Dundee

## Appearances

### Appears in:

Season 3; A slightly colder day; Midnight Doom;The Mates Investigate Koruthar's Capital

## "Can you give me a cookie." - Dundee to Edgar

### History

Dundee was born in the Yiffian Jungles. His mother never returned to the nest after laying and so Dundee had to fight for survival since the very beginning, even going so far as to eat his brothers after hatching just so he wouldn’t starve. The constant fighting turned Dundee into an apex predator, growing larger than most of his Thersaura brethren. At the age of 10 he was found by an Idealany Swarm member. Upon seeing the might of such a young specimen, the elven man took Dundee to the Guild, where they experimented on him, enhancing his already impressive physical might. The experiments also gave him four additional tentacles that sprout from his back. The name of the elven man was Reinhard, and Dundee came to see the man as his savior from a life of savagery.

For eight years the guild kept him, continuing their experiments and training him into a fearless warrior, although, deep down, Dundee revealed himself a gentle soul, driven to savagery by his upbringing. After eight years, the guild finally set him free in the world to gather specimens for study.

Although Dundee stills keeps his task in mind, he is found often distracted by the promise of coin, food, or a good fight…

It has been 9 years since Dundee set out on his mission. In that time he made dealings with the mafia, meeting one of his longtime friends Al Cagobo and spending some time as part of a mercenary group called the Mates. He also spent some time as a part of Ladtown Mafia (or "police", as you might hear some call it), but he quickly got bored and set out in finding a new adventure, maybe as part of a new mercenary group that the LADS are gathering?

#### The Mates

##### The midnight doom

The Mates were invited to feast after they helped a town with a demon problem. During the feast, as the clock struck midnight, something fell from the sky that destroyed the town and killed the Mates. However, they awakened that same morning with all the memories of the events of that day. They then tried to stop the destruction of the town by the mysterious object. They died many times, always returning to the beginning of the day. After some time, they found their way to the catacombs beneath the town. There they found a fallen chained angel, presumably the source of the object that fell from the sky. The Mates fought it and killed it, saving the town. After the defeat of the angel, Kairos himself showed up to tell them it was he who gave them the power to return after death to save everyone.

##### The Slightly Colder Day

Once agains the Mates are called this time they must free a prince from his curse. To do this they enter his mind and fight trough the curse until they reach what they think is the causer of it. After defeating the supposed causer of the curse, to which Dundee dealt the killing blow, they discover it was actually the last of the prince's willpower to resist the curse. The mates have now to face the empowered cursed causer, which they ultimately defeat, saving the prince.

##### Scout of the capital

The Mates are called by the Lads themselves to investigate the former capital of the empire and to see if it is still overrun by the frogs. During the trip, they discover that bands of mercenaries prey on anyone who doesn't have a "Lad Permit" and tries to establish a settlement. They face off against the Shadow Demons, and find an settlement that is attacked by these demons. They return to Ladtown after reporting that the capital is indeed overrun. After these events, Dundee is left with a sour taste in his mouth against the Lads.

#### Millefiore family

After the Mates disbanded, Dundee decided to stay in Ladtown and became a part of the Millefiore family, as he already had dealings with them. During this time he came to understand the Lads' rules and laws better and the sour taste left in his mouth after the Capital mission slowly vanished. Although he was paid well, Dundee quickly grew bored and sought adventure. That's when he heard of the Trials for team Vulcan.

#### Team Vulcan

##### The trials

Dundee attended the team Vulcan trials along with many others, the trials consisted of:

* The question on why they wanted to join team Vulcan, to which Dundee answered: "Because i want to be a hero and do good."
* A gambling table, where the dealer was cheating. However, Dundee did not notice he was cheating and got really confused when Baltus turned the table.
* A test of might, where they should hit a doll with maximum strength. Dundee's doll was obliterated by his hammer.
* A talent show, where he showed his ability to talk to animals and make them do tricks.
* A punch from Gareth to see if they had mettle, a punch Dundee barely withstood.

After the trials, Dundee and the people he met there - Kichirô, Edgar, Baltus and Kalius - waited to see if they where the chosen ones, which they where, officializing the birth of Team Vulcan.

##### Search for Tops

After the officialization of Team Vulcan, the new members where shown to their new head quarters. The Team Vulcan house is a big 5-roomed house with a pool, gym, and even a secret prison. When it came time to choose rooms Dundee immediately choose the one nearest to the Kitchen so he could smell the food every morning. The house also came included with a maid of sorts called Lorelei. She was to cook, clean and take care of the house, although she made it clear she was not their servant. Although Lorelei can be condescending at times, Dundee truly likes her, as her cooking is phenomenal and she cooks for Dundee every time he asks.

Not long after Team Vulcan got settled in their new house, their first mission came trough. Wuscas Muscas, a Lads representative, came to the house to ask Team Vulcan to search for a girl. This girl had been missing for a week and the guards could not find her. All the information Wuscas gave them was that the girl was named Tops, had blond hair, a slutty green dress, and glasses. Not much to go on, but Team Vulcan got to work. They headed to town and soon their investigation led them to the "Secs district" where apparently Tops worked. With the help of the Sailor Girls, Team Vulcan found the Sailor girl that knew where Tops was, but she was doing drugs with Jet Set and in no condition to help them. Dundee wished to try the drug as it said it would make him stronger but the rest of the Team Vulcan discouraged him from purchasing it.

They then decided to go from establishment to establishment to try and locate Tops. This would come to be a traumatic event, mainly for Edgar, who saw things that even today haunt his mind. While Team Vulcan searched for Tops, Edgar conducted a separate search for the "clitoris", much to the dismay of Kichirô, who could not believe that a certified physician did not know what a clitoris was.

After many tribulations they found Tops, but, before they could do anything, Team Vulcan was attacked and a battle unfolded. There was a lot of smoke and a giant man, but in the end Team Vulcan emerged victorious, getting custody of Tops and capturing Geopolitical and Penumbra. In the mist of the battle the adult workers were scared and many fled, but one of them - Owa Betsy - charged in and unfortunately tackled Kichirô. Seeing such a brave act from a woman, Dundee became infatuated with Owa Betsy.

Going back to the house with their prisoners and Tops, they found the door slightly ajar and traces of dog footprints heading into the house. Thanks to Dundee's thermosense, he was able to locate the intruder, a dog, which tried to escape immediately after being discovered. Thanks to Dundee, he was caught. Using Dundee's, Edgar's and Baltus's abilities to speak to animals, team Vulcan found that the dog was trying to free Geopolitical and Penumbra. They then imprisoned the dog, which was named Catastrophy.

Team Vulcan tried to extract any further information out of the prisoners, but to no avail.

Later that day, one of the Sailor girls came to tell Team Vulcan that the news were being relayed soon, and as an official Ladian task force they were expected to attend. They left the house, leaving two guards to look after the prisoners.

Back in the town center, the news of the week were relayed. Besides the casual announcements, there was also the news of a civil war going on in the Heavenly Kingdom of Man, a war in which the Lads had decided not to participate. After the news, Team Vulcan returned to the house, only to find a gruesome scene. The guards they had left to watch the prisoners were dead, but the prisoners were still in the cages. Using his thermosense, Dundee located a heat signature in one of the boxes. Opening it, he found a beautiful woman inside. She immediately attacked, but Team Vulcan was quick to subdue her. After interrogating this woman, they discovered her name was Aelita and she was the "whore boss" that came to get revenge on the people who took Tops. Team Vulcan was able to assure her that they desired no harm to Tops. The plot thickened, however, when Wuscas Muscas appeared once again to introduce Infinite to Team Vulcan.

##### THE BEACON

Infinite was apparently Geopolitical and Penumbra's boss. After some misunderstandings he was able to explain that he and his subordinates were from another planet and victims of an intergalactic war. The opposing faction had come to this planet in search of a mighty weapon that ravaged Infinite's home planet. This weapon would arrive at the Beacon, and only Tops knew the location of the Beacon. However, there was an issue: Tops had amnesia, and only remembered things from a week ago, therefore having no idea where the beacon was. Team Vulcan and Infinite discussed what they should do. Infinite was against telling the Lads about the Beacon, as there were spies everywhere and the fewer people knew the better. Team Vulcan felt like this was above their level, however. By the end, they decided to keep Tops and Aelita in the house to avoid the information leaking, and to help Infinite find this weapon and then relay its location to the Lads for them to destroy it.

As they where closing the deal, one of the sailor girls barged into the house to tell Team Vulcan that they were needed, as an invasion happening in the beach.

##### Aquitar Tribe Invasion on the Ladian Empire

As they arrived on the beach, they found it already brimming with activity. Soldiers and marines ran around preparing the beach for the invasion while the comanders shouted orders. Team Vulcan also helped, with Dundee throwing inflammable barrels into the ocean while Kichirô made spiked walls along the beach. All the while, some ships aproached the beach. When the ships came too close, Dundee used his bow to set the barrels aflame, taking down at least two ships in the process. However, the invading force was great, and some ships arrived and managed to land on the beach. One of the first ships to land crashed onto one of the harbor's catwalks. To stop them from disembarking, Dundee threw Kalius up into the catwalk, where he alone faced the ship's crew and came out victorious.

Back in the beach, Dundee was surrounded by enemies, swinging his hammer left and right, but taking many hits. Edgar fought in the beach with him, but was also overwhelmed, although no enemy could hit him due to his armor. While amidst the battle, Kalius jumped from the catwalk to join the battle on the beach. At this point Dundee took a hard hit and went down unconscious. Kichirô also went down. Seeing this, Kalius cast an electrity spell on the water, incapacitating many enemies, but also going down himself. Fortunately, Edgar acted quickly, casting a healing spell and healing Dundee, Kichirô and Kalius.

Now back in the battle, Dundee saw with his heat vision someone invisible and chased after them. Unfortunately this separated him from the rest of the team. Focused on catching the invisible enemies, Dundee did not realize that the rest of the team was in trouble. A mage was using a combination of wind spells and Fireball to inflict serious damage upon Team Vulcan. When Dundee noticed this, it was too late. Kalius went down once again, Edgar was far away as well, and was unable to reach their downed ally. Dundee ran to Kalius as fast as he could but he was not fast enough, and when he reached him the young Tiefling was already dead. Blinded by the rage of losing an ally, Dundee ran after the remaining enemies, stepping on the throat of a downded one as he ran.

The battle ended soon after. Unable to let a friend go, and crushed by the guilt of not being there in time to save him, Dundee took Kalius's body in his arms and ran back into Ladtown, hoping to find a way to bring him back to life.

##### Doctor Appledoor

In Ladtown the Vulcan Team asked around for someone who could bring their friend back to life, being eventually directed to a shady woman known as Doctor Appledoor. They met this woman and she told them it could be done, but it would cost them. The price would be 8000 gold pieces, which was much more than any of them had. Then a deal was struck. She was to bring Kalius back and for each mission Team Vulcan did, they would give her 20% of the earnings until the debt was fully paid. Doctor Appledoor agreed and brought Kalius back. Dundee was relieved to have Kalius back and the rest of Team Vulcan was also happy.

##### Mass Corpse Robery of 539HE

After the grievous battle they returned home to rest, as all of them had sustained injuries. Dundee got a cut over his left eye, which left a scar. The next day the Vulcan Team was once again visited my Wuscas Muscas, who told them that there would be a memorial for the ones who died at the beach and that they were expected to attend. Of course, Team Vulcan agreed and went to the memorial.

The memorial took place in the cemetery that was outside Ladtown. After some words from the Pontiff, the carts carrying the bodies of the deceased started arriving. However, these carts where empty.

Panic immediately set in, with people shouting and demanding the bodies of their loved ones. Wuscas Muscas was also panicking, saying that the Lads would kill him. Dundee tried to calm the populace but to no avail. Then, Koltar arrived. His voice echoed trough the air like we has inside an auditorium, and the people were calmed and returned home. Koltar then spoke directly to the Vulcan Team, urging them to find the culprit behind the disappearance of the bodies.

The Vulcan Team started investigating. The horses had no driver: they were instead hypnotized to travel a certain path. The carts and the horses were property of the "Snoopo company". In order to extract more information, Dundee used his beastspeak to talk to the horses, who told him that they had stopped in an alley before coming to the cemetery. The Vulcan team then split up: Dundee and Baltus went to the alley and the rest went on to investigate the "Snoopo company".

The alley offered no clues besides the fact that the bodies had been taken from the cart and loaded into a bag of holding. With this information, Baltus and Dundee went to meet the others at the "Snoopo company" HQ. When they arrived there, a battle was taking place. Quickly jumping into action, Dundee and Baltus helped the Vulcan Team defeat the "Snoopo company" tugs. After a quick interrogation, the Vulcan Team discovered that the thugs knew nothing. They were told to burn down the place and fight anyone who tried to stop them, and so they did.

Dundee looted one of the fallen tugs for two poison daggers, but only after ascertaining that Kichirô, the leader of the team, was confortable with it.

After the interrogation, the Vulcan Team went in search of the two leaders of the Snoopo company, the Snoopo Brothers. Thanks to Dundee's thermosense, they found them hiding in barrels.

This time the interrogation proved useful, as the Vulcan Team found that the one to hypnotize the horses was a man by the name of Ricardo Eduardo. Then, the Vulcan Team called the guards, and the Snoopo brothers were arrested. The Vulcan Team now set out in search of Ricardo Eduardo, who apparently was a well-known noble from a rich family. They did not find him, despite their efforts.

In the following morning, the Vulcan Team received a letter from Ricardo Eduardo himself, challenging them to a series of one-on-one duels, which the Vulcan Team accepted.

The duels took place in the coliseum. The first one to duel was Dundee, who was confident in his ability to defeat Ricardo Eduardo. However, Ricardo Eduardo, using his money and influence, had acquired a great amount of rare scrolls, which he unleashed upon Dundee. Dundee tanked two fireballs before he could get within striking range of Ricardo Eduard. Already bruised, Dundee struck Ricardo Eduardo and wounded him badly. However, Dundee was badly wounded himself, and fell to another spell from Ricardo Eduardo. After downing Dundee, Ricardo Eduardo turned to a woman watching the battle and said "My queen, all for you".

Kalius and Baltus also tried to face Ricardo Eduardo one-on-one but also lost.

Meanwhile, Kichiô tried to reach the woman, but, before he could, she turned into a bat and flew away. Finally, Edgar stepped in and, while distarcting Ricardo Eduardo with Disguise Self, he revived Kalius and Baltus, and they fought Ricardo Eduardo. During the fight, Geopolitical joined, and Dundee was healed and returned to the fight. Seeing himself outnumbered, Ricardo Eduardo pulled an forbidden scroll and cursed Edgar. The scroll caused Edgar to be mind controlled and to attack the rest of the Vulcan Team.

The fight continued and eventually Geopolitical was in a position to deliver the killing blow to Ricardo Eduardo. However, he hesitated for one moment as he would not kill a man if the Vulcan Team did not desire it. However, Dundee, blinded by rage, shouted "KILL HIM!!". Then Geopolitical punched him so hard that he died.

The use of the forbidden scroll brought the attention of Clyde Magnus, who teleported himself to the coliseum. However, the battle was already over. Edgar was still under the effect of the forbidden scroll and was being pinned down by Dundee. Clyde cured Edgar and left the cleanup to the Vulcan Team.

Before delivering Ricardo Eduardo's body to the guards, Dundee looted his sack and got two fireball scrolls. He gave these scrolls to Kalius. The Vulcan Team then returned to the Vulcan Team house to tend to their wounds. Dundee got a swollen eye (again).

From the bag taken from Ricardo Eduardo the Vulcan Team recovered a letter that referenced a mountain hideout. With this new information, the Vulcan Team searched for information on this mountain and eventually found its location. Upon arriving to the mountain, however, no hideout was in sight. It took some cunning and a lot of stone tapping to find a hollow part of the mountain. Dundee quickly went to work and destroyed the fake stone panel.

Now inside the mountain hideout, the Vulcan Team found a set of cultists and what appeared to be their leader around a strange bag. The Vulcan Team dispatched the cultists and the leader. Upon inspecting the bag the Vulcan Team discovered that it was full of bodies. Happy with the conclusion of the mission, the Vulcan Team was ready to leave, but the mission was not over yet, as they discovered another hidden room. Upon investigating this new part of the hideout they discovered the real leader of the cult: Mister M. Using the two fireball spells given to him by Dundee, Kalius blasted Mister M into oblivion. The last remaining cultist killed himself, unfortunately.

With their mission completed, the Vulcan team returned to Ladtown victorious, having recovered the bodies, to the great relief of Wuscas Muscas. The mysterious woman was not seen again, although the Vulcan Team later learned that her name was Crença Fria, and she was a succubus who was trying to overthrow Narcia as the new queen of lust.

After receiving their payment the Vulcan Team separated the money they owed to Doctor Appledoor for ressurecting Kalius.

##### The island

###### Going to the island

After so many distractions, the Vulcan team was finally free to search for the Beacon as promised to Infinite! If only this were true... The Lads had a new job for the Vulcan Team: they were set to leave for the locked island archipelago in order to uncover the reason behind the Aquitar invasion, much to the dismay of Infinite, who was running out of patience, and Aelita, who was tired of being held hostage. But the Vulcan Team had a job to do, and so they started the preparations to leave for the islands. They took Geopolitical with them as reinforcement.

To go with them, the Sailor Girls assigned Bliz Hard and two marines. The Vulcan Team then set out on board of the ship "The mother-in-law".

The voyage was a peaceful one - that is, until they started approaching the island. Bliz Hard warned the vulcan team that the waters they were in were mostly unknown and thast many ships had sunk there. The Vulcan Team paid no mind to this warning. However, when a shadow started moving under the water, fear struck the crew. With his Thermosense Dundee could clearly see an immense figure moving under the waves. Diving in for a quick look, Dundee was horrified at the octopus-human hybrid he saw, quickly returning to the ship and relaying this information to the Team. They had no time to react, however, as the gigantic figure emerged. The figure called himself "The Lantern" and required all the food in the ship, or else he would sink it. The Vulcan Team readied for battle, but Kichirô had other plans. Making use of his expert diplomatic skills, the leader of the Vulcan Team was able to convince the Lantern to let them pass unscathed, in exchange for a steady supply of ships with food from the Ladian empire. Delighted with this deal, The Lantern even helped the Vulcan Team to reach their destination faster by towing the ship, going as far as helping to cross the chained water barrier.

Upon arriving in the island, Dundee proceeded to write his name in the sand. Meanwhile, the Vulcan Team spotted a child watching them from the rocks. As they aproached him, he seemed anxious. After a talk, the child left, but the Vulcan Team followed him, only to find a hideout under the rocks, where multiple children were hidden. The children were very reluctant to talk, mainly to Dundee who was sent to the corner of shame and later expelled from the hideout by Kichirô. However, thanks once again to Kichirô's expert diplomatic abilities and some help from Edgar, the children unveiled their plan.

Apparently, a couple of years ago, Actia, the island they found themselves on, had been invaded and conquered by an outside force. This invading force killed most of the men on the island and instated a new ruler, the "Red Queen". These children had taken it upon themselves to kill this Queen and, as such, labeled themselves "Terrorists". Their plan was to wait for the meeting that would take place in Protagonia, where the village chiefs and their representatives would travel to Protagonia to meet the Red Queen. Then, during the meeting, they would detonate the explosives, killing the Queen.

The Vulcan Team was able to convince the children that their objectives aligned and that, if they gave them the explosives, they would kill the Red Queen for them. The Vulcan Team quickly formulated a plan: they would go to Redia (the closest village) and Dundee would challange the current representative. If he won, he would become the new representaive and gain the right to travel to Protagonia and attend the meeting. The children agreed, and gave the explosives to the Vulcan Team.

Before departing for Redia, the team left the children in care of the two marines on the boat.

On their way to Redia, they found a girl laying on the road. When they rushed to help, they discovered that she was merely pretending. Suspecting an ambush, the Vulcan Team was on guard, but the girl assured them that she only did that so she could be their friend. The girl's name was Stromboli, and she offered to take them the rest of the way to Redia. Still suspecting this weird girl, the team allowed her to lead them to Redia.

###### Redia

Now in Redia, the Vulcan Team found a massive amount of graves at the entrace to the village - a reminder of their defeat, Stromboli told them. They wh«ere well received in Redia by the chief, Rufus, who coincidentally or not, was Stromboli's father. In Redia there was a festival happening, with food stands everywhere, much to the delight of Dundee, who ate a lot. Besides the food, a fight was also announced, between 56 and Man Nugget. The fight was hyped, as it would be commentated by the legendary Joseph Back. This fight was over man Nugget's daughter Uma Nugget, a blind centaur. Apparently, she wanted to marry 56 and Man Nugget disapproved, so they would fight to settle the score. In this fight, Dundee got a glimpse of what expected him. The fight was unarmed and no magic was allowed. The victory condition... crush the opponents head. The fight between 56 and Man Nugget was brutal. 56 flew around Man Nugget, who, due to his horse half, could not respond to his attacks. 56 picked at man Nugget's flesh until he was almost dead and then crushed his skull under his talons. Dundee knew in that moment that his life was on the line in the upcoming fight, but he was used to that. The team enjoyed themselves in the festival as much as they could, as the following day Dundee would fight the Redian representative.

Edgar took the opportunity to spread the word of Kefka, mainly to a gullible young woman who drank his every word. Baltus had a harder time enjoying himself, as a woman from Redia took a liking to him and followed him, in hopes of getting lucky with the Therthoman paladin. The festival came to an end and the Vulcan Team set up camp near Redia to spend the night. They took turns standing watch, with Dundee having the first one.

The morning quickly came and the team was awoken by the sounds of people passing trough the camp, apparently going for the day's hunt. Stromboli also passed by to say hello to her new friends. Then an unexepcted visitor showed up. A furious man came into the camp. He was looking for his wife and he belived that someone in the Vulcan Team knew where she was, and had even slept with her. At first the Vulcan Team denied this, but then Dundee's Thermosense sensed two hot bodies inside Baltus's tent. In order to cover for his friend, Dundee stepped in front of the man while Baltus used his hunter skills to escape.

In the end this was for naught, as the woman left Baltus's tent and the man immediately knew what had happened. Furious, he left with his wife, swearing he would fight Baltus.

When the rest of the team arrived at Redia, the man, who they later discovered to be named Trob Dogstar, was already making a formal challenge to Rufus. The Vulcan team hid Baltus as best they could, but the fight was arranged.

The time to fight had come. Baltus and Dundee separated from the rest of the team and went to ready themselves, but not before Dundee drank one of Jet Set's potions. The first fight was Baltus versus the man. In this fight, weapons were allowed, and there was no need for head crushing, as this was only a minor issue. The fight was overwhelmingly one-sided, with Baltus cutting the mans ears and knocking him unconscious in two strikes. Fortunately, Edgar was there to sew the ears back on.

Now it was time for the main event, Dundee vs Mister K, the undefeated Redian representative. The fight began with both of the fighters trying to grapple one another, Dundee using his tentacles and Mister K using his arms. Dundee was able to take down Mister K and, in an expert follow-up, grabbed his arm in a cross arm lock and broke it. But Mister K pushed trough the pain and grabbed Dundee, suplexing him onto the ground. Dundee pummeled Mister K with his fists, but the man stood resilient. The fighters got up and Dundee tried to grab Mister K, but missed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mister K grabbed Dundee and suplexed him once more. Now hurt and furious, Dundee lunged at the man, grabbing him and suplexing him himself. Mister K responded and took Dundee to the ground once more. Rage took over Dundee. He was not a man anymore, he was an animal. His mind went back to his youth, in the Yiffian jungles, to his struggle for survival. He roared, and attacked Mister K with everything he had, punch after punch. The man seemed unfazed and lunged at Dundee one final time, but Dundee's punches had landed true and the man's strength failed him before he could grab Dundee. Still overcome by his rage, only one thought crossed Dundee's mind: "Kill Kill Kill Kill". Grabbing the defeated man's head, Dundee crushed it with his powerful jaws. The crowd went silent and, in his rage, Dundee shouted "DUNDEE!!". He was victorious once again.

Joseph Back congratulated Dundee on his amazing victory, stating that it was the best fight he had seen in years. The village chief, Rufus, also congratulated Dundee on his victory. When returning to the rest of the Vulcan Team, some were shocked at Dundee's final move, and understandably so. As the body of Mister K was taken away, Dundee took the opportunity to pay his respects to his foe, and Edgar followed to make sure the rites would be performed correctly.

Tired, Dundee ate at the festival and left to get some rest. However, that night Dundee felt uneas. The reaction of his friends to his victory left a sour taste in his mouth. He wished to do good, he wanted to be good, but was he? He had just bitten a man’s head off. And the worst part is that in the moment he wanted to do it, he wanted to see his enemy dead. Dundee held no illusions, he loved to fight. He loved to kill. The animal he fought so hard to leave behind in the Yiffian jungles still lurked within, hoping for a chance to be let out. Could he really be good when there was such a beast inside him?

That night Dundee went to talk to Kichirô. Although he hadn't known him for long, Dundee had come to respect Kichirô’s wisdom and advices greatly.

“Am I a good man?” Dundee asked. “You did what you had to do, Dundee. Am I a good man? I have also killed before. We do what we must and do our best to remain in the right path, and that’s what you are trying to do.”

Soothed by these words, Dundee felt uplifted and went to sleep.

In the next morning he was summoned by Rufus, as the chief wanted to talk to the new representative. Dundee went alone and the chief told him that with this new title came responsibilities. The first was the locket of the Redian representative, a necklace incrusted with a red stone. With the locket on, Dundee could feel the direction of the other two. Rufus also told Dundee that no one had ever managed to unite all the lockets.

Now, Rufus had some requests for Dundee. First he asked if he could escort Joseph Back safely back to Yellodia, to which Dundee agreed. Then the chief revealed that during the meeting they were planning an uprising, and asked if Dundee would be willing to help. This aligned perfectly with the Vulcan Team's plans. The last request was if, on the way to Protagonia, Dundee could warn Bludia about the uprising.

Dundee returned with this information to the rest of the Vulcan Team, who had several questions about the plan, making Dundee walk all the way to Redia again to clarify those questions and then come back to the Vulcan Team.

Now having all the information they required, the Vulcan team was ready to go to escort Joseph Back to Yellowdia and then follow to Protagonia.

###### On the Road

The Vulcan Team, Joseph Back, and Stromboli, who insisted on tagging along, left for Yellodia with hastem, as they were short on time. The meeting would start in a week and it would take them four days to reach Yellodia and then two more to Protagonia.

On the road, not far from Redia, they found an old man babbling about something called breatharianism. The Vulcan team did not have time for such nonsense, and followed on. However, further ahead, Stromboli told the Vulcan Team that some people had gone missing from the village recently, and a young woman who was seen talking to Edgar was also missing, after having talked to the old man. The team went back to interrogate him, but the man assured them he knew nothing about that. However, Edgar asked a squirrel, and the squirrel told him a big monster was hiding in the woods behind the man. The Vulcan Team went to investigate, only to find a swamp where a hybrid between a plant and a woman attacked them. They made quick work of the threat and, upon investigating a tent in the swamp, found a young woman and a man inside and unconscious. They took them out of the swamp. However, much to Edgar’s embarrassment, the young girl was the one he had talked to at the festival. She had run away from home to find another god, as Edgar had told her to. But now she thought everyone was a liar and was furious. The man woke up and, upon seeing Dundee’s Redian locket, immediately challenged him to a fight. He was convinced he would win with the powers of breatharianism. The man was weak and with a single bonk Dundee knocked him out. Meanwhile the furious young woman, upon seing the old man tied to a tree, as the Vulcan team left him, attacked and killed him before leaving for Redia.

After these events, the trip proceeded, and, eventually, they stopped for the night. As usual, Dundee took the first shift. During his shift, Pasta, Stromboli’s mother, came from the forest. She told Dundee to look out for her daughter, as, if she were to be hurt, he would die. Dundee promised to give his life for Stromboli’s if it came to it. Pasta left happy and Dundee went to tell Stromboli that her mother said hi.

In the next morning, the trip resumed. The voyage proceed without much disturbance, until the day they were supposed to reach Yellodia.

While on the road, the Vulcan Team was stopped by a woman. While the Vulcan team did not recognize this stranger, Stromboli did, and she tried furiously to escape. Meanwhile, Joseph Back also stepped to the side the road and got ready. The Vulcan Team was confused by all this, until the woman spoke. She was there for Dundee. She wanted the Redian locket, but Dundee wouldn’t give it up so easily and got ready to fight. Stromboli, who was being grabbed by Baltus, screamed that she did not wish to die while trying to escape. The woman asked Dundee for the locket once again. Dundee refused and got ready to fight. “I am not normal”, said the woman. “Neither am I.", answered Dundee.

The fight that ensued was one of the hardest Dundee had ever fought. The rest of the Vulcan team also hopped in the fight, as they had no time for distractions and wanted the issue with the woman dealt with quickly. But this woman, who they later learned was named Talim, was not normal indeed. She had powerful wind powers and was more than a match for the Vulcan Team, managing to down Kichirô and Bliz Hard. Edgar healed Kichirô while Dundee saved Bliz Hard by giving her a potion. In the end, the team managed to hurt Talim badly enough so that she tried to escape with a massive burst of wind that downed Dundee.

Using squirrels, Edgar found Dundee, who was knocked away by the wind, and healed him. Despite being able to feel the other lockets, Dundee could not catch Talim, who was long gone. The voyage resumed, but Dundee became fixated on finding and defeating Talim.

###### Yellodia

Reaching Yellodia, the Vulcan Team found a village much similar to Redia. However, this one had mills and crop fields. They were received by the village chief, Jimbo Jambo, who was very happy to have Joseph Back back safely.

Dundee told Jimbo Jambo about Redia and the Vulcan Team’s plan to attack Protagonia during the meeting. Jimbo Jambo was delighted, as he was already planning something similar with Bludia. He even had an inside man in Protagonia: his own son, who was there gathering information. If the Vulcan Team wanted his help, they needed only to tell him “Yellow is great.”

The Vulcan Team also asked if they could have anyone sent to Bludia to warn them of the plan, as they did not have time to pass by there. Jimbo Jambo said he would have someone by morning.

The team then retreated into a house provided by Jimbo Jambo, where they reminisced about their past, ate cookies, and drank tea.

The next morning, Jimbo presented them with the chosen one, a man named Focaccia. This man looked like a warrior, wearing weapons and armor, but he behaved nothing like one. The Vulcan Team sent him to Bludia, accompanied by Geopolitical. Stromboli was fully convinced he would die.

###### Road to Protagonia

Now heading to Protagonia at full speed, the Vulcan Team had no time to spare, as they did not want to arrive late at the meeting.

While on the road, they met two Tiefling girls. Coincidentally, they were “hunting” Talim. After a quick interaction, Dundee told them to be careful, as she was very strong.

The next day, the team met another person on the road, this time a man wearing all black. Stromboli told them that he was a “hunter of people”. The Vulcan Team decided to be careful around this man, opting not to interact too much with him. He even challenged one of the Vulcan Team for a fight, but no one accepted. When they were about to leave, the man pulled a Tiefling head from his bag, saying that there was good hunting ahead. Dundee was furious at this sight and turned back to the man. Only Kichirô’s words soothed Dundee enough for him to keep walking. Not even an hour had passed when they met another man on the road, this time a tiefling called Phalus Palus. He was very friendly and spoke to them about the two tiefling girls they had met earlier. Dundee warned him of the man they had met prior.

Continuing their trip, the Vulcan Team arrived at the walls of Protagonia.

###### Protagonia

Finally, they had arrived at Protagonia, and just in time for the meeting! Or so they thought…When nearing the walls, Stromboli asked them what they would be doing for three days until the meeting.

“What do you mean, three days?!?” was the collective reaction of the Vulcan Team. Stromboli explained that, when they were leaving Redia, Rufus told them the meeting would be in a week. The Vulcan team assumed that a week meant 7 days. However, in Actia, a week was actually ten days and, as such, they were 3 days early.

This generated massive outrage among the Vulcan Team, who could have used the 3 extra days to go to Bludia. Stromboli merely said, “But you were making such good time”. Kalius was the most pissed.

Moving forward from this, the Team approached the walls, where they found a man who looked much like the man Jimbo Jambo had described as his informer in Protagonia. Edgar and Kalius carefully tried to prod the man, but Dundee approached him and simply said “Yellow is great”. When the man failed to recognize the signal, the Vulcan Team tried to leave, but Stromboli insisted they should kill the man.

The Vulcan team did not agree to this, and had to almost literally drag Stromboli so she wouldn’t kill the man.

Inside the walls, Protagonia seemed relatively normal, with food stands and stores dominating the town. At the center there was a stage. The Vulcan Team explored for a bit. Dundee tried to buy apples, but couldn’t, because, to his amazement, people did not accept money, only trades. Dundee tried to explain money to the food salesman, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

After some time, bells started ringing, and people flocked onto the stage. Then, a huge muscular man climbed onto the stage and announced that a traitor to the Queen was going to be executed. The traitor was brought to the stage and, to the great surprise of the Vulcan Team, it was a man fitting the description given by Jimbo Jambo, and almost identical to the man they met at the gate. Kalius sent Stromboli to check if the man was still there… he was.

In his panic to try and avoid the execution of their inside man, Dundee jumped into action, starting to chat with the executioner, a man named Hamburger. Hamburger was surprisingly nice and cheery, and, when Dundee told him he would like to apply to be an executioner, he was thrilled. He even let Dundee step on stage to execute the man. Once on the stage, Dundee started to panic. He had no plan, he was just waiting for someone in the Vulcan Team to do something. For what seemed like an eternity, Dundee held the man, while Hamburger instructed him in the best way to break his neck. Then Kalius cast Fog Cloud. The magical fog enveloped the stage and Dundee saw his chance. He would pretend that the man had escaped. He let go of the man and told him to run. He did not think twice and bolted, but, before Dundee could breathe in relief, Edgar cast Disguise Self and jumped onto Dundee's arms. What followed was pure chaos. The man was still running, but now there were two of them. Edgar shouted and pleaded for his life, while Dundee held him. Dundee asked if he could not execute the man. Stromboli said it was Acteon's will to let the man live. Edgar kept shouting. Hamburger looked confused. In the end the Vulcan Team managed to convince Hamburguer to leave the man to their care while he would check with the council to see if he really was to be excuted.

The Vulcan Team left the city, with Edgar disguised as the inside man, and found the guy they met at the gates dead. Because he looked like the dude that was going to be executed, the Vulcan Team put his body in the Bag of Holding. They then met the inside man, who was grateful for the rescue, but was also really dense and of no use except to tell the Vulcan Team that there was a man inside the barracks, called Willi Em, who wanted Captain Alex dead, and he could be of use. Pissed at the clusterfuck shitshow that was the rescue of the inside man, the Vulcan Team told him to get as far away from the city as possible. They then cut off the head of the dude from the gates to pretend they had killed him.

Dundee approached Hamburger and told him that the man trash talked the council and so he killed him. Dundee then presented the head of the dude from the gates and with the sentence “Want to see something cool?” put it in his mouth and crushed it. To this Hamburger responded with "That sound was very..aaah..what ya call it..aaah..melodious!”. Amidst the conversation, Hamburger told Dundee that in the following day he would be executing a kid they had found in a boat. When Dundee relayed this information to the Vulcan Team, panic set in once again. The kids?!. They couldn’t let a kid be executed, but were the other kids safe? Did they have food? All these questions crossed the minds of the Vulcan Team members, who decided to scout the port and see if the kids were indeed there.

In the port, thanks to Dundee’s thermosense and his ability to breathe underwater, he was able to board the ship undetected and ensure the safety of the kids (and the marines) who were all inside the same barrel. Dundee left some food and the promise that he would return to rescue them, but told them that they had to remain still until then.

Leaving the port, the Vulcan Team laid a plan, where they would infiltrate the castle, rescue the kid, take the queen, and leave in the boat. However, this was not meant to be, as when Kichirô, Edgar, and Baltus were scouting the castle, an enormous explosion occurred.

Meanwhile, Dundee and Kalius were sleeping in the tavern. Kalius was awakened by the explosion but it took some effort from Kalius to rouse Dundee.

Near the castle, Edgar asked a rat to tell Dundee and Kalius that they were heading inside the castle.

When Kalius and Dundee arrived at the town center, the rat told them this, and they ran to the castle to reunite with the rest of the Vulcan Team.

###### Assault on the Castle

With the castle under attack, the Vulcan Team saw their chance to free the kid and take the queen. They entered the castle under the pretense that they were there to help, and they used Dundee’s position as the Redian representative to get past the guards. Inside the castle, part of it was blown off and was falling to the sea. The Vulcan Team claimed they wished to see if any prisoners had been taken and they were led to the dungeons. Once in there, when checking the cells, they found Scrunch, the kid they were looking for. Dundee tore the door down, Kalius cast Fog Cloud once again, and they made their escape. To confuse the guards, Edgar and Kalius turned themselves into Dundee with Disguise Self. Kichirô wanted Dundee to enter the bag of holding, but Dundee refused. What if something happened? What if they were caught and he was not there to help? He could not. He would not hide. This generated some conflict, but it was quickly resolved due to the urgency of the situation.

Now, with the guards alert, three Dundees, and a prisoner, the Vulcan Team bolted for the exit, much to the confusion of the guards. Now with no cover, they had no choice but to go for the boat. They ran into the docks, but there were guards there. With no time to lose, the team just charged in. While the rest of the team boarded the boat, Dundee stayed on land to protect them. The guards charged at Dundee but he held his ground. When he struck the first guard, he died immediately. Dundee roared with all his might and the guards backed down, frightened by Dundee’s immense figure. Dundee then ran back to the boat and boarded it as well, killing one more guard, who had been able to board it, and making the others reconsider their attempts.

Now sailing into safety and with the kids secure, the Vulcan Team pondered their next move.

###### A meeeting and a new plan

The new plan was simple: Dundee would go back to town and pretend nothing had happened, while the remaining members of the Vulcan Team would plant explosives in the dungeons below the castle. During the meeting, Dundee would grab Tops and make a run for it, while the explosives were detonated.

Dundee went back to town as planned. However, three guards started following him everywhere. To keep up appearances, Dundee acted very friendly, inviting them to hunt and swim. The following day, the guards stopped, and so Dundee went to see Willi Em. Willi Em wanted captain Alex dead. Dundee agreed to kill him in exchange for him stalling the guards in the day of the meeting.

The day of the meeting grew close and the plan was almost fully prepared. Dundee was informed that the explosives were planted successfully by Kalius and Edgar the day prior to the meeting. Kalius gave Dundee two potions of fire breath, and Edgar gave him a cookie.

The meeting day finally arrived and, although Dundee was nervous he would not be allowed in, he entered the palace with no issue accompanied by Pasta, Rufus and Stromboli. The other representatives were also there: Jimbo Jambo and the Bludian chief and representative. The meeting started with the three council members telling the representatives the new measures that would be applied to the villages in the future. One of these measures was the implementation of farming on all villages, something Pasta and the Bludian chief argued against. The council members finally introduced the Red Queen so she could talk about the measures in more detail. Dundee already expected it, but still, he was surprised to see a girl just like Tops, but dressed in red, emerge. Stromboli signaled Dundee that it was her, but Dundee decided to wait. As she read the measures Stromboli signaled her dog, Michi, to signal Kalius, who lighted the fuse for the bombs. Dundee then acted: he got up, punched the council member closest to Tops - Discombobulate - and grabbed her.

The fight then began. Quintessential jumped on a table and tried to grab Dundee, but missed. Dundee drank one of the potions of fire breath and ran. Predilection tried to stop him but was unable to, as Dundee kept breathing fire on him. Pasta grabbed Rufus and ran, as did Stromboli and Jimbo Jambo. As soon as Dundee left the room, the ground erupted in a tremendous explosion, obliterating that part of the castle. Predilection and the Bludians were caught in the explosion and died.

From then on, the fight was fully raging. Some members of the Vulcan Team managed to get inside the castle and help the fight, but Kichirô and Edgar got locked out, as Quintessential used his wires to seal the castle. Phallus Palus, the Tiefling they had met on the road some days prior, also joined the fight, as he was disguised as a guard. Dundee, still holding Tops, looked for a way out. Seeing the front entrance sealed, he pondered exiting trough the hole made by the explosion. As he retreated, he heard the familiar sound of strong wind. As he reached the hole, he looked up to see Talim. Rage built up inside him. She was there. Finally, Dundee could have his victory. Quickly running back, he gave Tops to Stromboli and got ready to face Talim.  Dundee managed to land some hits, but she flew out of range, much to his rage.

Meanwhile, Jimbo Jambo was downed by Phallus Palus, and Edgar 4v1'd some guards and Quintessential. The guards could not manage to hit him. Quintessential was also having troubles, and so he left to fight the Vulcan Team members inside the castle leaving Edgar and Kichirô desperately running to get inside.

Talim returned and told Phallus that some ships from the Gliga empire were coming.

The fight that ensued was gruelling and confusing, with Phallus turning against the Vulcan Team, although he had seemed friendly at the start, and Pasta revealing herself to be unbelievably powerful, throwing Discombobulate from one side of the room to another, although he was protected by a wire armor. The team managed to take down Quintessential and then Phallus. Talim kept wailing on them, with Dundee falling three times to her shots. Kalius fell two times to Talim and one to the Melanie and Miltia sisters. Baltus also fell three times in battle with Quintessential and Discombobulate. Kichirô also fell two times to the sisters.

In the end, the sisters were defeated by Kalius and Pasta, and Talim fell to an arrow from Dundee. Although weakened, she managed to down Dundee again. Dundee was brought back by Edgar, and promptly blew fire on Talim, killing her, and finally uniting all the lockets, although that had no effect that he could see.

The battle was not over, however. Discombobulate ran away and wrapped his wires around the castle, making it start to crumble. In the panic, Dundee recalled that, while fighting Quintessential, thunder made his wires numb. With this information, Kichirô used Chromatic Orb on the wires locking the door and the team was able to escape.

Dundee brought Talim’s body outside and Edgar brought one of the sisters, who was still alive. Dundee paid his respects to a worthy adversary, wishing Talim a peaceful rest. Edgar left a note on the sister saying they were dicks for trying to kill them and that they should find a better god.

Now out of the castle, all badly wounded, the Vulcan Team faced a burning Protagonia, with the revolution forces fighting the Protagonians.

###### Escape from Protagonia

The Vulcan Team now had to escape Protagonia alive with Tops. After drinking some health potions, they charged on to the burning streets. They managed to fight through them without much problem, with Pasta one-shotting the guards. Two revolution soldiers greeted Dundee when he passed, but they jumped from a roof and died, much to his distress. Problems arised close to the exit, when a soldier fell from a roof onto Kichirô, downing him again.

Further ahead, they were stopped by Willi Em, who attacked Dundee, saying: “We had a deal, but you took too long”. His company of guards was quickly dispatched by the team, as well as Will Em himself. Before he died, he tried to hit Dundee with a poison knife, but Dundee’s physique was too sturdy, and he felt no effects from it.

Now near the stage at the entrance of Protagonia, they were faced with another challenge. Hamburger was rallying the guards, and he had many of them. Dundee tried to talk it out, but Hamburger said they were villainous and attacked. The sheer number of the guards was going to overwhelm the team, but Kichirô used the ring of necromancy and took out most of them. However, Hamburger survived and reached Kichirô, punching and downing him once more. Kallius was also downed by the guards, and so was Baltus. Edgar panicked as he tried his best to revive them all, and Dundee felt utterly useless, as all he could do was defend the bodies of his downed friends. Once awake, Kalius killed Hamburger, and Dundee killed two guards. Scared and with no leadership, the remaining guards fled. When Kichirô was revived, he lunged at Hamburger’s dead body, and started tearing into his skin, laughing maniacally. With no time to think about what prompted this behavior, Dundee picked Kichirô up and ran for the exit, while the old man screamed and kicked until Baltus knocked him out.

Finally out of Protagonia, the Vulcan Team made a beeline for the camp, where they had left the children and Bliz Hard.

###### The winds change and death comes

In the camp, the team started to furiously pack everythingT the kids had a lot of questions, but there was no time. Bliz Hard was already packed. As they tore down the camp, the smell of fire became more intense: the winds had changed. As they looked in the direction of the wind, they saw Talim, coming towards them. She was different now, her skin pulsing with green veins. Dundee stepped up. “You want me Talim, leave them out.” “I don’t want you; I want the lockets. They are my birthright.” The Vulcan Team feared a fight, but Pasta approached Talim “So you are the one who attacked my daughter.” The team felt safe. Surely Pasta would handle Talim. But Talim punched Pasta once and she went flying into the sky.

Dundee faced Talim once more. He had won two times already, and he would die defending that victory. He would not run. Although Dundee was ready to die, he looked back at his friends, bloodied, bruised and on the brink of death themselves. If he fought there, they would suffer as well. With weight in his heart, Dundee took the lockets off and gave them to Talim. She walked away and said, “I win.” Dundee’s rage boiled once again inside him. That girl once ran away from him and was defeated another time. Dundee had paid his respects to her body, and she still though she had won? But she had won, she had the lockets and there was nothing Dundee could do about it.

They left for the shore, to see if their ship was still where they left it. It wasn’t. So Dundee swam back to the Protagonia port, and after two trips and some tips from the marines he brought the ship back.

Now in the ship, they set sail to Redia to avoid the Gilga fleet and, with luck, maybe find Geopolitical. In the ship they could finally assess their wounds.

One of Edgar’s talons got cut of but it wasn’t serious, so he dedicated himself to helping the others, Dundee got another cut over his eye, hindering his vison. Kalius got away mostly unscathed. However, as Baltus sat down and looked under his armor he saw blood, Edgar rushed to help, but the wound was serious. His liver and part of the intestines were completely destroyed. There was nothing to do. Baltus said his last words as his team stood around them “For Acteon, for WinterFang”.”Why? Why did Baltus have to die? Why couldn’t I protect him? It should have been me. It's my fault. It's my fault.”, thought Dundee. But it was not over. As Edgar made sure Baltus would rest peacefully, Kichirô noticed blood on his robes. As he took them off, more blood poured out from a wound in his neck. Edgar tried to stop the bleeding. However, Kichirô said he could not feel his left arm. The arm was starting to gangrenate, as no blood was rushing to it anymore. To try and save Kichirô, Edgar choose to amputate the arm, a task that fell to Dundee. He did what Edgar asked, and Kichirô lost his arm.

Dundee felt useless, he felt angry at himself. How could he let this happen? How could Baltus die and Kichirô lose an arm and all he had was a simple cut. Maybe if he had given the locket to Talim this wouldn’t have happened, and what did it amount to in the end? Nothing. Talim had the lockets, Baltus was dead, and Kichirô had lost his arm.

“It should have been me. Why wasn’t it me? Why wasn’t I the one who died?” That’s all Dundee could think of.

###### The Life boat

In the boat heading to Redia while Kichirô, Edgar and kalius discussed the plan to resurrect Baltus, the kids played, Stromboli Simped for Tops and Dundee sat in the back of the boat feeling desperate. He felt so empty inside, he had failed his duty.

After one day the reaming members of the Vulcan Team decided on plan, Edgar would wear the ring and attempt to bring back Baltus with its power. As such Edgar put on the ring, able to resist its influence he gathered its power and proclaimed “THE POWER OF KEFKA COMPELS YOU!”, with these powerful words Baltus wounds were healed and he brought back from the dead. Dundee that remained in the back of the boat saw Baltus get up and was overcome with joy, his friend has alive! He ran to hug Baltus knocking Bruno Mars and Kalius against the side of the ship in the prosses.  Dundee cried while hugging his friend, meanwhile overcome with the power of the ring Edgar became acting erratic, proclaiming he was the “greatest healer alive”. Kalius tried to smash a potion on its head but failed and Dundee tried to pin him down and failed too, after some time Dundee was able to grab him with his tentacles  and remove the ring.

###### Mental breakdown at the beach

The rest of the trip to Redia was peaceful, and once they arrived to the beach were they first landed on the island Pasta and Ruffus were waiting for them.  After some talking and many failed divination attempts it was established that Geopolitcal was no longer in the island, in a stroke of genius (a rare sight in Dundee) Dundee deduced that Geopolitical was probably in Noctia the place of origin of the Red Tops. With nothing else for them in the Island, the Vulcan team decided they would leave for the Ladian empire and hopefully return with reinforcements to save geopolitical and secure the beacon in Noctia. The kids would stay in Redia with Ruffus and Pasta, however Stromboli would come with the Vulcan team and red Tops to the Ladian empire. Ruffus also asked the Vulcan Team if they wanted the gold he was supposed to give the men from Protagonia as they were probably all dead. The team gladly accepted and followed Ruffus to the hiding place of the gold. The gold however was actually just a bunch of shiny pieces of armor and some barrels of explosives, while attempting to store the goods Dundee was having trouble with one of the barrels. Upon opening the barrel Trob Dogstar’s wife came out of hit.

Baltus immediately stepped back saying he rather remain dead than face that and all the Vulcan team was amazed to say the least at the woman whom was buried in a barrel. Ruffus excused himself saying the woman threatened him (he actually said “she said she was going to tell Pasta” which may indicate and affair between the pair but it’s not our place to dwell on these things). Fortunately, Dundee and Edgar were able to convince the woman to leave and forget Baltus, much to the dismay of Ruffus who wanted to get rid of her.

With everything packed and ready, and after a very personal and concerning talk between Stromboli and Pasta that included dragons, blowjobs and potions (that was eavesdropped by Kichiro) the team was ready to leave.

Dundee however stated that he was not going. He explained that he felt like he failed the Team he failed at his job and he couldn’t keep on fighting alongside them knowing he had failed them already. He needed to prove something to himself, he wanted to find Talim and fight her once more.

Edgar started crying telling Dundee he wouldn let him go, Kalius was at lost for words, Baltus was furious however telling him that fighting Talim would be suicide. Dundee knew this in fact he wanted that, he wanted to die fighting Talim in a half assed attempt at regaining is honor.

All his life Dundee wanted to do good, to save people and in that moment he felt like he had made the opposite as such he saw only one way forward to die trying to redeem his wrongs.

Baltus furiously told him that he would not be helping anyone by dying and it was a stupid reason. Kichirô then told Dundee a story about a child whose mother was very poor and worked tirelessly to even be able to afford a room for her and her children, one day the brother of this child died in part because of him and his mother killed herself short after. This boy could tried and failed a lot while trying to make a life for himself alone and help his village like his mother did and even gave up after a while, but in the end he kept fighting and eventually was able to help is village.

Dundee looked at the man he came to consider a father, to Edgar who was crying, to Kalius who just stared at the floor looking lost and to Baltus who looked at him in anger.

Wouldn’t he be failing them harder by leaving? Should he fight on? Yes...he would fight on. Dundee would become the person they needed him to be a shield to protect them, he would become stronger, strong enough to protect them all.

“I will fight on then” said Dundee at last. The Vulcan team hugged him, and he cried once more. While the Vulcan team hugged, pasta said that she also had a party once but they were all killed by dragons, the marines promptly shat their pants.

After this the Vulcan team boarded the boat and left, the journey away from the island was a peaceful one, Dundee did pushups with Kalius, Kichiro  worked on the mission report and though about what to do with the ring and the money. Stromboli fantasized about tops the usual… Not long after their departure Blitz hard received a message from the Ladian Empire, they required the Vulcan Team immediate return. The Gliga fleet had landed in de jure land of the Ladian Empire and there was officially war!

After some days of travel Blitz hard was getting suspicious of them not crossing the chained water barrier, after 2 days she realized the barrier was no longer there, she promptly communicated this to the Ladian empire. Kichiro, Edgar and Kalius though about what this might mean for the future of the Locked Archipelago.

###### Home sweet Home

After 9 days of travel (the boat was shit), the Vulcan Team was finally home once more. They were received by Cpt.Nyandato, Infinite and the fox girl who gave them the supplies for the trip. Cpt.Nyandato dismissed the marines and thanked the Vulcan team for their work, Kichiro assured that she would receive a report about the mission, the fox girl inquired about the supplies and the Vulcan team assured her they were enough.

Infinite had a lot of questions but first they needed to get out of sight, while making their way to the Vulcan Team house Niggo jumped out of the bush and demanded money, Dundee explained that they have not been paid yet and as such had no money, Niggo accepted this and left.

At the entrance of the house there was Euler Blitz Hard and Coco waiting, Euler congratulated them for the mission completion and assured they would be paid soon but they already had another mission in store and should rest. After this she left.

Once finally inside the house, Dundee asked Lorelei for some food, and the Vulcan Team started explaining everything to Infinite, they also allowed Aelita to leave because the sailor girls already knew about Tops. Before she left Dundee gave her the poems, he wrote for Owa Betsie.

The Tops also met each other and much to the Vulcan Teams surprise they apparently did not come from the same beacon, leading to theories about multiple beacons and the beacon moving. The Vulcan team’s and Infinite’s next step was left on hold as the Vulcan Team had no idea of their next mission was going to be and it was too dangerous for Infinite’s team to go alone to Noctia.

##### Liberation of RiverSprings

After the discussions about tops ended the Vulcan Team rested. In the next morning Euler came into the Vulcan team house with questions and payments. After asking about Tops and some of the island events and being kind of sad we didn’t tell her about it she started to relay some information about their next mission. They would to Riversprings where something had fallen from the sky and some murders were happening with the bodies going missing. The new sailor girl assigned to the Vulcan Team, Messa, had her partner infiltrated in RiverSprings. Now it was the Vulcan team’s job to go there and investigate. Euler then paid the Vulcan Team 9000 gold and  told Dundee, Kichirô and Edgar they were wanted in the mage tower. Edgar and Kichirô for using necromancy and Dundee for wanting to desert.

Infinite decided to head out with his team to Noctia to try and reach the beacon and save Geopolitical, they left Steve behind to study the Tops.

Kalius accompanied Dundee, Edgar and Kichirô to the mage tower, but on the way there where once again interpellated by the man demanding payment for Kalius resurrection, the Vulcan Team paid their due. Once at the mage tower Clyde Magnus confiscated the ring and told Edgar he would get a necromancy permit soon. He also talked to Dundee, having him explain the reasons for him wanting to desert, which Dundee did. Hearing the reasons and seeing the trauma Dundee went through Clyde recommended he talked to someone specialized in the area and that the Lads would offer that.  Dundee promised to think about it.

After the mage tower the Vulcan Team went shopping with Edgar and Kalius buying scrolls and potions, Baltus leather working tools, Kichiro a new prosthetic arm and Dundee a sword. Before heading home Dundee decided to visit Owa Betsie and headed to the secs district. Once he found her Dundee asked what she though about the poems, Owa said she couldn’t read but that someone read them for her, and they were nice. Then Dundee tried to express his feelings to her but is attempt was met with nothing but a shutdown a nice one but a denial none the less. Even more depressed than before Dundee headed back to Vulcan team house where he hit the gym and wallowed in self-pity.

In that day they also got a special visit from Leado Lolar one of the  mighty Lads, who also gave them some more details on the mission and wished them luck. With all prepared for the mission the Vulcan team rested for another day, replenished their rations(Dundee asked for cookies but was denied) and departed to RiverSprings (Not before giving permission to Stromboli  to kill Steve if he threatened the Tops).

On their way to RiverSprings the Vulcan Team met some men who wanted to sell them more Jet Set potions, but they were not interested.  Halfway in their path to RiverSprings the Vulcan Team camped and took some time to discuss their plan to solve RiverSprings problem, in the end they decided they needed more information on the area, although Messa’s partner told them that the murderers were hiding in the fort and hiding the corpses in the forest.

Dundee took the first watch, while he did, he saw a pack of wolves running towards the camp, seeing this he promptly shouted “WAKE THE FUCK UP THERE ARE WOLVES”.  The Vulcan team jolted to their feet to face the threat, Dundee killed one of the wolves and the Vulcan Team wounded another, but they did not seem interested in fighting and soon they knew why. Out of the forest came a beat of the shadow plague, the Vulcan Team engaged it and Kalius killed it with a well placed firebolt. Messa was thoroughly impressed with the Vulcan’s Team performance.

The rest of the night was spent without incident and in the next morning they left for RiverSprings.

The entrance to RiverSprings was surround by ramshackle houses with poor people living inside most likely refugees from the war. Once settled inside the city the Vulcan Team met with the Overseer String Thing a man that could not form coherent insults despite how badly he tried. After some time of trying to insult the people who took their fort, String Thing told the Vulcan team they were having problems because they had too many refugees from the war and could not house them all, and their guard was spread thin. The bandits used this to take the fort all the while committing murders within the city. He also told them his soldiers saw a woman who seduced one of the soldiers and made him tell her everything about the guards and the fort.  Dundee still feeling sad about his rejection told String Thing that “women only leave you feeling empty and alone” after which he cried in Kichirôs arm.  After all the information was relayed the Vulcan team left to do their job with Dundee promising to bring the “Heads and toes” of the Bandits to String Thing.

The Vulcan team split into two groups, Dundee and Kalius investigated the forest and the others the fort. Dundee and Kalius found a path in the forest but seeing that it would take too long to follow it trough they decided to leave and join the others. Egdgar, Kichirô and Baltus scouted the castle with Kichiro using his familiar in conjunction with Baltus spells to search the towers. They found Crença inside and some soldiers but decided not to engage.

One reunited the Vulcan Team decided to raid the forest first in search for clues about Messa’s partner who was following the forest path but hadn’t being answering Messa’s calls.  Stealthily the Vulcan team followed the path and ended up in a clearing with two ditches dug and a pile of something they could not yet discern. At first, they tried to approach without leaving the cover of the trees, but Dundee soon realized it was futile and stepped into the clearing, while approaching the pile he realized it was a pile of bodies with a Sailor girl among them.

While Dundee kneeled besides the Sailor Girl, a volley of arrows came down on him, insatiately Dundee protected the Sailors Girl dead body being hit with a couple arrows. Using Kalius fog cloud as cover Dundee was able to escape out of the clearing.

Upon seeing her dead partner Messa stated waling and crying, Dundee was enraged by this and once again promised to bring Messa the heads and toes of the culprits.

The battle then began with the Vulcan team charging trough the forest avoiding the clearing to keep themselves hidden.  The forest was laid with traps, but they avoided most of them, some of the men Kichirô saw in the fort engaged the in the forest all the while the archers kept firing. Messa was charging as well but got caught in a trap in the forest. Dundee killed one of the bandits and Kalius another, but as they charged to the archers Crença and another Tiefling appeared in the center of the clearing. Seeing them the archers backed off a little bit, Dundee mistook this as they not being a threat and focused his attention on the Tieflings. The unnamed Tiefling placed her hand on the ground and started to cast a spell, Dundee tried to stop her with a well-placed arrow shot aided by Kichirô but failed.  Kichirô entered the clearing to try and stop the spell and was immediately shot by archers and went down. Kalius rushed after him to save him. Dundee seeing the archers was still a menace turned back and charged against them, he would shield his allies from the arrows even if it cost him his own life. Meanwhile Kalius was able to bring back Kichirô but they were under heavy attack by the two Tieflings as well as Messa who was now in the clearing trying to fight the Tieflings. Baltus was charging in as well.

The unnamed Tiefling finally took her hand of the ground and summoned 15 zombies that surrounded Edgar, Kalius, Kichiro and Messa. Baltus was trying to reach them, and Dundee was alone taking fire from all the archers.

Dundee withstood the archer fire his armor defecting most of the damage, he furiously swung his sword killing two of them. Meanwhile Edgar and Baltus used their cleric powers to turn the zombies and make them run away but two of them resisted and stayed to fight. Crença slapped Edgar with her cursed palm doing immense damage to the cleric. While Messa, Kalius , Edgar and Baltus faced the remaining zombies, Rosa and Crença Kichiro escaped to try and help Dundee. Dundee who was fighting 8 archers and kind of winning saw kichiro approaching and yelles at him to get back but he was determined to save Dundee. Kichirô casted chromatic orb and threw a card but missed both times making the leader of the archers turn against him. Dundee took some damage from the 7 archers but the leader hit Kichirô and brought him down once more. Furious Dundee roared and with a single strike decapitated the archer leader but he was weak and the archers brough him down with a well placed arrow making him bleed profusely.

Meanwhile the Vulcan team members fighting Crença did not see this happening and kept fighting. Rosa was brought down and the spell cast on Baltus was removed bringing him back to the fight. Seeing her friend defeated Crença tried to run the remaining zombies were proving troublesome but Kalius killed one while the other tried to maul Messa, Baltus pursued Crença but she turned around and slapped him making him go down. After helping Messa with the zombie Edgar also ran after Crença. The archers that Dundee had been holding off now joined the fight after defeating Dundee, Kalius and Messa fought them. Edgar caught up with Crença but was unable to bring her down before she turned into a bat and fled.  Coming back to clearing Edgar cured Baltus, but the scene in the clearing as also dire. The archers were bringing Dundee unconscious and tied up, they demanded that they surrender or else they would kill him. Kalius agreed and raised his hands. Baltus however casted pass without a trace and pretended to eat Edgar, Kalius caught up to this and pretended that Baltus had betrayed them. The archers were suspicious and tied up Messa and Kalius. Edgar hiding in the woods casted Disguise self and turned into Crença, deceiving the archers who bowed to her. Using his expert impersonations skills Edgar was able to deceive the archers into believing Baltus was on their side, he then demanded that Dundee was brough before him/her and Baltus, sneakily gave Dundee a potion. Upon opening his eyes and seeing Crença in front of him Dundee lunged attempting to bite her head off, Edgar quickly shoved a cookie in his mouth and Dundee quickly realized the plan and stopped.

After untying all the Vulcan team members Edgar sent two of the archers back to the fortress to make him/her a sandwich. When they were far away him and Dundee attacked the other two, with Dundee killing the first in one hit and the second being able to escape only to be killed by one of Dundee’s tentacles.

With the fight over Edgar laid on the floor exhausted, Dundee immediately went looking for the place where Kichirô fell. There Dundee found his worst hopes had come true, Kichirô was dead. Beside him scribbled in the dirt where his last words “Live”. Dundee fell to his knees and shouted in anger, Kalius kneeled and cried to only to be shaken and told by Baltus to keep it together. After a fast mourning, Edgar said he could preserve the body in the morning, and they could take it back to  LadTown for revival.  Dundee then asked: “Do you think Kichirô would want to be revived?”. “I don’t know.” Said Kalius. “Well, I don’t know either.” Answered Dundee. While he carried Kichirô’s body back to town.

Edgar crafted a makeshift coffin to Kichirô and stored him  in the bag of holding for safekeeping. After leaving the forest the Vulcan Team headed to the “Favela” to take care of the zombies that had fled.

The people of the “Favela” were panicking as three zombies rampaged trough it, one woman got cornered by the zombies but the Vulcan Team quickly intervened, Dundee wounded from the previous fight got knocked down by one of the zombies but was quickly revived by Edgar who gave him a potion. After that the Vulcan team quickly disposed of the zombies. The woman they then approached them. She praised the Vulcan team for their strength and thanked them for saving her, she also offered to give them a gift. Dundee accepted and he and Kalius followed her into her house.

There she searched a chest and took out a silver bracelet, Dundee noticed that the bracelet was like the one Kalius wore on his hair. The woman then told her story:

Long ago that bracelet was given to her and the other to her sister, her sister unfortunately died early and so she kept the two, she later gave one of them to her son…Kalius. Apparently the woman was once a slave that was freed by the Lads and had an affair with Koltar, the offspring of that affair was Kalius. Without money and not being ready for baby the woman gave Kalius away.

Kalius of course had many questions and both him and Dundee were dumbfounded to know he was the son of one of the Lads. Dundee left Kalius and his mother alone and picked up Edgar who was peeking at the window. Kalius didn’t believe the woman at first but he saw the truth in her eyes, he hugged her gave her some money and promised to comeback one day to see her again.

The Vulcan team headed back to the inn where they prepared to leave, however Dundee told the rest of the team that he wanted to finish the mission and that he would meet them in LadTown later. Kalius gave him his health potions and Baltus his javelin.

-Be careful Dundee. – said Kalius

-Kichirô told me to live that is what I inted to do. -answered Dundee.

After they left Dundee headed towards the fort.

##### The last stand.

Getting close to the fort Dundee did not sense any heat but heard some growling coming from inside. After trying to climb the walls and failing Dundee carved a hole in the main gate to see inside, right after he craved it a zombie hand spurt out of the hole and punched him. Realizing maybe this wasn’t the best idea Dundee climbed a nearby tree and jumped trough the second floor window. Inside the fortress he saw no signs of life but looking into the fort courtyard he saw hundreds of zombies all cramped inside the fort. Seeing that maybe this was above his ability he jumped out of the window and tried to head to town to inform String Thing. However, he was intercepted by Crença Fria.

-Going on an adventure? – she asked.

-Yes, I am killing you. – answered Dundee.

Dundee charged at Crença with rage, that was the woman responsible by Kichirô’s death he would have her head.

The fight was fierce, weakened from the fight she spent the remaining of her power to hit Dundee, first with the palm she downed Kichirô but Dundee withstood the effects. Drinking potion after potion Dundee withstood all spells…until the potions ran out and so did Crença´s spells. Dundee fought will all his might dealing some incredible blows but Crença’s strikes hit true and Dundee went down. Coughing blood and seeing the world blur around him Dundee though “ I can’t die I promised Kichirô I wouldn’t die.” But his strength had failed him…

Trough his blurred vision Dundee saw Crença approaching the gate, he heard the gate opening, and felt the ground grumbling. Dundee saw a bat circle twice over his head before facing forward to see a hoard of zombies charging at them, more than he could  face. Mustering the last of his strength Dundee got on his feet one last time. Facing the charging hoard of zombies Dundee said “I will die as a warrior” before charging into the incoming hoard.

Dundee died as he lived a warrior, in the end he failed his mission but he died a good death trying to protect people as he always wanted, in his very last moments Dundee’s felt happy that in the end he was the one to die and not another one of his friends.

DUNDEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

### Trivia

* Dundee's magical sword was stabbed through Crença's body after her defeat forever marking the place of her demise.
* Dundee died a virgin.
* Dundee was the first Player Charecter to be permanently killed by someone other than another players PC. With other famous deaths being Shrook and Masiwa both killed by Lads members.