Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 6 – Xangy’s Pottery Shop

Dril joined them at Xangy’s pottery shop, healed by Father Peg-Leg. The shop was a small stone building located at the northern edge of the Eastern District where it met Drac’s End.

Light spilled out of the one-story building’s windows from a lantern hanging inside. Once they reached the door, a “Closed” sign was clearly visible hanging from the open door’s frame.

“Well, looks like their closed,” said Kham with a smirk. “I guess we should just go home.”

There was a loud grunt just before a piece of pottery flies from the side and shattered inside the doorway, its fragments tumbling in all directions.

“That’s all the excuse I need.” Vlad barreled into the shop, sword drawn.

The shop’s interior had obviously seen better days. Toppled pottery, some broken, some not, lay haphazardly on the shelves that stand against all four walls. A long table dominated the center of the room where lumps of clay, sculpting tools, and a basin of water resided. Beside the table were a stool and a stained pottery wheel. The person who threw the ceramic object was seated on the stool, his back to the entrance, as he cleaned out broken shards from beneath a shelf.

Before Vlad could get his attention, the young man swivels to face him. He had short black hair and a faint goatee.

With a sneer he said, “Since you obviously can’t read, let me speak plainly— we’re closed.” The youth repeated the last two words in Elorii and Solani for emphasis before dumping his collected fragments into a wooden trough.

Kham sniffed. “That’s nice. You’re Rufus’ boy, right? I think you can stay open for a couple more minutes.”

“Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time,” said the young man. “We’re closed.”

Sebastian put his palms together and pointed his fingertips in the shopkeeper’s direction. “We are here on Council business.” He pulled a broken piece of pottery out of the voluminous folds of his cloak. “It this yours?”

“For the last time,” said the young man, voice rising, “we are—“

Kham kicked over one of the large pots. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”

The young man’s eyes went wide. “I said…we’re…”

Kham took out a pistol and aimed it at his head. “A little louder. I keep hearing that you’re closed, but that can’t be right, can it?”

Sebastian put one finger on Kham’s arm. “Kham. Please.”

The shopkeeper swallowed hard. Kham shrugged and put away his pistol.

Sebastian gave him a pained, look-what-I-have-to-put-up-with smile. “My name’s Sebastian. What’s yours?”

“Leukien. Leukien Xangy.”

“Nice to meet you Leukien,” said Sebastian. “We were recently the victims of a bombing. Some people were killed, some were very hurt. So you’ll have to excuse Kham if he’s upset. Many peoples’ lives are at stake. Do you understand?”

Leukien nodded, all traces of his irritable nature replaced with fear.

“Good.” Sebastian displayed the “X” markings on the fragment. “Do you know what this sign means?”

Leukien nodded again. “Yeah, it’s one of my dad’s pieces. Just look at any of his work and somewhere on the bottom are those four X’s. He said they represent the four generations of Xangy potters that came before him.”

“Where’s your dad?” asked Kham.

“He was killed a few weeks ago.” Leukien’s eyebrows knitted together. “He died from a lightning blast. Took him full in the chest, though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Never thought I’d be glad my mom’s blind; the body wasn’t pretty.”

Kham’s posture sagged. He wasn’t expecting that. “Sorry to hear that,” he said quietly. Then he wandered off to examine some of the unbroken pottery.

“What happened here?” asked Beldin.

“There was a break-in last night. Found the place in shambles this morning. Decided to walk off some of my anger before coming in to clean up tonight. Funny thing is, I can’t find that anything’s missing; just a lot of items shoved around. Didn’t even check the back room yet. It was probably those thrice-damned orcs.”

Sebastian and Dril exchanged glances. “What orcs?”

“Four of the stinky things were in here yesterday looking for my dad. When I told them he died, I thought they’d leave. Nope. They started to snoop around and even tried to go into the back room there.” Leukien gestured behind him. “When I told them to take a walk, one of ‘em drew some kinda fancy grooved dagger and pointed it at me. One of his buddies said I “wasn’t worth it” and then they all left.”

“Do you have any idea who your father might have crafted this jar for?” asked Sebastian.

“Nope. He made several jars of that style—some with tops, some without.” Leukien thought for a moment. “But it is possible he recorded the sale and its buyer in the accounts ledger.”

“Can we see it?”

“Sure.” Leukien rummaged around in the back room, only to return with a large book. “Take a look.” He handed it to Sebastian.

Sebastian cleared out some pottery fragments and lay the book down. A piece of one of the open pages had been crudely torn from the ledger.

“The date indicates the entry is from a few weeks ago,” said Sebastian. “Interesting.”

Dril pointed at the remaining part of the entry. “Kenzil: Eight ja—“ was all it read. “Remember anything about that sale?”

Leukien thought for a moment. “Yeah, I was here for that. An order for eight jars with jeweled tops. I recall the buyer was a black-robed man with long silver beard braided into two lengths. He seemed pretty nervous, his eyes darting back and forth from my dad to the front door. I figured him for some eccentric coot who wanted jars to keep cremated relatives in.”

“If it’s Kenzil the Evoker, I know where to find him,” said Sebastian.

“If there are seven more of those things…” said Kham.

They all ran for the door.

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 7a – Home of Kenzil the Evoker

The home of Kenzil was a one-story structure that sat just north of the Cluster in Drac’s End.

“Kenzil was a powerful evoker.” Sebastian led them at a brisk pace toward Kenzil’s abode. “He decided to retire from adventuring and make his home in Freeport near the Cluster.”

“All you wizards know each other?” asked Vlad.

Sebastian shook his head. “I was born with my talents. Kenzil learned his. In fact, he taught arcana and basic sciences at the Freeport Institute for many years. Here we are.”

Kham walked up to the door. He reached for the lock and then pushed hesitantly on the door. “It’s open.”

There was a chorus of blades being unsheathed as they all drew their weapons. Kham stepped inside.

On the east wall was a fireplace that sported an array of figurines on its mantle. A square wooden table with four chairs sat in front of the fireplace. At left center of the room lay an impressively woven rug resembling an exploding red-orange fireball. The only other feature was a bowl of incredibly dried fruit on the table.

“Doesn’t look like he was a very successful adventurer,” said Vlad.

They split up and began poking around.

“Kenzil wasn’t interested in the accumulation of baubles,” said Sebastian.

“Except staves of defense,” added Dril.

Beldin entered what must have been Kenzil’s bedroom.

A closet stood on the north wall of the bedroom. Sandals and boots, one pair each, rested on the floor of the closet beside empty pouches. The bed itself was curtained.

As Beldin drew near the canopy bed with its drawn blue curtains, he could barely discern a figure laying beyond them along with a putrid odor. The humanoid shape did not move at his approach.

The dwarf swallowed hard and pushed back the curtains with his axe.

Drawing back the curtain revealed a human in black robes with a long twin-braided silver beard. A dried stain crept out from beneath the man’s left breast to cascade down the side of the bed.

“Guys,” said Beldin. “I think I found Kenzil.”

The others joined him.

Sebastian wrinkled his nose. “I’m not sure which is worse: the smell or the decayed state of the body.”

“One thing’s for sure,” said Dril. “Kenzil’s dead. So somebody else sent those packages.”

Just then, they heard a loud noise downstairs.

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 7b – Home of Kenzil the Evoker

Vlad poked his head down through the trap door. Then he slowly made his way down the ladder. The room was barely lit by light from above.

Beldin and Sebastian followed.

“Kenzil did a lot of experimenting in his career,” said the dark-kin. The basement was a testament to this nature of “try and see” in its myriad of beakers, vials, weights, components, fluids, and instruments.

Two long wooden tables divided the basement into three defined aisles.

“Somebody light a torch,” said Vlad. “I can barely see.”

“Humans,” snorted Beldin. He reached for the torch, only to bump into something big and hairy.

Beldin shouted and engaged a creature that was all teeth and claws. It reared up on its hind legs and bellowed.

Vlad stepped forward to assist, freezing as another creature blocked his path. “Finally,” said Vlad with a grin. His blind-fighting training was going to come in handy.

A shrieking wind picked up, drowning out all conversation.

Dril stood warily by the ladder, scimitar and dagger at the ready. “I can’t see anything!” he shouted in panic.

Kham stuck his head down through the trapdoor. “Guys? What’s going on down here?” He blinked, peering into the swirling darkness. “Did somebody shout ‘bear’?”

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 7c – Home of Kenzil the Evoker

Beldin knew how to deal with bears. Oh yes, he knew how to deal with them.

The summoned beast swiped at him, but it was confined in the basement. The dwarf rolled to the side and hacked at its flank. The bear bellowed in pain.

With another swing of his axe, the beast collapsed to the ground. Then he went after his real target, the three orcs in the far corner.

Crossbow bolts clanged off of his shield as he charged forward. Beldin lifted his axe to slash one of the orcs still fumbling his crossbow…only to have the weapon slip right out of his grasp, coated in magical grease.

“What the…” Beldin reached for his morningstar, but was forced to hop backwards as the orc reached his cutlass first. “There’s a wizard here!” shouted Beldin. “Invisible!”

Dril and Vlad hacked down the other summoned bear. A wall of wind bisected the room, making it practically impossible to shout to those near the ladder.

“Orcs,” spat Kham. He drew two pistols out of the folds of his overcoat. “Figures they’d behind the bombs.”

Sebastian stood by, uncertain what to do next. “I’m not so sure,” he muttered to himself. “Something’s not right.”

“For once we agree.” Kham fired both pistols. The wall of wind diverted the bullets, firing them off in the far corners of the basement.

“Radius Incensio!”

Spiraling rays of searing energy sliced in Kham. “Sarish’s ass,” he cursed. “That hurt!”

The spell had been cast by an orc with pronounced ears. He had a crooked smile and a similar posture. A dagger, scrolls, and a potion vial hung from his beltline; a crossbow and bolts were carried snugly on his back. He had a large, floppy cap that partially concealed his glittering green eyes.

“There you are!” shouted Sebastian.

The orc was reaching for something in the folds of his vest.

“I didn’t want to have to do this.” Sebastian pointed. “Radius Incensio!”

The same dancing fire arced from Sebastian to the orc. He fell, his wand discharging upwards towards the ceiling. A strand of webbing spurted upwards ineffectively.

“Good shot,” said Kham. “If he got off that stupid spell we’d be down here forev—“

The room was filled with billowing mist. Dril and Vlad swore.

Seconds later, they were surrounded by wall-to-wall webbing.

“Sarish’s ass!” shouted Kham. “There were two invisible spell casters!”

Sebastian’s lips became a thin line. “There’s only one way to clear a room full of webs…”

Kham looked at him sideways. “Wait a minute, maybe we should—.”

“Incendiaries globus!” shouted Sebastian.

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 7d – Home of Kenzil the Evoker

The room was completely devoid of anything flammable. Tables, chairs, and orc were burned to a crisp.

“I yield!” said a particularly ugly orc hag. Her skin seemed to always be glistening, though with sea spray or oily skin it was difficult to tell. Big purple eyes and a gap-toothed grin drank in every detail of her surroundings.

Dril patted one of his arms down to put out his burning sleeve. Then he walked over to Sebastian. They were nose to nose when Dril pulled his hood back.

“I’ve been blown up twice today,” he said in a carefully controlled voice. “I appreciate the effort. But if you do that again, so help me Althares I will kill you with my bare hands.”

Sebastian swallowed and took a step backwards.

His point made, Dril returned to the orc shaman.

“What were you doing here?” asked Vlad.

“Trying to save Freeport, fools! You’ve doomed us all!”

“Doomed us?” asked Beldin. His beard was scorched from Sebastian’s fire magic. “As I recall, you summoned two bears to attack us.”

“The bears would not have attacked if you didn’t attack first!” snarled the orc.

“Filthy greenskins!” shouted Kham.

“Stupid humans!” shouted the orc.

“Enough,” said Sebastian. “My name is Sebastian.” He bowed slightly in the orc’s direction. “What’s yours?”

“Prolk,” the orc shaman said. “Let me tend to Rask.” She nodded at the badly burned and unconscious orc in the floppy hat. “He may still live yet.”

Kham was about to say something. “Leave her be,” said Sebastian.

After a few moments of chanting over Rask, Prolk turned back towards them. “Thank you.” She seemed relieved, an emotion they weren’t used to seeing on an orc’s fanged maw. “He will live. But I fear it is too late.”

“Too late for what?” asked Dril.

“We found this.” Prolk handed a crumpled note to Sebastian.

The dark-kin scanned it. “I don’t know who this Edwards is, but he told someone named Coombs to move the bombs to a warehouse.”

“But we don’t know where the warehouse is!” exclaimed Vlad.

“I do.” There was a twinkle in Prolk’s eye. “Let me go and I will tell you.”

Kham patted the pistols hidden beneath his overcoat. “Why don’t I shoot it out of you instead?”

Sebastian stepped in front of Kham and handed the note back to Prolk. “Tell Scarbelly to meet us at the warehouse. We will need his extra muscle.”

Prolk explained where the warehouse was located. Then she tilted her head, peering at Sebastian curiously. “You are part-human, yes?”

Sebastian frowned. “Unfortunately.”

“Yes,” said Prolk. “Unfortunately. You are an honorable man, Sebastian Arnyal. We will not forget.”

“I’m not helping no dirty orcs,” sneered Kham.

“Nobody’s asking you,” said Dril. “We’re helping Freeport. Let’s go, we haven’t much time.”

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 8 – Ztorage

The building known as Ztorage was a massive structure made of brick and formed by magic. Two large iron double doors were its only entrance.

Kham paced in front of the building. “So much for your backup,” he said to Sebastian. “Just like I thought, Scarbelly’s a no-show. You can’t depend on those damn pigs.”

“He’ll come,” said Sebastian. “Perhaps he has run into some trouble.”

“I’m not waiting any longer.” Kham nodded to Vlad. “Vlad?”

Vlad hurled a grappling hook up the side of the building. The rope uncoiled several loops. Kham tugged on it.

When he was confident that the rope would hold, he began scaling the sheer wall.

“I’d better go with him,” said Dril. He followed after Kham.

Once they were on the roof, Kham ran to and fro, testing the tiles underfoot.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” asked Dril.

“I keep having flashbacks to the last time Sebastian didn’t help us enter a warehouse,” said Kham. “And I’m sure as hell not waiting for orcs to bail us out.” He reached down and pulled back a small door that blended in with the tile. “Perfect.”

“What?”

“It looks like a winch,” said Kham. He began turning it.

The winch slowly cranked open a large section of the roof to a cacophony of shrieking metal and jangling chains.

“So much for the element of surprise,” muttered Dril.

Kham peered down into the darkness. Everburning torches cast a flickering green light along the walls, every twenty feet or so.

The val began fiddling with another rope. “That’s about a seventy foot drop, right?”

“What are you doing?” asked Dril.

Kham had one end tied to the winch. The other was tied to his waist. He handed Dril a length of rope. “Hold onto this. I’m going in.”

“Are you insane? You don’t know what’s down there!”

Kham didn’t respond. He had already plunged headlong into the darkness.

 

[Napftor]

Great stuff, Mike. Can't wait to see what's waiting in the warehouse for the heroes.

 

[talien]

Thanks, it's been so long since someone posted a comment I was starting to get worried.

All I have to say about what's coming up next is...Kham should have listened to Dril.

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 9 – Main Floor

A giant robed figure lumbered stiffly from the shadows as Kham landed on his feet.

The greenish haze from the nearest torch allowed a quick glimpse inside its hood. The ghastly visage that greeted Kham’s hasty glance made him wish he hadn’t bothered: beneath the hood was half a human and half an orc face stitched together crosswise running from one ear across the top lip and ending at the jawbone.

It advanced towards him with a guttural moan.

“Ah crap,” muttered Kham. He turned and sliced the rope with his scimitar. He shouted up towards Dril, whose head was a mere silhouette above. “I’m opening the door!”

A meaty fist pulverized the ground where Kham had landed. He jogged backwards and then spun to sprint towards the double doors.

There was a groan to his right.

“How many golems does this guy have?”

His answer came in the form of another fist barely missing his head.

“I’m in!” shouted Dril, closer to the ground this time.

Kham rolled to his feet with a dagger in his hands, its hilt splaying an octopus arms’ array of lock picks. The other golem pounded towards him.

He fiddled with the lock. “Come on, come on!”

There was a click. Kham didn’t have time to verify his success. Something big brushed his hair and smashed hard into the door just above his head. It slammed outwards.

“Ow!” shouted Vlad on the other side.

Kham leaped and rolled as two huge fists smashed furrows into to the ground.

Beldin and Vlad pounded into the warehouse. Vlad was still rubbing his nose.

Kham rolled to his left, but the golem kept tracking him. He wasn’t accustomed to such relentless single-mindedness in an opponent. “Guys, do something!”

There was a powerful explosion, and then Vlad and Beldin were trapped like Xerxes had once been, encased in bubbles of force.

“Sarish’s ass, not again!”

 

[talien]

Vengeance in Freeport: Part 10 – The Vaults

Kham skidded into a storage room and slammed the door closed. It was a flimsy wooden door.

WHAM! The wood creaked and splintered as a fist-sized dent appeared.

Kham pushed a large crate in front of the door.

WHAM! The golem’s fist penetrated the door. Through it, Kham could see signs of combat taking place.

He was running out of options. Kham dove behind crates and hid.

WHAM! The door fell off its hinges. The golem took a step forward, then hesitated. It wheeled around, an axe jutting from the back of its head.

Scarbelly roared a challenge. “That’s right! There’s more where that came from!”

Sebastian pointed at the masked, midnight-cloaked figure that had thrown the grenade. Vlad and Beldin were helpless, trapped by magical spheres of force. “Radius Incensio!”

Fiery races sliced into the cloaked figure. Bloody Vengeance soldiers unleashed a volley from their crossbows, peppering him with bolts.

Two more bears appeared, momentarily distracting the golems from their targets. The figure disappeared with a puff of smoke.

“Run, coward!” shouted Scarbelly. He yanked his axe out of the back of the golem, who swung around in confusion. “I’ll make quick work o' your rag dolls!”

Scarbelly hacked hard at the golem’s left ankle. It snapped off, tripping the thing.

As the golem fell to the ground, orcs descended upon it, hacking and roaring. Their ferocity was such that Sebastian took an involuntary step back.

The remaining flesh golem grabbed both bears by their necks and discarded them aside without effort. Prolk and Sebastian looked up at the looming shadow of the thing as it raised its fists…

The angry retort of Dril’s rifle sang out. What had once been the golem’s head exploded into its component parts. Orc and dark-kin were showered with brittle flesh and thread.

“Thanks,” said Sebastian.

“Come on!” shouted Scarbelly, his rage only temporarily abated. “Coombs has got t' have a vault around here somewhere!”

Kham peeked timidly out of the room where he had been hiding. “So we won?”

Sebastian glowered at him. “Thanks to Scarbelly and the orcs of the Bloody Vengeance.”

The val dusted himself off and ignored the comment. Dril gave him a welcome excuse by waving a piece of parchment.

“I found this on the floor.” Dril read it out loud. “It reads from left to right: three, five, seven, and two.”

“That’s a combination,” said Sebastian. “Let’s go stop Scarbelly before he gets us all killed.”

Kham turned to Beldin and Vlad, standing helplessly in their own personal bubbles. “You guys, uh…stay here.”