Metropolis (The World in Waiting) - Chapter One

[Festy_Dog]

Ba'aktar looked at the blood on his weapon. It looked no different from any other time he killed things. He ran a finger over the smears of blood then stuck it in his mouth. Certainly didn't taste any different either. He prodded the angry, angry torso and looked down on it.

"Would have been more fun if you attacked me, Hentre," Ba'aktar said, prodding the (h)armless halfling again with his sword, "Why attack the elf? Hmm? What's this thing that's my fault? Or his, whatever."

The half-orc bounced the couple of questions off Hentre, looking fairly relaxed while caked in blood and various forms of waste and prodding a noisy limbless torso with a sword.

 

[Fenris]

Ru's knuckles crack audibly as he clenches his fist, but he says nothing more, following the cocky man back to what's left of the halfling.

OOC:[sblock] It's like poking a lion with a stick [/sblock]

 

[Phoenix]

Vulgrath smiled at Twitchy, "Maybe Hentre was still blimaing Ba'aktar little one, perhaps we should ask him..."

The group slowly gathered about the dismembered corpse, the unliving halfling still screaming in pain, and for blood. With Ba'aktar taunting the pile of dismembered limbs, Vulgrath intervenes.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance my large friend?" His hands weave with magic...(did his hair get a little greyer?)...and he speaks once more. "Hentre, should you answer my questions you will die, there will be no more suffering, no more pain, consider this carefully."

Hentre stops, gurgles blood across his face, and listens.

"Tell us everything Hentre, why are you here? Answer Ba'aktar's questions, help us for a change."

Hentre looked up, in his eyes he knew that he was done for. That sparkle of evil and betrayal deep within his soul came forth, ready to spill what he knew.

"It's YOUR fault Ba'aktar. You left me with them Yellow Robes. After we killed all them priests of Urbanus* together, stealin' their gold an' stuff, the robes got me. Took me an' Yu'olan to see this Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk fella, he...he...did things."

"He sent me to find you, to get you to take me to Vulgrath, to kill him. He had the girl, Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk wanted her for something. I helped with the raid because, well, he didn' need them others anymore anyway, he's got everything that he needs....he can see the future, did you know that?"

Hentre's body convulses in spasms, usually it would signal his dying throes, but the halfing is past death.

"It's nearly here 'e says, and 'e needs the girl. If she gets back to Zimmerman, it's all over y'see? But I guess I don't care about that anymore..."

[sblock]*Urbanus is the religion based around the principal that the city is alive.[/sblock]

 

[jkason]

Ru frowns, wondering how a sewer magician could circumvent this crazy nondeath when the priests of Zsath themselves were having so much trouble. Maybe it was a trick. He decided not to ask until after they'd gotten what they needed to know.

"I'm going out on a limb and guessing Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk is--" he shoots a sidelong glare at Jackal momentarily but never pauses--"the leader of the Yellow Robes? What's he look like?"

To the group, Ru adds, "And since I'm new here: do we know a Zimmerman?"

 

[Bront]

"Stephanie Zimmerman was the little girl I first found over by the pit we climbed out of. Ghost was looking for her for her father." Taran says.

"Vulgrath, what is this he says about stealing gold from the priests of Urbanis?"

 

[Festy_Dog]

"It's YOUR fault Ba'aktar. You left me with them Yellow Robes. After we killed all them priests of Urbanus* together, stealin' their gold an' stuff, the robes got me. Took me an' Yu'olan to see this Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk fella, he...he...did things."

"He sent me to find you, to get you to take me to Vulgrath, to kill him. He had the girl, Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk wanted her for something. I helped with the raid because, well, he didn' need them others anymore anyway, he's got everything that he needs....he can see the future, did you know that?"

Ba'aktar's eyes narrowed dangerously at Hentre, and he tightened his grip on his cleaver-like sword. Things were moving in his head, and anger was just the corner.

"Vulgrath, what is this he says about stealing gold from the priests of Urbanis?"

"I can answer that," Ba'aktar says through gritted teeth, "It was the last job the four of us did. 'Olan, Hentre, Ulam, and me. There was supposed to be a fortune there, things went wrong, now it looks like I'm the last one left. All I got out of it was a weird coin and all this trouble."

With a audible grunt Ba'aktar hurls his khora at the ground, and it embedded deeply next to Hentre's head. He bent down and swooped up the torso, his meaty fist clamped on Hentre's collar. He levelled Hentre's eyes with his own, and for a moment there was pure negative emotion emanating from the half-orc's eyes. Anger, regret, frustration, shame.

"You think they didn't take me as well!? You think I got out of there without them doing anything to me!? By Humus something happened, and I'm just waiting now for it kick me in the ss. If I had found you I would've helped, but I didn't! Sht happens, and we've both been served steaming piles, Hentre!" with that Ba'aktar dropped what was left of Hentre into the pool of blood and gore he'd removed him from, and stalked off.

 

[D20Dazza]

Ghost is bemused by all that's going on "Where is Stephanie now Vulgath?" he asks the wizened elf before he continues addressing the old elf "You look somehow older, more ancient, since the attack, is the healing taking more than it should out of you?"

Turning to Ru Ghost says quiety "Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk is a God, the Yellow Robes are his followers, according to them he is the one true God."

Addressing the group-at-large the albino elf continues "I must get back to the office and see Burke. What will we do with these children? I'd hate to have saved them only to have them fall foul of some other miscreant' the lasts he says with a sly sideways look at the Jackal.

 

[Fenris]

Ghost is bemused by all that's going on "Where is Stephanie now Vulgath?" he asks the wizened elf before he continues addressing the old elf "You look somehow older, more ancient, since the attack, is the healing taking more than it should out of you?"

Turning to Ru Ghost says quiety "Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk is a God, the Yellow Robes are his followers, according to them he is the one true God."

Addressing the group-at-large the albino elf continues "I must get back to the office and see Burke. What will we do with these children? I'd hate to have saved them only to have them fall foul of some other miscreant' the lasts he says with a sly sideways look at the Jackal.

"Or worse, they could work for the press and become libelers" retorts The Jackal. "But I was hoping that this was a safe enough haven, for now at least, and that sanctuary could be found for them. Many of that group, there" the Jackal points to a small gaggle of boys, "have families and I can return them, though their families may not welcome them back."

The Jackal pauses then continues "As for the yellow robes, we have only wounded them and then stolen what was valuable. They are not gone, They will reform, they will steal children again. And believe me, we are running out of time to stop them. As for Hess Ne-el Il'ithuk, he may not yet be a god, and at least there are ways......, well, we can cross that divine bridge when it comes. But we must remember, this is not yet over." And the Jackal grows silent and pensive.

 

[Phoenix]

Vulgrath sits on a nearby rock resting his bones. "I am tired Ghost, but my troubles are not yours. As for Stephanie, she is over there." Vulgrath raises one frail arm and points into the crowd of children where Stephanie stands.

"And if no-one has any further questions for Hentre here, I would like to see to his permenant demise, none should have to suffer like he."

Vulgrath pushes himself to his feet and hobbles across to the dismembered halfling, pausing only once to look back at Ghost.

"You did bring back Stephanie's soul didn't you?"

 

[Bront]

"I don't know if anyone found it Vulgrath." Taran says.