Turn 20: Warping Reality
[6][6][6][4][3]
The winds howl, the waves grow and the shadows lengthen in the night. Animals stir meekly in their hiding places and on the open plains; there was something amiss, and it wasn't just from the powers of the storm.
In CaelondiaSummon a few skeletal fiends, recover. He also sends Noshtath after Delon.
Attack the closest enemy.
Adil closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. He wouldn't be downed by his own spell! With much effort, the Dwarf shakes his head and gets back to his feet, looking at his alligator and pointing it in Leon's direction. Afterwards, he begins the
summoning, copying his knowledge of Dwarven language, runic lore and general engraving procedure as he traces out the lining in the air with his hands.
. . ."Mighty bad cheese, Époisses is. Look at yer friend. Imagine what we can do.""Damnit Ast! Let us go! I don't know how you've magically bound us with ropes and I don't care!" Delon shouted, his resolve breaking. "If we wanted tips on how you handle your busine-"
Leon stops him in his ramble, bringing his pike to bear, "Here's a tip... and a spear behind it!" With a blink, the man lunges forward and strikes at Delon! His spear
pierces the man's right abdomen as he struggles against the ropy tendons binding him down, cutting through the armor and leaving a long incision in it's wake, followed by a side whack to his head by the shaft. Delon curses as he rolls to the side, now free from his bindings and grabs his weapons and shield.
His expression of hate is turned into shock and fear as he learns of why the man did not continue his strike. A gigantic alligator, like one in the marshlands, lashed it's way past numerous good containers and was charging straight at him. He gripped his broadsword with shaking hands and muttered a prayer.
Noshtath barrels down at the man, knocking him back with it's bony snout into the pile of Irethian brandy, spilling part of it's treasure. The alligator then lunges forward, snapping closely at the legs before being beaten back at the head by the pommel of Delon's blade. The guardsman realizes his opening and turns his sword for the counterattack, only for his arm to be met by the massive jaws. He had forgotten that a simple strike with a pommel wouldn't fix anything. It was too late to ratify this though, as he gasps his last breath and drops to the ground in a pool of blood, his helmet falling to the wooden floor and rolling until it hit the door. Leon can see a slip of parchment resting beneath the man's chainmail.
Ast looks at the scene with a wide smile, but notices something wrong. He taps Leon's shoulder and singles out the one called Stoic. The man's tear-stained face was filled with fear, not staring at them but behind them, giving
up hope of escaping the bindings. Evans manages to get his sword. Ast turns around first, then balks at the sight, stepping back with his axe held ready, his mouth opening and closing without a word. Leon spins on his heels to check the scene.
A curved hexagonal rift lay before the six, a glass-like tear in the atmosphere that was both opague and transparent at the same time, shifting from white to grey and back again, blocking sight of anything behind it from the viewer. It's edges were seemingly blending with the air, stretching to about seven feet in height and about half the length in width and contained within it was a glimpse of a stranger place, tangible in form yet almost like part of the warehouse itself. Adjacent to the rift and before it, were
three creatures that towered above the men, including Ast himself. They were partly in the form of a skeleton and partly of a different iridescent, translucent and liquid form that kept to the bones and their cavities. They did not seem to be like any creature the people had seen before as each was different from the other: one sprouting antlers and long bladed femurs, another with twisted bones and sharp ribs and ligaments while the third was a mixture of the first two altogether. And below the middle one -that with the grotesque features- lay Adil.
Evans is the first to break the silence, as the creatures observe their new surroundings. "What have you done?! We are all doomed! Summon the Adepts! Call in the mages! Terrors! Nightmares!"
A sharp pain comes to the group, but it sounds within their minds and not of their own volition. Pain along the lines of anguish and sanity. It was stemming from the Mass of Flesh.
With an unearthly howl, the middlemost creature kicks away the puny thing at it's feet, causing him to land right next to the warehouse door and into the crate of cheese. Luckily, it cushioned his fall, but his robes are now stained with smelly dairy product.
From there, Adil can hear the thumping of metal boots on dirt soil and cobblestone road heading in his direction from the long end of the street outside, opposite the gate.
Delon
Health: 0/25
0/10 (
Light Bleeding Dead)
Inventory:
Bronze broadsword |
Copper Mail | Grey Cloth tunic | Rimmed Helmet
'Stoic'
Health: 25/35
10/10Inventory:
Iron Dagger |
Steel Kite shield |
Copper Mail | Grey Cloth tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Evans
Health: 25/25
5/10Inventory:
Bronze broadsword |
Copper Mail | Grey Cloth tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Health: ?/? ?/? ?/? (?)
Inventory: ?
~~
Make Fornax help the guardsman, kick the shield back to the the man and run in front of the him to take any incoming attacks, dashing to the Spectre's side and destroying its tendrils with a heavy vertical hacking motion. Destroy the vestments as well in the process; keep defending the man.
S-survive...through any means possible. Defend!
Smite the foe!
Envelop Wilhelm with my Restorative essence.
Enidri took the time to utter a quick command to Fornax.
"Fornax, if you may, please help that man." He then twisted his body and positioned his feet perpendicular to the Spectre and dropped into a roll, aiming at the shield. The Spectre is distracted, though, as the duo act in unison and is again
singed as the wisp zips by.
"I serve and obey."Wilhelm sees the ploy, and despite his wounding, he tries to backpeddle to a safer location
yet the mark of the Spectre still lies embedded in him, and though it is nothing but a mark, the Spectre can feel him now.
Two tendrils unleah themselves upon the man, as the Spectre re-orients itself, lifting up it's arms and raising them to the sky. The Guardsman leaps back and parries both strikes, weary of his predicament; only suffering a small part of the assault.
"Wilhelm!"The man looks in time to see his shield flying towards him and
grabs it out of the air, just in time to see Enidri's halberd shaft resting above his shoulder with it's owner standing before him.
"Suffer not to exist anymore, weak shadow of evil! If this is all you can do, I suggest you bow down and allow me to make this fight quicker.""And may my will be done."The Guardsman feels something burn him along the wrist and shoulder, but it feels invigorating. As he turns to regard his healer, another
tendril strikes his shield arm, barely passing by the edges of his guard. He swung at it with his shield in retaliation, missing
widely. In that instance, the
blur of a blade flashed by his visor and he sees the same tendril which struck him burst open in a spray of black liquid and what seemed to be blood. He could see Enidri swing his weapon once more to deflect the last tendril,
making it explode into a spiked ball as the blade catches it, clanging off and allowing it to push through to it's new target, striking the young smith in the chest and causing light bruising thanks to the amount of armor on him.
"
For Caelondia!"
The last combatant was all but forgotten in the span of those seconds until her warcry.
Syra goes into a sprint opposite Enidri and behind the Spectre, barely evading an attack due to the advantage of foresight,
and quickly buries her blade into the shifting body of the ghost, it's light diffusing the creature from within in utter silence, growing and enveloping the party in a flash until...
Nothing remains.
From the remains of the Spectre, nothing is seen, not even the tendril that was lopped off earlier.
"
I didn't expect this to be over easily." the Adept turns towards Enidri. "
And you didn't make it easy. However, your deeds have proven an airproof acquittal. Nobody can charge you for this event." She smiles, and the young smith sees that her crystal is now reformed, hanging by her bladehand.
He also sees something move from within it, but it may just be a passing of the light.
Then, an unearthly howl echoes from the west of them, beyond the Cemetary gates, deeper within the city.
"Erm, thanks for the aid and...for saving my life, smith. And your wisp. But that doesn't sound good." Wilhelm says, "of all my years as a Guard, this beats all the Night Creatures. And it's inside the city."
Health: 25/25
10/10Inventory:
Silver Crystal,
Consecrated Steel Broadsword,
Steel Heater shield | Grey Cloth tunic | Medium Helmet
Health: 25/50 (
Stalwart)
Inventory:
Wooden Training Dagger,
Steel Kite shield | Grey Cloth tunic | Rimmed Helmet
Health: 0/75 (
Banished)
Inventory:
Archaic Vestments (
Imbued{?}) ,
Broken Visage (
Shriek)
Nat's CoveEmbark now. Learn Weather Magic using my knowledge of Cloud Magic as a stepping stone.
If Montago and his superstitious crew have no objections, use the Weather Magic to calm the weather wherever our boats go.
Ima held her palm up, gesturing for Montago to stop speaking,
"To answer your query: your men's bodies will be treated with respect, if that's what you mean by me 'not touching' them, but I do plan to work magic - specifically, weather-related magic. Should I try to shield the fleet from the storm, or do the superstitions label that a bad idea as well?"Montago returned the gesture with a curious look. "Shielding the fleet? The
whole fleet? I'll be more than to say it as a bad idea, but a spectacular one if it works out. Only thing is, the whole area may exhaust you easily. I've heard things on mages, have hidden reserves they draw upon for their casting." He stroked the tips of his mustache, "though the idea is promising. Our venture may be hampered by this storm, and our mages are only taught in the schools of water and wind, so your aid will be valuable." He cupped his hands and held them to his mouth, "Kale, relay the information. We adapt like the waves!" he shouted, before moving back to their rowboat.
"I'll be assisting them, if you please." Rano added in, joining his contractor.
Ima sees the netcaster set away his weapons and start jogging off to the others. He had keen ears, she'd give him that. Squinting at the distance, the storm looked like only a downdraft, a low pressure area if that was what they called it. It would be easy to take in the basics of precipitation and condensation, as was taught in her old Apothecary in the planting and raising of herbs. Sadly, after conjuring a few whisps of water vapor from the sea, it wasn't good enough.
Minutes passed, and the moon was still at it's apex in the sky shining radiant light on the people below. Montago looked at his crew, four in all and in their respective rowing positions. Good. He could hear the cruching of sand under leather boots and turned around to see Ima approaching. "Checking the oars, how did your meditation go?"
"Let's set sail now." she replied, answered by a nod. Montago puts his index finger and thumb together and puts them to his lips, blowing out a high-pitched whistle, one that is nearly indistinguishable with the wind. His call is met by another, then another further off. As what sounds to be the last call, the boat lurches forward and casts off from the sand, the four oarsmen rowing in a silent rhythm. The Elf steps unsteadily forward towards Montago.
"About the plan...""
In motion, milady. Here," he moved to the side, allowing Ima free space at the frontal part of the boat, "stand at the fore and do whatever you mages do with your bodies in that magic thing. You'll be called by the Diviner soon enough, he'll say when you'll all link."
She could feel the presence of her companions following silently behind, both underwater and in the air. After a few minutes, she could sense a conscience feeling around her mind's perimeter, poking at it gently - like someone accessing a relic.
"We're nearing the storm's arms. Mage of the Aether and Dreams, ready yourself."The temperature felt as like before, and the waves were no problem to traverse, but Ima knew the voice belonged to the Diviner.
In BlackmarshCreate two swords out of the shadows, and the charge the nearest Shade. If I manage to stab the being conjure flames upon my blade, and burn it to ashes.
Call out to unnatural thingses. The ones in front of me.
Zakroff holds out his arms, imagining his commonly used weaponry before he left it back home and tries to re-enact that which the wizards usually to - chant rhythmically.
Fortunately, no words needed to be uttered for with the belief and will as blades of profane darkness form in Zakroff's hands. The Rogue smiles, seeing his efforts have not gone to waste. Utilizing his position, and the fact that the wall is just adjacent to his body, he turns around and quickly tests out his new arsenal on the first shade! A small light shining in his eyes as he begins charging at the nearest shade yelling, "Dark Beasts be gone from this world!"
The first shade clamps a claw around his hand, but is struck by the other dagger below the shoulder, which bursts into flames upon impact, making the shade drop it's defense in favor of trying to snuff out the fire. This provides an opportunity that the rogue grabs, however, choosing to help his ally instead. For
Pallas comes under attack from the second shade, countering it's vertical slashing style with a jab to the arm and a parry to the blade. The opening proves it's downfall, as a burning dagger enters it's body and lightly singes the thing.
The two shades recoil in horror as their essence slowly fades away. their bodies warping and twisting. Their screeching wails getting louder and louder. Soon, there is nothing left of them but the tattered cloaks that were left behind. Zakroff can see the Mage approach with staff at the side.
"Well, who's out there?" Shalla called out. "I can feel your presence." Her staff
blinks in response.
She can feel many, many more around her, though weaker than the first two encountered.
"Yes, you can, Mage. And we thank you for ridding our morsels of their complementing guard. The thieves you killed earlier? Them, and more."Laughter echoes around the three, as seven more shades appear around them, several coming from the perches of rooftops or the parapets of the stone buildings, striding forward.
"We did not expect this to happen so soon. The Guild seems alerted, but we are ready. You cannot stop us, for we are many." The shade's words echoed through the street, resonating with their eerie countenance. Strangely, a few of the shades' cloaks bear marks of several different thieving factions of the city. One of them bears a magic guild mark.
As the three gaze at their enemies, Shalla can spot several runic wards hidden around their general location, as well as sense other sentient beings such as herself nearby, but blocked by some kind of barrier similar to how the first two figures in black appeared. She can also see her staff pulsating wildly as the Shades approach, the other two near her appear wounded and one of them, incorporeal in spirit.
Health: 0/0 ; 0/0
Inventory: XBlack CloakX, XXBlack CloakXX
Health: 45/45 50/50 35/35 30/30 50/50 50/50 30/30
Inventory: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
~~
Continue attempts to strengthen control
Rush to aid our ally!
Skeliton: Distract the specter.
Cog:Summon spikes of bone to impale the specter.
Ghouls: Go and spy on the other group.
The scraping of nails was heard as the Ghouls hear their command, despite not listening the first time.
Nothing else is seen, but the man and dog beside him.
Tyver approaches the human,
careful not to be spotted by the thing. He breaks a stray branch, but the thing is too busy to notice, soon he sees his target huddled by a gravemarker, regaining his strength. As for the Spectre, the Rogue is in a
suitable position to strike at any foe he deems worthy of his weapon.
Coming out of his cover -behind the mausoleum- Tyver speaks, "You have risen by my command. Your service is needed noble lord. I am your new master you have been given life anew to live; life as you wanted it. So long as you remain in my service."
The Human
simply ignores the command; the rogue feels a schism forming in their connection though, but is unsure as to where his latest companion's alignment stands.
Fluffy leaps from a tombstone,
distracting the Spectre enough for
Cog to finish his
work, unable to find any more material. His friend is more adept, somewhat,
managing to curry it's wrath into saving him time to bide for his
spellThe Human stands up, and after seeing others come to his aid, begins the assault.
The man rushes by the Spectre, his sigils lighting again as it's last tendril snakes forward to hit him, getting caught in an array of light and fire. It's
shriek is ineffective, for even without anything hindering it, the pain is too intense that the focus was lost.
Health: 50/60
Inventory:
Aged Vestments |
Obsidian VisageHealth: 15/25 ; 10/25
Inventory: Naked.
Health: ?/?
Inventory: Archaic Vestments (?)
Health: 100/100 (
Eri's Deal | +1 to Magic Resistance for
4 battle turns.)
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Backstory: Shalla was the daughter of a windmill owner, which meant she was too poor to not work but too affluent to go shovel muck all day. As a compromise, she mostly split her time between helping out with the mill, so as to be useful, and trying to improve her education and refinement, so as to be both useful and refined, which her parents hoped would allow her to squeeze into a political marriage with someone slightly more affluent than herself. She figured a brief stint in the sewers would both allow her to claim a hint of experience as an adventurer, adding a bit of mystique and excitement to her eventual marriage proposal, and give her a break from learning to appear learned, which would lessen her desire to hang herself.
Inventory: Mound of treasure (+3 buying modifier for
2 turns) |
Blue staff of the Ancients |
Thaumaturgical Vambrace | Cloth Clothing |
Tome of MagickaCompanion/s:
Undead Hippo
Health:40/40 (+10 Healing Aura, heals those around it)
Undead Human "Hound"
Health: 40/40 (can use misc. heavy items around area, adding to combat roll, used via
action)
Inventory:
Giant Tombstone Undead Skeleton
Inventory:
Sacrificial knife Health:40/40
3x Necromancer Apprentice'
Health: 50/50 ([Necromancer A 20/20] [Necromancer B 10/10] [Necromancer C 20/20])
Inventory: Basic Robes | Basic Staves
Health: 55/100 (+1 to all dark arts for 3 and above rolls)
Gender: Male
Race: Dwarf
Backstory: Adil was long ago a novice engraver at a small dwarven outpost close by until it was overrun by honey badgers. He was one of the ones that escaped, but had to sustain himself by scavenging the sewers, as it turns out above ground towns don't have much in the way of stone to smooth.
Inventory: Black Robe | Cloth Clothing
Companion/s:
Undead alligator
Health: 40/40 (+1 Combat modifier, mountable)
Mass of Flesh
Health: 20/25 (
Corrosive |
Mentally Sentient |
Bio-luminescent )
Health: 90/110 (+1 to looting and raiding | +1 to rolls involving clouds)
Gender: Female
Race: Elf
Backstory: Ima was captured by a human warlord as a child during the human raid on The Wood of Rainbows, a small and long-forgotten elven outpost in a unicorn-filled forest. She escaped in her fifty-third year of slavery with a group of other elves; they traveled through deep jungles and traitorous marshes into another human kingdom, the one where citizens were treated equally regardless of their race. Once their trek was over, they split up and began their new lives as free citizens... though by no means rich citizens, of course.
Ima was luckier than most of other escapees: she managed to become an apothecary's apprentice. Today, she was tasked with collecting high-quality pigtails - and the best pigtails there were grew on concentrated dung-water deep in the sewers, so Ima decided to go there with the first party of adventurers she saw.
Inventory: Iron Cutlass (+1 combat modifier) | Cloth Clothing |
Smoke PowderCompanion/s:
Demonic Bat
Health 10/10 (Life drain, regenerates and can gain more health via sucking out a creatures
life force)
Undead Swarm of Fish
Health: 40/40 (Landwalker |
Shrouded in Darkness |
Smokescreen)
Undead Barracuda
Health: 30/30 (
Flight)
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Health: 65/100
Backstory: Leon was born to a merchant, and as such travelled a lot when he was younger. When he came of age, he began his own trading career with funding from his father to get started. For the past few years, he has been working in this town/city/village.
Inventory:
Brusher's Pike | Cloth Clothing
Companion/s:
Horde of Rats
Health: 40/40 (Equipped with a Fear spell)
Ast
Health: 70/70 (Sentient |
Inconspicuous)
Inventory:
Steel Battleaxe |
Metal-reinforced leather armourHealth: 100/100
Gender:male
Race: Dwarf
Backstory: Tyver was a rouge working alone. He did some adventuring work around town mostly killing bandits and returning lost items. (or not) He has gained a small amount of notoriety in Blackmarsh and was always interested in gaining power for himself.
Inventory: Copper Pike (+1 attack) | Leather Tunic
Companion/s:
Undead Dog "Fluffy"
Health: 25/40 (+1 combat modifier | Sentient)
Inventory:
Dark Linen CloakHealth: 95/100
0/30 (Can use Body Magic with a -1 modifier |
Adept Smith)
Gender: Male
Race: Human.
Backstory: A very calm and young weapon and armorsmith of a small family which saw its business get thrown to the dirt due to the constant flow of dwarven-made equipment, the boy decided to cast away his old name and find him a new one after his last living relative, his older brother, withered and died in the nameless' early to mid teens. After a couple of years living of what he could get with odd jobs, he is finally ready to give the finishing touches in his self-made equipment and leave his rotten husk of a house, intent on following the plans he had been nourishing and training for since he heard various travelers tell stories about how the dwarven nobles were extremely unbearable and susceptible to a multitude of Unfortunate Accidents.
Inventory:
Copper Mail ;
Medium Steel Plate and Helm ;
Tempered Steel Halberd "Fulgor" | Cloth Tunic
Companion/s:
Healing Wisp "Fornax"
Health: 25/25 (Sentient | +10 Healing Aura |
Thermal Adaptation)
Health: 55/100 (
Mental Exhaustion)
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Backstory: Zakroff grew up as a pick-pocket, and a thief trying to earn a living where he was forced to live underneath a makeshift hut of sticks, and rotted planks. He seeks power, and wealth, but not for personal gain, instead he wants to get back at the people who aim to gain power just for themselves.
Inventory: Cloth Tunic ;
Twin Shadow Daggers (
Blazing Weapons)
Companion/s:
Venerable Knight "Pallas"
Health: 25/75 (Sentient |
Wreathed in flame |
Distrust)
Inventory:
LongswordHealth: 90/100 (
Mental Preparation)
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Backstory: Born in Blackmarsh, Cog was orphaned at a young age after his parents were killed by bandits. He was taken in by an old necromancer who taught him about the dark art. He is traveling in search of other necromancers in order to learn more.
Inventory: Cloth Tunic, Traveling Cloak
Companion/s:
Skeletal Warrior
Health: 20/40
10/10 (
Fragile)
Inventory:
Rusty Shortblade |
Bronze hauberkGlobal Bonuses:Blessing of Lightbane; Crand's Folly
Notes:
> Learning on the field.
> There was a hidden timer on Lightbane's blessing, planned to end on turn 20 (current turn). Total of 15 turns in all.
>I had the name of antlion12's character as Tyler instead of Tyver. Nobody pointed that out.
> Nothing else of note. Other than this. Note.
Adil ; Leon: Warehouse in Caelondia's lower sector
Enidri: Caelondia's 'Ye Olde'Graveyard
Ima: Off the coast of Nat's Cove, heading towards Gin
Zakroff ; Shalla: In front of Blackmarsh's Librarium
Cog ; Tyver: Blackmarsh's Graveyard
Note, that RP'ing is fully allowed and encouraged if two players meet.
Criticism, comments and suggestions are always welcome! Tell me if something is missed.
Writing may be bad this turn. D:
Author
Topic: Kings of Death - A Necromancy RTD: Turn 24: Blood and Honor (Read 38557 times)