Sasu Yokubo
Sasu Yokubo
Sasu would argue he is a more specialized version of a necromancer, an Osteomancer. He publicly states that he has joined this adventurer to find his banished brother. He however has other tasks he does not share with his family. He has an adopted daughter named Kino who he has made a vow to protect. Sasu takes that vow seriously and has elevated her to being the most important thing in the universe.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Sasu is average height but incredibly skinny. He has a bit of an athletic build. You can see some hints of muscle and tone but its not because he has alot, its mainly because hes so thin with so little fat on him.
Body Features
Sasu's skin is pale white, and prestine. He has no body hair, or marks. He has a black spade tail that extends from his lower back and is long enough to drag across the ground. He has slightly longer than average fingers and they end with thick sharp nails which are his claws.
Facial Features
Sasu has sharp features. Thin angled eyes that are ruby red. A slim pointed nose. full pink lips with pearl white yet oddly sharp teeth. He has large canines that can extend further into more devastating fangs. His eyebrows are thick but well groomed white and he has long wispy eyelashes. His ears are pointed but small, and distinguishable from an elf. He tends to wear a modicum of makeup around his eyes. Eye shadow, eye liner, and red paint under and to the side of his eyes.
Special abilities
- His tail is prehensile and he can control it.
- His large canine teeth can grow in size to become weapons.
- His longer than average fingers/nails can harden and become claws.
- His ruby red eyes release reddish mist when he gets particularly angry or murderous.
Apparel & Accessories
Sasu dresses in finery. He has three standards of dress.
- As a rule Sasu does not wear underwear.
- He generally wears polished office shoes. When he is in casual dress he goes barefoot.
- He wears various ornate earings. Typically silver full ear earings that cap his ears like armor. Instead of dragons it would be snakes or ravens, or just pure silver ornamental.Example 1, Example 2, Example 3.
- He wears a strange straw bracelet that Kino had made for him during their first meeting.
- He wears a necklace dedicated to the goddess Shar who he prays to.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Sasu was raised by his family's servants. He barely saw his mother and father. He is a scion of the house of Yokubo which is a noble house of Ventas. He spent his entire life locked within the house's grounds. He spent most of his time helping with arcane research. He made friends with the servants, and he has a close bond with his twin brother Basu and his adopted daughter Kino.
Gender Identity
He identifies as a male.
Sexuality
- Sasu is straight, and is looking for a partner for life. To Sasu his wife and children will be the most important things in the world.
- Sasu is dominant and like to be in charge but wants to find someone who can challenge him.
Education
Sasu was homeschooled. He was trained as a wizard and later as an arcane archeologist.
His training was extensive but specialized. He knows alot about magic, its interactions with the world and other humans. He knows a bit about medicine and anatomy. However he is quick study and is happy to research and investigate anything that may come up.
Accomplishments & Achievements
- Sasu and Basu worked together to create a summoning spell when they were young teenagers.
- Sasu volunteered to be experimented on and became a vampire through these experiments.
Failures & Embarrassments
- Sasu was nearly killed by a tutor of Basu's when he found his servant and crush sleeping with the man and attempted to kill him.
- Sasu helped his brother torture, kill, and burn down the house of another noble who did something to Basu. He never learned what happened to his brother.
- Sasu could never really get the hang of Divination magic and cannot cast them without the aid of scrolls or magical items.
- Sasu basically killed a 14 year old girl named Kino who he managed to save by turning her into a vampire. He has since adopted her as his daughter.
- Sasu has a sharp tongue and little patience for trying to be clever or sly. During a ball he offended a fellow nobleman and had then been challenged to a duel. He lost because the nobleman cheated. Later that nobleman was found dead. There was no evidence that Sasu did it, but he did do it.
- Sasu used to love garlic but after he became a vampire he forgot to tell the chefs to not use the spice and nearly died at dinner when consumed a rather large amount of it.
Mental Trauma
Sasu's entire life has been very abusive and sheltered/Insular. The first word he was taught was not his name,mom, or dad, but power. He was taught that you needed to take control of situations and people and that power was his to claim. He should never shy away from the gathering of power, and he should always mark those that had some or were attempting to gain any.
He can count the times he has spoken to his parents on one hand. He was raised by tutors and the servants of the Yokubo family. The servants treated him well enough, but the tutors were often brutal. He has had magics cast on him to make him live through terrors, to cause him immense pain, to twist and warp reality. He has essentially been conditioned and brainwashed by his family. Though this didn't have the exact outcome they had wanted. Rather than being in control of Sasu they have simply caused a part of his mind to snap, to create an alternate personality which sort of acts as a protector for the broken and beaten primary personality.
His biggest regret is having killed Kino. He has an unnatural paternal connection to her and has since decided that the world is not kind enough and should be burnt to the ground so that he may rebuild it, so her life is one of happiness and love.
Intellectual Characteristics
Sasu is a clever man, but he isn't one to mix words or to hide behind innuendo. He does however know that certain aspects of his being should be hidden behind a mask. This is aided by his split personality.
He is confident, maybe overly so. He believes that he cannot do everything on his own, but he will attempt to do things on his own. He will often refuse handouts or charity.
A small part of him is empathetic to those who are like him. Those who have been taken advantage of, or broken. He will always try and help before he harms.
He has no problem with other people being better than him, and will allow others to take the lead, but when he feels he is right will dig his heels in and speak his mind.
Morality & Philosophy
- Two eyes for an eye is not a good trade. After all that would leave you with one less eye. He would much rather live by "an entire existence for a small slight."
- He is labeled as evil as he can do terrible acts. He however is a nice person who truly wants to better everyone's life. However he is not above destroying a person for standing in the way of that goal
- He carries around a thick and well used tome containing grudges that he has either settled or needs to settle.
Taboos
Sasu does not think anything is taboo aside from not making Kino or wife and children upset. He will do literaly anything, say anything to accomplish whatever task he may have. Nothing is sacred.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
- Keep Kino safe and happy.
- Become the best wizard that has ever existed and use that power to make Kino happy.
- Find a wife and father many children, and make them happy.
- Unite the world under a single rule. Remove the randomness, the violence, the corruption. Kill anyone who refuses to step in line.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
- He is great at magic. Not just the casting but understanding the fundamentals and bending it.
- He would say he is a great father, perhaps a bit overprotective.
- He is potently virile.
- Can't cast divination magic
- Can't often understand jokes
- Can't work knots, in fact will often untie knots when he sees them.
- Might be Autistic
Likes & Dislikes
- Likes Kino
- Likes women
- Likes magic
- Likes power
- Likes sarcasm and ribbing
- Likes chocalate and peaches
- Likes rain
- Likes cleanliness, long bathes, fine clothes
- Likes revenge
- Dislikes moral waffling/grandstanding
- Dislikes conniving language and actions
- Dislikes fish as food
- Dislikes bugs
- Dislikes heat - Though he does like sweat
Virtues & Personality perks
- Ambitious
- Assertive
- Caring
- Clean
- Creative
- Generous
- Honest
- Loving
- Loyal
- Reliable
- Tenacious
Vices & Personality flaws
- Abrasive
- Antisocial
- Confrontational
- Controlling
- Cruel
- Cynical
- Devious
- Hypocritical
- Impulsive
- Irrational - sometimes
- Jealous
- Judgmental
- Lustful
- Mischievous
- Morbid
- Obsessive
- Oversensitive
- Paranoid
- Pessimistic
- Possessive
- Stubborn
- Tactless
- Unethical
- Violent
Personality Quirks
- Whenever he loses a bit of control he will let out a high pitched giggle and his fangs will grow a bit so they are visible.
- If something makes him so angry murder is immenant his eyes will release a red mist.
- If he ever feels unsure he will often sit Kino in his lap and brush her hair.
Hygiene
Sasu is a stickler for being clean. He bathes regularly. He uses magic to clean himself and his clothes. He presses his clothes with flowers to perfume them. He cleans his teeth with magic.
Social
Contacts & Relations
His brother Basu. He is currently looking for his brother, and has not spoken to him since he was exiled but its one of three people Sasu trusts.
Kino his daughter. One of the only people Sasu trusts.
Religious Views
Worships the goddess Shar. If he was being honest however he doesnt really care for gods. He follows Shar as she has similar ideals and mannersims to himself and he wagers that shes attractive.
The one thing that Sasu does have some sense of respect for is the dead. However Sasu doesnt really care about crossing boundries and to him the concept of respecting the dead is to not waste power or ability. Much like a hunter might think to not waste any part of an animal, that is how he views the dead.
Social Aptitude
Socially adept as was taught, however more often than not unable to actually hold a conversation.
Mannerisms
Sasu is straight backed and has that look of arrogance about him the down cast eyes looking as if you are beneath him, though he doesnt believe that to be true.
Will grip his tail when speaking and feeling unsure.
Always seems possesive of those he values, keeping them close or touching them in some way. (brushing kino's hair, having his raven sit on his shoulder..etc.)
Stands close when talking to people
Hobbies & Pets
Sasu attempted to summon a dog when he was younger, it worked but not perfectly. He has no pets currently in Ventas or with him. He has a raven familiar who he has named Sha.
Sasu enjoys playing chess, trying to create and augment spells, day dreaming, and conquering the planet.
Speech
Well spoken, no accent.
Harsh but often with littleto no judgment or accusation.
Wealth & Financial state
His family is moderately wealthy. Fairly respectable. Sasu himself does not have much wealth on him and he is not likely to rely on his familys fortunes. He isnt above asking for a servant or a bit of magic or technology but he would likely never ask for gold. So in a sense he is relatively poor.
Sasu Yokubo, Twin son of Chanter and Rina. Cold, Deadly, Vampire, Father.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Age
24
Date of Birth
SepDecem 8 7749
Birthplace
Yokubo Manor, Central Ventas
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Ruby Red - Soft Glow
Hair
Medium Length - White
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale - Creamy
Height
5'11
Weight
120lbs
Quotes & Catchphrases
"Shut up Hendrik."
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Day 12: Journeys End
Every journey has an end, though it isn't always the one we imagine. I certainly hope that wherever your journey ends, brother, you are greeted with happiness and love. I will forever keep you in my heart and memories, and I hope that I have a place within yours.
Day 11: Alone Again
Hey Basu, still searching, obviously. I'm not really sure what had happened if I'm being honest, but somewhere along the line Hendrik had grown rather irritated with me. That all came to a head the other night. We were resting for the evening; our strange traveling fellow had refused to talk to us the entire trip and even slept outside of the camp we all sort of stopped to make together. Estall had nodded off, and the ladies retired to their tent. I was awake, and Hendrik was as well, again I'm not sure how it happened, but we began arguing. He told me that I was not respectful, and he loathed my company, I asked him why. He told me he didn't know, he just felt that way. I pressed him further, after all he is an adult and should be able to articulate why he feels the way he does. The only example he had given me was the incident the other night when I screwed with his music. I admit it wasn't very kind, but it wasn't something to think I was an asshole over, at least in my opinion. I told him if he couldn't come up with more examples then he was just being stupid, and things sort of escalated from there. I made a flippant remark that I didn't much care for him either and told him that gave us something in common so we could become closer as a family. He told me he didn't consider me family, nor wanted to be. Well, I didn't really know what to say to that. I was devastated and a bit frightened. I've told you before how creepy and annoying he could be. I didn't want to think about what not being family would mean for him and for me. It would be an awful temptation to put him in his place. The problem of course is that he clings to Estalls apron strings, and well Estall is frankly daunting. I could fight him, I might even win, but it wouldn't be pleasant, or guaranteed, fighting them both is basically suicide at my current skill. I let slip that this change in our status means that I could kill him to which he said "good", I'm not sure he thinks I am serious. It might be best that I leave after my current obligation is fulfilled.
Aside from that nonsense we found the goblins we were after the following day. We stumbled upon a goblin encampment that proclaimed themselves innocent and civilized. They told us where to find the goblins dictated in our quest. We followed the instructions bringing along a friendly little goblin named JukJuk or something. He showed us in, communicated with the goblins in the cave, as they spotted us immediately, and we entered into some sort of battle arena. They were kind enough to not all jump down at once, and after a few minutes of fierce combat the man leading them entered the arena as well. He didn't get to do much, and after he died the goblins all took off. He did however activate some sort of device which apparently summoned feral goblins from a hole we had not discovered on our way in. Luckily Estall and everyone wanted to leave as it turned out to be a massive swarm of feral goblins. Upon getting to the entrance to the cave the civilized goblin leader was standing there prepared to collapse the entrance. It's strange that even the simplest jobs around this area are laced with so much danger. Anyway, we were invited to a feast put on by the goblins and we agreed. The goblin leader had other plans for us, or I guess specifically me. He had a strange arcane focus on him that apparently gave him intelligence and reason. The downside to this gift was that it required the magic and lifeforce of a dead spell caster. He drugged everyone and attempted to accost me at night only to find that I as well as a new friend we made in the cave didn't sleep. We killed him and then killed the rest of the encampment. I will skip over Hendrik trying to interfere in my judgement of one of the goblins.
Our new friend, I completely forgot somehow even though they are sitting beside me here at the fire. Their name is Jorfain, and they are a construct from Ignis. Apparently, they had been inoperational until we came into the cave. We, Estall mainly, are apparently related to their creator and had awoken when we were in danger. They were rather gifted in the fight; we would have sorely missed them if they hadn't awoken that for sure. they seem kind enough, they too had something to say about my plans for the goblin, but they didn't threaten me or my quarry, so I have no issue with them.
I'm growing tired Basu. I don't think I can take many more proclamations like Hendriks. Maybe we don't deserve a family, maybe we are instruments in this world, to be used and not loved. If that is to be the case, I would like to stop feeling. You will always have me brother. I am sorry you are here alone. I should have snuck off with you, done anything, I didn't think father would send you away. You remember that crazy old wizard we had as our mentor for a few days who said love was the most powerful magic? I nearly pissed myself when Gwen returned and hexed him off the premise when she told him to protect himself with love. Still, I wish he was right, I would have found you by now, I would have been able to make Kino happy, I would have been able to be happy. Goodnight Basu.
Day 10: Where Wolf?
We continued on from the stream to a nearby cave where we found some wolves and wererats protecting a dozen or so people they were in the process of turning into werewolves. Hendrik had decided to save them using a potion I believe he called wolfsbane. It was a relatively short and easy process apparently. It took him the better part of a day to brew the potions but otherwise most of them were cured. The exception were two people a man and a child who developed "blue blood" something that meant they were not necessarily cured. He insisted we take them with us. I made my disapproval known; I also think Estall would be against their murder, so I don't know how all this will shake out. I hope for Hendriks's sake they prove to be cured and we do not need to find out.
After a short rest we escorted the people to a nearby village where the local authority figure assured us, he was happy to take them in. We then departed on our way to the next group of helpless citizens who were likely dead. We however were surprised along the way. A dragon, a smallish red dragon was chasing a man down the road towards us. Estall and I had wanted to fight it, but the dragon truly was too powerful. I teleported the man off the road and Estall and I dipped into the trees running as the dragon raged. Luckily for us it seemed so incensed that it allowed us to escape it as it thrashed around in fury. We happened along a small cave filled with terrified animals and we took shelter with them.
One of the animals was a small squirrel who had been kicked by an elk and pushed to the front of the group as some sort of miniscule sacrifice. After the danger had passed, I felt sorry for the thing and attempted to invite it to travel with us. He was so shocked by my kindness he couldn't move so I had Sha pick him up and Estall care for him while I searched nearby for food. As I was looking our cousins found us and talked about the dragon. Apparently, Hendrik baited the poor man into running out of safety and everyone was making fun of him for his cowardice. A rather amusing topic, but we had stuff to do and little Squirrely needed tending.
After making sure the squirrel was doing alright, we split apart again. Estall and I looking for the man who was Hendriks sacrifice and Hendrik looking for the horse he let loose in the forest. The man was sitting on the road exhausted apparently, he had been running from the dragon for a very long time. He introduced himself as Kaisen something or other and he was an adventurer who apparently attracts unwanted attention from dragons. We shared some pleasant banter and then went our separate ways which also happened to be the same way. Rather the awkward fellow he didn't try to join us once he learned we were going the same direction. Estall's horse was injured but he healed it and we were off once more.
Interesting country, it's truly a place of danger and adventure. Had I come more prepared, had we been together I might be more than a little in love with the place. However, these incidents only slow my progress, burn the few resources I have, and irritate me with their constancy.
PS: The girls are fitting in a bit better, even the stuck up one is relaxing a bit. Squirrely will make for a fine warrior squirrel. I plan to train him in the lance and mounted combat on Sha's back. He however is stubborn and a glutton.
Day 9: The Crystal in the bell tower
So, as we were leaving the small village, we heard a tolling of a bell. Thinking little of it we continued on our way talking as we did so, or at least that's what we thought. The toll had put us into some sort of trance. Luckily the one who came to extinguish our lives took an interest in me and thus spared us. The man called himself "V" at first, but eventually confided in me his name was Rue. He told me that he had been conducting experiments that did get a bit out of hand and that normally he would have killed us before continuing, but this time he wanted to strike a deal. He saw that I wasn't a full vampire, that the sun didn't affect me as much as it did him and his other brethren. In exchange for letting him run tests on me he would aid us in shutting down the experiment, move on with his life, and owe me a favor. He was an interesting fellow, he had very flippant mannerisms for one so old. We talked for a bit about his involvement with the "submitted" and what had happened. As I understand it, he had his own goal which he used the submitted to further. In fact, he seemed to be wary of them now. He told me that something big is coming and that we should be careful. I accepted his deal, I asked for two favors in return, however. One was the man's friendship. I think that threw him a bit but undoubtedly will be way better in the end than anything else I could have asked for. Second was to spare Kino in the event anything happened between us, he agreed to not take out any anger that we may accrued on her and even give her 300 years of revenge attempts if I was to be killed. Overall, a major win, I thought about telling Hendrik and Estall, but Estall is rather blood thirsty and Hendrik naive, so I chose to go with half of the truth. Claiming that V was a researcher who had his research stolen from him.
After a quick conversation with my party, much quicker than I thought it would be we just entered the tower. I must say I am really surprised that nobody asked any questions. All the better for the lie I suppose but it does make me worry for their safety. Anyway, we climbed the decrepit tower killing zombies, and kobold vampiric things along the way. It was all very simple and by the numbers. I did have two intense bouts of annoyance as Rue decided to watch our ascent and was caught by Estall's religious eye, and later when new and ornate jars of vampire blood were placed so that we could use it to defeat the vampire spawn at the top of the tower. Again, my party seemed wholly uninterested in these events and simply moved on with their lives. The blood collection was a bit annoying as it seems as though people listen to Estall more than they listen to me. I'm not opposed to him being the leader, but you would think the man who could read the language and drinks blood would be the primary authority when blood, or strange languages, or magic pop up. One day that may bite them in the ass as I do love to tell people I told you so. The vampire spawn was no match for us now, if she was to begin with, and Estall managed to destroy the crystal easily enough though it did destroy the tower in the process.
We left the tower and looted the village. We found out the girl(June) that Cal rescued has a sister(May) in Asora, or at least that is where she was last. Unfortunately, the only paintings or pictures in the home were child drawings so I have yet been unable to contact the sister. It seems like Cal will be taking care of her though. I must say I'm not sure about him. He probably is a decent fellow, I trust him with the child, but he seems like someone who will become a thorn in my side one day. He and Rue have some sort of history, bad history, but he was tactful enough not to out me when I told my version of events to Estall and Hendrik.
As we were travelling Hendrik smelled werewolves and you know how he is with werewolves. I may need to speak to him about his hatred though as he seems to really like to downplay their strength because he thinks they are mindless beasts. The fight we got into was actually fairly easy, but the leader wasn't able to join due to Hendriks strange blood magic. I don't think it would have gone as smoothly if he had been entered into the mix. Only the girls have magic weapons, and my magic is more of an annoyance as I am now so fighting werewolves is a slog. Luckily Hendrik has silver daggers, but he seems overly protective of them. He should just give them to Estall since he doesn't use them anyway but whatever.
Our protracted fight was entertaining though. I like that tall lady who is travelling with us. She seemed tense at first but now she seems to mix well with us. Always has a joke on her lips and a laugh in her heart, she even seems interested in my brand of magic. I doubt she could do it, but if she is truly interested, I would show her. Estall has chosen well. I'm still not sure about the other one. She tried to joke with me a few times now, but they were weak attempts as if she was afraid of me, or us. She also doesn't mix as well. I suppose it doesn't matter really, I have more important things to worry about and they are already spoken for.
Listen brother if your experience has been anything like mine, we are probably embroiled in dozens of plots and conspiracies at this point. I hope your keeping a log of them because its already starting to become sloppy on my end. I'll find you.
Day 8: First outing
So, this is more than a single day, but the rest of the time was so uninteresting I felt I might as well condense everything. The ladies we were traveling with got a cart and we all packed in and journeyed into the great expanse. Travelling we noticed that Azune had checkpoints that became fewer the further we went. We also found just a trickle of people making their way to Azune because of various attacks and monster invasions. There were kids as young as 13 trying to make their way to safety. Luckily, I had some spare money on me and gave them a silver to live on until such a time as I or another person can look after them. You know brother I figured at some point I would get used to it. I can understand how those with years under their belt have gotten where they are, but it still is like a knife to my heart seeing these kids and hearing about their lives. I know I can't be everywhere at once but knowing that I could have been there for even one of them hurts more than anything father or mother have every done to us. One of them that I stopped to question told me he his village came under attack and his parents forced him to run. He spoke as if it was normal, as if his life was so worthless it was totally normal for him to lose everything and have to cast his lot with complete strangers. One day, one day we will make sure these stories no longer need to be told. I need your help brother, I need some clue, please.
Hendrik did well feeding us along the way. He has a strange way of hunting warthogs. He screams and throws rocks and instead of using his crossbow as a ranged weapon he takes the bolts and stabs them. I think it likely he was trying to impress that woman who has come with us if I'm being honest. She seems alright enough, keeps to herself mostly. She has only spoken out once or twice, neither time were things I cared to hear but I can't judge her too harshly. She seems to have her own troubles. Her other companion I like far better, tall, strong, and with more life in her. She seems to be getting along with Estall which is good.
We found some orc tracks and bodies with strange preservation magic permeating them. It was administered by an arrow sticking out of their skulls. At first, I wagered it was some sort of ward for their operations, but those orcs didn't seem interested in sticking around they were beating feet past the village we were supposed to be aiding. I would find all of this more intriguing perhaps if in my first week here I wasn't accosted by slavers, freed some ancient evils, and ran into old forgotten Ventas houses. The feeble machinations of these orcs don't even phase me at this point. We followed their trail, but along the way we ran into some old friends. Those kids at the bridge, a pretty Tiefling lady who knows how to play the piano, and a new person who seems to be learned in other cultures. The new person had drinks for us to try and they were rather impressive. Hendrik really missed out as he was busy choking his chicken in the forest. We all talked for a while and then Estall and Jamari, the tall lady, got into a fight in which Estall won rather easily. She did well though, and strong might be an understatement. Her sword grew basically to the size of Estall, and she was swinging it around like crazy. We all decided to rest, and Hendrik embarrassed he took so long in the forest crept into camp at night thinking nobody would notice.
Finally, we made it to our first questing location. It was dark, magically so. It was great for me, I felt invigorated, and can only hope whatever is creating the magical darkness can be taken with us after we liberate it from the dead hands of its current owner. Unfortunately, the village itself was a disaster for many reasons. It was dead, dark, and basically empty. Hendrik wanted to scout things more, but we were already spotted by an enemy who seemed to behave strangely, and we figured it was best to engage rather than waste time running around the walls to seeing what else might be lurking. It attacked us and we put it down rather handedly. It was an undead creature but looked fabricated. It was no beast I have ever seen, it had no eyes, candles on its back, and a saw blade whirring in its chest. We pushed further into the village, splitting ourselves around a house that blocked the otherwise open area. Estall and I were set upon by two more of those beasts, but our party seemed more interested in exploring the village than helping us. Hendrik saying, he wanted to make sure we didn't get snuck up on left and drew the attention of yet more monsters. He drew Jamaris's attention, and she helped him. Octavia felt it was a good time to try and open the houses and get far away from the group and had run into trouble. Estall and I had a harder time with the two new monsters. It took most of my magic to keep him alive while the other fucked around doing whatever they were doing.
While Hendrik was taking his stroll, he ran into a stranger who jumped out the window in one of the houses. He was carrying a little girl which apparently was the only survivor of the attack. He was a vampire, who outed me as one when we questioned him later, I need to consider how I feel about that. Anyway, he told us about some bells, his theory on who might be directing this attack, and a bit about his history. Estall chewed out everyone for running off and it seemed to make everyone sad except Hendrik who seemed to be distant and stubborn. I'm not sure the lad and I will get along. I certainly hope he grows up before too long. Love and hope as always brother.
General: Sasu's Spell book
Chanting lines are based on the level of spell + 1 for a general-purpose line. So, a first level spell would need one complete rhyme and a general rhyme. Cantrips do not need chants, only the spells name called out.
Absorb Elements 1st
"Elements call for my destruction, so I call upon your function. Protect, redirect, return to them with great effect."
Sasu extends his right-hand out towards the incoming attack. A mouth appears on his palm and consumes the magical effect letting out a loud belch before disappearing. When Sasu next casts a spell the mouth reappears and regurgitates the element chosen onto his drawn runes enhancing it with that element.
Find Familiar 1st
"My companion, my friend, follow me unto the end. Our being is as one, let us continue until the day is won"
Mage Armor 1st
"Death will not come today, for thanks to you it stays at bay. Magic is our shield our ward, just as much as it is our lance our sword."
When Sasu casts mage armor he actually creates a small mote of blood that gravitates around his body as he goes about his day. When an attack comes, it will attempt to project itself into an appropriate defense. Since the mote is so small, and or because the attack is so powerful it is not always capable of protecting his body.
Magic Missile 1st
"Our might compressed into small motes of light, brought forth and itching for a fight. We take the power bend its will, bring it forward and have it kill."
Sasu's stomach mouth opens exposing his ribs. As he chants his ribs begin to break off and fly up in front of him forming a horizontal line. After he finishes the chant, he exhales, and the bones go flying to their target embedding themselves inside the victim. The bones have necrotizing effects and immediately begin to destroy the victim's body. His ribs regrow and his stomach mouth closes.
Silvery Barbs 1st
"A moments distraction, an involuntary reaction. Your mind is not your own, for in it my magic has been sown."
Sleep 1st
"A lullaby for your ears, a song to wipe away your tears. Let my voice take you home, a place where you can be alone."
Speak with Animals 1st
"Though they speak we do not often hear, let us into their hearts peer. Magic may give them voice, however to hear them is our choice."
Enlarge/ Reduce 2nd
"By the bone of my ancestors and the blood of the land, enhance those in the palm of my hand. For each inch they grow, give them more and more strength to defeat their foe. By my magic they exceed, by their will they succeed."
Vortex Warp 2nd
"Time and space are ours to bend, a person moved to a location I send. Bring unto me those that run, do not allow them to miss the fun. Through the weave your soul will flow, to this space you shall go."
Day 7: Meeting the local douche
Another fantastic day in paradise dear brother. It is ridiculous that a weeklong journey in this place has not only reaffirmed my belief that people should not be self-governed, but conflict and greed sit at the center of most human hearts. After we got back and reported the slaad possibility we decided to finish up another quest. It was still early enough in the day to do so, so we set off towards the slums. Apparently, a man in the slums had a sick daughter, he had to send her to Asora to get treated as no one else seemed to be able to. He sold everything, he worked day and night to get the money and a local thug had robbed him of it. Luckily for us the guy had a good idea of which group of people stole his money and of course there were a plethora of clues around the home for us to feel moderately sure that we got the correct person. I was surprised by the restraint shown by my cousins. Our client embodied the way that those without power live their lives. The broken and kicked dog like state of being that so many live in.
Even though I said restraint we did kill three or four thugs as we went about our investigations. It's unfortunate that the thug that did the stealing was not killed as well. I wanted to do it so bad, or to allow that father to do. However, it seemed I was the only one who took this slight so personally and with great effort merely wrote him down into my book of grudges, rather than ripping his heart out and consuming it in front of him. The unfortunate thing was that the half orc that stole the money stashed it in the thug safe house which apparently is a barracks with two cock sucking ballista on top. This Sedra fellow who is the "leader" of this city is a moron. Estall beat the man a bit and tied him up before we dragged him to the barracks where we gave him to the thug captain Ezik. He made a show of being unaware of what has happened and apologized for the misunderstanding. He took back the half orc unfortunately. Had we knocked him out or killed him as I had wished a bit more justice could have been served. I really wish I could have seen the man's face as I slit that stupid orcs throat in front of him. After a few goodbyes we left and went to give the money back to the man. He was grateful and we forced him to come with us as everyone would know he was the one to ask for help. We put him up in the inn and then chose a few new quests.
After selecting a few I told Hendrik I was going to send him a rug from our home. He seemed to be confused as to why I would do something like that. I told him I felt bad that he seemed to think he was a noble but with so little money and finery and that he may have some of ours. We argued for a moment before going up to bed. I honestly don't care about wealth but the arrogance in which he speaks as if his nobility means anything just gets my dander up. If he would just shut the fuck up about it perhaps people would just not care but not a day goes by that I don't hear about god blood, or nobility duties and it becomes harder and harder not to point out he's a backwoods savage that should be grateful anyone takes an interest in his family at all. He is family and for that he has my love, and perhaps more importantly for him my patience, but it's almost as bad as listening to our father rant about his "noble deeds".
Apparently, the argument had him not wanting to sleep in his bed as in the night he tried to drag his mattress out of the room and sleep in the hallway leaving the door open. Unfortunately, as it was the last day we would be sleeping in doors I too decided to rest in the room and had taken my usual position on the ceiling. Luckily only a handful of people saw, and they were beautfiul women. It's a shame that the one who saw the most only seemed curious as to how I was dangling from the ceiling. In the unlikely event that I die, and you find these notes please make your way to Azune and kill Ezik and Tug the half orc for me please as well as whoever or whatever had actually killed me, can't let that score go unsettled either.
Day 6: Drinking and Questing
As I mentioned previously Hendrik had challenged that poor Vadian girl to a drinking game which is borderline problematic if truth be told. I lost spectacularly. The drinks were far too strong, and my small body couldn't hack it. Thankfully Estall was able to clear my system with his magic, though it did leave me feeling a bit tingly and on edge, damn holy magic. Hendrik almost lost as well; he should have if he wasn't a cheater. Not to mention his girlfriend is as much of a lightweight as I am and passed out first. The game didn't last long however as a man and a small army showed up and tried to steal Hendrik's girl from him. Gross bastard was trying to get her to stay with him and seemed to think she might be some contact of his. Hendrik taking an odd stab at interjecting himself into the conversation told the man he was nobility too. Maybe we can give him one of the rugs from our guest wing so he can feel a bit better, I think I'll write father to have him do that. However, after drawing his attention to the table and to me still essentially drooling on the table we secured an invite to the man's house where he showed us the fine things he has collected. It was rather nice as now I have been invited to his home so I can enter whenever I wish as well as the tour was extensive so if we ever need to kill the man, which we will have to do, it should be easy to accomplish and rob him at the same time. He has some rather beautiful Ventas art, and I aim to return it to Ventan hands.
After leaving the creeps mansion we went to go and start adventuring as he ruined Hendriks chance at drugging the girl into liking him, or making a mistake, or whatever his goals were. We took three which is all we would be allowed to take from the silly rules imposed on us and went to investigate a magical item that someone couldn't control. It was a trip, a rather powerful item it was. I really hope it can be tweaked so it can be used for good, or at least my own personal brand of evil. Anyway, the house was doused in about three different versions of magic, and thanks to Estall we were able to find it quickly. Watching him shrink down and run through the keyhole of a door and then watch him walk across the air to a kitchen counter was rather fascinating. The object had slots for smaller crystals to be put into it and we rounded them up. Each crystal placed altered the reality around us. The last two crystals were ridiculous. We snuck past a giant rat and had to dive into cheese to find the crystal, and after placing that the rat turned into some strange lobster monster. Fire was spreading all around us and it looked like we simply needed to let the crystal buildup charge to enlarge us. After a quick argument about tactics, we decided to hide in flour in a burning kitchen, not my idea. Estall was convinced that this illusion was just that an illusion, but I know that illusions can kill. He didn't seem to care about the opinion of someone versed in magic and walked into the flame. We watched him burn alive screaming as he did. The Lobster monster seemed fascinated with patrolling around our flour sack and after teleporting Hendrik I ran past it. Hendrik tried to pull me up the bottle with a rope but wound up slipping and we were falling to our doom.
Needless to say, we were all alright. It was some sort of dream or vision of some kind. Estall having died to the flame woke up first with Hendrik and I coming to moments later. Estall wanted to break it, but I argued we shouldn't, and he relented. Can you imagine the fun you can have with such a thing. Hendrik had investigated another section of the house earlier and told us that a man had been shrunken and was stuck behind a door and seeing as we had just turned off the magic effect, we figured the man would be back to normal as well. Turns out that man has been dead for a bit. His throat was cut, but more importantly his chest was broken open from the inside and his organs partially eaten. Hendrik informed us that it could be a few things but seemed to settle on a slaad. Shape shifting egg laying monsters it seems. Come to think of it the bodies the orcs were piling up had similar cuts to the throat. I wonder if it's some sort of ritualistic mark, or a calling card of these submitted.
I didn't really see the big problem but instead of continuing our questing we had to go back and report that it could be a slaad infestation. We then had a long and boring conversations revolving around being panicked and political maneuvering. Certainly, hope those feral dogs are not hurting anyone whilst we waste time arguing about the political situation of a town we do not give a fuck about. Anyway, brother I hope you're not a slaad when I find you and if you are please just kill me before you lay an egg in me. That seemed like it would have hurt a lot.
Day 5: Into Azune
We made our way to a small dock not too far from the giant's corpse. Our new friend Silisia had paid for our trip on a boat that would take us to Azune. It was a rather uneventful journey. The captain had a pair of cannons though Basu, and she didn't mind flaunting them. She seemed to be in the market of ripping off outsiders and that seems to be a fairly common occurrence around here. I understand that perhaps we from the great nations are not well loved but I know that by doing such petty things they run the risk of angering someone they should not anger. Luckily Silisia vouched for us and Estall being as menacing as he is tall managed to recuperate some of the funds Hendrik had been swindled out of. I was a bit torn as he did pay, and it felt more like a mugging to get his bronze back.
The boat ride itself was pleasant and easy. The captain knew the waters and we got here in good time. Estall picked a fight with a "Spartan warrior". Apparently, they are some hot shit soldiers from these parts. He did look like he could kill everyone on the boat if he wanted. Can you believe this though, I tried to put Kino on my shoulders, and she didn't want to. She didn't want to be embarrassed in front of these new people. Our little girl is growing up and starting to be embarrassed by her old man. I decided to show her it was more embarrassing to be embarrassed by me though.
When we got to Azune we were getting tired and wanted to secure our slavers delight antidote, so we headed for the adventure's hall or bar or whatever. The bar was a mess and there was fighting going on as we entered. We had tried to get to the bar itself when some idiot challenged Estall to a fight and all hell broke loose. Hendrick tried to sidestep the chaos but was immediately smashed in the face by a chair. I attempted to help when a rather large woman decided to tackle and then throw me around the room like I was a ragdoll. Luckily Estall was able to finish up with his previous combatant and take on those that thought I was an easy target. After a while of fighting some sort of gas rolled in and knocked everyone out so I pretended to sleep along with everyone else.
Now get this. Hendrik, the engaged Hendrik who announces it to every woman we meet decided to hit on a girl in the bar. Rather attractive but well above his league. "You're as beautiful as she is strong." He told the poor girl. She in this case referencing that giant woman who savaged me until Estall came to my aid, so it was a halfway decent compliment. She seemed to play it well enough, but our little Hendrik has gotten quite the obsession started about her and is inviting her to drinking games and making schemes that would make those of our family proud. Anyway, after striking out, he went over to the bar to secure a drink and later a room when he realized that this woman had retired to hers. It's hard to roll your eyes in writing but I'm sure you know that I am.
We finally made it. After some rest we will go looking around the city. Though as no one has approached me or mentioned seeing someone that looks like me I feel as though you are not likely to be here. However, we are one step closer, always one step closer.
General: Book of Grudges
The book of grudges was a gift Sasu received when he was five. His mother actually was the one who gave it to him. She had noticed a vindictive nature in the boy and told him as the future leader of the house that he would make plenty of enemies. Sometimes one needed to keep a log. Not only for themselves but for those why might forget. Below will be a record of past and present grudges and how they came to pass.
Day 4: Giant Bones, Heavy Hammers
Alright so we are nearing Azune. I'm sorry it has taken so long brother, both for your sake and mine. We left the villagers to make the rest of the way to Azune without us as we turned to take a half a day detour to the resting place of a giant. The priestess from the day before had joined us as well as she seemed intent on giving us a portion of the reward for stopping the orcs. Estall seemed rather happy. He stood in wonder looking at the remains of this giants. I must say it was rather impressive. The bones were incredibly large. Giant really didn't begin to describe the body. I can only imagine what the person would have looked like with skin, hair, and armor. There didn't seem to be any flesh left but the giant's armor, and sword were still partially intact. The priestess told us that this is a popular location to come for low level adventurers as no matter how many times it cleared out it seems to always repopulate with giant like beings. Nothing the size of the dead giant whose grave we were visiting. Just large creatures.
We found strange slug like creatures who were working on the giant's bone and who had shell made from bits of bones. We also found some ogres, and orcs. We killed them easily enough and found that they were working on removing a tooth from the jaw of the Giant. I asked Estall to pry it out for me, and now I have it. I think I'll turn it into a chess set. Maybe I can get some dragon bones to make the opposing pieces with. Anyway, we took a detour through the Giants ribcage. There were some green oozes everywhere and I seemed to be the only one interested in it. I will call myself stupid in fairness to my earlier dig at Hendrik as when I poked it slugs appeared and tried to eat me. Luckily, they were slow, and we dashed out and made our way to the giant's sword. We walked along it as a ramp towards the cliff face where some sort of apparition of a giant appeared and decided to bully us by knocking us down repeatedly as he talked to Estall.
Apparently, the giant challenged Estall to kill some ogre that was about a hundred feet below us. Luckily the giant was happy to expedite our departure by kicking us off the sword and towards the ground where the ogre was relaxing. Thankfully he also slowed our fall. I was just getting up and dusting myself off as Estall was already charging forward happy to take the giant's challenge. The ogre was caught off guard, and Estall is rather strong, so the battle was over just as quick as it started. The apparition re appeared congratulating Estall, gifting him a hammer. I watched as Estall chucked his metal hammer to the side to accept a hammer that seemed to be made of stone. Perhaps it's the food after all. I mean Kino and I seem fine, but that's because we have our own special rations.
We took our leave now. Estall very pleased with the hammer and the detour. The priestess suggested we make a mark on the wall like the other adventurers. Estall punched the wall. I assumed that's what you were supposed to do so I followed suit. Hendrik engraved his name. Funnily enough I had forgotten to mention one of the ship crew who were about to be enslaved with had been joining us in battles and he too punched the rock, but it seemed to really hurt him. Hendrik was calling him out on it which led to a rather amusing scuffle between the two as they fought over who was higher in the pecking order. Hendrik won. Barring any other literal calls to adventure we should be entering Azune within a day. I hope I find you there. I could really use your help, and I have missed you. Stay safe, try and not die, I haven't mastered how to bring you back yet.
Day 3: Shadows, Slavers, Necromancers, Orcs, Oh my!
Another day another set of incredible circumstances to add to the growing list. We had been traveling for a while when we made it to the edge of some woods. Figuring it was smarter to nestle just at the base of the woods so we do not risk being caught by its inhabitants or by anything that could spot us on the very empty plain we had just come from we setup camp. I enjoyed a nightcap with my darling Kino. It seems we would have no problem restocking our resources here. The place was moderately comfortable, but I still prefer my nice soft bed, and I would wager Kino does as well though she is too sweet to complain. Just as we were about to relax and try and get some sleep we heard some strange laughter, childlike and disturbing. Hendrik and his big ears spotted a child who told us that we should get a move on as our shadows would be coming soon. You know me, I'm not one to ignore advice from creepy children who appear from the woods. I offered to the group that we should listen to the lad and make a break for it. Estall wasn't as convinced but Hendrik and the others seemed to agree that it was better safe than sorry and traveled the roads that we had hoped to traverse in the light of day.
We however soon realized we were not in the forest as we came to a strange clearing with magical barriers and some vortex of energy where the boy sat serenely. He was vague and told us about some sort of challenge and that no one had ever passed it. Maybe we should have paid more attention to the boy though because we didn't pass his trial either. It started off easily enough but before we knew it, we were surrounded by strange shadows with markings on them. The markings seemed to have special significance to each of us as they related to our abilities. The shadows were easy enough to dispatch but we simply couldn't sustain ourselves as more and more swarmed around us. Estall dropped and then so did Hendrik. I fell shortly after, and the boy made a passing comment about no one passing again. I wish we had, and hope that the lad will give us another chance.
After waking up back where we had made camp, we all seemed to be content with not talking about what had happened and trudged off towards Azune again. Wouldn't you know it though we were stopped along the way by another shout from the area around us. This time we found that there was a wyvern being attacked by some sort of animal slavers. Hendrik and Estall were familiar with them and told me they were bad. I had no interest in arguing so we went ahead and engaged, pretending that we were interested in helping them with their quarry. It worked; it seemed as though they were getting beaten up enough to not think we might be on the other side. Luckly for us too as those people were skilled and had it not been for a good initial impression, we may not have survived this little distraction. The leader was a shifter of some kind and after breaking free from Hendrik's blood magic ordered his fellows to retreat. Hendrik and Estall were interested in following the man, but I pointed out that not only did I not care that this person existed but that both had sustained nearly fatal wounds in the fight. They argued but I refused. At this point I was getting rather tired of being out in the wilderness. I relented enough to send Sha out to scout, and she reported that there was fire being set to a tree house further in the woods. She also spotted people running into the woods away from the treehouse and having figured they were good and gone Hendrik and Estall finally relented.
The day was not over yet though. As we traveled, we came across a bridge. of a small stream of water. There apparently were a large number of people arguing about necromancy. As it turns out there were a number of "Submitted" who were trying to continue their quest to the next village but were being stopped by a fiery red headed girl and a meek looking lad. Our presence seemed to be the deciding factor in the events. The "submitted" had lied to us and the other two seemed genuine enough so we decided to kill the priests and be done with it. As each of them died I noticed a shock of magic going off which seems to have had an interesting purpose. After we killed them all a mist spread around us, and two undead constructs came to collect the bodies. I recognized the symbol on their backs. That Ventas noble house that had lost popularity over the years was here. Apparently working with these "submitted". Apparently, these priests were going from town to town poisoning the crops and land. We offered the two fellows we didn't kill to join us, but they wanted to go and aid the villages that had already been visited by the priests. We parted ways and again continued towards the city. It had to be getting close. I think I saw the head of that noble house. When I tried to point him out nobody else could see him.
Night was falling and we were lucky to come to the edge of a small village. It took us a moment to realize that nobody seemed to be around, and of course a scream cut through the silence. We jogged off to investigate a bit tired by this point. We found a church that was under attack by a dozen or so orcs. I know you would have had a good time with these orcs Basu. They were big, stupid, and hit like a truck. The orcs seemed to have split up, some attacking the guards, others dragging bodies into the woods nearby, and some in the church itself. Turns out that the bodies were being taken to an ever-growing pile of dead villagers. What happened to them and for what purpose I am not sure but it's clear there was some significance to it. It wasn't just green skins having fun.
We luckily showed up in time to help a majority of the guards though it was a close thing. Many potions were passed around but eventually all the orcs were killed. The head of the guard thanked us and then told us that some priestess was inside fighting more orcs. A bit late I think but everything worked out in the end, so I suppose no harm no foul. Anyway, we rushed into the church to find an elvish woman and her pet tiger and bees fighting of a handful more orcs and their war chief. I was lucky to get through the door quick enough to get to the interior of the church as it seemed that an orc and Estall had a good time fighting over the door, much to the chagrin of Hendrik. Again, we found ourselves the victor and I chose to sit down rather than engage the priestess in banter. I listened however to Hendrik and Estall talking about what happened and what was going to happen now.
The villagers seemed to be hesitant in leaving their homes but knew that this place was no longer safe. We offered to take them most of the way to Azune as Estall had learned about the graveyard of some giant and had been insistent we go to check it out. It was nice to sleep indoors again. I know you don't really care about such things, but I must say this trip is becoming a bit wilder than I had hoped it would be. It's been really fun meeting and killing so many new things, however. I'm sure you know by now but apparently dragons exist and can be seen from time to time. Hope you haven't become one's dinner, because that would make finding you so much more difficult.
Day 1: Arrival
Much to my surprise I had not awoken in the bed that I had paid for, or for that matter the ship that I had chartered. I awoke in a cell, bound and with my head covered along with Estall and Hendrik. They were also awake or waking up. Again, to my surprise Hendrik of all people seemed to have his head on straight. I do wonder if he has been kidnapped before. I could tell Kino was nearby and at least some of the original crew who I had spoken too, but where were we? Obviously, we were still on a ship, and for that I am grateful. I do promise that one of these people will be given the opportunity to flee thanks to that kindness. As it turns out we were on board another ship, prisoners to slavers.
As we worked together to remove our head covers and see to the ropes, which bound us we discovered a great many things. The slavers used uncommon tattoos that can cause severe disabilities and injuries. They will regret that when I get my hands on them. They also used some sort of fruit which Hendrik was able to identify as slavers delight. It makes you docile, a good slave. We had been split into two different cells and while we tried to work out a means to extricate ourselves more prisoners were brought in, interesting people. One man had an arm he could simply take off. I must say, a true missed opportunity to offer us a hand. The other was a rather attractive woman who turned out to be a wonderful addition to our little escape party as she could heal our wounds. The other was their leader that much is certain, but what he was capable of was not evident.
After they facilitated our escape from the cell, they went on to offer us their party member in exchange for keeping her safe. They had been here to steal something from the captain and decided to blow a hole in the ship in order to get to the captain's cabin easier. Though the man with the fake arm seemed intelligent, I do question whether we could not have simply taken the stairs to accomplish the same task and not ruin the very thing that was keeping us from an agonizing death. We took the stairs being the ones with some brains and fought our way up several floors to the deck of the ship where we found chaos. Cannons were turned toward the middle of the ship, and there were dozens of pirates. We entered into the fray. It was perhaps a bit more than our tired and weakened bodies should have attempted to take on, but we managed well enough.
It probably would have gone a touch more smoothly had the captain taken kindlier to our new friends. Apparently, they didn't manage to kill the man and he decided to try and blow the ship and everyone on it up. Luckily for us the lady who was sent along to help dashed off so secure our lifeboat. I must make sure to tell her that she did well next time I see her and try and remember her name. Anyway, we took the lifeboat with the two pirates who we needed to have a conversation with and attempted to steer it to shore. Asora was not a destination we could reach but thankfully the Azune region was close enough and we were able to make land. We settled a grudge or two and ran into a very interesting individual who seemed to mistake us for pirates. I'm beginning to wonder if this land is completely inhabited by those with little in the way of brains. Perhaps it wasn't the inhabitant's fault. Maybe the land or perhaps even the local flora and fauna were causing some sort of neural decay. It's something I need to be aware of. I will need to do periodic checks with Kino to make sure we do not fall victim. Hopefully with time I will be able to aid these poor people.
After a roundabout conversation directed by our local strongman Estall we had come to the conclusion that neither this new man or our party were pirates or slavers. He gave us some information and sideways threats that I found amusing before he dashed off to find his friends who had been the ones to help us escape our cell. We had finally made it back to land. I am rather annoyed we have not reached our goal as this detour will likely take weeks to correct but land is good. From here, I should be able to begin my search.
Final note, these pirates better have saved all of my luggage for if I have lost any mementos of my dear Kino I'm not sure what I will do. Surely, they must have. Its lucky that our new friends seem to be working on a plot to infiltrate their base. I must make sure to make myself available to them when they do.
Day 2: Mistakes
After taking a rest I could feel the poison the slavers had given us making its way out of my system. Kino was feeling a bit sluggish but even she seemed to be doing a bit better. It was a good excuse to give her a piggyback ride though, so it wasn't all bad. We journeyed towards the city of Azune. Our old ship captain is travelling with us. He seemed to know the way which was lucky because Hendrik's maps were basically useless, and this land seems to hold a great many dangers and oddities. I must say I am a touch reluctant to put this in writing as if I am unable to make amends for the day's events, I would hate for people to blame it on outsiders as they seem already willing to do.
We had heard screaming and naturally made our way towards it to investigate. We saw a woman fighting infernal creatures. The creatures seemed just as happy to fight each other as the woman which was lucky for her as she was looking rather injured. As I am a sucker for a pretty face, I was the one to waste a potion on the girl. Though my cousins would come to be angry at her, I can't say I feel the same, and no its not because she was attractive. Anyway, she had told us some story about her adventuring friends still within the cave nearby and asked us to help her. She had apparently managed to escape thanks to their efforts, and she wanted us to go in after them. We told her we would help and that she should remain outside the cave whilst we ventured in. She agreed and gave us a strange egg like object. She told us how she and her friends were able to use it as a means to turn the beings within on each other. As we had just seen evidence of that we had little interest in questioning further and hurried into the cave so as to save her friends. I honestly expected to find them dead, and we would be the cleanup and bad news crew. I am sorry to say that there were no dead adventurers, instead we had found some interesting art, chests, and a chained up demonic angel being.
I know what you might be thinking, what did the art depict? Well, it told a tale of a conflict between celestials and demons. A strange man appeared in the confrontation and attempted to stop them. He however was killed and chained up for being a goody two-shoes and I must say I rather agreed with the depiction. Hendrik was being insufferably naive and perhaps that colored my opinion of the events, but I found I simply lost interest, even though this is an area of study I find intriguing. I will need to disabuse him of this notion that violence isn't always the answer. After we skipped past the art, we found that the room was populated by purple and red entities. Estall made to enter the room and found that at his motion two large incorporeal being made a motion to block him with their oversized weapons. Assuming that this was as good of a time as any we chucked the egg at one of them and watched as the beings within the room all attacked one another freeing our path. One individual managed to survive the carnage and stood in front of us which was rather brave of him. He was killed easily enough again to the disappointment of our resident pacifist Hendrik.
We skipped past rather dubious chests which held powerful conjuration magic enchantments. A trap to be sure and we were proven correct in a manner of speaking later. As we traveled deeper into the cave, we entered into a large room that contained to our surprise that winged demon person. He seemed to be breathing, but he was chained and bleeding. He made no motions to communicate with us, nor did it seem he even knew we were there. At the center of the room sat three much larger chests much like the ones in the previous room though this one contained a greyish chest. I paid little attention to those details however as the strange man was bleeding and it was making my mouth water. Scooping up some from my preferred side, he had a magical duality to him, and I chose the side leaning more towards the demonic energy. I took a taste and found myself transported to a battlefield. It became apparent that this was the battle depicted on the wall at the entrance.
Strangely enough my very curious cousins seemed interested enough in what I told them about that they too took a drink of the man's blood. They did not grimace or hesitate, and I wonder how much blood they both have consumed. Hendrik being some sort of werewolf makes sense but what of Estall? He was rather large and seemed happy to fight. Perhaps he drinks the blood of his enemies, though I have yet to see him do so. As they recounted the battle, we found that the side where you collect the blood allowed you to see it from different perspectives. Hendrik being the Hendrik drank from the neutral space and got to see that this individual had sacrificed himself to stop the battle. He seemed to be well loved, and many people tried to stop him, but he apparently ignored their council and that's how he ended up in that cave. We didn't know what else to do and figured that it was better not to attempt anything else. The woman outside was likely getting antsy too so we decided to just leave when Hendrik decided to cut himself and drop some blood on the neutral chest.
Yes, Hendrik. The one talking about caution and safety took it upon himself to do this. Well, it seemed to do something to the chained individual who moved and fluttered his wings at the inception of our idiot cousin's blood. Now we had a clue to this mystery, we might be able to figure out what was going on here, we might even get to see what was in the chests. It was worth the risk I thought and apparently so did Estall who quickly rushed to the celestial chest to add his blood. The man twinged again. Well, I cannot let celestial forces get any special treatment. I added my blood to the demonic chest. This made the man twitch again but it was clear if we wanted anything to happen, we would need all of our power united. We decided that the neutral chest would be the best choice as Estall and I understood we would not be able to sway the other. As we added our blood several interesting things happened.
The chests burst open releasing spirits. We had later learned that we released some very lawful celestials, and very angry demons back into the world. Secondly, we were thrown back into the stone walls by some sort of magic as the winged man returned to life. Apparently by opening the chests we also freed the man who had up until this point been keeping the chest hidden, safe, and closed. He seemed friendly enough for a man who had just been rudely awoken and told that we messed up his work. Estall was standoffish as usual, but luckily the man seemed to be content with punishing Estall for his outbursts rather than us as a collective. Regardless we all shared blame in this instance, and he has since forced us to work for him to collect the souls of the beings we set free. To be honest I think the man was being unfair, especially once I learned that neither the demons nor the celestials were good people and that his interference had allowed them both to survive up until now, albeit in prison. I have little interest in working for an individual with such short sight, but I played my part in releasing them and agree that for now we should at least work together to rid the world of their existence.
After some grumblings about not being powerful enough to stop them and wondering how we got the egg or even got into the cave we were free to leave. I didn't hesitate, rushing out of the cave to find that Kino seemed a bit like she was waking up from a sort of daze. Apparently, we had been gone for three days. To us though it seemed like an hour at most. The woman who sent us into the cave had disappeared leaving behind a note thanking us. Estall seemed rather irritated and told me he would kill her if he saw her next. Hendrik of course seemed devastated that he freed such awful things and was also upset at her for tricking him into doing it. I don't feel like it really mattered. I'm sure that having released them will cause some pain and suffering, but I think it will also lead to some interesting developments as well. I hold no grudge against the woman. In fact, I owe her for keeping Kino safe for the three days we had disappeared. We decided to not share what had transpired within the cave with our fellow travelers and instead marched on hoping to get to Azune at some point.
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