure if the woman was a friend or foe, and said nothing in response. The woman merely shrugged at that, seemingly taking no offence, before tilting her head to the side in a nod of direction as she then said, "Besides which, I think the one you're looking forth has just left the town's stable."
The two turned to see Jaune exiting the stables with a frown on his face then. His frown deepened as he looked over to see the two of them and began to stalk up to them quickly, asking, "Just what's all this then?"
They looked back to the stranger for help in explaining the situation, the both of them too flabbergasted to say anything, only find that the woman had somehow disappeared. They looked around for a moment before looking back at each other and shrugged simultaneously at her disappearance.
Just what had that been?
"Well," Jaune asked sternly of the pair, his arms now crossed over his chest.
"I, uh, I - Ahem, I'm here to offer my services as a guide as a means of burying the hatchet between us." The warrior stuttered before coughing and saying with a formal bow.
(Persuasion Check (?) (Disadvantage from Exhaustion), Roll Result: 9 +4, 18 + 4 = 13, 22; Perception Check (Jaune) (Advantage from Suspicious), Roll Result: 17 + 1, 14 + 1 = 18, 15; Persuasion Failure) (Again, WE know how this is, but the characters don't, thus, the ?.)
Jaune twerked an eyebrow and leaned back slightly as he said, "Really? You expect me to believe something so blatantly false. Especially after you attacked us earlier. Please." He shook his head while Ruby looked on with a cheeky grin behind him. She still keep a hand near her weapons, just in case the man wasn't truly alone. "Now," Jaune barked sternly. "Why are you here?"
The man curled his hands into fists as he continued to look down in the bow. While still looking down he said, "I meant what I said, sir. I am here to present myself to you as a guide. That being said, I did lie. When I first met the girl I decided to antagonize her into attacking me as a means of catching her again. After all," he finally straightened while pulling out a piece of rolled parchment and offering it to Jaune as he said, "her bounty did go up again."
Jaune took the parchment hesitantly before unfurling it to read with Ruby looking over his shoulder to do the same. He frowned before crumpling it in his hands as he growled, "So, it appears."
He inhaled deeply then while closing his eyes before letting it out in a sigh. Then, he suddenly chuckled as he opened his eyes and said while crossing his arms again, "No matter. Even without me, Ruby here can take care of herself."
"Oh, is that so?" The man retorted. "It didn't seem like that was the case yesterday."
Jaune chuckled again at that before shrugging as he said, "Maybe when you decided to gang up on her, but one on one, in a fair duel - She'd crush you."
(Persuasion Check (Jaune), Roll Result: 7 +2 = 9; Perception Check (?) (Disadvantage from Exhaustion), Roll Result: 6 + 3, 5 + 3 = 9, 8; Perception Failure) (By one point, too. Mm.)
"Oh, yeah?" The man said as he crossed his arms as well, not quite believing him, but also not sure either. Finally, after thinking it over for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Listen, my men aren't with me right now. This is just me here. Let do this as a means to make up for what I did. Besides, you could do with a second blade out there, and you know it."
Jaune narrowed his eyes at that and asked, "Oh, yeah? And why is that?"
The man smirked before saying, "Let's just say that I've been around this town for a while, and I know the man in there. He doesn't haggle, and he overcharges for even the worse of those nags that he has." He pressed and hand to his armored chest in a gesture of sincerity, and winced from the pain, as he then said, "I, however, not only have experience traveling around here, and thus can avoid the local scoundrels, I also have a spare horse for you to use."
(Persuasion Check (?) (Disadvantage from Exhaustion), Roll Result: 8 +4, 15 + 4 = 12, 19; Perception Check (Jaune), Roll Result: 19 + 1 = 20; Persuasion Failure)
Jaune's frown returned at that and said, "Surely, you don't expect me to believe that, right? Not after yesterday, and certainly not after you just admitted to trying to capture my friend again. What's stopping you from having your friends hiding up the road somewhere to ambush alongside those same scoundrels?"
The man grimaced at that then gritted his teeth in irritation as he thought of what to say next, feeling the still burning wounds from the night before. Finally, he bit out, "Fuck it!" Before releasing the straps of his chest plate and unbuttoning the shirt underneath to reveal the still bleeding wound on his chest and declared, "Okay, okay! Shit!
"Listen, some crazy bitch attacked me last night and demanded that I escort the two of you to Domremy, okay. And safely, too!"
(Persuasion Check (?) (Disadvantage from Exhaustion), Roll Result: 17 +4, 6 + 4 = 21, 10; Perception Check (Jaune), Roll Result: 20 (Natural 20); Persuasion Failure) (A Nat 20 beats all in this Campaign, same for a Nat 1. The only time that they wouldn't is if they're opposing each other. Again, in this campaign.)
Jaune frowned at that explanation. It wasn't that he felt that the man was lying so much as… He paused, and looked at the man more closely. His frown turned into a true grimace as he noticed how pale he was, the black circles under his wild, fearful eyes and the clearly fresh wounds in his chest.
He sighed at that and stalked up to the man, who stood there in place, waiting. He paused there and mulled over the decision before finally nodding to himself as he raised a hand to the man's chest and, with a whispered pray to the Gods, healed him in a flash of bright light.
(Action, Lay on Hands (Self): Heal 5 points to ?)
"What's your name again?" Jaune asked after taking a step backward from the man once he was finished. The man let out a sigh of relief as the wounds in his chest closed into a pair of pinpricks as did many of the other unseen ones that his had.
"Cardin Winchester," he answered before elaborating with, "I'm good with a crossbow and my mace, as you saw. And, I meant what I said. I am experienced with traveling this area. I can get you to Domremy unharmed, and quickly, too."
Jaune looked over at Ruby who shrugged in answer at his unspoken question, letting him lead here. He nodded at that before turning back to the newly name Cardin and said, "Very well. We accept your aid, Mr Winchester."
Then he offered his arm in a gesture of comradery.
Cardin grinned as he took it and shook it saying, "Good. Let's get the Hell out of here then, eh?"
/ /
Twelve hours ago…
The Grimm were in the shape of wolves, but wolves never grew to such sizes. Nor did they possess arms and hips that allowed them to transition between a four-legged posture and a bipedal one.
The beasts sniffed at the air and ground, growling in irritation, as if they were annoyed at whatever it was that they were searching for. Eventually they came up to a series of freshly piled up mounds of dirt, and the broken shovel next to them.
The pair of beasts snorted and huffed as they sniffed the mounds, and, more importantly, the broken tool.
"What is it, my lovelies?" Drawled an amused, masculine voice behind them.
The pair of Grimm snorted and huffed again as they looked up to see a robed figure approach them on the back of some horrific, boar-like Beast. They growled at him before taking off into the wood beyond at a gesture from the man.
The man, in question, got off the boar-like beast and made his way over to the mounds where he knelt to touch the loosely packed dirt on top. He removed his hand and rubbed the fingers together, and smiled as he did so. It had rained last night, and the soil was still wet.
He was getting closer.
With a muttered incantation he summoned a small, raven-like Grim bird in his hand and said after he had written a letter to the High Priestess, "Here, my darling. Give this to her Ladyship. It would appear that I was wrong about the young knight with the girl, after all. She might find this bit of information… informative."
Then he chuckled to himself as the raven cawed before flying away back towards the Capitol City of Arcadia. He grinned evilly as he got back on his mount, patting it on the side, and said, "We're getting closer. Good."
Then he took off, into the woods beyond.
A/N: First, whew, so much for a short chapter. Second, yes, before you ask, Neo is Crazy. And, not in the way most fanfics write her. No, this is the Chaotic Evil version that has only really one redeeming quality, and that's her utter devotion and loyalty to Roman. Even Chaotic Evil character can have such loyalties, by the the by. It's, just less common for them, I think.
Speaking of which, I had to pay for it, but I was able to "unlock" the vast majority of sub-classes for each of the Classes on D&D Beyond, so here are the new and improved Roman and Neo Stat Blocks:
Roman Torchwick (Level 5) (Mastermind Rogue): Str: 14 (+2), Dex: 16 (+3), Con: 16 (+3), Int: 16 (+3), Wis: 12 (+1), Cha: 18 (+4); AP (Aura Pool): 42
Neo (Level 10) (Assassin Rogue): Str: 18 (+4), Dex: 20 (+5), Con: 16 (+3), Int: 14 (+2), Wis: 14 (+2), Cha: 16 (+3); AP (Aura Pool): 58
I'll just let you guys wonder about whoever the White-haired woman was, even though it's probably obvious, and what will happen now that it's been confirmed that an Arc not only lives, but has been by the buried remains of his home.
Anyway, that's it for me. Take care of yourselves out there. The world is getting crazier every day (Especially here in America) so be safe. Essiter out!