#because at the end of the day... the heroes guild was awful and the guildmaster got what he deserved (an axe in the chest)

[nightingaletrash]

I'm probably going to enjoy the new Fable whether or not they've decided to go with the destruction of the Hero's Guild as the main plot hook, but I'm obsessed with the idea of playing as a child survivor of the event anyway.

Every day you get up and are told that you're special. You train day in and day out to hone your powers, to build the skills you need to become a Hero, and then you go to bed sore but content. One day, the people of Albion will be begging for your help or your mercy. You're a Hero, and therefore you're special. The commonfolk are beneath you, as is the duty to morality. Good and evil, right and wrong - no one has the right to force you to adhere to any of these concepts. It's no one's place to decide what a Hero should be, save for the Hero themself. And one day, you'll get to choose what kind of Hero you'll be.

But then, one night, while lying in your bed with your aching bones and dreams of greatness, you smell smoke. There's screaming and fire. And sure enough, you see your home burning before your eyes. The Heroes you aspired to become, to overtake some day, are being mowed down and massacred by the ordinary people you've been taught to look down upon. The people who are less than you, who aren't special. They're here, and they're burning and killing everyone and everything they come across, and you have no choice but to run for your life. Because you're special. And they'll surely kill you if they catch you.

[wolfclawd]

NPC

Wilden Willy Engleburt.

Age: 33

Eyes: brown

Hair: sandy brown

Height: 5'5" + 1/2" (because he Insists it matters)

Occupation: guildmaster of Purple Griffin

Magic: wind magic

Equipment: sword

Likes: being admired, winning, money, fame, glory

Dislikes: being interrupted, losing,

Personality: awful

General vibe.

Confident, overly so. He was a spoiled child and it's not something that he ever quite shook off. He's a perfectionist with grand ideas, calculating and always looking out for himself. He cares little for others, yet craves their respect and approval (even if he doesn't admit it). He's surprisingly hardworking when it comes to his goals. Some people actually find him charming, as he knows how to draw people in and manipulate them.

Relationship with Dorian.

Dorian was there on the day young Wilden lost everything and, as such, Wilden formed an attachment to him. He looked up to and admired him, but this was something that Dorian was not comfortable with, as he didn't see himself as being any sort of mentor or hero figure, but he indulged Wilden so that the boy wouldn't find someone worse to look up to. Dorian is kind and patient, so as much as he might have wanted to ignore the boy, he just couldn't.

The way that Wilden had followed him to Fairy Tail had also reminded him of his best friend, Indigo, as she had done the same thing, and this did soften him towards him slightly. Occasionally, Dorian would train with Wilden to help him with his magic, and sometimes they would go on jobs together. Wilden would come to Dorian for advice and seek his approval, and generally just chatter a lot to him about anything and everything (with a lot of bragging thrown in too).

The trouble with Wilden, is that he never quite outgrew his sense of entitlement or bratty nature. He always talked with an air of overconfidence and traces of condescension, looking down at others. Becoming a mage was more about making money and getting glory than it was about anything else (not to say there is anything wrong with that), he certainly didn't get into the work to benefit anyone else.

After the incident, after nearly losing his life and forever changing the life of Dorian, one would think Wilden would change. Become more careful, perhaps more humble, more considerate of others. But he didn't. And as Dorian distanced himself to deal with his new situation, Wilden couldn't understand it. He continued to train but grew frustrated with the infrequency of Dorian's visits. During one such rare visit, Wilden regaled Dorian with tales of his recent accomplishments, but was not met with the expected reaction. Dorian told him to not get too cocky and to take more care, something which further frustrated Wilden.

Dorian leaving Fairy Tail, at first, seemed to be the end of everything for Wilden. How could he finally prove himself in the man's eyes if he wasn't around to see it? He decided becoming famous and successful was the way to go, if his name was so well known, it would carry to wherever Dorian was. He would prove himself to the world. Starting his own guild became part of that plan.

As it is now, Wilden likes to act like he's better than everyone else, because he truly thinks he is. When it comes to Dorian, he still seeks his approval, but he has it twisted in his mind and doesn't really see it. He sometimes sends him letters or visits the shop. Dorian struggles to tolerate him but is wary of what someone like Wilden is capable of and the lengths he'd go to. He doesn't fully blame Wilden for what happened to him, but he doesn't like him.

History.

The Engleburts were a wealthy family within their town and they had the attitude and egos to match their high fortune. The prized son of the family, Wilden, grew up with everything handed to him, and life couldn't be better for him, until...the day the town was raided, when he was 14 years old. He lost everything that day, his family, his home, his money. In the ruins of the town, while struggling with the injuries he'd ended up with, he came across Dorian, who was helping people in the town.

Dorian helped Wilden, who then formed an immediate attachment to him and became fascinated with mage work. With the idea of power, glory, and how they would replace everything he'd lost. When Dorian returned to Fairy Tail, Wilden followed him and joined the guild. Over the next few years, Wilden continued to look up to and admire Dorian.

Then the quest came in and everything went wrong. 17 at the time, Wilden did not process the event in a way that would allow him to grow or develop as a person, instead he leaned into the narrative that others spoke - that it wasn't his fault, it was a simple unfortunate accident, that these things happen on those types of quests.

He couldn't understand Dorian's growing distance with him and the guild, their interactions became fewer. And then, in X782, Dorian left the guild. Wilden couldn't understand that either, but it continued to frustrate him.

He decided he would go on to form his own guild, as surely becoming famous in such a way would show how great he was. He stayed with Fairy Tail until X784, after the disappearance of the Tenrou group caused the popularity of the guild to decline. For two years, he worked as an independent mage and increased his power and skill, and connections too. Then founded Purple Griffin in X786.

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 27- Hermits

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Its not often the hermits get a chance to all be together. And while they know battles lie ahead of them, they take this moment to enjoy being a family again. 

______________________________________

Etho appears beside TFC, causing the mineral mage to sputter out the coffee he was sipping. “I caught sight of xB a few islands down!” 

The hermits murmur with excitement and follow Etho to the shoreline. Sure enough, xB is hauling Hypno and Beef onto the warm sand. Hypno thumps his hand against his head, an attempt to escape his clogged ears which only fails for him. “Can’t we take a sky turtle next time?” 

“But it’s more fun to swim!” xB chuckles, and with a flick of his finned ears and his grey tail he runs to hug the hermits. “It’s so good to be back, guys! I can’t remember the last time all of us were on the island together.”

“You guys said something about taking back Lairyon?” Beef raises an eyebrow, looking over at Doc. “This isn’t your rebellious phase coming back, is it?”

“We’ll explain everything on the way. TFC has a lot to tell.” Etho wraps his arms around Hypno and xB, before disappearing into their shared shadow. 

The kipling laughs, shaking his head and looking around the island. “Some things never change. I see you haven’t fixed the hole in False’s forge either.” 

The hermits laugh, the entire group filled with life as they return to the guild hall. Joe and Cleo regale the missing hermits with the story of their victory at the Chimaera’s Championship. Their battles and challenges in the arena, facing off against the best guilds and winning the cup. They also tell Hypno, xB, and Beef about the heist, the discovery. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Hypno hums, tapping his fingers against the wood of the table that he sits down at. TFC pats the boys on the head, grabbing at Beef’s face and tapping his finger on a scar he sees. Beef shrinks away, concerned for a second, but the guildmaster only chuckles in response.

“I can’t wait to hear that story. It’s good to have you guys back.” TFC pats him on the back. “Treat you to a pint of beer next time we go to town.” 

“Let’s hear about this big job you’ve got planned for us first.” xB raises an eyebrow. In response, TFC rolls out his map.

The paper has changed since they first decided to go after Dolios and his creepy crystals. If there’s one thing an outlaw guild knows how to do, it’s to find new jobs through the grapevine. “Dolios has these tales silenced. I’ve heard of at least six other guilds being attacked or wiped out by unknown magic. Unfortunately, we’re too late to help them.” Team ZIT glance at one another, but focus on the here and now. “But there are places we can make a difference, as well as get information and better ourselves as a group.”

TFC motions to the Evernight forest. “An old friend of mine said there has been stories of familiars and companion animals going missing. No trace of where they went, except for a few patches of charred grass.”

“Charred, or drained?” Mumbo muses. To anyone, that sounds like the signs of a dragon ravaging Foresta, but after Mumbo’s duel with a draconic mage he knows dragons aren’t that dastardly. Nothing is as dastardly as Dolios. 

TFC grins, the newest member and the guildmaster sharing a knowing glint. “There’s also Shellor- which, I believe one of our hermits here knows quite intimately.” Etho gives a two fingered salute, rocking on the back legs of his chair until they fall out from under him, dumping him on the floor. Doc, Beef, and BDubs laugh at him. “There’s a few spies who’ve seen things Dolios has done, but the hard part will be earning their trust.” 

“Hmm, yeah. I don’t think I really left Shellor on a good note.” Etho grimaces. 

“That’ll be you, Keralis, and Grian’s problem. Meanwhile, we also need some help in the magical beings department. And if there’s one group that has mysterious, arcane magic on lock, it’s-”

“The fae!” Stress slams down her hands, a bright smile on her face. Iskall jolts upright and nearly hits the table again on the way down. “But where will we go? The fjords? The mountains? Heartbreak Trench?” 

“The flowerfruit fields. While you’re there, you and BDubs can gather ingredients that we’ve been running low on.” TFC glances at the map, running a finger over the lime green patch on the map. “We do have two confirmed crystal sightings, as well as Gildara. Edenswell seems to be falling ill to dark magic, and there’s reasonable belief that Dolios isn’t getting these massive rocks from nowhere- he’s using gems from the mines.” 

Heads peek over one another in an attempt to see the map. The charcoal diamonds and swirls. Gildara still sits untouched, and every hermit looks at one another. Do any of them want to return to the beginning of this all? Even to put an end to the dark magic plaguing the land, the memories of what they saw, what they experienced, still remain. 

Except for those that weren’t there. “I don’t think I’d mind checking out this hokey little town you guys keep talking about.” Beef grins, glancing over at Hypno and Wels. “We’ll have that place brimming with flaxen fields and green gardens all over again.” 

TFC grins, dipping his head in thanks to the returning hermits. He leans back, looking at the filled guild hall. “It’s been so long since we’ve all been together. If only it were on good terms.” 

“It feels good to return home.” xB ruffles his hair with a scaled hand, looking around for a second, then returning to speaking. “Even if it’s just for a short time, we should enjoy everyone being together again.” 

“What I’m hearing is we need to have our signature hermit celebrations.” Tango’s face splits into a devious smile. All around him, other hermits get a similar smirk on their face. Before TFC can agree to the idea, the hermits are gone. Cleo rushes to her wrecked pirate ship, hefting kegs of ale with the aid of Stress. Wels commandeers False’s forge to begin baking his favorite sweets, while Mumbo, Grian, and Iskall work together to fix the pennants, lanterns, and flags that decorate the guild hall in a myriad of colors. 

Tango snaps his fingers, and a small flame dances at his fingertips, jumping from his nails to the wicks of the lanterns. He ducks out of the way just in time to avoid being smacked in the face by a massive fish, tossed from the sea by xB and grabbed by Grian midair. The whirlpool mage disappears back underwater, back to hunting in the realm he was born in. 

The sun begins to inch towards the western horizon, turning the sky ablaze in a mosaic of pinks, oranges, yellows, and reds. A blue flag flutters against the ancient oak tree, catching on a branch. BDubs reaches out from his seat near the food platters, hardly even glancing away from the fresh baked goods, and with a flick of his wrist the branch bends away and the flag flies free again. 

False appears beside Wels, grabbing a brownie from the hot pan and sticking her tongue out at him as she passes. When Wels objects she’s quick to retort. “You used my forge. It’s rental payment, paladin.” 

Beef sets out plates, which are promptly ignored once Impulse and Zedaph have finished cooking the tuna xB caught. Music swells from a music box the creation of Ren, with the help of Mumbo, the upbeat songs written and composed with Joe and requests from the other hermits for their favorite tunes. 

The music thrums against the low roar of talking, the sound only broken by the common lilt of laughter. Hermits tell their stories, whether they be heard for the thousandth time or a new tale to tell. Beef causes Hypno to flush as he recounts the prank he pulled on the dream mage. Hypno turns bright red, quiet voice cracking over the tale. “I smelled like centaur shit for a week! It was awful, I’ll tell you that.” 

A raucous laugh erupts from that table, overshadowing the story of Mumbo’s duel to xB. “I swear on my life, I thought she was gonna swallow me whole. Or burn me like coal.” Mumbo shakes his head. “I don’t think I ever want to go up against a draconic mage ever again in my life.” 

“I’m surprised a kipling, a draconic mage, and a desert wizard were one team. That’s a strange group. I don’t think I’ve even met each of the others.” xB takes a bite of his fish, marinated in fresh fruits that Cub plucked from nearby islands. “But I’m sure that kipling gave you guys a run for your money. That magic she had… it’s rare beyond imagination. In kipling legend, it means a legendary hero is about to arise.” 

“He definitely kicked Ren’s ass. I don’t think I ever saw so much water moved at once.” Mumbo shakes his head, and stuffs a red jelly tart into his mouth. 

Keralis stands, tossing his woven hat from the brown curls of his hair, and inviting himself onto the open floor. “I love this song! Come on, my wonderful friends, let’s dance!” 

The setting sun casts a golden glow, bouncing off verdant leaves, twisting along the waves of the Ashioll sea. Laughter and music dance in the gilded light, playing in the curls of Zedaph’s hair as he joins Keralis. The two bumble around, drunk from Cleo’s ale but enjoying themselves immensely. 

Only one hermit wasn’t taking part in the festivities. Atop the canopy that protects the guild hall below, Xisuma watches as the stars appear in the sky. For a few moments in the day, the void and the sun share the space above. And he always thinks of the one person he knows he should forget by now. But he would’ve loved this, even if he’s constantly worrying about being caught doing something wrong. 

“Hey X, you gonna mope up there all day or join us?” Jevin grins below, one hand placed on his hip and the other waving Xisuma down. “Just because you’re a void mage doesn’t mean you have to a-void everything!” 

Xisuma rolls his eyes, but smiles beneath his mask. “After that terrible pun, how can I say no?”

[rainbow-squirrels-7]

I’m back with another summary of last time session of my DND campaign, The Kleos Guild! I don’t feel like typing it all up again, so I’m just going to copy/paste my ‘last time on’ part from my script...

-Only my Bard and my Paladin were able to show up, so I just had the Monk and the Druid follow along and not do much

-After sending away the army of monsters using the amazingly powerful symphony song from the Kleos Guild, The Tree of Life, the four of you were made Professional Heroes, and you were also inducted into the Amethyst Division of the Kleos Guild by Peregrine Grace, one of the Heroes you found, as she is afraid that the Song Thief who stole the magical Song Crystal from Bard City will strike again. About a week later, Peregrine was absent, but Kristofferson, a member of the Guild was showing you around (Kristofferson is an orc, he’s the engineer of the warp panels of the Guild). You were in the third level basement of the Guild HQ in Ferryrock, when Peregrine showed up from the cathedral portal, informing you all that the other three Guildmasters are coming for a meeting to discuss the Song Thief. Daisy the orc woman, who plays a cello warped in from King’s Reach, where the Sapphire Division is based, and Sam the Tiefling woman who plays a Djembe drum warped in from Noble Springs, where the Emerald Division is based. You all wait for Murphy to show up from the Ruby Division in Roots, but he doesn’t, and you all go up to hear the meeting instead. Peregrine explains the situation to the other two Guildmasters, and both of them insist that their respective Crystals are well-protected. Daisy wonders where Murphy is, and Sam says that it’s his loss if his Crystal gets stolen since he was obviously too busy to come to the meeting that would help protect it. Before anyone can say anything else, Kristofferson bursts into the room and he exclaims that the warp panel to Roots just went out (the panel to Bard City, where the other Song Crystal had been stolen and the citizens were trapped inside and unable to make sound was also previously noticed to be grayed out).  

You get ready to go to Roots quickly, planning to take the train. Before you go, Peregrine gave you a few Escape Orbs and instructed you to use them in favor of trying to fight the Song Thief if it came to that, as it is more important that you didn’t become trapped in Roots. The train ride was uneventful, but very scenic out in the desert. Arriving in Roots, you witnessed an altercation between a mustached man and a Dragonborn man, whom you assumed to be Murphy based on his red bandana. Murphy was angry at the man, who was revealed to be the mayor of the town, McCoy Hatfield

-side note, neither of my players noticed my  joke with the Mayor’s name. You know... McCoy Hatfield... from the Hatfields and McCoys... 

-anyway, because the mayor shut down his Guild after all the members went missing. Hatfield gave Murphy a few days to try and find his Guildmembers, but if he didn’t, he’d take his building and the land it’s on. You then followed Murphy to the Cactus Spit, the saloon in Roots, and you met his friend, the bartender, who is a Lizardfolk man named Bacon. You also got to experience the local fancy delicacy, Roots’ famous cactus juice, which is really really awful tasting, 

-I described it like tasting like pure vinegar with a dash of cinnamon and a fruity aftertaste, which would be nice, but its overpowered by all the Bad

-and Murphy got it for you all as a joke, knowing it was bad, and he explained that only rich people drink to seem classy. Murphy then explains a few things about the town, including the Mayor’s owning of the fields around Roots that are full of holes, which is where the Roots Union digs for cactus roots to make the drink, which is then shipped all across the land in barrels by train. Murphy is about to explain more, but Bacon interrupts him, saying that the nightfall curfew is about to start, and that everyone should get home. Saying that he’ll meet you at the saloon first thing in the morning, you part ways with Murphy.

-The next morning, Murphy does not show up at the saloon. You investigate the Ruby Division HQ, but you find it empty, aside from the Division’s Tree of Life, which securely has its Song Crystal. Gnu (Gnome Monk) and Bec (Half-orc Druid) are left here to guard it, while Alexander (Half-elf Bard) and Gixa (Dragonborn Paladin) try to find Murphy. You head to the Sheriff’s Office on the suggestion of Bacon, as the Sheriff is his brother, and meet two more Lizarfolk people: Eggs, who is the Sheriff of Roots, and Old Man Toast, who is Bacon and Eggs’ grandpa, and he also owns a goat farm on the outside of town. Toast is raving on about how he thinks El Chupacabra stole his goats again, and Eggs is annoyed, and he forces the three of you out of his office. Toast then drags you to his farm to try and find out where his goats went. After a bit of split investigation, in which Gixa tried and failed to find Mayor Hatfield, Gixa does a ‘Speak With Animals’ spell and asks the goats if they saw who stole their friend, and they say that he was taken by a bird man. 

-I had the goats say ‘baaa’ even when they were able to be understood by Gixa

-You remembered that the Song Thief was said to wear a bird mask, and following some drag marks leading back into town, you see if you can find him. Instead, you’re lead to a curio shop called Huitzilopochtli’s. Inside, you met Frida, the half-elf girl who is perpetually annoyed, as she is working in retail. You discovered that all the artifacts in the shop are tourist-trap type fakes, and you’re also introduced to Huitzilopochtli himself, who is a raven man. 

-I tried to have Huitzilopochtli have a Mexican accent, but I don’t know if I pulled it off well enough

-Frida quickly confirms that all Huitzilopochtli’s magic is fake, and though Huitzilopochtli tries to prove her wrong by telling your fortune (in which wrongly guesses you forgot something), 

-I’m assuming my players forgot this little detail, but Huitzilopochtli isn’t wrong. They did forget that they’re actually from the future. They don’t know that they forgot this, though. 

-and later he ends up failing a bluff when trying to cover up why the drag marks lead to his shop. It turns out that Huitzilopochtli stole the goat to use some of its fur in a taxidermy, and you take him back to Toast to apologize and to return the goat. The last place in Roots you go is the water tower, which gave you a nice view of the town, but also of the land outside, and you saw some lines that formed a giant petroglyph (Nazca lines style) in the shape of a spider, leading to a rock formation called the Holehills.

-Regrouping with Gnu and Bec, you left Bacon to guard the Ruby Division HQ, with Alexander giving him his Reunion Cape (an item I repurposed from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. It allows the user to, when they’re separated, have their teammates warp back to their position). You then followed the drag marks to the Holehills, and after dodging some spider-themed traps, you found yourselves at a cliff palace. Acrobatically going down the cliffs, you went into the cliff palace, and found a silk cocoon hanging from one of the ceilings. After a fight with a giant spider, you cut open the cocoon, and inside was a very woozy Murphy, who had been taken by spiders during the night. He directs you to another room, where you found a whole bunch more cocoons. You fought three more spiders, and then cut down the rest of the cocoons. And last, you found on one of the spiders, a silk handkerchief identical to one that Mayor Hatfield had earlier.  

-You all rush back to Roots, and find that Bacon has been knocked out, lying outside the HQ. Murphy takes him and the rest of the citizens who had been kidnapped into the hotel for medical attention, and the four of you go inside the Ruby Division HQ. There, you found Mayor Hatifield, trying to take the Song Crystal himself. But as soon as he steps into a shaft of moonlight shining through the greenhouse, he turns into a spider himself. You make astonishingly quick work of him, and while deciding whether to kill him or not, a ‘Fire Bolt’ spell shoots through the open door, making the decision for you. It is followed by a piano rendition of a song you recognize as The Tree of Life, 

-song link

-and you found yourselves frozen in place, and in the presence of the Song Thief. While you all are frozen by his song, the Thief takes the Song Crystal, and uses an Escape Orb before you can catch him. Alexander, Gnu, and Bec use their own Escape Orb to warp out of town before the silence can catch up with them, but Gixa tries to go save some of the citizens. She decides to only take Murphy along with her (even though Bacon and a few others were right near by), and uses her own Escape Orb right before the wave of silence fell and got them.

-On the edge of town, you watched as a barrier of silence descended. A few tried to escape, Huitzilopochtli even trying to fly out, but nothing worked, and just like Bard City, the citizens are trapped and unable to make any noise or music at all. Murphy became very mad at Gixa for not saving anyone else except him, and Gixa was filled with a crushing guilt. A horse is summoned magically, and Bec aslo turned into a horse, and you wandered through the desert for two days before coming to a settlement, and taking the train back to Ferryrock. Back at the main Guild Headquarters, Peregrine is absent again, but she shows up the next morning after you all take a much-needed rest. Alexander and Murphy go talk to Peregrine and explain what happened. Peregrine seemed concerned, and she sympathized with what happened to Roots, as the exact same thing happened to Bard City. The session ended right after Peregrine expressed that she will come with you when you go to wherever the Song Thief strikes next.  

-I’m trying to get my players to think its suspicious how often Peregrine is gone. But idk if they’re catching on. 

-Next up is the African jungle-themed island of Noble Springs. There’s also a Chernobyl-style ‘nucleomagic’ plant that had a meltdown and made the jungle very dangerous to get through because of the radiation.