The Adventures of a Thief on WingsPart I - Beasts for Breakfast
“My name is Rákfil Alegladness and I hail from the Empire of Nourishing, or more specifically from Blockedround. That is a fort in the Fierce Amber Mire for those of you who are unaware of such a place. We are but a few dozen who live here, and quite frankly, it is a boring, miserable place with nothing much to do. Except indulge in ale each day - which I certainly do!
In any case, things are far too peaceful and harmonious here for my liking, and I've had just about enough: I am going to leave this place and vow to bring some unexpected and unwanted mayhem with me wherever I go.”
“Maybe I should have done this earlier, but I wasn't able to make a decision until I got valuable insight from several travelers: they spoke of a place called Endedtreasure, the grave of artifacts. A fortress run by worshipers of Ibruk the Fated - whom I, too, revere. According to them, the cultists travel around the world hunting for ancient treasures and relics, which they then destroy by some means at the fortress.
Apparently they believe these artifacts are an abomination. Who knows? Maybe they are. I don't care. But what is certain is that such actions truly disrupt the peace and that is something I find much joy in! So, my plan is to steal some ancient, shiny junk and take it to them.
This is my story.”
14th of Felsite, 201This was the day it would happen: the adventure would begin.
Rákfil gathered her gear and set out. She first headed for the dorm to say her farewells to the folk she had known for most of her life. She would not miss them. Those boring, stupid sods. Yet, it was only appropriate to say goodbye and there really wasn't any harm in that.
She spoke with the high advisor Nish Avuzuker, a dwarf, all hairy and his short head covered in beard. One could barely see his face from behind all that hair, disgusting!
Nish tried to dissuade Rákfil from venturing out from the safety of the fort: it was a foolish act. The wilds were rife with beasts and other dangers! Bandits, beasts, criminals and bone-chilling horrors! And trouble was stirring between us and the Learned Tundra-Lute - it was only a matter of time before push came to shove!
Or, that is what Nish thought. Rákfil couldn't care less and said her farewells.
Instead of walking through the gates, Rákfil decided to stretch her wings and fly over the ramparts. Humans and dwarves were such silly beings thinking their walls could stop people from getting to the other side. Why, one need only but flap their wings a little and that's it!
While she was flying, something caught Rákfil's attention: a book was lying atop one of the gatetowers.
She flew down to inspect it.
Bah, it was only a worthless book called 'Study Blockedround'. Just an essay concerning the writing of
another book in our little fort by Kivish Wealthywhipped the dwarf. It wasn't awfully written, but not very good either. Then again, what was there to write about Blockedround? Apparently the most "interesting" thing was the authoring of 'Confinetrimmed: The Truth'.
“If I ever find *that* book, it'll end up in my backpack and head to Endedtreasure. Books. What nonsense and a waste of time! The world will be better once all of them are gone.”
Before continuing onwards, Rákfil flew around the walls, checking each tower. And indeed! It was a wise decision: she found several other books and scrolls atop them. Apparently the watchmen were reading on duty and didn't really care if the books were subjected to the weather.
Maybe it might be the best to head first towards Endedtreasure and destroy the literature? After that, she could search for more treasures, Rákfil thought.
The kea woman headed north towards the road which led to Endedtreasure and other places. She encountered a pack of wild boars while going through the forest and was tempted to have fun with their expense, but decided not to - boars can be dangerous when angered and she was ill-equipped to deal with such things.
She did, however, have some fun with a duck that was rooting around next to the road.
It was mostly a harmless prank: the duck probably only got some bruises and was stunned from all that skidding, but nothing serious. Maybe a bit of shock. It'd live, though. Rákfil had no intention of killing the bird.
She headed east, breathing in the cool breeze blowing from that direction.
It wasn't a long journey until she arrived at the dark fortress of Frothymenaced.
The lush forest gave way to a barren landscape with maze-like trenches dug into the dirt. A massive tower could be seen further in the east.
Rákfil could hear whistling, but saw no-one.
Frothymenaced was a vile place, yet the kea woman decided still to go through it. If any of the legends were true, this place might have a significant amount of precious artifacts waiting to be destroyed.
The temptation was too big to pass.
As she flew over the treetops, the surroundings turned even more barren closer to the ominous tower. The trees were leafless and withered, the ground bore no fruit - only dead grass and thistles were jutting here and there from the loamy earth.
Taking a closer look, the dark tower was even more massive and impressive than from afar. It reached far, far into the skies, and Rákfil hesitated. Should she go in through the main entry or try to sneak from the top? The first seemed like a safer option, but then the possibility of sneaking might be that more difficult. The latter seemed like the way to go, but what if she was caught? There'd be no way she could talk her way through that situation.
Yet, it was a tempting idea to once again show how silly it is to think that the higher walls you build, the more secure you are...
However, there was no way in from the top of the tower.
Disappointed, Rákfil flew down to head in through the entry proper.
There was no door at the entry and no guards either. Only five statues adorned the entry hall: one depicting a mosquito man, another a steelhead trout, two were of goblins and the final one was of a raccon-like being twisted into humanoid form. Ugly pieces, all of them.
Maybe something should be done to them to show my disapproval of such distasteful artwork? Rákfil thought.
“There. That should do it!”, Rákfil smiled (that is, if one can smile with a beak), feeling satisfied of what she had done.
Uh oh. That doesn't sound good.
As the kea woman was sneaking through the empty corridors for anything of interest (and toppling a few more statues), she heard approaching footsteps from the large hall.
She gasped when she realized the direction was probably her only way out of the tower. The only options were either to reveal herself or continue sneaking further in.
She chose the latter.
Luckily, the footsteps didn't come to the room where Rákfil desperately tried to hide behind a pillar. They went to another room. Rákfil had been to it already and there was stairs leading up and down. Probably whoever entered the tower headed for them, not the intruding kea.
After she was certain the route was secure, Rákfil made her way towards the entrance with haste to avoid detection.
Above...
...and belowHowever, once she entered the grand hall, footsteps approached from behind! The way to the other side was too long, and not knowing what else to do Rákfil beat her wings and flew to the ceiling, hoping that whoever was nearing wouldn't take notice of her.
It was useless, since the greasy-haired human who entered, whip in hand, exclaimed with her high voice: “Is this an attack?”
Rákfil had to act quickly.
The kea woman, in desperation, decided to greet the human.
She introduced herself as Usper and she was part of the Tulips of Entrancing - the ruling body of Frothymenaced and one Mim Catverses was their "boss", as the human put it. After exchanging a couple words with Usper, Rákfil felt a bit safer. Usper clearly wasn't interested in her (or that she was flying around the hall). The human had more pressing matters: an insurrection was happening at the dark fortress.
“Death is all around us,“ Usper said uneasily before making her way out of the door leading to the exit.
This might make things interesting, Rákfil thought. With the guards and soldiers busy dealing with an insurrection, it just might be easier to search the tower. Unless, of course, if the soldiers mistook her for one of the rebels.
As Rákfil was about to descend the stairs, another greasy-haired human walked past her with haste, completely ignoring the kea woman. Rákfil greeted him and was surprised that this was Mim, the boss: “I am Mim Catverses. Praise death.”
Nothing new was learned from the brief encounter, except a rumor of an artifact animal trap made of dwarf bones. A goblin named Song Ghoulbodies from Plaitedsects desired it, and most likely the object was stored in Urnshoot - some old dwarven fortress in the south. Why Mim chose to tell this, Rákfil could only guess. But if she were to find the object, one could bet that it wouldn't reach Song, but meet the end of its treasured existence in Endedtreasure.
While searching the dungeons of the tower, which were littered with weapons and too large armor, Rákfil stumbled into Mim again. She followed the boss and when he entered to inspect one of the empty cells, a thought came into Rákfil's mind: what if she locked the boss in the cell?
She pulled the lever.
But for some reason the door did not close. Fortunately, Mim didn't pay attention to what the kea woman was doing.
She pulled the lever again.
The door was shut.
After searching the lower levels, Rákfil made her way upwards, re-decorating a hall full of statues on the way.
Unfortunately there was nothing to be found even in the throne room. Only a throne made of the same unnatural stone as the dark tower was in the hall. All the pedestals along the southern wall were empty.
Perhaps this place had been looted in the past? Or maybe the treasures had been moved to safety due to the insurrection?
Rákfil searched the entire tower and the winding corridors of the dungeons only to find nothing.
Empty-handed she took to the skies, following the river to the southeast towards Endedtreasure.
Ambush! Dingoes!
Rákfil flew upwards as fast as she could. One of the dingoes - a particularly muscular one - tried to bite her, but she was too quick for it.
A good thing she had wings and dingoes did not, for she had next to no skill in fighting. She was a spinner after all, and spinners wield distaffs and spindles, which hardly can be called weapons.
As she flew away from the dingoes, she spotted a wooden fort of some kind looming in the south.
She headed towards it to seek shelter behind the safety of the walls, the words of high advisor Nish, which she had scoffed at, ringing in her ears: “The wilds are rife with beasts and other dangers! Bandits, beasts, criminals and bone-chilling horrors! It is sheer folly to venture alone outside the boundaries of the walls!”
Within the walls of the fort there were several teeth on the ground which Rákfil spotted with her keen eyes. She picked them up and put them in her backpack before exploring the fort grounds.
The day was coming to its end as the sun began to set and the waxing half moon began to rise. If there was anyone at this fort maybe she could find shelter for the night? Though, whether it was a good idea or not to bed down in a place littered with teeth was an entirely different question, but for now Rákfil ignored it.
By the Fated! What has happened here?
The kea woman was deeply disturbed by the sight before her eyes as she entered the dormitory: the floor was littered with mutilated corpses and body parts - mostly the remains of crabs.
Taking a quick glance for anything of interest and finding none, Rákfil decided to leave this accursed place.
She headed southeast a good distance from the abandoned fort to make camp at the bank of a river.
Tomorrow she'd make her way to Endedtreasures and at least get rid of the books she stole from Blockedround.
15th of Felsite, 201Eating some emu meat for breakfast and filling her waterskins from the river, Rákfil was ready to continue.
It took some time to find the road after she had fled the fort in the dark, stumbling in the woods as she made a hasty retreat despite no immediate threat in sight.
Only after a short walk Rákfil saw some buildings in the foothills to east. If she had read the maps right, it was Endedtreasure.
However, she hesitated.
She had no artifacts of worth among her possessions. Only a few measly books, which were not even very well written. Would that appease Ibruk? It certainly seemed like a pitiful offering to the gods. Perhaps she should search for more, for something more worthy?
She turned on her heels and headed back north.
Rákfil headed northeast into the wilds. The old maps had some elven forest retreats marked upon them. Maybe she would find something there?
While traveling, hunger struck and she realized she was running low on supplies. Fortunately she ran into a pack of capybaras, which provided meat. She wasn't a hunter, but she managed to bring one down despite it. Naturally, it took an embarrassing amount of time to finish the poor creature, but at least nobody was around to see it.
To honor the dead, she carved a figurine depicting Ibruk the Fated from the capybara's bones.
The day was over quicker than expected. Trudging through the darkening forest, Rákfil came to a beautiful waterfall. It was a good place to set camp for the night.
She made a fire and grilled some of the fresh capybara meat.
16th of Felsite, 201“I spent the better part of the day felling trees and putting them to good use. When I woke up in the morning, the warm sun shining on my feathers, I looked more closely at this site. It truly is amazing, a wonder of nature! What better place could one find to build their own home than this? I have nothing special in mind - just a simple place to rest my weary head that is only accessible with wings.”
“I decided to name this place Breakfastbeasts. You see, in the morning I was hungry while chopping the trees and capybara meat isn't that tasty. So, when I felled a tree and hit a wild boar at the wrong place at the wrong time, I slew it. And butchered it. Then I saw a frail giant sparrow. It too got taken down and butchered. I ate them for a late breakfast, hence the name. The sun has just set, I've filled my belly and yearn for sleep. Tomorrow I will continue building and expect the construction to take the better part of a week. At least I should have enough food now, and water is available right next to me.”
21st of Felsite, 201Several days after Rákfil began constructing Breakfastbeasts, she heard strange voices in the forest while hunting for more meat. Civilized folk? Here?
Rákfil crept closer to the voices. Slowly she inched towards the ravine, and there, across it, was the source: a group of capybara men and women arguing over something!
She flew over to the otherside, eager to make the acquaintance of the capybaras.
However, they were not keen of her intrusion into their discussion and thought of her as a threat. They were not openly hostile though. Rákfil had an idea...
She began singing 'the Chronicles of Mark' to the capybaras - something she had learned while living at Blockedround.
Unfortunately, not all of the capybaras were paying attention to the singing and were disinterested in communicating with the kea woman.
Rákfil decided to try something else: a dance.
This time the capybaras at least joined in when Rákfil began an improvised dance, 'the Blossom of Singing'.
And they danced surprisingly well, too!
In fact, it went so well that each and every single one of the capybara men and women yearned to join Rákfil. While she currently wasn't actually an entertainer, the thought of her own traveling performance troupe greatly excited her. Besides, it was entirely possible to combine entertaining with treasure hunting: what better excuse to tell than that they were only performers seeking to bring joy to the lands? And once performing was done, it was time to pick the valuables from the locale.
Also, spare hands would surely speed up work on Breakfastbeasts.
There was an unfortunate incident when Rákfil went to fell more trees for the nearly complete constructions: several capybara people unused to woodcutting walked straight under a falling tree, with one of them being instantly killed and another suffering wounds.
A sad and tragic affair, which left the capybara people - and Rákfil to some extent - shaken.
One of the capybaras decided to leave the group, but remained close by. She didn't feel like joining anymore despite all the persuasion the kea woman tried to muster.
24th of Felsite, 201“It took over a week to finish building Breakfastbeasts. I greatly underestimated the amount of work it took. Had it not been for the capybara people, I'd still be building and far from finished. Their company certainly was a boon, though it was unfortunate that one of them got crushed by that damn log and his soul sent to rest with the Fated.
While the buildings are completed, they are unfurnished. I would've needed the hands of a carpenter for that job, but I am no carpenter, so it'll have to wait. It is enough for now. Besides, I did promise the capybaras that we'd go entertaining. Better do that before more of them decide to leave.
And of course there is still the matter of finding artifacts to bring to Endedtreasure. That is something I certainly haven't forgotten, despite being distracted by the building work.
Next, we head north.”=====
That's part one. I'll continue either on Tuesday or Wednesday (probably the latter).
I ran into some weird issues while building the adventurer camp: the carpenter's workshop I set to be built was never done, no matter what I did (save/load, remove & re-designate, going out of camp & coming back, build in different place, etc.). Dunno if I'm missing something or did I run into a bug? Can't remember when I last built a camp, so could be just that I'm doing something wrong.
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Topic: Endedtreasure: The Anti-Museum - come destroy artifacts! (Read 11225 times)