The Man Behind the Mask

[DungeonMaster]

One fine evening in the Trollspit bar and grill, a man like any other walked into the bar. He was a simple man, but a man with heart and spirit, willing to learn and looking to become a hero. He wore a black suit of leather armor, and on his hip he had two scabbards. Both were short swords that seemed to be finely made, but otherwise ordinary. He wore a black hood that held a mask at the front. The mask was a grinning goblin's face made of copper. He undid his belt and took off the sheaths as he entered the door, checking them in. He walked to the bar and sat down, looking about the place curiously. He had not expected to run out of the storm on his horse and end up in front of this place. He looked to the floor and then got down and took a few cautious steps back, examining who was in the room and where they were.

[Jal-Koon]

*Jal looked up from his reading when he heard the door open, his eyes followed the masked man's movements. Abruptly he gestured at the man's face and inquired.*

Won't that thing tarnish?

[DungeonMaster]

"It's cursed... the only possession I will ever be able to say I will have forever. It's a long story, my friend... having to deal with a long adventure and a man... my father, as a matter of fact, who slew the greatest of giants in my land. I wish I could be half the man he was." He looked at Jal. "Have you ever lost someone close to you?"

There was a naga perched just in front of the bar. His battle armor was worn and war-ravaged. Many nicks, scars, dents, and burns decorated his chest plate, shoulder guards, and his guantlets. His blue-green scales rippled flashes of light from the torches. There was a silver ring on his right hand. In the center was an upside down star inside a circle, an evil all-seeing eye sat in the middle of the star. The eye itself was a ruby the color of blood. Strangely, the eye seemed to look around the room, possibly tricks of the light, or possibly the eye was alive. A blue scimitar hung on the wall, its hilt designed to look like a snake. The naga, Charon, looked to the man in the mask. Silver eyes screamed he was blind, but he could see more clearly than a falcon on a sunny day. "Cursed, you say? What kind of curse would keep that mask upon your face?" His voice was low, gravely, and smelled like a combination of fine wine and decay. "This ring is forever bound to me. In exchange for immortality, I was forced to give up everything. My home, money, job, family, and reputation. I am plagued with a constant hunger and thirst forever unquenchable. What treasures did the mask offer and what joys did it steal from you?"

[DungeonMaster]

"My tale is a sad one, my friend. I once was a prosperous man, happy and wealthy..." He sighed and touched the mask, "On the day of my wedding, my brother, who coveted my soon-to-be wife, gifted me this mask. he said that as long as i would wear it just once, he would accept defeat in the struggle for her love. I was a fool, and instead of casting the mask to his feet, I placed the hooded garment with the mask in it over my head. I heard the laughter of many small, impish creatures, echoing within my head. I fell to my knees and my brother cast an enchantment upon himself that he might look like me. I watched from the shadows as my brother married the only woman i would ever be able to say loved me for who i am under this mask. Since then, i have had no sleep. In all my years of wandering the wastes, surviving on what would be foolish enough to let a goblin get near it. I have never killed, not once... but this mask... is another story entirely." he laughed, "At any rate, it has hold of me and today me and my companion are looking for good company and a hearty edventure. Oh, and... I have heard that only a man who is truly pure and has not commited a sin in his life can remove the mask from my head. I don't think there's a man alive that could do it."

He turned to look outside and then began to speak over his shoulder, "The mask can only ever be destroyed in the stomach of an elder dragon. It was after all, there that my father found the mask. he wore it until it led him to his demise. Not long after, it entranced my brother, but he was wise enough to unleash it on somebody else before it took him. I suppose in the long run, it was better me than him. At any rate, i grew up wealthy, never really knowing my father. I knew him by name and reputation, but he was never home, so... I had to teach myself. The cycle is based on sin... the sins of the father fall upon the son unto the... 7th generation, I believe... which means that by now the sin of giving me the mask has been long forgotten and forgiven, and I am left with not even the memory of an evil deed... only this mask which incessantly whispers in my ears, cackling at night to prevent my sleep."

Charon grinned. "My circumstances are the same with this ring. It won't come off, even with the help of a giant. All that does is irritate the giant and waste my time." He looked at the ring, the eye staring back at him with an entrancing look. "Every day, my hunger worsens. I feel like a corpse but I look like I could tackle a dragon. I have only one option in getting this ring off: I must deliver it to the original creator of this foul thing. Unfortunately, that creator happens to be a lich."

He stared past the masked man in thought. "Maybe we could help one another. I help you find your holy man to remove the mask, and aid your search in finding a dragon to have devour it. In return, you help me find the lich who created this ring, I deliver the ring, I do whatever it is to survive the delivery, and we both rebuild the lives that were taken from us due to these things."

[Chronica]

Chronica had been listening from the stairs, hidden in the shadows. She smiled at the tale and when the man was finished with his story she stoodand decended the stairs.

Her ebony wings swayed with her hips as she walked up to the man with the mask. Brushing strands of curly red hair back she spoke, "Ever coincider a new born male child? They are free of sin, and are nothing but pure innocence."

[Jal-Koon]

You all have such, poetic stories to tell, and carry the weight of the choices that weave these takes.

As for me; have I ever lost someone...
I suppose you could say that, I ended up adopting necromancy because of it. Needless to say my foolish choice only got me into more trouble.

I don't want to bore you all, so to make a long story short. I lost pretty much everything, and now I stive only to escape death. To remind me of my past deeds I have this...

*Jal stood up and took a few steps away from the table. He pointed at his bare feet, which were slicked in a thick oil-like substance that slowly pooled up where he stood still forming a small inky puddle.*

[DungeonMaster]

The man in the mask turned to Chronica, blew a kiss, and said, "I'll catch up with you on that later. The sins of the fathers fall upon the souls of the sons unto the seventh generation, my dear..."
He turned back to Charon and held out his hand, "And my friend... if it takes my life, I will find your lich and free you of your curse in the hopes that my god will see my good deed and spare my future sons, if I have any. And..."
He turned his face towards Jal, looking down towards his feet at the inky puddle, "You are... not interested in becoming a lich, are you? I could use someone of your skill on my side of the coming fight. Ever seen undeath at work?"

Charon grasped the man's hand with his right, the hand that bore the demon ring which seemed to adopt a look of panic and rage. "Ha ha! Very good! I swear on my last breath that I shall help you find you're holy man and dragon to rid you of the mask. By the way, what be your name?" He looked at Jal. "And you, necromancer. What would your name be?" The eye of the ring looked left and right in frustration. ~You mean to destroy me? Do you not remember the gift of eternal life that I bestowed upon you? I shall see to it that you fail in your quest, that you grow so hungry as to try and kill yourself. We shall forever exist together, two corpses in one grave.~ Charon shook his head. ~Not today, not ever.~