[Pumas]Nice guys finish LAST!

[Ankou]

Timestamp: After the events in the Temple.

Ankou had stormed from the temple in a hurry, and knew with a dark certainty where his next destination lay. His geas was shattered before it had time to hold upon him. He laughed as he fled through the night.

He was evil.

He roared as he lividly raced towards the camp of the Pumas, he had heard about this, he had known that to set foot here would undo everything he no longer cared about.

He was a monster.

He had rejected redemption before it could even show him a bit of skin, he had laughed in the face of becoming someone good and nice. He had purposely forsaken a path of righteousness. Silas Lescartes and Hazudar may believe, in their deluded hearts, that they were doing the right thing, but Ankou no longer held to such delusions, he reveled in the opposite.

He was a psychopath.

He raced into the Pumas greatest tent, it was quite busy, nevertheless, he had not time to be subtle, rather, he would like this business to be done with as soon as possible. What he should have earned with an era of good service he would now cheat and lie to get. A predictable ending, to be sure, but a faintly unsatisfactory one.

"Who may I speak to about commissioning a magical item?" He asked the nearest important looking druid, with a false air of humility brimming around him, while his chest pumped with a fire.

[Wu Wei]

Hearing the question, regarding the commission of a magical item, a middle-aged human druid turned around to spy the creature that so frantically entered the tent. The man adjusted a pair of wire-framed spectacles, gazed at Ankou suspiciously, then responded in a condescending tone,

“Eh?! I’m sorry, friend, but we are not a trinket factory here. We don’t just crank out magical items to order…”

The very thought of the druidic order being expected to haphazardly manufacture and distribute magic devices to the general public genuinely repulsed the aging druid. How dare this person come in to the tent of the Pumas, throw around some crowns, and expect to receive dangerous objects with no questions asked! This is supposed to be a druidic order after all--tending to the environment, looking out for nature, skyclad rituals under the full moon…but not artifact retailers!

Out of morbid curiosity, and a duty to perform damage control, the druid followed up with a few more questions, “What exactly are you looking for anyway? And why do you want this thing?”.

[Ankou]

"N-naturally." The fiend stuttered, somewhat taken aback by the boldness of the man before him. "It wasn't like that..." He whispered, but felt perhaps it was too late already. "I mean, I knew about... the proper procedure, and what you men do here. A fine thing, I must say. It isn't that way at all..."

"I thought perhaps you men could help me with a little dream of mine. A potion or some other trinket which could turn me into a human, perhaps? Uh... in exchange, I have money, although I dare not insult you by offering it. I do have a few dozen men ready to march on order, in Alyxandrya, and my own loyalty! We could assist your little... endeavor here." He was careful about what he lied about, he wasn't unwilling to help these men, after all. And everything else he said was pretty true. The men numbered to more like a hundred, but they were not exactly his.

[Wu Wei]

The druid adopted a pensive look and hesitated for a moment before replying,

“To transmute one’s body is a serious thing; some would call it unnatural, an abomination even… Great caution should be taken.”

He didn’t like it, the idea of one being so unhappy with his natural birth that he seeks to change his entire species and race. To make matters worse, it was all to engage in a military conflict. The druid didn’t like it at all.

“Does it truly matter what race you are? Will these men of yours renege on their duties simply because you were not born a human? If they genuinely believe in the cause for which they fight then petty squabbles over such thing as race or gender ought not to matter.”

He decided to enter into a short counseling session to see if the fairy had really thought things through. He hoped to assist the fairy in finding an alternative solution to the problems he faced, or at least test the fairy’s resolve in achieving the goal of transmutation. Depending on the underlying root cause of the issues, the druid would either extend or retract the aid that Ankou seeks.

“I exercise caution for your own benefit. Swapping bodies may not be the ideal answer to your predicament. A rash change in the present could have serious long-term ramifications. Are you prepared for the possibility of remaining a human for the rest of your life? Of possibly losing your place in your own family and culture?”

[Ankou]

"Ah, no, I mean, it's not like that either." Ankou said, his meekness rising. How hard was it to explain one simple thing to this dumb old bastard?! Ankou would need to weave an elaborate lie almost instantly. Oh well. He had plenty of practice at that stuff.

"I wasn't always this way, either. You see how I move? With the air of a practiced flyer, true, but this was not always the cause. Take a moment, and hear my weird tale..."

Around him, the flashback music began playing and his lie took form, he ran off with such romantic adventures, being mostly a weaver of falsehoods and tales. "Not too long ago, I was born as Kazool Solpeth, a lowly farmer boy, human in every way, a simple Alyxandryan Citrus Worker, one of hundreds. It was my fortune, that, out of hundreds, I was fortunate enough to find work as an aide to one Master Lescartes, whom I doubt you've heard of, being something of a local figure along the Port.

Master Lescartes was a simple man, but with a complex past and complex adventures seemed to follow him. So it was I, a lowly citrus farmer, who had to bear to learn the blade and the art of magic, it was I, a lowly citrus farmer, who helped him fight off the gangs and necromancers of that place. Those macabre monsters in men's shape who sometimes roam the night in that city.

It is no great secret there, that my lord's cousin, one Stephan Woulofen, is actually a brutal and cruel crimelord, and seeing his own flesh and blood thwarting his best laid plans, he went mad, concocting a strange plot for my master's destruction. He poisoned his nightly wine cup, not knowing, perhaps, that I, his humble servant, always tasted that beverage before my master, so that it was I, instead of he, that suffered that weird sickness.

It reacted, somehow, to my repeated attempts to remove it from my system, and I was resting at the time near the Graveyard, a place saturated with Arcanic Contamination of a most macabre kind, so that instead of dying, I was reborn, in this form, this mockery.

I understand if this extravagant tale would not be believed, indeed, if it were not for the damning evidence of my form, I myself would not believe it. But it is as true as it is odd, of this I can assure you. Please, sir! I just want to be myself again. This body is older, but smaller. I'm just a child."

He began weeping, quietly.

[Wu Wei]

Something seemed fishy. The druid wasn’t quite buying the story, though he did not want to entirely refuse all aid. He thought about the situation for a moment then decided to test the resolve and sincerity of the unusual visitor.

“You tell a sad tale indeed. I am moved to assist you; however, the means for transmutation is beyond me I’m afraid…”

The druid allowed for a moment of dramatic pause before continuing.

“Fortunately, I happen to know someone who might be able to help you. I must warn you though, he is not entirely…personable. You must approach him with great patience and a reserved temper, or things will only get out of hand. Also, I do not know what he might ask of you as payment for his work.”

The druid looked solemnly at the weeping fairy and asked, “What say you then, lad?”

OOC: I spoke to Tisiphone, and I can do a short solo adventure for you to earn the magic item needed to transform you. If this works for you then let me know and I will post the thread to begin the adventure. I also want to let you know that I am planning to get a new computer this weekend and expect my speed of posting to increase to daily.

[Ankou]

OOC: Thanks, I appreciate it.

IC: Ankou cocked an eyebrow and dried his tears. Heh, great patience and reserved temper, well, Ankou could fake that with the very best of them. Eager to be rid of this brat druid, he looked up at him.

"Well, what did you have in mind, exactly?!"

[Wu Wei]

“Go and seek out Shale-Face Moltentongue; his workshop is northwest of here. Shale-Face is an ingenious craftsman who can work many great magics; however, he is extremely…ostentatious.”

The druid added,

“There’s no telling what price he might charge or even if he will care to assist you, but he is very talented and I am sure that he has the ability to give you what you need. The key is to finesse it out of him.”

Having offered all of the assistance he was able to, the middle-aged druid slowly turned away to return to his work. His last comment was offered over the shoulder in a nonchalant manner,

“Good luck.”

OCC: I started a new adventure thread for you here in the henges.