Towers And Tieflings: ONC 2021 Longlist

1: A Quest is Bequeathed!

Author's note: I've included short explanations for fantasy/game terms at the end of this chapter.

A lithe, muscular half-elf donning studded leather and sheathed twin blades bursts out of the quaint village tavern. Her dark eyes narrow as they comb through the village in search of something specific.

Her gaze locks onto three people lounging about nearby, all of them oblivious to the pirate staring them down.

One of them, a human male, passes a few silver pieces to a dirty, barefoot child in a threadbare shift. The second watches on with a smile, respect and admiration written as clear as day across her oddly-hued face.

Their halfling companion sneaks a coin purse off a patrolling deputy. When the tiny man notices the half-elf across the cobbled path, he gives her a sneaky grin.

He's got a thing for being caught.

Rolling her eyes, the pirate half-elf suddenly bounds towards the three. "Hey guys! The bartender wants us to kill someone!"

Her outburst catches their attention, though none of the nearby townspeople spare her so much as a glance. The two males' eyes light up, but the white-robed, pink-skinned girl just frowns in confusion.

The human notices and attempts to clue the befuddled tiefling in, "This is a good thing, Orianna. It's our party's first quest!"

"Hell yeah, we finally get to kill stuff! Our hours spend in 'Character Creation' are finally over." The thieving halfling is overjoyed at the prospect, twirling a knife between his fingers with obvious glee.

"Says the guy who wound up four feet tall after skimming through the 'Rogue Recommendations'." The pirate half-elf smirks, literally looking down on her tiny companion.

"Aw, screw you, Kohl. At least I'm not practically four feet tall in real li--"

"Wait, hold up," Orianna interrupts their bickering, bringing the focus back to the quest. The occasional onlooker eyes the tiefling's odd coloring and the horns sprouting from her skull in disdain, but she remains oblivious. "Who do we have to kill?"

Three pairs of eyes turn to the half-elf, all expectant. The leather-clad pirate shifts her weight back and forth, refusing to make eye contact.

"I might've forgotten to ask that part..."

"What! Seriously, Kohl? You had one job: use your shifty pirate persona to find us an actual quest and not some crappy 'help me find my toddler' garbage like our so-called leader kept bringing back." The halfling spat, disappointed he's yet to draw blood.

The human next to him just shrugs, causing his chainmail to rustle. "I didn't realize the game would take the whole 'Holy Paladin of Azora' thing this seriously. Kinda cool when you think about it."

"No, Adam, it's not cool to be stuck with the Towers and Tieflings equivalent of a boy scout. The shady quest-givers are the only ones with serious gold, and I really wanna purchase some poison to make NPCs spasm to death."

Kohl glares at the tiny rogue. "Look Seamus, I wanna kill stuff just as much as you do. It's seriously the entire reason I'm playing a fighter. Let's just all go back in and get the rest of the information together. I'm so not cut off for handling this charisma-based stuff solo."

The party of four concurs; Kohl pulls open the large wooden door to the tavern with ease, letting Seamus and Orianna through. Adam reaches a hand out to grasp the door, gesturing for Kohl to go on ahead.

"Ladies first."

"Oh my God, Adam, you're just as boring in virtual reality as you are in real life." Kohl sticks out her tongue, meaning no serious offense, before striding into the rustic tavern and up to the bar.