The Diaries of Riolu Ungart: Part 8.1; Slave Trader Joe

After our trip to the Dream Realm, we decided to look into visiting the Succubus (named Decambria Tradgedy). On our way through the richer parts of town, we see a truly revolting human merchant (ooc kinda looks like Hoggish Greedly) leading 7 people by chain, covered by 4 human guards. My eye is immediately drawn to a lovely pink Tiefling lady. I knew exactly what was going on. I’ve seen far too much of the slave trade in my travels. It disgusts me to no end to see a person treat another like property. I MUST FREE HER!!! This time though, I had a plan.

I separate myself from Sunshadow and Staab, and I greet the merchant jovially.

“Excuse me sir, whatcha doing with these fine folk?”

The man looks down to me and chuckles. He responds (in a cockney accent), “Transportin’ merchandise. Name’s Joe, of Slave Trader Joe’s. Ya interested in purchasin”?”

Keeping my jovial guise, I smile brightly. “Oh yes good sir. I’m very interested. How much for the seven of them?”

Joe slightly gasped at the notion. He regained composure and replied “Still need to get ‘em checked for diseases. Couldn’t price ‘em if I wanted to right now.” He pulls a scroll from his jacket. “Here’s ma callin’ card. Stop by me shop later, and I’ll set you up with some nice slaves. Hahaha.” I put the scroll in my Garter of Holding.

While I was distracting him, Sunshadow and Staab were stealthily sneaking up behind Joe’s back two guards. The imprisoned people look to them. Staab goes “shhhh”, and they keep our stealth. I bid Joe farewell, and took cover about 30 ft. away behind a stack of crates. I then entered my Guardian of Nature: Primal Beast mode, while Sunshadow and Staab stealthily “incapacitated”, the back two Joes. I then WildShape into my favorite form I worked so hard to attain, OWLBEAR! GUARDIAN OF NATURE:PRIMAL BEAST OWLBEAR!

I come barreling out, charging at Joe’s left hand Joe, and I beak and claw him into submission.

Joe doesn’t know what the heck’s going on. He just all of a sudden sees a super primal Owlbear attacking his left guard, Joe booked it as fast as his stubby little legs could go.

Sunshadow unleashes his mighty cleave with his Sun Blade to finish off the guard I previously weakened. Staab used the ultimate sneak attack on the final guard, and he dropped into a pit of ribbon. Sunshadow and I broke the shackles of the people, and I drop back into my base Riolu.

While Sunshadow is hugging the half-orc and simultaneously getting kicked in the shin by the dwarf who didn’t appreciate the hug, and Staab was being Staab, I provided my #applecare and handed an apple to everyone, again from my Garter of Holding.

I then hand an apple to the lady. I am enamoured. I ask her her name, she says she’s never had one. I tell her that she is her own person, and I will be sure that no one will ever enslave her again. She is protected.

We take the seven of them to Sunshadow’s church of choice in this town, and they are taken in. Before leaving her for now, and as a sign of her being under my protection to live the life she wants to live, I pull out my Marvelous Pigments and paint a to-scale, 4 inch Riolu in a dancing loop (I may have just invented the gif) and I give it to her.

With the people freed and cared for, we decide to follow the scroll and pay a visit to “Slave Trader Joe’s”.

The Diaries of Riolu Ungart: Part 7.3; Riolu’s Choice

As I see my friend and his frienemy floating aimlessly behind me, and the panic of the people below, the Dream Man looks to his wrist then back to me, stating “Tick, Tock” in a condescending tone.
I have no idea how I got in this mess, but what I do know is that doing nothing isn’t an option.
The Dream Man looks to me. “It’s quite simple really. I release all these people from below, as well as you and your friends, and in return all I ask is you take but a single life. You end up walking away with the better deal.”
The Dream Man turns away. “Otherwise, I’ll just leave you all here”. He starts walking away.
In a single impulse, against my better judgement, I look straight at him and extend my right arm.
He turns back round and gives a small, smug grin. “Ah, a volunteer”. He extends his arm to meet mine. “Then it’s a deal”.
As he finishes that statement, our hands connect in a shake sending a cold jolt of painful energy through my whole body. A bright flash floods the realm, and before we know it, we’re waking up back in town, the crystals now gone. In my head, I clearly hear the Dream Man’s voice. “The people I borrowed are all fine. They’ll interprete the ordeal as if it were just a dream. And one more thing…” I feel a burning sensation on my right wrist, “that will serve as a reminder of the deal we made. It’ll only go away once the person is slain”.
I take off my glove, and from between my index finger and thumb all the way to about and inch and a half down my wrist, is a single black vein. I quickly place my glove back on, returning to my Weird Ones.

The Diaries of Riolu Ungart: Part 7.2; The Dream Scape

When I awoke, I found myself floating in grey cloudy void without any of my gear, completely nude, but shrouded in a colorful aura (ooc, think of the transformation sequence of Sailor Moon and you’ll know what I mean). I look in every direction, but there is just more clouds.
Out from the clouds with Scotch on the rocks in hand appears the Dream Man. He looks to his glass, swirls its contents for a moment, before fixing his gaze on me.
I ask him where we are, and he replies “My realm. The realm of smoke and shadows. The realm of dreams”.
I ask him why I’m here. He simply states “I pulled you here with the crystals as a test. A test to see…”
The waves his free hand over the space beneath us, clearing the smoke and revealing the 4,000 people missing from the town. Running, screaming, panicking.
“…if you were willing to make a deal. I’ll free these people, if you kill one person of my choosing when I call upon you.”
I look at the Dream Man in disgust. “You’re a powerful person, correct? Why can’t you just kill this person yourself? Why do you need me?”
The Dream Man takes a slow sip from his glass, then states “This person exists where I’m not permitted. I need someone capable of going where I cannot.”
Before I could respond, Sunshadow and Staab appear behind me, flailing in the clouds with the same colorful aura.
The Dream Man looks to them and says “Looks like you’ve been given more incentive to decide quickly.”

alwaystheweirdones:

This time I drew @kimbles from @bitchesofbagrule ’s character Rhos the Orcelf Bard Paladin with Riolu’s future tiefling daughter, Paupricosh. She’s trans, and her daddy helped her transition.

Without Rhos inspiring me to make Riolu they way he is, Paupricosh would’ve never been born. So we are humbly grateful to him.
And like everyone else in the multiverse, Paupricosh just adores Rhos.