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Favored Son (Tiffanian) GMed by Hafnium


Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = You thought there was going to be a dumb status message here but it was me, DIO.

Aalvera's life had been pretty standard, all things considered. Oh sure, there had been that whole 'demonic conception ritual' business that had led to his mother carrying him in her womb, but night elves summoning demons to partake in ritualistic displays of hedonism and debauchery was far from unheard of in the Amazonian jungles. And yes, he had managed to be a multifaceted disappointment to her by turning out to be cowardly and physically weak and not at all a demonic paragon of strength who would lead the charge to champion their cult's cause, but some of her vocal displeasure might've just been from the stress of being a single mother since the demon, being a member of a race of notoriously irresponsible parents, had disappeared moments after conception. There had been the magic too, of course that couldn't be ignored. And the soul-eating, the early bonding with a witch-in-training, the cross-dressing.... But still, what really counted as 'normal' in a jungle where giant spiders occasionally erupted from the ground in order to drag a unwitting raptor into their lair?

It was all the more the pity that even what level of normalcy he had was taken from him by his father's curse. It had been a simple cantrip--simple, at least, for a demon lord. The sinister spell had been cast on him while he was still in his mother's womb and set to go off as soon as he was of an age to travel. Its workings were straightforward, the curse had even been so polite as to clearly explain itself to him in magical writing the moment it had activated: it was going to take the most important thing in his life from him, whatever that might be, by any means necessary, and if he ever wanted it back then he had to go and meet his father in the flesh. Moments later it made good on that threat. Nara, his witch partner, was soon in a coma and no amount of magic that he or others in the tribe could produce would help. The only thing left for him to do was to decide just how important she was to him really.

It turned out that she was at least important enough to him to cause him to go traipsing off into the murder-jungle looking for his demon lord of a father. She probably would've been really flattered if she hadn't been in a coma on account of his fondness for her. But while guts and an overall willingness to risk life and limb for Nara would take him part of the way toward her eventual salvation, it would become obvious shortly into his journey that he was going to need a plan if he was going to succeed. And he was going to need to mark 'finding his father' as chief among the objectives in the plan, because the curse message had been woefully vague on that point. It had mentioned a castle in a region known as The Garden of Repose in the southern Pfthirian Jungle sure, but that encompassed hundreds of miles and was a massive amount of land for a lone traveler to cover. If he wandered around without any better lead than that then he'd end up being the one in need of rescue.

So for his first stop he had been directed by map, advice, and common sense, to a village called Kurabay, located on the edge of The Garden of Repose. After some time traveling he found himself on the northern outskirts of Kurabay. A muddy dirt trail led through a collection of several dozen visible stilt houses built with wood plank walls and thatched roofs built in all directions around a X-shaped crossroad that split off in the four cardinal directions. The village was large by Pfthirian Jungle standards, with some hustle and bustle in the form of a group of human, elven, and night elven women carrying jugs of water through the 'streets' from the east even as a few hunters of a similar mix brought in their prey from the west, all while various craftspeople worked at benches located in the shade underneath their homes. The village even had a general store, a larger building complete with a sign that simply read 'Store,' not too many strides from Aalvera. Other landmarks included a medicine hut, also complete with its own sign, near the center of the village and a large unmarked building next to that. Aalvera would be free to approach whoever he pleased or visit any building he might have an interest in.

Or, if he preferred, he would also be free to continue on directly into The Garden of Repose in the south and try some other plan. He knew from his own tribe that there was another village of night elf faithful just a few hours' journey to the southeast of Kurabay, which might have some useful information.
 
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Tiffanian

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This was not how Aalvera had planned his coming of age to go. Not by a long shot. Well, to say that he had plans at all was a little bit disingenuous. The half-demon had always just sort of coasted through life, which had treated him fairly well up till now, never doing anything particularly scary or difficult that his mother didn’t push him into (mostly learning the ins and outs of magic at her behest) and indulging his many desires whenever possible. Being a half-demon had given him a certain status with his tribe, which still worshipped the demons, even if he weren’t very much like the true objects of their worship at all. Physically weak and frail, something of a coward and a whiner, he was still held in esteem high enough to get away with his various character flaws and hijinks. He had even fallen in love, and though it was early days and nothing had really been laid out on the table it seemed that against all odds his childhood friend and study partner Nara felt the same way about him…

And then the curse manifested. His father, apparently an actual demon lord, had placed a curse on him in the womb, and now that he was of age it reached out to take his “most important thing” from him, which of course meant that Nara fell into a deep sleep and couldn’t be awakened by any means. The explanation, written magically on his wall, told him that he would only get it back if he were to find his father and met him face to face. The Garden of Repose, is where it said the castle of the demon lord could be found… But that narrowed it down essentially not at all. Hundreds and hundreds of miles of jungle bore that name, and with no further clues Aalvera couldn’t help but feel he was being toyed with.

He didn’t like it, not one bit, but he couldn’t just leave Nara like this, he’d never be able to forgive himself. And so he gathered up what supplies he could and headed south until he found the village of Kurabay, on the edge of his destination. It wasn’t exactly the height of civilization, but to him it looked like a far busier, larger town than he’d ever been in. There were a number of people of varying races going about their business, whether they were carrying water, going out to or returning from a hunt, or any number of other activities, and there seemed to be an actual plan behind the dirt paths that counted for roads. There was even a store, a novel and strange thing to the half-demon’s eyes. So he walked up to the door of the general store, straightened the plain, rough dress he had worn for the journey, made sure the yellow ribbon tied onto the end of his tail was in order, and knocked on it, not quite understanding that it was something you just walked into without permission.
 
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Hafnium

Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = You thought there was going to be a normal shopkeeper but it was Lord Edgerton!

"What's that I hear?" A decidedly male voice rumbled from within the shop at the sound of Aalvera's knocking.

"Is that a cultured gentleman or lady rapping at the door of my storefront?" It continued, slightly closer than before.

"A prospective customer interested in the exchange of goods and currency?" It was now close enough that it would surely trigger the fight or flight response of any wise individual.

"What a glorious day," the voice continued in a near bellow as its owner pulled the door open, this one thankfully hung to swing inward , with alarming gusto and greeted Aalvera in a volume that threatened to deafen even the half-demon.

"Greetings, valued customer!"

Once any residual shock of the man's greeting wore off and any ringing had cleared from his ears, Aalvera would have an opportunity to take in the shopkeeper's appearance in full. He was of a light complexion and to call him large might have been an understatement. He must have been at least seven feet tall, a fact which made the impeccable tailoring of the white dress shirt, black vest, and black trousers he was wearing stand out all the more. Male-pattern baldness had left him without any hair to speak of on the top of his head but, upon an inspection of the rest of his face, it was entirely possible that it had all migrated to the bushy brown collection on his upper lip which could only be described as a thing of mustache legend. He looked at Aalvera with kind, patient eyes from behind his bottle glasses, but neither of which seemed to fit well on his angular face.

"Ah, but where are my manners," he continued. "I am Lord Edgerton and I bid you welcome to my humble shop. Please come in and browse to your heart's content!"

With that, the imposing man moved out of the way, gesturing for Aalvera to enter and gain a glimpse into the store proper. Given the larger than life nature of its owner though, it might prove to be a bit disappointing. There were many wooden shelves lining the walls and center of the simple wooden building but most of them were filled with food and crafting supplies. Hammers, nails, sewing needles, thread, flour, salt, and goods of that sort probably made up ninety-five percent of the man's stock. As for the other five percent, there was a small shelf of seemingly alchemical and magical items behind the store's counter on the wall opposite the door Aalvera was standing at. To determine their efficacy and value the part-demon would likely need to inquire about them and inspect them himself though.
 

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Aalvera heard the sound of a voice on the other side of the door, and though it was seemingly far away and through a thick layer of wood it still sounded loud… It got closer and closer, the words sort of cheesy and quaint, but still he couldn’t help but to instinctively take a step away from the door… And then it swung open and an enormous man screamed at the half-demon in welcome. Aalvera let out a little squeak, his red eyes going wide and his spaded tail shooting straight up into the air and wavering side to side slightly.

He got over the shock somewhat slowly, his tail swishing behind him as he shivered just a bit. The man who came out made him feel very, very small… He was probably two full feet taller than Aalvera, and broad as a tree to boot. He was a bit older… But in his youth he had surely been quite attractive. He was still fairly attractive, not accounting for that ridiculous, enormous mustache. Ah… thank you he replied after a brief pause, a quiet and high voice that did nothing to clash with the dress he had come in. I’ve never been to a store like this before he murmured, walking in when the shopkeep stood aside and looking around.

It wasn’t exactly a sophisticated place, and it was clear that the small frontier nature of the town dictated the goods on offer to a large degree. Mostly just food and supplies for small jobs, like hammers and nails and the stuff necessary for sewing. Still, it was novel to see these things all laid out in such a way. A sewing kit wouldn’t be a bad idea when traipsing about the jungle, really… Mm. It looks like you have a few magical items back there Aalvera said, tearing his eyes away from the needles and thread for a moment, would you mind if I took a look at them?
 
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Hafnium

Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = its fucked up how there are like 1000 christmas songs but only 1 song aboutr the boys being back in town

"Be my guest, young lady," Edgerton replied with a warm smile on his face, beckoning 'her' to look at the magical goods. "My magical stock is a humble one, but invaluable out in the jungle!"

As Aalvera moved to inspect the items, he would find the shopkeeper's words to be mostly accurate. The goods on display were all of only minor magical nature, and if he had been more mortal then they might very well have been invaluable. A small number of healing salves and potions, disease cures, and anti-venom lined the shelves in jars. For a human, the festering wounds, venomous bites, and deadly diseases which were so prevalent in the jungle around them meant that keeping stocked up was critical for survival. Aalvera was a half-demon though, and his constitution afforded him enough protection against those same dangers that such supplies were downgraded from critical to merely desirable. The same was true with much of the magical equipment in stock. There were a number of ponchos enchanted with a spell to ward away mosquitos, flies, and similar pests. But while biting insects were still annoying to the incubus-mage, the chance of them inflicting a major disease on him was almost nil.

In terms of particular use to Aalvera, there were only two items in particular that were likely to stand out. The first was a machete magically enchanted to retain a better edge, though while it was of general practical value it was unlikely to mesh with his preferred combat style. The second was a roll of parchment which was enchanted with what seemed to be an unusual combination of the locate and arcane glyph spells, though he'd have to unfurl it if he wanted to determine exactly what it did.

Regardless of whether or not he chose to further inspect the parchment, however, the incubus would also soon become acutely aware that Edgerton was sneaking glances at his tail -- the one with the spaded tip, specifically -- when he thought Aalvera wouldn't notice.
 

Tiffanian

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Aalvera didn’t bother to correct the man when he misunderstood the half-demon’s gender; he wasn’t particularly invested in being thought of as either gender, truth be told, and it could only lead to trouble in some very specific cases anyway. Thank you he replied, moving to have a look at the various items. And they were all quite useful, or would have been if not for his demonic blood. Disease cures for things he was immune to, wards against mosquitoes, healing salves of various kinds… Nothing in particular that caught his eye. There were a couple of items that were more obviously magical though; a machete that was enchanted not to lose its edge, quite useful for hacking through the immense amount of underbrush, and then a parchment scroll that he could only partly make out. Some kind of arcane locate spell?

As he inspected the shopkeep’s wares Aalvera’s tail swished behind him, a common thing when he was intent on something. He could soon tell that the mountain of a man was, well, “sneaking” glances at the tail whenever he thought he wouldn’t be caught, and doing a poor job of it. As he unfurled the scroll to try and discern what its true purpose was he stuck his tail straight up beside him and casually asked you like my ribbon? Or do you not get many half-demons around here?
 
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Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = You are Here, reading this reply right now.

The effects of the enchantments on the parchment would immediately become clear once the incubus had unfurled it. On the inside was as detailed a map of the Pfthirian Jungle -- and, by extension, The Garden of Repose -- as he had ever seen, which was to say that at least 30% of it was detailed. But perhaps more interestingly to the half-demon than the mundane ink on the map, the combination of spells on the parchment worked together to place a little red cross-hair labeled with the words 'You are Here' right atop the cartographic depiction of the town he was currently standing in.

"Ah, how rude of me! I apologize for my lapse in manners, young lady," Edgerton would sheepishly clear his throat following his otherwise poised response to Aalvera's remark toward him. "We see all kinds come through Kurabay. Elves, demons, faeries... even one of those kee-tsu-nays, believe it or not! But I originally hail from Badaria, where I'm sad to say that many of my countrymen were not only less hospitable but downright hostile toward other races -- and other nationalities too, for that matter. I would be lying if I said it hadn't rubbed off on me, but part of the reason I'm here is to refine myself into someone less uncouth."
 

Tiffanian

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Aalvera unrolled the parchment and stared at it for a moment, rather unable to believe his luck. This was just the sort of thing that could be useful to him; a map, and a very detailed one given the rigors of mapping this dangerous jungle. More than that, the magic had been cast on it in such a way as to mark its current location on itself, a little crosshair and a label marking Kurabay. He wanted it. Whether he had the funds to purchase it was another thing entirely, of course.

He listened quietly to Edgerton’s attempt to explain his stares, still facing away from him with his tail resuming casually swishing about. Of course, the explanation was more or less unnecessary anyway, given the half-demon hadn’t been bothered. He whistled a little bit when the man announced he had seen a kitsune, for those were rare indeed… Mm. It’s not a problem. I’ve never really been out of my village before, so I didn’t know for sure, but I thought I’d get at least a few stares he replied, rolling up the parchment once more. It isn’t bad to be wary, you know. Demons can be dangerous he continued with a sardonic grin, turning and pointing to the map. How much would this cost me? I’m on a quest to find something in the Garden of Repose, and this would be pretty helpful I think. I should be mostly covered otherwise.
 
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Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = Probably Trying to Determine if One of His Blowjobs Would Net 100 Denarii

"True enough about the danger, young lady!" Edgerton replied to Aalvera's assertion that demons can be dangerous with a chuckle. "But I'm of a mind to try this whole business of judging an individual by the merits of their actions. Or, at the very least, asking questions first before the violence starts."

"The map is 100 denarii," he continued on the subject of the map. A certain impassiveness took hold of Edgerton's expression as he announced the information to Aalvera, in stark contrast to his usual boisterousness. "Quite a bit more than the normal traveler through here can afford, but if I marked it down anymore I'd be selling it at a loss!"
 

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"Fair enough. I do appreciate your not pitchforking me as soon as I walked through the door" Aalvera replied, tail swishing behind him... And then the man announced the price of the map, and his tail stiffened straight up into the air, the part-demon whistling again. "That is... quite a lot of money" he replied, tail resuming its lazy back and forth behind him. For a brief moment he considered using the incubus magic he could manifest, of charming the man into being more willing to give a discount... but something told him that wasn't a good idea. After all, Edgerton had just announced that he was a reforming racist... It probably wouldn't do to confirm the stereotypes he was trying to move away from once the magic wore off. "I admit that's much more than I have. Still, couldn't we work something out? A payment plan for a poor cursed demon?" While he didn't use magic, he did put on his absolute best puppy dog eyes, his lip quivering slightly... Mostly out of a sense of playfulness; he didn't expect he could manage an eighty percent discount by any means, perhaps not even supernatural ones.
 
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Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = Discovering That His Blowjobs Are, In Fact, Not Worth 100 Denarii

"Young lady... While I truly do sympathize with your plight, such a business strategy would quickly put me, well, out of business." Edgerton's lips turned downward in a small frown. "It's just the unfortunate state of things in the Pfthirian jungle. Most buyers who walk out my door are never going to return in any fashion, let alone just to make more payments!"

"That said, I doubt I'm likely to sell the thing even if I hang onto it for another few months. So what say we make a deal that earns you that discount? There's something I believe you can do for me...." He eyed Aalvera up and down. "Further south into the Garden of Repose there is a village which lies along the road. About two days away at a cautious pace through the jungle. It's home to a talented apothecary named Divya. I would ask that you go there to retrieve some medicine I requested and bring it back here. If you can get it back to me within a week, I will pay you seventy-five coins to spend as you please," he offered. "Such should make the map much more affordable, I would imagine."
 

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Aalvera’s request was quickly shot down, much as he had expected it to be… Or was it? It was true that holding on to the map hoping for someone to stumble through with a hundred denarii wasn’t necessarily the safest of bets, so the shopkeep was willing to make a bit of a deal. The half-demon listened quietly to the offer, looking Edgerton in the eye and trying to figure out if there was anything he was hiding… It sounded, on the surface, like a simple courier job: Fetch a package from further down the road, bring it back in a week or less, earn seventy-five coins. "That sounds simple enough" he replied after a moment, "but of course, the jungle is a dangerous place…" His tail swished a little bit more rapidly for a few moments before standing up straight and still as he replied "I don’t see why I wouldn’t do it, though. That much money… It doesn’t get me all the way there, but it’s almost enough. And it isn’t as if it’s much out of my way compared to the wandering a map would save me." He handed the map back to Edgarton. "Just a village along the road, eh? Woman named Divya? I’ll get you your medicine, Gods willing."
 
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Aalvera: HP = 46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = Fine

The giant of a human graced the half-demon with a nod and a small smile at his agreement to take on the task. He betrayed nothing beyond jolliness in his demeanor, though perhaps the demon might find something in his follow-up remarks to be suspicious about. "I don't think it should be too dangerous, or at least not more-so than any other trip through the jungle! Still, I'll not send a young lady on an errand on my behalf without any aid at all! If you see anything you deem useful from my more mundane stock, I'll give you a ten percent discount. And should you have more business here in Kurabay that keeps you overnight, know that you can share my roof if you need, free of charge! Not that there's terribly too much more to see here, I suppose, but you never know when a safe haven might come in handy."

Aalvera can purchase any non-contraband potions/antidotes, standard unmodified weapons, and common clothes from Edgerton for 10% off of the gear/items page listed prices.
 

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Aalvera listened as the human offered him a nice deal on his wares, and then even offered him a place to stay, in his own home no less. "Oh my" he replied, his tail sticking up for a moment before waving happily behind him. "I do appreciate that offer. I’m flattered, in fact, that you would trust me enough to let me sleep in your home. If I return later in the day I’ll surely take you up on that offer." He went back to look through the stock again, humming a cheerful tune to himself with his tail swishing behind him, in a good mood. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Well, it was probably going to be pretty bad, but for now things were looking up. "I think… I’m actually reasonably well-stocked though. I did come somewhat prepared. I do believe I’ll be moving on, and if all goes to plan I’ll have your medicine for you soon enough" he said after a while, heading towards the door with a friendly wave to Edgerton. Now there was only one building in town that interested him; the large and unmarked one. It could have been interesting, in any case. Was worth checking out.
 
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Aalvera: HP = 43/46, PP = 67, EP = 51, Status = Bonked
Rolls
Perception: -1 successes
Reflexes: Pass.
3 damage taken, Aalvera avoids being knocked prone.

Edgerton would simply smile in response to Aalvera's initial words, but would bid 'her' farewell with a wave of his own and some kind parting words in his commanding voice. "Do be safe out there, young lady! While the medicine will doubtlessly save some lives, I wouldn't have you sacrifice your own for it!"

But Aalvera wouldn't quite have a chance to get out the door to investigate his next target before he was waylaid. It was difficult to say what led to the events that transpired as he reached for the knob to leave. Perhaps his mind was too narrowly focused on the recent upturn in his fortunes. Or perhaps Edgerton's complete lack of an inside voice was the cause. Or possibly Aalvera just really needed to clean his ears more often. Regardless of what was to blame though, the results were the same. Somehow, he completely missed the rapidly approaching noise of somebody shouting Edgerton's name from outside of the house and found himself directly in the path of the shopkeeper's door as it swung open at full force. And doubly unfortunately, the door still opened inward.

The only thing that kept Aalvera from getting a complimentary trip to the floor in additional to the minor blunt force trauma was the fact that he was quick enough to exert some counter force on the door in the opposite direction, leaving it to shove him to the side roughly enough to hurt. A lanky, tanned teen with shaggy black hair would rush in past him as he recovered from the surprise, completely ignoring the night elf he had just accidentally assaulted. "Edgerton!" The boy called out, cutting off the shopkeep as he opened his mouth to chastise the youth and additionally cutting short any effort Aalvera might make to protest at his treatment. "The tiger is prowling the north road again!"

At this point, of course, any sane shopkeeper would've likely turned to the adventurer in his very shop and sent them on the potential suicide mission. The shopkeeper in this tale, however, was Edgerton.

"The dastard! Let's be off, I'll show him what for!" He boomed as he hopped the counter and rushed to the door. It was only as he crossed Aalvera that he seemed to remember the night elf's presence and stopped to examine 'her' for wounds and lend a helping hand to steady 'herself.' "Ah, are you okay, young lady? Please, take one of my healing potions as recompense. I'll give the boy a refreshing on his manners after I've finally dealt with that rotten tiger. In the meantime, would you mind keeping an eye on my shop? I'll pay you for your time!"

Whatever Edgerton or the youth's view on it might be though, the end choice of how to respond to the situation was up to Aalvera. It was his tale, after all.
 
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Tiffanian

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"Oh, don’t worry" Aalvera replied as he walked to the door, "I’ll likely be more careful than I need to be." What happened next likely put the lie to that statement; whether it was because he himself was talking or because his ears were still ringing from Edgerton’s volume he didn’t hear the boy rushing to the other side of the door. He let out a loud "oof!" as the door crashed into his arm, wobbling back onto his heels and shoving against it a little bit as he regained his balance.

That left him to one side of the room, rubbing his arm and grumbling quietly as a he watched the boy run in, yelling for the shopkeeper. He was tall and thin and looked rather unkempt, and was in an awful hurry… he didn’t seem even to notice the half-demon he had almost knocked to the ground. Rude little bastard. When he said that there was a tiger on the north road it barely registered through the annoyance and surprise, but then Edgerton’s reaction took him aback even further.

Aalvera was still trying to wrap his mind around how a tiger could be a “dastard” or why a shopkeep was rushing out to fight it when the big man passed him, only turning to greet him almost as an afterthought. He asked if the half-demon was okay, and offered him a healing potion and some payment to watch the shop while he was away, which was a tempting offer to be sure. The old Aalvera would’ve taken it without hesitation.

And yet, this wasn’t necessarily the old Aalvera. Though he had always shied away from combat in the past and didn’t feel good about the idea now, he would likely have to fight plenty on his quest… and likely without allies like Edgerton. He would have to get a lot braver, and a lot stronger, if he wanted to succeed and break Nara out of her deep sleep. His tail swished behind him slowly, nervously, as he replied "I’m okay, yes… If you’re going to be fighting, I could come along to help you though. I may not look it, but I happen to be a mage, and I wouldn’t mind a warm-up before I venture deeper into the jungle."
 
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Hafnium

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Aalvera: HP = 43/46, PP = 67, EP = 49/51, Status = +10 AV.

Edgerton: HP = ??, PP = ??, EP = ??, Status = +2d10 Dodge
Rolls
Aalvera's perception: 5 successes.
Edgerton's perception: 4 successes.

Casting checks based on IRC messages:
#1: Successfully casts Force Armor (+Armor) on himself.
#2: Successfully casts Force Armor (+Dodge) on Edgerton.

Edgerton's mustache seemed to bristle a bit when Aalvera admitted to being a mage, but he wouldn't give voice to whatever misgivings he might've been hiding. Instead, he replied with his usual boisterous cheer and complete lack of volume control. "Right-o then! It would be crass of me to deny your bravery by declining your assistance, so come along young lady! We'll give that beast what for! Watch the shop for me boy," the tall man turned his head toward the youth as he addressed him. "We'll be back to put the tiger's pelt on display before supper!"

The shopkeeper would summarily turn and continue his march out the door, leaving Aalvera to follow him and leaving the lanky young man behind with a confused look plastered across his face. Edgerton would set a rapid pace, walking so quickly that the 'lady' demon would have to scramble to keep up with him as they exited his shop and set forth on the northern road in search of a tiger. The incubus's efforts to maintain pace were certainly made harder by the fact that the shopkeeper had seemingly no familiarity in working with a mage and left Aalvera to cast any empowering cantrips he wanted to cast upon the two as they moved.

"This beast has been a menace to Kurabay for seasons!" The boisterous man explained as they walked. "It got a taste of human some time back and it's made the poor villagers' lives miserable ever since! The blasted thing made a poor girl a widow scant weeks after her wedding, too! We'll be doing Kurabay a great service today if it doesn't run away with its tail tucked between its legs again," Edgerton added with no small amount of aggravation apparent in his tone. Though, if his goal was to avoid scaring it off then he likely wasn't doing either of them a favor with the volume of his voice.

Yet the shopkeeper seemed undeterred by the fact that he truly had no idea where their quarry might even be on the path and unconcerned that they were currently passing by abundant trees and foliage easily dense enough to hide a fully grown tiger, and so he pressed on in leading Aalvera further along the road. His expression gave little away as to whether he knew anything or not, but he held no shortage of confidence as he strode toward whatever his eventual destination might be. But then, as suddenly as their journey had begun, Edgerton stopped, placing a hand on Aalvera's shoulder to stop him in his tracks as well.

"Stay close to me young lady, I smell danger," he remarked, his mustache moving almost comically in tune with his nose as he took two exaggerated sniffs of the air around them. His warning was unnecessary though, Aalvera had already spotted the danger himself. There was movement in a particularly dense thicket of greenery a mere twenty feet ahead of them and slightly to their right. And it was movement from something big. It seemed that something was waiting for the duo to pass so that it could leap out and strike at one of them. Before Aalvera could enact any sort of sane tactic, however, like casting into the bush to drive it out, Edgerton would suddenly call out. "Come out and face us, you cowardly, overgrown house cat!"

Once again, in any sane world, one would've been correct to expect that a jungle beast would not heed the provocation of an apparently combat-inclined shopkeeper. And once again, Edgerton proved to be the sort of person who was his very own black hole and which captured any errant scrap of sanity or reason and quickly drew it into an event horizon from which it could never escape. The tiger, against all logic, leapt out onto the path as if compelled by the shopkeeper's challenge.

And it proved to be a massive beast, covered in dark orange fur with black stripes. It was taller than Aalvera at its shoulders, with a maw large enough to fit most of his torso and fangs large enough to skewer him. Its claws were no less dangerous than its fangs, and could almost certainly remove limbs and gut prey with a swipe. In addition to all that, it almost certainly had Edgerton beat in weight by a factor of two or three. And one terrible, gleaming eye fixated on the two clearly designating them as its next victims. Yet, of course, this did nothing to dissuade Edgerton.

"So you've finally come out to face us mano-a-mano! Back for revenge, are you? I'll have your other eye this time!" Edgerton continued to, likely foolishly, taunt the beast, taking up a western pugilist's stance and putting himself between the beast and Aalvera to give the mage a suitable amount of room to cast. It seemed it was time for the demon's heir to show off the full extent of his bravery.
 

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Aalvera couldn’t quite interpret Edgerton’s reaction to his announcement that he was a mage, which jogged his memory a bit. Was there something about Badarians and magic? Had he sparked an unpleasant memory or a buried prejudice? He didn’t have much time to think about it before the shopkeep yelled out that he was to come along, telling the boy who had so rudely rammed into the demon to watch the shop instead and then turning to leave immediately.

He set a pace that was hard for the short half-demon to keep up with, forcing him to practically jog along. "Slow down a little" he protested, "hey, I can’t keep up here!" He huffed a little bit, his tail swishing as he puffed out his cheeks. "I don’t want to be worn out before we even get to the fight. Speaking of which…" Aalvera began to chant quietly, making a few subtle motions with his hands and even his tail to cast a spell that would take effect on Edgerton a moment later, and then another on himself. "You should find yourself just a bit more nimble in combat. Don’t overdo it, though" he explained, before the shopkeep set into explaining the town’s tiger problem.

It was certainly odd to Aalvera that they had run into this sort of thing. Wildlife was dangerous, of course, especially if you were careless, but it seemed odd to have a wild animal actively hunt humanoids as a matter of habit. Was this just something that happened once they got their first kill? "Again? You’ve fought the thing alone before?" he asked skeptically, wondering why there weren’t at least a little bit of a town guard for situations like this and in any case wondering why he was so gung-ho about hunting a tiger, screaming all the way.

The deeper into the jungle they went the spookier it became; the dense undergrowth was just perfect to hide a bloodthirsty tiger, and if a big cat were to pounce on Aalvera he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to get it off him. The damned thing could be anywhere, hiding behind any given tree… or it could be miles away, for all he knew. Unfortunately for the demonic mage it was not, in fact, miles away, though thankfully he became aware of it well before it could have ambushed the two of them.

Edgerton noticed it as well, though instead of doing anything sensible with the knowledge he simple screamed at the tiger to come out and face them. Surely that wouldn’t work, cats were fairly flighty even when big and dangerous, and it wasn’t as if the creature would be able to understand his taunts.

And yet. Out of the undergrowth leapt a simply massive tiger, orange and black as one might expect but far bigger than any tiger Aalvera had ever seen before. He had to look up to see its shoulders for goodness sake! His heart started to pound in his chest, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he beheld its snarling form; the damned things had fangs long and sharp enough that they would surely kill him instantly if they pierced him in the right spot. It could kill him any number of ways, and probably without expending much effort at all. But on the other hand it was missing an eye… so it seemed that Edgerton really had fought the thing one on one before and come out on top.

Even though Aalvera’s instinct was telling him to flee, to do anything he could not to take this fight, he still knew better. A tiger could outrun him if need be, and it wouldn’t do to leave Edgerton alone here. No, he would have to face this, that was the whole point of coming along. And with this insane shopkeeper between him and the tiger, well… he would at least have some breathing space initially. Whatever happened, the thing wasn’t going to run away, not this time… Aalvera began to murmur a chant as he struggled against his fear, his mouth dry as he fought to get the words out, aiming a bolt of force at the giant tiger to weigh it down for Edgerton.

Cast empowered Force Bolt :eek:
 
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