Blight Bug

Here We Go Adventuring!

Geoffrey was happy regarding his strike upon the dragon; the pig on the other-hand was not. The pig would've rather been eating wallowing in the mud or eating some slop instead of being used by a herder as a weapon against a dragon. Remaining in this situation was not a thing the pig was not keen about. Weaseling itself out of the bond that Geoffrey held, the pig hit the ground running.

This was noticed by the peasant, who also didn't want to be in his current predicament. After all, the dragon turned its head upon the poor herder, ready to bite into the peasant. Clearly the creature was not amused by being near an individual who dealt with domesticated beasts. Geoffrey turned towards his fleeing pig and grabbed its rear. And so the peasant was spared the dragon's maws, instead getting dragged across the forest floor.

As the pig fled, and tried to buck its tamer away, Geoffrey managed to pull himself onto the pig and saddle himself on as well as he could. This meant him mainly sitting on his swine, facing the right in a saddling position, with his hands firmly on the pig, and his feet being brushed along the floor.

Now he had the arduous task of trying to direct the pig. Pressing on the pig with his hands, the peasant cried out."Faster back t'tha...!" That was when Geoffrey's head was struck by a low hanging branch, which shot his head back, and left a mark on his forehead. The peasant gritted his teeth, and attempted to motion the pig the way he wanted to go. Another branch struck Geoffrey, this one striking at his left bicep. Again, Geoffrey tried to motion the pig to go where he wanted. But the pig was having none of that, as it continued running in the direction it felt like. As the pig continued to run with a somewhat sense of freedom, Geoffrey's feet were being stung by burrs which embedded themselves firmly upon both feet.

"Yer gona-" Another branch struck Geoffrey, and a few leaves latched onto the peasant's dingy clothing."Uuugha...DAMNED SWINE!" Geoffrey glanced forwards and realized, the pig was leading him into thicket of tree-branches. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Here We Go Adventuring!

Geoffrey was pleased that the dragon accepted the offer. However a realization was quickly dawning upon him; the dragon wasn't a cruel, greedy yet intelligent creature that could act as a lord of the lands. This was just a humungous and ugly undomesticated animal.

The blasted critter probably wanted to eat his livestock, like any wolf that stumbled upon farm animals! There was no way Geoffrey could let the creature eat his livestock, like his sheep. Geoffrey now remembered he wasn't sure where his sheep ran off to. But before he could go look for his sheep, he needed to save himself and arm himself with his pig. And so the peasant ran away from the charging dragon and towards his pig. In the process of fleeing he grabbed his pig alongside shrieking out, "EEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHGGH!"

Now armed, Geoffrey held the pig with both of his hands and knew what he needed to do. Civilization, don't let me die, today! Or my sheep. silently prayed the peasant.

"OooDeeeLeeeehHEHOOOOOO!"And with that warcry, the peasant charged towards the left side of the creatures massive frame and swung his pig to strike the beast.

Here We Go Adventuring!

@Sigurd Oh yeah, just so you know, the barbarian is not actively at the offering pyre. The only one right there is the peasant. The barbarian is camouflaged in brush a bit away from the flaming corpse and meats.

Here We Go Adventuring!

The peasant stood as the sole vanguard of the pyre. It was the peasant who was standing on the front-lines awaiting the creature. It would be the duty of this peasant to attempt to reason with the creature by providing it with a proper tithe. Fortunately, hidden away he had the barbarian as his ally preparing for an ambush.

But surely the offerings of the pyre would surely be a worthy presentation that would cause the creature to leave without any bloodshed! Well they would remain worthy, as long as everything was kept prim and proper for when the creature arrived. Geoffrey stared incredulously at the drunkard bard who decided that the best course of action would be to steal from a tithe that was to be delivered to a dragon. The peasant was stunned, and simply stared at the man before he decided to enter the woods to procure something that could serve as a stake. Well, it could be useful, if the vampire wasn't already ablaze to stop its unholy resurrection.

Soon came the furious howling of the beast, which incited his sheep to run towards the tavern while bleated out in terror. Quaking, the peasant felt a distinctive sensation alongside the fear he was feeling. "Shite." Geoffrey cursed under his breath, as he clenched his hands together and quivering as the beast arrived. He had to offer this tithe properly so that the dragon would accept it and leave. But this was not dealing with a human sovereign, no this was a bestial lord the peasant had to bargain with. And just to make matters even more frightening, the creature brought an enforcer that rode upon horseback. Geoffrey's focus shifted between the armor clad goon and his commander.

"Aha-errraah" The peasant stumbled about with his words, as his body shook. Geoffrey knew he needed to collect himself. So to gather his wits, the peasant snorted loudly, and spat out glob of phlegm. The edges of his mouth twitched with trepidation.

"Greetings oh, mighty lordship!" Geoffrey bellowed, clasping his hands together as he gave a small bow towards the dragon. It was a fairly small dip, due to the fact his chickens were trying to peck at him during this gesture of submissiveness. His eyes darted towards his pig to reconfirm to his worried psyche that it was close enough to grab if things were to go awry.

With a plastered grin, Geoffrey tried to subdue as many convulsions that broke his smile as he could. However the peasant found himself unable to keep a fully and seemingly worry-free smile. "I erm, h-hope thy travel t' thou, erm ah, holdings 'ere went well."

The peasant gestured towards the burning corpse of the unrising-vampire, and the meats that were alongside it. "Lo, thou hast a most bountiful tithe to take! Behold the dead vampire, and tha tasty vittles that are served with it!" The peasant took in a deep whiff from the pyre, and continued to speak to the horrific dragon, and presumed lord of this land. "Eat, be merry! Your humble servants labored hard to provide thee with such offerings."

Geoffrey gave another bow towards the dragon. The peasant stood as both bait for a plot to keep the dragon's attention distracted from the strike the barbarian was sure to deliver, and the peasant stood as a negotiator to try to get the dragon to simply leave the lands away. However the events unfurled, Geoffrey knew that he had to do his part to solve against this breed of trouble.

Here We Go Adventuring!

The peasant remained in his kneeling position, knowing that was always a good method for pleading. Geoffrey knew that his task would need to done with the utmost care and precision. Geoffrey dearly hoped that this tithe would be enough to appease the dragon. After all, he knew what would happen if an unfitting offering was supplied.

Therefore it was paramount that the sacrifice would be enough. Geoffrey's eyes followed the flames doing its work at the vam-pyre. This scene gave the peasant some doubt on whether or not this particular sacrifice would be enough to placate the beast. While a vampire would surely be a rare sacrifice indeed, would it satisfy the covetous nature of a dragon?

His doubts would be answered as the maiden in black, provided a bountiful feast and placed it near the burning offering. And just as that was being provided, the savage man placed a hand on his shoulder, and spoke of using it as a trap. The lady returned back to the inn, and the man hid ready for an ambush.

"LO, MORE OFFERINGS AWAIT THOU!" the peasant shouted skyward.

Here We Go Adventuring!

Geoffrey pondered for a moment on what to do about the situation, when his train of thought was interrupted by his pig continuing squeals. "Hrruuup!" grunted out the peasant, as he whaled his pig down upon the breastplate of the not-yet-a-vampire. And as that strike was delivered, the pig did not thresh about as much. Geoffrey placed the pig on the forest floor, relived that it wouldn't be trying to flee just yet.

He already had the chickens and the contents of his sacks to worry about But at least those things were easier to keep in line in contrast to his pig. As for his sheep, they were starting to graze on a bit of grass that was nearby. The peasant wasn't sure when the creature would arrive, nor when the vampire would rise. So, it would be best to play it safe and start the burning now.

The peasant grabbed a hold of the rag and dunked it into the alcoholic beverage the mug had. Once that was done, the peasant placed the damp cloth upon the torn fabrics that shot through its armor.

Geoffrey took the candle and set the liquor-stained rag ablaze. Sparks were starting to take ahold of the undershirt, alongside the rag. With his task set in the proper motion, the peasant knelt down on the clearing and raised his arms to the sky. "LO, MAY YE TAKE THIS OFFERING OF THY WRETCHED VAMPYRE, 'FORE IT COULD TURN!"

Here We Go Adventuring!

...well Punk is awesome.

@CrystalCHTriple

But was he awesome enough to main event Wrestlemania?

As for the point of moving forward on with the dragon, yes that would probably be a good idea.

Here We Go Adventuring!

Well, it appeared that trying to gather help from the savage was a nonstarter. Oh well, Geoffrey supposed that was to be expected in all honesty. After all, the armorless savage jumped the foul vampyre-on-the-rise, instead of properly waiting to join the mob in lynching the thug, and then stringing him up on the trees.

As such, the peasant appeared to have the duty to drag out the monster-in-waiting, out by himself. Oh well, labor was labor. Geoffrey dragged the body, leaving a distinctive blood-trail on the planked floor. While engaged in this labor, the peasant noticed that his sheep were staying in place."Uugh." moaned out the peasant as his other assorted animals were continuing to cause a ruckus. Well, his sheep would surely be fine just meandering about in the tavern. Probably. Geoffrey didn't plan to take long getting the body out to where the cleansing ritual could be done.

"Lesse..."The peasant mused to himself, as he shoved the pig to open one of the massive doors. While compliant, and still kicking, the pig's face served as a fine door-opener. Now with the door opened, Geoffrey fully pulled the man who was not quite a vampire yet, outside into the forests. "Moved tha vampyre's body." Geoffrey took a moment to look down and confirm he left the body out far enough from the tavern. As he glanced upon where he left it, Geoffrey decided it would be best to move the body a little further. So once again the peasant grabbed onto the arm and pulled it further from the inn.

Now satisfied, Geoffrey glanced towards the tavern."Now got t'grab things fer fire..." As he paused in thought, his pig continued to squeal and try to escape. Once again, Geoffrey smacked it as he headed back towards the tavern. The first thing of importance for this, was to gather the materials to help start a fire. The peasant grinned as he saw a man who was collapsed upon the table in a drunken stupor. Well not for the fact that the man was out, but the fact he had a mug of some strong liquor, a rag, and a candle.

Not one to waste supplies, the peasant snagged the rag and placed it on-top of the mug, and then placed the candle still in the holder on the rag. Geoffrey took some care to balance the items, before walking out of the tavern. But of course, before he exited with these items the peasant made a quick request. "Wouldst one of thou be kind and fetch wood an other such things, fora stake?" While he wasn't sure if anyone would help, it certainly would save him a few trips back and forth.

Geoffrey exited the tavern and returned to the discarded body, with his sheep deciding to follow him this go. The peasant placed the mug with its stack down next to the not-yet-a-vampire, and moved the candle off, then the rag. Some brave soul had to keep the vampire from rising, and it looked like Geoffrey was going to be that man.

Here We Go Adventuring!

"Huurah!" belted out the peasant, as the festive mood was returning back. The clanking of mugs in celebration, and the dance being done stirred the chickens into action. Both of his chickens made a loud squak as they were moving their heads back and forth rapidly. Geoffrey grumbled as he gestured his sheep to move closer to the fallen man. As he was moving closer himself, his pig continued to rumble about.

Quickly the peasant balled up his free hand in a fist and struck the pig on the noise. "Oi, wouldst thou shudit!" Geoffrey grumbled out, as the pig did not take the lesson to heart. Rather it continued trying to struggle out of the peasant's grasp. With a grimace the peasant grasped the pig even tighter as he made his way to see the scene. After all, he needed to be sure mob justice was done.

With a firm smile, the peasant eyed the scene where justice triumphed. But, there was something wrong. There was something very wrong with this scene. Geoffrey spotted something truly horrible, he felt something truly horrible near this corpse of a man. His mouth was agape as he felt something was off, something that a truly dead man wouldn't have.

A thick-sweat was running down Geoffrey's brow. Those stories he heard in his youth, they were true. These people needed to know exactly what was going on here.

"OI!" Bellowed out the peasant as he pulled upon the tail of his pig to get it to squeal out loudly once again. "THAR'S A PROBLEM O'ER HERE! A BIGGUN." Swiftly the peasant gestured towards the man. "THA FELLOW NAUGHT SIMPLY A MERE MAN, NAY HE BE A VAMPYRE IN RISING!" Geoffrey grabbed a hold of the pig and flailed it to point at the man left-behind by the barbarian's assault. Of course by doing this, the pig attempted to squeeze its way out to freedom, but Geoffrey managed to pull it back in. In the process of doing so, he stumbled backwards, but managed to keep his footing.

"IF NOT BURNED FULLY, IT WILL RISE AS THE VAMPYRE!" Geoffrey pointed towards the Barbarian, "Willst thou help me get tha blasted thing outta here and burn it?!" Before waiting on an answer, the peasant grabbed ahold of the person's arm and started to drag it out of the tavern.

But that is when he paused for but a moment, when the peculiar woman started speaking of something else that was bound to threaten them. "A D-DRAGON!?" Geoffrey's entire being shuddered at that thought. He knew damn well what a dragon was wont to do.

Thinking quickly, Geoffrey made a new declaration. "IT MUST BE APPEASED WITH THA OFFERINGS OF THY VAMPYRE'S ASHES, AND OTHER WORTHY TITHES!" The peasant knew there was much work that needed to be done if this inn was to be saved. First they needed to depose of the vampire, and then to gather an assortments of valuables to appease the dragon.

Here We Go Adventuring!

It seems worse than that - he's dead, GM.

Star Trek aside, is the guy visibly alive or not?