#class swap
Colored it
Did I create an entire role swap/class swap AU specifically because I’m still salty Amoré can’t wear this really cool wing motif armor I found on Pinterest?
Absolutely.
Anyways here’s what’s been occupying one of my 3 brain cells for like, a year. And since a one to one swap would have been boring, here’s Draconic Bloodline Sorceress Diana & Protector Aasimar Inquisitor Amoré.
They still have they nobility/bodyguard dynamic, but damn do they look a lot happier here. I may post more later I have waaaaaay too many sketches of this AU.
As always, Diana : @wolfy1298
Also, a moment of silence for Amoré & the loss of her heels in this AU. Back to 5 feet she goes…
@blupjeansweek day 5: class swap
Lup stands outside in the cool dawn air, the sun barely breaking through the early morning haze. She peers around until she lays eyes on the horses hitched to the wagon she’s been told she’ll be traveling with. As the breeze snakes through the grass, she rifles through her knapsack and produces an apple; surely she could spare one as payment for these gorgeous beasts. Using a trick Taako taught her, she clefts it in twain with her hands and holds a half out for each horse.
“Here you go, buddies. Thanks for being such good sports about this,” she coos as they take hesitant bites. Eventually, they eat with more force until Lup’s left with nothing but horse slobber in her hand. Both the horses startle when they hear clanking armor. Lup turns and gives a little two finger salute to the man approaching. “Mornin’!” she says brightly.
His armor clangs against himself, his sword and shield clang against each other on his back, and he winces with each noise he makes. “Uh, morning. This our caravan, then?” he nods towards the wagon.
“It is!” She holds her hand out to him. “I’m Lup. You’re…Sildar, right?”
He gives her hand a firm shake; warm hands even in the chilly morning. “Please, just call me Barry.”
“Sorry, how the hell d’ya get Barry from Sildar?”
He snorts quietly. “It’s a long story.” Barry strides towards the back of the wagon and peeks inside, evaluating the rations they’ve been equipped with. “Seems to be a decent array we’ve got. You got anything you care to stow?” He sheds his knapsack and sets it back with the rest of the provisions.
“Sure, catch,” she says, tossing her own knapsack towards Barry. He catches it with ease and sets it near his own.
“So, what do you play?” Barry asks as he exits the wagon. Lup turns her back towards Barry and gestures at the instrument strapped to her back.
“I’m a violinist. Not to brag, but I’m pretty damn good.” She turns to face him again. “But I gotta say, I’m not sure why Lady Corvus insists on me coming with you. No offense or anything, I’m always down for a good journey but I don’t…get it? I mean listen, I’m a decent fighter and all that but I studied under the College of Valor. I’m more for recounting grand tales of glory, ya know?” She climbs onto the front seat of the wagon and stashes her violin beneath it.
Barry joins her at the front of the wagon, still grimacing with each clank he makes. “I understand the apprehension but I trust her judgement. Evidently, she has a great deal of faith in the two of us considering the small caravan we’re utilizing.”
“Or she didn’t wanna waste the resources,” Lup jokes. Barry looks at her gravely.
“Lup, really, do you think that lowly of us? I know her methods seem…unconventional but if she believes in us I have no reason to doubt her.”
Lup snorts and smiles. “Lemme guess: devotion?” Lady Corvus had given her minimal information on her traveling companion, saying only that he’s a highly competent paladin who readily volunteered for the job.
He flushes and reaches for the reins. “Uh. Do you want to drive or should I?”
“Knock yourself out. I plan on sitting here and looking pretty, Pal.” She giggles at the pun. “Get it? Pal? I hope you’re ready for a veritable onslaught of gems like this, Barry.”
Barry sends her a sidelong glance before clicking his tongue at the horses, instructing them to move. “I suppose that will make the travel less boring.”
“You bet your ass, bud.”
–
It’s several hours later, the sun beating down even past the slight cover granted by the wagon’s overhanging awning. Lup inspects the map as she stretches her legs from her seat.
“Looks like if we keep heading east we should reach the Sword Coast in two days,” she says as she traces a path on the map with her finger.
“Four. We have to make a sizeable detour around Raven’s Roost. Word is there’s some kind of rebellion brewing and that is the last thing either of us need to get involved with. We ought to dip further south and go through Phandalin. Should give us time to rest somewhere more comfortable than here,” he jerks a thumb towards the back.
Lup frowns and furrows her brow. “A rebellion? How come?”
“Despot leader making life insufferable? I don’t know all the details but if you’ve seen one home-grown rebellion you’ve seen them all.” He shrugs at her as though this is as common as seeing a dog running around town.
“Maybe so but…I dunno, don’t you ever just feel urged to help out?”
“Lup, I’m certain that whoever is leading the rebellion is more than capable of fighting their own fight. Last thing they need is some random outsider coming in and trying to save the day.”
Lup rolls up the map and stashes it back in the tube. Barry’s probably right but she hates the thought of just sitting by when history is happening. That’s where she should be, not helping the most by the book paladin pick up Lady Corvus’s moody son from a mess he got himself into. She does her best to refrain from rolling her eyes like a petulant child but it’s hard; she wants real adventure, not adventures in babysitting.
–
“Okay, would you rather be thought of as a fierce warrior or leader with a good heart?” Lup braids and unbraids her hair for the fortieth time. Night is falling soon but Barry’s intent on making it a few more miles before they stop for the evening. She’s concocted a game for them to pass the time all the while.
Barry hums quietly as he mulls the question over; he does this almost every time Lup asks him a question. He hums, audibly weighs the benefits of both, and gives a wildly thoughtful answer to every question Lup posits, even the most absurd.
“I think I’d like to be the leader with a good heart. Fierce warriors are vital, there’s probably going to always be some kind of conflict to be won. But to be a leader with a good heart, that means you want to do what’s best for your people above all else. I think that’s important.” Barry says at last.
“Good answer! I think you’re right but also I hate the thought of having to lead. Like, I could do it, no doubt, but I hate when people take me too seriously.”
“Leading’s not exactly for me, no. I guess I just want to be known for having a good heart.” Barry says, voice getting quiet, almost shy towards the end of his statement. Lup wants to say something, that it’s sweet that that’s how he wants to be known, but she stops when she sees a small campfire ahead, just off the path.
Barry cranes his head to see all he can though the fast-approaching twilight makes it difficult. Lup peers past him and spies a group of three adventurers sitting down to a meal.
“Bet we could share camp,” Lup murmurs as Barry brings the horses to a halt.
“Do you believe we can trust them?”
Lup grabs her violin from under her seat and stands. “Only one way to find out!”
–
“So, what’s your story?” the tall, pink tiefling woman, Ishte, looks at Barry expectantly. He blanches at the question.
“My…story?”
“Yeah. Everyone’s got one,” the stone-faced water genasi woman sitting on the other side of the fire chimes in. “I helped restore power to a goddess. Became a semi-demigod for about an hour while I was at it.” She shrugs and goes back to inspecting her crossbow for damage as though this is just par the course.
“I’ve been trying to hone my arcana but my godsdamn premonitions make it pretty hard,” the human sorcerer (Jade, Barry’s pretty sure) says. She pauses and cringes for a moment. “Y’all aren’t going through Raven’s Roost, are you?”
“No, he’s making us detour,” Lup supplies helpfully.
“Smart man,” Jade looks grim but offers no elaboration.
“Well, what’s your story then?” Lup asks Ishte, directing the fire off Barry.
“Eh, it’s not much. Helped an unhinged princess throw a birthday party for her girlfriend, saw a guy get punched to death in literally one hit, fought an ice golem, nothing too out there,” Ishte shrugs and drinks some tea from her metal mug.
Barry looks down at his canteen of water and fiddles with the strap. “I guess I don’t have…really anything of note.”
Lup scoots down the log and throws her arm around Barry. “This guy is too modest. See, he’s Lady Corvus’s right-hand man. He knows her movements even before she does. And out on the road? He’s already kept us free from trouble. Ya hear how loud his armor clanks?” Lup asks conspiratorially, looking around the fire. She’s met with three blank stares while Barry looks to her with a sprinkling of alarm. Grinning, she knocks twice on Barry’s armor and leans forward. “You don’t need stealth when you’re this powerful. This guy can cast a divine smite faster than you’d even believe. But you know what’s even cooler? Barry and I were fighting a couple of nasty dudes, all kinds of undead grossness going on with ‘em. This dude just lets loose this wave of holy light and ashes them! Craziest shit I’ve ever seen.” Lup subtly pinches the back of Barry’s neck.
He says nothing, electing instead to shrug as though it’s completely true and also no big deal.
“That’s pretty sick,” Jade acknowledges. “So, what’s your thing, then?”
Lup shrugs herself and smiles. “Beat Asmodius in a fiddle competition.”
“Oh, bullshit,” Ishte rolls her eyes good naturedly.
“Listen, I’m the best there’s ever been. Better than any man, god, fiend, I don’t care. You don’t have to believe me for it to be true.”
“She really is the best,” Barry affirms. Not a lie if he believes it, right? She played a few tunes for him earlier and she really is the best he’s ever heard.
“Well, glad to be in such good company then,” the water genasi picks at her food and reaches for a drink of water. The five of them all pass time, sharing harrowing and hilarious tales before deciding to retire for the evening.
–
“Hey, what was that last night?” Barry asks suddenly. They’ve been back on the road for a few hours now, fairly well rested, all things considered. They should reach Phandalin by nightfall.
“It’s no big deal, I knew you wouldn’t fudge the truth for yourself and that is quite literally one of the things I am best at,” Lup pulls the map out again. She’s certain she’ll memorize it at the rate she’s going.
“But why? I-I mean why’d you make me sound…cool?” He tightens and loosens his grip on the reins a few times.
“Barry, listen. You have your oath. You’ve got a cause you’re devoted to or whatever, yeah? I don’t have an oath but I have principles. I didn’t want them to laugh at you. You’re my pal, after all.”
He chuckles and glances over at her. “Well, thank you for that. I guess I owe you one.”
“Nah, it’s free of charge for ya. Comrade discount and all. Besides, being a captive audience for my genius is payment enough,” Lup says as she reaches underneath her seat and pulls out her violin.
“How generous.”
“I’m an entertainer first and foremost, gotta hone that craft! You’re vital to the process, actually.” Lup tunes the violin a little.
“Well, let’s hear this tune that beat Asmodius then,” Barry says wryly.
“You got it.“
Barry tosses in his bed, and blindly reaches out to slap at his alarm clock. The blue glow doesn’t fade, and that’s because, he realizes belatedly, his alarm isn’t going off. He shoves his glasses at his face, and blinks up at the now familiar blue glowing figure floating at the foot of his bed.
“Good Morning, Barry Bluejeans, have you thought any more about your destiny?”
“G’way,” he manages, and tosses his spare pillow at her. It passes through her with a ripple, and she looks at him reproachfully.
“Barry, that hurt.”
“You’re not even corporeal,” he whines, and she takes a seat on the edge of his mattress.
“No Barry, my feelings.”
Barry cracks a small smile in spite of himself, and hauls himself up to a nearly seated position.
“What’s up, Lup?”
