"Derilion: Assassination" Starts Here

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Derilion: Assassination

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, today marks the start of an online Derilion adventure, where you get to make new choices every 2 weeks.

Need a refresher on the general rules?

I’ve rolled Derilion’s stats based on these rules, and created the following character overview sheet. They aren’t the strongest of stats, but it’s what we have to work with. I’ll be filling this out as we go.

Below you will find the background and the first encounter. Posts won’t normally be this long, but this one sets the scene.

If you know someone who’ll enjoy playing along, please share this post using the button below.

Background

Derilion the Lightbringer had been travelling for twenty-five days, living rough. People invariably meant danger to her, so the fewer she saw, the better. She certainly knew how to keep out of the way, to kill when she needed food, to find safe places to rest away from prying eyes and hungry stares.

At sunset on the twenty-sixth day, she saw the light of a small town within an hour’s walk. The pull of a soft bed, and maybe an ale or two was overwhelming, so she decided to take the risk.

She walked into town. A few watched her, some turned and stared, some ran and hid. Outsider. It was all she had been called for many years.

She was an outsider. She’d accepted that.

There was a beggar by the side of the road, and Derilion stooped and dropped a silver coin in his cup. A gold one would have attracted too much attention. She saw the man nod.

“What town is this?” she asked him. He laughed quietly.

“This is the famous Ochil Tree.”

“Ochil Tree? What’s it famous for?”

The beggar sucked air through his teeth.

“If you don’t know now,” he said, “You soon will.”

Derilion waited for more, but when nothing came, she stood and headed toward the noise of revelry. Ale was sure to be in good supply there.

She walked into ‘The Hungry Monk’ and made her way to the bar. It was a busy place. People noticed her, but they noticed their beers more, and that was just fine.

“A pint of ale,” she requested from the man behind the bar. She slid her hand, palm down across the bar’s surface, and the barman deftly took the coin from under it. He looked at it secretly in his hand and placed it in his pocket.

He poured the Lightbringer a drink and she took it to an empty seat at a long table. She drank it slowly, savouring the taste. She never drank more than one - more than that took too much of an edge off her reflexes.

Someone sat next to her which put Derilion on edge. The bar was busy, but there were enough empty seats for her new neighbour to have takeen.

“What?” she asked, the tankard still at her lips.

“I have a proposition for you,” she heard a quiet woman’s voice say.

“I’ve got my own quests.”

“And yet you’re a long way from anywhere.”

Derilion’s knife was at her neighbour’s throat in an instant.

“Now, let’s not be too hasty,” the elf said. “Your quarrel is not with me.”

“My quarrel’s with everyone.”

“I can see that. Now, put the knife down and I’ll outline my request. If you’re still not interested, I will walk away. If you are, then perhaps we can make a deal.”

Derilion looked into the elf’s eyes and lowered her weapon. She had nothing to lose.

“Much obliged to you,” the elf continued. “My name is Strister, and what I seek is simple. Revenge.”

Derilion said nothing and waited for Strister to talk. She guessed the elf was getting on in years. She had more lines than many the Lightbringer had seen, and several scars indicating she might have been in more than one scrap herself.

“A long time ago there was a network of portals between towns many hundreds of miles apart. There was nothing sinister about them, they enabled trade between the towns, and safe passage on what otherwise would have been a long and perilous journey. Of course, after a while, problems arose. People fell out, councils grew greedy and suspicious, and the portals were at first legislated, then finally closed, never to be opened again. Their whereabouts were forgotten and became a thing of legend.”

“One such portal existed here, in Ochil Tree. But the spell they placed upon it was not as binding as the others, and the magic from within seeped out into the town, making many of the inhabitants innately magical. Fortunately, we have kept it a well-guarded secret. Now, we wish to find and reopen the portal, but have been… unsuccessful in our endeavours.”

Strister fell silent for a moment.

“And why would I be able to open the portal where you cannot?”

“Opening the portal comes with great danger, a good chance of death, and everyone here is, understandably, fond of not dicing with their mortality. You, on the other hand, do so regularly, so would stand a much better chance of surviving.”

“Huh. And why should I help you?”

“When the portal is open, you will be free to use it whenever you need.”

Derilion nodded. She’d had a feeling that was what the elf was going to say.

“Not only that,” the elf continued. “But the opening of the portals will give you power. Power that you will most likely need in the task to come.”

Derilion drained her drink and placed the tankard on the table.

“It all seems very convenient.”

“That does not mean it’s not true,” Strister replied.

“I will think on it,” the Lightbringer said. “And meet you here in the morning with my decision.”

The elf stood.

“And I shall be here to meet you.”

Derilion watched the elf leave the tavern, collected her key, and found her room. It wasn’t much, but it didn’t have to be.

She secured the door and window as much as possible, washed using the basin and led on the bed waiting for sleep to take her.

Derilion woke quickly, her shield raised above her in a split-second. No-one was in the room, that was something, but Derilion had definitely heard someone moving around nearby. Carefully, she parted the cloth which hung over the window. It was dead-of-night, but someone was out there, the light from the oil lanterns shining off what looked to be a golden costume. Derilion watched the seated figure as they twirled a knife in the dirt before them. They were waiting for something, but was it her? She couldn’t be sure.

Then something moved near their feet, something slithered, and the Lightbringer saw the snake that seemed to be a companion of the woman.

She turned her attention to the door and listened, there was no sound coming from the other side at all.

Knowing it would be cumbersome to leave via the window, Derilion had already decided to go towards the door when she noticed the hatch in the ceiling. She hadn’t seen it before, and she silently admonished herself for this. Such a simple mistake.

She pushed the annoyance to the back of her mind to deal with later, and stood in the centre of the room, weighing up her options.

Can’t wait to see you choose!

Speak soon and stay safe!

Simon