Fate - First Reply Execution Day

[Lord Skavius Drytail]

Ask anyone on the surface to describe Arethil’s Underrealm, and they would likely relate to you a claustrophobic tale of twisting tunnels and cramped squeezes, barely large enough for a man to fit through and dangerously close to collapse. They would be correct, for the Underrealm stretched like spidery fingers through the very skin of Arethil. Yet like all things dark and mysterious, the Underrealm holds many majesties as of yet unappreciated by the uninitiated sun-walker. Spread amongst the convoluted passages are massive, beautiful caverns, with ceilings higher than castles and volumes that could swallow a town.;

Or, at least, a few blocks.

It was within one of these large caverns that Lord Skavius Drytail, self-proclaimed Kingpin of the Underrealm wherever his loyal Rous henchmen laid their grubby hands, chose to build his gallows. The sinister stalactites hung like fangs from above, dancing in the reflected torchlight. The cavern was plenty large enough to hold a large audience, which was of course the most important part of an execution.

Yes, people needed to see them. They needed to love them! They needed to fear them. The life of a crime boss came with no shortage of enemies and nay-sayers who needed to be made examples of. As benevolent as Drytail was with his low tax rates and premium protection services, as much as he gave to these communities in the form of narcotic-driven income and tourism, there were still those who wishes to thwart him.

It was sad, really.

On this day a large crowd had indeed gathered. A mismatched group of all the ugliness the Underrealm had to offer. Rous and goblins, cave trolls and even a drow or two had gathered to see the good Lord cleave the life from some piece of filth.

Drytail stood at the edge of an unevenly constructed wooden stage and raised his stubby arms for silence.

”My friends, my scavengerous people! How good it is that you are all here to see justice!” His voice was deep and powerful, and carried across the dank air.

There was a screeching applause which persisting for a few seconds before again being silenced by a raised hand. The stage groaned in protest of his absurd weight.

”I so love these damp caves and musty caverns, but there are those who. Do. Not.” Boos and hisses flared from the crowd.

”This creature,” he flung a pointing finger back at a bruised and bloodied goblin being supported by two sturdy-looking rous, ”has stolen from us. Stolen from me. And! He conspired to bring others into your homes and threaten our prosperity! For this, I, Lord Skavius Drytail, have sentenced him to die.”

The applause was thunderous, and Drytail accepted it graciously. He then turned and motioned for his weapon to be brought, his entire body jiggling beneath his mismatched armor as he did so. The Farmer’s Wife was a heavy, ugly weapon, but it had served far better than any other tool of diplomacy he had tried. The goblin, who’s legs had obviously been broken, was hoisted forwards and bent over a roughly flattened boulder. The stone was marred by numerous deep cuts and years worth of spilled blood. The crowd’s eagerness was deafening.

”Too easy,” he mused to himself. The goblin had been nobody, had done nothing more than taken a bit of slop from some cave-vendor’s cart. Unfortunately for him, that vendor was a front for a very profitable business venture, and Drytail needed a good scapegoat every now and then to rile the people to his favor.

The prisoner said something, but his face was too swollen from beatings for any words to be made out. In an astonishing display of strength, Lord Drytail raised the gigantic weapon over his head.

 

[Xzaar Vixneel]

"Xzaar, protector of the forest and it's people, I beseech you!"

The title was... new. The harsh, raspy voice with a slight high pitch was also unheard of.
​

The elf removed his quiver and bow, threw it beside his bed, then collapsed onto it. His muscles and head ached, his breath labored and a few cuts mar his skin. He had just came back to his cabin in a secluded area within the falwood. Lawbring'n to a village tends to exhaust you, so a good rest is needed to tackle the next challenge. At least, that's what he planned. He built this cabin to be away from people and get the rest he craved, so imagine his surprise when a green, pointy eared fellow hobbled through the door he was too lazy to close, begging for his help. A... goblin? Truth be told, he's never seen one, but goblins are the type of creatures that when you see one, you know what it is. The poor creature was only about as tall as his midsection. "Calm down... Speak slowly and take a deep breath. Then, tell me what happ--"

"The underrealm! my twin brother was nabbed by Rous! He ain' done nothin' wrong! He's just confused. He swiped somethin' from a vendor, and they took him!" The goblin explained, ignoring Xzaar's advice as he paced through the room, gesticulating around in a panic. Xzaar leaned back, pinching the bridge of his nose as he visibly struggled to piece this scrambled together story together. What the hell are Rous? And don't even get him started on the Under realm. There was some squabbling back and forth, which the goblin tried to insist that there isn't any time to argue while Xzaar argued that we wouldn't have to worry about time if you explained yourself properly. After about ten minutes, he was finally able to piece the story together. His brother is being executed for a petty crime. The price of death, in his opinion, is unjust for a thief, and even though he is exhausted from previous fights, he cannot refuse this goblin; the poor soul had sought him out through passerby's in the area and it'd be downright cruel to turn him away.

Although, he regret this decision after being informed of the underworlds foreign customs. Men are the minority, outsiders are highly unwelcome, there's several hostile creatures that inhabit the depths and, the icing on the horrendous cake, it's dark. Really dark. The goblin had shown him the entrance he came from, and he was hesitant to proceed, but did so after the goblin went inside first. He'd need his eyes to travel the dark caverns.

The dangers that lurked throughout the chambers had hurled several obstacles their way, such as a giant spider that descended from the ceiling, ensnaring the both of them and forcing the elf to use a little magic to free themselves. The duo fled the area, and now the situation required a circumspect approach. Doing what he does best, he obscured himself within crevices in the cave systems, and by using some mimicry. he was able to blend in the walls almost seamlessly. With the goblin being his eyes, they were able to steer clear of danger until the journey concluded.

His mimicry faded, and the glint of torchlight in the next cavern had caught his eye, followed by the discordant shouting of a crowd that reverberated through the walls.

”This creature,” he flung a pointing finger back at a bruised and bloodied goblin being supported by two sturdy-looking rous, ”has stolen from us. Stolen from me. And! He conspired to bring others into your homes and threaten our prosperity! For this, I, Lord Skavius Drytail, have sentenced him to die.

Hearing that, the goblin took Xzaar by the hand and rushed into the gallows. "The bastard's fibbin'" The goblin protested, about to run headfirst into the crowd before the elf stopped him, changed direction and charged up a nearby ledge so he could get a vantage point. From there, they spotted the goblin who's legs had been visibly bent out of place, and the obese Rous who announced the execution. "There's no time. Go back to my cabin. I can't be worrying about you while rescuing him and keeping my own ass alive," he said, nocking an arrow as he fixated on Drytail. The goblin barely got out a syllable to oppose leaving his brother, but acquiesced once Xzaar glared at him. He stepped down off the ledge, running from the area to head back for the cabin.

He pulled back his arrow, aiming it for Drytail. Assassination... or-- Screw it. Deciding that he'd rather not have the potential death of a kingpin on his hands, considering how dangerous that can be, he went for the a... smash and grab approach. As Skavius, in a rather impressive feat of strength for someone of his size, lifted the large blade above his head, the runes on the elf's bow started to glow a dim, silver color, traveling down it, through the bowstring, up the arrow shaft and finally into the tip. Then, electricity enveloped the tip, causing it to glow blue. The plan was simple: cause a little chaos after firing, use it to slip through the area, secure the goblin and get out of there. Simple, right?

Fixating his sights on the stage that Skavius stood upon, he fired the arrow with trained precision as the added piercing effect from the runes made sure to embed the arrow within the stage. After striking into the stage, the electricity surged throughout the arrow, sending streaks in a few directions before charging straight for Drytail's sword and armor, as well as any metals his men might be holding. This should stun him for a few moments. The current would guide past the injured goblin as he most likely doesn't have any conductive objects on him, unless he was shackled.

Soon after that arrow was fired, he used the stored emotion of joy, causing euphoria to deluge his mind as his worries left his mind. The excitement that took hold of him boosted his speed, as he ran along the ledge in a blur, taking a leap from it and descending towards the stage. As he was still in the air, his joy deactivated as he touched the stage floor, and the arrows effect had vanished in that time. Killing the kingpin was off the table for now, but the guards were free game. Shards of Neon green energy had carved themselves into the air around him via the use of Avarice. Ten in total, and as he thrust his arm forwards, shards of five had darted towards the two Rous. As those were the only men in sight, as well as Skavius who hopefully dropped his sword, Xzaar would attempt grab the goblin and sling him over his shoulder. Now, an exit! The tunnels he entered through shouldn't be hard to escape from... right?

 

[Lord Skavius Drytail]

The crowd fell silent in a collective drawn breath as the giant, dark piece of steel lifted into the air. They were waiting, ready to hear the squish and clang of it chopping through meat to leave another long scar in the stone. And in that silence, a single whisper carried through. It grew louder, and lasted only a couple of second before the arrow bit the stage with a dull thunk.

"What-" was all the rotundulous rous could say before the shaft exploded into arcing blue fingers of lightning and sparks. The kingpin was pushed wholly off of his stubby feet, and his blade swung down and embedded itself in the stage just behind the captive goblin's feet. Those who had brought him to the stone, and been closer to the blast, had actually been blown back and lay clutching at their eyes and ears until the green shards ended their squirms.

The crowd, of course, was cacophonous. Screams, yells, and even laughter, rippled through the cavern. Drytail blinked his beady eyes, trying to clear the stars and shake the ringing from his ears. His whole body ached from the sudden convulsion Xzaar's electricity had wrought through it, and he scrambled like a turtle upon its back, unable to raise himself until a personal bodyguard and a thin, bedraggled advisor lifted him (with effort).

His vision was still blurred, but he saw a strange-looking fellow alight upon the stage with unusual grace and... steal his prisoner!

"Sfeeze'im!" He tried at first, his jaw and tongue not wishing to cooperate from the sudden shock. His aids looked confused, and with great effort, he pointed a shaking, rage-filled digit and reiterated: "Seize... him!!"

Elves (with the exception of Drow) were not common in the underrealm. Unless Xzaar had concealed his appearance very well, the citizens within the cavern would pick him out at once. Of course, carrying an unconscious and beaten goblin tended to add to ones conspicuousness. A few smaller rous had been within the crowd, further from the blast. They were no more than hired thieves, but they were nimble and quick, and they set after the graceful elf upon hearing Drytail's command. A pair lept onto the stage with knives in hand, while three others snaked through the turbulent crowd.

 

[Xzaar Vixneel]

(HOLY I'M SORRY for being the Chronicles king of late replies here lol. I hope we're still on for this. I d i e d.)

The emotion invoked from his intrusion is an Empaths buffet. Misery, especially in this situation, is an easy emotion to gain. Same as joy, which he'd typically never siphon because it's precious to people, but since he's in a cave full of thieves who enjoy people tumbling and others sentenced to execution, he made an exception.

There was no possible way to conceal his appearance or use a little mimicry to get himself out of this situation in a manner of stealth. No one in the crowd resembled him at all. He saw a few elves, but they were dark ones. He knew he'd be spotted at once, especially carrying the goblin, so this has now became a smash and grab opposed to the intended in and out. His guide retreated back to the cabin like he instructed, so he'll have to go out the way he came. The problem is all these guards.

Xzaar is outnumbered and handicapped at the moment, so he'll have to rely on a little magic.

an unevenly constructed wooden stage

Luckily for the elf

The stage groaned in protest of his absurd weight.

Drytail made it too easy.
The empath reached out to the reserves of misery he collected from the crowd, and I condemn this stage to fail. Drytails weight, combined with the dozens of stomping feet to flee in the chaos, and the very design he chose for this stage, Xzaar provided it with a little curse to finally push it to collapse. The stage could buckle under everyone's weight, eventually collapsing and potentially leading to Drytail rolling into the crowd, igniting even more of a frenzy so the three guards the rat ordered couldn't effectively pass. The two others on stage, would hopefully take a tumble as well.

As for Xzaar, he also had to escape this particular cavern. As the stage would creak and groan, he thrust his arm out, summoning an arc of neon Avarice to leap forth and over the heads of the crowd. He can't go through, under or around, so let's try over. The elf, clutching the injured goblin so he wouldn't lose him to the madness below, stepped onto the small bridge he conjured and ran across it. He must escape through the entryway, then retrace his steps to eventually find his way out of this literally hell hole. It's gonna be harder in the dark, and he has to avoid the creatures... and drytail.