Archives: Failed Storyline: Bastion’s Demons 1
Chapter 1: Arrival in Raiden
The centaur shaman Cissiria arrived in Raiden filled with awe. Her entire life thus far had been spent on Blue Dragon Island in the small villages of centaurs and dark elves. Seeing the enormous city of Raiden was quite a sight to her. It seemed to go on as far as she could see.
She wandered away from the dock after bidding farewell to the dark elves who had brought her on their ferry from the island. She had been told that Raiden was inhabited by all sorts of races by the dark elves, but she was the only centaur that she had seen. In fact, most of the people she had seen so far were humans—and they were quite surprised to see her. She towered over the crowd, and the people parted in front of her, giving her wide berth. They watched her every movement. Were they afraid? Confused?
What Cissiria didn’t see was that several shady looking men had begun to follow her.
* * *
Demon; a name synonymous with evil, perversion, and corruption. A name that Alleria had been trying to leave behind. Sitting on the docks the wandering adventurer Alleria was lost in thought over her past and what her possible future could be. Having literally been to hell and back more than once she knew what it was like to be the low girl on the totem pole.
The docks are an amazing place where people can start their lives over or return to ones they left behind. It is also a place where one could lose their life if they weren’t careful. Barroom brawls, thieves, and cut throats also wandered the dock praying on the more naïve travelers. It was for this later reason that Alleria chose to be at the docks today. She had learned to trust her instincts and today was no different, something in her told her she would be needed today.
Demon…again the name rang out in her head but she shook it off and slowly began to stand up, her sinuous form uncurling from its crouched position. It was time to see if her intuition was right…sometimes she wished it wasn’t.
* * *
As Cissiria continued her stroll into Raiden, people’s reactions didn’t improve. Suddenly, a net flew over the centaur and she was surrounded by humans trying to pull her down. “What are you doing?” she shrieked, trying to push the net away.
“Throw a rope around it!” one of the men in front of her shouted.
“Help!” Cissiria cried, but the crowd seemed to ignore her plight. People avoided looking at the captured centaur, a few others gawked, but showed no concern for her.
A lasso fell over her head and cinched around her shoulders, pinning her arms down. Cissiria reared up on her hind legs slightly, but the net was tight with several strong men holding it down.
“Another rope!” the leader called again.
As Alleria wandered the dock her constant companion, Shadow, followed behind her. The young black cat shied away from everyone, especially children, when they got too close but stayed near her mistress. From ahead of her Alleria could hear the shouts of a commotion and a cry for help from a female voice.
Cautiously Alleria moved closer to see what was happening. After seeing the captive centaur and the call for another rope to restrain her, Alleria knew she had to do something fast. Reaching under her cloak to rest a hand on her long knife she began to push to the front of the crowd. She may be confident as a swordsman, but large numbers could always turn a fight ugly.
Upon reaching the group of ruffians, Alleria slipped up behind one holding a rope and whispered in his ear, “Now why would you want to detain such a lovely creature as that?”
The thug gave a start as the mysterious new woman appeared behind him. “It’s none o’ yer business!” he growled.
“Lady, this creature will fetch us a fortune!” another man nearby called.
“I’m not some creature to be bartered for!” Cissiria protested, then began to sidestep, trying to pull out from under the net.
Frowning, Alleria spoke up, “It became my business the moment this young lady cried for help. There’s no profit in what you do, there’s only shame to be made.” With that, she lashed out with her leg and kicked the guy in the back of the knees, at the same time, lashed out with her long knife at the rope he is holding.
“Hey! Shove off!” the man who seemed to be the leader called from in front of Cissiria. He drew a sword and motioned to one of the men on the other side of Cissiria, one of the best fighters in his gang. “This doesn’t concern you! Leave us alone, or we’ll knock you on yer ass and sell you to the slave market as well!”
For all her size, Cissiria wasn’t able to pull free. Instead, she’d have to turn to the spirits. She ceased struggling and focused her mind, reaching out to the spirits. The centauress began a long incantation to Sylph, trying to draw as much of the wind spirit’s power as possible...
Hearing a ruckus nearby, Daulag the goblin decided to investigate. Once he got closer, he saw the scene. Not even bothering to think things through, the goblin charged into the man who had just moved beside Cissiria, sword drawn and buckler in front of him.
“Leave her alone! Daulag no like you! You evil men! You leave women alone!” he snarled as he charged, moving to cut the man down from behind.
* * *
Krhea sat back and watched as now a goblin entered the fray, coming to the centaur’s rescue. She had melted into the background of people, watching a fight break out. In the almost single year she had been in Raiden, fighting, she found, was not a rare pastime. She held back, however, in reserve. A woman with a strange aura about her had come to her defense first, followed by a goblin. The centauress herself was invoking the spirit of air, Sylph, judging by the sudden lack of movement in the air. If the spirits would come to the rescue of the centaur, the Krhea would make her move, otherwise she’d stay in the crowd.
It’s an adventure, Krhea Fal, the spirits told her. She nodded to herself and stepped a little clear of the crowd. Holding her fingers aloft, she pointed and motioned at one of the two fighters in front of Cissiria. “Spirit of Darkness, take this man’s life from him. As your messenger I seek the adventure you, my companions, wish of me. Remove this obstacle from my sight, suck him dry of life’s holy light.”
The fighter, having seen the goblin coming for him, moved to avoid getting hit by the sword. His chest heaved suddenly, life draining out of his extremities. He struggled for breath clawing at his own throat as if someone were choking him. In a final fit, he coughed up blood and ceased all movement.
“You do seem to have enjoyed that,” Krhea mused, pursing her lips. “It’s been a while since I’ve used your power, and I apologize, however, watching people choke on their own spittle seems to make me a little for loss of appetite.”
Having missed his target, and then the man falling dead from another source, Daulag turned his sights to one of the other men in frustration. Chuckling, he moved to Cissiria’s other side and went for that man’s legs, aiming to chop them out at the knees.
“You go now, or you die! Shoo, leave woman alone!” he uttered to the man, his red beady eyes clearly gleaming with deadly intent. He was still a professional soldier in a fight, and he fought to survive more often.
Things were getting out of hand fast, now a goblin was involved and Alleria could swear she felt negative energies flowing through the air as the man was drained away. Are these people that are going to help or are they just going to be replacements for my current problem? Alleria didn’t want anyone to die if at all possible but there was already one loss.
“Stop this nonsense now!” Alleria began to yell as she flipped the ruffian in front of her to the ground. Chaos was something that she hated most of all because it reminded her of her homeland too much.
The thugs didn’t respond to Alleria’s request, they were determined to get their mark. However, their ranks began to falter between the people coming to the centaur’s rescue. It wasn’t enough to dissuade all of them, however. These were Raiden thugs, they were used to fighting for their survival, and there was no law to answer to. Gold was their only law.
Cissiria finished her incantation and a wave of pressure burst from around her. The ropes binding her arms to her side ripped, and the net was torn from her captor’s hands. A few men managed to cling on, but Cissiria could now move. The centauress bucked out her hindquarters, kicking two of the men behind her in their chests. With a little side-stepping and pulling, she was able to free herself from the net. It seemed that they wouldn’t be selling any magical creatures today. The thugs still had a score to settle with the two that interfered, though. Three of the remaining men converged on the goblin, while the leader and his best fighter were still not discouraged by Alleria.
Cissiria was breathing heavily now that she was free. The powerful Sylph summon combined with the struggle left her a little drained. If she could catch her breath, then she could probably cast a sleep spell on the fighters, but she couldn’t muster the spiritual strength yet.
Frustrated by the stupidity of these men, Alleria decided to teach them a lesson. Slowly, she moved her long knife behind her back to its hidden sheath and reached behind her back to draw her most faithful companion, the longsword known as Twilight’s Redemption. As the sword pulled free of its sheath an aura began to surround Alleria making her skin glow with light.
“If you and your man wish to suffer an embarrassing defeat at the hands of a woman like me feel free to attack,” she said with a sly smile and a glint of demonic fire to her eyes. Battle was one area that Alleria could shine when she was really into it, it was the only thing she did better was seduce men or women.
Now facing three men, Daulag suddenly realized the odds were against him. He may not have been the brightest, but he was not suicidal. Having no way out from being surrounded, he set himself to defend.0 However, his foot slipped on a small stone. As he was sent backwards, he slammed into one of the men, taking him down with him and the man breaking his fall.
“Weak man! Daulag sturdier than you. Stay down!” he spat as he quickly scampered to his feet. Looking to the other two, he knocking a booted heel into the man’s groin so he would stay down. His luck had saved him one enemy, but even he knew it was not going to happen again.
Everyone seems to be getting involved now, Krhea sighed inwardly. “Shall I try you, Spirit of Earth, Gnome?” She mused aloud. “We haven’t been formally introduced, but I’ll be a good servant to you, if you’ll lend me your strength.” She pursed her lips. “Spirit of Earth, Gnome: Turn these men’s legs to stone. Seal away their ability to walk, so they are more receptive to people’s talk.”
While the spirit listened to her, it didn’t do exactly as she said. Instead of turning the men’s legs to stone, it mired their legs into the ground, turning the stone under them to a coarse mud. Irritated, Krhea cursed under her breath. “That’s enough Gnome.” She growled, her eyes narrowing. It was taxing enough calling the spirit of darkness, now she wasted more energy by a useless incantation to gnome. That will have to do. I don’t have the energy to invoke the spirits again at this time.
There was another shaman helping her, Cissiria could feel it, and see it. Gnome had been summoned, but it was a weak summon. In the moments the other shaman’s spell gave, Cissiria was able to regroup her senses and cast another spell.
“Oh ye spirits of sleep, take my captors into your keep. Bind them in your chains of dreams, where nothing is ever what it seems,” the centaur summoned.
The remaining thugs were overtaken by her spell and suddenly collapsed where they stood, falling into a deep slumber.
As the thugs fell to the ground Alleria blinked away the fire in her eyes and quickly sheathed her sword, allowing the holy aura to dissipate. Cautiously, she moved toward the centauress with her hand still on the pommel of her sword.
“Are you alright?” Alleria asked with genuine concern in her voice and caution in her mind. This wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to lure her out using a fake hostage. Slowly, she scanned the crowd, trying to see the others that assisted during the commotion.
“My name is Alleria, and you should be more cautious when walking the docks. There’s a lot of misfits down here looking for an easy coin,” She stated in a stern sounding voice. “What is your name and would you like any more help?”
Daulag saw the thugs fall over and put away his sword. The fight was over and the centauress was safe. Walking over to her he looked up, so that he could see her face. “Me Daulag. You good? I no like men, they hurt you. Daulag will help too, if you wish.” Looking to Alleria he nodded and grinned, she was the most beautiful woman he had laid his eyes on. Turning his face away he coughed, he was actually nervous right now and trying to act otherwise. “I no run away. Crowd not bother me,” he muttered before he faced them again, knowing that a goblin in the city was not welcome.
Krhea watched as the goblin and the woman with the strange aura went to talk to the centaur. The goblin seemed to be of sub-par intelligence, even for a goblin. She smirked to herself and moved a little closer to hear the conversation a little better. The goblin referred to himself in third person, much the way a child would. The other woman, Alleria, sputtered out her name and then barraged the centaur with information. If she introduced herself now she feared that she might be crowding the scene a little, so she stood to the side and waited for the centauress to react to the other two before she would come to introduce herself. She had a reason to introduce herself, unlike the other two. She was told by the spirits that the centaur was the key to her adventure and fulfilling her duty to the spirits.
Cissiria took a step back as the female warrior and ugly little creature approached her and began asking questions. “I...I am well,” she replied, trying to figure out a way to answer so many questions at once. “I am Cissiria,” she introduced herself. “I never expected this sort of welcome into the city...I think it may be dangerous for me to be alone...”
“Cis-siria, you want friend? Daulag will be friend. Will help if he can. You can trust me. Daulag not like other goblins. They mean. Daulag not like mean goblins.” Daulag offered up a hand after he removed his gloves. He hoped she would take his offer. He was trying really hard here, this seemed like an adventure he could really get into.
Krhea couldn’t help herself but to laugh at what had just transpired. The goblin was being rather forceful with his introduction, as if trying to pry his way into her good graces. She would wait for her introductions, and allow the centaur to calm her own nerves down before Krhea would approach her.
Stepping back, Alleria realized this wasn’t a trap and things were a bit calmer now. Reaching down she helped her little familiar, Shadow, up onto her shoulder before she continued. Turning, she smiled down at the goblin and said, “Thank you for your help, Daulag, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with those odds.” She knew all too well what it was like to be an outsider that no one was willing to give a chance or even a thank you to for help. All too often she wished she didn’t have to disguise herself, but she knew it was the best thing to do for everyone involved.
Then she turned to the young Cissiria and made a slight bow of introduction. “My apologies for being so abrupt a moment ago, I was still caught up in the moment and threw too much at you all at once.” Smiling again, she went on, “As I said, my name is Alleria and if you would like, I would be happy to accompany you and show you around town. I’m sure our little goblin friend here would like to join us as well if you’re up for it?”
“You welcome. Alleria is nice name for nice woman. Daulag glad he could help. He not so brave alone,” Daulag replied to Alleria, and he knew that if it has been just him helping he would be dead. Waiting for Cissiria’s answer he was hoping she would say yes; he had few friends and so far he seemed to be confident in his choices.
“Oh, a goblin? I have never seen one before!” Cissiria said, leaning down toward Daulag. “Only from the dark elves have I heard about goblins. We have none on Blue Dragon Island. I never expected to meet one in the city! It’s good to meet you, Daulag. I would be grateful to have both of your companionship.”
Krhea sighed. Now was as good a time as any to come introduce herself. Late introductions aside, there was a possibility that suspicion would be cast on her. Still, she didn’t want to crowd Cissiria, but it seemed that she’d have no choice in the matter. Daulag, the goblin, and Alleria, the woman with the odd aura, seemed intent on becoming the centauress’s companion, whether or not she accepted. The prospect of being amongst the two warriors, Daulag and Alleria, made her head ache. If she traveled with Cissiria, and these two tagged along, the smell of leather and metal would tag along as well. The silver-haired spirit messenger sighed again, but mustered up her courage to introduce herself and stepped out of the crowd to do so.
Once out in the open and in front of Cissiria, Alleria and Daulag, Krhea found herself at a loss for words. Of the quartet Krhea was the second shortest. While she surpassed the other two women in physical beauty, she found herself in awe of their unique beauty, especially Cissiria who combined equine and the fairy-like beauty of elves together in one body. “K-k-KRHEA!” she stammered, unintentionally yelling her name in all the excitement. Her pale face flushed with color as she cast her green eyes downward. With all her intelligence and refinement, Krhea was at a loss to say anything more intelligent.
Cissiria paused and blinked at the pale girl who had just approached her and blurted something out. “Oh...hello...” she said, confused. “What’s...Krhea?”
Krhea, flustered even more by her sudden blurting found it hard to find the words to express herself. “...M-my name...” she admitted. “Krhea is my name.” She didn’t want to openly brag about her involvement in the fight but she found it necessary to point out what she had done. First she pointed to the man who died from the darkness spirits and then to those mired in the ground. “...I did that.”
Daulag was happy about this. His boldness had paid off and he had made a new friend. Hearing the other woman’s name, he kept looking up, the centauress keeping his attention. “Thank you. I never see centaur before. Daulag free goblin. He go where luck and winds take him. Welcome to Raiden, free city!” He wondered where this would lead him; he would just throw his luck to the wind and follow it where it took him.
First surprised by the blurting of Krhea’s name followed by the declaration of killing the man, Alleria frowned with sadness. “I wish no one had died here. I know sometimes it can’t be helped but it still saddens my soul each time.” Trying to cheer things up and move on before the thugs woke up, she turned to the odd group and suggested, “Perhaps we should move to an inn or tavern and talk more privately and have more proper introductions?”
“They deserved it,” Krhea said with a flat tone. “Besides, whether you like it or not, darkness spirits like to drain life-force. I don’t make their rules, I just abide by them. But you’re right, we should move this discussion away from here.”
At first, Cissiria wasn’t sure if the pale girl spoke the common tongue, but apparently she was just awestruck. The centaur couldn’t say she was surprised, it seemed that her kind were quite rare on the mainland. Certainly, if they were better integrated into society, people wouldn’t try to capture and sell them.
“You are right, Alleria, we must find a better place to talk,” Cissiria said. “I do not believe my spell will keep its hold on them for much longer.”
Krhea nodded. “Want to rob them?” It was an honest question. Stealing from your enemies was one way to survive in the desert, and that applied to the out lands of Lodoss as well. She shrugged. “For ’grievances, emotional and mental anguish and spiritual frustration’. It also saves on inn expenses.”
Daulag’s face lit up at the mention of robbing the men. He would often loot the corpses of any he had to knock out or kill. Looking to Khrea, he decided he liked her style; after all he never had much money. “Men deserve to be looted. They repay Cissiria for trouble. Daulag will help rob men. Khrea good woman.”
“No, we should leave,” Cissiria said, taking a few steps int he opposite direction. “They may wake soon.”
Krhea nodded silently and followed behind Cissiria. The goblin seemed to like the idea of stealing from others, not for the same reasons as herself. Silently, she decided it would be best to keep her eye on the ugly little thing. Goblins weren’t indigenous to the Storm and Fire Desert, but she had heard stories about the Marmo army employing the savage little beasts. It was obvious from the fight he was not a direct threat himself, so it was best just to keep an eye on her belongings instead of her life.
Daulag quietly followed, looking back at the sleeping men. He knew Cissiria was right, for the spirits could only hold a man for so long. He was content still, this was the start of an unknown path for them all.
Thinking to herself, Alleria wondered just what she was getting herself into but decided to take the lead for her wayward group. “There’s a more reputable inn about ten minutes walk from here I should think it would be the best place to go.” Without looking back she began walking in the direction of the inn with her familiar perched upon her shoulder. Everyone seemed to be in agreement about leaving the area it was up to them if they wanted to follow.
