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Wulf's Collected Story Hour -- FINAL UPDATE 12/25
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<blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 736" data-attributes="member: 94"><p><strong>THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part III)</strong></p><p></p><p>Captain Shella stood aside as Wulf grabbed the body and started following her men to the Temple of Pelor. It was a short walk from the bell tower in the center of town, but the distance stretched out with the silence. With rat-men about, Wulf trusted no one. Surely they'd try to pin a murder on him. He gave himself 50/50 odds of swinging from a gallows before the next nightfall.</p><p></p><p>Finally they reached the Temple, where acolytes came out to greet them, eyeing the body and casting a sympathetic eye over the party. Wulf quickly cut them off, "No, he's beyond healing, and no friend of ours even if he wasn't. Need yer to work some spells over this corpse, get him to fess up to being a rat." Wulf wrapped his hands around the dead man and gave him a squeeze across the ribs. A pathetic gurgle bubbled from his lips.</p><p></p><p>"Got a little life left in yer, aye?" Wulf grinned and dropped the body in a heap. He took a seat on a low bench and propped his boots on the corpse. "We'll just wait here for yer high priest."</p><p></p><p>The acolytes glanced at Captain Shella. "We must apologize... our high priest is a very old man... and he needs his rest. We'll take the bodies from you now, and prepare them for the rituals tomorrow." Captain Shella nodded.</p><p></p><p>Wulf thought it over. By all accounts this Pelor was a pretty upstanding fellow. If his own priests were turned by the rats, and his temple infiltrated, they were all in bigger trouble than worrying about a little tussle with a local rogue. He looked up at Keldas, who seemed to be thinking the very same thing, and nodded. "Right. Right, then. We'll see yer in the morning."</p><p></p><p>It was a rough night. Even in their relatively upscale accomodations, Wulf slept lightly, <em>Taranak</em> at the ready, listening for the sound of vengeful rat-men. It was difficult to hear over the sound of the halfling droning away blissfully. He certainly was a good little sleeper-- as if he didn't have an enemy in the world.</p><p></p><p>Morning came eventually, and Wulf, bleary-eyed, led the company back to the temple. The high priest-- a very old man indeed-- was there to greet them. Wulf straigtened his back respectfully, and gave the priest the symbol of the blazing sun-- though to the uneducated, it might perhaps have looked suspiciously like the usual upraised fist. "Praise Pelor! Up the Sun!" </p><p></p><p>The priest smiled back and welcomed them into the temple once again. Wulf smiled back to show his sincerity, and hid his nervousness with some light hearted banter. "Well, they say prayin' to the sun every day ages a man... but, ahh, yer look mighty well preserved if you ask me-- tough, yer know... like a nice piece o' goblin jerky." The very old man merely smiled back and led them under the huge golden dome of Pelor.</p><p></p><p>"Nice temple yer got here... much better during the day. Been thinking about converting to Pelor myself, lately. Love the Sun! And yer know what they say about worshippers of Pelor, right?"</p><p></p><p>"No, what's that?"</p><p></p><p>" 'Show me a man who greets each sunrise with a big smile, and I'll show yer a man with tan gums.' " Wulf smiled and made the fist again. He could tell: he was doing <em>very</em> well indeed.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I'm sure you're here about those men you brought in last night..."</p><p></p><p>"Aye... and we could use some healin' too, while yer at it." Wulf jerked a thumb at Halma. "He got nicked up pretty bad by were-rats, need some belly-donner or summat, right?"</p><p></p><p>"Of course, of course." The very old man motioned to some of his acolytes, who began quietly and unobtrusively laying hands on their wounds. "And you probably want to know what information we have for you?"</p><p></p><p>They all nodded, so the priest went on. "Well, you were right: they were rat-men; unfortunately their corpses were less than forthcoming about any other knowledge they may have had. We had no luck in winkling out their leader or their headquarters."</p><p></p><p>"Don't be daft, it was that rat Turvin, holed up in the bell tower. We'll just head back and fix <em>him</em> proper, right?" Wulf looked around at his companions. They seemed ready enough.</p><p></p><p>"Right then. Keep the fires burnin', priest, we'll be back for more, soon enough." Wulf stalked out, his back already to the priests, raising his fist at the last minute as he passed through the doors. "Up the Sun!" </p><p></p><p>Wulf was in bright spirits, refreshed in body and mind from his visit to the temple, and there was a spring in his step as the party headed back to find the old ratman. Sure, it was possible he was simply relieved that they wouldn't be arrested, or perhaps he was merely looking forward to the righteous slaughter of Turvin and his henchmen; but he preferred to think that, just maybe, Pelor had put a little sunshine in his heart. He gazed up at the sun shining down on the bell tower. There were no gargoyles or other imposing edifices leering down at them, now, under the blessed sunlight. (Praise Pelor!)</p><p></p><p>Wulf casually pushed the door open, his grin vanishing as he stepped into the shadows of the old man's abode. It was abandoned-- nobody home to meet sweet justice. The rest of the party came in and started looking around. There was an old desk-- now stripped bare of any diary or incriminating notes. Wulf muttered low curses to himself as he ignited <em>Taranak</em> and hacked the desk into tiny, glowing embers. </p><p></p><p>Keldas looked up from across the room, taking his gaze off the floor, where his keen eyes sought out a hidden trapdoor. "If there's a secret compartment in there, you'll destroy any evidence we might find."</p><p></p><p>"To Hell with evidence! I had my evidence last night, but yer got in the way!" </p><p></p><p>"Be patient!" Keldas continued meticulously searching for secret doors, backed up by the halfling. After a minute of watching their silent and pointless search, Wulf could stand no more. He stomped outside to find the sun gone-- and the skies clouding over.</p><p></p><p>-----</p><p></p><p>They wandered aimlessly through the streets, utterly clueless as to their "next step," or even if there <em>was</em> another step. It was possible, perhaps likely, that they'd driven off Turvin and his band of ratmen for good. So they turned their efforts towards drumming up some more business.</p><p></p><p>Wulf put together a short flyer ("For Hire: Three valiant adventurers, and one peck...") which they distributed around the various pubs in town, followed by a visit to the Baron's manor house. They were greeted by the major domo, who as usual managed to be obsequious and yet completely unflappable and impassible. He informed them that the Baron was already aware of their presence in town, was thankful for their help with the ratmen, but was unfortunately too busy preparing for his big speech to welcome the merchants and kick off the fair... buh-bye.</p><p></p><p>Wulf added the major domo to his growing list of likely villains in desperate need of the taste of boot leather, blood, and their own teeth. </p><p></p><p>He left the manor house in an even fouler mood. As they passed through the market square again, the halfling skipped ahead, jumping and pointing. "Ooh! Street performers!"</p><p></p><p>A small stage was set up against an old building. Some half-dozen men and women, dressed in ridiculous outfits, were regaling a growing crowd with a tale of star-crossed lovers, or some other such nonsense. Wulf grinned and made a beeline for the nearest fruit stand, looking for anything rotten or over-ripe. "Now yer talkin'."</p><p></p><p>Keldas frowned. "Not a patron of the arts, are you? What, you don't care for the fine art of the thespian?"</p><p></p><p>"Hey, hey now. Speak for yerself! I like watchin' a couple of thespians goin' at it as much as the next guy, but I ain't passin' up an opportunity like this." He hefted an apple and judged the distance to the stage. Keldas frowned and took Alliane's arm, steering her closer for a better look. Halma hesitantly padded after them, unsure exactly what was going on.</p><p></p><p>Wulf waited for the dramatically appropriate moment to pelt the performers with rotten fruit. The star-crossed lovers had moved to the front of the stage, leaving their bickering families behind them, when suddenly there was a hideous cry from one of the women near the back of the stage. Blood came gushing from her neck, spraying the actors in front, and she toppled over, revealing a disgusting creature on her back. It had disgusting grey skin, wild wiry hair, and the white eyes of the cave-blind. Its mouth and claws were covered in her blood. It began feasting, tearing at her flesh, heedless of the crowd around it.</p><p></p><p>Wulf dropped his apple, his jaw hanging open, and began to applaud wildly. "Huzzah! Now THAT'S a play!"</p><p></p><p>Another half-dozen of the creatures came bounding onto the stage from some hidden bolt-hole, swinging axes from side to side and cleaving through the remaining actors. Wulf continued to applaud, but Keldas and Alianne had already begun casting spells, and Halma had leapt up onto the stage at their urging, his greatsword sweeping back and forth with precision, trying to save the remaining actors from the ravenous assault.</p><p></p><p>Wulf hesitated a moment longer, wondering if he could possibly convince himself that this was all just part of the show. Far be it from him to disturb an actor in pursuit of his "craft." Farther still to give a rat's ass about the worthless life of another actor. His mind was rather quickly made up, however, when he spotted the leader of the creatures at the edge of the stage, a battle-axe in one hand and a rather interesting hand-axe in the other. Wulf didn't have Keldas' eye for the arcane, but he could spot masterwork when he saw it. And he wanted it.</p><p></p><p>Wulf rushed the stage, bringing out <em>Taranak</em> in both hands as he charged. He crashed into the leader from the side at full tilt, slashing his axe in a blazing arc. His foe staggered and Wulf took advantage of that brief moment to draw a dagger into his off-hand. The two of them fought toe-to-toe for several moments. Wulf noted that his opponent fought two-weapon style, as he did, but in the unskilled, uneducated, and ultimately ineffective style of the so-called "Rangers." Before long Wulf had his boot on his foe's wrist and was prying the hand-axe from his death grip. "Lazy prick. That'll teach yer to try to fake it against a real pro." </p><p></p><p>Wulf looked up and was pleased to see that all of the creatures had been slain-- as had nearly all of the actors. The stage was slick and black with blood, and the crowd before them stood agape at the carnage. Some unlucky few in the front row were splattered with gore.</p><p></p><p>Wulf stomped to the edge of the stage, his arms spread wide, an axe in either hand. The crowd instinctively backed away, until Wulf stopped-- and bowed deeply. </p><p></p><p>The applause rang in his ears.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wulf Ratbane, post: 736, member: 94"] [b]THE SPEAKER IN DREAMS (Part III)[/b] Captain Shella stood aside as Wulf grabbed the body and started following her men to the Temple of Pelor. It was a short walk from the bell tower in the center of town, but the distance stretched out with the silence. With rat-men about, Wulf trusted no one. Surely they'd try to pin a murder on him. He gave himself 50/50 odds of swinging from a gallows before the next nightfall. Finally they reached the Temple, where acolytes came out to greet them, eyeing the body and casting a sympathetic eye over the party. Wulf quickly cut them off, "No, he's beyond healing, and no friend of ours even if he wasn't. Need yer to work some spells over this corpse, get him to fess up to being a rat." Wulf wrapped his hands around the dead man and gave him a squeeze across the ribs. A pathetic gurgle bubbled from his lips. "Got a little life left in yer, aye?" Wulf grinned and dropped the body in a heap. He took a seat on a low bench and propped his boots on the corpse. "We'll just wait here for yer high priest." The acolytes glanced at Captain Shella. "We must apologize... our high priest is a very old man... and he needs his rest. We'll take the bodies from you now, and prepare them for the rituals tomorrow." Captain Shella nodded. Wulf thought it over. By all accounts this Pelor was a pretty upstanding fellow. If his own priests were turned by the rats, and his temple infiltrated, they were all in bigger trouble than worrying about a little tussle with a local rogue. He looked up at Keldas, who seemed to be thinking the very same thing, and nodded. "Right. Right, then. We'll see yer in the morning." It was a rough night. Even in their relatively upscale accomodations, Wulf slept lightly, [i]Taranak[/i] at the ready, listening for the sound of vengeful rat-men. It was difficult to hear over the sound of the halfling droning away blissfully. He certainly was a good little sleeper-- as if he didn't have an enemy in the world. Morning came eventually, and Wulf, bleary-eyed, led the company back to the temple. The high priest-- a very old man indeed-- was there to greet them. Wulf straigtened his back respectfully, and gave the priest the symbol of the blazing sun-- though to the uneducated, it might perhaps have looked suspiciously like the usual upraised fist. "Praise Pelor! Up the Sun!" The priest smiled back and welcomed them into the temple once again. Wulf smiled back to show his sincerity, and hid his nervousness with some light hearted banter. "Well, they say prayin' to the sun every day ages a man... but, ahh, yer look mighty well preserved if you ask me-- tough, yer know... like a nice piece o' goblin jerky." The very old man merely smiled back and led them under the huge golden dome of Pelor. "Nice temple yer got here... much better during the day. Been thinking about converting to Pelor myself, lately. Love the Sun! And yer know what they say about worshippers of Pelor, right?" "No, what's that?" " 'Show me a man who greets each sunrise with a big smile, and I'll show yer a man with tan gums.' " Wulf smiled and made the fist again. He could tell: he was doing [i]very[/i] well indeed. "Well, I'm sure you're here about those men you brought in last night..." "Aye... and we could use some healin' too, while yer at it." Wulf jerked a thumb at Halma. "He got nicked up pretty bad by were-rats, need some belly-donner or summat, right?" "Of course, of course." The very old man motioned to some of his acolytes, who began quietly and unobtrusively laying hands on their wounds. "And you probably want to know what information we have for you?" They all nodded, so the priest went on. "Well, you were right: they were rat-men; unfortunately their corpses were less than forthcoming about any other knowledge they may have had. We had no luck in winkling out their leader or their headquarters." "Don't be daft, it was that rat Turvin, holed up in the bell tower. We'll just head back and fix [i]him[/i] proper, right?" Wulf looked around at his companions. They seemed ready enough. "Right then. Keep the fires burnin', priest, we'll be back for more, soon enough." Wulf stalked out, his back already to the priests, raising his fist at the last minute as he passed through the doors. "Up the Sun!" Wulf was in bright spirits, refreshed in body and mind from his visit to the temple, and there was a spring in his step as the party headed back to find the old ratman. Sure, it was possible he was simply relieved that they wouldn't be arrested, or perhaps he was merely looking forward to the righteous slaughter of Turvin and his henchmen; but he preferred to think that, just maybe, Pelor had put a little sunshine in his heart. He gazed up at the sun shining down on the bell tower. There were no gargoyles or other imposing edifices leering down at them, now, under the blessed sunlight. (Praise Pelor!) Wulf casually pushed the door open, his grin vanishing as he stepped into the shadows of the old man's abode. It was abandoned-- nobody home to meet sweet justice. The rest of the party came in and started looking around. There was an old desk-- now stripped bare of any diary or incriminating notes. Wulf muttered low curses to himself as he ignited [i]Taranak[/i] and hacked the desk into tiny, glowing embers. Keldas looked up from across the room, taking his gaze off the floor, where his keen eyes sought out a hidden trapdoor. "If there's a secret compartment in there, you'll destroy any evidence we might find." "To Hell with evidence! I had my evidence last night, but yer got in the way!" "Be patient!" Keldas continued meticulously searching for secret doors, backed up by the halfling. After a minute of watching their silent and pointless search, Wulf could stand no more. He stomped outside to find the sun gone-- and the skies clouding over. ----- They wandered aimlessly through the streets, utterly clueless as to their "next step," or even if there [i]was[/i] another step. It was possible, perhaps likely, that they'd driven off Turvin and his band of ratmen for good. So they turned their efforts towards drumming up some more business. Wulf put together a short flyer ("For Hire: Three valiant adventurers, and one peck...") which they distributed around the various pubs in town, followed by a visit to the Baron's manor house. They were greeted by the major domo, who as usual managed to be obsequious and yet completely unflappable and impassible. He informed them that the Baron was already aware of their presence in town, was thankful for their help with the ratmen, but was unfortunately too busy preparing for his big speech to welcome the merchants and kick off the fair... buh-bye. Wulf added the major domo to his growing list of likely villains in desperate need of the taste of boot leather, blood, and their own teeth. He left the manor house in an even fouler mood. As they passed through the market square again, the halfling skipped ahead, jumping and pointing. "Ooh! Street performers!" A small stage was set up against an old building. Some half-dozen men and women, dressed in ridiculous outfits, were regaling a growing crowd with a tale of star-crossed lovers, or some other such nonsense. Wulf grinned and made a beeline for the nearest fruit stand, looking for anything rotten or over-ripe. "Now yer talkin'." Keldas frowned. "Not a patron of the arts, are you? What, you don't care for the fine art of the thespian?" "Hey, hey now. Speak for yerself! I like watchin' a couple of thespians goin' at it as much as the next guy, but I ain't passin' up an opportunity like this." He hefted an apple and judged the distance to the stage. Keldas frowned and took Alliane's arm, steering her closer for a better look. Halma hesitantly padded after them, unsure exactly what was going on. Wulf waited for the dramatically appropriate moment to pelt the performers with rotten fruit. The star-crossed lovers had moved to the front of the stage, leaving their bickering families behind them, when suddenly there was a hideous cry from one of the women near the back of the stage. Blood came gushing from her neck, spraying the actors in front, and she toppled over, revealing a disgusting creature on her back. It had disgusting grey skin, wild wiry hair, and the white eyes of the cave-blind. Its mouth and claws were covered in her blood. It began feasting, tearing at her flesh, heedless of the crowd around it. Wulf dropped his apple, his jaw hanging open, and began to applaud wildly. "Huzzah! Now THAT'S a play!" Another half-dozen of the creatures came bounding onto the stage from some hidden bolt-hole, swinging axes from side to side and cleaving through the remaining actors. Wulf continued to applaud, but Keldas and Alianne had already begun casting spells, and Halma had leapt up onto the stage at their urging, his greatsword sweeping back and forth with precision, trying to save the remaining actors from the ravenous assault. Wulf hesitated a moment longer, wondering if he could possibly convince himself that this was all just part of the show. Far be it from him to disturb an actor in pursuit of his "craft." Farther still to give a rat's ass about the worthless life of another actor. His mind was rather quickly made up, however, when he spotted the leader of the creatures at the edge of the stage, a battle-axe in one hand and a rather interesting hand-axe in the other. Wulf didn't have Keldas' eye for the arcane, but he could spot masterwork when he saw it. And he wanted it. Wulf rushed the stage, bringing out [i]Taranak[/i] in both hands as he charged. He crashed into the leader from the side at full tilt, slashing his axe in a blazing arc. His foe staggered and Wulf took advantage of that brief moment to draw a dagger into his off-hand. The two of them fought toe-to-toe for several moments. Wulf noted that his opponent fought two-weapon style, as he did, but in the unskilled, uneducated, and ultimately ineffective style of the so-called "Rangers." Before long Wulf had his boot on his foe's wrist and was prying the hand-axe from his death grip. "Lazy prick. That'll teach yer to try to fake it against a real pro." Wulf looked up and was pleased to see that all of the creatures had been slain-- as had nearly all of the actors. The stage was slick and black with blood, and the crowd before them stood agape at the carnage. Some unlucky few in the front row were splattered with gore. Wulf stomped to the edge of the stage, his arms spread wide, an axe in either hand. The crowd instinctively backed away, until Wulf stopped-- and bowed deeply. The applause rang in his ears. [/QUOTE]
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