The Ice Flats Quest: The Mystery Begins

[Warmage]

Night has fallen Snows Watch, the small hamlet bordering the barren expanse of the forever frozen Ice Flats. The only sound comes from the Arctic Wolf Tavern, where the working men of the town laugh and be merry after dark. Laine Novienta sat at a bar speaking with an arctic dwarf.
"So ya see," the dwarf said, "there's this huge treasure trove under Icicle Mountain. No one knows how it got there, or even how to get to it, but it's there. I've seen it."
Laine nodded. "How do I get to Icicle Mountain?"
"Ya gotta go to the far side of the Ice Flats. That's where the mountain is. You'll find a rock near the top that has an ice symbol on top. That is, if the barbarians don't get to you first."
The dwarf started to rise. "There's a mercenary house down the street. Go there to get y'self some help." The dwarf then walked out of the tavern and into the night.
Laine rose, dropping a silver piece on the counter. He walked out of the tavern and down the road. He heard a commotion down an alleyway. Piking up an unlit torch from a bracket, he whispered a word and it burst into flame. He walked a short way when he saw a hooded figure grab a man and lean over to his neck. The thing, obviously a vampire, made a long sucking sound, then let go of the now-undead body. He suddenly turned around, and saw Laine. Laine immediately conjured a silver cross. The figure recoiled slightly, but then shot a bolt of negative energy, knocking it out of Laine's hand. Laine dropped the torch, turned, and ran. He could hear the figure gaining. Suddenly, he stopped. He had hit a dead end. All there was was a large barrel of water. A small bolt of lightning jumped from the end of Laine finger and made a hole in the barrel. Bending the water to his will, he made the running water form a pentagram around him. The figure ran the down the alley, and promptly stopped before the pentagram, knowing that it could not cross running water. Instead, the figure drew a crossbow. Laine held a hand up in front of him. The crossbow fired. The bolt shot towards Laine's hand and when it connected, erupted into a shower of sparks. The figure turned and walked away.
Later, Laine walked into the mercenary house. Rogues, soldiers, thieves, assasins, all sorts of people filled the room. Laine went to talk to the hirer.
"I'm looking to hire a set of mercenaries to accompany me. How much?" Laine asked.
"As much as you're willing to pay." the hirer said in a gravely tone.
Laine suddenly noticed the hooded figure sitting in a back corner. Nothing showed of his face, and Laine could see no bare skin. It was the figure from the alleyway!
"I'll take that man in the corner," Laine said, pointing, "he looks useful. I'll also take those other three, sitting around that table there."
"Oh. That'll be Geran, Necrosser the Third, (call him Necrosser) and Jareth."

Laine beckoned the three forward.

[Bombshell]

Necrosser heard someone walk toward him. "So what's the job? My specialty is stealing i'm not that good at anything else though and have you come across a vampire like person... or creature?" Necrosser still remembers what that vampire did to his life. He still remembers and wants revenge. "If you have seen him and he's a bother to you I'll try to kill him."

A hooded figure sat in the corner of the bar, watching Laine and the Arctic Dwarf intently. As the two stood, the man rose from the corner table and walked away. A bouncer tried to stop him for not paying for his drink, but the man shoved him away. The bouncer flew across the tavern and slammed into a shelf, killing him. The man continued out and disappeared into the darkness.

**************************************************

The same person, an infamous vampire criminal known only as Angelus, drew blood from a gangster's neck as Laine came around the corner. It turned and looked at him, it's yellow eyes glowing with malice, and it smiled. As Laine ran, the creature pursued, slowly gaining. Once he used the pentogram, the vampire fired his crossbow, and his face changed from the crinched, tight vampire face to that of a normal human. As Laine looked at the face before him, he realized the resemblance in the facial features. The vampire turned and melded into the shadows, disappearing utterly.

************************************************** *********

The hirer glanced over towards the shadowy corner and bent towards Laine and Necrosser. "I don't think you should take him." he whispered to Laine, a hint of fear in his voice as he gestured to the figure in the corner. "He's one of them suckheads. Dangerous folk, they are, all wanderin' around, lookin' for a new victim to feed on. What his right name is, I've never heard, but aroun' here, he's known as Nightwalker."

OOC: Just in case any of you are not familiar with the term "suckhead," it is a slang term for vampire.

[Solnac Relishan]

Geran looks at Laine and blinks, smirking, "well, kid, you can take me, but I'm not sure what good I'll be in an ice hole. It's really your funeral. As for 'suckheads', or vampires if you prefer, what the stories say is anyone that deals with a vampire gets ruined in the end."

The hirer nodded. "Vamps are supposed to be able to poison people against each other, and they can play with your mind like a toy. I had a friend once who was convinced by a vampire to murder his companions. The vamp took over his business and drove him mad."

[Warmage]

"I know the dangers of hiring a vampire. But there's something about him that I want to figure out. I'll take these four."
Laine turned to Necrosser and Geran. "As for the job, we're going to look for a huge treasure trove under Mount Icicle. Look, if you don't want to come, you can stay here and stay poor. But you will get a fair share of the loot."
Laine turned back to the table, where Jareth still sat. "Jareth, get over here!"

[Bombshell]

"... treasure at Mount Icicle...? I never heard of a place called Mount Icicle before... but the hell with it I'm in." A vampire... could it be him the one that killed my father and grandfather Necrosser thought.

A cloud of steam rose from the vampire's hood as he stood from the table. "I saw you point, Darin." it said in a cold, raspy voice, and the hirer shrank back as if the vampire's gaze was painful. "What is it that you require?" He turned to Laine. "I presume you are an employer. Killed anyone yet?" The vampire's mouth was visible, and his pale face shown on the candlelight, even though his eyes remained unseen.

[Tarkage, DoopleGanger]

Jareth was down on his luck, he had recently lost much of his money on a rigged gambling game, and was straving for a mediocre meal. Unusualy, the day after the game, the contender planting the rigged dice, was mugged of double the amount he stole from Jareth... His hat had that kind of effect on people, it was the blancer in his own mind.

He sat there stabbing a knife into the wood between two fingers, alternating quickly. The knife slammed hard into the wood each time, making a sizzling ound and leaving blackmarks when taken out. He heard his name being called out, and snapped his head upward to find a source of income. He quickly wipped on his best fake smile, and ran up to the child shaking his hand. "Hello, sir! How are you doing today!"

[Warmage]

OOC: Tarkage, Laine is 13,000 years old, but is physically 13. Technically, he is still a kid, not a man. Please remember that.

"I'm quite well, thank you, Jareth."
Laine turned to the man in the black hood. Out loud, he said, "Yes, I have. Very few, but I have. Why do you wish to know?" However, he was saying something else to him telepathically. To Angelus, he said, "I know who you are. You're the vampire from the alley. The one who tried to kill me. Don't get any ideas, I'm ready for whatever tricks you can create.
To Jareth, he was saying, "Take that smile off of your lips. I can see right through you. The instant you get your chance, you'll kill me and take my pouch, and with it, all of my funds. Don't even try it."
And to Geran, he said, "I think I'll have a special use for you. I think you'll be surprised at how well I can survive."
Laine finished communicating telepathically, and closed off his mind, sensing that the hooded stranger had been trying to pry into it.
"You all will be paid 15 platinum pieces a week. You'll get a bonus if you do something, well, to my extreme liking. In prepay, you will each recieve 20 gold pieces, to do with as you please." He drew four money pouches from the folds of his greatcloak and handed them to each man. "I will see you each in the tavern at sunrise tomorrow morning. Anyone who is not there will not go, and will not recieve his pay. Sweet dreams."
With that, Laine turned and walked out of the mercenary house. He walked down the road to the Jolly Boar Inn. He walked up to the room he had been occupying for the last week and a half. He sat down at the small table and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey from a bottle.
"Hmph, they call this a stateroom?" Laine thought to himself. He got up, and in an instant, his clothes had vanished. He climbed into the large bed.

His last thought was, "They have no idea what they're about to experience."

The next morning, he waited in the tavern for his fellow adventurers.