It was not enough with having my father disappearing in the middle of a drought, oh sure it wasn't.
As it turns out, a month after that, what I needed is to have said drought have some of the people from the nearby villages say "Fuck it. I am robbing other people from now on.", form a band that is estimated to have 1500 bandits in it, have said bands hiding in the forest right next to my village and then send a small army of 800 to attack us.
Because obviously, they were going to attack us, the village made out of peasants without a lord protecting them, and not any of the other 6 fucking villages right next to the forest.
However, they made a big mistake. There is a reason your village doesn't have protection from a lord, we don't need it.
"The fuck are mebons doing here?!" Said a bandit as Alan deformed his cervelliere and smashed his head into a pulp with a 2-meter long iron bar. Then he knelt and lifted the door with his left hand as an improvised shield in order to block the arrows. As he advanced in his lowered stance he swung his weapon crushing the chests and heads of his enemies. Those who blocked with their sword and shields felt their defense penetrated, either by the breaking of their wrists, the incapability of keeping it up or the fact that successfully absorbing an attack like that meant to be sent flying to the ground. Smarter enemies tried to deflect the attacks but no matter how much strength they put the iron bar advanced toward their bodies like an unstoppable force. Then some decided to grab the shield with their two hands, angle their defense as much as they could and knee with the hope that the iron bar would be deflected over them. And it worked, the only problem is that Juan used said deviations to empower a descending blow that flattened them on the ground.
17 years ago the local lord proposed my father and other villages a payment in exange of the allied country of the west, Maranria, in a war. During the war, they met a lot of people who had lost their home and offered them to come here. And that is how this little crappy village passed from having 150 villages to having 250 humans and 100 mebons from one day to another.
Now, obviously having a decently armored mebond might be seen as an immense help in a battle but there isn't any denying that against hundreds is a lost battle. However, 100 mebonds aided by 200 humans? Now that is a different story. Whenever a bandit found an opening to attack mebonds they were stabbed by the five dudes holding spears and shields aiding them. Those attacks that somehow managed make contact where absorbed by quilted layered linen armor much thicker than that of humans. If human versions of 30 layers are difficult to cut with a sharp sword, there is no hope of cutting the ones 2 times thicker.
The problem was our numbers, we holder the defense line in the center of the town where the women and children hid in the 2 buildings made of rocks, the only ones in the town. Since they expected to find little resistance with a surplice attack, the majority of their forces were equipped with sidearm and bills. However, in front of such solid defense, the best choice would be to maintain a distance and attack with ranged weapons so the other force is obligated to disperse. That plan would be a good one, in fact, we would we pretty much fucked if they had brought more archers with them. But there was also a problem with that.
"Release!"
The preferred weapon of the peasant is the longbow, and since their major force was melee we had the superiority in ranged attacks. So since attacking in close quarters was a lost battle and when it came down to archers we still had the advantage there was only one logical course of action, right?
"Goddammit! Run! Run! We are losing way too many people!"
When they started running they dropped their weapons and shields, after all, why would you have a shield in the back as defence against the arrow do when you are running slower that the guy trying to kill you, in special when that guy is an angry mebon?
The majority of the archers joined the chase, shooting at the bandits directly instead of shooting high in the air. The enemy archers didn't shot back. Shooting back meant staying quiet or run without looking. Running without looking meant you could fall. If you either stayed quiet or fell, you would die. This was what the bandits thought as they run for their lives just to be shot in the back, or crushed over weapon a normal man could only hope to brandish with two hands, or stabbed by a human that dropped his shield and could run faster than the others, or believing he had outrun death just for an arrow from the archers that shot to the sky to fall on his head.
Seeing this development, I feel satisfied. Since they wanted to kill us all and then take everything, the village was mostly intact.
"So, that is everyone?" Said Alan, his armor showing multiple cuts, but not a single one deep enough to even reach his body.
"I- I believe they are." I look over the village, if you looked from the center you can see were the first line of defense was from the place the corpses started to decorate the ground. "Just how many did we killed in here?"
"...I would say that 500 between you crushing everyone in the front and us shooting nonstop."
"Welp, that is a lot of corpses and a lot of spoils of war."
"Indeed, talking about that, did we have any losses?"
"Na, between the fact that we absorbed all the damage from the foot units and that our archers almost mascaraed theirs nobody died." I just stood there looking at Juan.
"…Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Excuse me?"
"Are you saying to me that a small army of 800 or more peasants just showed up out of nowhere, made a run for it, and we mascaraed them like nothing?"
"Well, your father and a lot of us had experience in the war, so we already knew what to do in case of an emergency when Julia saw them coming from the forest, that and they are just peasants and serfs that just took on arms. And even if there were some people with experience in war, they are just a minority."
"Yeah, I get that, but still, it just impressed me, is to say, really? No one?"
"Well, we have some mebones with some nasty wounds and some of the people that couldn't defend against the arrows because they didn't have shield are in bed, but we have the herbalists and barbers applying healing salve on them. That, and the fact that since we make every physical chore easier almost every villager has a layered gambeson."
"If you say so." Hmm, night is coming. "Well, see you tomorrow, by then we will have to burn them all, won't we? We don't have a cleric to exorcise them if they rise again."
"Yeah is true, see you tomorrow." And then I went to look if my home was undamaged. As I approached night had already taken its place, since the door had the look in its place I was sure nobody had entered but, just in case, I put my left hand over my knife's handle, and by knife I mean a 0,8m long falchion, but between the law and me is a 'big knife', ok?
As I opened the door it calmed me to see everything in it place. Then I turned to the left and fear stroke me as I saw the moonlight coming from a man-sized hole at ground level.
Instantly raise my right hand to block the thing that shined in the corner of my eye and trusted with my falchion, before he even realizes he has been hit I direct a swing to his hand, no time to care about the falling weapon, just hit, hit, hit, and keep hitting until he stops moving. He blocked whit his arms in a panic and I hear metal hit metal. Fuck, a chainmail. But it doesn't stop me, nor do I pity him when he can't keep his defense up.
He is lasting too long, his armor is transforming my cuts into blunt hits, but that is enough to break bones, that is enough to have a clean hit to his head and that is enough to send him right to hell so he can rot.
As he falls I notice people is rushing in to investigate all the shouting. "Juan!" I turn to see Alan looking at me with a worried face.
"Don't worry I- I-" "What happened to you?!" Shit! Again? Doesn't he know mebons can shout far louder than- wait, what?
I look at me and notice that my white shirt is red. Then I remember, that guy actually hit me once, I look at my right arm, and notice that the forearm ends in a stump.
Be it the blood lost or the shock, darkness surrounded me.
3 hours later.
As I wake up I sit on the bed and let my head rest in my hand. Only that it keeps going forward. Then I see it again, the handless arm, I don't know how, but I can feel like it still is there, and it burns.
Then I look to my right just to see the barber noticing me.
3 days later.
"Are you sure about these?" asks to me the elder chief as I prepare for my journey. "Yes, I have made up my mind."
Adventuring is not something people can do like nothing. I simply can't keep up on my own, in fact, I couldn't keep up from the moment father disappeared. It just was question of time. My only hope was to resist until he appeared again but now there is no use.
I left the house to Alan's care, grabbed all the thing I will need and parted to Lialianata to get the adventure's title.
Villages between Lialianata and you: 8 (Approx. 1 day of travel by foot per village.)
Juan Maurus Health: No injuries Mana: Inexistent Sanity: 80/80 Stress: 20/100
Swordsmanship: Level 2: Knows the basics, nothing more. Sling: Level 4: A hobby from wich you take pride. Bow: Level 0: Never used it very much, less now. Soulless: ??? Listener: ??? (???)
Linen shirt, Layered linen gambeson, long-sleeved mail shirt and rawhide coat.
Linen braie, linen hoses, layered linen leggings, leather boots.
Layered linen arming cap and nasal helmet.
Falchion, dagger, strapped square shield, sling.
2 changes of clothes.
8 portions of food (dried meat, hard bread, cheese and dissected fruits).
2 portions of ale and 2 portions of light beer.
Tent, flint, blanket, bowl and axe.
50 silver coins, 30 bronze coins.
I miss you.
Did you leave me? Did someone take you? Did something happen to you? Where are you, father?
To adventure I go.
Get the adventure's title, it will let you have a free education and that way you will have a respectable way to gain your life despite your... condition.
[ ] Go outside the main road, it's adventure time, baby! (Roll a 1d10 = x; xd100)
[ ] The gods may have mercy of those that leave the road! (Roll a 1d5 = x; xd100)
Author's note:
So, it begins, my first quest and first post. Fell free to point out any error and blasphemy to the language that you find. Just remember that English is not my first language.
Normally, I would have everyone voting, use the tally script and then vote. But you know what? You have been the only vote in 8 hours, so I am going to use your rolls. *Looks at rolls... Which means you are pretty much dead, luck!
Just to clarify things:
<1 Critical failure
1-10 Mayor failure
11-30 Failure
31-40 Small failure
41-60 Neutral
61-70 Small success
71-80 Success
81-100 Big success
>100 Critical success
[x] Go outside the main road, it's adventure time, baby!
I look back to my village, where walls of rock and dirt are being made in case of future raids. I had left the security of walls, and you know what? Fuck it. It's adventure time! Fuck the road.
I wonder what will await me in this plains, and come to think of it, maybe leaving the road is a better idea. The farther I am from that damned forest the better. That, and I don't want to fall into an ambush that those bandits could have prepared on the roads.
Yeah, definitely, going out of the road is the best option.
(Nº of encounters 1d10 = 4)
(1st encounter 1d100 = 16 Major failure)
2 hours later
Nop, pretty sure the road was better. Pretty sure the 40 maimed zombies in front of me agree with me. Those who have functional legs run towards me, now free of the limits of life like fatigue, run toward me faster than any man has the right to be. Almost every zombie has a part of their body obliterated. In fact, there are like 60 in the ground which died from a smashed head.
I just can't keep quiet, there is no hope of defense against 15 thins running toward you swimming thins. However, despite their numbers, they are acting like a wild beast. The reason you circle an enemy is to leave some space between you and your allies so you don't hit each other. Whenever they swung, they put all they weight behind the hit moving their shield away. Just a little jump away and they ended up cutting their companions arm. This is going pretty wee- ouch! Shit, another one. Between dropping my defense in favor of moving away from them faster and their numbers they are giving me quite the beat down. If it wasn't for the mail shirt…
Nevertheless, with the injuries that killed them the first time and those they inflicted themselves now they are a pretty weak fighting force. They try to block with their sword but all I need to do is ignore them and attack the ones that lost their weapons.
Finally, everyone is dead, I stand over them, victorious and alive, but exhausted and injured. Well, that was a good fig- Pain.
I look behind me and see a zombie wielding a two-handed axe. Our weapons connect, I slide my falchion and cut his arm clean off. As his weapon falls mine makes a clean cut on his neck.
I put my hand on my left side, shit.
The examining 30 zombies lay on the ground not too far away from here.
'All this adventuring thing is a metaphor for a suicide anyway, so it's okay.'
…Who said that?
Juan Maurus Health: Around 30 bruises in your chest and arms, big bruise in your left side Mana: Inexistent Sanity: 80/80 Stress: 30/100
Swordsmanship: Level 2: Knows the basics, nothing more. Sling: Level 4: A hobby from which you take pride. Bow: Level 0: Never used it very much, less now. Soulless: ??? Listener: ??? (???)
Linen shirt, Layered linen gambeson, long-sleeved mail shirt and rawhide coat (severely damaged).
Linen braie, linen hoses, layered linen leggings, leather boots.
Layered linen arming cap and nasal helmet.
Falchion, dagger, strapped square shield, sling.
2 changes of clothes.
8 portions of food (dried meat, hard bread, cheese and dissected fruits).
2 portions of ale and 2 portions of light beer.
Tent, flint, blanket, bowl and axe.
50 silver coins, 30 bronze coins.
I miss you.
Did you leave me? Did someone take you? Did something happen to you? Where are you, father?
To adventure I go.
Get the adventure's title, it will let you have a free education and that way you will have a respectable way to gain your life despite your... condition.
[ ] Kill them all, get everything you find useful
-[ ] They are just clawing around, you can take them.
-[ ] Get some rocks, is sling time!
[ ] Loot those you just killed, leave the rest be.
[ ] Just leave already, you had enough
Author's note: So you just fighter the maimed zombies running at you swimming around everything they had. If it wasn't for the chain mail you would be pretty much dead by now with that defense roll.
I have no idea how to do that. Maybe with indent button?
Well, that suicide thing dodn't work out. Let's loot then.
[x] Kill them all, get everything you find useful
Thas is what I am talking about. There is a space between the corner and "Get some rocks, is sling time!" in your message but if I press 'tab' it doesn't affect the distance between the corner and the text.
Fixed, and I just notised Juan went on adventure without money, I will also fix that.
Oh, by the way, he won't hear messages that are obiusly sent to me. If you want to talk between you just put '(Static)' and (End static) at the start and end of that what you want to say and he will only head a lot of noise.
[x] Kill them all, get everything you find useful
[x] Get some rocks, is sling time!
You know what? Resting is for the weak. Let's kill everything. 'Well, that suicide thing dodn't work out. Let's loot then.'
…Again. It is real, I can hear it. I have heard of people losing their hair color after being severely wounded. Could it be that after the shock I went... insane? This voice, it has been telling me to do things I already wanted to do. Are they a creation of my mind?
"…Who are you?" Silence. (Sanity -5 = 75)
Let's- Let's just ignore it, ok?
Looking around you find a decent amount of ammunition for your sling. You keep your distance while throwing stones with your sling. The stones whistle in the air as they break the zombies' skulls. It goes well until you reach the final zombie. He is hiding behind a round while lying on the ground. As a smart person, I grabbed the bigger rock I could find and threw it whit all your might, several times. By the fourth time the shield is just rubbish and you attack with your sling until he dies, again.
(Loot 1d100 = 100 Big success)
…This is ridiculous. After taking everything of importance from everyone you found 17 gold coins, 80 silver coins and 250 bronze coins, a mail coif, mail hoses, a strange scroll next to a jewel and a fucking rotella.
After putting on the armor and the shield I continued my adventure!
(2nd encounter 1d100 = 1 Major failure)
Or I would, but then a tough crossed my mind, what killed this people? I hear foresters, look up and find a mebon clad in mail. Correction, an undead mebone.
'I bet this is prosthetic arm' Not now goddammit.
Juan Maurus Health: Around 30 bruises in your chest and arms, big bruise in your left side Mana: Inexistent Sanity: 75/80 Stress: 30/100
Swordsmanship: Level 2: Knows the basics, nothing more. Sling: Level 4: A hobby from which you take pride. Bow: Level 0: Never used it very much, less now. Soulless: ??? Listener: I can hear you. (???)
Linen shirt, Layered linen gambeson, long sleeved mail shirt and rawhide coat (severely damaged).
Linen braie, linen hoses, layered linen leggings, mail hoses leather boots.
Layered linen arming cap, mail coif and nasal helmet.
Falchion, dagger, rotella, sling.
Summoning jewel, plemarius summoning scroll (Ritual time 45 minutes).
2 changes of clothes.
8 portions of food (dried meat, hard bread, cheese and dissected fruits).
2 portions of ale and 2 portions of light beer.
Tent, flint, blanket, bowl and axe.
17 gold coins, 130 silver coins, 280 bronze coins.
I miss you.
Did you leave me? Did someone take you? Did something happen to you? Where are you, father? To adventure I go.
Get the adventure's title, it will let you have free education and that way you will have a respectable way to gain your life despite your... condition.
[ ] Sling him in the head. If it fails…
-[ ] Write in...
[ ] Defend with the rotella, injure his legs (he is unprotected in the groin area) and knock him down. Then…
-[ ] Run
-[ ] Go for the head.
[ ] Write in...
[x] Sling him in the head. If it fails…
[x] 'Find uneven terrain! Those things seem to be bad at multitasking, it wouldn't be able to fight and keep balance at the same time!'
I need to kill that thing before it reaches me. If he gets me, I am dead. 'Find uneven terrain! Those things seem to be bad at multitasking, it wouldn't be able to fight and keep balance at the same time!'
That is actuality a good plan, voice created by insanity. I start swimming my sling.
Mebons get their name because unlike other humanoid creatures of increased size they don't have ticker bones or a wider body frame but instead have bones made out of a sponge like structure of metal filled with, well, whatever bones are made out of. This made them look like stretched humans 4 meter high.
So the body is armored and the cranium is metallic. Let's go for the eyes.
(Shots: 3 + 2 (uneven terrain))
(Shots: (85; 58; 37; 84; 99) + 15 (Level 4: Sling) - 10 (Superior opponent) = (90; 63; 42; 89; 104))
The first stone goes right into the eye cavity and makes him fall in his back. While he is getting up I run uphill. When I turn to throw the next stone he is already following me, he also grabbed one of the corpses as a weapon. My second stone destroys his nose and the third send some of his iron-black teeth flying.
This angers him and starts swimming the corpse in anticipation. Just for a well-placed stone to impact in his remaining eye sending him in a world of darkness. Incapable of deciding between keeping balance or continue swinging the corpse he falls and rolls to the bottom of the hill.
Zombies are horrible at multitasking.
As he is getting up, incapable of knowing were the next strike is going to come from, I start swimming my sling, making up speed.
This is not the way you use a sling, if you make up speed you are practically saying 'fuck you' to accuracy. But I don't care. I want him dead.
The sling whistles as you put all you strength into swimming it. When the stone is released, it impacts in the back of his neck. The stone explodes into pieces and the mebon falls to the ground.
(Achievement unlooked: David and Goliath (+5 when using a sling of any kind against superior opponents.))
I get closer. It doesn't move. I look at his neck. The vertebras are disconnected. I dig my knife between them just to make sure. It's over. I look around. It's over. I won.
But the problem is, what to do with all this corpses.
Juan Maurus Health: Around 30 bruises in your chest and arms, big bruise in your left side Mana: Inexistent Sanity: 75/80 Stress: 30/100
Swordsmanship: Level 2: Knows the basics, nothing more. Sling: Level 4: A hobby from wich you take pride. Bow: Level 0: Never used it very much, less now. Soulless: ??? Listener: I can hear you. (???)
Linen shirt, Layered linen gambeson, long sleeved mail shirt and rawhide coat (severely damaged).
Linen braie, linen hoses, layered linen leggings, mail hoses leather boots.
Layered linen arming cap, mail coif and nasal helmet.
Falchion, dagger, rotella, sling.
Summoning jewel, plemarius summoning scroll (Ritual time 45 minutes).
2 changes of clothes.
8 portions of food (dried meat, hard bread, cheese and dissected fruits).
2 portions of ale and 2 portions of light beer.
Tent, flint, blanket, bowl and axe.
17 gold coins, 130 silver coins, 280 bronze coins.
I miss you.
Did you leave me? Did someone take you? Did something happen to you? Where are you, father?
To adventure I go.
Get the adventure's title, it will let you have free education and that way you will have a respectable way to gain your life despite your... condition.
[ ] Just keep going, if you go back to your village you will have to either spend the night there or set camp outside, and you really want to get some progress after all this work.
[ ] Your village is just 2 hours away from here, tell them so they can loot absolutely everything give them a proper burial. Also some thanks for dealing with such danger would be good.
-[ ] Spend the day resting in your home.
-[ ] I said, IT'S ADVENTURE TIME.
I just want to let you all know that he can listen you all. So you can ask him things that you don't know, like you could have asked what a mebon was, but I recomend to say hi first.