The Trials of Malum (Layab547 and me)

[9kirby99]

I choke down the last of my drink as Paula makes the offer. I'm glad I did, I would have choked if I'd just seen her whip her member out like that. I blush, grinning a little as Ram quickly agrees. At least she has a weapon. I stand, blushing deeply. "I can agree to that. Welcome to the team." I grin. "Well, shall we head to get some supplies?

[Layab547]

(More character sheets!)

Name: Ram'lo
Gender: Female
Species: Half-Orc
Class: Barbarian
Strength: 9
Perception: 4
Endurance: 9
Charisma: 4
Intelligence: 4
Agility: 6
Luck: 4
HP: 200
LP: 5

Perks:
(If "Barbarian" Style): (Extension of your Arms: All attacks with a two-handed weapon get a +1 bonus)

(Brazen Rush: Once a day, you can increase strength, endurance, or perception for one encounter, but for that encounter and 2 hours afterwards, perception, charisma, and intelligence drop. Chose by how many points you'll increase by when you activate this perk. (You can choose up to as many points as possible up until the point amount you'd chose would drop perception, charisma, or intelligence below 1.)

(If Pure Warrior): (Adrenaline: Suffer no roll penalties when low on health)

(Pred: All rolls in attempts to either catch prey, consume prey, or digest/regress prey is given a +3 bonus. However, you take -3 penalties to attempts to escape a predator after consumed or avoiding getting consumed at all.)

(Predatory Aura: When you attempt to vore someone or do actions towards voring them, the creature you intend to vore gets a -1 penalty to all actions)

Other Info: The bar-keep of the town Paula and Rike are from, Ram is a half-orc who hides her voracious desires behind a friendly exterior.

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"Sure thing, I have plenty of coin saved up." Ram nods, wrapping an arm around Paula's shoulders as the two of them set off, leaving a very confused set of drunks behind.

You and Rike end up walking together as your party enters the market, and he is very clearly thinking about something.

"Miles... What supplies do you think we will need for this journey?"

[9kirby99]

I nod and grin as I stand on up, following them as they head towards the market. I look to Rike. "Well, anyone who doesn't have their weapon will need one, we'll need some potions and healing supplies, rations, portable bedding, potion-making supplies...anything else." I smile. "What do you think you'll need?"

[Layab547]

"Everyone is already equipped, though I would feel better with a dagger or short-sword..." Rike rubs his belt, as if desiring for a weapon. "We should also search for armor to protect ourselves."

Paula and Ram are already searching for through the marketplace, Ram clearly enthralled with a pearl necklace, with the stall keeper looking very nervous.

[9kirby99]

I nod and rub my chin in curiosity. "Okay...do you have a staff, wand, orb, or whatever? You're a wizard, right?" As I'm talking, I glance up over his shoulder, seeming to notice something...but I'm not letting on what that is.

(Gonna be doing a little DMing of my own here a little...x3)

[Layab547]

Rike grins, and pulls back his shirt, exposing a small wooden stick with runes engraved onto it.

"I am, thank you for noticing." He buttons his shirt back,tilting his head at your seeming disinterest. "... We elves can make our own wands, so I will not have any trouble creating back-ups."

(That's fine ^.^)

[9kirby99]

I nod a little bit, clearly a little distracted. "Excellent, excellent...why don't you go see what the others need? I...have to tend to something." And with that, I head past him, vanishing quickly into the crowd.

[Layab547]

Rike frowns at your very obvious dismissal, before turning and walking over to Paula and Ram. Hopefully, he can stop them from buying everything that catches their eyes.

[9kirby99]

A few minutes later, a very distinct shattering of glass can be heard behind the group. As they look, a thick, green smoke starts to billow from wherever it had originated from, making things difficult to see. It didn't help that the gas smelled awful.

[???]

It takes some time for the smoke to clear, and there's quite the commotion, people confused where exactly it had even come from. People talked for quite some time, but about a minute or two later, there's a scream. The crowd and group look towards it, and at one of the merchant stalls, the merchant in charge was very, very dead. He was slumped over his counter with a stab wound in the base of his neck. Further investigation showed someone had written "Wrath" and "Lust" on his face with his own blood. His money was missing, as well, as well as some of his wares, which, strangely, were glass containers.

I waded back towards the group as people crowded towards the body, coming towards the group from the side of the bazaar opposite the body. I had some bag with me. "What's going on? What's with all the commotion?"

[Layab547]

When the strange fog begins to roll in, Rike quickly pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wraps it around his nose and mouth. Paula and Ram shield their faces as best they can, both coughing until the smoke vanishes...

At the sight of the body, everyone is shocked... except for Paula. No, Paula is outraged.

"What manner of blasphemy?!" She cries, forcing her way through the crowd and over to the corpse. Ram and Rike stay behind, turning to face you as you approach.

"No fucking clue." Ram huffs, clearly upset. Rike's expression is difficult to judge through the handkerchief, but he seems quite shaken.

[9kirby99]

I follow over and blink upon seeing the corpse. "Geez...did anyone see anything? Who did this?"

To be honest, not one person saw anything. It was like a phantom had rolled in, killed the man, and rolled off into nothingness with the gas. Soon enough, the town guard came in and took the body off, starting up an investigation into the matter. Everyone was slowly going back to business.

[Layab547]

Paula is eventually asked to leave by the guards, but they allow her to recite a prayer over the man and promise to let her know if something like this happens again. She finally returns to your little group, her expression blank. Before anyone can say a word, Ram steps forward, and holds out her arms... only to be tackled by Paula throwing herself onto the half-orc. It sounds like she's crying, as Ram just holds her, while Rike scuffs his foot awkwardly, still refusing to remove his bandana.

A mouse scurries by, looking to be in quite a hurry.

[9kirby99]

I bite my lower lip as I look to Paula. She was really taking this hard...I was starting to question if she knew the man or something. I notice the mouse scurry by. I look over, blinking as I begin to follow it. "...hm...?"

[Layab547]

The others are too distracted by Paula's weeping to notice you slip off after the rodent, following it too a dead-end alley. Said alley is dark and filthy, going just far enough in between two buildings to become too dark to properly see into, but clearly not reaching to the next street over. Rotten food is scattered all over the ground, and more rats can be seen scurrying about.

Yeah, there's NO possible way that this is a trap of some kind.

[9kirby99]

I blink, looking back where I came for a moment, before looking back into the alley. I sigh, charging in. Fuck it. Why the hell not? I look around, seeing if I can find this rodent that was scurrying by.

[Layab547]

The rats scatter at your foot-falls, old fruit and vegetables crunching under your shoes as you dash into the darkness. There, awaiting you in the deepest depths...

Is a rat, sitting on top of an old sack of petrified potatoes. It glances up at you for a second, seeming to regard your entrance as quiet the rude one, before it hops off the sack and vanishes with the rest of its bretheran to wherever it is rats go.

Oh... well, perhaps it wasn't a...

"That wasn't very nice of you..."

Never mind.

[9kirby99]

I blink a bit as I look at the rat. It...was just a rat. Nothing else. Why the hell did I chase a rat all the way in here? What a waste of time. Just as I'm about to leave, I hear a voice. I spin around towards it in a panic. Maybe it really was a trap...!

[Layab547]

A young girl stands at the entrance to the alley, wearing ragged black robes, and carrying in her hand a wooden staff that's actually twice the size she is. Her hair is snow white, and her face, while dirty, still has an innocent look to it.

"Those rats only wanted to eat... Why did you scare them?"

Now that you can see her, her voice isn't quite as frightening, but she's still unnerving.

[9kirby99]

I blink a bit, looking down at her, my heart still in my throat. I don't move, simply looking her over a bit. "...I...I saw some sort of mouse a couple of times around town. I thought...it wanted to show me something, so I followed." Great. I sounded absolutely crazy, probably even to this girl. At least she was a young girl, and not someone trying to kidnap, kill, and/or rape me. I hoped.

[Layab547]

"Oh, you mean Mr. Geoffrey." The girl reaches into her robes, and produces the small mouse you saw earlier. But there's one important fact you didn't notice before: it's glowing. Slightly, producing more of a black mist than a light, but its most certainly not a regular mouse.

"He's been following you. We saw you in the church, playing with the mean woman."