In the role-playing books from my youth, it seemed that every new section brought a bit of fiction set in the world that helped those reading it get a feel for how it worked; since those same books are what inspired me to create my own rules and setting, I wanted to bring that tradition back. This is what I was working on yesterday, and I hope you all enjoy it!
“It’s just the Mist, it’s just the Mist, there’s nothing scary about it at all,” Kao muttered as they paced back and forth along the clearly delineated marker that separated the Wastelands from Merayna.
“Who you trying to convince repeating that like a mantra, yourself or us?” a deep voice rumbled from behind and to the left of the nervous Kenku.
“Probably both,” a high-pitched giggle sounded from behind and to the right of Kao. Spinning around, they faced their team.
“Look, we all know that the Council made up this story of the Mist being ‘evil’ and ‘seemingly malevolent and sentient’ to keep people like us from scooping up all the treasure the beards left behind when the Bugs killed them all,” they tried to reason with their companions. Besides the Minotaur cleric Terucles (who did NOT appreciate being called a ‘holy cow’ Kao remembered with a shudder) and Burnbunny (a nickname the Leopine wizard gave herself; appropriate, since she loved setting things on fire with magic), the last member of their group was Whisper, a Human rogue who’d had their throat slit during a Bug attack over 20 years ago. None of them knew what his real name was, but when Burnbunny gave him the nickname he laughed so hard tears streamed down his cheeks, a sight made more unsettling as he just wheezed while he did so as they all looked on uncomfortably.
Kao continued. “So, all we gotta do is go in about a half day’s walk, find some abandoned trading post that used to be called Dwarf’s Grace, grab whatever was left behind by all those poor killed sods, and we’re rich! Easy-peasy eyeball squeezy.”
“Uh, pretty sure the expression is ‘lemon squeezy’ boss,” Burnbunny interjected.
“Not where I’m from,” the Kenku stated. “It refers to how easy it is to squeeze an eyeball you’ve speared out of a head and get all the good juices inside into your mouth.” Kao couldn’t help but grin as both Terucles and Burnbunny tried not to vomit; Whisper gave no reaction one way or another.
“Half-day’s walk; this would be so much easier if you let us bring our mounts,” Terucles rumbled disgruntledly.
“Even being a half-hour walk away from here had them spooked, Terucles,” Burnbunny spoke up before Kao could. “There’s no way they’d let us ride them into the Mist!” Snorting angrily, the Minotaur shook his head from side to side before finally nodding his acceptance of their logic.
“Hey boss, you never told us who gave you this ‘hot tip’ about goods being abandoned in Dwarf’s Grace,” the Leopine brought up, while both Terucles and Whisper folded their arms and glared at the Kenku.
“Let’s just say I have it on good authority from someone who was there not long before the Bugs attacked,” Kao said with a wink. “Won the info in a game of knucklebones; too bad they didn’t know I was using shaved dice.” The others seemed to accept this statement, having seen the Kenku cheat at dice before, and dropped the question.
“It’s a shame you haven’t told them about me, pet; they already know you’re an oathbound, why not just clue them in on who your patron is?” a voice whispered inside Kao’s head.
“Because even I can’t believe that I’m oathbound to a, a...” Kao thought back at the entity.
“A daemon?” the voice finished with a throaty chuckle. “Oh pet, that ship of regret sailed many years ago! You’re stuck with me now, through thick and thin, until I either release you or you die, and a shiny copper wagered on which one comes first.”
“You’re a monster!” Kao angrily thought back.
“Takes one to know one, dear,” the voice purred. “But let’s not keep your companions waiting.”
Shaking their head, Kao took a deep breath to steady their nerves and to rid themselves of the lingering unease they always had after communicating with their patron, like it left an oily sheen on their soul. “All right everyone, the day’s not getting any brighter, better to move in now while it’s still easy to see. At least, for Whisper.” Being the only one of their group without any kind of special vision, the Human could only begrudgingly accept their limitations. Turning back to face the physical line in the ground, the Kenku took a deep breath and stepped across the line.
To be honest, they weren’t quite sure what to expect; after all, the fact that there was a clear marking between the two countries (well, one country and one former) made it seem like it was put there so no one could ‘accidentally’ wander into the Wastelands. But here they were, and the air seemed just as breathable as in Merayna, no corpses had shambled out of the ground to grab their ankles. All in all, it was kinda disappointing, Kao couldn’t help but think.
“By the Thirteen!” Terucles exclaimed as he stepped over the line and stood next to Kao. “I honestly think the Council was acting just like you said!”
“Bunch of pansies if you ask me,” Burnbunny snorted as she too stepped over the line; Whisper of course said nothing, just stoically took up his normal position by the Leopine’s side.
“I told you; they’re just trying to keep us all from getting rich off of a bunch of dead folks, which is bullshit! After all, what do dead people need things for? Better we take it off their hands and enrich our own lives a little, am I right?” Kao looked around at their companions, watched the greed in their eyes mirror their own.
“That’s it pet, set the bait just right and the prey will walk into the trap of their own accord, never noticing the jaws closing down around them,” Kao’s daemon patron whispered in their mind.
Shaking off the guilt that they were feeling, Kao cleared their throat. “All right everyone, let’s march! Glory and fortune await!” The four companions began their walk towards the spot marked on Kao’s map, not really noticing the tendrils of greenish fog that had begun slithering towards their boots.
