Well, I've finally gotten my equipment together, such as it is. Now it's time for action and adventure - or perhaps a lonely death as seems more likely. It seems as though in my excitement, I've forgotten where I was going to go. Perhaps some of my friends have ideas.
Caldfir Pulleypeace
A short, sturdy creature fond of drink and industry.
He is average in size. His very long sideburns are neatly combed. His very long moustache is neatly combed. His very long beard is neatly combed. His hair is clean-shaven. His turquoise eyes are protruding. His ears are short. His lips are thin. His skin is cinnamon. His eyes are slightly wide-set.
Wait a moment... I don't see any friends about... and why am I above-ground, lying in waist-deep snow?
Oh gods... it's coming back... the elf and his sunberry wine, then a jumble of events I can't seem to place, and then... and then just... this morning. My head throbs.
Inside a nearby house I ask a human miner about the surroundings, and try to figure out where in the world I am. I am currently in hamlet of Ancientwasp. The nearest structures are a necromancer tower and a labrynth. To the east, the nearest town is Twinebridges, and beyond, civilization. To the west, the human fortress of Combatred, along with a few towns. I decide that my best hope of success lies to the east. I might hope to cross the mountains to the south, but it would do well to obtain allies and equipment before attempting such a journey.
The miner asks me if I'm "One of those Bloodspire dwarfs".
"I've got no idea what you mean." I reply, "What's a 'Bloodspire'?"
By way of explanation, the human hands me a sheet of paper with directions to a mountain in the middle of a desert to the south. "The Bloodspire - supposed to be some haven against all the zombies and monsters and evil fogs and skin-melting rains and necromancers and were-lobsters."
"So why not make the journey there?" I ask.
The miner shrugs back, "How am I to know it's any better than this?"
I almost reply that the description she gave indicates that there are parts of the underworld that are safer than this area, but decide that it would only start a fight. Perhaps later I will look for someone else to travel away from this place with me.
Travel in the above-ground is perilous, and before anything else, I should train to move stealthily and to swim to remove the greatest dangers. I head over to a murky pool and dive in, the haul myelf back onto the land. Dive back in and move around a bit. Before long I'm able to keep my head above water as I swim about. Nearby I spy a group of buzzards. Sneaking up, I manage to grab one before it can fly off, and kill it with my bare hands. Sadly the thing is too small to have any meat on it. The sun begins to lower in the sky, and I head back to the miner's house.
The miner is generous to offer me a place to stay for the night. Tomorrow, I set out for properly civilized areas.
Day 2
I awoke before anyone else in town, and had to wait for the humans before asking any questions. I talked with a great many people, but evidently the job of guiding a lone dwarf through the wilderness was not a popular one. Eventually, a dyer named Uthros Rhythmwinds agreed.
"Surely any place is better than this! Anyone who stays in a lone town, cut off from the world by necromancers and wild beasts is quite mad - I've been waiting for a companion with which to leave this awful little hovel for months. Let's set off immediately!"
Well, he's enthusiastic, even if somewhat pessimistic.
Uthros Rhythmwinds
A medium-sized creature prone to great ambition.
He is thin. His hair is extremely long. His eyes are taupe. His nose bridge is incredibly concave. His eyebrows are high. He has a clear voice. His head is very short. His ears are broad. His hair is charcoal. His skin is copper.
We set off towards the east and civilization immediately.
Around noon we come upon a group of camels. Eager to practice my fighting skills and acquire dinner from these larger beasts, I am about to head toward them when Uthros catches my shoulder.
"Best not, dwarf. I've seen a camel stomp ten men to death once it got it in it's head to fight back."
At first I laugh because I am certain he is joking, but the look on Uthros' face is anything but amused. We continue onward without troubling the (mighty?) camels.
While Uthros demanded restraint with the camels, he seemed overly bold once we reached the badlands, pointlessly charging after every falcon and vulture we passed. Suddenly, I hear a curse and sounds of fighting from over the ridge where Uthros had ran ahead - I run up to where I heard the sounds, only to find Uthros locked in combat with a Camel! The vicious beast tears off Uthros' right arm with nothing but it's teeth before Uthros can get away. I steer clear of the monster and help Uthros to safety. We rest a short while for Uthros' bruised foot to recover somewhat before pressing on. Despite this being entirely his fault for running off, Uthros seems angry that I wasn't able to scare the camel off before it got his arm. Frankly, I'm lucky the beast didn't decide to attack me as well.
Farther on, I find myself under attack from a honey badger, with Uthros nowhere in sight. I easily overpower the mad little creature using my dagger, and butcher it for it's meat. As I gaze about, annoyed that Uthros didn't help, I see him crawling on the ground toward me.
"Another Camel! Another camel got me and you did nothing!" cries Uthros.
"I was fighting a badger! Gods, why do you keep getting into fights with camels?" I reply.
Uthros is about to respond but passes out on the ground. For the second time today, I ready to bandage his camel-inflicted injuries. As he comes to, Uthros spies more camels ahead of us.
"To hell with you all!" he screams "I'll have my revenge!"
He got two steps before collapsing on the ground and suffocating to death from his injuries. I am now alone in the wilderness. I take Uthros' coin pouch. I have nothing to bury him with, but he died like a dwarf - with madness in his heart and a curse on his tongue. I pray that I can survive the night without him.
Somewhat farther on, I see groups of gigantic sparrowlike birds. They seem to avoid me, so I will try to do the same. I kill another honey badger and take it's meat. Insect-people swarm over the remains of the corpse I leave behind, while falcon-men dance in the sky above. These are truly wild regions I travel through, but I press onward.
It is now almost night. I am growing ever more thirsty, but as I finally find water on the opposite end of this desert, it is frozen! With any luck the human settlement ahead will have a well. Nearby, I see piles of what appear to be elf blood snow heaped on the ground. An enraged badger comes at me out of the night. Relieved, I hurry onwards before it reaches me. For a moment I was certain it was a bogeyman, come to tear me apart.
After what seems an eternity of struggling through the night, looking over my shoulder, I finally reach a human settlement. A single farmer is still awake, and after a few brief words between us, I flop on the floor and drift to sleep.
Day 3
I awaken and search around town for a well to cure my thirst. While I find no well, the villagers inform me of a nearby river. I am grateful and sate my thirst and fill my waterskin before washing off the badger blood and going for a short swim.
Alright, well it's a rocky but alright start. Idiot follower kept charging after birds and then coming back with camel-related injuries. He was of exactly zero help, and I ended up having to stumble into town by myself well after dark, having crossed an evil region. While the map shows the river ought to have been on my path through the desert, goblin sites blocked it off so I wasn't able to get any (non-murky) water until day 3. Current goal is to find a bucket or second waterskin so that crossing the desert isn't quite so deadly. 
Author
Topic: Necropia: Adventurer Succession Survival Game (Players Wanted!) (Read 21910 times)