In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
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Having done your investigation, the tracks lead further west, heading deeper into the forsaken region where there are various farming communities, as well as lesser villages. Determined to keep the threat from escalating that far, you arrive at the nearest farming community too late. Finding the place ransacked and deprived of food and water, you hear a strange chanting on the far side of the farmland and feel an eerie magic in the air. Unable to see exactly where you're going as there is yet again a strange mist covering the farmland as a blanket, you follow the chanting. As you arrive, you are attacked by the shambling remains of fallen raiders, farmers and fisherman alike. Put these undead to rest, and punish those responsible for raising them from the dead.
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[attr="class","shadowsSub"]Details
Maximum Number of Players: 3 [break]Minimum Word Count: 2500 [break]Location: The Forsaken Realm [break]Special Requirements: Go to the nearest farming community, locate the site of the necromantic rituals and put the undead and the summoner to death. Then, continue looking for clues and tracks as to where the main horde might have gone.
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]NPC Information
What NPCs are in this mission? Please fill out the template for any notable NPCs. While those you have to socially interact with during the mission are not required, any enemy that is presented in the mission must be listed here.
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Name of NPC: Returned Fisherman/Farmer (3x per Player)
Health Limit: Junior [break]Physical Speed: 8 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Junior [break]Magic Element and Types: Bone | Attack Creation [break]Combat Style: Because of the damage their bodies sustained in life, the former peasants have only their own two hands to fight with. However, due to the influence of the necromancer that brought them back, their bones themselves have become weapons. When getting too close, jagged bones may rip forth from their bodies in an attempt to rip into the flesh of their attackers. They are also capable of firing small jagged spines from their bodies for Intermediate damage over a maximum range of 10 meters. [break]Additional Information: These men, women and children from the local farming communities or fishing settlements were murdered in cold blood, taken by the unknown horde and brought together at a place where the Necromancer raised them to serve. Though not really strong, the fact that they attack in numbers makes them rather annoying to deal with, especially since they don't need all of their limbs or organs to keep fighting.
Health Limit: Intermediate [break]Physical Speed: 8 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Intermediate [break]Magic Element and Types: Bone | Attack Creation [break]Combat Style: Because of the damage their bodies sustained in life, the shambling undead are not quite as proficient as they were with their battleaxes and swords as they once were. However, due to the influence of the necromancer that brought them back, their bones themselves have become weapons. When getting too close, jagged bones may rip forth from their bodies in an attempt to rip into the flesh of their attackers. They are also capable of firing small jagged spines from their bodies for Intermediate damage over a maximum range of 10 meters. [break]Additional Information: Formerly raiders from an unknown frozen island archipelago, they signed their lives away to the spirits of their native lands. Now that they have died, it was time to collect. And so, their souls were returned to their battered and broken bodies, providing them with the chance to fight once again.
Health Limit: Intermediate [break]Physical Speed: 8 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Intermediate [break]Magic Element and Types: Freeze | Sensory [break]Combat Style: Creating and maintaining their ice cold fog banks, they fight using staves as they are not truly warriors like the raiders they accompany. Still, coming from a culture where might makes right, they are still more skilled in battle than your average individual. [break]Additional Information: Where the raiders might not believe they need magics for battle or for safety, the Mistcallers call upon the powers of their native island spirits, creating a freezing fog that obscures their longboats as they travel. Always having a single mistcaller with every ship, they look after the raiders and make sure to navigate their own mists with pinpoint accuracy.
Health Limit: Senior [break]Physical Speed: 10 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Intermediate [break]Magic Element and Types: Bone | Healing [break]Combat Style: The unknown necromancer uses her staff to deliver powerful blunt blows to her attackers while using her necrotic power to heal either herself or the returned raiders. When given the chance, she can revive a returned raider and a returned fisherman/farmer within a single post, returning it to the fight. [break]Additional Information: A woman clad in animal furs adorned with various bone trinkets and a necklace that seems to have been put together from fingerbones, as well as having algae woven into her braided hair. Wielding a staff made out of a peculiar black ice that does not seem to be cold to the touch nor melt in the sun, she is the one that channels the will of the island spirits and makes the fallen raiders rise from their graves.
Having gone about their journey for a while now, tracking the prints that were left by the main force, a lingering cloud of fog up ahead was sure to mean trouble. Now that they knew that the mist was being created through means of magic, it meant that they were going to be in there, which wasn’t a good thing. Not because Griswold had his reservations about fighting the whole force along with Karro, who seemed to use a type of magic similar to Michail, but because of the location they were headed. More or less living in the forsaken region, Griswold always ventured back and forth between the towns and settlements to help out wherever he could. Which was why he knew that there was supposed to be a farmland up ahead somewhere in the general direction of this fog back. And if the fishing communities were to be any indication of what this could mean, there was a big chance they were already too late.
“Since you asked before about my background, there’s not a whole lot to tell. I grew up on a farm here in the forsaken region, one much like the one we’re currently heading on over to, though it is still obscured by that fog bank. Spent some time as a member of the crimson lions before becoming a mercenary so I could pick and choose my own jobs, as well as approaching people without them being weary of me due to a mantle and what it represents.”
Taking the time to respond to one of the earlier questions the guy had stated, there were a lot of things he left out, or he’d still be talking by the time they made their way to the northern-most border of the Spade country, which was a hike that would take well over a week to finish on foot. That said though, he imagined he had given the guy enough to think about, answering the general question quite well as opposed to shrugging it off as he used to do with a lot of things. What he meant when he brought up the magic knight mantle was simply the fact that people often acted differently around authority and those that were tasked with enforcing the rules and keeping the peace. It made people think twice about the things they would and would not say, which was not something he needed to worry himself with as a mercenary. That said, he was acting more like a freelance magic knight, but that didn’t matter.
For him, acting the way he did out of an interest in the region and the wellbeing of the people dwelling within it, feeling bad for the poor and the downtrodden, as well as being able to act without having to get the go-ahead from any actual authorities just worked out for him. That said though, he did aim to become a captain of his own squad someday, having set his sights on the black bulls due to being one of the only two squads that were actually active within his preferred region. But that wasn’t something he really felt like bringing up as it was of no consequence. What mattered now was the scent of smoke, even though the fog made it hard to actually see it. That said, Griswold had a pretty accurate idea as to what this meant. They had arrived too late.
“Do you smell that? Seems they’ve already finished up here, taken what they needed before setting the place on fire. Because unless the farmers set their own stores on fire, I don’t see these looters setting fire to something before they could take what they needed. Food, supplies, yul, not the kind of things they’d set fire to I’m assuming.”
With that out of the way, Griswold kept on taking the lead, moving in front of Karro so that if an attack came, they would need to get through him first. And if there was one thing he took pride in, it was his resilience, meaning they would not just blow through him like a dagger piercing a man made of straw. Besides, even in this fog, if anyone came up to attack them, Griswold was confident in the fact that he would sense them before they managed to get to him.
The journey to find the rest of the landing party of the raiders that had been terrorizing the coastal villages continued. Karro and the stranger who still had yet to grace him with his name tracked the larger group a easily as they left plenty of signs of their movement, probably due to them having had it easy in their attacks lately. For the two mages it was perfect and made the task of locating them that much simpler, it also helped that now that they knew that the raiders used a magically made fog to hide themselves that any large cloud would be a massive signal of where they were.
The older gentleman continued his silence and leading the whole journey, while Karro wasn’t known as the most talkative or insightful person even he was a bit put off from the mans demeanor. He was clearly a person of great skill and power but why Karro hadn’t heard of someone like him didn’t make sense. This person would have had made a name for himself some where with just his magical ability alone. It was then that the stranger spoke and gave Karro some information though it was just a bare as Karro expected it to be from a stranger that still had not given his name. Karro did wonder for a moment if the stranger just hadn’t noticed he hadn’t introduced himself or if it was just such a insignificant thing to him that he just skipped past it and fully focused on the task ahead of him. Karro went with the latter of the two thoughts since from what he had experienced so far from their trip that the stranger was much more interested in finding this invaders. Karro took in the information that the man gave him, he wondered if Lydia might know of this person since she at one time was the Vice Captain of the Crimson Lions. Though he didn’t know to many people that gave up the mantle to become a mercenary usually it was being forced out that caused people to go this way of life or down the rogue path.
For Karro as long as the stranger kept moving about the land doing what was right like Karro has seen him do he wasn’t to worried about the stranger. The scent of smoke wafted into the young Ravencrest nose and it caused him to be come alert and tense, because if he could smell the smoke now that means it was probably to late to help anyone. His fears were confirmed by the stranger as they pointed out the smell and the possible reasoning behind it. “If they are done with their attack then there is a chance they will head back this way. If we could figure out where they will go or how many they are there is a chance we could set up a trap or ambush.” Karro suggested after all they didn’t know how many there was in this group and while he was sure that both of them would be able to take on any size group going forward Karro would rather have a more solid of a plan of attack when facing unknown mages and attackers. “Regardless of our plan though, we must make them pay for the lives they took and the damage they have done.” Karro said with an intensity that held undertones of a promise of violence on his enemies.
“You’re right, we do. After all, those that go in with the intention to kill others, they do so accepting the fact that they themselves might in turn die. So I doubt this will come as much of a shock to them, though I guess we’ll see how things play out in a moment.”
Responding to Karro before going silent, Griswold did not want to go in while making everyone aware of his locations. Taking his sword in hand as he carefully unsheathed it, the black blade was going to play a major role in the bloodshed that would undoubtedly unfold sooner rather than later. As they made their way through the fog, Griswold was constantly using his ki, as it was one of those tools he had at his disposal capable of cutting through the mist and locating people rather accurately. In truth, there was something else going on that he could not exactly put his finger on without being able to see what was going on. But if he were to describe what he was sensing, it felt as if sources of mana were suddenly being created out of nowhere and then started moving. Leading him to believe that there might very well be somebody creating golems, Griswold hoped that that would not be the case.
That said, as soon as he had managed to pinpoint the one he assumed was the one controlling the mist, Griswold suddenly dashed off, sword in hand as he attempted to bring down the mist and restore vision to all those around. Once the mistcaller had noticed him, it was already too late as the black blade slipped through his throat, tore his spine and then slid out of his neck, sending his head flying across the farmland. Not long after the head began rolling, the mist started to settle and straight up disappear, which showed something Griswold would have preferred not to see in all honesty. For once their vision was restored, he got to see what the randomly appearing sources of mana meant, and they were not golems like he had originally imagined. As it turned out, there was someone among these raiders that was skilled in necromancy, and the moment the black swordsman saw what she was raising, his aggression levels began spiking.
Farmers and fishermen, the people that had disappeared from the settlements, they had all been tossed onto a big pile as if they were sacks of grain. And next to it, the necromancer was raising them at her leisure, bringing back men, women and children as lifeless husks to be used towards achieving whatever grand goal these foreign people had devised. Upon being noticed, Griswold had imagined some kind of fear response from the necromancer, but instead, she just smiled back at them, almost as if she were proud of what she had created here. As if she was just pleased to see people arrive that she could sic her undead minions on. And that was something Griswold simply could not ignore nor approve of as he moved in towards her with his weapon drawn. Hoping that her end would put the undead to rest, he had to move around them to get to the summoner, which he did in little to no time at all.
During his first approach, he cut her hand off at the wrist, causing the hand and the staff she held to fall to the ground, though the savagery would not end there. On his second strike, his blade struck across her abdomen, causing profuse bleeding as she fell to her knees. Strangely, this seemed to work somewhat arousing for the undead that had risen as they were not exactly sure whether they should get involved with the fight or if they should go for the obviously more easy snack: this being the suffering necromancer. Taking a couple of steps back, part of him did not want to kill her just yet, wishing to make her suffer for what she had done to the people of Clover. Whether or not it had been in her name or that of someone else, these people were commoners and peasants, people who were under his protection, and therefore people he had failed. And perhaps that was what stung the most.
For as much as he tried, there were always going to be threats out there that he alone could not stop, because he could not foresee them. Whereas the magic knights had a lot of people working together towards the common goal of protecting the realms, there just wasn’t a big enough focus on the forsaken realm. The largest of all the realms that bordered on at least two other countries, as well as seas on both sides. And unlike the nobles, they could not take care of themselves, nor did they have the most individual magic knight squads stationed in them. Even though Griswold knew quite well that things like these were unavoidable as not everything could be foreseen and acted upon beforehand, the fact that only two people were taking part in this particular case was by far the most damning. And with that, he stuck his blade through the skull of the necromancer that was still grinning at him despite her predicament, as if the pain she suffered was only a minor setback in the grand scheme of things.
As soon as her lifeless body hit the floor, it became abundantly clear that this alone would not stop the undead from remaining in the world of the living as he had initially hoped. In fact, they seemed to be quite interested in the fresh corpse, and began eating the moment they were no longer properly being controlled. Looking over at Karro, Griswold knew that these things needed to be put down so they would not start roaming at some point, as that risked them causing all kinds of trouble in the civilized areas they might at some point reach. Still, it saddened him that he had to essentially cut down his own people, regardless of whatever state they were currently in. Speaking in a relatively bland tone as if aiming to hide the fact that it bothered him severely, it was actually the fact that he was not exactly used to feeling his bad that it just made him speak in the same way he always did.
It seemed that they were in agreeance with what had to happen to those that played with the lives of the innocents, this was satisfactory for the young Ravencrest. As part of a family that ruled over their own people, he knew that the responsibility of those with power and in power was to provide safety and protection to those under them and it was a blemish to have these raiders and invaders take and kill these fishermen and farmers who simply were just living their lives without issue. The man went silent as they grew closer to the group and it was Karro that sat back and watched Griswold go into action against the group, he was quick and fluid with his movements finding the Mistcaller before the fog got to thick and lifted what was around quickly uncovering the true devastation there was around them caused by these invaders. Bodies upon bodies massacred laid about the area and it seemed that there was someone raising them once more to do unholy and distasteful acts, this was another quick victim of the lone mercenary with his black blade as he cut both the enemy mages down with the ease and skill of a highly trained individual. There had to be more records of this man somewhere and if Karro didn’t gain his name by the time they separated he would go to his cousin to see if she knew about him. For now he started to make his own move following behind the swordsman even before he asked him to help him with the newly risen villagers.
It was a sad moment to have to dispatch the people who were already cut down once all over again, but Karro knew that it was for the best and it needed to be done quickly before these twisted versions of the people harmed more innocents. With a quick and uncommon prayer to the spirits Karro began to cast his magic first targeting the 6 returned farmers, with his spell Dagger 6 daggers made of blood formed and shaped in the air around the mage rushing quickly towards to the risen enemies to make sure there was no way they would miss he sent his daggers flying quickly at the farmers impaling each one with a sickening thud. This brought down each farmer to their final rest once more and they no longer moved or made any noise. “Rest once more and may you never be disgraced like this in your next life.” Karro said to the fallen farmers, he kept his words short and turned to the next group of risen enemies these were risen Raiders that must have fallen during their assault on the villages. “So they even desecrate their own comrades bodies, truly savages.” Karro said behind gritted teeth.
He could have reasoned that using necromancy to bring back your enemies was unjust and horrid but from an invaders standpoint it made sense but to use your own comrades as nothing more then meat shields it showed Karro that these invaders didn’t care about their companions and their lives were nothing but numbers. It ignited the small fire of hatred that had been building as they had been making new discoveries about this attack force to a roaring inferno. “I swear, one way or another the person behind this will pay with their life.” He said as he began to cast his next magic, Lance, now 3 large lances made of blood formed around Karro from this he closed the distance once more but unlike the other group made of farmers these enemies seemed to react quicker and shot what looked like bone at Karro, moving quickly he rolled out of the way and sent his lances at the enemies impaling 3 of the 6 into the nearby buildings and they no longer moved. Using his speed to close the gap as he dodged any incoming attacks he snatched one of the risen raiders and separated it from the others Striking it with 4 punches dispatching yet another enemy. There were 2 more enemies left and Karro was just getting started, just as he had previously done he dashed back in keeping out of reach of the shambling hands and weapons that were swung with a slowness that would have been more deadly in a large group then as individuals he grabbed another enemy and returned to dispatching it with his fists once more.
The feeling of decaying flesh and weakened bones breaking under his attacks sickened the Young mage but he continued as there was only one more enemy left. It shambled towards him dragging its sword behind it. There was a hunger in its dead eyes that simply drove home how twisted the act of bringing the dead back truly was, “If we had been more vigilant maybe we could have stopped all this from happening.” Karro whispered to himself as he walked towards the dead raider and as it swung its weapon at the mage he simply sidestepped it and dealt a devasting low kick to its leg shattering the bone, not that the enemy cared. Quickly circling the raider Karro dealt another kick to the other leg dropping the risen raider to the ground, just as he had done prior he stomped the arm that had been holding the weapon breaking it leaving the enemy unable to attack beyond using magic but before that could happen Karro finished it off with one last axe kick to its skull slamming his heel down shattering the bone and putting the risen raider to rest. Now that the enemies were dispatched the lack of sound was deafening, it seemed not even the creatures of the woods dared to make a sound after tonight giving a time of silence for those that had fallen.
“We must avenge them.” Karro said to Griswold. He could still feel the giving of the flesh from his strikes and how easily the bones had shattered under his blows, it was not the glorious feeling of a worthy fight but the depression realization of disgraced actions.
TLDR: Karro used 1 JR Spell: Dagger costing 10 mana, summoning 6 Daggers that attacked and Killed the 6 Returned Farmers. He then used 1 Int Spell: Lance costing 20 Mana, summoning 3 Lances that attacked 3 of the 6 Returned Raiders killing those 3. He then individually killed the remaining 3 Returned Raiders with Physical damage doing 4 strikes to each dealing Intermediate Damage to them and killing them. Dispatching the remaining enemies.
Mana Used: 30 Mana Regened: 45 No Mana lost this round.
Power: 120 Durability: 02 Sensory: 02 Stamina: 60 Control: 71 Mana: 180 | 180 Spells: Name of Spell: Dagger[break] Elemental Type: Blood[break] Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Attack Creation[break] Range & Speed: 25m | 15m/s[break] Mana Cost: 10 Cost | 5 Sustain[break] Stats Effected: +2 Power[break] Applicable Perks: Apex Predator, Quick Shot. [break] Description: Karro forms his magic into a dagger made of blood, that can be thrown towards the target or used for Melee doing JR rank damage. Can Create multiple daggers in accordance with the Ammo rules once thrown the dagger will disappear either upon impact with target or if target is missed.[break][break]
Name of Spell: Lance[break] Elemental Type: Blood [break] Rank & Spell Type: Int | Attack Creation[break] Range & Speed: 40m | 25m/s[break] Mana Cost: 20 Cost | 10 Sustain[break] Stats Effected: +4 Power.[break] Applicable Perks: Apex Predator, Quick Shot[break] Description: Karro forms his magic into a lance made of blood, that is thrown towards the target. Deals Int Damage. Can Create multiple lances in accordance with the Ammo rules.
If there were to ever be a list of things he would never truly understand in this world, Necromancy and the need to rip people from the ground and putting them back into an often broken or battered body was quite high up there. The way he had learned it from his family, life and death were both things to be respected in their own right. Once someone’s life reached a natural end, their bodies were returned to the ground so that other life might in turn use the nutrients and grow from it in return. While it might not be the most positive thought possible, knowing that there would be a day where you too would die, the fact that no one really escaped this fact and would eventually meet their own end too was slightly less unsettling. While he did not believe in an afterlife himself, Griswold could imagine why others might find solace in the thought that there was a life after death.
The chance to get to see the loved ones that went and passed away in over the course of ones life was obviously something Griswold himself would have wanted too, especially since he had lost everyone he had ever known in one fell swoop, likely due to the same event that had displaced and changed a great deal of the country at the same time. Though he would most likely never be able to prove the cause or punish the one responsible, the fact that he had been alone for quite a few years now was unquestionable, so if there were ever to be someone who might wish to see his relatives again if even for a brief moment, it would be him. But would he ever stoop to doing so through means of black magic, dark rituals and necromancy? Absolutely not.
He had seen exactly what necromantic magic had done to a family of highborne elves when a pair of graverobbers had stolen a magical staff from their final resting place, thus triggering the curse that brought their spirits back into this world. They had however not returned right, becoming vengeful revenants that were out for but a single thing: the return of the staff so they might rest again too. It was not the kind of thing he wanted to put anyone through willingly, and seeing as how these foreigners were quite literally killing people to raise them as undead and even used the remains of their own dead towards the same goal was somewhat sickening. But there came a point where someone had seen so much carnage, so many vile acts that seemed to completely shatter the human experience that one eventually just became cold to it. Fortunately, Griswold was not entirely there just yet.
“This wasn’t a matter of vigilance, this was a matter of people not caring what happens outside of the regions that bring in the most wealth and commerce. Had this happened in the noble region, several squads would have descended down upon them like buzzards on a fresh carcass.”
If there was one thing Griswold had always been clear on, it was the fact that he did not care at all for the caste system the Clover kingdom seemed to love as much as it did. It was clear to see who was the favoured one out of the lot just by looking at the amount of magic knight squads were located in the smallest of the three regions. This was undoubtedly because of the fact that the most money was being exchanged here, and that there were a lot of people here that required protecting day in and day out. The sheer amount of selfish people making a living by exploiting the poor was staggering, which was one of the reasons why he held as much respect for the black bulls and green mantis squads as he did, what with them being the only two squads tasked with the largest of the three regions and doing their best. But as the events here today proved, sometimes, your best was simply not good enough.
“But don’t worry, these people will be avenged, and the ones responsible will not be sent to jail, that much I can promise. Lets keep moving, they can’t be much further now.”
Karro was filled with a rage that he had not felt in quite some time or if he truly thought about it he hadn’t felt ever in his life. He had not seen such a disregard for anyone’s life so openly shown by these invaders, just thinking about the acts that were being committed against the common people was a smirch against any Magic Knight’s honor. They were suppose to take care and protect all the people of the kingdom not just those in the Noble region or as Griswold said those that brought in the most wealth for the kingdom. Money was important to any kingdom to keep it alive and moving but the people that made that money with the resources they worked for and made were the true lifeblood of any place that wanted to thrive.
“I suppose even with our work in Carrion there are still people who are left on the edge of safety like these people were.” Karro mentioned as he thought about, Carrion was many times smaller then the whole of Clover but he wasn’t going to allow him to think that just cause of that there wasn’t some commoners that weren’t being taken care of or taken advantage of. No matter how strict Lydia was in her ruling there would always be someone that would toe the line or completely disregard it when it came to making a quick Yul. Following after Griswold Karro thought back to what he needed to do at home to help cover those blind spots and those in the areas that were being taken advantage of.
“Their crimes already speak of execution; I will follow your lead on their disposal.” Karro said agreeing with the older mage.
