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Post by HERO on Apr 16, 2015 23:29:15 GMT -5
[Bounty Hunt!: Ogre Shaman]
Complete.
Target: Head Ogre Shaman - "I shall fight for my birthright!"Bounty Hunters: Viktaal ( DC) Map in spoiler... (It's big. Alt: i.imgur.com/HVkTHWX.jpg?1?3407)Location: Porraq Forest, which lies in between a smaller runoff of the valley's primary river, and a gem mine operated by the Magitek Corporation. Description: Early last week, ogres disrupted a mining operation in Porraq Forest, destroying equipment, brutalizing workers, and chasing away contractors. The operation had been put to a halt, potentially hurting the income of Sh'rutal by limiting one of the sources of the city's manacrystals. Law enforcement Rangers are unavailable due to the Lunacy, and so a bounty is now given on the Head Ogre Shaman. These Ogres are quite dangerous, and the Head Ogre Shaman appeared to wreak havoc with several powerful spells launched out of his serrated spinning razor club. Antimagic is discouraged. Special Conditions: The Tusks of the Head Ogre Shaman must be left undamaged enough for identification. Ambiguity in identity will lead to a -800phi deduction in reward. The Head Ogre Shaman has tusks much larger than the others. In this particular group, he also is said to have a deeper shade of blue in his skin. Exposition
The shining star in the sky was signaling the time for dusk by first gently kissing, and slowly creeping itself behind the covers of the Sh'rutal mountains. Every so often switching positions, the ogres had days ago decided on the best spots to stand guard, with the Shaman holding firm by their flag, waiting patiently for the next battle to come, sitting on a stump and tossing dust into the campfire. Above the flame several rats are hoisted for roasting, and the Shaman stares at them, knowing that at any moment, his brethren could signal him that the time would come to fight. There would be a number of directions in which to approach, the road from the west being the easiest, the woods from the west being the hardest. In the distance, from any direction, should any listen close enough, they could hear the Ogres' grunting, and sense the magical energy of the Shaman. DC Bounties are to be simple in nature, but I really felt like setting this one up a little... |
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Post by DC on Apr 17, 2015 6:37:04 GMT -5
Viktaal had, for some time now, been vigorously studying and learning about things in Kalg'rai. He was still new, still an outsider, but he didn't feel so excluded anymore. There were still things that he'd have to learn, still a lot that he felt he didn't know and would need to know, but he was able to be a functioning part of Kalg'rai. He knew the monetary system, he knew a couple languages, he knew laws and differences in the regions quite well, and he knew that excitement was a bit of an everyday thing. This meant that it wasn't new that something was going on, but Viktaal had come to appreciate when things did arise. He had come to learn about the bounty system while he was learning of Kalg'rai, and he had noticed that things seemed to be... grim. People weren't so cheery like when he first arrived, and things seemed to be off.
Viktaal could see the mana in the land itself getting stronger, faster, more potent because of the Lunacy that seemed to be building up. There weren't many books on it, much information in any computer or database he could find, so he wasn't sure if that was just a seasonal change or something serious was going on. Judging by the shift in demeanor, surely, it was not something that people viewed as normal. That was when he caught sight of the bounty board, talking about an ogre shaman that was causing grief. Ogres, he thought with a small laugh. Well this will all be ogre soon, he thought, causing a grin to appear on his face as he looked at the contract.
1600phi if the tusks were intact for identification? Damn, that's some nice pay. Viktaal only had a couple hundred from the various jobs he picked up around Sh'rutal. He only had maybe about 300phi on him, so 1600 seemed like quite a good amount. Then again, considering the prices of some of the stuff he saw in various stores and shops... He'd have to be financially smart. The bounty was a good way to pick up quite a bit more phi, though. And he could go without damaging the tusk quite easily. He's never fought an ogre before, though. He wasn't sure what to expect except for, apparently, some spells and a violent blade that the shaman possessed. He wondered how many ogres would be accompanying the shaman, since he doubted that the shaman would be traveling alone. With some power like that, it was certain that it had some lackeys.
That was what led Viktaal to be on the road from Sh'rutal. He knew the path by studying a map of the land, and they had so conveniently marked where the camp would likely be just so long as the ogre(s) didn't wander too far away. It would be easier for Viktaal to cut through the forest, but he didn't want to give away his position by making heavy steps on leaves and twigs, causing the ogres to be aware of his position before he was even remotely close to being able to fight one. He knew the second that he engaged one, if there were more, he was likely to be fighting multiple at once. He didn't see anybody around him just yet, and he wasn't sure if he'd run into more when he got to the camp. For now, though, the peaceful walk that was meant to conserve energy would be what took up Viktaal's time. When he reached a certain point, he remembered, he would have to cut into the forest anyways. But that was a direct route when he reached a certain point in the trail. He wouldn't worry about that until he got there.
Wandering alone, Viktaal was left to his own thoughts. He didn't bring any books with him, he didn't bring anything other than his current knowledge and his equipment. He was on a hunt, which was something he enjoyed doing. Hunts were fun. Surely this one wouldn't be too bad.
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Post by HERO on Apr 21, 2015 19:24:37 GMT -5
As the new bounty hunter would continue along the stone-paved road, the sun would finally come to disappearing completely. In time, the light of the moon would rule the night sky, and leave a glow on the gray shaved rocks. Coming ever closer to the camp, the road would seem to sit side-by-side with a river, before the two would split off at a point where the trees would seem to thicken. At that point, a faint scent could be lifted out of the air by a passersby's nostrils, the smell of cooking meat. This smell would gradually grow more potent should he move further ahead. Up ahead though, the trees would seem to cast deeper shadows upon the road. Viktaal had arrived. The Ogre Shaman sat still for quite some time observing the fat vermin changing from pink to brown over the orange pit of fire. The time had come just then for the food to begin tilting towards black, indicating that they were finished, and signaling that it was time for the Shaman to rise, and walk a short distance towards the direction of the mine. Pulling away the easternmost ogre, the both of them would begin lifting away the cooking rods and driving their bottoms into the dirt by their flag. The others quietly groaned in hunger, but kept themselves from losing bearing. Good lord that took a sec, but here it is, whilst I'm shirking a responsibility.
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 6:34:12 GMT -5
As the moon began to rise, Viktaal became aware that a nighttime fight would be a bit more challenging, although there were some differences. He wasn't sure quite what the ogre(s) could do during the night or how good their vision was, but Viktaal had the advantage of being able to view the flow of mana. The moonlight would provide enough light on the road, but among the trees, anything could be lurking and waiting for his guard to be down. Ogres. He didn't recall reading much on them, but it was at this point that Viktaal decided that he wished he had; a mistake on his part. Oh well, too late now.
All was good until the smell forced its way up Viktaal's nose. At first he thought nothing of it, but then after a moment's thought, he realized what it meant. It could be some people camping out, but considering the fact that there was an ogre or more wandering the area and hovering around the mine, it was unlikely. That meant that it was likely the shaman and its lackeys themselves. With this in mind, Viktaal became more conscious of the amount of sound he was making. As he approached the camp, sticking to the darkest places to move between on his way there and keeping his steps as quiet as he can, he'd stop when he caught sight of the light from the campfire some small distance away.
His neon blue eyes, which weren't so bright given the fact that he was within the "shadows" within the dark itself, drifted away from the source of light and to the nearest ogre. He wasn't terribly close, but he suddenly felt that it was too close for comfort. These were the creatures that he would be dealing with. Lovely. A disturbing thought popped into Viktaal's head. Perhaps they could smell or otherwise sense him. He wasn't sure, but he certainly didn't want to take the risk of having them swarm him unprepared. He was indeed outnumbered, but that was an easy fix for him. The numbers didn't scare him, but instead what made him wary is that he didn't see the shaman. Quietly, Viktaal drew Manducare and Kentan, left and right dual gunblades respectively.
He certainly didn't want to be caught off-guard. If they could sense him or sense a change in the flow of mana, or otherwise detect his presence, then he was already at a disadvantage. But if they could do that, it was already too late for him to otherwise be "sneaky", so he began prepping his unique ability[1]; his innate ability that marked him as a metahuman in his old home, in the land that was a clouded memory. He didn't recall much, but at this moment, that was just about the farthest thing from his mind.
1. Replicate[0]
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Post by HERO on Apr 22, 2015 15:40:52 GMT -5
The easiest one for Viktaal to view, the southernmost ogre, had stood where he was, looking out at the rising moon. It's full circle shape was apparently quite pleasant for him, maybe distracting him from the sense of hunger he had. Of his own accord, he began taking steps to wander a little towards the river, and in turn, a little bit closer to Viktaal. The shaman and the ogre that was furthest to the east walked in tandem back to the camp fire, where the shaman proceeded then to call out to the other one towards the southeast.
That'd leave three ogres then standing around the fire, pulling out rods hoisting their vermin dinner, or gently beating their weapon against the ground to give warning while supervising. One ogre would then be slowly wandering away, and lastly, two ogres would still stand at their positions.
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 15:57:20 GMT -5
Viktaal was considerably discomforted by how close the ogre was getting, but he loosened some as the shaman called it away. Viktaal took note of which ones moved and which ones didn't, and where they were. He completed his count, now knowing just how many he was possibly going up against. He wasn't sure about their hierarchy, but he figured that if he took out the leader, then surely the group would descend into chaos. If they didn't break into chaos, they would at least likely flee. Without structure, groups fell apart. Viktaal wasn't sure about how these creatures worked, however, so he had no way of knowing. He figured he would need to depend on his replicas.
That having been said, Viktaal now had the power to create one replica of himself, but the power was rising at a quickening rate[1]. He needed time, but he wasn't sure how they would react to the sensation that the buildup of power created. It was weak, for now, but the slightest sense of something watching the ogres would begin to tug at them. It was by no means very noticeable; it would only provoke the most extremely paranoid of minds. Likely distracted by hunger or some other activity, Viktaal hoped, at least, that they wouldn't notice right away. He wasn't sure just how alert these ogres were, but considering that one of them had just passed by without noticing him, he figured they weren't very alert.
He felt it was a lucky break, but he wasn't sure how it would hold up as he continued to build power.
1. Replicate[1]: Only the most paranoid of minds would be able to detect the feeling of something or someone watching them.
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Post by HERO on Apr 22, 2015 18:54:48 GMT -5
Woot, finally got the end to Sticky Fingers. Soon enough, the Ogre Shaman would stop beating his stick, and look out into the darkness of the trees. Something was patently nagging at him, and he stood straight, at a tall 6'8" to ponder on what that thing was. His cadre was about to eat, and so a certain bit of safety needed to be secured, him perhaps being afraid of all of them dying while enjoying a meal. Turning away from the ones he currently told to remove the roasted rats from the flame, he called out to the ones nearest the road, spitting harshly in what someone could swear his Common Tongue. The dialect of it was extremely rough however, and at the most, maybe a normal Kalg'rainian could pick out, "...road guarders! We can't...food...go walk and check!" The two ogres nearest the road then would start creeping out of the shadows, and walking alongside the road, towards Viktaal's direction, scanning their field of sense for movement, reflective surfaces, and sound. One of them could probably be heard grumbling under their breath, swinging their left arm while resting their spiked kanabo over their right shoulder. "Frail...greedy...humans." The other one held such a club as well, easily extending about four and a half feet, a nice compliment to their large frames. The wandering one seemed to stop at the call of the Shaman, and turned his head, seeming to be snapped out of his daze. |
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 19:04:30 GMT -5
At this point, Viktaal was suddenly inspired to be as inconspicuous as possible. With the darkness shrouding him, he knew that a single mistake such as sound or a "silhouette moving within the darkness" would give him away completely. His breathing was quiet and slow, and because he was hiding in the shadows within the dark, nothing would reflect lighting. He held completely still as he continued to focus[1]. At this point, Viktaal could replicate himself twice, meaning that there would be three of him able to fight. Halfway there, he thought to himself. He decided that he would need to draw up as many clones as possible. His position served him well. He was able to peek at the activity without giving himself away, and so he would judge what the best plan of action was before he would even come close to taking it.
Viktaal kept completely still, completely quiet, completely "invisible", however at this point, the sense of something or someone watching them would start to get stronger. Now, this would start to nag at some of the less-paranoid creatures. It was not enough to cause legitimate fear, however it was enough to cause minor discomfort. It was the kind of suspicion that drove the hair on the back of people's necks stand, the kind that would start to cause goosebumps. It wasn't a paranoia feeling, but just a chill, like a child scared of the dark because he had just listened to a ghost story.
1. Replicate[2]: The sense of being watched is increasing. It is now noticeable, but still not serious.
I'm dying. The euphemism.
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Post by HERO on Apr 22, 2015 19:28:56 GMT -5
XD Imagine the strength and ferocity it'd probably have. The two patrolling ogres seemed to trek onward, moving their shoulders under leather armor and flexing the toes of their bare feet in agitation. They were quite bothered with something, and without knowing it, stopped in their tracks right alongside Viktaal's hiding spot. They were unaware of Viktaal, but the presence he carried did not evade them, especially as the bounty hunter charged up in the darkness. The shaman, especially paranoid now, shouted out to them. "What -chu find?!" Saliva spat out from the sides of his mouth, where the large tusks protruded from. Lifting his magic club vertically in the air, his muscles tensed, and an orange fiery glow began to become emitted around the end of the weapon, which had it's blades beginning to spin. The other two ogres seemed to take quick note of this, and turned their heads between their leader, and the direction he was yelling at, now having taken all of the rats off of the flame, and letting them sit out to cool. The last wandering ogre seemed to begin walking back towards the direction of the campfire, interested in seeing what was happening. Shaman's Wrath - Some ogres develop shamanic abilities to cast powerful spells with ease. Charge counts of +2, or +3 with greater effort, is added to their normal charge count when such spells are cast. |
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 20:23:20 GMT -5
Viktaal cursed internally. This was getting too close for comfort. This was not going to end well, he thought quietly to himself. These two are getting too close. He wouldn't be seen unless a light were to shine where he was. In that scenario, Viktaal would have no choice but to fight right away. He could let his replicas form now, but he didn't want to. He was aware that his building up the energy for the replicas created a sense of paranoia because it made those around get the sense of being watched, but Viktaal hoped that it wouldn't cause them to start shining lights around. That would be bad.
Viktaal still held himself quietly as he built up the energy[1]. He got an idea, but it would be tricky to pull off without drawing attention to himself as he moved. That was when he noted that the two closest to him weren't looking in his direction at the moment. He plucked a bullet from his pouch, then flicked it carefully so that it would soar through the air fairly high, evading the light from the campfire until it would land an impressive distance away. The twinkle it gave off would be the distraction. Leaving no real indication as to where it came from, all it would take is an observant eye to notice that a twinkle is on the ground where there wasn't one previously. It was likely, however, that the shaman would see the bullet land. But because of the way Viktaal flicked it, highly upwards so that its arc would be far, but extremely high. By the time the bullet would reflect the light from the campfire, it would be falling straight down instead of at an angle. The sense that they were being watched would strengthen with Viktaal's charging, but it was still able to be cast off as just paranoia.
That would be, however, only until one of them noticed the bullet. When that happened, they would be painstakingly aware that they were being watched by some means. Unless they thought bullets fell from trees, that is. Stalling. Viktaal was stalling.
1. Replicate[3]
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Post by HERO on Apr 22, 2015 20:44:22 GMT -5
The funny thing about ogres is that they are not very difficult at all to trick, and the trick Viktaal pulled solicited quite the reaction from the Ogre Shaman. Seeing a glinter of shiny reflection, and feeling a terrible sense that someone unwanted was present, he was prepared to unleash quite the fury upon where he percieved his enemy to be. Crouching down into the ground, the Ogre prepared what turned out to be capable of quite the magnificent leap, crossing a distance of nearly four meters perhaps fifteen degrees south of west from where he was standing at the campfire, with his club raised high. Then, with a powerful strike down into the ground in front of him, he would unleash what would appear to be an incredibly powerful blast of wind, causing the wandering ogre at the edge of it's range to be sent spinning before tumbling into the ground, and perhaps four trees to snap around their bases and fall backwards. The patrolling ogres nearly jumped themselves in reaction to the sound the blast made, the trees falling quite clearly causing a disturbance in the peaceful forest wildlife. The two ogres near the campfire picked up their clubs, and began moving with a stomp-like step towards their leader, glancing out at where the threat might've been. Perhaps stomping the earth right next to Viktaal, the patrolling ogres would also begin running towards their leader, whose eyes turned white with shamanic fury. Wind Blast [3]
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 20:58:51 GMT -5
Viktaal was surprised at just how effective the simple trick had worked. He had the ogre already wasting energy; Viktaal also learned that ogres were extremely stupid. He thought to himself that if he ever encountered more ogres, he would have to take into account their stupidity. Such a simple diversion producing such an effect was something that Viktaal found to be a bit impressive, actually. It did far more than what he had planned to do. The ogre shaman wasted its energy on nothing. Now that, that was something special.
This gave Viktaal more time to act. Maybe he could keep them busy with red-herrings until Viktaal was ready. Considering how stupid these creatures seemed, as long as Viktaal didn't do anything too bold, and thus sacrificing, he could keep them busy for just a little bit longer. It also helped that as he continued building power[1], the level of paranoia within the ogres would start to reach higher levels. Between the sense tugging at their gut that they were being watched from seemingly everywhere as well as the bullet raining down from the sky, they would be on high alert. Yet at the same time, because of how omnipresent the sense of being watched was, it would make locating Viktaal difficult.
His next trick:
Pulling another bullet out slowly, as they focused on the shaman and as the shaman focused on the false direction, Viktaal would flick it so that it arced high again. This time, it soared well over the shaman's head, and it held virtually no sound as it trailed, but then when it started plummeting back to the ground, once more, it would land straight. This time, however, it was ahead and to the right of the shaman, near the base of a tree that hadn't been affected by the blast. It landed in such a way that it actually fell through some of the branches, causing ruffling within the tree until the bullet hit the ground. A better distraction, he hoped. More convincing.
1. Replicate[4]: The sense of being watched seemed to come from everywhere.
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Post by HERO on Apr 22, 2015 21:27:38 GMT -5
Taking a long inhale through his nostrils, the Shaman was not at all at ease with himself, quite certain that there was someone nearby that he needed to crush into a mess of blood and guts. The ogre who just barely avoided the shaman's mighty wrath was quick to scamper up and get behind him, especially after all of them heard a rustling in the branches up above. The shaman was the quickest to act out of all of them, and prepared another mighty spell by whipping his weapon up and around himself, over his head, and by the time he was seeing the bullet hit the ground, he was already launching it, bashing his bladed club into the center of the tree with a bit of an upward angle, inciting what seemed to be a powerful blast of flame to practically cause the tree to explode, leaving a burnt cascade of slivers and splinters to rain down from the sky for whatever wildlife still sat there.
The wandering ogre ducking when it came time for the swing, he too saw the falling glinter, and crawled onto his feet to bend over and pick it up, unsure of just what it was. The others took to running past the shaman, looking left and right for charred remains.
Shamanic Fire Smash [3]
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Post by DC on Apr 22, 2015 21:37:09 GMT -5
Viktaal smiled to himself victoriously. Damn, he thought. These creatures really are morons... He didn't doubt that the distraction would work considering how easy the first was, and he knew the paranoia his ability was generating would make the red herring even more effective, but it still amused him just how stupid the creatures were. He would think that maybe they'd learn when they found that nothing died when the shaman blasted away at things. But, at this point, it didn't matter, because Viktaal was prepared to strike. He would stand up straight within the shadow, and as the ogres would be completely gripped by the feeling that they were being watched from everywhere, as they became painstakingly aware that it seemed like a million eyes were watching them, six Viktaals emerged from the shadow that the first was hiding in[1]. Each of them drew their gunblades in a fast motion and focused directly at one.
The intended target of the bounty.
Simultaneously, each of the six Viktaals fired their "Kentan" gunblades at the ogre's chest[2]. The grand total of the six bullets would explode on contact with the ogre, which was guaranteed since the firing was coming from multiple directions, leaving the ogre nowhere to move, ripping its chest apart and leaving a bloody mess after all was said and done. All of this was happening seemingly in the blink of an eye. Viktaal felt the familiar sense of successful discipline as all six of him moved in complete harmony with each other. The explosions were low on the ogre's body, tearing it apart enough to kill, but enough to leave the tusks intact. All six of him focused on the shaman as its back and sides were to them. They figured they might have to deal with the lackeys, but they held much less of a threat than the original.
1. Replicate[5]: Successfully charged, where there was previously just one, six complete versions of Viktaal emerged.
2. Gunblade: Bullet[quickdraw]: Albeit being a quickdraw, the combined efforts of all six versions of Viktaal make the effort much more powerful.
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Post by HERO on Apr 23, 2015 8:46:04 GMT -5
The shaman was breathing heavily, really putting strength behind his blasts. All that still stood of the tree he reduced to a cloud of splinters was a stump, half torn from the ground, and held down but just a sizable number of roots. He saw a small scorched bundle of flesh and fur a good distance away, but no dead humans. His paranoia would've probably been rising to insane heights even without Viktaals influence, so with it, he could very well be in danger of an aneurysm. Turning his eyeballs, the shadows moving in his periphery immediately stole his attention, and swinging his glowing club high, he was prepared to blow away the threat when he shouted, "I will rip your sku-ll-" Then, gunshots tore through his lower abdomen, stopping his breath almost immediately, and reducing it to a wheeze. His subordinates perked their ears, and all they could see when they turned around was the shaman losing his grip on his club, and falling backwards onto his side, his upper body nearly falling apart from his lower body. Like the stump he destroyed, roots of flesh and spine was apparently all that kept him from completely splitting into two, and that was enough to give a clear signal to the rest of the ogres. The leader is no more. Time to run. They took off almost immediately, most not even knowing themselves yet what tore the shaman apart, but not wanting to stick around to face it. The only ogre who surely saw was the one holding the decoy bullet, and he was already too jumpy from what his leader did to even care to face six gunmen. Just like that, Porraw Forest, and the Sh'rutal gem mine would be rid of their ogre problem. The bounty was completed. As soon as Viktaal would decide to make his way back, or contact the Metalsyn Corporation, he would recieve his rewards, 1600 phi, and a Holographic Scouter. Would go bigger, but on phone. |
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Post by DC on Apr 23, 2015 14:36:02 GMT -5
"You're worse than cockroaches," one of the Viktaal replicas stated. It was impossible to tell if there was an "original", or if any of them would technically be an original at that point. They all felt like real presences, all felt like they were different people that looked completely the same. All six of them would keep their gunblades pointed at the now mess that was the shaman a matter of mere moments ago, but they would be looking in different directions for possible attackers. When it was determined that none of them would try to be brave, in unison like a moment before, they would sheathe the gunblades. An idea struck him—them—though.
This was to reclaim a gem mine. What kind of gem was it that they were trying to obtain?
The six of them would all make their way to said mine, knowing that it wasn't too far off from his current location. It was a walk, but when they got there, the sight was extremely welcoming. In fact, Viktaal—all six of him—almost didn't believe it. Manacrystals. A ton of them. It was a manacrystal mine. One of the six bodies that were Viktaal would remain, the others fading away into nothingness in a matter of moments. Viktaal would stuff a small amount of them in a small pouch on him. He would pawn off most of them, but he would keep maybe one or two on him for his own use later. He decided it was okay to take them because one: he earned it in his own mind; hazard pay, and two: nobody would notice a pocketful of manacrystals missing from an entire mine of them. If it really came down to it and it was noticed, it could be blamed on the ogres. Regardless, Viktaal took them, knowing that they would help him. After all, he was in school for arcane magic...
Viktaal returned to Sh'rutal to seek out the bounty collector. It wasn't too hard to find the collector, however, and Viktaal offered a smile when he stepped in front of the collector. "Ogre Shaman is dead. Your mine is open again."
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Post by HERO on Apr 23, 2015 15:06:35 GMT -5
<{BOUNTY COMPLETE!}>
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