A young magic user has only one special ability. When they sing, they heal those that are sick and / or injured. A powerful ability that, sadly, the greedy tend to covet. Good thing they've gentle friends to help them. -- Anon Guest
Blessed was a blood-red Tiefling. Hir eyes were pitch black, and only someone who knew hir could tell where ze was looking at any given time. Ze had wickedly spiked horns, and cruelly sharp fingers, as well as hooves that left slight scorch marks if ze wasn't paying attention. Ze also had an angelic voice capable of healing anyone who heard hir sing.
Like most people with a large and muscular frame, Blessed was a gentle soul. Soft-spoken and mild-mannered.
And every rich lout with a medical problem wanted to possess hir. They offered gold, they offered gems. They offered the best that the whole world could present. When that failed, they sent armies and mercenaries to kidnap hir. This, as you might understand, was a problem for Blessed's friends.
On the other hand, Adventurers gonna adventure.
Blessed refused to sing for the latest despotic king of wherever. The lap of luxury hadn't worked. The deepest dungeon hadn't worked. Torture was off the table because screaming would ruin hir voice. Seduction might have worked, but not after the dungeon.
Ze was currently living off forage in the King's exotic gardens. The king would stop by at least once a day and bemoan his fate. Not that it did him any good.
"I have terrible gout," he would wail. Countered by, "Eat what your peasants eat. They never have gout."
"My liver pains me," he cried. Countered by, "Stop drinking so much wine and switch to tea."
"Oh, my old bones," he would moan. Countered by, "Abdicate in favour of your heir, and go live somewhere warm."
"You hate me," he pouted and stomped like a child. "You want me to suffer, you cruel monster."
Blessed had heard better insults since hir childhood, and continued gathering nuts and berries. "You already have ways to cease your suffering. I am superfluous to your healing journey." And, as ze always said at the end of their arguments, "If I cannot sing for many, I will not sing at all."
It was at this particular point that several things happened at once. A Treant tore a hole in the wall which loaned a Centaur egress into the area. From within the Treant's branches, a Bugbear called fire and light on the offending king. And from the Centaur's back, a Halfling Wizard altered the King's fate for the worse.
The few guards loyal to the king put up something of a fight and all Blessed had to do was wait until they were done for before she sang. "Seems like forever and time left to spare/ when I looked out the window/ and still you're not there..."
"There was a band of bandits," apologised Gaarsh, the Bugbear. "Thank the Dawn Lord that you are well."
"And some truly unfortunate luck," added the Wizard, Robearts Kasm. "On our part. I couldn't change it. Will of the Cosmic Dice."
"Someone set the road on fire," rumbled Ironbark, glaring at their barbarian, Bubba Farlap.
"It stopped the bandits," countered the Centaur.
Blessed hugged each and every one of them. "I'm still glad you're here. How about a concert in the city square? I really need to help a lot of people today."
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Loraliu]
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