De Laric piece 3

I awoke to a loud explosion from the basement level. The door leading downstairs poured heavy dark smoke into the room. I could hear yelling and the breaking of glass followed by loud cat meowing.

"No no no no put that down. Don't touch that! Not on my shoes! What is this? You did that didn't you!"

The door swung open and was quickly shut closed. Leaning against it breathing heavily was an old man in a dusty robe covered in various colored liquids. "Until you learn to behave you will have to stay in there." As he shouted at the door I could hear claws scratching at the wooden door followed by loud pounding and screaming meows.

The old man locked the door and took a deep breath. "I see you have finally awakened. Your wounds were rather severe and the addition of poison in your blood wasn't any help either. Lucky for you it was a very weak poison. You wouldn't have died from the poison alone though. Would have made you rather sick though but it would have passed. Was more of a venom really then it was a toxin." He walked to the near table and sat down. "My name is Arzada Solace. People around here call me the forest hermit. Although as you can see I live much better then a hermit and smell better then one. How about you?"

"My name is Crin de Laric. I come from Asan."

"Asan! Thats two days from here."

"So I'm told. Where am I?"

"You're on Tina's Cliff just north of Webb Forest. The nearest town is Feltain. It's a bit of a travel south of here but not to long a distance if you travel by horse."

"I couldn't have been wandering long enough to get here. This place is in the complete opposite direction of where we found that camp. We traveled south from the town following the trade route and then headed west into the forest. We got lost and started heading back towards the road. But instead of finding the road we found the camp. This tower is North East of that area. The ogre's wouldn't have taken me this far just to leave me to die."

"We?"

"My fiance. We were looking for a place to build a new home and a workshop so I could sell my wares."

"I see. So then I take it that you are going to go back and look for her."

"Yes. But, I'm going to need help. My body feels weak. I need to get my strength back so I can make the journey back."

"Well I'm sure we can help you out some how. Shouldn't take to long to get you back into shape. And the first thing you need to do." The old man stood up and walked towards the door. "Is to eat. Come. Breakfast is calling and we need to go out and catch it."

"Catch it?"

"Do you honestly think someone my age can chase down a rabbit? Besides, you said you wanted to train right? So come on. Hop to it boy."

De Laric piece 2

I awoke several days later in a small tower. I could hear music dancing the stairwell. My wounds had been mended and the burning in my body was gone. I sat up and tried to focus my strength to at least stand up. The cold stone floor was a welcome treat as it was a sign that I was still alive and not dead.

I made my way up the stairs glancing out each window I passed. The tower was located on the edge of a forest overlooking the ocean. I could see the moonlight dance with the waves. I stepped out onto the roof of the tower. A cloaked figure sat on the edge playing a small harp.

"I see you are awake now friend. The old man was a little worried we found you too late." He nodded to the edge. I slowly walked over trying to keep from losing my balance and leaned against the short rock wall around the edge. "I am Seiar the traveling minstrel. I reside on the top floor of the tower because its easy to get to the roof from there. The night is the best time to play music. The stillness and peace lets the notes travel further and be heard clearly. So tell me. What brings you to the deep forest? Your wounds suggest an extreme amount of trouble."

"My fiance and I discovered an ogre campsite. Before we could get away the ogre's attacked us. I can't remember much else."

"You were alone when we found you. Did she escape?"

"I don't know. I can only remember her screaming as I was carried off deeper into the forest."

"I see. Ogre's are not known for taking prisoners. Do you have any idea as to the location of that camp?"

"No. We got lost trying to find the road. I've really traveled much outside of Asan."

"Asan? The miner town? That's almost two days travel from here. I go there on occasion to play at the tavern. It is surprising to know that you survived that long while being poisoned and with the damage you suffered to your body."

"My memory is clouded. I can't remember anything past the screaming."

"That might be a good thing. The images may not be something a person would wish to live with for ever."

"I have to find her."

"We will. But right now you need to get your strength back. I will head to Asan tomorrow evening and return with what information I can about the campsite. Maybe someone has discovered it by now." Seiar stood and latched his harp to his belt. "I need to run into town and prepare for tomorrows journey. Glad to know that the old man's medicine kept you alive."

I continued to stare into the ocean and heard the door behind me open. "By the way, "he said "what is your name?"

"Crin. Crin De Laric," I answered.

I could hear his footsteps echo down the stairwell. Still unaware of where exactly I was and who saved my life I began to hope that I was in the company of allies and not enemies. Tomorrow would be the start of a new day. And with it would come training. I needed to get my strength back. In my current state I wouldn't be able to leave the tower any time soon. As I headed back down the stairwell I could hear music playing. I looked out the window and saw Seiar ride into the forest a top of a large featherless bird. It looked almost reptilian. I was a long way from home and something whispered in my head that my adventure was only just starting.

De Laric piece 1

I wasn't always a fighter. I was once just a typical man. I lived in a small mining town. It was only developing at the time. I had picked up tinkering and some smithing. I spent most of my time creating weapons for adventures. I became a weapon specialist. During a break to the tavern I met a beautiful girl playing a lute near the carpenters shop. I had never heard such horrible music. Her name was Nalinda. She had been practicing to play for months now and had not gotten any better at it. She was on her way home from the carpenters to make dinner. I was invited and accepted. From then on every day I would meet with her and have dinner before returning to the tents near the mining site. I had placed my tent near the water. Every night I swear I could hear music sneaking out of the forest nearby. I wondered if Nalinda would ever be that skilled. Things have gotten very smooth with her. Eventually, we fell in love with each other and I left my camp to stay with her. But not all stories have happy endings.

One evening we decided to venture south from the town in search of a place to build a new home. I had always wanted to leave the smith's and go into business for myself. So we searched for a prime spot where it would not be far from the trade routes. Night fell quickly and we got lost trying to find the road to head home. We walked towards an abandoned camp site near a dark cave. We ventured in and found a large treasure trove. When I realized the danger we had just walked into it had already become too late. Ogre's grabbed Nalinda and knocked me to the ground. The items in the cave had been from attacked caravans running between the mining city and kingdom. One of the ogres stabbed me with a poisoned blade. I lay on the ground trying to get up but the weight of the ogre's foot kept me pinned down. All I could do was listen to the screams of Nalinda and watch her suffer.

I stumbled through the woods trying to find my way back to town. The ogre's had carried me away from camp and dumped me further into the forest. Nalinda's screams echoed in my head. I was helpless. I didn't want to think about what has happened to her. Deep in my mind I knew her fate. The poison was weak but still effective. I was dieing slowly. The ogre's clearly had no understanding of poisons. Finally, unable to go any further I fell to the ground. I could hear distant sounds and voices. My vision narrowed and soon I only saw darkness.

Paragon Radio Story Conclusion

And that was pretty much it. The story was never completed. I had a pretty good rough outline of what was going to happen and where the story would go. However, getting to those points was the problem. Our heroes would get tied into this long story arch that would have them chasing enemies from one to another. But there would be some key points in the story that sadly I had no idea how I was gonna fit in there and keep it the actual main focus.

1. Recruiting of the PR staff. Which lucky for me at the time wasn't to big to put into the story but was slowly growing. And some staff were leaving.

2. Our heroes still had to get office space and set up the station. But where would they find time for it as the story arch kept them going deeper and deeper and end up getting caught into a strang web of war amongst the villian groups.

3. Our faithful narrator would have to eventually be more then just a shadow. And learn about what already happened and what he did differently each time to try and change the future.

Eventually, our heroes would have an interaction with every single villian group in the game. They wouldn't even encounter the Rikti until the very last part of the second book. The first book alone was going to be huge story. And its in the last part of the book that will tell if history will repeat itself or not. As I said. I already completed the outline on how the story was going to be carried and such. It's done. Sadly, lack of support from the staff as well as the changing of the station to MMO Radio and changing the focus from a dedicated CoH station to an all MMO station caused the project to die. The only upside was that it still lead into the creation of a new project. But due to extreme lack of support. What I posted already like a month ago is all that is alive for those stories. Click on the MMO Radio tag on the side to find those stories quickly. Those had no outline or anything. Kinda wrote them as I went. MAybe ill rewrite the story outline and change all the names and locations to break it away from CoH and the disbanded radio station. Only problem is coming up with that many names and chaning the super hero abilities as well. Lotta work. Creative Work. Dunno if I even have it in me to try. The outline as it is , is already huge.

Origins of Paragon Radio Ch 9

Track Nine Fire Doesn’t Hurt

Buddha looked through the window.

“I don’t see anyone so guess it’s safe to go through here.”

Inhibitor pushed the window open and slowly crawled in. He scanned the area.

“Looks like we caught their operations before anything has had a chance to begin. I see a few shipments scattered around and that’s it.”

Buddha and Radio Wave crawled through the window. The three stood on a broken catwalk. Every step caused it to creak and wobble. Radio Wave closed her eyes while walking forward. Her body absorbed all sounds.

As they made their way through the catwalk, Radio Wave could sense a strange presence in the room. She felt eyes watching her. She opened her eyes and looked around.

“What’s wrong, Hon?”

“Someone is watching us. It doesn’t feel natural either. Only its not directed at Buddha or me. It’s directed towards you, Inhibitor.”

Inhibitor looked at the shadows of the room.

“It’s probably nothing. We need to keep moving.”

Radio Wave looked down. Hellions dashed across the room moving large crates from trucks and into the warehouse. In the center of the room stood a Hellion with an orange-red aura. The three heroes watched as he signed papers and directed the merchandise.

Buddha pointed to the far side of the room.

“That’s not a Hellion.”

Inhibitor turned his head and looked at Buddha’s target.

“That looks like Joey Shirt. He works for The Family. But, why would he be here in Atlas Park.”

“Looks like they have new business partners.”

They watched as the Hellion in charge walked over to Joey Shirt and handed him a package. Joey shook the Hellion’s hand and walked towards the door. Buddha quickly stood.

“Damn! We can’t let him get away.”

Buddha leaped from the catwalk and into the center of Hellion traffic.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going Joey?”

Radio Wave slapped her forehead.

“Damn it, Buddha. Think first.”

Inhibitor wrapped his arm around Radio Wave and teleported behind Buddha. Inhibitor pointed the palm of his left hand at the ceiling and formed a shield of energy around them. Radio Wave quickly extended her arms out to her sides. Sound stopped. Reality slowed down. She looked at Buddha.

“Go.”

Buddha leaped towards Joey. The air was sucked into a ball in front of Radio Wave. Time seemed to completely come to a halt. The small ball erupted and sound exploded into the air. Time returned too normal and the sudden shock of speed surprised Buddha. He slammed into Joey Shirt and pinned him into the wall.

The Hellion leader pointed at Radio Wave.

“Kill them!!”

Hellions charged in and opened fire. Bullets bounced off the shield and flew wildly into the air. Slammers and Slicers stepped through the shield. Inhibitor pointed his other palm at the oncoming Hellions and formed another shield around the two heroes. Radio Wave lifted her hands in front of her. The slicers lifted into the air. She then swung her arms to the side and the Slicers flew into the Gunners.

Buddha shook his head. He looked around.

“Crap. Had him in my hands too.”

“Buddha!”

A barrage of fireballs hit Buddha in the back. He turned and looked at his attacker.

“You little…”

Buddha charged forward and punched the Hellion high into the air.

Radio Wave continued to use Hellions as throwing weapons. She paused. She could feel herself appear in someone’s aim. She looked up and saw several Gunners stationed on the catwalk.

“Hib! Up there!”

Inhibitor dropped the shield and teleported onto the catwalk. A blast of wind shoved the Gunners on to their backs.

Buddha grabbed the Hellion leader by the head and flung him into the nearby crates. The Hellion leader’s body burst into flames.

Enemies around Radio Wave dropped to their knees as she dominated their minds. They howled in pain as visions of horror filled their thoughts.

The Hellion leader grabbed a hold of Buddha and set his body on fire. Inhibitor teleported behind Buddha. The air around them dropped in temperature and the flames on Buddha vanished.

The ground around Radio Wave shook and large edged rocks burst from the ground incasing the enemies in stone cages.

Inhibitor subdued the Hellion leader immobilizing him instantly. Buddha walked up to the Hellion Leader.

“Your name?”

“Bite me.”

“Your name?”

“I said…”

Buddha punched the Hellion leader in the stomach.

“I won’t ask you again. Your name?”

The Hellion leader coughed and tried to regain air in his lungs.

“Des…truc…tor.”

“Destructor?”

Inhibitor raised the oxygen levels so that Hellion leader could breath easier.

“He’s one of Battalion’s cronies. He’s nothing more then a middleman. Why were you dealing with Joey Shirt?”

“Hellion’s were promised territory.”

Radio Wave searched through Destructor’s mind.

“The Hellions are at war with the Skulls. There’s going to be a showdown with the Skulls in a few days. The Family has given them a new weapon to test out against the Skull’s. That’s all I can get out of him. Everything else in his mind is foggy.”

Buddha wrapped his hand around Destructor’s neck.

“Where’s war going to take place?”

“Go to hell.”

Buddha threw the Hellion into the rafters. Radio Wave hit him in the shoulder.

“Damn, Buddha, why do you do things like that. He’s our only lead.”

Inhibitor teleported next to Radio Wave with an unconscious Destructor.

“Looks like we’ll need to get us some new leads then.”

Radio Waved glared at Buddha.

“What? How did I know that was going to knock him out cold.”

“So what now genius?”

“Maybe, we can look for information out on the streets. Hellions aren’t too hard to find. We just need to rough them up a bit and get the answers we need.”

Inhibitor dusted himself off.

“So what are we waiting for?”