Chapter 2

**Significant plot details follow** - peruse at your own risk, lest your game experience be ruined.

Below here is the plot synopsis for Chapter 2 of Temptation's Ballad, titled **"Vulnerability and Risk"**. The intention for this synopsis is for it to function as a basic overview of the events that occur in the story for one to refer to if they a) haven't read the story in a while and want to refresh their memory, or b) are just trying to remind themselves of some of the broader details and events that have happened (think spark notes). This should not serve as a replacement for reading the story yourself, as reading the story will provide a more complete and nuanced experience of the events that occur.

## Summary

Cole has a nightmare recalling his first experience training to be a strong warrior like his father, Marrow. However, due to his frail pre-disposition, it is discovered that he will never be able to become such a strong and able-bodied fighter. Hamish, Cole's other father, attempt to comfort him, but is only met with bitter and angry remarks from an upset Cole, straining their relationships.

Waking up from his dream, a voice beckons Cole to form a pact with him. Once Cole comes to his senses, he realizes that the voice is coming from a puny snake, Malus, the temptation demon that had taken the form of a ruby to disguise himself. Cole is disinterested in the pact, but Malus forms a soul bond with him which causes the two to share each other's pain and sensations, essentially forcing the hyena to keep him around.

Going out, Cole meets with Artemi, who had spent pretty much all night investigating for information about the missing rubies. Convincing her to take a break, they share a peaceful moment at a nearby cafe before Grand Bishop Katrina spots them and begins badgering her daughter to get back to work. Cole chases her away with a practical joke before the two meet up with Sidd.

The three go to the Mercenary guild, only to find that Marrow is not yet ready to give his new friends their promised training lesson, so instead they go to Sidd's house at the Sparrow's Roost Inn and Bar. There, they meet Ilia and Rennet Shrikewood, a lovely married couple who takes very good care of Sidd. The party enjoy a pleasant meal and conversation before heading back to the Bonebreaker guild.

Once returned, Marrow spars with Sidd and Artemi, gifting Sidd the powerful Lanius, a shapeshifting halberd, in the process. After Marrow gives his assessment of Cole's new companions, Hamish details some of his observations and provides the party with next steps as to what they should look into.

They visit the church, meeting Grank. It is discovered that the late King and Queen both died, leaving Cassius, the prince, to be the next heir. Additionally, it's noted that Grank, who gave Artemi the delivery mission, may have had his mind tampered with through the use of [Suggestion].

They visit the Sheriff's office, discovering that recently here have been mysterious fainting spells occurring all over Axia.

They visit Sol's Arcane Curiosities, discovering that Clyde is now employed there. Sidd and Artemi apologize to him for the destruction, and later, Cole, through the use of disguises and trickery, convinces Clyde, the creator of the Lanius, to train Sidd on how to wield it.

They visit the Adventurer's Guild, so that Cole can register their group as a party. They also learn of the jousting tournament and the Firefly festival brawl, and consider participating to reap the rewards for winning.

They visit the Bonebreaker Mercenary guild. Artemi tells Marrow that he should have a heart to heart with Cole and suggests not smothering him so much with affection and being more honest with him. Cole, learning that Sidd never learned how to read, teaches him in the Bonebreaker Library.

Once the day is finally over, Cole returns to the Bonebreaker Guild alone, to find that only his Dad is present. The two share a heartfelt discussion where Marrow urges Cole to be kinder to Hamish. Cole reluctantly agrees to try, and though he feels guilty about it, fails to confess to Marrow about his magical abilities, fearful that the magic hating Marrow would hate him for it.

## Plot

### Cole's Nightmare and Meeting Malus

During the night after the newly formed trio's first adventure, a sinister voice speaks to Cole. In their attempt to weaken his mental fortitude, they use [Detect Thoughts] to peer into some of Cole's saddest memories.

Cole is pulled into a sad dream where he is forced to recall the memory in which he learned he would never be able to be a warrior like his papa, Marrow Bonebreaker. Ready for his very first weapon's training session, Hamish led a young and excited Cole into a sparring room to pick out his first weapon. Cole had picked a great-axe, like is father, but was completely unable to lift it. After downsizing to several smaller weapons, he finally settled on a small throwing axe, as that was the only one he could easily wield... though it still felt rather heavy. He trained for about an hour until he collapsed on the floor in tears, writing in pain and soreness from relatively light training procedures and drills. Hamish rushed him to the nearest Healers, where he was informed that he would make a swift recovery, but that his body was unusually frail and that he should avoid such strenuous exercises in the future, shattering his chances of becoming a strong and burly fighter. Hamish tried to comfort an upset Cole, only to be forced to bear the full brunt of his despair and rage as he lashed out at the older hyena.

Once the memory is done being recalled, the mysterious voice beckons Cole to make a pact with him. Cole is hesistant, but before he could make a decision, a sharp noise from the Bonebreaker ~~tavern~~ guild building jolted him awake. Gathering his thoughts, he soon notices that the mysterious voice was actually a tiny ball python, who identifies himself as the Great Temptation Demon Malus and the true form of the ruby that Cole had stolen in the previous chapter. Upon learning of his intentions to explore the Material Plane and absorb the negative emotions from the people therein, Cole attempts to get rid of him, only to be afflicted with a sort of lifelink-esque enchantment by Malus, connecting their senses together. As Cole is no longer able to harm Malus without feeling the same pain himself, he begrudgingly allows Malus to accompany him in his activities today as he prepares to leave to meet up with Sidd.

### Gathering the Crew again

In Town Square, Cole is exasperatedly introducing Malus to the various buildings and social concepts before Malus spots an exhausted Artemi running from door to door in a tired panic. Cole catches up with her only to discover that she worked all the way into the morning attempting to track down the missing rubies by going door to door and attempting to talk to civilians.. with little success. Cole convinces her to take a short break at a nearby café, and offers to help her search for the missing rubies with Sidd. They chat briefly and play some card games (which Cole cheats at, unsurprisingly) before an infuriated Katrina storms into the café, berating her for her laziness and scolding her for keeping such poor company when Cole defends her actions. While Artemi is initially shy and apologetic about slacking off, she is quick to stand up for Cole, regarding him as a decent man, simultaneously talking back to her mother for the first time in her life. Before the bishop can snap back, Cole uses illusion magic to humiliate Katrina in front of the patrons of the café, prompting her to quickly leave in an embarrassed huff before Sidd finally comes along and joins the party. The three proceed to head to the Bonebreakers guild building.

After arriving, Cole takes a moment to ask about papa among the rest of the mercenaries, only to discover that he and Hamish are doing the nasty. An irritated Cole marches up to the supply closets and busts open the door on the two of them, completely unfazed by their naughty acts. Hamish, who was trying to simultaneously convince Marrow to have a sincere heart to heart with his son while they were doing it, buries his face in his arms in shame while Marrow warmly greets his son. Cole asks when the sparring room will be ready for Sidd's first training, and a surprised and forgetful Marrow asks them to come back in an hour, once Marrow has finished setting up the training area. Thus, a tired Cole heads back downstairs and drags his lackeys to Sidd's house instead, suddenly needing an extra hour to kill before being able to train the fresh badger recruit.

### Meeting the Shrikewoods

At the Sparrow's Roost Inn & Tavern, Cole is shocked to find the patrons and employees behaving amicably and peacefully with little/no rowdiness. Ilia and Rennet Shrikewood come downstairs to greet the new party upon hearing a vase shatter, caused by Artemi, who apologizes profusely. Ilia thinks nothing of it and mends the vase, impressing a magic-deprived Cole. Ilia promises to teach him some bardic magic, recognizing him as a fellow bard-and Cole reluctantly accepts, still wanting to hide his magical talents to the best of his abilities. The group then goes upstairs to have a meal together. Cole is enamoured with the food, as is Malus, who is at this point regarded by everyone who encounters him as a pet. They are particularly enraptured by the delicious Cheesy Bread, baked by Ilia with cheese made by Rennet. Ilia then shares a heart to heart with each of Cole, Artemi, and Sidd.

#### Cole

Ilia teaches Cole [Mage Hand], and encourages him to be more open with his magical abilities, offering to have a stern talk with Marrow if he would like. An unconfident Cole is reluctant to accept that offer, but he does express interest in coming back more often to receive more magic lessons from her.

#### Artemi

Artemi expresses surprise at what a supportive and kind mother Ilia is, asking if this was normal among families. A concerned Ilia responds that ideally it should be normal, but does relate her own experience of not having a great mother during her own childhood. She commends Artemi for finally standing up to her mother for the first time, and lets her know that she is welcome at the Sparrow's Roost at any time.

#### Sidd

After spending some time doting on Sidd, she encourages him to try forming a relationship with one of his new party members, first Artemi, then Cole. when Cole is mentioned, he has a strong homophobic reaction, which raises some concern from Ilia. Sidd admits that in his childhood, he was regularly bullied for eyeing men. Ilia shows sympathy for him, letting him know that she and Rennet would be supportive of him no matter who he chooses to love, before breaking a glass bottle and flying into a rage, wanting to seek out the children who bullied Sidd and put them in their place.

### Sparring with Marrow

After a pleasant lunch, Cole's adventuring group make their way back to the Bonebreaker Guild Building, with Marrow finally ready to train Sidd for the first time. After a very over-the-top introduction from Marrow which nearly broke down the door of the building (much to Hamish's frustration), Marrow drags Sidd to the sparring room while Hamish brings Cole and Artemi along to give them a tour of the mercenary building.

Marrow picks out a great-axe for Sidd to wield, but Sidd, with his monstrous strength, finds it to be too light. In his search for another weapon to offer to Sidd, he rests his gaze on the ridiculously heavy 'Lanius' and offers it to Sidd, who finds it perfect to wield. Marrow quickly briefs him on the shapeshifting properties of the 'Lanius' before suddenly charging at him and forcing him into combat. A surprised Sidd desperately attempts to fend off the onslaught, but is quickly pushed back and is constantly on the defensive.

Hamish finish up touring Artemi around the building, finally arriving at the sparring room just in time to see Sidd slam into the wall of the training area. Sidd gets bashed around a bit more before finally crumpling to the floor, needing a rest. Marrow praises Sidd for his endurance and natural talent, but notes that he is a bit clumsy and needs more practical experience. Marrow and Hamish then flirt for a bit before Artemi compliments their relationship. A perceptive Hamish then notes that Artemi has appeared rather miserable during the tour, prompting a brief monologue about her family situation and the stress she faces from her mother, and how it is unlike all of the families she has seen thus far, beating herself up for her inadequacies. Marrow kneels down at her level before engaging her in impromptu combat, declaring that he would never allow anyone to talk down to him in the way that she just did to herself. With his hardheaded brand of encouragement, he raises her spirits, riling her up to a 1 on 1 duel with him. After easily dodging her telegraphed attacks that she learned from her knightly training, a frustrated Artemi attempts to turn the tables with a [Divine Smite]. Marrow, however, easily dispels the lightning properties of the attack by swinging at it with the 'Vox Soror', his trusty great-axe, capable of dispelling magic on contact.

A surprised Artemi gets kicked down and disarmed by Marrow and taunted for her use of magic until the enraged knight surprises him with a flying fist to the face, and teeth sunk into his arms, prompting Hamish to break-up the duel. Artemi, coming to her senses shortly thereafter, attempts to apologize for her improper sparring etiquette, to which Marrow bursts into joyous laughter, thankful for one of the best sparring matches he's had in years. Sidd and Artemi head downstairs to take a quick break, gaining even more praise from the rest of the mercenaries, particularly towards Artemi for her sheer audacity-though Sidd does receive some encouragement himself. Sidd, comparing his results to Artemi, becomes very discouraged and envious, and loses faith in himself.

Meanwhile, Cole and Marrow chat briefly to discuss his new crew. Marrow praises Cole's choice of companions, noting Sidd to be a reliable, if not slightly spineless ally who will always have your back, and describing Artemi as a strong-willed fighter with a great deal of natural power.. though he does warn Cole to watch out for her latent wrath that is bubbling beneath the surface. When Cole asked how Marrow handles his own battle rage, he professes his love for Hamish, and explains that it was him that tamed Marrow into a better man, much to Cole's disbelief and displeasure. As if on Cue, Hamish arrives to speak with Cole as well.

### Plans to Find the Missing Rubies

Hamish has a stern talk with Cole, acknowledging the young hyena as a leader, and asserting that he will need to begin to take the responsibility that is required of one. When Cole begins to assert that he has done a good job thus far, Hamish immediately points to the one of the rubies that Cole has stolen and kept secret from his party members. While Hamish has no intentions of selling him out, he urges Cole to be honest with his party members, and not screw them over in the same way he did to Clyde. A bitter Cole pushed on the defensive lashes out at Hamish in response, not wanting to acknowledge his sound advice, which Hamish takes wordlessly before gathering the rest of the party members to brief them on the mission to find the "4" missing rubies.

Once the others have arrived, Hamish pulls up a map of Axia and asks Cole what he can deduce from the events of yesterday, deductive skills being a key requirement of a leader. Cole, rising to the challenge, infers that the cloaked figure is spellcaster, likely a wizard, hailing from royalty. He also points out their rather scrawny build, standing at 5'10", and pins them as an Axian native, as they were keen on the whereabouts of Clyde's underground fighting ring. his Lackeys and Hamish are impressed with his deductive skills, though Hamish has some details to add of his own. He calls into question why Artemi was suddenly charged with the task to deliver the obsidian crown, as well as how the Cloaked figure even knew that the crown and rubies would be present at the fighting ring in the first place, and warns the party that there is something suspicious going on underneath the surface. With all this information, he urges the group to rest up to prepare for the Firefly Festival, which will likely be an easy way to gather more information about the rubies, and also explore more of the town today, if possible.

### Exploring Town

#### **Marauder's District**

##### Adventurer's Guild

The party heads to the Adventurer's guild, so that Cole can fill out some paperwork concerning the party. They encounter Val, who, as usual, has unpleasant things to say about Cole, but also suggests that Sidd enter the Firefly Festival Brawl. Upon learning that Artemi plans to attend the Jousting tournament, Sidd is convinced to enter the brawl as well, as victory likely means a chance to speak with nobles and learn more about the rubies and crown. Val gives Cole one more warning about his cowardice, pointedly asserting that incompetent leaders will quickly be replaced.

##### Bonebreaker Mercenary Guild

###### Bonebreaker Library

Finishing up the tour of the Bonebreaker Guild Building, Cole directs them to the Bonebreaker Library. Artemi immediately shows interest in the adult section, which Cole advises against. Artemi, determined and offended, goes to the section against his warnings to peruse its contents, only to later be shocked, then disgusted, then intrigued, then finally obsessed with the contents of the various 18+ smut novels.

Meanwhile, Cole turns to Sidd and informs him that he discovered the fan-mail he had written to Marrow long ago, and opens it up to read it despite Sidd's objections. He discovers that Sidd's handwriting and written language skills are atrocious, with frequent misspellings and even sentences and words being repeated and in the wrong places. Sidd admits that he has difficulty reading, with small words giving him a headache, and Sidd occasionally perceiving words as getting up and moving around when he focuses too hard, classic signs of Dyslexia. Cole offers to help teach Sidd how to read, ending in a heartwarming scene in which Cole brings one of his favorite childhood books to life for Sidd by using his illusion magic to make the text more legible, and to animate the illustrations shown on the page.

###### Library - Battle Strategies Section

Cole opens a book titled "Class Details: The Player's Handbook 5th Edition" and studies the available classes in the book, to learn about the enemies they may face ahead. There is also some brief banter between Cole and Malus, as well as a brief exposition into the Locust Famine, in which a swarm of rampaging locusts claimed the lives of many farmers in the Exterior Farmlands and nearly endangered the food supply of Axia.

###### Tavern Lobby

Marrow pulls Artemi aside for a brief talk. He asks her about Cole, and how he regards him. Artemi notes that Cole is a great leader, and that he very much looks up to his Papa. However, she also stresses that due to this love, he often compromises his own self to please him, and that it would be best if the two had an intimate conversation to get their true feelings out into the open.

###### Supply Closet (NSFW)

Cole introduces Sidd to the supply closets, and noticing his curiosity, invites him to finally explore his sexuality for the first time. The two share an intimate sex scene in one of the closets available, with Cole directing the action and pleasuring Sidd to the best of his abilities. Once it is over, Sidd offers to return the favor, but Cole declines, insisting that this experience was for Sidd.. and that Sidd already looks way too tired to reciprocate anyway.

Before the scene ends, Sidd asks Cole what this experience means for their relationship, and Cole lets him know gently but firmly that he is not interested in a romantic relationship with Sidd, and that if he has romantic desires, he should take them elsewhere- asserting that Cole himself has tried intimate relationships in the past and failed miserably, and that Sidd deserves someone better.

#### **Market District**

##### Sol's Arcane Curiosities

Sidd and Artemi reluctantly enter the store to apologize for the wanton destruction they caused yesterday. Cole is conspicuously absent, refusing to make an appearance. To their surprise, Clyde is there in Sol's place, and they learn that Sol had a heart attack at the time of the incident and is since recovering at the infirmary, requiring a shopkeeper to work in his stead (in this case, Clyde). During their stay, Clyde shares the story of how he originally wanted to become a Blacksmith, and his relationship as former lovers with Cole. He describes his dreams of producing the greatest masterworks Axia has ever seen, his difficulty in finding the rare metals required to forge them, and Cole's generosity in procuring the needed materials just as Clyde was about to give up on his goals. After he produced the legendary 'Lanius' and 'Vox Soror', it was discovered that the acquired materials belonged to a royal family which Cole had stolen from. After they filed excessive complaints to the guild, they banished Clyde from the Blacksmithing Guild and blacklisted him. Clyde admits that his time spent in illegal and shady practices were merely a means to acquire the money needed to buy his own forge, but that now he will not be able achieve his goals through those means either. He remains vigilant though, expressing that his dream will never die, no matter the setbacks.

Once Sidd and Artemi take their leave, Sidd actually returns briefly, to ask Clyde to teach him how to use the 'Lanius', which Clyde accepts cheerfully.

Strangely enough, Once Sidd leaves the building, Clyde comes running out after him and Artemi, offering to teach Sidd how to wield the 'Lanius'. Sidd, seeming to have just forgotten the previous conversation, excitedly accepts the offer and looks forward to visiting the shop tomorrow. before Clyde leaves.

In truth, the Sidd and Clyde which approached the other party were both Cole assuming their visage with the [Disguise Self] spell. Malus questions his intentions by not simply arranging the training as himself, to which Cole responds that doing so would have only been met with suspicion and distrust.

##### City Watch - Sheriff's Office

A tired Wes is greeted with a Cole smiling at him from under his desk, resting between his legs. The shocked and slightly aroused Coyote is surprised before weakly trying to throw the hyena out. Cole however, makes himself comfortable in Wes' lap as he browses the documents on his table and asks him about recent events in the city. Notably, he learns about the strange fainting spells happening around town, with residents randomly fainting as if they had the life drained out of them, only to recover without issues the next day. Cole also asks about Emil's whereabouts, but Wes indicates that he couldn't possibly know where every street urchin is and suggests that he simply walk through the Firefly Festival stalls tomorrow, as many of the vagrants around often beg for scraps during that time. A thankful Cole continues flirting with Wes only to be answered by being thrown out of the office.

#### **Church District**

Cole, Sidd, and Artemi, enter the Grand Cathedral and meet with Grank Stormborne, who is happy to make their acquaintance as the party asks him questions about the crown and missing rubies.

Introducing themselves to Grank, the polar bear reminisces over his prior experiences with the Bonebreaker mercenary company, noting Hamish to be a truly cunning threat who spun circles around the holy knights. He also encourages Sidd, citing that he too, came from humble origins and still eventually rose to the status of Knight Commander, and insisting that Sidd has great things ahead of him.

When Cole asks why Grank pushed the delivery mission unto Artemi, he says he did so to encourage Artemi to finally get out of the Church district and spread her wings-and that he also did so to annoy Katrina, as he is want to do. He also notes that Cassius expressed interest in meeting the Chosen One, which may also have influenced his decision. Cole steps aside momentarily to have Malus use [Ghostly Gaze] on Grank, discovering that traces of the [Suggestion] spell may have been cast. This may have been responsible for influencing Grank's decision.

Cole asks about the Crown itself, pondering why any king would want a crown that looks so gloomy and evil. Grank informs them that the Crown was commissioned by King Roderick, and that he doesn't know much about the intentions behind the decision. He only vaguely knows that the crown has some special magical properties, but not of any specifics relating to it.

Cole asks about Prince Cassius, who Grank describes as a shy and anxious prince, his insecurities having been recently exacerbated with the death of his father and mother, the king and queen. When asked about their deaths, Grank states that the mother died from a fatal illness that was being fended off for years thanks to the king's arcane research, and that presumably, a grief stricken father and husband died shortly thereafter from malnutrition and fatigue.

Grank, sensing Cole's suspicious glances, dismisses Artemi and Sidd briefly to speak with him in private. Cole admits that he is fairly suspicious of Grank, indicating his surname to be more of a given title than a true surname, and finding rags to riches stories and heroes to be quite uncommon for the church. Amused and impressed by Cole's perceptiveness, Grank shares his story about how he was born a street rat, and grew into a criminal, only to be caught and sentenced to death by City Watch officials. On the day of his execution, he was bathed in the Creator's warmth, burning the rope which wrapped around his neck, and healing all of his wounds and bruises. The church, in a panic, ultimately decided to make Grank into a Holy Knight and cover up the scandal of a criminal being blessed in holy flames. Now a knight, Grank slowly worked his way up the ranks, eventually earning his position as Knight Commander with his strength and prowess. Before Cole and friends leave, Grank asks Cole to look out for Artemi, as Grank seems to truly care about and want the best for her. A guilty and reluctant Cole eventually accepts his request, having already been pestered by many others to do the same for his party members.

### After the Day's events

Back at the Bonebreaker Mercenary Guild, Cole returns home to a surprisingly quiet tavern, his party members having gone home themselves. Marrow is found cleaning up, much to Cole's surprise, and he lets the young hyena know that most of the mercenaries have been recruited for bodyguard missions due to the fainting spells cropping up, and the upcoming Firefly Festival.

Marrow brings his son aside to have a heart to heart, where he shares that he is not proud of the father he has become. Cole protests, but Marrow insists that he has been unable to be the fatherly influence that Cole has desperately needed in his life, only being a "fun dad" and "jokester" who has won all of Cole's love and affection. He admits that Hamish, in contrast, is the father who taught Cole all the important lessons he needed to learn growing up, and has been forced to bear the full brunt of Cole's bitterness and resentment, anger which ought to be occasionally directed towards Marrow himself. Admitting himself to be a coward, Marrow asks that Cole be nicer to Hamish, as he was, and still is still a sensitive soul who deserves some kindness. He also asks that his son be more honest with his dads, reassuring him that he can share whatever he wants with his Papa and Hamish, and that they will not judge. Cole reluctantly agrees to be nicer to Hamish, but finds himself unable to open up about magic to his father, still being too afraid of the consequences of doing so.

**End of Chapter 2.**

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