Eothiais a world which is shrouded in mystery. Mystery breeds competition which results in a dangerous, hostile environment filled with individuals who are constantly striving for more. It is a world of risk and reward where those who grow comfortable, quickly fall behind. In the aftermath of the great war, a lot of Eothia is regarded as undiscovered and each city or major area is only on the frontier stage of discovery. Many colonies or cultures are aware that others may exist, but due to the untamed lands of Eothia, most elect to focus on their own development than create connections.
The development of Archaneology by artificers is the tip of the spear regarding Eothia’s path into the future, allowing only artificers with the highest tier of skill to develop technology which attempts to harness arcane power.
No matter what you uncover in Eothia, no matter how strong or successful you think you are, it only leads to more pathways and open possibilities.
Some were born here, some were found lost, wandering the endless sea of sand that surrounds the City Of Rust. Whatever your origin, it doesn’t matter much as you’ve ended up here. Sledge is the ruler of the City of Rust to the north in the Dead Zone and his younger brother Krum, once ally now turned nemesis, is lord of the city “Arid” to the south.
Sledge has stopped trading clean water with his brother who, in turn has stopped trading precious metals and crystals from their mine. Nobody is sure why or how, but one day the delivery simply came in empty. Twice in a row. Sledge thinks it’s because he was daddy’s favourite.
The Dune
Both cities are connected by a haphazardly crafted locomotive; “The Dune Express” (or “The Dune” for short) which winds through the dead zone between numerous abandoned outposts which are consistently contested by wild wasteland dwellers and creatures. The Dune only stops on it’s designated route between the City and Arid and is said to be driven by an imprisoned fire elemental. The Dune creates consistent sand storms which encircle the Dead Zone and collects up lost wanderers to take to one of the cities.
The City's Operations
The City of Rust exists from a previous world, a previous life, now drowned by sand in the middle of these wastes. The fallen city is now home to helpless, lost survivors, mysterious traders, crazed ‘believers’ and ruled by “Sledge, the Brute” himself. Water is scarce and the city works off a “trade and favour” economy. Water is rationed out to the people in the city and Believers do not need it. People say their dehydrated brains is what contributes to their fanatical personalities...
Believers are a mix of human, bugbear and orc, fully committed to Sledge’s leadership. His latest endeavour: Overthrowing his brother in the city of Arid, to the south due to the trade breakdown. Civil war would undoubtedly result in countless lives lost. Sledge instills in the Believers a reckless sense of glory for combat and bloodshed and they follow him on a spiritual level.
The most able-bodied slum dwellers are recruited (sometimes forcefully) to power mechanically operated machinery in a workshop known as ‘the furnace’ which produces flame to heat and boil sludge, extracted from a natural reservoir underground. Heating it is part of the purification process in order to filter it into water. The leftover sludge is used as fuel for The Dune.
Each of you have been scouted out from among the slums in the City (Map Incoming) as able bodied individuals to help drive The Furnace. You currently find yourselves caged in a dark, damp natural cavern. The roar of fire and loud clanging of huge mechanical pistons echo throughout this space, at times making it hard to even hear your own thoughts.
Looking around in the cages, you see an older gentleman whom the years have been kind to, a young, thin girl with jet black hair, (Cora), another female around about the same age with red hair (Danica), a beautiful, innocent looking girl with long, brown hair (Yasei) and mysterious figure you can't quite make out, covered in robes and cloth. (Bobo)
Cora:
The past few days have been a rollercoaster for you. Having blimped into existence in the wastes, alone, confused, and no memories of anything, you've avoided numerous desert creatures and horrible looking mutations to eventually be caught up in a vicious sandstorm. After almost being cut to shreds from it, you were scooped up in to the large metallic jaws of The Dune. Half a day passed, and you found yourself tossed out in to the slums of The City of Rust. You are thirsty, confuised, and swear you see a humanoid crow look at you inquisitivley through the crowd at one point. You didn't get a second look, as you hear "That one 'll do!" before being escorted forcefully by a large, brown skinned Orc and tossed into your holding cell.
Danica:
You have travelled long and hard over countless days, seeing nothing but heat and sand. Your mental toughness as well as physical has been pushed to your limits in search of the City of Rust. Just as you happen upon it, an enormous, vicious sandstorm is barelling towards you. You see cacti and other desert creatures ripped to shreds by its force. You race it, running as swift as the breeze to get inside the cities walls before the wave of destruction reaches you. You make it to the city around half an hour before it hits. Rusty shanty huts are closing down, corrigated iron shutters clang shut and people are tieing tarps over their dwellings. Before you can even react, you are scooped up by a large, strong and hairy arm of a Bugbear who ignores all questions and tossed into the cage you now find yourself in.
Yasei:
Wandering the wastes of The Dead Zone has taken it's toll on you. You've had to avoid numerous desert creatures and horrible looking mutations as you wander through the endless sea of sand and bone. A circle of three cocratice follow you as you walk, stumble and crawl on the hard, cracked ground. You fall. No strength. Will, all but broken. You hear the wings of the large birds flap down next to your limp body. Their foul stench is retchid and you hear them squawk excitidly with the prospect of a fresh meal. They begin pecking, pecking, flesh picked off your arms- then it stops. They look at something else. Something running towards your helpless body. A small humanoid, with bandages wrapped all around it. Goggles on it's unnaturally wide head as it yells and calls, waving a rusty machete in the air. Could... This be any better than the birds?
You wake in your cell. Wounds healed and unsure how you got here.
Bobo:
You were taken by force while in your Garlic Jasmine Basil Mint Skull Crusher persona. You were dealing for information in the slums about a job with a contact for the well known, rising criminal alias, 'Nine Toes'. Turns out the contact, Stanky Nek set you up to be taken to the Furnace as an able-bodied individual. He must have thought you were getting too friendly with Nine-toes... (Up to you if you keep this persona when you meet the group)
Yasei's eyes suddenly flash open, in full awareness of her wakedness. She shakes her head as she rises, thinking to herself "Baka Mono! That was a strange dream." Only then does she realize that it wasn't a dream, and she wasn't some place safe. Looking around her cell, she begins to cry, thinking to herself that this was all a big mistake. This was surely a joke being played on her by these strange people. If she could only find someone in charge here, she'd surely get it all straightened out.
What are the cages we are in like? How far apart are the bars? Could a small child, or very skinny woman pass through them? Do we have anything aside from the cloths on our backs in the cage, or around immediate arms reach of the cages? Do they look sturdy, could a reasonably athletic individual potentially bend or even shatter the bars?
The rustling of cloth is the only indication that the large figure in one of the cages woke up. What was once a prone mess of feature hiding cloth slowly rises, rises, and rises up, revealing a absurdly tall, hulking, full blooded orc with one of the fiercest scowling faces you've ever seen in your life. It's a rather awe-inspiring sight, you don't think you've seen a form this muscular, there's simply not enough food available to the lower class to fuel those arm's, you think they might be bigger then some of your torso's. His wide, slightly crazed eyed seem to dart all over the surroundings, including all of your cages, but he silently stands, not giving any sound other then a slightly heavy nostril breathing, that might be more of a calming technique then any need to breathe loudly.
The cages are metal bars around 2inches in diameter with 2 inch gaps between. On closer inspection, surface rust clings to the bars, but there doesn’t seem to be enough to weaken their structural integrity. All you have on you are your rags and the ground appears to be bedrock.
looking around, you see that you are all situated on a plateau made of natural rock. An immediate drop off surrounds you other than a naturally formed bridge leading to two iron doors on the other side.
As Bobo stands, the old man lets out a small gasp at your size.
The somewhat muscular redhead, in her once-pristine white linen traveling clothes, swore in a older form of Common dating back to before the End of All We Knew. She looked around at the others and asked "What in the Abyss just happened?"
Yasei walks, with purpose, over to the door of the cage and yells out “I demand that you open this door at once!” to no one in particular. Or to everyone in particular, as it were. For you are all her underlings, in her eyes.
When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. In my lifetime, people called me many things, most of them hurtful. Crispy was the name I held on to the longest since before the modern age. My mother loved me, and my father hated me. I was born long ago in a time when the world was simpler, yet.. far more dangerous – where magic and miracles were common, and where unspeakable evil things lived and walked the world. What I was back then was something that lived in the light and the dark, always going back and forth between it, never finding stability. When I try and remember what I was beyond that, words like “abused”, “investigator”, “hero”, “criminal”, “warlord”, “tyrant”,”friend”, “queen”, and “lover” play across my memories like a summer breeze going through my hair.
I used to be a Special Forces agent from a city called Waterdeep. My entire life was nothing but pain, frustration, nightmares, and hauntings. Deep in my programming, I’m flawed. I’m mentally broken, and unrepairable. I made many mistakes in my past life and because of the people I’ve known and the deals I’ve made during that time, I’ve lived longer than anyone ever should. None of this should even be possible. Today, I have memories and tales that would fill thousands of books.
That is, if I could remember them all.
A long time ago I inherited a vast fortune and invested it. Today, I have a hidden warehouse deep down below my corporate building where I’ve kept everything I’ve found in my lifetime, partly using that fortune to keep it hidden. For good reason, too. It’s filled wall to wall with books, weapons, vehicles, pictures and paintings, armor, and mementos from a couple thousand years. I kept them with me because as the centuries go by, I begin to forget things. My memories of the early days are but a dim haze on the edge of my perception, like when you wake from a dream in the morning. I even have trouble remembering recent events lately.
I know why this is happening. I’m living on borrowed time.
I kept very detailed notes of select memories to make sure I would never forget them. On the walls of my basement are countless paintings and other framed pictures of people and places I’ve known in my extended lifetime. One of the most important memories that I’ve documented is the reason why I’m even alive today. One specific enormous painting I have on one of my walls is a beautiful redheaded woman in her late 20s. That was Nia Redfallow. I was deeply in love her in a time lost long ago. For some reason I always knew I was living on borrowed time since I met Nia, whose mother was a member of the Hells, but back then I had problems I didn’t know how to solve. So I made a deal with Hell. I knew one day the deal would turn sour at the end of the determined time with her Lord and I. What I didn’t expect was for Hell to kill me, seeing as I had spent hundreds of lifetimes working for them in exchange for, shall we say..a few favors?
When they came for me, they paid no expense, but when you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn a few tricks, and my battle knowledge and magical ability was god-like. For 7 days I fought them on the tallest mountain in the 7th Layer – the Hells shook as we fought, using powers I had all but mastered in my millennia of experience and training.
As they always would, the powers of Hell eventually overwhelm me, and I grew tired - I was losing. I knew that the only way out was to use teleportation and time-travel magic I’ve been saving for just this moment. It cost me a fortune and took a thousand years to formulate just one charge.
Luckily, I had both.
It was a one way trip, and as I activated the spell, I closed my eyes to say goodbye to my life before. But, there was a miscalculation, and that was the day I left my old life, and all of its memories, behind.
I waken, slowly. My brain working like mud, trying to process reality, my eyes not yet working. I can't move. Slowly, I blink and they unblur. I'm in a cage. I hurt everywhere. All I remember is desert. Miles and miles of desert. Fending off creatures. Then the sandstorm. I blacked out again. I don't know how I got there. A pressure in my brain. My head feels like it's about to explode. I raise my arms and look at my legs, i'm cut up everywhere. Why?
Why do I have so many scars?
I'm thin, too. Hungry. I ache everywhere. I look myself over. I'm very lean. Every movement I make, strong feminine muscles under my skin move and flex. Whatever I was, I exercised regularly and kept in amazing shape. I look at my hands, they're raw and calloused. My stomach has evidence of burns, holes, scars, rips and tears. What in the world was I? A fighter? A barbarian? No, i'm not THAT big. Maybe something else? Perhaps..? I don't know. My mind doesn't work yet.
I have no idea who I am.
Yet, I am calm. I'm not afraid. Again, I have no idea why. I should be panicking, or even upset. But, i'm not. I try and sit up and look around. There are others here. An asian. A redhead. A man in robes. I cough, my mouth is dry, and i'm weak. I take my hands and try and bend the bars, but they don't budge, so I give up, exhausted.
The giant Orc snorts out an amused puff of air, which sounds oddly menacing.
“What’s happening, is that the five of us managed to all get kidnapped. If we’re lucky, we’ll be sold into some form of slavery. If we’re particularly unlucky, we’ll probably be put down like dogs by some high paying noblesmen who wants to fufill his murder fetish in a controlled environment. You three girlies better work on making yourself look as strong and ugly as possible, you might just end up a laborer rather then what pretty faced slaves usually end up as in this shit hole.”
Yasei: “Enslave? ENSLAVE? How DARE they. Who in their right mind thinks they can enslave ME?! For I am the daughter of....” she trails off, rapidly recalling just what happened over the last few weeks. After blushing and stammering for a few more moments, all she can manage to get out is “WELL, let me speak with whomever thinks they manage this...place....and I’ll be leaving soon.”
Cora heard the conversation, they spoke the same language as she did - but said nothing. Still in a deep fog, her eyesight still blurry, she looked at the bars and shifted slightly her position. She was tired, and she had no idea why. But, despite that, she tried to move her legs in a sitting press position, and pushed with all of her might to try and bend the bars in front of her with her legs. When her quads threatened to explode she gave up and just waited.
The large orc glares down at the two woman speaking up. There's a good three foot difference, he's a very-very tall muscular orc.
"I don't think you two realize the severity of the situation we've found ourselves in. You aren't the first feisty girls to be kidnapped. If you make a large scene, they will knock you unconscious first, and restrain you second, and then you'll have no chance of escaping. You're best chance is to play along until that crucial moment between them opening the door and them handcuffing you. Don't know if you two should even try that though. Judging by the fact these people were able to get all five of us, they'll probably be well trained. Be a shame if one of the two of you lost an arm trying to escape. No use for a slave with only one arm.""
He sits back down, and eyes the old man who hasn't spoken up yet. Not saying anything, just staring at him with frightening intensity.
Yasei: “How DARE they lay a hand on ME. I would no sooner cut it off if they even attempted...” and again, she cuts herself short after realizing that whomever took her captive here (and the nerve...they even committed the sin of TOUCHING her without permission) took her precious daishō from her. They will pay. Pay dearly. The nerve....they need to be put in their place.
The Orc gives another snort and turned back to the girls.
“Quite a mouth on Little Princess over here huh? I don’t know how it works in your delusional happy place, but in the real world, when you are literally stuck in a cage after being kidnapped, it’s not a good idea to mouth off to the people who hold all the power in this situation. Maybe losing an arm will do you some good, let out all the hot air stuck up in your head.” He gives a rather morbid chuckle, not sounding too concerned with the situation despite his cautionary words.
”And to answer your question sleeping beauty, when you’ve worked the kind of jobs I’ve worked, you see yourself on both sides of rather odd situations. For all I know, this could all just be a rather elaborate plot to recruit us for some secret odd job, or an psychology experiment to see how individuals react to thinking they will be sold to slavery. But over the years, you learn to expect the worst so you don’t get let down, so I’d still be anticipating some grisly fate once those doors open over there.” All this said with a somewhat infuriating devil may care attitude.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Yasei currently has steam coming out her ears. How dare that burakumin address her in that way! But her training kicks in, so she decides to let the stress and anger flow through her like a river flowing over pebbles. She quietly walks to a back corner of the cage, sits down rigidly in the floor seiza-style (with her legs folded underneath her thighs, resting her butt in her heals)...it doesn’t look very comfortable at all, but you notice she suddenly looks perfectly at ease. She proceeds to close her eyes, but very carefully keep full awareness of what is going on around her.
Awareness/Perception check as she meditates, keeping full awareness of her surroundings: 11
Cora listened to the Orc's words as best she could. Clearly, he was from around here in some shape or form. Her headache was overwhelming, like staring into the sun. As her head throbbed, she noticed a red rune on her left inner wrist, pulsing in tandem with her heat beat. She was fascinated with it. She had no idea what it was for, or why it was on her. Was she, perhaps, a battle mage? Some sort of spell caster? She didn't feel like one. She felt like she had a different purpose, something more physical. As she considered the options, the rune faded away until there was nothing but her wrist. She squeezed her hands and could feel the strength in her arms, her shoulders, her chest, her stomach. No. Not a caster. Perhaps something else.
"I'm sorry," she coughed, "I don't..think I caught the part where you said where we are? We're slaves? I apologize, I..I don't think i'm from around here."
She adjusted her position to work out the kinks and keep her feet from falling asleep. She stretched a bit, trying to wake up, to shake the grogginess.
Eothia is a world which is shrouded in mystery. Mystery breeds competition which results in a dangerous, hostile environment filled with individuals who are constantly striving for more. It is a world of risk and reward where those who grow comfortable, quickly fall behind. In the aftermath of the great war, a lot of Eothia is regarded as undiscovered and each city or major area is only on the frontier stage of discovery. Many colonies or cultures are aware that others may exist, but due to the untamed lands of Eothia, most elect to focus on their own development than create connections.
The development of Archaneology by artificers is the tip of the spear regarding Eothia’s path into the future, allowing only artificers with the highest tier of skill to develop technology which attempts to harness arcane power.
No matter what you uncover in Eothia, no matter how strong or successful you think you are, it only leads to more pathways and open possibilities.
"CoS" Rumble- Tabaxi Shadow Monk
The City of Rust
Some were born here, some were found lost, wandering the endless sea of sand that surrounds the City Of Rust. Whatever your origin, it doesn’t matter much as you’ve ended up here. Sledge is the ruler of the City of Rust to the north in the Dead Zone and his younger brother Krum, once ally now turned nemesis, is lord of the city “Arid” to the south.
Sledge has stopped trading clean water with his brother who, in turn has stopped trading precious metals and crystals from their mine. Nobody is sure why or how, but one day the delivery simply came in empty. Twice in a row. Sledge thinks it’s because he was daddy’s favourite.
The Dune
Both cities are connected by a haphazardly crafted locomotive; “The Dune Express” (or “The Dune” for short) which winds through the dead zone between numerous abandoned outposts which are consistently contested by wild wasteland dwellers and creatures. The Dune only stops on it’s designated route between the City and Arid and is said to be driven by an imprisoned fire elemental. The Dune creates consistent sand storms which encircle the Dead Zone and collects up lost wanderers to take to one of the cities.
The City's Operations
The City of Rust exists from a previous world, a previous life, now drowned by sand in the middle of these wastes. The fallen city is now home to helpless, lost survivors, mysterious traders, crazed ‘believers’ and ruled by “Sledge, the Brute” himself. Water is scarce and the city works off a “trade and favour” economy. Water is rationed out to the people in the city and Believers do not need it. People say their dehydrated brains is what contributes to their fanatical personalities...
Believers are a mix of human, bugbear and orc, fully committed to Sledge’s leadership. His latest endeavour: Overthrowing his brother in the city of Arid, to the south due to the trade breakdown. Civil war would undoubtedly result in countless lives lost. Sledge instills in the Believers a reckless sense of glory for combat and bloodshed and they follow him on a spiritual level.
The most able-bodied slum dwellers are recruited (sometimes forcefully) to power mechanically operated machinery in a workshop known as ‘the furnace’ which produces flame to heat and boil sludge, extracted from a natural reservoir underground. Heating it is part of the purification process in order to filter it into water. The leftover sludge is used as fuel for The Dune.
"CoS" Rumble- Tabaxi Shadow Monk
Each of you have been scouted out from among the slums in the City (Map Incoming) as able bodied individuals to help drive The Furnace. You currently find yourselves caged in a dark, damp natural cavern.
The roar of fire and loud clanging of huge mechanical pistons echo throughout this space, at times making it hard to even hear your own thoughts.
Looking around in the cages, you see an older gentleman whom the years have been kind to, a young, thin girl with jet black hair, (Cora), another female around about the same age with red hair (Danica), a beautiful, innocent looking girl with long, brown hair (Yasei) and mysterious figure you can't quite make out, covered in robes and cloth. (Bobo)
Cora:
The past few days have been a rollercoaster for you. Having blimped into existence in the wastes, alone, confused, and no memories of anything, you've avoided numerous desert creatures and horrible looking mutations to eventually be caught up in a vicious sandstorm. After almost being cut to shreds from it, you were scooped up in to the large metallic jaws of The Dune. Half a day passed, and you found yourself tossed out in to the slums of The City of Rust. You are thirsty, confuised, and swear you see a humanoid crow look at you inquisitivley through the crowd at one point. You didn't get a second look, as you hear "That one 'll do!" before being escorted forcefully by a large, brown skinned Orc and tossed into your holding cell.
Danica:
You have travelled long and hard over countless days, seeing nothing but heat and sand. Your mental toughness as well as physical has been pushed to your limits in search of the City of Rust. Just as you happen upon it, an enormous, vicious sandstorm is barelling towards you. You see cacti and other desert creatures ripped to shreds by its force. You race it, running as swift as the breeze to get inside the cities walls before the wave of destruction reaches you. You make it to the city around half an hour before it hits. Rusty shanty huts are closing down, corrigated iron shutters clang shut and people are tieing tarps over their dwellings. Before you can even react, you are scooped up by a large, strong and hairy arm of a Bugbear who ignores all questions and tossed into the cage you now find yourself in.
Yasei:
Wandering the wastes of The Dead Zone has taken it's toll on you. You've had to avoid numerous desert creatures and horrible looking mutations as you wander through the endless sea of sand and bone. A circle of three cocratice follow you as you walk, stumble and crawl on the hard, cracked ground. You fall. No strength. Will, all but broken. You hear the wings of the large birds flap down next to your limp body. Their foul stench is retchid and you hear them squawk excitidly with the prospect of a fresh meal. They begin pecking, pecking, flesh picked off your arms- then it stops. They look at something else. Something running towards your helpless body. A small humanoid, with bandages wrapped all around it. Goggles on it's unnaturally wide head as it yells and calls, waving a rusty machete in the air. Could... This be any better than the birds?
You wake in your cell. Wounds healed and unsure how you got here.
Bobo:
You were taken by force while in your Garlic Jasmine Basil Mint Skull Crusher persona. You were dealing for information in the slums about a job with a contact for the well known, rising criminal alias, 'Nine Toes'. Turns out the contact, Stanky Nek set you up to be taken to the Furnace as an able-bodied individual. He must have thought you were getting too friendly with Nine-toes... (Up to you if you keep this persona when you meet the group)
... What do you do?
"CoS" Rumble- Tabaxi Shadow Monk
Yasei's eyes suddenly flash open, in full awareness of her wakedness. She shakes her head as she rises, thinking to herself "Baka Mono! That was a strange dream." Only then does she realize that it wasn't a dream, and she wasn't some place safe. Looking around her cell, she begins to cry, thinking to herself that this was all a big mistake. This was surely a joke being played on her by these strange people. If she could only find someone in charge here, she'd surely get it all straightened out.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
What are the cages we are in like? How far apart are the bars? Could a small child, or very skinny woman pass through them? Do we have anything aside from the cloths on our backs in the cage, or around immediate arms reach of the cages? Do they look sturdy, could a reasonably athletic individual potentially bend or even shatter the bars?
The rustling of cloth is the only indication that the large figure in one of the cages woke up. What was once a prone mess of feature hiding cloth slowly rises, rises, and rises up, revealing a absurdly tall, hulking, full blooded orc with one of the fiercest scowling faces you've ever seen in your life. It's a rather awe-inspiring sight, you don't think you've seen a form this muscular, there's simply not enough food available to the lower class to fuel those arm's, you think they might be bigger then some of your torso's. His wide, slightly crazed eyed seem to dart all over the surroundings, including all of your cages, but he silently stands, not giving any sound other then a slightly heavy nostril breathing, that might be more of a calming technique then any need to breathe loudly.
The cages are metal bars around 2inches in diameter with 2 inch gaps between. On closer inspection, surface rust clings to the bars, but there doesn’t seem to be enough to weaken their structural integrity. All you have on you are your rags and the ground appears to be bedrock.
looking around, you see that you are all situated on a plateau made of natural rock. An immediate drop off surrounds you other than a naturally formed bridge leading to two iron doors on the other side.
As Bobo stands, the old man lets out a small gasp at your size.
"CoS" Rumble- Tabaxi Shadow Monk
The somewhat muscular redhead, in her once-pristine white linen traveling clothes, swore in a older form of Common dating back to before the End of All We Knew. She looked around at the others and asked "What in the Abyss just happened?"
Yasei walks, with purpose, over to the door of the cage and yells out “I demand that you open this door at once!” to no one in particular. Or to everyone in particular, as it were. For you are all her underlings, in her eyes.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
My name was Cora Perkins.
When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. In my lifetime, people called me many things, most of them hurtful. Crispy was the name I held on to the longest since before the modern age. My mother loved me, and my father hated me. I was born long ago in a time when the world was simpler, yet.. far more dangerous – where magic and miracles were common, and where unspeakable evil things lived and walked the world. What I was back then was something that lived in the light and the dark, always going back and forth between it, never finding stability. When I try and remember what I was beyond that, words like “abused”, “investigator”, “hero”, “criminal”, “warlord”, “tyrant”,”friend”, “queen”, and “lover” play across my memories like a summer breeze going through my hair.
I used to be a Special Forces agent from a city called Waterdeep. My entire life was nothing but pain, frustration, nightmares, and hauntings. Deep in my programming, I’m flawed. I’m mentally broken, and unrepairable. I made many mistakes in my past life and because of the people I’ve known and the deals I’ve made during that time, I’ve lived longer than anyone ever should. None of this should even be possible. Today, I have memories and tales that would fill thousands of books.
That is, if I could remember them all.
A long time ago I inherited a vast fortune and invested it. Today, I have a hidden warehouse deep down below my corporate building where I’ve kept everything I’ve found in my lifetime, partly using that fortune to keep it hidden. For good reason, too. It’s filled wall to wall with books, weapons, vehicles, pictures and paintings, armor, and mementos from a couple thousand years. I kept them with me because as the centuries go by, I begin to forget things. My memories of the early days are but a dim haze on the edge of my perception, like when you wake from a dream in the morning. I even have trouble remembering recent events lately.
I know why this is happening. I’m living on borrowed time.
I kept very detailed notes of select memories to make sure I would never forget them. On the walls of my basement are countless paintings and other framed pictures of people and places I’ve known in my extended lifetime. One of the most important memories that I’ve documented is the reason why I’m even alive today. One specific enormous painting I have on one of my walls is a beautiful redheaded woman in her late 20s. That was Nia Redfallow. I was deeply in love her in a time lost long ago. For some reason I always knew I was living on borrowed time since I met Nia, whose mother was a member of the Hells, but back then I had problems I didn’t know how to solve. So I made a deal with Hell. I knew one day the deal would turn sour at the end of the determined time with her Lord and I. What I didn’t expect was for Hell to kill me, seeing as I had spent hundreds of lifetimes working for them in exchange for, shall we say..a few favors?
When they came for me, they paid no expense, but when you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn a few tricks, and my battle knowledge and magical ability was god-like. For 7 days I fought them on the tallest mountain in the 7th Layer – the Hells shook as we fought, using powers I had all but mastered in my millennia of experience and training.
As they always would, the powers of Hell eventually overwhelm me, and I grew tired - I was losing. I knew that the only way out was to use teleportation and time-travel magic I’ve been saving for just this moment. It cost me a fortune and took a thousand years to formulate just one charge.
Luckily, I had both.
It was a one way trip, and as I activated the spell, I closed my eyes to say goodbye to my life before. But, there was a miscalculation, and that was the day I left my old life, and all of its memories, behind.
I waken, slowly. My brain working like mud, trying to process reality, my eyes not yet working. I can't move. Slowly, I blink and they unblur. I'm in a cage. I hurt everywhere. All I remember is desert. Miles and miles of desert. Fending off creatures. Then the sandstorm. I blacked out again. I don't know how I got there. A pressure in my brain. My head feels like it's about to explode. I raise my arms and look at my legs, i'm cut up everywhere. Why?
Why do I have so many scars?
I'm thin, too. Hungry. I ache everywhere. I look myself over. I'm very lean. Every movement I make, strong feminine muscles under my skin move and flex. Whatever I was, I exercised regularly and kept in amazing shape. I look at my hands, they're raw and calloused. My stomach has evidence of burns, holes, scars, rips and tears. What in the world was I? A fighter? A barbarian? No, i'm not THAT big. Maybe something else? Perhaps..? I don't know. My mind doesn't work yet.
I have no idea who I am.
Yet, I am calm. I'm not afraid. Again, I have no idea why. I should be panicking, or even upset. But, i'm not. I try and sit up and look around. There are others here. An asian. A redhead. A man in robes. I cough, my mouth is dry, and i'm weak. I take my hands and try and bend the bars, but they don't budge, so I give up, exhausted.
The giant Orc snorts out an amused puff of air, which sounds oddly menacing.
“What’s happening, is that the five of us managed to all get kidnapped. If we’re lucky, we’ll be sold into some form of slavery. If we’re particularly unlucky, we’ll probably be put down like dogs by some high paying noblesmen who wants to fufill his murder fetish in a controlled environment. You three girlies better work on making yourself look as strong and ugly as possible, you might just end up a laborer rather then what pretty faced slaves usually end up as in this shit hole.”
Danica raises an eyebrow at the orc. "I'd be interested to see who thinks they can enslave a Lawbringer of the Citadel."
Yasei: “Enslave? ENSLAVE? How DARE they. Who in their right mind thinks they can enslave ME?! For I am the daughter of....” she trails off, rapidly recalling just what happened over the last few weeks. After blushing and stammering for a few more moments, all she can manage to get out is “WELL, let me speak with whomever thinks they manage this...place....and I’ll be leaving soon.”
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Cora heard the conversation, they spoke the same language as she did - but said nothing. Still in a deep fog, her eyesight still blurry, she looked at the bars and shifted slightly her position. She was tired, and she had no idea why. But, despite that, she tried to move her legs in a sitting press position, and pushed with all of her might to try and bend the bars in front of her with her legs. When her quads threatened to explode she gave up and just waited.
The large orc glares down at the two woman speaking up. There's a good three foot difference, he's a very-very tall muscular orc.
"I don't think you two realize the severity of the situation we've found ourselves in. You aren't the first feisty girls to be kidnapped. If you make a large scene, they will knock you unconscious first, and restrain you second, and then you'll have no chance of escaping. You're best chance is to play along until that crucial moment between them opening the door and them handcuffing you. Don't know if you two should even try that though. Judging by the fact these people were able to get all five of us, they'll probably be well trained. Be a shame if one of the two of you lost an arm trying to escape. No use for a slave with only one arm.""
He sits back down, and eyes the old man who hasn't spoken up yet. Not saying anything, just staring at him with frightening intensity.
My throat was on fire. I was so thirsty. My belly ached with hunger. I coughed again, and for the first time since I came to this world, I spoke.
"Where are we? What place is this?" Cora asked, groggy. "How do you know so much?"
Yasei: “How DARE they lay a hand on ME. I would no sooner cut it off if they even attempted...” and again, she cuts herself short after realizing that whomever took her captive here (and the nerve...they even committed the sin of TOUCHING her without permission) took her precious daishō from her. They will pay. Pay dearly. The nerve....they need to be put in their place.
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
The Orc gives another snort and turned back to the girls.
“Quite a mouth on Little Princess over here huh? I don’t know how it works in your delusional happy place, but in the real world, when you are literally stuck in a cage after being kidnapped, it’s not a good idea to mouth off to the people who hold all the power in this situation. Maybe losing an arm will do you some good, let out all the hot air stuck up in your head.” He gives a rather morbid chuckle, not sounding too concerned with the situation despite his cautionary words.
”And to answer your question sleeping beauty, when you’ve worked the kind of jobs I’ve worked, you see yourself on both sides of rather odd situations. For all I know, this could all just be a rather elaborate plot to recruit us for some secret odd job, or an psychology experiment to see how individuals react to thinking they will be sold to slavery. But over the years, you learn to expect the worst so you don’t get let down, so I’d still be anticipating some grisly fate once those doors open over there.” All this said with a somewhat infuriating devil may care attitude.
Yasei currently has steam coming out her ears. How dare that burakumin address her in that way! But her training kicks in, so she decides to let the stress and anger flow through her like a river flowing over pebbles. She quietly walks to a back corner of the cage, sits down rigidly in the floor seiza-style (with her legs folded underneath her thighs, resting her butt in her heals)...it doesn’t look very comfortable at all, but you notice she suddenly looks perfectly at ease. She proceeds to close her eyes, but very carefully keep full awareness of what is going on around her.
Awareness/Perception check as she meditates, keeping full awareness of her surroundings: 11
Last to know and first to be blamed...
As a free action, can I regret my life choices?
Cora listened to the Orc's words as best she could. Clearly, he was from around here in some shape or form. Her headache was overwhelming, like staring into the sun. As her head throbbed, she noticed a red rune on her left inner wrist, pulsing in tandem with her heat beat. She was fascinated with it. She had no idea what it was for, or why it was on her. Was she, perhaps, a battle mage? Some sort of spell caster? She didn't feel like one. She felt like she had a different purpose, something more physical. As she considered the options, the rune faded away until there was nothing but her wrist. She squeezed her hands and could feel the strength in her arms, her shoulders, her chest, her stomach. No. Not a caster. Perhaps something else.
"I'm sorry," she coughed, "I don't..think I caught the part where you said where we are? We're slaves? I apologize, I..I don't think i'm from around here."
She adjusted her position to work out the kinks and keep her feet from falling asleep. She stretched a bit, trying to wake up, to shake the grogginess.