A Familiar Adventure, Ch 1

[Dustland]

Since we just wrapped up chapter 1 on the pbp forum, I thought I'd write down a quick synopsis of what the mighty Kerbi has been up to!

Characters:
Kerbi: The shaggy white sheep dog that is also the magical familiar of the wizardress Summer. He is intensely loyal to her and has a heart of gold. Oh and a glaive. He can use his nose to smell the "Scent of Days Gone Past", effectively reading the history of things and people.
Summer: Kerbi's young master; she has fallen into a relationship of some sort with a vampire, though it remains to be seen who's using who.
Sloat: A rather odiferous cat with one good eye and the ability to see the future with the other. He thinks Kerbi, Mable, and himself have a shared destiny. He can also "jump" through the shadows, allowing him to ambush rats in his hunt for tasty rat livers.
Mable: A rabbit Kerbi rescued from a pack of wolves. Other than being cute, she hasn't really demonstrated any powers.
Mr Redcoin: The vampire that lives in some ruins outside of town. He is also the master of a pack of wolves and commands the loyalties of a horde of rats.
Redtooth: The alpha male of the pack of wolves that serve Mr Redcoin and a cunning swordsman. Also enjoys torturing small animals.

The game begins with Summer and Kerbi heading out from her master's tower, seemingly running away from an authoritarian master. Kerbi never questions her decision, trusting his master to lead them to a better life. The two end up in the seaside town of Tidewater at a tavern. Kerbi waits outside while Summer goes inside to try to find some work for the pair of adventurers. Meanwhile outside, Kerbi is tormented by a pack of rats. Battle insues and Kerbi goes about slaughtering a dozen of the rodents. During the fight, the cat Sloat makes his appearance, slaughtering rats with great skill and scattering the remaining pests. Kerbi is unimpressed.

A bit later Summer comes out and informs Kerbi she has found work for the pair; in the meantime, he has to sleep out in the stables for the evening. During the night, Sloat returns and chats up Kerbi, informing him that he has seen the future and it calls for the pair to travel together. Kerbi dismisses the nonsense that the cat offers up until Sloat has another vision: Summer will not leave the inn until she's dead!

Kerbi storms into the inn and locates his master in a room that a man with no scent is leaving. Ignoring the man, Kerbi checks his master and finds that she is weak and smells a bit like her blood has been spilled. After gathering a few clues, scaring off the innkeeper, and getting Sloat to reluctantly agree to gaurd Summer, Kerbi heads out the next morning to an abandoned estate up the road.

A half a day's travel lands our hero at an overgrown lemon orchard overrun with rats. Kerbi sneaks through the orchard without incident, across the ruins of a garden, and up to the grounds of a burned down manor house. In the nearby woods Kerbi hears a scream and sets off to investigate. He finds some wolves torturing a rabbit strung up by some rope (Mable). He does battle with the pack, killing the lesser wolves but finds the leader, Redtooth, to be a cunning and swift foe (Kerbi lost half his hitpoints without scoring a hit of his own!). As the sun is setting, Redtooth (mercifully) abandons the battle. Kerbi rescues Mable and sets back to investigating the manor.

He finds that Redtooth and a much larger pack have gathered at the manor as the sun has set and Mr Redcoin has emerged to give instructions to his subjects. The pack heads off and the vampire turns into a bat and sets off back towards Tidewater! Kerbi gathers his remaining strength and begins the long run back to his master. Along the way, Sloat appears, burned and beaten. He tells Kerbi that Mr Redcoin returned; the cat tried to teleport Summer away but was blasted by the girl in return. Not a fan of humans anyway, Sloat has had enough of the girl already.

About this time Summer appears on the road with Mr Redcoin. Using her power to dominate her familiar, she summons Kerbi to her side and forces his obedience. Sloat vanishes and Mable remains with Kerbi.

The chapter wraps up with Kerbi and Mable spending the next few weeks gaurding the couple back at the ruins; it is implied that Summer is turning into or has already turned into a vampire while Kerbi is forced to watch and wait for the opportunity to save his master.

[BASHMAN]

This sounds like it could be a pretty cool novel!