Heroes of the Realm Chapter 3: Introductions

It was a nice dungeon, Hugo decided, as far as dungeons go. The cell was on the fourth floor of a guard tower overlooking the sea. If one was tall enough they could look out the windows and get a great view of Seagull's Landing, and he assumed judging by the salty air coming from the windows outside the bars if one were to see through those one could get a fantastic view of the sea.

The only view Hugo had though, was of four of the other prisoners resuming their shouting match.

They'd been at it off-and-on for the better part of four hours. From what he'd gathered the orc was angry at the gnome for stealing his coin purse, though it was returned. The elf was angry at the orc for spilling his tea, though he'd magically cleaned the mess off his coat since. And the halfling was screaming at all three of them for spoiling her bounty, even though he was sure she couldn't have taken out the beast on her own.

This was the way of the world, sadly. Everyone holding onto old grudges from the past even if they don't effect them now.

Hugo was hardly one to judge, he thought glumly. Between shouting matches he had approached each of his cell mates in turn and offered his healing skills. The elf with the fiddle politely declined while the one in the floppy hat gave him a cool rejection. The halfling welcomed it as did the orc, though Hugo cringed when he saw the orc blood dripping from several wounds. Orcs and elves aside though, Hugo had to fight an internal battle before approaching the gnome, only doing so after reminding himself that Solaris shines on everyone equally, and if He Who Shines could stand the thieving race, so could he.

Hugo looked at the elf sitting on the opposite side of the bench from him. This one he didn't understand. He'd seemed confused more than anything when they were arrested, and had hardly spoken a word since they entered the cell. Hugo thought he looked younger than the other elf, but it was hard to judge with a race who aged so slowly and lived so long, but if he was a human he would guess he was maybe 16. He wore simple peasants clothes with a leather vest serving as his only form of armor. His skin was a light olive, not as dark as the wild elves he'd seen, but not even close to as light as the one currently screaming about the price of a decent shirt in this city. His dark curly hair was cut short revealing only slightly pointed ears, again not quite like the other elf in the cell.

"Half elf." Hugo said, realizing what the man was.

The half elf jumped as though Hugo had hit him with his mace. The rest of the room went quiet to look at him, which Hugo blatantly ignored.

"You're a half-elf." said Hugo, pointing.

"Yes," the boy said, reaching up to his ear. "My father was a wild elf."

The other elf made an indignant noise. "I would suppose you never met him, yes?"

"No, I haven't." he said looking down.

"Typical." the elf spat, looking down at the young half elf.

Before anything more could be said, the door slammed open followed by a troop of guards with Samantha walking among them. The pink dress was gone and her steel plate shone as bright as any of the guards. Her long blonde hair was put into a simple bun showing off her striking features. She was taller than several of the other guards, a trait that human men seemed to find attractive, as well as her long muscular body. She had the face like a marble statue, perfect and delicate but you knew that if you tried to harm it you'd do far more damage to yourself then you ever would to her.

"Good news folks, you are not being executed" said the man ahead of Samantha. As soon as they were arrested, she'd shown her credentials and had disappeared since, presumably negotiating for their release.

"Why do I feel like there's a but?" the gnome said suspiciously.

"We're being banished." Samantha said, looking straight at Hugo. "We're to collect whatever things we have in whatever inn and are to be escorted out of the city at sundown."

"Which way out of the city?" The orc said. While healing him, Hugo had noticed that the man had smelled like the ocean.

"North side," said the guard. "You will be escorted out of the north gate. We considered sending you off seaside but..." He glanced at Samantha with a frown. Samantha maintained her soldier posture, maintaining eye contact with Hugo.

"But we saved the city!" cried the half-elf. "We're heroes!"

"You're being let out alive," said the guard. "Consider that our thanks."

***

The gates shut with a loud clank behind Bud. The sun was setting somewhere off in the woods and the darkness had already crept to the gates. He looked at the rest of the group, their equipment since returned to them and their bags packed from wherever they were staying. They stood awkwardly, not knowing quite what to do next.

"Well, now what?" asked Bud to nobody in particular.

"I think we should get as far away from the walls as possible," said the gnome. "Before they decide to use us as target practice."

"That's not a bad idea," the human said. "Hugo and I need to get back to our people anyway and file our reports."

They began walking up the road in silence, except for the dwarf Hugo and the human who talked quietly between the two of them. After they crested the second hill and were out of sight from the walls, the halfling asked "So what people do you work for?"

"We work for the temple of War, in Tarn." said the human.

"Oh, are you a paladin?" the halfling asked, her dog walking beside her.

"No," the human said. "Just a person who can lift a sword and who wants to help."

"Lady Blacksmith is a sworn warrior of Gabrius ," the dwarf said. "At least she swore the vows once..."

"That was one drunken night" the human said annoyed. "And you know I hate that name."

"What is your name?" Bud asked.

The pair stopped and turned around. The rest of the group formed a circle in the road, with Bud opposite the armored pair.

"I suppose if we're going to be travel companions for the moment some introductions are in order." the dwarf said. "I am Hugo, formerly of Clan Silverhammer. May I present Lady Samantha Blacksmith of the Silent Hill Blacksmiths." Both bowed in turn as though this was long practiced.

"Cassandra Butterhill," said the halfling. "And that's midnight" she said as she pointed to the brown dog by her side.

"Talesian of the Honorable House Quithlana, 8th House of Katumal." said the elf as he bowed with a swish of his hat.

"Gimini" said the gnome, his arms crossed. Hugo said something under his breath which made Samantha smack him in the back of the head.

"Thayne Allen" said the one Hugo called a half-elf earlier, looking awkward at the group.

"Your father's name?" said Talesian with a smirk on his face. For some reason Bud wanted to punch that smirk right off his face.

"No," Thayne answered confused. "It's my mother's."

"Of course it is." said Talesian.

"I'm Bud." said Bud, trying to move the conversation before he put Talesian into the ground.

"That's an odd name for an orc," said Cassandra.

"I'm half-orc. And it's more of a nickname... it's just what they called me on the ship."

"Oh, are you a sailor?" asked Cassandra.

"Not anymore." said Bud.

"It's getting dark," interrupted Samantha. "We should probably see if we can find a place to set camp for tonight and try to get out of Kind tomorrow."

The group trooped off, chatting occasionally as they went. They still weren't friends, Bud thought, but at least they weren't at each others throats. And they might stay that way depending on if Talesian could keep his damn mouth shut.

***

Talesian had never been more humiliated in his entire life. First his best cravat had been stained (Thank Thoth his magic could fix it!) then he'd have to fight alongside a dwarf, an orc-oh excuse me, a half orc- and a half-human with the other half obviously wild elf!

As he marched on he noticed more scuffs on his boots. He'd cleaned them at least a dozen times since leaving the city with his magic, but by now he was tired of the effort and decided to clean them when they stopped to camp. He hadn't planned on actually walking very far on this trip, maybe spend a night watching griffins on the cliffs of Mandare, but extensive walking was never his style. he wished that the guards had let him return to the Magic Sanctuary where he could use their teleport circle to return home and report his mistreatment to his parents, who would be furious to hear how a member of the 8th house of Katumal was being treated.

The darkness stole the color from the world but to Talesian's elf eyes none of the detail was lost. The human though drew out a torch and lit it with a single strike, its flame becoming a beacon in the gloom. While it ruined Talesian's night vision he did appreciate having something warm and familiar to follow.

As they turned a corner they happened upon a shrine to Calbhac along the side of the road, with a statue of Lord Laurentus, the patron diety of the Kind. The smaller shrine was worn and looked like it was seldom cared for, while the taller statue of the noble knight looked almost brand new. Rumor was that the statues to Laurentus were replaced every few years, while the icons of other dieties were left to deteriorate.

Behind the statue was an acre of land cleared from the forest. The shrine indicated that the land was meant for travelers to rest, as Calbhac, God of the Road would want. While Talesian didn't agree with the theology, he appreciated the sentiment.

"We can camp here," said the human.

A round of agreement was heard in the group as they began to walk into the field. Packs were dropped as talk of supper and a fire began. Talesian had never been to one of the roadside sanctuaries of the Wandering God, but he had heard that while they were supposed to be places of peace for all travelers, many of them were still frequently used by bandits to ambush the weary.

As he looked across the field, he saw a light flicker between the trees at the far end from where the party was setting up. At first he thought it was a trick of the torch, until he saw it several more times and realized it was a lantern.

"I do not believe we are alone here," he said to nobody in particular.

The dwarf, displaying what Talesian thought was customary for dwarf manners, called out to the light.

"Oiy, who goes there?"

The light stopped moving for a moment then appeared to get brighter. The rest of the group stood around Talesian, not sure weather friend or foe would come out of the woods.

What did come out were three men, two of whom were carrying a third between them. The one on the left held a lantern up towards the group while the other merely dragged the middle companion along. The one in the middle seemed unconscious.

"What's all this then?" barked the dwarf.

"This'ere fellow was using dark magic, so we decided to teach him a lesson." said the man with the lantern. As they approached Talesian could see the build of a farmer with a thick scraggly beard and weathered skin.

"I"m sorry, you must be mistaken." Talesian said. The men stopped in their tracks looking confused.
"Magic is neither dark nor light my good sirs. Magic in and of itself is benign. It is the user that can wield it for good or for ill. Pray tell, my good sirs, how did this man use magic against you?"

The men looked dumbfounded. Talesian continued to look at them, seeing parts of them in light with color and parts in shadow in shades of grey. The man between them had yet to move on his own. His hair was long and black and covered his face like a veil. On top of his head was a hat with a pointed tip that looked like a cheap version of Talesian's own wide brimmed pointed hat.

"We seen em do dark magic" said the man on the right, speaking for the first time. "It was right over there. He made green flames appear."

"Well now good sirs, green flames are hardly cause for alarm," he said calmly.

"Why don't you bring the fellow over here and we can help figure out what ought to be done with him," said the dwarf. While Talesian didn't like it he had to agree. While the major cities in the Kind had Sanctuaries of Magic, many of the rural areas were not friendly to the arcane, believing it to all be in league with devils.

"We could do that, but if we wake him up he may do magic again and kill us all!" said the man with the lantern. "Best kill im now while we's have the chance!"

Talesian was stunned. Surely these men did not have the authority to execute a criminal. He was about to speak when their prisoner looked up and locked eyes on Talesian. The elf saw the man's face, a patchwork of scrapes with one eye nearly swollen shut.

Please! Help me! I don't want to die!" 

Talesian heard the voice in his head as if it were next to him. Mental communication was not a foreign concept to the elf, since he'd studied most of his life to become a wizard. Between the voice and the look in the man's eyes something stirred within Talesian's soul. Living his life at the knee of tutors and waited on by servants he'd never truly seen the outside world. This trip was supposed to be a little vacation, the first trip outside his homeland. His plan was to do some studying and explore one of the more esoteric cities on the continent, maybe go griffin watching, but that had all been disrupted today.

In his short time in Seagull's Landing he'd seen many wondrous sights, but he'd also seen poverty for the first time. He'd seen how peasants lived, and he'd seen desperation in people's faces. When facing the ogre he'd seen the terror such a powerful being could invoke in those that did not have the means to defend themselves, and had used his magic for the first time to attack another living being.

Now in that split second looking into the man's eyes he knew what he was seeing: It was desperation, and the fear of someone helpless against something that could destroy them.

The spell came from his fingers almost faster than he thought of it. A streak of red flame bust from his hand hitting the man without the lantern in the chest. He dropped the prisoner as he attempted to put himself out. Before the other man could react a second bolt tore through the air shattering the man's lantern and lighting the dry summer grass on fire. The two men screamed as they ran away in terror from the elf, leaving their prisoner to crawl away from the flames on his own.

"By the gods!" said the dwarf as he reached out his hand and caused water to rise to the surface of the ground, drowning out the flames. The water immediately receded from where it came, thanks to the dwarf's small miracle. Talesian hurried to the man on the ground and helped lift him to his feet. Despite being battered he seemed more or less alright.

"Thank you," he said as he stood trembling in the night.

"What's your name sir?" Talesian asked, as the others circled them.

"Roland," he said. "I am forever in your debt."

The others, who up to this point had let Hugo and Talesian handle the situation, all began talking at once. Some talking to each other about the exchange, others asking Roland questions about why the men had taken him. He explained that he was using magic to hunt for food when the farmers happened upon him and decided that he was evil.

As Hugo began to use more of his holy magic to heal the man's wounds, the human, Samantha, sidled up to Talesian.

"I wouldn't really picture you as the hero type," she said with half a smile.

Talesian looked her in the eyes and for the first time since becoming associated with what he considered to be a group of mismatched common rabble, he smiled.

"Neither did I."

Heroes of the Realm chapter 2: First Fight

Hugo stood awkwardly playing with the ends of his braided beard in the second story room of the inn.

"Are you sure this is the best way?" he asked again.

"Yeah, believe me, it'll work" came Samantha's voice from behind the partition.

"I still don't like this," he said. "I would hate to be thought of someone who took part in lascivious activities."

Though to be honest if he even tried anything unseemly with Samantha Blacksmith he would probably find himself flat on his dwarven behind faster than he could call on Solaris for protection.

"Don't worry," she said as she struggled behind the screen. "After we're done I'll explain who you are and why we're here and it'll all be fine."

Hugo doubted it would be fine. Subterfuge was always a double-edged sword, and he feared being cut for no reason.

"I'm sure we can-" he said before something outside the window caught his attention. It was a gnome wearing a green cloak clinging to a massive ogre using two daggers as handles. The ogre was thrashing around trying to get him off while arrows appeared on his hide.

Before Hugo could say anything he was shoved aside as he saw Samantha smash through the window, sword drawn with a pink dress half pulled on over her armor.

Hugo regained his footing, brushed himself off and muttered "That works". He then picked up his mace, kissed the holy symbol around his neck, and calmly walked out the door.

***
Thayne watched from behind the bar as people crowded into the tavern. Shouting could be heard outside as well as the occasional roar. A man came up to the bar and shouted to nobody in particular "Ogre attack! Ogre attack!"

This was it.

This was the call Thayne had been looking for. Three months of working in a tavern in the big city and he finally had a lead. A call to adventure.

He saw a guest, a dwarf in shining armor and wielding a mace come down the stairs and push his way through the crowd to the open street. Thayne saw this as the final sign. He took off his apron, grabbed the pack he'd had ready since he started working here and his fiddle, and followed the dwarf through the crowd.

The scene outside was chaos. The ogre was nearly two stories tall and was currently trying to grab a small person on its back. Another small person, a halfling woman, was behind it knocking an arrow. An orc stood across the street with two axes, covered in blood and laughing. To his right, a tall man in a pointed hat said something strange before a ball of purple energy flew out of his hand and split in half before both balls hitting into the ogres chest. On his left the dwarf was trying to swing at the creatures foot with his mace. The oddest thing he saw by far though was a woman in front of him. Her blond hair spilled over her torn dress, which had bits of armor poking out of it. She held a massive sword with two hands and was sweeping it at the monster.

Thayne decided to help her so he set his fiddle and started to play. With the music he poured his soul, his magic, into the notes. It was his gift, to inspire others with his own personal magic. He focused the music on the woman in front of him who swung her sword and slashed the ogre across the chest. As the creature stepped back she glanced over her shoulder, met Thayne with intense brown eyes, and said "Thanks."

Thayne smiled and channeled his music towards the person on the ogre's back.

***

Gimini decided as he rode the back of the thrashing ogre, his twin daggers stuck in the meat of its massive shoulder blades, that this was not his day. He'd pictured himself having lunch, maybe a glass of wine to wash it down with. As it was he was just trying to figure out how to survive the next few minutes.

It was then that he heard the sound of a fiddle being played from somewhere near the street. He wondered for a moment why in the hells anyone would pick now to start playing, but the melody touched something in him that made him feel oddly stronger.

He suddenly had an idea. Planting his feet on the ogre's back he kicked off with all his might, performing a back-flip off the ogre and onto the pavement. He landed surprisingly well in a crouching position, both daggers to either side and both dripping with blood. The halfling he'd encountered earlier was standing next to him with an arrow knocked and looking at him with surprise.

"We really must stop meeting like this, my dear" he said with a smirk. She let out a laugh and fired into the giant beast.

***

Samantha was having a fantastic time. The ogre was a monstrous thing, looming over her frame despite the creature being hunched over. With the gnome off its back she redoubled her efforts to attack the beast, and noticed her companion, the shirtless orc, matching her fervor.

She'd been startled to see the orc fighting the ogre, as she was lead to believe that the two species usually worked together. This orc was far different than the ones she'd seen before. She usually saw them wrapped in animal furs with crude weapons, but this one had hand crafted studded leather pants and fine boots, and he wielded two well crafted hand axes. He was shirtless, which was something Samantha had never seen on an orc, but was something she decided she appreciated.

Samantha and the orc moved like dancers at the ogre. His swings were viscous yet somehow graceful,  like a cat mauling a deer. Hers were timed, well trained, and disciplined, yet somehow the two fighting styles flowed. He would attack then she would, both keeping their weapons from striking the other, both stepping in on their turns. When the creature would swing with its gangly arms to try and claw at her or the orc, they would parry then step back in, as though they had rehearsed this fight a hundred times.

Between their fighting and the others attacks, the ogre started to tire. It had over a dozen nicks from her and the ogre's blades, as well as a smashed foot from Hugo's mace, bruises to the face from the gentleman in the pointed hat's magic, shoulders bleeding from the gnomes daggers, and arrows sticking out everywhere like a partially plucked chicken. As it staggered, Samantha looked at the orc and he bowed his head, indicating that she could finish it off. She gave a small bow with a smile then put her sword through the beast's head, finally killing it.

The small crowds that had formed on either end of the street started cheering. Samantha hadn't even noticed their gathering till now as she looked at her companions. Most were exhausted and Hugo was using magic to heal the halfling who seemed to have taken a hit before Samantha had arrived. She turned around to thank the magic user when she saw several soldiers in full plate armor, swords drawn, push their way through the crowd. Each had a shield with the symbol of Lord Laurentus emblazoned on it, with matching symbols on their armor and helmets.

"You're all under arrest!" the first man shouted by way of greeting.

Samantha was taken aback by this. They'd just killed an ogre. She looked directly at the man who spoke.

"For what?!" she shouted.

"For causing a disturbance!" He replied. "Drop your sword!"

"Why didn't you get the ogre for causing a disturbance? He was the one who started it!"

"We'll see! Now drop your sword!"

Samantha swore as she threw her sword to the ground and was grabbed by the guards. This was definitely going in her report, though she was glad she didn't have to try the whole damsel idea.

Harvey Loveless Mysteries 4: Dorm

It's weird to think that people still go to college. 30 years ago all basic beliefs in religion, science and philosophy was turned on its head when a giant creature came out of the ocean near South Carolina and proved that we had no idea how anything worked. But people still get married in churches, movies still get made about space travel, and for some reason people still go to college, which is why I could find myself walking through the doors of a men's dormitory at 8 A.M., despiting wanting nothing more but to go back to bed.

Coffee in one hand and sunglasses firmly in place, I entered the dorm's common room. The usual smattering of students sat in just barely comfortable armchairs, doing everything from frantically typing on laptops to sleeping. I walked past them, doing a quick scan for anything that looked Necronomicon-ey. No such luck, though I did see an amusing Freddy Mercury tee shirt I'd have to remember to pick up later.

I continued up the stairs past a sign that said "Men Only". The rule had been ignored by plenty of students over the years to smuggle late-night girlfriends in, but knowing Nick the thought probably never crossed his mind. I took the stairs up to the third floor and, after wondering why the hell this place didn't have an elevator, made my way to room 304, Nick's room.

The door was unusual in the fact that it wasn't covered in the usual posters and stickers that decorated the other doors. It only had a simple nameplate that said "Spinner/Sanders". I knocked and waited for an answer. The door opened slowly to reveal Nick, not looking like he'd slept since the events of last night, peering out from behind.

"You decent?" I asked. The awkwardness hadn't left my office till he did last night. It's unusual for friends to drop their pants in front of each other, much less casual aquaintences from support groups for those not wanting to become a monster.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." he said and let me in. The room looked like it was a model for perspective residents. Everything was so neat I felt like I was cluttering it just by being there. Two beds sat at either side of the room, with a desk directly opposite of each. Sitting in one was who I presumed was Barry, Nick's roommate. He was dressed in a black turtleneck with matching jeans, as tough he was about to recite poetry in a coffee shop somewhere. Nick closed the door behind me. He was in the same sweater/jeans combo he was in last night, and I wondered if he'd slept in it.

"Nice place," I said as I stood there awkwardly.

"Barry, this is Harvey, the guy I told you about. Harvey, Barry." said Nick, though Barry never looked up from his computer.

"Yeah hay" Barry said.

"Hi" I said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Barry, I'm sorry but I need the place." Nick said to his roommate.

For the first time Barry looked up. "Nick, you've never needed the place before. Oh la la!"

Nick rolled his eyes as Barry packed his laptop into a backpack and took a step toward the door. "Don't make a mess boys!" he said as he left.

"Sorry about that," said Nick as he quickly shut the door. "Barry's gay and thinks I am too since I never go out with girls."

"Right," I said, setting my coffee down on the desk. "Does he know about..." I asked while motioning to his belly.

"Oh no! I always change in the bathroom. Modesty is one of my biggest rules for myself." Nick said.

"Right," I said again. "Listen, let's get to the task at hand, where is this friend of yours who showed you the bootleg book?"

Just then a knock came at the door and Nick opened it to reveal a man with Nick's muscly build but who had at least five inches on me. He was huge to the point of almost unreal. He had in his massive hands a stack of papers loosely tied together with an equally massive rubber band.

"Harvey, this is James," Nick said. James extended his hand out to me and I took it. For a moment it felt like I was shaking a bunch of bananas.

"Yo," he said smiling. "Hay Nick, is this guy cool?"

Nick looked even more nervous. I interjected. "Yeah, I'm cool. Is that the thing?"

Apparently that was all the veneration James needed as he grinned and slapped the pile of papers onto the desk. "Yeah, man! A genuine Necro!"

I eyed the stack cautiously. It looked like any other stack of printer paper, dog eared with a coffee ring on the top like someone had used it as a coaster at one point, but I'd seen Nicks.... Affliction... and I knew something was up.

"May I?" I asked as I reached for it.

"Be my guest," said James as Nick made the sign of the cross behind him.

I removed the rubber band and started flipping through the pages. It was identical to the one Tom had shown me except this one had extra notes in the margins in various handwriting and the back to some of the pages had doodles and cartoons illustrating different passages, particularly the sex rituals.

The thing was that, once again, I could tell it wasn't real. A real Necronomicon teems with power, and calls to anything touched by the Eldrich around it, so that little voice in the back of my head that tempts me to use magic would've started screaming. This thing though, nothing. No drawing towards it. No loud voice. Just paper with lewd pictures.

"How does it work?" I asked, feigning interest while stopping on a particularly detailed drawing.

"Dude, you just do the ritual for whatever you want to do and it does it." He said as if explaining to me how the phone works. I lifted my eyebrow at him hoping he'd elaborate.

"Here, let me show you." he said pushing me aside with ease. Nick tried to object but I caught his eye and shook my head. I needed to see what this guy did with the book.

James flipped through the book till he found a page he liked. He then produced a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a set of symbols from the book onto the desk. My stomach twisted as I watched him write, wondering if this may've been a bad idea. He then began chanting in a language I'd never heard.

The thing was, I'd seen a real Necronomicon, a few times. I'd used one only once, but it was an experience I'd never forget.

Imagine my surprise then when the symbols began to glow with a sickly green fire. I instinctively stepped back and began to reach for my own power. Before anything else happened though there was a loud pop and the glow disappeared. On the desk sat a steaming cooked burrito.

"Um... what?" was all I could say as I stared at the burrito torn from the aether.

"Food summoning spell!" James said as he picked up and bit into the eldrich snack.

I wanted to say "There's no such thing" but apparently there it was, clear as day. A ritual spell that summoned food, but didn't require making a pact with an otherworldly creature.

"Can I see that?" I asked and held out my hand for the bitten burrito.

"Sure, man." James said with a mouth full of food. I took it carefully not to spill the contents. It was perfectly warm, not hot enough to burn but just right to make it the perfect tasty treat. I smelled it and got the aroma of fresh beans, cheese and chicken. I felt a little stupid examining the thing, I'm supposed to be a magic Dick Tracey not college Gordon Ramsey.

"Where are you from?" I said to the burrito, throwing some of my power behind it. At this point I was at a complete loss so figured one shortcut wouldn't hurt.

My vision faded as I saw the burrito go back into the pages of the book then the book quickly restore itself to when it was first copied, then I saw it go back to the copier and becoming blank pages again. Then I followed the papers that book was copied from, then the book it was copied from and over and over through eight different copiers till I arrived at the original book.

It was small, about the size of a paperback novel, and not very thick. It was wrapped in black leather with a white shard of metal woven into the cover. It wasn't a Necronomicon, it was something... else... I saw the woman in a plain white dress, her blond hair coming in waves off her face. She looked like she was on her way to a Renaissance fair but there was a modern copier in front of her. She looked nervous as she made the first copy of the book.

My vision cleared and I was sitting on the floor of the dorm room. My back was to the bed as I sat in a sitting position. I had a splitting headache for some reason. The burrito was cold in my hand.

Nick and James looked at me with worry in their eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Dude, you totally spazzed out!" said John excitedly.

"Are you okay?" asked Nick, his face pale and shining with sweat.

"I think so... Sorry I tried to do a tracer spell..."

I felt something burning on my stomach. I lifted up my shirt to expose the tendrils coming from my naval, black and otherworldly and saw that the spot where they'd last grown a little since using magic on the idiot cultists had retreated. In its place was the regular under tanned flesh of my stomach.

"Interesting..." I said, which I decided was the best thing to say when you have no idea what the hell's going on.

Heroes of the Realm Chapter 1: Meetings

Bud walked down the bustling street unimpeded. He realized why Captain Fisker always had him stay on the ship whenever they stayed here. Mostly human, the inhabitants avoided eye contact wherever possible with the dripping wet half-orc as he walked up the cities market street.

Most port towns wouldn't look twice at a half-orc, but the kingdom of Kind was a different beast entirely.

He idly padded the small bag of coins at his hip, reassuring himself that even here an innkeeper wouldn't turn him away if he could pay, and thanked sweet Gabrius that he at least had the coin to do so. He was exhausted, and while he could sleep anywhere, one night at an inn would probably do him good.

***
Gimini Cogworthy knew a mark when he saw one. Walking up the Trade Street, bare chested and soaking wet, the orc had to be drunk. Didn't see much of his kind around here, but the gnome wasn't about to question his good luck.

He slipped into the crowd, bright green cloak billowing around him. Most thieves traditionally wore black but Gimini wasn't a fan of advertising himself to targets. Using the magic inherit to his race he conjured an illusionary fly to buzz around the orc's head. In an instant Gimini had the bag of gold and was walking back into the crowd.

He was only a dozen steps away when he heard "Hay!" coming from behind him.

Gimini broke out into a run.

***
Talesian of the Honorable House Quithlana sat enjoying his afternoon tea at the quiet little bistro near the marketplace. The book he read had a particularly interesting chapter on the frequency of goblin hoard attacks on the Western Planes during the avocation of Vulmon the Generous.

If the chapter hadn't been so interesting he may've noticed the gnome running at full speed around the corner, running across his table and jumping over the back gate. Unfortunately by the time he looked up all he caught was a glimpse of an orc smashing through both himself and the table and slamming into the gate with a roar, breaking its hinges.

Talesian was so insulted by the rude disturbance of his reading (And the spilling of his tea over his long coat) that he decided to go after the miscreants himself and turn them into the city guard at once.

***

The dog stopped in front of an inconspicuous building and began to howl. Cassandra drew her bow and knocked an arrow. The creature had to be near here, but in the city she was completely lost. Moonlight howled again and began scratching at the wall of the building, indicating it was inside.
She looked around trying to spot an opening without looking too conspicuous. She saw a window 15 feet off the ground and made an annoyed huff at it.

Human cities were too tall.

Removing a grappling hook from her belt, she began to tie a rope to it while estimating if she could get ahold of the bars. In the wild her size rarely made any difference, as an owlbear could take out a halfling just as easily as it could a human, but in the city everything felt just a little too far out of her reach, like she was a child.

After a couple swings she managed to nab the bars and climb up to the window, her athletic body having no trouble with herself or her gear. At the top she peered through the glass at her prey: An ogre stood in a large room, pacing back and fourth in front of a human with a whip.

"What in the hells..." she whispered as she peered in. Before she had time to decide on a plan of attack, her dog Moonlight started barking below. She looked down to see a gnome in a green cloak grab her rope and start climbing up, with an orc- no a half orc- hot on his heels. In a moment the gnome was sitting on the small window sill staring down at his persuer.

"Good afternoon," the gnome greeted.

"Good afternoon," replied Cassandra, now beyond confused.

The half-orc and Moonlight both seemed to be below them barking, though the half-orc sounded far more threatening, especially wielding an axe in each hand.

"Look, I'm sorry, here." said the gnome as he dropped a small purse down. It clinked on the pavement with the unmistakable sound of gold, but was completely ignored by the half-orc.

"Did you steal that from him?" Cassandra asked, arranging herself to a similar sitting position next to the gnome.

"Well, yes, but in my defense I thought he was drunk." he replied with a smile.

"How is that a defense?" She asked.

Before he could reply she saw the half-orc throw an axe and barely miss their heads. This was getting out of hand.

"Now see here," Cassandra said, pulling her bow back out. "You got your gold back, if you still have issue with this man then take it up with the city guard, but don't go dragging me into it by getting me killed!"

Either Cassandra's words or the arrow in her hand convinced the half-orc to calm down because he took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, though kept his eyes glued above him. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't going to have to kill this idiot, though she felt like she should remember something...

Just then a man with a floppy pointed hat and a long black and gold jacket turned the corner.

"You owe me a new cup of tea!" he shouted, pointing at the half-orc. The half-orc turned to him and opened up his arms as the other man approached.

"I'm sorry but he stole my purse!" he shouted as he pointed up to the gnome.

"I thought you were drunk!" the gnome shouted back.

Cassandra was about to try and have the man explain again why that gave him a right to steal when the wall they were sitting on exploded outward in a shower of stone and dust. Her and the gnome both managed to tumble to the ground without taking any serious damage, though the half-orc and hatted man were both sprawled on the ground. As the dust settled Cassandra realized three things at once: The first was that the man had lost his hat and she could now see that the man was an elf, second was that her bow was no longer with her, and third that she had completely forgotten that the only reason she was on that wall was that she was tracking an ogre through the city.

An ogre that was now standing in front of them.