Private Tales The Areck Abductions

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Xithispk N'Xilna

A Chi'xilixi without a Hive
Member
Messages
22
Character Biography
Link
"First it was old Gubshanks the fisherman. Or it might have started before that. People don't exactly care about slum folk the way they do em good an proper citizens. Especially the folk who weren't in good with any em ...organizations. But Gubshanks disappeared two months ago. And some say a whole family of em Komodi got taken too. But other folk say the just packed up and left like em ones do.

But ah... let's see now, then we lost uh... Brayarn and Brayiln the dwarvish twins. Then some elven lass who waited tables at the old tavern off in the east Slums with the wooden swords in the windows. Then Marita Grouser's favorite hen got snatched... they say that's not a part of it, course sweet little Marita beg to differ... But hmm...

Then Morvin Offletop, that talentless hack of a bard. Ha! I tells ye most people seemed relieved that infernal noise he called music wouldn't keep em up all night anymore! Hahaha... aw... the poor sod's innards are probably decorating some demon worshipper’s torture chamber as we speak and em folks is still just happy he ain't making no noise no more.... hahahaha ohh... That's all it ever is though, eh?

Ah, but then that Orcish woman at used to hunt her own food and keep to herself. Graela, or Grelna, or some such name as sounded like green. But she used to be a real tough archer... Some manner o scout or a ranger wit some kind of mercenary company fore moving to the old Areck Slums.

Ya know ...we also been missing some fine ladies of the night around this way too nows I think of it. Tell ye what, gimme enough coins I can go get a night with that halfling cutie always in the Shallows markets for whoever or whatever it is come get her or me next.. hahahaha!”

-Zeko the Babbler


* * * * *

"The Big Bad Bug" the guards had called him jokingly. It was an ironic nickname to be sure. Ever since they'd come for him at the inn, Xithispk had done nothing to indicate an aggressive demeanor. Not even when that recruit took out some extra frustration on him. Partly he was curious to understand how this strange multiracial Hive functioned. Partly he was still not so impressed with continued existence. And partly he was developing a strange sort of fatalism. Many times he should have died on Malakath. Both when his Hive was destroyed. And then. After...

He was also beginning to notice more patterns in the common language of these ones. But it was still mostly mammalian gobbledegook sounds that could hardly be expected to pass for a real language. However he had been able to discern that this Hive was called by the sounds Ah Leer Ee Ya... and that something was wrong with the already seemingly disordered and disorganized functions of it. And that HE was being blamed.

He had no idea that people were being taken from the Slums or that the disappearances seemed to be increasing enough to make the people take notice. Nor did he really understand that he had been taken in in case he was the hostile agent behind these crimes. For all he knew this was how the Hives here treated new arrivals and foreigners until they could be accepted as Hive allies or sent away as outsiders.

But the crimes were puzzling largely because no one could discern a pattern in the victims nor find evidence of struggling. No blood. Not even a broken window. And in the absence of any real clues or leads, the guard had been pressured to find someone to take the blame.

Most intelligent leaders in the city knew that this was exactly the kind of thing that could get out of hand if not stopped before it REALLY got started. Unfortunately it was too damned mysterious for anyone to come up with a better counter move than jailing possible kidnappers. The guard was frustrated. The slum folk were on edge. And even some the less than legal operators in the Shallows were starting to shift uncomfortably as well. This mystery was decidedly bad for business.

And bad for business was even worse in a city that thrived on trade.

* * * * *

The insectman sat alone in the dungeon cell in meditation as two guards made there way closer. He could hear the sounds they made as they got closer. Those odd mamalian sounds.

”So we're what? Just gonna let him go?”

"Slum folk are still being taken. And he's been in here, locked up and under MY supervision this past fortnight. Anyone says he did that one, I can't believe they have much brains left."

"But what if he IS involved?"

"May as well be asking if anyone else we already got locked up is involved. Or maybe it was the corpse of that bandit leader we hung the other day.”

"But-”

”It don't matter! We been told to let him out. And I'm not about to piss off the Captain. Besides, this one shows no signs of magic and they're saying it'd have to be a mage to leave no traces like they been...”


Suchus Nycto Oleg Pandora Kiros Rahnel
 
Last edited:
The demon imitator. a simple name, but what didn't do good for her persona, was her having to drag herself into the market to sell off her random enchanted junk. those guards mentioning a "big bad bug" did not do well for her phobia....so she decided to just sell the stuff and leave....and to her dismay, the store turned out to have closed exactly 4 minutes earlier....great. is she REALLY gonna have to stay overnight? she should just go to the inn and drink away her fears again....NO! she's going to tough through it and set up her scam shop. "Be reasonable Pandora, the guards said he was locked up." and off she walked.
 
Suchus had strong thoughts on Alliria and its people. The thought of raiders of his kind taking down caravans of theirs, or otherwise destroying what they saw fit, had Suchus feeling absolutely zero pity or torn feelings. He wanted to search their forests and meadows for herbal remedies he could use, nothing more. He'd avoid even their smallest settlements and all the troubles and dangers that came with that. That's what he had hoped for anyway.

What Suchus learned was he wasn't going to get his way on that. He was learning more and more that valuable things, even flowers, were guarded heavily. Sometimes by trolls in caves, sometimes by guards in a nobleman's house. To get what he wanted, he needed help, and to get help around here, you needed money--or something else of value, like a worthy reputation. As much as Suchus didn't want to, he'd have to play by the rules of the locals' game.

With great contempt, the naga neared the city. He found easy entrance to some of its population via a swampy area. Some place called the Shallows. For a good few days, Suchus didn't ever leave the water. He stayed out of sight and scoped things out. Tried to make sense of his options.

One thing he picked a bit of was that there were goings on in the area. Something something missing persons. People wondered who would be taken next. Suchus was pretty sure people paid to be alleviated of this kind of problem!

Another was that the people of this town were suprisingly varied. Dwarves, elves, and humans were ones Suchus expected, but spotted a few oddities in the mix. At one point, he was pretty sure he saw an insect-like person go by. As far as Suchus could figure, you were fine here as long as you assimilated a little and behaved.

Eurgh...

Suchus would give it a shot. He had to.

He swam into the depths of the swamp. He was sure he had seen something useful along the way; a long-dead corpse drowned by the stones tied to their legs. Suchus didn't question their story, he just took their discolored blouse and waterlogged belt. Then, somewhere in the woods, he squeezed it dry and fixed himself up into his outfit. An old shirt, a belt, and his precious leather bag.

Good enough, he decided with a growl to himself.

Readied and with nothing else he could think to stall with, the naga begrudgingly slithered into the Shallows.


Xithispk N'Xilna Nycto Oleg Kiros Rahnel Pandora
 
  • Sip
Reactions: Kiros Rahnel
Oleg cocked an eyebrow so high it nearly departed from his forehead. Watching the guards argue over the validity of their captive's imprisonment proved a treat, but not of the kind Oleg expected.

"Oi," came the voice of an overbearingly tall man who walked with a slight slouch, his hands pocketed nonchalantly. Not only was he tall, but incredibly muscular at that, albeit not in a way that'd make him appear dysfunctional. This giant of a man ran a hand through his hay-colored hairs, most of which stood out as spiky and independent from one another. He was, despite his frame, wearing little more than a leather jacket, tightly fitting pants, and a pair of shallow boots.

Oleg clicked his tongue upon witnessing Xithispk's insectoid form. His brows came together in a thoughtful expression, forehead wrinkling only to accentuate his otherwise barely noticeable widow's peak.

"Holy shit," uttered Oleg as his mouth gaped in half-smile, half awe, bearing a striking resemblance to that of an excited child, "your supervisor wasn't joking when he talked about literal bugmen." Oleg made sure to steal another glance at Xithispk and his cell, waving gleefully in the clueless creature's direction.

Oleg couldn't hide his enthusiasm despite his overt bafflement towards the situation. Curious thoughts raced his head as he gazed around, taking in more of his surroundings and doing his best not to bump into random obstacles, courtesy of his height.

He thought the place a musty dungeon like any other, unclean and inhumane by nature atop of being ungodly ugly in its interior layout.

"Anyways," Oleg inched a little closer towards the pair of guards, glancing to his sides to make sure he didn't step on tiny bones littering a good portion of the area, "Your captain, or whatever he is supposed to be, sent me down here because he heard I can use magic. Not sure how I am supposed to help any of you, but uh, here I am?"

He purposefully left a question mark hanging, unsure of the two men's reaction. Oleg had, after all, appeared pretty much out of the blue and with no warning whatsoever. A behavioral trait most unexpected, if not slightly unbecoming of the man his size and stature.

"Now, I know it's none of my business to ask, but what are you going to do with him?" he pointed at Xithispk, pitying the poor creature. He internally wondered if it could speak and whether it did or didn't hold the spark of human intelligence within its strangely shaped head. "Surely you ain't gonna keep him locked up forever? He doesn't appear threatening."

Xithispk N'Xilna
Suchus
Pandora
Kiros Rahnel
 
Last edited:
  • Sip
Reactions: Kiros Rahnel
Kiros sighed inwardly and inaudibly as his company rambled on, though he gave no interruption. The peasantry often fell through the cracks and were reliant on support, much the same here and elsewhere as it was in Amol-Kalit. Though, to give Zeko the benefit of the doubt, it hardly seemed like a lecture. This man wasn’t talking down to him, but simply seemed to enjoy talking for the sake of talking. Alas, Kiros did not share the same passion for hearing the inane prattling that Zeko had in speaking it.

Despite the irritation he listened on without sign of annoyance. He was hardly in a position to be anything less than polite given the desperate need of coin he currently had. Such was a situation that the motor-mouthed Zeko had implied he could help with – for a price, of course, though the discussion had yet to turn to mention of what would be paid. Every pause in speech was followed up with further introductions of those victims no longer living, yet contained no clue what he might be dealing with. Zeko suspected worshippers of the demonic, making his remark with ill-fitting laughter. Kiros, clad in his white priest’s robes, spoke nothing in response. He wasn't about to validate the sentiment; that Zeko found any amusement in the described situation told of his lack of true awareness in such matters. Or, more likely, that he didn't truly care. Kiros could believe that – he'd been of the idea that Zeko merely thought of his hopeful meal ticket, and naught else.

Zeko spoke of an Orc who went missing as well. Aside from the fact that all described were locals, there was little in common that they shared. That is, assuming he spoke truth, which Kiros held reasonable doubt in. He didn't doubt the rambler was entirely untruthful, but he remained skeptical that he was really all that well informed. It would be best to do his own investigation and follow up on what he'd been told here; whether or not it was accurate, it was a start.

But a meal was not on Zeko's mind; he had other ideas how to spend his coin, and he was quite forthright about what he intended to buy. Continued hospitality would require acceptance of their customs, of which coin for information was one. Still, he expected the price to be that of a meal, not a roll in the hay with some pint-sized prostitute. It was more money than he was ready to part with, though it was likely that Zeko assumed he was of the Annunaki priesthood, and carried the wealth such a post could bring. He would be wrong on both counts, if so.

“I hope the price is correlated with height.” Kiros quipped dryly, reaching into his belt to pull out a small satchel of coin. Its contents jingled audibly as he took it out, though it was slim and mostly empty. Quite obviously far from a great sum, even before he emptied the coins out onto the palm of his hand. He separated the pile in near-halves, shifting the greater of the two back into the bag. What remained in hand was believed to be insufficient amount for the purchase Zeko verbally intended to make – and perhaps an erroneous assumption that the price in such a place would be steep. Still, it was an ample enough remuneration for the information doled out. To hand out much more for it would be overly generous, and he was not about to be taken advantage of. At least, not by mortal beings.

Unless Zeko would give much protest, Kiros would then make his departure and head off in search of both further information and a means of being paid for the task Zeko had told of. He didn’t have much coin to begin with, and now he had even less.
 
  • Yay
Reactions: Suchus