DnD Tales: The Adventures of Rynalla the Artificer

Session 1: The Party Officially Meets

"I have summoned you all here because I recognise that each of you possess a unique talent and I believe that all of you will become very successful in the tasks given to you from here henceforth."

"What's so special about a feral halfling?" The Half-Elf asked.

The emporer looked like he was starting to regret some of his choices for a second as he watched the Halfling try to chew on the Gem Dragonborn's leg.

"Ah. Everyone has potential, it just may take longer for some than others to realize their true worth. Does anyone have any questions?"

Without hesitation, I raised a hand. Finally, I had a chance to figure out what that damn High Elf was doing here. I didn't much care for that Topaz Dragonborn either, but I could at least tolerate him more than I could tolerate the High Elf.

"Uh, yeah. I do." I scoffed, without waiting for permission to speak as I pointed a finger rudely at the High Elf. "Why the fuck do I have to work with that?"

"Ah yes, I forgot about your... views on her kind."

No shit. I thought, annoyed. My question seemed to make the Immortal Emperor uncomfortable for a brief second.

"Becuse all of you have been chosen for your specific abilities and she's needed for your quest." He continued, having regained his composure.

Right. And I suppose the feral Halfling has a purpose to serve, too? I wanted to roll my eyes.

"And you really expect me to work with that knife-eared fucker?"

"Yes I do."

Good luck. I thought dryly.

"Since all of you will be working together, I suggest you all take this moment to fully introduce yourselves. You will be party-mates after all."

The armored emporer did have a point. The only one I knew by name was that creep Mythris, who was currently nowhere to be seen. The High Elf was the first to introduce herself.

"I'm Ophelia the Crusher. Paladin of the Earth Dragon Kullah, the Earthbringer and Princess of the High Elves."

"Blah, blah, blah." was all I heard from her. The Half-Orc was next.

"I'm Grug."

Doesn't seem very smart. I though as I eyed the Druid. Then it was my turn.

"Rynalla Onyxfang, offspring of Grimbreaker the Dark. Artificer."

After me, the Topaz Dragonborn introduced himself.

"I'm Lucifuge. Draconic Sorcerer." He said smoothly with a light bow at the waist.

Show-off. I thought with a frown as I looked him over. But he could be useful. Next to introduce himself was the Half-Elf.

"The name's Duke Aust, but you can call me Aust. World famous performing Bard and circus owner."

The Half-Elf's presence didn't really bug me. If anything, he was just an average Human with slightly pointed ears. However, I had a nagging feeling that his behavior would bug me on occasion. Then came the damn Halfling, whose presence was already causing me problems.

"I'm Diesel. I like meat."

Yep, he was definately strange. What a fucking circus. I thought to myself as I looked over my party members. The Halfling is gonna be a constant annoyance, the other Dragonborn is gonna get under my scales, and I'm going to have to keep myself from outright murdering that damn High Elf; at least for a little bit. The Half-Orc seems like he's gonna be fucking useless and the Half-Elf seems like a magnet for trouble.

"Good." The armored emporer began. "Now that we've introduced ourselves, if there anything that anyone needs- within reason, of course- to begin their journey, let me know now."

"Bullets." I replied.

I was going to need a lot of them; especially since I had to deal with that Halfling somehow.

"The bullets themselves are outside of our abilities currently, but I can provide you with the raw materials needed to make them yourself."

An attendant approached me and passed off a satchel of two pounds of iron ingots to me. Can't expect anyone else to do an Artificer's job properly- especially in this tech deprived area.

"I'd like a cool tattoo." Aust piped up. "Green and gold, for the colors of Loki."

Who the fuck was Loki? Some deity that I hadn't heard about? At Aust's request, an old Orc covered in scars and tribal tattoos came forward and motioned for the Half-Elf to follow him.

"Me too!" Diesel piped up as he chased after Aust.

After the trio disappeared for a bit, Aust came back relatively quickly, but Diesel- who was usually at his heels up until this point- was nowhere to be seen. A sudden, ear-splitting screeching that was presumably coming from the Halfling echoed off of the walls before it was abruptly cut off as the little gremelin passed out; probably from the pain of getting the tattoo.

"Oh, thank gods." Aust muttered with a sigh of relief.

"Anyone else?" The old Orc huffed as he came back.

The Topaz Dragonborn standing next to me shrugged.

"Eh, might as well get one behind one of my ears. Done in red ink."

"I have an idea. Since we're a group now, everyone has to get tramp stamps." Aust declared, much to my immediate dismay. "They have to say 'CHOZEN1'. Like 'Chosen' with a 'Z' instead of a 'S' and the one has to be the number, not the word."

What a stupid idea. I thought. We might as well walk around with a big glowing sign that says 'We're special! Please target us!' And no way in hells was I about to permanently marr my beautiful scales with some dumb, non-magical marking in the first place. I was about to voice my opposition, but the High Elf opened her mouth before I could get the chance to speak.

"I agree." Ophelia hummed as she fussed with her hair. "I'll get mine in green."

Oh fuck you, High Elf. I thought. Annoyance from being interrupted pricked at my scales.

"Uh, me too." Grug added.

You'll agree to anything, you dumb pile of rocks. I thought with an eye roll.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Lucifuge cheered. "Do it!"

"You, shut the fuck up!" I snarled at the Dragonborn. "Don't encourage this behavior!"

"Everyone." Diesel said with an unnerving grin. "Even you, Black Dragonborn."

I immediately reached for Penance with a nasty snarl as the rest of the party closed in on me.

"If any of you so much as lay a dirty little finger on me, I WILL NOT hesitate to pop a cap in someone's ass." I snapped as a thin ring of acid green began to materialize around my pupils and the sound of a gun's safety being de-activated filled the air.

Before any of them could make a move on me, a pair of green-glowing chains that were tipped with metal claws wrapped around my chest and torso and I was suddenly jerked backwards. The fuck?! I thought as I fought to free myself; unfortunately to no avail. With me restrained and unable to free myself due to the sudden feelings of fatigue and heaviness that I was starting to experience, the feral Halfling saw a chance to go after my tail and unfortunately for me, took it. He managed to successfully latch on to my tail and gnaw lightly on it for a few seconds, but his success didn't last long; as after I slammed my tail hard into ground twice, the pint-sized little demon was too dazed to hang on and he was forced to relinquish his hold on the appendage. I decided then and there that if he went after my tail again, I wouldn't hesitate to let Penance give him a good kiss or two.

"I can fucking walk!" I snarled angrily. "Let me go!"

"Nope~!" Came the smooth, flirty voice that I recognized as belonging to Mythris. "You're coming with me. We're going out on a date!"

Great.