Victor, Jok, Scar, and Mana make their way back to the city to get their rewards for killing the assassin. Unfortunately they failed to rescue the rest of bards due to Victor ripping them apart for annoying him.
Scar keeps his eye on Victor the entire way back, but Jok doesn't seem to mind, Mana skips the whole way back much like a little girl would. After arriving back at the bard academy, Jok reports to the new headmaster that the rest of the bards were dead when they arrived, but that the assassin was killed.
The headmaster thanks them as Ezekiel comes out of a nearby building with another bard. He seems to be holding something behind his back. He freezes as he locks eyes with Victor, who notices his nervous energy.
"What you got there Zeke?"
"Nothing you should worry about Victor."
"Ah huh, sure."
Victor slowly walks over to the bard with Ezekiel cracking his neck. "Hey my friend, care to have a bit of a chat really quick?"
Remembering Victor's last encounter with a defenseless bard, Scar panics and shouts the only thing he can think of.
"Hey Victor! Are you a betting man?!"
Victor stops at the thought of earning a few extra gold. He takes a drink and says, "I'm in."
Scar smiles and asks if they may borrow the school's dining hall. Victor sits opposite Jok and Ezikiel as Scar comes back with 4 mugs.
"Alright Victor here's the bet, you seem like you can hold your drink, so it'll be the three of us versus you in a drinking contest. Last man standing wins, if you win we'll give you 50 gold a piece. If we win... you owe us a favor."
Victor smiles and nods. Scar turns to go get the bottle, but Victor shoots a Shocking Bolt in front of him to stop him, and Victor reaches into his bag.
"My flask never runs out, but a client of mine paid me in a special reward."
Victor slams a bottle onto the table, the inscription on it is dwarvish and the liquid inside is as dark as the void of death. The liquid sloshes around lighter than water, but no matter how spread out it gets it remains totally black.
"This is Dwarven Black Liquor. known to kill lesser men if they drink it without the constitution to handle it. Last I tried this I was out for hours. If we are gonna go, then lets make this interesting."
The 3 men sitting opposite Victor shiver as he drops a small amount into each mug, then lifts his to call for a toast. They all lift their mugs and clank them together before downing the liquid.
Ezekiel, Scar and Jok grab their necks as a intense burn assaults their throats. Victor smiles and says,
"You think that's bad, just wait for the kick."
Scar squints and stares at Victor, "What kiiiiiiiiiiiicuuuuuu." Scar falls back, out cold. In the same instant Ezekiel face plants onto the table. That left just Victor and Jok, staring each other down, both wobbling and almost falling onto the table.
The stare down felt like eons, even thought in truth it only lasted a few seconds. Jok's bull-like resilience helps him hold his ground long enough for Victor to face plant onto the table. Jok lets out a breath of victory, then reaches over and grabs a collar out of Ezekiel's bag.
The collar looks to have bardic notes glowing on it that would make the owner control the creature they place it upon. While lifting the collar out of the bag Jok falls backward and lands on his back. He manages to barely stand up and lock eyes on his target, falling with the collar first.
Hours pass, before Jok manages to come to first once he stands his eyes go wide. He did place the collar, but not on Victor, the collar looks to be wrapped around Ezekiel's neck. Jok bounds over to Scar's side and smacks him once or twice.
After going and getting some water and dousing it onto Scar's face, the psion is up and looking around.
"Jok!? What the hell man?"
"I fucked up Scar! The charm... look."
Scar leans up and sees the collar on Ezekiel's shoulders. He begins to panic and turns back to Jok.
"Can we take it off?"
"I don't think so, would you have wanted Victor to take it off?"
"Good point, well I guess for now we just need to think of another way to safely tell Victor about Lacey"
"What about Lacey?" Says a voice from over the table. Jok and Scar slowly turn to see Victor looking at the two of them. Jok stands up and looks that the drunk before saying,
"Ask Scar, I'm out."
"WHAT!?" Shouts Scar grabbing onto Jok's tail.
"Jok, you can't just leave me."
"I said I'm out, so I'm out, good luck, was nice knowing you." And with that Jok kicks Scar off of him and exits the building. Scar beings to get up, but as he does Victor is on him from behind and grips his head by one of his horns.
"Scar, I would like to know what happened to my baby girl, please."
Scar is forcibly turned around to Victor's face. Victor's hair is sparking and his visible eye is obscured by the sparking of pure electricity.
"Um well, do you remember that drow elf that you almost killed?"
Victor nods, and the sparks leap off his eye and zap Scar slightly.
"Well Lacey... That is the drow... um... I don't know how to."
"TALK!" Shouts Victor. For a moment Victor's voice sounds indistinguishable from a blue dragon's roar. Scar closes his eyes and utters a short prayer to any god who would listen.
"You're gonna be a grandfather." Says Scar with a scared smile.
A good quarter of the city was destroyed during the aftermath of Victor learning the truth, Scar and Ezekiel fled in terror as the bard's academy was reduced to a smoldering pile of ash. Scar and Ezekiel also both agreed that since the city was doomed they should leave, with or without Jok. The two were never seen in the city again.
Victor demolished everything in his path, men, women, children, cats, dogs, birds. Nothing was safe. He had an orb of pure electric energy around him, destroying everything near him as he walked toward Reggie's Apothecary where the drow healed.
Reggie could hear the destruction from his room and looked out the window. He nodded once and walked outside toward Victor.
"Hey Victor, how can I help you?
"The Drow!"
"Stay there, I don't need my building destroyed."
Reggie walks into the building and after a moment he comes back out with the drow, who sees Victor and starts trying to back peddle.
"You!!!"
Victor points at the boy and motions for him to come closer, scared for his life the drow shakily walks over to Victor.
"You got my daughter pregnant!"
The drow drops to his knees and begins begging, "I swear, I didn't think, I don't... Please I don't want to die, I'll do anything!" Tears are streaming down his face. Victor leans in, the orb inches from the drow, and Victor's face just at the edge. Bolts fly off hitting random civilians as Victor speaks.
"You will make her the happiest wife in the entire world, or else, I will find you, and you don't want that."
The Drow nods, unable to open his eyes from how bright the electricity is.
Later at the Railem household, Jok sits with Margret, learning the secrets that she holds, as Victor, no longer encased in power, barges into the house.
"LACEY! You got a Visitor!"
Lacey walks out of her room along with Jok and Margret right behind her and Lacey looks to see her boyfriend standing with Victor.
"Dei'Quan? What are you doing here with my father?"
"Never mind that, babe."
Victor's eye sparks.
"I mean Lacey. I need to tell you something."
Dei'Quan walks forward and takes a signet ring off his hand and kneels.
"Lacey, ever since I met you, I've been in love with you, so I was hoping that you'd... like to marry me?"
Lacey's eyes go wide and her hands shoot over her mouth as she nods and hugs Dei'Quan. Victor heads outside and comes back inside with a cleric from the temple of Socca. The cleric looks absolutly terrified and under his robs he was hiding some electric burns.
"Lets get this show on the road. Timmy! Get in here, you're best man! Jok, please put Margret down next to her sister, She's Maid of Honor."
Timmy runs to the room and Jok deposits the toddler by her sister. Lacey looks at her dad and says, "Right now!? but I don't have a...dress!?"
Victor opens a floor board and hoists out a wedding dress.
"This was you mother's, back when her figure still like woman's"
"I HEARD THAT!"
"DROP DEAD! Put it on honey, Jok would you mind being the ring bearer?"
"It would be an honor." Jok takes the ring as Dei'Quan produces another similar ring from his pocket. the ceremony is performed over the rest of the day and Lacey and Dei'Quan both take up residence in the house next door, after Victor gives the home owners a bit of persuasion.
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