Akta & Meng I: The Rise Of The Tyrant
In the forgotten realms, a land that stretched as far as the material plane allowed it, there emerged two heroes tasked with figuring out a crime. The first of these two heroes was Akta, a crafty Tiefling Sorcerer who could wield the power of flame and shadow. she was renown for her cleverness and charming personality. the second hero was Meng Mei, a sneaky human rogue who could bend anyone to his will. he wielded a rapier that had cut down thousands of foes. the adventure started when, in the middle of the night, someone stole a necromancer's wand-staff, a powerful foot-long rod of steel topped with a green gem inside a skull. when Akta and Meng found out, they decided they should investigate the scene immediately. the mayor of the town was even willing to give them each five gems each worth five hundred platinum pieces. when the heroes reached the scene, they split up. Akta used her magic to try to reveal footprints. nothing. Meng tried to use what he knew about thievery to try to find ways of how they could've entered and left. after finding nothing, the heroes decided to call it a day. but, just as they were about to leave, Akta had an idea. Akta said, "I think the thieves might have been using magic. that would explain why my footprint-finding magic wasn't working" "that's why we didn't find out how they entered! they must have teleported!" said Meng. Akta got a look on her face. "I think I know who did this. unfortunately, this particular person wants me dead." silence followed. the silence was long enough to allow a raven to perch on one of Akta's horns and clean its entire body. finally, Akta said, "well, let's go to bed. even magical Tiefling Sorceresses need sleep." they then went to bed.
Dawn was breaking when Akta heard sounds of struggle outside. suddenly a blast of air slashed into the window of her room, blowing it open and leaving the air in her room smelling like a fresh breeze. Akta got up, grabbed her daggers, woke up Meng, and rushed outside. the scene was covered in thick fog, the sounds of a struggle radiating from the magical cloak of mist. Akta led the way, blasting light into the gloom. suddenly, a human militia officer stumbled out of the fog, screaming as he ran toward them. Akta caught the officer, who was sobbing desperately. Akta said, "what's happening? what's wrong?" the officer had to take several deep breaths before he could talk. "they–they killed him! Cole's dead! then it went after me and..." he sobbed harder. Akta stroked his feathery hair and said, "it's okay. you're safe." the officer shook his head. "no. no, I'm not. we aren't safe." just then, a blast of cold wind striked through the mist. Akta threw the officer at Meng, who caught him out of surprise. Akta summoned a shield of fire, and blocked the blast with ease. she then expanded the shield into a protective bubble surrounding them. Akta looked at the sobbing militia officer. she used her magic to summon a bed, then laid the militia officer on the fine silken sheets. she then used her magic to scan his body for wounds, and found none. the wind howled outside. Akta turned to face Meng, and then said, "listen to me. I'm going to tell you who broke in last night. it was an Air Genasi, a genie of the elemental plane of air. that's why we didn't find anything. wind cannot be detected." as if on cue, the air solidified into a young man made entirely of air. his lower body was a howling mass of wind. he held a polished staff of redwood oak. "well, Akta. I never thought you would live this long. I'm impressed. congratulations!" Akta gritted her teeth. "get out of this city, Galestorm. I told you you would never be welcome." Galestorm just laughed. "I told you, this city was destined to be destroyed by the ravages of wind. that time is now!" he spread his arms, and Akta's shield dissipated.
Akta swung her quarterstaff at Galestorm, but the wind genie just turned into air, then solidified again. wind howled around her, but she didn't care. then she casted fireball. the genie stumbled back. Akta shouted over the wind, "guys, fire is his weakness!" she then hurled a mote of shadow at him, and he was knocked over. "Also shadow!" she yelled. Meng drew his shadow rapier, and started fencing with the wind. Akta heard the sound of a weapon being drawn, and the militia officer's halberd wizzed over her head. the wind spirit was caught off guard, so the officer's axe blade hit him. he stumbled, which gave Akta just enough time to smack him with her quarterstaff. Galestorm's hand surged with electricity. Akta had seen this happen before. "Duck!" she yelled, and dove for cover as the lightning bolt surged past her. everyone was fortunate enough not to be hit. the lightning bolt blasted into the sky. Galestorm dissipated into the wind. the air was deathly still. then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him materializing behind Meng. fortunately, the militia officer was fast enough to stab Galestorm with the point of his halberd. the wind spirit stumbled, light blue blood now dropping from a wound in his gut. then, in a glorious streak of luck, the wind spirit's legs solidified, allowing him to trip over a rock in his trajectory. then, seeing an opportunity, Meng slashed down, and Galestorm was no more. as his body dissipated into the wind, it dropped a wand-staff made of steel with a skull encasing a green gemstone. they had found the necromancer's wand! Akta and Meng had not only solved the mystery, but they had defeated an evil wind spirit in the process. Akta and Meng were painted in the stars, knowing that they had solved the quest and saved Luskan. and the militia officer, whose name was Feathers, was a part of their party forever after.