To Glory and Vorgy (Darian and Relius)

[Darian]

Gaston actually gapes as Qotle simply shrugs off hammer-blow to the back like it's nothing. He's not even wearing heavy armor, so he should at least have a broken bone from that! Or at least, that's what Gaston thinks. Meanwhile, everyone else watches Asha knock the swordsman's blade out of his hands and just as easily twist his arm behind his back.

"... well," Gaston says at last, clearly getting his shock under control. "How can I refuse such a stalwart man? Truely you are an honorable person, sir, so I will apologize... I haven't given enough credit to those brave enough to travel into the wilderness to fight against the monsters. I will do so, starting now!"
Gaston gives him the million killowat smile.
"Indeed sir, I think such a strong and honorable young man may be just what I need to become a true hero! Will you join me in my quest? I have heard that some girls have gone missing from the local villages, and I wish to investigate rumors of a new dungeon that they are being held at."

Before Qotle can answer, Asha speaks up. "Ah don't be so harsh, brother! He's apologized... and it's not like we have better job options!" She gently pushes the guy she disarmed away from her, and he stumbles several feet away. "Besides, these guys actually look like they could use a little support! Lets help em out."

[reliuskaiser]

Qotle stares at Gaston, glaring at him more re intensely as he spoke. He was about to say something before hearing Asha mention his name. He turned back to her and shrugged, sighing off his anger and looking back at Gaston. "So, good sir. What details do you have about this new dungeon. It sounds intriguing, so I'd like to know if I needed to prepare at all for our eventual journey." Qotle says, readjusting his swords as he spoke.

[reliuskaiser]

(I am still waiting if you wish to continue. Take your time, I'm in no rush. Just wanted to clarify)

[Darian]

(Sorry I went quiet for so long. Starbound and then Breath of the wild... kinda sucked up all my attention.)

"Now now! We cannot discuss business out in the middle of the Street!" Gaston smiles with light glinting off his teeth, and gestures to the Illias Inn. "Come! Let us refresh ourselves at the inn, and I will tell you of the noble endeavor we shall depart on in the morning! The expenses are on me, the hero of course!"

Asha grins at the prospect. "Hey, a soft bed and free food. C'mon, brother... lets go get settled!" She gives a rueful smile back at Raelin and Gwynne, the cute cadets that were leading them around. "Guess we'll have to finish that tour later you two. But don't worry! and don't be afraid to stop in by my room tonight~!"

Raelin blushes at that, as Asha sets of after Gaston. the small group of mercenaries following along. They look a lot happier now that they're headed to the inn.

[reliuskaiser]

(Ooooooohh, that makes sense. No worries.)

Qotle glances at Gaston, about to say something about his need for privacy, but stopped when confronted with Asha's reasoning. He didn't care for the free stuff--especially when coming from Gaston--, but seeing how legitimately happy Asha was at the prospect of free food made it hard to be mad at anything right now.

Qotle nods and glances back to Raelin and Gwynne before heading off with Gaston and his men.

[Darian]

Gaston opens the door wide and loudly declares food and drink for his men to the innkeeper, and leads the group to a table. The Sutherland inn is a building with gleaming white walls and fancy crenelations, and the inside is just as posh looking. The floor is well polished and clean, and all the furniture is carved beautifully... there's even embroidery in the tablecloths. While Amazons don't mind prettying up their homes, there's always a bit of a sturdy element to all their furnishings... they are a large and practical people, and only truly exquisite pieces are crafted as small gifts, often out of public view.

Here, it seems like everything is delicate and fancy... with the possible exception of some of the mugs behind the bar. Truly humans are a bit more peaceful than amazons...

"Wow, even the chairs all have cushions on them." Asha is impressed, and settles into one of the chairs at the end of the dining hall... it's just barely big enough for her. "Nice..."

"Gentlemen! And ladies!" Gaston poses heroically with one foot on his chair at the end of the large table. "Tomorrow we embark on a vital quest! Some of the village girls have gone missing lately, and there are rumors of activity in an old dungeon not far in the nearby woods! It seems some foul monster has taken up nest in the dungeon, and is snatching up girls left and right! We shall go there and purge this nest of evil, and rescue these poor, helpless women from the clutches of the monsters! I am sure they will be most grateful for our assistance!"

[reliuskaiser]

Qotle looks at the layout of the inn and was simply shocked, it was surprising to think Gaston had access to such a place. Most of the furnishings here seemed more sophisticated than anything he's had the chance to lay eyes on, so it was quite a sight. He plays around a bit and fiddles with one of the tables, feeling the slick craftwork of whatever was used to make these tables. He looked over at Asha as she sat down and came to join her. Once he sat down, he nodded his approval of how nice it felt to sit here. "My, this is really cool. Must be nice to be able to come here freely." He says before looking over to Gaston the moment he begins speaking.

He wondered why he even bothered discussing this to the others and not just Asha and himself. He listened to Gaston with an unfeeling expression on his face. He truly could not stand that man, knowing he potentially led others to their doom just didn't sit well with Qotle. The wonder and joy he felt in seeing this place and experiencing such a simple pleasure had already died out by the time Gaston was halfway through his first paragraph.I really hope this doesn't last too long. I feel I won't last a few days having to hear this guy. I know I wanted to go on this journey and even insisted on it, but I'm already not having fun... he thought while slumping over on the counter in front of him as he listened closely to the details of his "mission" with Gaston.

[Darian]

"You really got a problem with this Gaston guy, don't you?" Asha asks quietly, leaning over to her brother.

Gaston doesn't say much more, only declaring that they'll head out in the morning and that the monsters in the lair don't stand a chance against them.

As the men cheer and begin to be served and eat, his sister looks at him askance.

"We were told that men outside the village could be kinda scumbags and arrogant. it's a pity the elders were right, but it's not like they can be as strong as us Amazons." Asha says philosophically.

[reliuskaiser]

"He just makes me think about the past a bit more than I'd like to. Nothing I can't get over, but yeah, you could say I do." Qotle said as he returned to look at his sister in the small chair. He could understand what she was getting at, but this case seemed a bit different. "I guess you're right about that. Let's just hope he won't try to drag us down within the next few days. Well, since we're here, I guess we can work on finding our rooms after getting a good amount of food for ourselves." He says while turning to look at the other occupants of the tavern.

[Darian]

"The past?" Asha seems a bit curious as to what her brother is thinking, but pats his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, we can handle a bunch of monsters in a dungeon. Heck, this'll be easy with all these guys here. Nothing'll be able to sneak up on us, and we'll have good old straight fights!"

Most of the other occupants of the Tavern seem to be listening to Gaston if they haven't gone upstairs to sleep...

(Wanna skip ahead to the part where they get to the dungeon and things start going wrong? )

[reliuskaiser]

(We could do that. If It gets us to more plot. I'm all for it.)

"Yeah, I believe he'll be able to hold his own while we have our own battles. He has to have some redeemable factor about him. So sis, mind if turn in for the night. I want to rest so I can wake up early tomorrow.." Qotle said while patting Asha's hand. He wasn't actually tired, he just didn't want to be surrounded by so many people at this moment.

[Darian]

The next morning, the group set out into the woods outside Illiasburg. It was rather dim under the trees as they journeyed toward the apparent location of the lair... Asha laughed and teased the men with her as she went, clearly not taking any of them very seriously as potential mates.

Eventually, they stumbled upon what looked like an old abandoned building... Gaston laughed loudly and guestured the men forward. "Let us investigate!"

One of them kicked down the door, and the seven other men began moving in weapons at the ready.

[reliuskaiser]

Qotle was beside Asha along the way. He made sure he was ready for whatever came his way. Though he didn't trust Gaston too much, it wouldn't keep him from watching his back in an unknown place. As they approached, Qotle would let Gaston's men go in first before following after. He would readjust his sword as he looked inside the building.

[Darian]

The small, dilapadated building has a large trapdoor inside, and the men have lit torches as they go down it. Gaston lets them go first, and they find a dank, dark corridor that splits off into three directions some way in. As Asha follows the men, she glances around at the three corridors and frowns.

"Shouldn't we split up, or leave a guard here or something?" Asha asks quietly.

"NONSENSE!" Gaston laughs and draws his shining sword. "Together we are strong enough to defeat any foe! With my holy blessing, we have nothing to fear! ONWARD!"

The air smells... bad down here. Like something organic has been twisted, even if it hasn't gone rotten. There's a musk of sorts to Qotle's sensitive nose, but he doesn't recognize it.

(Soon we'll hit a central chamber, then we'll get a real attack. A Chimera beast, and something else. Sorry this took so long.)

[reliuskaiser]

(That's no problem for me. I just wanted to continue.)

"I don't think leaving any of us alone for an uncertain amount of time would be wise. Only person I believe could fend for themselves is you, Asha, and I don't want to have to deal with them by myself." He says, looking down the pathways.

As they walk on, Qotle notices the air getting worse. "Ugh, something stinks..what the heck?" He pinches his nose while looking around the hall they were in.

[Darian]

The middle corridor lead to a large room, with strange glass cylinders large enough to contain a man within it. there were also several racks there... tables with chains and leather straps meant to hold something or someone down.

Worst of all were the large metal cages set into the walls.. that had been forced open from the inside. there's only one other way out of this lab that Qotle can see... a broken door to the east.

"Qotle. I have a bad feeling about this place." Asha gripped her mace as she looked around at the derelict equipment and stained tables. Stained with what, Qotle couldn't tell you... only that some of it was blood, and a lot of it was not. It did not smell good.
Asha was no longer smiling, and instead examined the marks on the walls... they looked like claws.

"Truely a place of foul magic." Gaston muttered to himself, trying not to appear unnerved. "Keep a level eye out, men. We'll find the beasts soon enough. And this foul necromancer won't-"

There's a gurgling growl, and something comes out of dark door to the east.

[reliuskaiser]

Qotle listened to Asha's tone and began to feel nervous. He looks around the room and notices the cages. He walks up and looks at them catching a foul odor from them and backing up. "Ugh.." He looks back to Gaston while he speaks. He looked at the walls before hearing something approach. He drew two swords immediately and looked over to see beast the looked like a woman mixed with many other beasts. "!"

[Darian]

The creature is almost as large as a horse, almost a griffin or a minor sphinx, and in it's beastly parts one can see strong muscles moving under the fur and skin. But it's appearance, only one wing, mis-matched horns and swaying set of oversized breasts... it's matched by it's smell.
Twisted and wrong, the chemical/sex smell that does not belong to any true monster, but is monstrous none-theless.

It's eyes are perhaps the worst thing about it... despite being set in a pretty human face, they are bestial... there is no thought in them, no intelligence, only predatory hunger.

"Never fear, gentlemen! This foul beast will fall before the might of a true hero!" Gaston proclaims and thrusts his sword into the air. It glows with a white light, and all the men around him seem energized! But the light hurts for Qotle to look at, and there's an unpleasant sensation of heat and purity on his partially scaled skin. Asha herself flinches back from the light, covering her eyes and cursing.

It seems whatever blessing Gaston had from his goddess is a very real threat to anything with monster blood. But Gaston hasn't noticed it's effects on the siblings, and is already charging toward the foul beast!

"Haaaaaaaah!" He swings his sword at the creature'a seemingly exposed shoulder.

*pssh*

His swing hardly makes more than a papercut in the creature's seemingly soft flesh, and Gaston's eyes go wide.

"Wha-?"

That's all he has time for as the creature's paw swipes the sword out of his hand and sends him sprawling onto his back, before planting itself onto his chest with a grunt.
The creature leans down with it's many tongues and slobbers over the hero's face. It's eyes almost roll back in it's head and it lets out a purring gurgle of pleasure.
Wasn't the blessing supposed to make heroes absolutely disgusting to the taste? Even Asha could smell how bad the hero seemed to taste, and this creature is ignoring that?!

Asha looks shocked and more than a little worried herself, glancing at her brother as the other men rush forward to try and rescue the hero. "Brother...?" she would follow his lead, but something isn't right about this and the monster has a un-nerving presence.

Amazons don't frighten easily though...

[reliuskaiser]

Qotle looks at the beast, feeling an odd mixture of emotions from it's pressence. Fear was an easy one to spot though. His thoughts were distracted by Gaston running his mouth again. Before Qotle could try to stop the man, he used some bright light that seemed to actually make Qotle cringe back. He looks up as Gaston goes to fight the beast, only to get swatted away. That man was so annoying in multiple ways, but at least he showed that this fear he had at least had some merits, it's child-like glee it displayed making it easier to see that.

Qotle hadn't noticed Asha yet, he stepped forward, getting in his stance. "...." He hears Asha call him. He doesn't say anything but immediately covers his swords in flame. The swiftness of that strike and the sheer power she held... This won't be anywhere near an easy battle.

[Darian]

The other men charge the beast, and Asha follows them, clearly intending to get Gaston out of the beasts grip. Nothing goes well: It's tentacle tongues snare another man while the beast slashes out with it's claws, sending one man down bleeding. It turns it's body, and with a long swipe sends all the other men tumbling across the room.

But by this point Asha is there! With a mighty war cry she brings her heavy mace down on the beasts head.

The creature lets out a gurgle-grunt, and glares at Asha.

Her eyes go wide, and she has a split second try and parry the beast's thrusting tail. it's not enough, and the thing rams into her side like a scorpion. Asha, tall and powerful and proud, goes flying across the room, and slams into the far wall. She gasps as she slides down it, clutching her stomach and struggling to breathe.