Accidental Incubus, page 11
Reward: Varies
Quest Alert! – Lost the Missus
Farmer Joseph’s wife went missing, find proof of her fate.
Reward: 500 XP
The Town of Ros had had twelve sheep disappear from five flocks in the last month and they suspected a beast was hiding in the woods near their lands. They wanted adventurers to go out and get rid of the creature. The reward depended on what the creature was. Selene didn’t think it was going to be too dangerous, since only one woman had gone missing. There was no proof that the Farmer’s wife Lottie dragged off by the creature; but they’d investigate it anyway.
Jace had a surreal moment where he considered that it was his first normal quest as an adventurer. Not a demon quest to corrupt something; a monster quest. Hunt down a monster, kill it; save the village. He felt odd about that. He had always insisted he wasn’t going to adventure. He had dreamed of gaining his levels at the forge, making greater and greater items with a hammer and heat. Now he was on a path to a dungeon with a party of beauties and he was officially working with members of the Adventurer’s Guild. It was, a strange thought. He felt a flicker of disquiet when he considered the way his family had made him swear not to go adventuring. Life had taken him far afield of those promises.
The forests around Ros were thick with pines; the evergreens made moving a bit frustrating where the younger trees hadn’t had their lower branches die off. The pine needles made movement quieter and Elisa had them circling the entire village twice while she looked for tracks. A new sheep had vanished that morning and she found a blood trail to follow. The drops spread far apart and she told them to keep an eye up. She suspected the beast might be trying to fly its prey away given how wide spaced the blood drops were.
The smell of pines was everywhere and they walked slow as the ranger tracked. Jace had his bow out with an arrow ready, his arm muscles relaxed, but he thought he’d do well enough. If the creature flew, he didn’t think they’d have a great deal of trouble given how the pines obscured vision so well. He couldn’t imagine anything having an easy time spotting them through the branches. His guard had slackened slightly when they emerged into the meadow and he was scanning ahead and too the sides as he walked out into the long grass.
He should have been looking up.
The screech was a horrible sound. Like metal scraping across glass. It came from above and to their left and when Jace spun he lost his vision in the sun’s harsh glare. A shadowy impression blurred in his vision for a moment before Kit let out a scream of her own. There was a heavy clang as something struck Selene’s shield and a sharp snap as Elisa fired her bow. His vision returned and he saw their opponent.
The wyvern had wings nearly thirty feet across and a long tail curving over its back. Its mouth was bloody and there were chunks of wool stuck to its beak like jaws. Curving fangs showing under its scaled lips as it snarled and bit at Selene again. Her shield smashed it in the face and produced another booming sound. Her return slash with her ax sliced the beast’s jaw and caused another screech. Jace saw two arrows sticking from its wing near the base. The two-legged dragon wannabe couldn’t lift back into the air without harming itself and it stomped forward with its claws ripping the soil as it charged Selene to try and get to Elisa.
The ranger had her black bow raised and when she fired again Jace saw the arrow duplicate in the air. The shots struck the beast side by side and he realized it was the magic of her bow. He raised his own weapon and fired at the wyvern. The arrow grazed its wing as the creature flapped and drew a bit of blood; but accomplished nothing impressive, Jace cursed his lack of formal training. Most young learned the basics of monster weak spots as their parent’s sought to educate them on survival. He scanned the melee, trying to make sure he knew where his companions were when he saw Kit attempting to sneak behind the monster. She had a blade in her hand and he was sure she was looking to hamstring it; but she didn’t see the tail weaving back and forth over the animal, nor the green fluid dripping from the ivory spike tipping it.
Jace reacted without thinking. He bolted forward after dropping his bow and he shoved Kit to the ground to get her out of the way. The tail shot down like a scorpion and Jace felt a burning pain as the ivory tip spiked through the flesh at the small of his back and came out the side of his stomach. He let out a sharp grunt of pain and wrapped his hands around the spike. His weight was too much for the wyvern to lift its tail again and when it turned to snap at him Selene drove her ax into the side of the monster’s head. The wet crunch sounding like a pumpkin kicked by a horse.
Kit jumped to her feet and threw herself onto the wyvern’s back. Running up its scaled body to sink her dagger into its throat in a blur of strikes. Blood dripped from between its scales as she punched the blade in repeatedly. She was shouting curses at the monster as she stabbed it and when it recoiled it received an arrow to each eye. The shafts vanishing to the fletching as they burst its orbs and then the animal crashed to the ground as it began to shudder through its death throws. Each jerk of its dying tail caused a flare of pain to radiate through Jace’s impaled stomach.
Jace managed to avoid the wyvern’s crushing weight when it collapsed, and he used his blade to slice through the base of the creature’s stinger. When it cut through the bone, he was glad for it because it let him straighten up against the pain. Elisa and Selene rushed over in a panic and he realized Selene was yelling something about an antidote.
“SELENE!”
The dragon-folk snapped her golden eyes to him in fear and he spoke deliberately to make sure she focused on what he was saying.
“I’m immune to poison, remember? Please pull this out of me.”
The fighter relaxed slightly and shook her head. Her voice serious as she got a healing tonic for him to drink while Elisa braced his body. The pain from the spike coming out hurt almost as bad as when it went in and he downed the potion greedily.
“If you thought of that before you threw Kit out of the way of that tail; you have the makings of one good adventurer.”
He couldn’t think of a smart ass reply because he was trying to avoid bellowing in pain while his flesh started to knit closed once more. The magic was potent at least. He didn’t mind the thought of a scar; but he drew the line at having a hole in himself. He looked over at Kit to see she was breathing hard and glaring at the corpse. The animal was only about fifteen feet long from nose to tail, and slim in body. Elisa evaluated it carefully as she bagged the tail tip as proof.
“Wyvern, not very old. Just hitting early adulthood, I think? Looks like a male so there shouldn’t be eggs. But I’ll scout while you get to harvest the scales.”
She flashed a smug grin and before Jace could complain she vanished into the forest like a ghost. He opened his mouth to protest when Kit looked over at him. Glee on her face as she smiled wide.
“Jaaaaaaacceeeee, your blade is the sharpest. Make sure you check the stomach. There might be proof about the missing farmer in there.”
He groaned as Selene just started to laugh in her loud booming manner and clapped him on the back. He couldn’t even protest really, as a trained apprentice he had the most experience with leather and carving in general; it all made too much sense. That did not leave him thrilled however.
He glared at the wyvern carcass and cursed as he got to work.
“Fucking lizard.”
Chapter 9
The quests at Ros gained a good chunk of XP, as did the next three towns they hit over the week. They were also getting good coin from the village elders, which made Kit happy. The second village had been struggling with a bandit camp and the other two just had wolves running under the control of a greater beast; smart one too. Those quests ended up combined thanks to the creature moving her pack north and south to hunt each village in turn.
The bandits had taken almost two days to clear up, which didn’t thrill Elisa but was within their schedule. They had hunted the groups as they left camp until there were only a half dozen left inside. Then they’d attacked. Jace and Elisa had fought from the top of the bandit’s own fence and Selene had held their attention while Kit stabbed them from the shadows. It was the first time Jace had seen proof that Selene could breathe fire. The blast has crisped a trio of bandits trying to close with her and the smell had made him perversely hungry.
Thanks to Selene having a magic bag they were building up a good stockpile of junk armor and weapons to sell and Kit giggled whenever she counted her coin purse. She was almost cheerful. She had even gone so far as to thank Jace for saving her life when they fought the wyvern. Then she called him a pervert and wandered off to clean her blades. He took it as a victory.
Name: Jace Blackbriar
Race: Incubus
Class:
Skills:
Strength
16
Brawl 3
Dexterity
18
Level: 8
Woodcraft 3
Constitution
17
XP: 22000/38400
Leatherwork 1
Intelligence
12
Sewing 1
Wisdom
10
Titles:
Cooking 1
Charisma
25
Smithing 10
Human Form
Fire Immunity
Poison Immunity
Pheromones
Deception 7
Stealth 6
Awareness 5
Seduction 15
Archery 3
Small Blades 7
HP
112
Spells:
MP
114
Start Fire
Larval
8
Charm
Understanding: The ability to speak and understand any sentient language
Night Sight: Pierce any mundane darkness with ease.
Darkness
Caress
Bolt (Shadow)
Temptation Gaze: Incubus have the racial ability to see things that will tempt their targets into sinning. Like all demons Incubus gain experience through killing sentient creatures. Incubus have a secondary power that allows them to gain experience by tempting mortals into morally corrupt or perverse acts.
When he leveled, he dropped a point into Smithing, Deception and Seduction; the last five he put into his small blades. He felt more comfortable using the dagger than the bow, though Elisa teased him about enjoying penetrating things.
Start Fire: Using 4 MP allows the caster to ignite flammable material and start a fire that will burn until extinguished. This nonmagical fire is suitable for cooking, crafting and keeping warm.
Charm: Using 12 MP the caster gains a +20 bonus on rolls to influence a being into liking them. Beings who might be attracted to the cast will experience a greater draw and those who already liked the caster will find themselves eager to listen. Hostile actions can break this effect, spell lasts until it is broken.
Darkness: Using 10 MP – Create a field of darkness with a radius of five feet per level. This magical darkness blocks all mundane forms of vision. The caster can see normally within their own darkness; but not the darkness of others. Magical light spells can compete with the darkness; and more powerful casters can dispel it.
Caress: 10 MP – A magic spell causes the person touched to suffer physical pleasure until the demon releases them from its effects. Those with high mental abilities might be able to resist the effects; penalties apply to those who desire the Incubus.
Bolt: 20 MP – The caster can fire a bolt of elemental energy for a distance of twenty feet plus five per level. This bolt strikes with the great force and deals elemental damage on its target. The caster must choose the element when leveling. This choice cannot be changed.
He wasn’t entirely sure why he had chosen shadow for his new spell. Perhaps because he already had a darkness spell. He just knew that light and darkness weren’t common for creatures to have immunity for. He knew that from crafting armor under Master Rourke and hearing the older smith bitch about Adventurers always wanting the same damned spells. He could almost cast the bolt spell six times in a row. Not having a mage left no one complained about him gaining the ability. He still hadn’t gained any additions to his basic scores; but he relaxed slightly when Selene pointed out that some species only gained those points when they reached physical adulthood. He crossed his fingers in the back of his head that he’d grow stronger when he became a full Incubus.
It took another three days to reach the next town. Glade was a decent trading town with a trio of roads passing through it and a river tributary that allowed trade with the barges. It was a prosperous town so they planned to stop for a day before they passed on. Sleep in a tavern and sell off the various trophies of their victory. Elisa also mentioned hoping they could find a healer of some kind and Jace had to agree that would be good. They hadn’t taken any bad injuries; but they had had to use most of their healing elixirs. Kit said she’d replenish those; which was suspiciously generous of the rogue.
After settling in to the tavern Jace left to look around the town. He was enjoying bedding Selene each night, but something drew him to observe the people. The craving for something new, even if just looking. It wasn’t boredom; it was temptation. He was curious to see what kinds of things these villagers dreamed of deep down. The idea of gaining some experience through demon quests was a bonus as well.
Stone foundations held beautiful houses of aged timber and the villagers favored bright white paints. Their rooves held overlapping tiles of fired red clay and their streets clacked as horses tapped the cobblestones with their shod hooves. The town square was large and despite the gallows in one corner, a relaxing place with a beautiful fountain. He saw three taverns and two smithies while he wandered. Taking a moment to watch their blacksmith work and see if he could learn something. He had a strange wanderlust so he kept moving around. Twice he saw a small quest and twice he used his charisma to encourage someone to perform an act he thought more naughty than evil. Why a burly half-orc would find temptation buying a large bolt of crimson silk he didn’t know, but he took the XP all the same. How was dressmaking temptation?
He found a small shop tucked away in the back of the village. Unlike most of the houses it was unpainted, the dark wood polished well though, a rich honey-like shine showing the wood grains. Someone had planted hedges around the outside to define the plot of land and between the hedge and the house he saw a number of herbs planted. The starburst and sun symbol gilded in silver on the door marked it as a magic shop and curiosity drew him. He had earned a decent amount of coin and he wouldn’t mind picking up an improvement on his gear. He slipped through the door quietly and the jingle of bells announced him to the dimly lit shop.
Shelves lined the walls and a round table sat in the center of the room. A few padded chairs scattered around offered places to sit, and he even saw a sphere of crystal settled on the table. He wondered if the place housed a seer or prophet to have a divining crystal? He put the thought aside as he examined the shelves and looked over the talismans set out. Rings, necklaces, bracelets and other innocuous looking devices; all with a clearly listed price. Listed in gold. He had made a bit of gold, but not enough for most of these things. One ring boasted a large sum with a price in platinum coinage.
“You don’t look like you’re used to shopping for magical artifacts.”
The voice was soft spoken, almost shy. Coming from behind him it scared the hell out of him and he let out a yelp as he spun to see who was there. The woman let out a giggle at his reaction and stood with her hands behind her back. She was staring at him with huge lavender eyes set in a heart shaped face. Her lips were plump and red and her skin was a sleek ebony. White hair fell down around her shoulders and she gave him a demure smile. Pointed ears stuck up out of her hair and he realized she was a Svartalfar; a shadow elf.
“I’m sorry, the store was so peaceful I didn’t realize anyone was behind me.”
She offered him a quiet smile and nodded. He realized she was barely a smattering above five feet tall, but what he couldn’t help but notice was her wide hips, slim waist and the most impressive bosom he had ever seen. Her dress was a soft cream color and she had a blue corset cinched about her waist. Her overskirt was a matching blue but slits in the side showed off her pretty legs. Her bust was like a pair of silky black pillows vanishing into a blue and cream prison though and it took a massive effort not to simply stare. Her face taking on a rosy tint beneath her sable skin.
“I have a gift for walking quietly. My Mother threatens to put a bell on me all the time. My name is Nicolette, Nicolette Demeter; can I help you find anything?”
She scuffed a foot against the ground and Jace felt his head swim. His demon instincts looked at her like she smelled of candy come to life. It was when he introduced himself in return that he had to use his Temptation Gaze on her.
Quest Alert! – Abduct the Daughter!
Nicolette Demeter longs to travel and have adventures; her mother wishes her to take over the family magic shop. Tempt the young shadow elf into abandoning home.
Reward: – Varies.
Bonus: – Hidden
“I’m Jace Blackbriar; here with some companions. We’re heading down to the Dungeon of Descending Chaos. Do you like working in a magic shop? The stuff here is expensive!”
