LaQue

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

Built-in Silver Pasture, the city of wine is one of the largest cities in the land and house one of the most active merchant community. A thick stone wall rings the city, pierced in five places by the city's gates. Like the spokes of a wheel, broad, straight streets lead from each gate to the city center where a statue of the god of wine provides protection for any travelers that entered the city. The layout of these streets and the location of certain city features, such as the market, many inns, and warehouses, pay homage to the merchants that build the city. Cultures of all kinds exist within the city walls all interacting in a melting pot of traditions.

In front of each gate stands two stone giants in the shape of a tiger. These guardians are imbued with ancient magic and serve as gatekeepers into the city. Anyone who wishes to enter must provide an offering to lands or to the city itself. It can be as simple as a flower or extravagant as a gold statue but all offering must hold some greater meaning to the traveler.

————

After a long day of traveling, the party of Adrian, Chance, and Nessa finally touch down near the city’s gate. A long flow of merchants and caravan streamed into the city. Before passing the gate, each traveler stopped before the two large statues and held up their offering. If their offering was accepted it began to glow and slowly disperse into a thousand tiny lights. That was the sign that it was accepted while the offering would simply stay put if it was rejected.

Adrian got off Diana and stretch his aching back. He then put on his ring and turns to the others. “Welcome to Du’vir. Everyone gather your belongings, the griffins won't be coming with us. Also, this city is rather special. You need to pay a tribute before entering. Just offer something that shows who you are, it doesn’t have to be expensive or anything.”
After everyone gathered their belongings, the Griffins took off into the air and disappeared into the distance. He wasted the griffins fly away before walking towards the main road. It was rather busy with all kinds of people and races from all over the land. They were all here for the festival of wine where the powers of the statues would be replenished. It would happen once every few years and would draw hundreds of thousands of people.

“…I wish you were here to see this Haki. You always liked festivals,” Adrain thought while looking at the flower that the druid mother left.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

Haki is coming back I’m probably just make it the most inconvenient of time (or epic)

Since Adrian is part of the adventures guild the group could sign up for some quest to make money for further travel. That said quest could lead them to the Lich. Maybe we could have Change be kidnap while he is in possession of the flower and once he is kidnap Haki returns. Then they have to find a way to escape and all that jazz.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

I believe they should make it Du'Vir after this because I don't want to drag out the traveling too much. What do you think should happen once they reach the city? I had planned on Du'Vir being a city of wine so when they reached it, a wine festival would be taking place allowing them time to relax and connect I guess. I also plan on something bad happening during it but I don't know what. do you have any idea?

maybe the Litch noticed them and planned to comfort them? or we could have some sort of tournament ark? ant the prize could be to meet the kind who could be an avatar of the Litch/the man they are all searching for.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

“I-I don’t know,” Adrian's voice became quiet. It was the first time in a while that he and Haki had been separated. All he could think of is if Haki could even be healed. He had a hole in his stomach which was not something magic could easily heal. On the other hand, it was the queen of Druids, a being closer to a god than mortal.

“I hope that is the case because I cannot lose him… I’m sorry but I will be going quiet for a bit. If you need me just signal” Adrian said then took off his ring. Everything became quiet leaving him with just his thoughts.

---

Haki was brought into the spirited realm, a place bathed in twilight. Towering trees doted the vast forest that made up the entire realm. The sky was twisting complex of colors. Creatures beyond the imagination called this realm home. In the middle of the realm was the world tree, Yggdrasil. This is the home of Tatiana the mother of druids and the queen of all Faries.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Haki woke up in a pool of crystal clear water. It had a light blue hue and glowed a dim white. Surrounding him was the branch of the world tree that reaches far into the sky. His wounds had all heal leaving no scars or evidence that he was ever wounded. Standing up, he looked around the area to find no one.

“My child”

Haki looked for the voice and found Tatiana sitting on a dear-like creature surrounded by several wolves. “H-how are my friends? Are they all right?”

“It makes me happy to know that you care more about others than yourself seeing that you came back from the dead. They are alive and safe.”

“I died?” Haki looked at his stomach to see the wounds had competently disappeared. No scars or evidence of the injury were present. It amazed him that healing of this caliber was possible. He then slowly looked at Tatiana and asked, “will I be able to return?”

“You wish to return to a world that nearly killed you? I will not allow it.”

“So that means I am able to go back…Please send me back. My friends are waiting for me.” Haki begged.

“I will not allow it,” Tatiana said her face stern and full of authority. It made Haki want to not question her decision but he couldn’t stay. Before he could anything more, Tatiana had disappeared from view leaving him in the pool of water with no escape.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

Adrian weaved his way through the forest with an angry Warbeast at his tail. He could hear the trees breaking and the loud snarling of a rabid beast. He couldn’t outrun the wolf for long and didn’t see any way he could escape. After gathering his composer, he stopped and turned to face the wolf. It immediately took the opportunity to pound onto him. Predicting the attack, Adrian dropped down to the ground. Just as the wolf was over his head, he held out his hand, and the moment it graised under the Warbeast he teleported the surrounding area to a nearby place. A loud splat followed by silence. When he turned to look, he saw the top haft of the Warbeast body and his feet laying on the ground. His entire abdominal area was gone.

He turned away from the corpse and returned to the other. The moment he got close he nearly stumbled at the sight. Haki had a hole in his stomach and was quickly bleeding out. He rushed over to Haki's side and inspected the wound.

“He doesn’t have much time. We need to go.” Adrain grabbed a vile of a blue liquid form his satchel and drank it. His veins began to glow a light blue as he channeled his powers. After a short second, a blinding flash of light erupted from his hands. Once their vision returned they were sitting near a lake, not the clearing they were in before.

“Haki—” Adrian coughed up the blue liquid and felt a wave of dizzy wash over him.

Everything became silent as the world froze around them. A woman with long black, dressed in white appeared on the lake and walked over to them. She made no sound, had no presence as if she didn’t exist. She then kneeled by Haki and cupped his head. They began to glow and in a flash of light, disappeared leaving a small white flower.

Adrian clumsily walked over to the flower and picked it. “We need to go, I’ll explain everything once we’re in the air.”

---

After they have flown for a bit Adrian started explaining, “what you saw back there was the mother of Druids. It is actually the first time I’ve seen her. She took Haki into the realm of the spirits to heal and once he is healed he’ll be returned to the place of the flower. At least that is that Haki told me what would happen. For now, all we can do is wait and continue to travel.”

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

Built-in the shadow of Mount Waterdeep, the city of splendor invoke a feeling of wonder and danger. Beneath the massive metropolis lies untold riches and the deadliest monsters. Only those brave enough or foolish dare to venture into its depts. One such adventure is Everheart, a Leonin from the land of Krata. He seeks no treasure nor the glory of battle only the knowledge of the ancients. Alone, he descends into the Undermoutain seeking the libraries of Halaster.

From old manuscripts, Everheart learned of the mad mage and his dealings with the otherworldly. He had hope that Halaster would have information that could help his current situation. After reaching the fifth level, he found only a few mentions about demons or how to combat them. Reluctantly, he started on his journey back to the surface. Through the wake of dead monsters. He slowly made his way through the winding complex of the Undermoutain. From his time dungeons, he did learn of a place name Barovia. It was the home to an ancient being and provided another hope for information.

Such foolishness. Do you truly believe that you can defeat demon? Everheart you should know better.

“Shut up.” The voice of the demon had only grown stronger ever since Everheart entered the Undermoutain. He believed it was due to the lack of sunlight but he wasn’t sure. He did know that it was only getting harder to fight the demon’s influence.

What makes you think you can fight me now when you’ve lost to me before? Remember Everheart? Remember when your friends nearly died by your hands? Remember their faces as they stared in disbelief?

Everheart clenched his fist and did his best to ignore the demon’s taunts. It took him several days but eventually, he reached the surface. Without wasting any time, he gathered his supplies and headed for Barovia.

---

The journey towards Barovia was fairly uneventful for Everheart. It was much of the same routine he had been following for the past several years. Avoiding large settlements, fighting bandits, and camping in the forest. There was still the problem of the demon that possessed him. Form time to time he would wake up in places he didn’t recognize but for some strange reason, the demon had kept quiet for most of the journey to Barovia.

He didn’t question the state of the demon and continue treading through the forest. Eventually, he made it to a settlement near a misty forest that served as a gate to Barovia. He didn’t plan on stopping for long but while in the town he heard of an adventuring group that was hunting werewolves. It piqued his interested so he decided to join. It also helped that the group was traveling in the same direction he was heading.

After hearing the mission briefing from the captain, Everheart disappeared from view and left the town. He waited for the group outside the settlement while examining the strange fog that covered the landscape. The old manuscripts said little about the fog accept that it was dangerous. He wasn’t sure how dangerous so he kept the knowledge to himself as to not start a panic.

The journey into the misty forest was rather quiet. Everheart kept away from the group and traveled a little ways behind them. He wasn’t sure how they would react to his appearance seeing that he was the only Beastfolk in the group.

As they traveled deeper into the forest, the fog began to grow thicker. His senses began to dull. Before long, he couldn’t tell where they had traveled or identified any sound or smell that would be normal for a forest. Then in an instant, the eerie silence was cut by a loud echoing howl. He moved to grab his weapon but his entire body became stiff. No matter how much he tried his arms and leg would not move.

Now now let us watch for a moment. Let us savor the fear.

Everheart watched as the werewolves closed in on his allies. His hands trembled in anger and disbelief at his helplessness. All he could do was watched the battle play out in front of him. Then out of nowhere, a loud ear-piercing screech erupted from an unknown source. Everheart winced in pain as the loud noise echoed throughout his head. Past the pain, the sound manages to block the voice of the demon and allowed him to regain control of his body. Without a second thought, he let out a crippling roar imbued with magic. As a medium for his power, any beast that heard the roar would be compelled to attack him. He hoped that it would provide a moment of relief for the group to draw their weapons.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

I'm sorry if my posts have been abit...lacklustering. I've reread them and they're bad and I'm sorry.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

Adrian told the griffin to go with them while he went to investigate the Warbeast and take out the surroundings archers. Chance and Nessa could handle the humans but he needed to find the Warbeasts. There was no telling how far they were teleported due to the nature of the runes. If they were close, he didn’t know if they could deal with them and the vampire all at once. As he did a sweep of the surrounding area, something grabbed him and threw him against a tree. He quickly got up and predicted another attack from the Warbeast. “One of the Warbeast made it back. Get Haki I can distract this one.”

As Chance and Nessa got close the vampire broke his spell and stepped out of Haki's shadow. “Hello, little vampire. Well, not even that. Either way, I would like to make a deal. I'm curious about how you were turned. I see no bite marks or sense a connection to any other vampire. Whoever turned you must've died or is too far away. So if you become my thrall I'll let your friends go. I'll even heal them for you."

“Chance don’t—” the vampire turned and looked at Haki before thrusting his claws into his stomach. Haki coughed out blood and fell to the ground. His vision darkened. His was cold and yet his insides were burning.

“Anytime Chance. He’ll bleed out soon,” the vampire said smirking.

Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

The group of poachers walked for nearly an hour before stopping. Ahead of them was a small encampment of about 6 more men. As they walked. Haki could feel all their eyes on his back reminding him of his childhood. His heart started to race. He clenched his fist as he was escorted to a nearby clearing with several cages filled people and beast alike. The Warbeast threw him in a cage and left him to the human guards.

---

Adrian turned to Nessa with a blank stare and nodded. “I’ll take Diana to scout. Get ready then head out. I’ll see you there.”

Adrian than mounted the Griffin and took off into the air. Haki was a short flight away. Before long he was in view of the encampment. Looking down, he gritted his teeth as he saw Haki being tortured by the Warbeast. There was no way they could get in without getting caught and no way they could take on two Warbeast.

He took a few more moments to survey the surrounding area and once the others were in view, he jumped off Diana and dove headfirst to the ground. He then teleported next to the Warbeast and using his runes teleported the Warbeast to a random location. within seconds the entire encampment roared alive as poachers moved to apprehend him.

Adrian looked at Haki for a moment then teleproted away. “Chance Nessa, the Warbeasts are gone, for now. I don’t know for how long. Hurry.”

Ravenloft, The Curse of Strahd.

Everheart

Age:

43

Gender:

Male

Race:

Leonin

Appearance:

Everheart is a large and well built Lionfolk standing over 7 feet tall. He is usually the first one to be noticed in a crowd due to his huge stature and odd appearance. Even in his homeland his blue fur and white markings is considered strange. They are often associated with ill omen and a sign of disaster.

Personality:

Kind and amiable, Everheart is a fiercely loyal and protective companion. Slow to trust but once he does he will do anything for that person. It is in his nature to always put others over his own.

Class/Skills

A Oathbreaker paladin with powerful necromantic magic. His magic may be powerful but it is without its downsides. They can only be used under specific circumstances with the right factors and components. He is also inflicted with the same effect of any spell he cast, though, to a lesser extent. For example, if he uses inflict wound he will feel pain, and using Hellish rebuke will cause his casting hand to catch aflame and so on. This downside allowed his magic to reach unimaginable heights and powers but that also scale with how much of the spell’s effect(s) he feels.

Without his magic, he is a train and seasoned fighter capable of using all forms of weapons but is extremely skilled with the long sword. Power and nimble, he is a strong opponent but faces many problems due to an event from his past. He has episodes of spontaneous pain and extreme exhaustion. This only lasts a few moments but can happen at any time. He also swore to never raise a sword to anyone without ill intentions.

Even without a sword, his hand to hand compact skills are on-par with a monk. His claws also allow him to be deadly without a weapon but he only uses them for self-defense.

Equipment:

Avarice and Wrath: Two long words named after a pair of demons that he defeated while in the order. They are not the most durable, nor are they the sharpest but they were the gift from his late adopted father which is why he prefers to fight with them.

Plate mail: Standard armor for a paladin with a few modifications to allow for faster movement and agility.

Potion maker Kit: a satchel of herbs that are used to make all forms of potions and ointments. He tries his best to keep it stocked and ready for use. At most he can make a total of 12 potions.

Traveler’s Supplies: backpack, clothes, rations, rope, bandages, waterskin, and matches.

Also in his arsenal, are a slew of various contraptions for dealing with fiends and Fae alike. Silver powder, stakes, gold dust, holy water, and various form of flasks and bombs.

History:

He was born in the land of Krata where his parents sold him into slavery due to his unique coloring. For nearly 2 decades he worked as a slave for various masters all over Toril. Eventually, he made his way to the sword coast where a Crusade of Paladins cane and liberated him and his fellow slaves. Being almost a continent away from his homeland he chose to join the paladins that rescued him. For years, he trained in the way of the sword, and eventually, he took an oath.

I am the sword in the darkness
I am the watcher on the walls
I am the fire the burns against the cold
the light brings the dawn
The horns that wake the sleeper
The shield that guards the realm of man
I pledge my life for this night and all the nights to come.

With his oath, he swore to protect mortal kind from any threats may it be gods or primordial. This was his new calling where he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually formed a crusade of his own. They were fierce, powerful, and good at what they did. At the height of their powers they took on a nameless demon that terrorized a small city. They fell for a trap placed by the demons and to save his comrades, Everheart broke his oath. He made a deal with the demon to allow it to use his body as a vessel. Unknown to the demons, his will as strong and he was able to fight the demon for control. For now, he has won, but only a matter of time before demon break free and take full control. Until then, Everheart is a wandering knight helping anyone he could while trying to rid himself of the demon that plagued him.