Fan Fiction: Master Says (Chapter 5B)

Xeang

Xeang

Active member
“Hero.” It was on the people's lips as I walked by. Cautious looks had become friendly nods. Then word came that my presence was requested in the tavern. My deeds had indeed caught Bauerson’s attention.

I came in the tavern as I first did. My coins spent. Just me in clothes. But the reception I received was much different. Half the community filled the tavern and they were lively with mugs of beer in their hands, chattering and prancing about. The conversations from whispers and darted looks were now loud and grand. They were filled with hope. They cheered and lifted their ales as I walked in. Sigmund Bauerson was beaming and gestured for me to come over to him.

Ingrid handed me a mug of beer and Sigmund put his arm around me. He spoke cheerfully but also earnestly, “I’m glad you’re here, Xeang. I’ve heard of your efforts on behalf of the village. Thanks to you, opportunities have begun to materialize to turn the situation around.”

He paused. Then he said a bit quieter in my ear, “There is a traitor here in the village. Someone who has given himself to the Cult willingly…mad as that is. We now know what his next move will be. And that is where you come in, Xeang.”

He stared me straight in the eyes with a new confidence. “The fool is planning to attack the Tavern, and kill me. But when he arrives with his Sahuagin allies, he won’t find me. He’ll find you!” He gleamed like a banquet already successfully over. But I thought to myself that the next attack wouldn’t be fishermen and seamstresses that were converted by the cult. They would be sending Sahuagin warriors, priests and more powerful cultists. I had only defeated them before with the help of Talbron, Jeets and Cellimas. Alone?

But I could see where this was going, and it wasn’t going anywhere else but with me.

Sigmund saw my thoughts and said, “Don’t worry. My men will ambush most of the Sahuagin before they get near the place. But make sure you kill the Traitor! Under no circumstances allow him to get away. His name is Jacoby Drexelhand.”

The sharp-tongued crypt keeper! He was high on my list, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was just a despairing, surly crony who could see no hope. But instead he put his hope in the Cult of Devourer! I flexed my fist instinctually.

“Are you ready?” asked Bauerson. I took a few minutes to prepare. “Sloppy killed the rabbit” Master would say. “though the rabbit’s carelessness means more coney stew for us. Just don’t you be coney stew for others.”

So I tended my wounds. I ate a light meal of grains. I meditated and thought over my strategies. Preparation. It would be tight quarters here in the bar. There was the front and side doors they might come in to try to surprise me as well as the cellar door. The cellar below had also tunnels and sewers, according to Bauerson. Multiple opponents again. I needed to stack boxes and chairs to hinder their approach and keep a wall to my back so I would not get surrounded.

After about 30 minutes I said to Bauerson, “Ready as I’ll ever be now. Let’s do this.”


Bauerson asked the patrons to disperse early. He didn’t want anyone hurt and he needed to get the small militia to be stationed at egresses outside. I sat on the floor against the back wall so I could survey all three entrances.

Time passed slowly but I was practicing the patience and cunning of the snake. Rhythmic endurance until they step into my zone. My waiting bore fruit. The very front door opened, and what must be the collaborator stepped out of the darkness into the low lantern light of the inn.

Jacoby Drexelhand indeed! I arose from my seated lotus and Drexelhand eyes flirted to me. “You again! The Sahuagin blame me for your heroics. I’m sick of your tampering!” he said with venom in his voice. He was a snake too.

“Why? Why are you working for the Sahuagin?” I asked.

“I’m no fool,” he hissed. “The Sahuagin will kill everyone who doesn’t convert. It’s inevitable. I’m just watching out for my hide.”

“So says the biggest fool in Korthos,” I uttered. “Your life ends now!”

But Jacoby Drexelhand was one who cunningly used others rather than himself when he could. “Ha! You'll be too busy with the Sahuagin to fight me!” He darted for the cellar door even as two cultists popped in from the front door and one from the side to engage me.

They were all human minions. The fell quickly under the White Dragon Fist style. But as anticipated, another wave came in with more humans, but also three Sahuagin. One was a whelp. I stunned him. Next to him was a larger strong Sahuagin Warrior…while the third Sahuagin was an acolyte caster. I swept the legs out of the large Warrior. The bigger they are… the harder to sweep. The harder to sweep, the harder you must sweep. And so I did.

The two humans were easy flotsam. I used one of the human cultist by throwing him on top of the fallen warrior, slowing him from getting up. The second I locked his punch into an armbar and while breaking it, grinded my foot on the neck of the Whelp who stumbled on his own accord when he recovered from my vital strike.

But I arched in pain as I finished them. An Acolyte cast profane magic into my spine. I tried to shake it off, but I still felt numb where the energy struck me. I evaded another spell of his by rolling under a table and then sprung up like a leopard out of the other side scissoring my legs over his neck and taking him down. After snapping his giant fish neck with my thighs, it was just the warrior and I. He feinted. I feinted. We feinted. He thrust his spear at my knees and I stepped on the shaft breaking it.

He came at me leering and with his mouth wide to bite my head off. But a high side heel kick shattered his fangs and I finished him with many more kicks and punches.


My stalwart defense had given the Sahuagin pause. But I could hear more of them gathering outside for a final assault. I caught my breath…breathing from my lower ‘Dan Tien,’ a ki building spot in the body two inches below the navel.

I swallowed two healing draughts to recover my strength and fortitude from injuries.

Then the final band came in. More Sahuagin mixed with humans. But these humans were stronger and took longer to wear down and finish. I was feeling experienced with Sahuagin now. I could read their moves better and judge their intents. I could discern which casted and which fought with spears and which chose their claws and teeth. Each took a different strategy.

I went back to using elemental energies to bring them down quicker rather than stuns, trips and throws. They were vulnerable especially to fire. So I left the last five in a smoldering pile. It was Friday Fish Fry.

I had weathered the Sahuagin storm. I healed my bruises and cuts again. None were severe. A single potion sufficed. And then I opened the cellar door to pursue my adversary, that traitorous Jacoby Drexelhand! I followed where he fled.


Stone steps led down to a small cold cellar with boxes filled with vegetables and herbs for cooking. Several caskets of beer and mead waited for the next party.

‘Drexelhand isn't here!’ I witnessed. However, webbed footprints on the ground betrayed the location of a secret passage that Bauerson had mentioned. Backtracking them may reveal the way to open that passage. I searched and found the groves that showed the false wall. A lone casket lay next to it, empty except a latch on the inside. I pulled the disguised lever and the door opened to another room.

The chamber beyond the secret passage looked ancient, predating Korthos village. A small chest was against the far wall. I pulled the lever and a passage to the south opened. I entered. A lone cultist sentry looked surprised at my survival of the rampage in the inn. Or perhaps that I had discovered the secret entrance. In either case, no one was expecting me.

He grimaced as he lifted his mace but my hands were faster. Still he lasted longer and managed to nick me on the hand with his mace. Drexelhand had surrounded himself with the best of the cultists.

No one had heard the noise of our scuffle. I went forward 50 paces and saw a Sahuagin sleeping on the floor. When I was finished no one would wake him.

Another door now to the north. I opened it. Ahead were four human cultists. Three were sitting and talking. One was keeping watch. I hid by the side of the door. When he saw the door was open, he came and inspected it. I made short work of him when he stepped through so he could not alert the others.

I mediated a moment to gather my ki. Then I crept up and fell on them with surprise. I stunned two of them and took turns on which one I played drums on with my fists. The three went down together. There was a shrine and a chest. I touched the moon shrine and felt rested and renewed again.


I inspected for traps on the chest but found none. The truffles within were meager.

I went through another door. Another lone minion provided no sport. He guarded a door. I listened. Was that Jacoby’s voice? Finally. I pulled the lever and saw a small chamber with a grated floor that led to the sea below. This was another port by which Sahuagin were infiltrating Korthos village.

There I spied him! That weaselly Drexelhand was trapped by the sea. He had nowhere left to run. Now to finish the job. But as I entered two Sahuagin guards popped out of the sea. I stunned one even as it landed. The other cut me with his claw. Jacoby also came down on me with his mace.

I spun a back fist into the briny face of one Sahuagin and then heel stomped the head of the other Whelp. With those two out of the way it was a bitter battle between Drexelhand and I. Many times I hit him but he would not go down. He was chipping at me as well. A nick here, a bruise there. He cut my wrist, I broke his hand. I managed a falcon strike across his face. It gave him a scar opposite his earlier one so that his face looked marked with a big X as in tic tac toe.

But my whole life was devoted to perfecting myself, especially the art of White Dragon Fist kung fu. I saw his stamina leaving, while mine grew. Drexelhand thought that siding with the Sahuagin would save his life. How wrong he was. There was nothing dramatic in this battle. He slowly fell a little more from each strike until he could fight no more. And so he expired with a soft sigh.

The water moved again! Out sprung the leader of the Sahuagin devourer cult in charge of infiltrating and destroying the village of Korthos and making them slaves. His devotion was to the cult of death. But he was better at strategy than armed battle. Despite my surprise he fell anti-climactically as well.

I nursed a few cuts and bruises and then returned through the secret tunnels back to the cellar and the Wavecrest inn. When Sigmund Bauerson saw me he exclaimed, “There you are! I was worried they got you. Did you kill him? Did you kill Drexelhand?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Jacoby Drexelhand is dead.”

“And may he spend an eternity in Khyber’s bowels,” spitted Bauerson. “This is wonderful news, my friend, “Sigmund continued. “We have reached the tipping point. At last we can take the fight to the Sahuagin.” He paused and gave a mighty, “Thank you.”

He offered me a weapon from the town’s militia. Many had perished and there were many weapons to choose from. I don’t think it surprised him when I chose another pair of hand wraps (the one’s cellimas had given me were starting to disintegrate from the faces of too many cultists) rather than a traditional weapon of Xen’drik. I thanked him.

My victories had made the village much safer, but only temporarily. Now it was time to take the fight to the Sahuagin – out in the wilds of Korthos Island.

Chapters 1 and 2: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/fan-fiction-master-says-chapters-1-2.119/
Chapter 3: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/fan-fiction-master-says-chapter-3.459/
Chapter 4: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/fan-fiction-master-says-chapter-4.460/
Chapter 5A: https://forums.ddo.com/index.php?threads/fan-fiction-master-says-chapter-5a.883/
 
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