GURPS Rhûle – Part 3

System Resources: GURPS third edition, revised.

Oracle Resources: Mythic Games Master Emulator second edition.

Generative Resources: Universal NPC Emulator. Gamemaster’s Apprentice cards.

[Nightmares Roll] After another night plagued with dread visions of his mercenary company’s betrayal at Tak-Genan, Drake ate a meagre breakfast, donned his weapons and armour, and went to seek the house of Arcanist Tillman Hessel.

[Worldbuilding Note: At this point I used the Universal NPC Emulator to generate information about Hessel. I knew he was cunning, dangerous, and not below stooping to murder to get what he wanted, but a few rolls later and I discovered that he was also neglectful, driven to understand the natural laws of the world (and bend them to his will), and was more powerful that my character. The UNE tables also indicated that he was obsessed with enemies, both real and imagined.

I took notes from the Necromancer template in the GURPS: Wizards supplement and fleshed out Hessel’s stats. I figured since he was obviously paranoid his lair would include security measures, but probably not many other NPCs. He would have an assistant or servant to manage whatever affairs he neglected or deemed beneath his attention, but it would have to be a very loyal individual; perhaps one with blood ties.]

The Arcanist’s dwelling was on the north hill overlooking the city docks. Comprised of a small townhouse nestled amongst well-kept gardens, the modest stone-walled plot was easy for Drake to locate. Surveying the outside and seeing no obvious dangers, he entered through an unlocked side gate and carefully made his way to the rear of the property. Here, he found a half open door, through which wafted the alluring smells of a working kitchen. The clatter of pots and pans could be heard beyond the threshold, and from somewhere further inside, the gentle bubble of a cauldron.

[Oracle and Context Roll] However, before the warrior was able to make ingress to the Arcanist’s home, he unwittingly triggered one of the various magical traps the paranoid wizard had set about the grounds. Immediately after hearing a low chime emanating from inside the townhouse, Drake found himself under attack from nearby garden foliage. Sinuous vines came alive and burst forth from bushes and trees, seeking and grabbing at his limbs. He managed to duck under the first and dodge a second but was swiftly pinned and grappled to the floor by the third and fourth. Footsteps approached from the direction of the house; a measured, clipped gait that closed the distance rapidly. Something heavy struck the back of his head, plunging him into darkness.

[Oracle Roll] Drake woke with a throbbing head and found himself bound and tied to a chair in a large basement. Alchemical paraphernalia lined dusty shelves whilst arcane apparatus jostled for position on cluttered tables. His weapons and armour were stacked in one corner, and a bleach-white corpse lay face down on a stone slab in another.

[Escape Roll] Working at his bonds, the warrior eventually managed to free himself, but not before the arrival of his captors; a tall, thin man with pallid skin pulled tight over sharp cheekbones, and a squat, muscular man brandishing a crossbow.

Lurching upright and shaking the ropes loose, Drake lunged at the pair, grabbing the shorter man’s weapon and attempting to wrench it out of his grasp. Taken by surprise but refusing to let the crossbow go, the man was pushed backwards against one of the tables, smashing glasses and flasks and scattering equipment onto the floor. The pair wrestled desperately before Drake finally got the upper hand and pulled the crossbow free. He turned and sent a shaft into the chest of the taller man, who had by now moved away and was busy invoking some sort of foul incantation. The bolt obviously did grievous damage, for the man screamed in pain and collapsed out of sight. The shorter man, taking advantage of Drake’s distraction, plunged a long shard of broken glass into his leg.

[Flashbacks Roll] The two men swiftly became locked in a grapple once more, a desperate melee which ended when Drake used the crossbow as a crude club to bludgeon his opponent to death, but not before himself suffering numerous stab wounds. Bleeding and lightheaded, the warrior got to his feet and staggered over to his weapons and armour, hastily grabbing his sword and moving to where the taller man had fallen.

Following a smeared trail of blood that snaked between tables, Drake moved slowly in the direction of the pale cadaver, where he finally found the Arcanist slumped against the stone slab, crossbow bolt still protruding from his chest. The gaunt wizard’s eyes flicked open, his lips moving silently. With a snap of the wrist, he sent a gout of flame towards the warrior, who was taken by surprise with nowhere to go. Coruscating waves of fire engulfed him, expanding outwards to wash over tables and shelves, igniting chemicals and reagents, parchments and scrolls. Within moments the fire began to spread, flames skittering across wooden beams and eventually rising through the house.

As multicoloured tongues of flame began to lick at the upper levels, Drake limped coughing and bleeding out of the front door. Gripping the ankle of the Arcanist, he dragged the unconscious wizard through the garden and into the street. Something exploded in the basement, sending a pillar of green flame bursting through the building and out of the roof.

As the house began to collapse, Drake hawked blood onto the cobbles and slumped down with his back against the wall. He was dimly aware of onlookers, some gawping at the unfolding spectacle whilst others ran towards him to give aid.

Could have gone better, he thought to himself, smiling. He let out a long, weary breath and closed his eyes, letting the darkness take him once more.