The Cursed: Goddess of Snakes

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The team soon discover that the lizardmen are just minions to something deeper in the caves, and after fighting through legions of skeletons and their necromancer whom Olchyr wins a magic duel against, the team finds an out of place, friendly temple.

Naryu's snooping quickly reveals them to be Yuan-ti's though, and while Olchyr is killed in the mayhem, the team free another adventuring group comprised of Marchon, Iholikan Quinval, Reise Coppersky and Cristiana Knight who help them clear what turns out to be a large base of the snakemen - including their marilith "goddess" who hacks up Nessa in the final confrontation before being put down.

All the red areas are traps!

They find the scrying orb Arundel sent them to retrieve on the marilith, who is also not the "cold evil" given her entire mandate was to melt the ice for her followers. Upon returning to Kuldahar they find it under attack by Neo-Orogs (orogs taking performance enhancing drugs?) who are easily slain.

Unfortunately they got to Arundel who with his dying breath, instructs the team to take the orb to tower of the Severed Hand - and to the last person nearby who can use it. Iholikan and Marchon stay behind to guard the town while the remainder head back out to the mountains.

Insight: Blast skeletons are skeletons with IEDs strapped on. They explode upon death, so kill em from a far!

The Cursed: Lizard People

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Arundel seems to believe the words of the spirit boss so he sends the party to retrieve a powerful scrying orb next, but they find that someone has already stolen it. The trail leads to a cave infested with lizardmen, trolls, spiders and beetles. The beetles in particular are nasty (they fart stinking cloud a lot) and so must be dealt with at range.

The lizard people have also been abducting a huge number of slaves for their king who puts up a mighty battle - reflecting Lucia's lightning bolt back at her and beheading Tharmun before Olchyr can finish him off with magic missiles. With Lucia near death, the freed slaves offer to take her to safety. An offer Sofie eventually agrees to.

The Lizard King is unimpressed at this turn of events.

One of the slaves, an elf named Naryu Virian offers to join to get vengeance for her capture. Olchyr also finds a strange painting that featured a "trapped woman". He manages to release her with his magic and in gratitude also joins. Her name is Nessa.

Insight: While there are no recruitable NPCs here like there are in Baldur's Gate, you can supplement your party by using the multi-player option. It just involves moving save files around.

Nameless: The Last Ship

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

"Lord Warrior," said the novice acolyte as he gave a hurried genuflect. "Those monsters have breached the walls, we must evacuate now!"

Gigal nodded, looking one last time at Nessa's portrait before throwing a large tarp over it. The sounds of battle within the halls of this final stand had rattled the remainder of the Shadowstar cultists within. Gigal's small retinue of guards moved quickly to take her towards the Northern tunnel, an escape route designed by the old King that would take them right to the docks.

"What of the Urn?" asked Gigal without breaking her stride.

"It's already being ferried with the first boat to the master," replied one of her retinue - who was suddenly cut down by a large battle axe. A crazed, bald dwarf sprang from the adjoining corridor - making short work of more of Gigal's guards, who were unable to fight back effectively having heard what happens the worms within their enemy touch their skin.

As the last of her allies fell, Gigal charged forth herself in a full sprint - surprising her diminutive opponent as she sprang off a nearby wall to sail right over his attack. He spun around just in time to see the arrow that would pierce his brain and kill his body. Gigal didn't hesitate to flee, and picked up the pace through the tunnel and straight to the docks which were now on fire.

The few remaining guards were being overwhelmed here, so without hesitation Gigal spotted the closest ferry that still seemed operational and raced to it. Weaving and dodging past the clumsy worm infected that noticed her. Once she was on the boat, she set sail immediately - catching the tide that would pull her vessel out to sea, and out of reach of the deep ones.

She was fortunate that the cultists had begun loading rations on board, for she would be at out at sea - alone - for longer than she liked. It was during those days of lonely drifting that her mind thought of Nessa with a pang of regret.

When she finally made land, all her searching for the Shadowstar cultists led to nothing, as if they had all packed up and gone into hiding. After a captive for so long, this freedom felt terrifying. Her only skills were that of combat though, so when she learned of a caravan hiring adventurers to clear out some "cursed" hamlet, she signed up immediately.

Nameless: Pretty as a Picture

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

All that was left of Silvain.

Nessa blinked back the tears as she watched her last ally turn into dust. Filled with rage she turned to the slowly approaching  Lord Warrior, whose helmet was now missing. A mess of long blonde hair contrasted against the pitch black armor and Nessa was surprised that the Lord Warrior had a familiar, feminine face.

"Gigal?" she asked with more than a hint of confusion.

"Hello sister," replied her old arena team mate, as she suddenly sprinted forward into an attack. Her emotions unchecked, Nessa countered it sluggishly and was too slow to evade the follow up, catching an armored shin to the face, knocking her out cold. When Nessa regained consciousness,  she found herself stripped of all her gear, her ankles and wrists chained to a single point to the floor behind her.

More troubling was that she found herself in an intricate magical cage, facing a canvas filled with monstrous shapes. Gigal stood nearby but she was busy talking with one of her Shadowstar minions while a few others chanted in an unknown tongue around her. Finally Gigal turned around as the panicked minion left the room in a hurry.

"Congratulations," she said as her gaze locked with Nessa's. "Thanks to your interference by damaging the urn, the plans of the Shadowstar here are ruined for now. Furthermore, with the costly battle against the deep ones that I can't help but thing you had a hand in starting - they are withdrawing entirely from this region."

"Gigal... why? Why are you helping them!?" asked Nessa angrily.

"Because they helped me escape. They gave me the the opportunity and the means to take down Tectuk and I did. Most importantly, because they didn't leave me behind." Nessa felt that last one was definitely directed at her. Gigal continued, "So now I'm going to do what the rest of you did to me. Your friend Jann was very forthcoming with his imprisonment techniques. I'm told time moves much slower for those inside a painting."

"Wait, Gigal... you can't be serious."

"You left me in a place where I was regularly abused and had to fight for my life. Now you will get to experience that. Forever."

"Please, no! Let me go, you can't do this!" begged Nessa.

With her middle finger raised in a final gesture to her captive, Gigal didn't even break her gaze as she gave the command to proceed. Nessa screamed as a bright flash of light engulfed her, and as it faded she was gone from her shackles and from the cage - transported into the picture with the horrible creatures within.

Nameless: Explosive Volume

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

With a flick of his wrist, Jann sent a huge ball of flame hurtling towards the three women but the spell exploded harmlessly against the shield generated by the Seal of Fire Silvain held up in front of it. The magic shield did nothing to stop the Lord Warrior's arrow though, which painfully pierced through her extended forearm, forcing her to drop the artifact.

As Nessa rushed their black armored foe, parrying more arrows with her shield, Fayina threw Rhone's spear at Jann - but she missed as the goateed mage hopped down from his perch while he simultaneously produced an ornate looking lyre. With a single strum, violent energies shot forth towards his targets. All Fayina could do was push Silvain out of the way as the magic from the lyre dismembered her in a sudden, violent explosion of blood and entrails.

Wide-eyed, Silvain used her good hand to conjure a wall of stone which blocked the next chord strummed by Jann. Through the debris of the crumbling wall, he didn't notice that the timid librarian had also magically flung a tiny few tiny rocks in his direction. The pebbles hit the strings of his instrument and to his horror, made it sound - firing the energy in his direction and completely obliterating him and the pillar he had jumped down from.

Meanwhile, Nessa had closed the distance and cut through the Lord Warrior's bow with her sword in a furious, flurry of attacks. This didn't stop her opponent though, who proceeded to fight unarmed - evading and deflecting Nessa's sword strikes and skillfully disarming and throwing her across the garden plaza with a surprising, spinning counter.

It was only at that moment that Lord Warrior spotted Silvain crouched to one side on some sort of impromtu magic circle, with the cup of life and the seal of fire at her feet and the lyre in her hands.

Nameless: Evil Intent

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

The night sky showed Silvain that they were almost out of time.

The city was more alert than usual the next morning, with armed Shadowstar soldiers aggressively patrolling the streets and what few civilians were about were hurriedly ushured into their homes. This made it more difficult for Fayina, Nessa and Silvain to sneak closer to the main frustum where the Lord Warrior was said to reside, but it soon became clear that they were not the only threats active that day.

The trio watched from a small, shaded alley as the city guardsmen clashed against a large group of ragged individuals. Some looked like disheveled miners, others wore the familiar greenish garb of the tree folk. One of them was a splitting image of Buster, down to his axe. Silvain held Nessa back as she began to move to assist them, not just because they had a more important mission - but more because this ragtag group attacked with no strategy. No tactics.

Yet for each one slain, the guards seemed to panic more - as if terrified of the blood being spilled around them. Soon they started fighting among themselves as well. While Nessa and Silvain squinted to try better understand what was happening, Fayina called their attention with a loud whisper.

"Now is our chance."

With all the guards now attending the commotion, the grand stairs to the pyramid was clear. With a deep breath, the trio sprinted across the open causeway and into the main Shadowstar headquarters. There was no looking back now

They moved quickly and quietly along the cold marble floor of the interior, counting themselves lucky as the lack of defenses continued inside. That is, until they reached a large open air garden in the center of the building. There, on a small altar was the elemental urn and beside it stood a menacing figure in black armor holding a wicked bow. The Lord Warrior was waiting for them.

"Right on time!" exclaimed a voice familiar to Nessa, as a thin man with a long goatee stood up from his perch atop a nearby decorative pillar. Jann smiled at them with evil intent.

Nameless: Plan B

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

Silvain sprung awake as she heard the wooden door open, rolling out of the small cot and grabbing her knife of the small bedside table. Underneath the very same table was a small sack containing the Cup of Life - rewarded to her and Fayina for rescuing the forest folk just a few days ago with the promise of its return once the elemental urn was retrieved from the Lord Warrior.

Silvain was living proof that the artifact worked, having healed the spear wound in her side completely. Alas, its healing properties could not restore the dead, leaving many of the forest folk and Silvain's comrades in shallow graves.

Peeking around the corner from the back room she saw there was no need to worry, as Fayina was already hugging the familiar figure that had just entered... it was Nessa, and in her good hand she held a peculiar stone which Silvain recognized from the books in the old library. The seal of fire.

"Where is everyone else?" Nessa asked.

"We're it," answered Silvain as she came out of from behind the door. "And we're almost out of time. Whatever the Shadowstar are planning to do with the urn is probably going to happen in the next few days when the stars align once more."

Nessa grimly nodded. "Then we do what I wanted to do in the first place. Tomorrow, we go after the Lord Warrior and stop whatever those cultists are trying to do."

Nameless: Remembrance

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

While escaping the volcano was equal parts terrifying and tiring, watching the temple and a good number of its residents get swallowed by the rising lava was heart breaking. There was nothing Nessa could do or say as Rhone and less than a handful of her soldiers watched and cried from their safe vantage point.

It was surprising to see them cry at all.

As if suddenly remembering she was there, Rhone inhaled sharply and stood up. "You must leave the seal," she said in a tone unmistakable as a demand. Her loyal soldiers were a little slower to take the cue, but also wiped their tears away to face the human with spears and shields at the ready.

"Rhone, I need..."

"That is the last piece of our temple," interrupted the captain. "The last piece of who we were. You cannot take it. We will not let you. I will not let you."

"Don't do this," warned Nessa as the soldiers began advancing on her.

"You leave us no..."

Before Rhone could finish her sentence Nessa's throwing dagger had plunged into one of her bulging, black eyes - piercing her brain and killing the captain out right. With the advantage of surprise she then spun into the nearest soldier, parrying his spear with her blade and beheading him on the second turn.

The remaining two lizards then both attacked, one lunging forward and one leaping with a downward strike, both missing as Nessa unexpectedly shifted direction and rolled past them - severing the tail of the lunger on her way past. Off balance, he made for easy prey as the gladiatrix swept behind him - using him as a shield from the spear of his comrade, much to his dismay.

With a well timed shove, Nessa impaled the tailless one onto the his ally's weapon and then made quick work of the last disarmed foe. With all of her opponents dead, she collected Rhone's spear as a remembrance and began the long trek back to the city.

Nameless: Unsealed

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

The shaking was getting worse as Nessa followed Rhone's lizard forces down the spiraling stairs in what seemed to be the very heart of the volcano itself - a huge spacious cavern with bubbling lava, ravenously consuming the rocks falling onto its molten surface. Amidst the chaos, a battalion of Shadowstar soldiers fought against the Verini guards.

"Quickly!" hissed Rhone to her column of warriors. "We must return the seal to pacify the great fire god!"

With a primal roar the lizardman phalanx surged forward with Nessa and Ladel bringing up the rear. Past the melee, Nessa spotted the caped Shadowstar commander barking orders at his troops as he retreated further into the volcano. Tucked under his arm was an ancient circular stone, no doubt the seal of fire itself! Unwilling to let the artifact slip away, she signaled to Ladel and the two of them broke off from the main combat across some precarious looking stones slowly sinking into the caldera.

It was a dangerous shortcut, especially for the rotund Ladel, but one that paid off as they soon ran into the Commander and his two guards, both of whom where caught by surprise as Nessa ran one through with her sword while Ladel manhandled the second one, throwing the screaming man into the lava.

"Stay back," the commander began as he threatened to drop the seal into the magma. Nessa had anticipated this though and instinctively rolled past him - severing his extended arm and catching the artifact with her shield hand - which in itself was a dexterous feat since she only had three fingers on it. Ladel took the opportunity to bash the now one armed man, sending him reeling backwards and forcing him to jump to another rock.

"Go," said Ladel to Nessa. "I've got this." The big man then jumped after the commander, who now had drawn a knife to defend himself.

Knowing the battle would be meaningless if the volcano erupted, Nessa ran back to Rhone's forces who despite heavy casualties were actually winning the fight. Finding the lizard captain at an opportune time, Nessa pushed the stone to her. "Rhone, use it quickly!" she urged.

But the captain's gaze lingered on something behind her... the huge stone pillars that once supported the city of Verini were crumbling into the boiling lava, soon followed by chunks of the city proper itself along with hapless citizens. "It's too late," she said sadly as she watched the destruction all around her. "It's too late."

"All forces retreat!" ordered a teary eyed Rhone. Nessa took one last glance back at Ladel, who was still fighting the commander, just as a huge slab of stone crushed them both into the burning sea.

Nameless: Time to Rumble

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

"What brings you here, manlings?" hissed Rhone in what Nessa assumed was her version of a friendly tone. "Wait, let me guess - you are here for the seal of fire?".

"How did you know?" Ladel blurted out like a buffoon, causing Nessa to grimace.

Rhone simply laughed. "That is the same reason those soldiers have laid seige to our home. They too tried diplomacy at first. Our answer to them is the same we must give you. Please understand, the Fire Ruby keeps our god, calm. There is simply nothing you can say or do that..."

A sudden, deep rumbling interrupted the captain's speech as the whole mountain shook briefly.

"Does that happen often?" asked Nessa as she steadied herself against a nearby wall.

Before Rhone could reply the rumbling returned, more intense than before. The other lizard folk began screaming and running past in terror.

"It can't be..." Rhone hissed angrily as she began to march deeper into the mountain. Ladel and Nessa followed close behind. "What's happening?" asked Nessa in a more demanding tone as a few more soldiers joined their group.

Turning the corner to an opulent staircase that spiraled further down the depths she got her answer. The bodies of dead lizard warriors and a few Shadowstar soldiers ley strewn lifeless on the floor. They had breached the walls.

Nameless: Mount Verini

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

With a scream, Nessa swung her sword down hard into the shoulder of the Shadowstar soldier who collapsed in a shower of blood with a horrified look on his face. The last thing they expected to find at the gates of the ancient temple built into the volcano was an entire regiment of enemies laying siege to it.

An entire regiment now dead or dying.

With the battle over, Nessa surveyed the losses to her allies and they were equally severe. Of her team, which was reinforced by three other mages who Jann had freed from cursed paintings, only Ladel the cook remained upright, puffing with exhaustion.

Her eyes then came across a familiar thin body lying in a broken position near the middle of the field - the merchant Notaku. With a missing leg and a clearly broken arm his lifeless eyes just stared across towards the massive gates of the temple.

Gates which slowly began to open with a loud grinding noise. Lizard like figures walking up right on two legs, each with a spear and shield marched out and surrounded the two wary survivors. Their leader, marked by a different coloration on her helmet stepped forward.

"Enemies of our enemies are our friends," she hissed with a slight bow. "Please come in." Nessa and Ladel were happy to oblige, since the artifact they sought was supposedly within the temple anyway. Nessa noticed that half of their entourage remained behind to collect equipment and the dead.

"I am Rhone," said the guard captain as she led them into a huge, gold-gilded hall with magnificently carved figures decorating both sides. "Welcome to Verini."

Nameless: Grim Paintings

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

Notaku wiped the sweat from his brow as he cursed the burning sun under his breath. It had been two days since his small caravan had left the city with Nessa, Florin, Romila, and Ladel, a sweaty, rotund, low ranking alliance member who moonlighted as their cook and whose sharp body odor was becoming harder to ignore.

Thankfully their destination wasn't far now as a the ragged tent in the distance grew ever closer.

"Notaku, my old friend!" exclaimed the dark skinned man who greeted them. "And Lady Romila, it's been a long time. What brings you all the way out here?"

"We need your help Jann," replied Romila as Florin helped her down from the wagon. Behind them, Ladel and Nessa had begun unloading three flat squares of cargo - paintings depicting individuals in terrible or hopeless situations.

"Ohho, where did you get these?" mused Jann as he stroked his long goatee.

"Bought them," Notaku piped up proudly. "Which was hard to do without raising suspicion I might add."

Nessa, who was now standing just behind Romila whispered "So, how does this work? We give him paintings and he gives us reinforcements?"

"The paintings -are- your reinforcements my dear," said Jann over his shoulder. "The new regime is full of sadists who wanted a method to publicly incarcerate and torture their foes for all eternity, all while saving space in the physical dimension. It's quite brilliant actually. Please, bring them inside and I will begin preparations to extract these unfortunate souls."

"Jann was always best at this field of study," mused Romila out loud as she watched Jann lead Notaku, Ladel and Nessa to his camp.

"So why did Matthias kick him out?" asked Florin.

"Because he enjoys tormenting children."

Nameless: Glorified Fetch Quest

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]
 
Nessa observed the distraught and demoralized faces gathered around the camp fire. After the attack on their base, the handful of survivors had relocated to the Sorrows under the leadership of their vice-leader, a stern woman named Romila who had just finished giving a speech on what they were to do next.

"Your plan is foolish," Nessa hissed at Romila as she walked past, causing her to stop mid step.

"We should just rally all our forces and attack the Lord Warrior directly!"

"Nessa!" barked Florin in an attempt to get her in line. Both women ignored him.

"That was suicide even before they had the elemental urn," countered Romila plainly. "But you are more than welcome to try - after we have our counter measures in place."

"It's a glorified fetch quest..." Nessa began but Florin cut her off. "Which we will be glad to assist in. In fact, I've decided which of the four items we should go after first: all of them."

As everyone turned to him in shock, he held up his hands to explain.

"The way I understand it is we need all four artifacts to stand a chance, and the fastest way to retrieve them is to split up. Romila's people are mostly spell casters - there happens to be a shortage of capable warriors to support them yet here we are. Four of us. It's..."

"...destiny." Tabitha said in a whisper, still loud enough to be heard by all.

"You sure about this boss?" asked Buster, one bushy eyebrow raised.

"It just makes sense." Florin finished.

Nameless: Glancing Blows

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

After a few days of laying low at an inn on the outskirts, Matthias had come to see them. Impressed with their performance at the pyramid it was finally time to welcome them properly to the rebellion. Nessa couldn't help but be on guard as he led them into the local graveyard, and there deep within one of the tombs he opened a hidden door with stairs going down.

"Welcome to the Veiled..." Matthias began, but cut himself short when he saw the pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs. His worst fears were realized when the bodies of his allies came into view. A squad of soldiers with blood still dripping from their swords casually waited for them to descend. Furious, Matthias outstretched a hand and shouted a violent incantation.

Nothing happened.

The soldiers grinned and raised their blades. "For the Lord Warrior!" they shouted in unison before charging the hapless mage. They never reached him as Florin's squad leaped into action, swiftly executing the intruders. With the sounds of battle still ringing from deeper in, they knew there'd be more of them. Suddenly hit by a terrifying thought, Matthias began sprinting down one passage - almost outrunning his protectors.

Turning the corner he finally made it to their arcane vault where they stored artifacts too dangerous to fall into the hands of the new regime. A large contingent of soldiers was already there, and in the center - a menacing black armored figure holding the most powerful relic of all in that location - the elemental urn. Florin's team took a moment to realize they were now staring at the Lord Warrior.

The urn was somehow familiar...

With the smallest of nods, the rest of the soldiers yelled their standard battle cry and attacked while the Lord Warrior casually walked away from the skirmish and out an adjacent door. Desperate to prevent the loss of the elemental urn, Matthias charged forward on his own but was quickly brought low by a stab through the knee and a follow up through an eye.

Tabitha, Buster, Nessa and Florin were also hard pressed but managed to negate the enemy numbers by putting their backs against a wall. Slowly, like in the Kalek's pyramid, the soldiers fell one at a time until none of them were left breathing. Florin was surprised that not even the last few would flee. It seemed that escape was a privilege reserved for the Lord Warrior.

Nameless: Satisfaction

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

Finding the garden was pretty easy as it was at the highest level of the pyramid. There a large contingent of gladiators turned guards men stood watch while a dark skinned woman was busy at work deeper in. From the way she barked orders at the others it was clear she was in charge.

Moving in single file with Nessa up front, the team silently snaked its way into the garden grounds - silently taking down targets of opportunity while getting as close as they could to the woman. Unfortunately, Tabitha stepped on a particularly crunchy twig which drew the dark lady's attention.

"Intrud...!" she screamed, cut short by Buster's axe cleaving its way up between her legs and arcing out at her bosom - showering the short, bald man with her blood and entrails. There was no hiding now, as the team began openly engaging the guards who began pouring in from the lower levels.

"For the Lord Warrior!" they cried now and again. Not that it helped as their numbers slowly whittled down by the superior combat skills and the high ground advantage of Florin's group. At the end, they stood bloodied, wounded but victorious over the bodies of at least twenty foes.

Maybe more than twenty.

When it was clear no more were coming, they patched themselves up as best they could, took what valuables the dead no longer needed, and torched all the plants in the garden. Satisfied with their accomplishments they limped out of there together.

Nameless: Kalek

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

Once they got out of the claustrophobic secret tunnel, the corridors of the pyramid were surprisingly wide and well lit thanks to the numerous torches and the glass tip that let the sunlight in. Guards, who appeared to be ex-gladiators, patrolled lazily with wine skins in hand - making it easy to simply slip by them undetected. Hidden within one of the deep cells they discovered a cage with a frail looking man trapped within. Arcane tattoos and horrible cancerous growths covered his bare back and arms.

"Stay away," the prisoner muttered without turning around.

"We can help you," began Tabitha but was held back firmly by Florin who nodded towards two dead bodies outside the cage. Guards whose skin was covered in similar looking boils.

"The Lady of the Garden," coughed the prisoner. "She's made her plague too potent. Stay away. You cannot help me."

"Do you know how is she making this plague?" asked Nessa. "Help us stop this from happening to anyone else!"

The prisoner coughed painfully. "There is a collection of rare herbs from across the world that grow upstairs. They were once my pride and joy, now they are my doom. She uses those to make this virus. Destroy them. Destroy her. That should at least slow their plans."

"Kalek...?"

"Go now. Kalek is dead."

Nameless: Not much of a Choice

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

"Good to finally meet you," said Florin as he shook the hand of Matthias Morthen, leader of the resistance. As promised, Arslan had taken the team to meet him but where he led them was not some secret base, rather to an empty plaza beside what was known as Kalek's Pyramid, so named because of the hermit who never left its walls.

"You live up to your reputation," Matthias replied through crooked, dirty teeth. "Arslan has told me how you dealt with Acar. I'm afraid we are in need of your services again. Our spies tell us that the new regime is up to something in the pyramid behind me. I would like you to figure out what exactly it is."

"Your spies got tired of spying?" Nessa asked snarkily.

"Due to the nature of the threat," Matthias continued coolly. "They were not the best candidates for the job. Your team is. There's a hidden entrance just behind this statue..."

"You're being a little cryptic there my friend," interrupted Florin. "If you know what's waiting for us I would like to know."

Matthias sighed. "We believe they are developing a plague. One that specifically targets those with magic. Much like the Wizard King, the new order does not take kindly to rogue mages and nearly our entire force is made up of magic users. Now do you understand?"

"So... you're a mage and Arslan is..."

"While he isn't magically gifted, he is also about as stealthy as a crazed camel that enjoys dancing while wearing a thousand bells. Now, please - will you do this for me?"

It didn't sound like much of a choice.

Nameless: The Money Lender

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

"That will be one hundred fourteen thousand gold pieces," said the tanned and slender man with a devilish grin as he finished moving the beads on his abacus. Acar the money lender was not shy about displaying his wealth, residing in one of the most opulent mansions in the city and having even his guards and servants adorned with magnificent jewelry.

He also wasn't a fool, either. He knew the four adventurers before him didn't have the funds to pay off Fayina's debt. That's why he made sure they were each -thoroughly- searched and disarmed before he allowed an audience with them. Florin and Buster in particular seemed very uncomfortable in the white togas they were forced to change into, while the rest of their gear - other than Tabitha's eye patch - was confiscated. The guards in were very clear that all the items would NOT be returned. A small price to pay for Acar's time.

"How about you drop Fayina's debt and we'll let you live?" Nessa asked with all the charm of a hungry sand shark. Acar laughed. He had around twenty heavily armed guards in the room with him, and more patrolling the grounds. What could four unarmed fighters do to him?

Clearly needing a demonstration, Nessa gave a silent hand signal and suddenly the toga clad team sprung into action. They might not have been armed but all the guards were - and it was child's play to take the guards spare weapons in the melee. The money lender barely had time to call for more guards as the last ones in the room were slain, simply being outclassed by the four foreigners.

The reinforcements fared no better as the intruders casually waited for their arrival, and dealt with all comers easily. Eventually no more came, and the entire room had been repainted red. Acar soiled himself as they finally turned their attention to him.

"Alright alright! Her debt is paid! Please, leave me be!"

Buster marched right up to him, bloody knife in hand. "Nuthin personal, but the boss says we can't trust you."

Acar's eyes widened as he screamed and felt the blade jam up right between his legs, multiple times until he collapsed onto the blood soaked floor, dead.

"Burn the books," Florin ordered. "And lets loot this place dry."

It was late in the evening when Arslan and Fayina returned to the Sorrows. Their mission to return the relic Fayina stole had been successful, though their third companion - Shandel - had his leg broken during a confrontation with one of the tunneling creatures and was only going to slow them down on the return journey. Arlsan made the decision to leave him there in the monster's temple as a "heroic sacrifice".

He was surprised to see Florin's blood soaked team waiting for them at his hut, and more surprised at the large, somewhat filthy treasure pile stocked within. "Acar sends his regards," Florin greeted. "Sorry about the shine on some of these. It's a bit hard to transport things through sewer tunnels and keep them clean. So, how did we do?"

"You passed," Arslan said with a huge grin.

Nameless: The Sorrows

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

The sewers were much better lit than the last time Nessa journeyed through them. Burning candles and makeshift signs helped guide them to a large underground clearing with a small shanty town in the center. She wasn't sure where all the smoke from the various fires was going to, but there must have been some ventilation passage it was dissipating into.

"People live down here?" asked Florin out loud but before he could get any response a loud roar and an explosion followed by panicked screams echoed in the chamber. Drawing their weapons, the party rushed into the fray only to come face to face with a massive bi-pedal crab monster in the process of devouring a hapless resident. A second crustacean beast burst through the wall right beside the first, and more were bursting from the grounds nearby.

Buster didn't hesitate to charge the one that had its hands (and mouth) full, easily evading its clumsy strike to chop down into its face with his battle axe. With a spurt of greenish blood and a muffled roar the beast collapsed, dead.

"That's how it's done!" yelled the bald stocky man as he retrieved his axe and looked to his next victim. Inspired by the sight Tabitha, Nessa and Florin all charged in too. While the monsters were indeed strong, they were more adapted for digging than for combat and as more and more of them fell even the townsfolk began gaining the courage to fight them back with whatever makeshift weaponry they had. Soon enough, the remaining creatures retreated into the darkness from whence they came.

A local, dressed in slightly less tattered rags approached the team afterwards. "You fight well," he said with a smile. "My name is Shandel, one of the defenders of this community."

"Well met," replied Tabitha as she wiped off the sticky green blood from her two handed sword. "Would you happen to know where Arslan is?"

Somewhat surprised by the question, Shandel blinked for a moment then nodded.

Nameless: Notaku

[This is part of my Creative Writing Experiment.]

"So, Drisana didn't make it huh?" said Notaku with disappointment after Nessa introduced him to her new party.

"Sorry Notaku. Tell us what happened here, what became of the Wizard King? Did anyone from our rebellion survive?" asked Nessa.

Notaku sighed. "Some cult from abroad arrived, Shadowstar they called themselves, and they ... assisted in the regime change. Rumor is someone caught Tectuk napping and made him into a pincushion of arrows. Those that join the cult are rewarded with riches and power. That's pretty much anyone who actually owns property in this city. Those that oppose are hunted down and killed. Everyone else is just fighting for scraps. All up it's the same as before, only now we are under the foot of a hydra instead of a dragon."

"Do you recognize this symbol," interrupted Florin as he held up the bloodied cloth.

Eyes wide with shock, Notaku immediately pushed his hand back down. "Don't go waving that around," he whispered angrily while trying to maintain a facade of normality. "This is a sigil of the new rebellion," he continued. "Some folk don't like the new order that's taken over after Tectuk was assassinated."

"Where can we find these 'folk'?" asked Buster bluntly.

"Underground in what is now called the 'Sorrows'. There are entrances to it via the many sewer ways around town - the closest being just there," said Notaku as he pointed the way with his chin. "Look for Arslan. Short, angry, bearded guy. Can't miss him."

With a nod of thanks, Florin and the others began heading off. Nessa lingered for a moment longer and asked him "After our rebellion... did Chaya make it?"

Notaku opened his mouth but stopped himself saying how the Wizard King had captured the blond warrior and subsequently used her as a public plaything for his army for weeks until her torturous death. "No," he ultimately said, deciding to omit all the details. Nessa nodded and left to catch up with the rest of the group.