"There can be no worse hell then the lost lands. What a goddamn stupid idea this turned out to be." *continues speaking to himself* "Oh sure Rex, 100,000 gold is a hefty sum and all you have to do is kill a filthy magic horse." *spits on the ground* "Fine print? Who reads the fine print?" *squints eyes and mumbles* "The bucket lady knew what SHE was up to when she sent me on this errand." *changes voice to a high pitched mimic and puts hands up in over the top innocence* "Travel to the lost lands, find, and kill nightmares Icas, we could use the coin to train more brigands" *changes voice back to normal* "What a rotten idea... or truly evil? " "And to the mage in the blue robe who saw me struggling to get around that ledge that seemingly went on forever and cut right through the middle of what was previously a shitty road and was now an even shitter one. Thank you for the advice you mongrel." *changes voice to a high pitched mimic and sticks nose up in the air like a certain pompous blue robed mage* "Just teleport traveler, it's eaaaasy.... Why are you struggling at that ledge, just teeeeelllleeport....Look at my fine blue robe and spellbook, all 64 spells, wouldn't you know..." *changes voice back to normal* "If I knew how to teleport, I wouldn't be at the bottom of this goddamned ledge now would I? Hey thanks for the gate friend...." *shakes head and spits on the ground* If I don't find a way back to Sosaria I am going to lose my mind. I have been wandering around here for weeks looking for a stupid nightmare. Haven't seen a single person other then that mongrel of a mage. I bet the rest of the brigands are busy having a GRAND ol' time back at the campground in Sosaria, and here I am, lost for weeks on a fool's errand in what has to be the shittiest terrain I have tried to ride through. *as his grumbling continues, a strange scent waffs into Rex's nostrils and stops him dead in his tracks* *working it over in his head, Rex tries for several minutes to place the smell when he hears a whinnying sound... on the other side of a ledge* *Rex scrambled up the ledge and gazed down upon a nightmare grazing in a small clearing. Making his way back down the ledge, he got back on his horse and readied his heavy crossbow. Taking precise aim at the beast's heart, he let loose a single bolt that was intended to end its life quickly and painlessly. 40 bolts later Rex finally succeeded in hitting the mark, ending what was a gruesome and bloody 10 minutes.* *Rex took out his knife and cut off the head of the nightmare. With his trophy tucked away, he got back on his horse and rode off, hoping to find Delucia before it starts to decay*
some time prior to Rex finding himself in the Lost Lands... "no Bronson!!! don't eat the bees!" Bayara screamed as she found herself sitting in her bed, alone, in the dark room. she was barely dressed but was sweating profusely. after a few seconds of looking around the room, she realized where she was and that it had all been a dream. or a nightmare rather... "nightmare..." she whispered slowly. and everything came rushing back. the boy that had transformed from messenger into fireworks in front of her eyes. with how busy things had become around the camp... she had pushed the issue aside, nearly forgotten about it. but how could anyone forget seeing something that gruesome. it's not everyday you watch a kid blow up like a seagull fed too much sulfurous ash... money had become short around the camp. rations were thin and belts were getting tighter. she knew she couldn't put off the mysterious proposal any longer. when morning came and the rest of the camp was awake, Bayara hollered for Rex. they needed to talk. she told him of her nightmare. working as a jester for some cheeseball farmers market in order to put food on the table... "Eww, like... like a job??!?" Rex questioned? "HAH! who in their right mind would give you a job?????" Rex exclaimed, shocked at the notion of me doing an honest days work. the notion of any of us doing an honest days work... I told him about the incident with the kid. and about the offer. most importantly though, about the reward. and time passes.........
It didn't take long before the severed nightmare head began to turn. The Losts Lands are a hot climate and Rex's saddlebag was soon quivering with maggots and his ears abuzz from the thick cloud of flies following him. When he killed the nightmare a few days ago he had hoped to find Delucia quickly but instead wound up at... another ledge. By the time he traversed the ledge, it had been 2 days and finding a way out of these horrid lands seemed as unlikely as ever. The smell of the decaying nightmare head got so bad that Rex was just about to abandon it when he saw a large black bird circling above him. "A fuckin raven? Out here?" Rex wondered aloud. As a tracker, Rex had a certain affinity for the animals of Sosaria, but none was so dear to his heart as the Raven. Ravens are the brigands of the bird world. It is said in some circles that it was the Raven that created death because he wanted to have his fun with all the widows of Sosaria. Rex laughed at his good fortune and let out a guttural "Caaww". The raven slowly circled down and landed on a nearby tree branch and stared at Rex. Rex wasted no time and quickly reached in his saddlebag, pushed aside the decaying head, and grabbed his quill and a blood soaked copy of the Britain Herald. Tearing out a page, he wrote clumsily on the back "\g Bayara, I killed a nightmare but need help getting the hell back to camp. The only way you see a goddamn penny of this reward is iffin I dont die out here with the trophy..." Rex then jotted down where he thought he was more or less and tied the note to the Ravens leg. It flew off immediately. Rex sat down, exhausted, and waited for Bayara, confident the Raven would find her. After a short time, Rex heard a familiar voice singing some rather bawdy limericks and tearing through the rugged terrain at quick pace. "Bayara! You old scag! What took you so long?" The two brigands chatted for awhile and shard some dried meat that Bayara had brought. Then they set off to try and exit the Lost Lands so they could collect their reward. With Bayara leading the way, the two moved quickly through the thick underbrush. They hadn't traveled but a few hours when Rex stopped in his tracks. Bayara looked back to see what was wrong and found Rex kneeling on the ground next to a large pile of dung. Taking a large piece in his hand, Rex squashed his thumb and forefinger into it, looked up at Bayara and excitedly exclaimed, "Nightmare dung! And it's still warm!". Then he started circling the dung, widening the circle as he went, looking for tracks. Once he found the tracks he quietly began leading Bayara in the direction they pointed. Soon they were close enough that Rex could smell the unmistakable pungent scent of a wild nightmare. The brigands fought well together and quickly weakened the beast. Wanting to display their kill to the towns folk, they slowly lured the nightmare towards Papua. Town in sight, Rex and Bayara surrounded the nightmare and laid into it, leaving the ground absolutely covered with warm sticky blood. At long last the nightmare was killed and Rex handed his dagger to Bayara to allow her the honor of cutting off it's head for trophy. She bent down, cut off the head, and then some. Hacking at the beast for some time, Bayara threw bits and pieces of nightmare meat all over, in some sort of horrible ritual. Rex approved of the carnage and couldn't help but grin at the sight. Two nightmare heads in tow, the brigands gleefully began their stroll towards Papua, thinking off the riches that awaited them.
