And I'm also looking forward to reading the rest of Maloy's turn, it ended in quite the cliffhanger and I'd like to know if my ear Maloy survived after that alligator attack.
Well, since you asked!
Finale: The Fate of AllBlood was everywhere. I suppose if you asked me I would have been unable to tell you what goes through someone's head at such a grievous wound, but nothing went through mine. For a time that felt like both a moment and an eternity all I was primal fear and pain.
I rolled around the ground, distancing myself subconsciously from my attacker, while pools of blood drowned the grass around me.
Dimly I could hear Mira and Arthur beating the alligator. With their wooden weapons it was more like chasing off the creature than defeating it, and I was still bleeding everywhere.
The ear was laughing...or maybe I was laughing? But inside as time passed some feet away from the carnage there was a rage inside at the unfairness of it all. What right did a stupid animal have to do this to me?
I realized that I still held onto my axe and sword, and at that very moment I really didn't give a damn about my life. That pathetic creature was going to die
I scrambled with all speed back to the fight. My blood still spurting and sliding through my own pools of blood I had left just trying to get this far.
I beat the alligator again and again in the head with axe and sword. Again and again until it's head and exploded.
And then I passed out.
OOC
My thoughts as a player were that if I could get away from this fight and "wait" it'd seal the wound and I'd survive, but we were still in combat and the elves were having no luck at all. So my only hope was to quickly scramble back in and finish this as fast as I could. A little more time passing and I would've died
Following my...loss. The dream of crossing two separate countries to reach the museum and immortality were now impossible. My only hope was that dwarves, in keeping with their nature of hoarding rare artifacts, would have a book, scroll, captive vampire or something I could use! So I began the grueling journey of crawling up a mountain. I could barely speak. My fine dwarven armor was worn away by being drug along rocks and the occasional stream I would take breaks in. Mira and Arthur were ignorant of a wolf man's ears and didn't know I could hear them as I lay alone on the cold rock at night. Apparently Mira wanted to abandon me. Elves are wild nomads and don't abide cripples. Arthur considered it entirely unacceptable and ultimately won the argument. Finally, after two days of non-stop climbing we reached the tomb of my dreams.The entrance to the city was one large gate with a massive tower over the top. The entrance was paved with the sides filled with masterful statues of the Shining Sun: the god of blood.
A terrifying warning to all to whom the fortress belonged. But there was no one at the gates. Upon entering the bridges we crossed were filled with steel spike traps beneath, but they were long-covered in thick cobwebs, and if they had ever seen use it had long since worn away. I crawled on my belly still. The smooth stone easier on my body, but making it harder for my claws to pull me along. They were broken and cracked now.
We passed a couple of goblin warriors. They had no interest in conversation with us and seemed to be laying about. But we did find bodies scattered about. Dwarves without a mark on their body laying around in rooms, guard posts, and more. They had all died of old age. On my final stop for my quest for immortality I was constantly assailed by the reality of mortality. Only a few dwarves remained and they were haggard old things. Their minds long gone and they barely acknowledged our existence.
What a cruel fate. To age and die in a place where no one will even bury you for their are none left who will.
The wealth here was immeasurable, presumably the hillocks nearby traded food and drink for the treasures of these halls to the few living members left.
Ancient tomes were scattered everywhere and I tore them open and read and read. My elven companions stood around in the darkness watching the greedy glowing eyes of their wolf lord searching each tome. Many spoke of a necromancer tower and some even spoke about the secrets of life and death, but
none contained the secretsArthur found a dead guard at the top of the entrance tower. Old age claimed him as the elements wore away at his body beneath the armor. Arthur liberated the dwarf's spear from his clutches to replace his own wooden staff.
Through endless wandering of massive empty halls I found nothing, but death and darkness. The ear was probably laughing to itself endlessly. Fate was so cruel. I crawled across a masterfully engraved bridge and found a throne to some king. A throne to my dreams.
Covered in dust and cobwebs. It's last true owner long gone. This was fate. I laid down and weptWith dreams crushed and hope gone I crawled back home in a journey that took many days. Mira scorned me and was stand offish, but Arthur was constantly checking on me. His fluffy Wamblers would roll down and let me use them as a pillow on the hard ground.With old age on it's way to claiming me I decided to still use my last days to the benefit of my people. After returning we were able to find and convince a human mercenary to the west to join the defense of our town, in exchange for me teaching him to be a storyteller like me!
I looked over our store house and the piles of gleaming gems I had amounted there over the years.
Mira in particular was left shocked by the treasure trove before her "How could one grow such a treasure in such a destroyed land?"
"If everyone was a hunter or warrior who would be the miners or craftsmen?" I said as I propped myself up against a wall "If we want things to get better than we have to build a place where people can be something else" Despite years of labor I had only grown the treasure modestly and we went from 2 stores to 5 stores in town, and no artists like the old days.
Still, Mira looked impressed and hopefully she regretted wishing to leave me for dead.
Unable to shake the sense of hopelessness I crawled to a shrine. Would the gods show me mercy if the ear and fate would not?
They spoke...and they spoke a curse on me too.
I had never known such bitterness to be cursed be all things on earth and the heavens?
I rolled again. A warning. "May you be cursed for all your days gods of this cruel world!"
I rolled again in my anger and I felt such a cold feeling as if I had done something unspeakable:
None of the others could hear this curse that was laid upon me. None knew. But I did. I laughed about it. The gods sought to curse me, but they have made me more powerful and immortal! I told my companions to watch the town and I fled into the woods.
There I waited for days and days until that first full moon. I wondered what it was going to feel like. Would it hurt? Would I go crazy? I only had legends to go off of!
Until finally, one evening I just...woke up?
I was stronger now...and weaker? I suppose it wasn't the same as being cursed to be a mammoth, but I was still immortal!
I laughed and ran through the night with my leg returned to me. What could I do with all these years?
I envisioned streets with marching soldiers, artists singing, dancing and telling great stories in the streets, and every home being filled with people again! Yes, the greatest city on this world and I had all the time to build it!
The ear began to speak to me again offering me power once more "This time you shall be my partner and not my master, ear!" It only laughed in response
The reign of the moonlit fox begins now
Sign me up for another turn. I think I'm gonna use my next one to see if I can convince people to move to my town and live there. I wanna see if it's possible for homes and businesses to become reinhabited by a growing population. Plus I feel like Maloy's character progression goes more towards social development over legendary warrior. Especially since my werebeast form clearly isn't build for it lol
Also I contemplated maybe starting a new werebeast kingdom as well, but since we discovered missing limbs on werebeasts can literally blow up the game I think I'm gonna shelf that one