Just Desserts

Rowsalyne Deardonia had always loved her mother's chocolate cake. It was delicious, moist, had the right amount of frosting and it had the added bonus of being able to change your hair color for one day. She adored this as a child and would basically live by the minutes until she could change her hair color again. When she came of age she started attending the nearby academy. She was to train in military tactics and practice and learn a multitude of weapons. This incessant drilling bored her to no end as the drill instructor; an elven man of strict demeanor name Denaris, was always on her case about proper form. The only great part about the academy was that sometimes during the wee hours of the night the boys and girls in her garrison would gather around the glow of a friend’s light spell. Everyone would pool their contraband of snacks and drinks into one big pile. On One such occasion Rowsalyne had received a package in the mail for her birthday. A slice of chocolate cake magically disguised as boots by her mother. That night as everyone gathered around she had the brilliant idea to let the others taste her favorite cake. She watched with newfound glee as everyone’s hair around her changed color. Unfortunately , that gathering also ended with Denaris bursting into their domicile and seizing their horde.The next morning Rowsalyne sullenly walked to breakfast, her mood as grey as the sky. She noticed that a bunch of other students were running in a hurry to the commissary. She rushed forward as well to see what all the excitement was. As she pushed her small dwarven frame past the taller students a delightful sight greeted her eyes. She saw her drill sergeant sitting at the head table with the other instructors holding his head as regal as possible with a bright pink mane. Rowsalyne had found a new purpose in life that day. She would spread the gift of laughter with the world using her mothers delicious cake

Rowsalyne eventually graduated from the academy and decided to pursue the adventuring life. She would brave the world and all it had to offer. Her parents feared for their daughter's safety ,but supported her wholeheartedly. Rowsalyne asked only one thing of them and that was for her mother to send her a cake every month. She would pay the fees for magically delivered items without a thought, so long as she got her cake. Rowsalyne set off on her grand adventure traveling the continent, battling various foes and creatures alike and making new friends. She always greeted new companions, be they friendly or grumpy, with the offering of cake. Sometimes it would break the tension and other times it would lead to Rowsalyne and her party having to skip town to avoid the fallout. No matter how dark the times got or how far she traveled, she could always find comfort in her mothers cake.

One bright and sunny day as her party, The Forsaken Scallywaggers (a name she did not vote for) was on a mission to deliver a ship safely across treacherous waters to the port of Galdarus; an event happened that would send her life in spiraling in another direction. They had braved the dangerous monster filled sea and finally had arrived at the gates of Galdarus.The ship's Captain, Maunoth pulled the ship into the inspection dock, as per usual. Here they were boarded by a group of soldiers and a human dockmaster whose name Rowsalyne would never forget; Artagan.The dockmaster began to banty words about the dangers of allowing new ships into port and eventually got into a heated argument with Captain Maunoth. This tension caused both crew and soldiers on either side to draw weapons. Rowsalyne lived for these moments as she had just the thing to break the tension. She pushed her way towards Artagan and whipped out a slice of chocolatey goodness. “Would you like some cake?” It’s very delicious, she persuaded him. This startled the human dockmaster. The drop in his guard was enough for Captain Maunoth to gain ground in the battle over the fees due for docking.Artagan relented and slicked his black hair back as he put on a mask of false composure. He took the paltry fee and to Rowsalyne’s delight, her slice of cake as well! The dockmaster climbed onto the wooden elevator with his guard and began to ascend up the ramparts of the gate. Rowsalyne glanced at her party who all shared the similar grin as they thought about what would happen when Artagan ate the cake.Suddenly her party gasped and pointed. She whipped around in time to see a horrendous sight; as from the elevator, dropping down towards the sea water came her mothers’ cake with a “kerplunk.” She moved over to the side of the ship and watched it descend into the sea away from view. Her brow furrowed intensely as she glared up at that wooden elevator containing the evilest person she had ever met. She turned to her party who were taken aback by her grim demeanor. She uttered five words to them that would set them on a whirlwind path, “He will pay for that.”

Over the next several years Rowsalyne became consumed by seeking revenge against Artagan. She assumed a new persona by the name of Devland. She changed her look entirely using a disguise spell to appear as a human woman. She also used her hard earned gold to buy into the wealthy ranks of the city. She gossiped and mingled with everyone who had any sort of pull or connection in the city of Galdarus. She used her training and skills to persuade and bribe folks in her path for vengeance. The Forsaken Scallywaggers helped by scouring the underbelly of the city and dug up secrets from the not-so-savory types. This endeavor was fueled by one thing, to bring down Artagan. Over time the group discovered that Artagan lived two lives, as most of the wealthy did. In one life he had a lovely wife Dalia who he cared for. He was a great father to a wonderful son Dorion who was no more than five years of age. He was an honorable man who everyone admired and wanted to be like. In the other life, he was a crook and a schemer. He drank abhorrently and gambled away his dirty money. For along the way the Forsaken Scallywaggers had learned that Artagan had a hand in stealing children and selling them to slave traders. When Rowsalyne learned this, it was the final nail in the coffin that confirmed that she needed to destroy Artagan.

Rowsalyne set her plan into motion using all her resources to put an end to this scoundrel. She became best friends with Dalia. She earned her trust and began to feed her information about the infidelity that Artagan was involved in. Dalia chomped at the bit with earnestness as she always had her suspicions. Rowsalyne offered her a new life where she and Dorion could go and live somewhere away from the evils of the city. A place where Dalia could raise Dorion to be a good and honest man and where Artagan would never find them.

Rowsalyne also used her connection with Captain Maunoth to convince her to take on the life of piracy in the name of good. Rowsalyne would supply Maunoth with the information she acquired about shipments containing stolen children or gold to be paid to Artagan. These assaults on his income forced Artagan to take out loans from various banks and borrow money from local loan sharks. This, in tandem with his, gambling problem and fancy lifestyle, punctured a hole in his deep pockets. Bills came due and the banks began to chase after all his properties and valuables, while the loan sharks sought out blood.

Rowsalyne’s knew her next step was to befriend Artagan himself. She played the friend that he could confide in. She gave him gold advancements to stave off the endless bills. She helped him manage his stressful empire. She would use her healing magic to help ease his headaches incurred from overdrinking. She even began to make romantic advancements with promises of a union of their two empires once Dalia was out of the picture. She also helped him plan a way to get rid of Dalia permanently so that his son was not torn between two separated parents. She became everything he ever needed and more. She prolonged his suffering until the pieces were perfectly placed. She stopped payments to all the people he owed and made sure he never got wind of it. She scooped up Dalia and her son and sent them off far away with enough money to start a new life. She used testimony from the various kidnapped kids to flush out the kidnappers and forced them to turncoat against Artagan. These along with various pilfered documents that Captain Maunoth happily provided was enough evidence to damn Artagan to life in prison. Then that fateful day came when everything around Artagan came crumbling down. She knew what was going to happen. She had concocted her plan perfectly. She knew it was checkmate for Artagan. She knew all she had to do was sit and wait patiently, he would come to her.

Artagan burst into her home and rushed to her side as she knew he would. He begged and pleaded with her to get him out of the city away from all those that either wanted him in chains or dead. He spoke of the love he had for her and how with her money they could run away and be happy together. Rowsalyne sat there at the table with the best-concerned face she could physically fake. She stood and sat Artagan down and calmed him. She then called for a servant to bring out food. She took his hand in hers and told him everything was going to work out exactly the way it was supposed to. He kissed her hand and she struggled to keep from retching. The servant arrived with a silver tray that Rowsalyne said was a special treat just for Artagan. She pulled the lid away to reveal a simple chocolate cake. She spoke softly,“Would you like some cake”. He looked around confused. Rowsalyne then dropped her disguise spell revealing her true dwarven self as Artagan recoiled. She could see him rack his brain until finally, everything clicked into place. “You!” he angrily said. “Me”, Rowsalyne exclaimed. “You should not have thrown my mothers' cake into the sea,” Rowsalyne grimly said. He lunged out at her just as the guards, she had called for, rushed in, and grabbed his arms. While he was being manacled she calmly scooped up a slice of cake and shoved it in his mouth. She beamed as Artagans hair suddenly changed from jet black to bright yellow.

After liberating this town from the evil of Artagan, Rowsalyne and the Forsaken Scallywaggers continued adventuring and saving lives as often as they could. Some they saved for coin, but most they saved for the good of it. They battled harrowing foes and often courted death. Rowsalyne continued on like this with her friends for many years before the Forsaken Scallwagers passed on into legend. Legends of these heroes battling evil and spreading goodwill wherever they went. Legends of an old dwarven lady with color-changing hair who would spread humor and laughter with five simple words, “Would you like some cake?”